Spring Food

We are growing 50 varieties of tomatoes at IL Fiorello Little ones, big ones, green ones, yellow ones, and red ones. Black Krim and Evil Olive are two of the more unique varieties in our Farm gardens. The “Love Apple” in France, treasured in Italy and originally from the Americas. Olive Oil and tomatoes are […]

June was a wild and busy month at IL Fiorello. Lavender weekend was a huge success, and everyone had a great time. We laughed, ate, and enjoyed all things, Lavender. The Lavender martinis were enjoyed by all and were especially popular. IL Fiorello is going back to its roots! Literally and figuratively! Olives have a […]

How to store olive oil and what to do to prevent degradation of the oil.   Heat, light, air, time, and cold are the enemies of olive oil.   HEAT –  Degrades the flavors LIGHT – Can make the oil rancid AIR –     Causes oxidation TIME –   Oil naturally degrades over time, COLD – Causes […]

 HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR HEART From the heart of IL Fiorello to you and yours     Olive oil is good for you, it is delicious and plays well with food. It is an important part of the Mediterranean Diet. Good olive oil makes the food better, and good food makes the oil […]

A DAY AT IL FIORELLO The Day Begins at Sunrise Sunrise, with hope for a better day. Good strong coffee, sleepy cats, and an amazing sky. I begin the day with a sense of urgency to accomplish something good, something that will have influence in my life, my staff, and my guests at IL Fiorello. […]

  It is the most wonderful time of the year. The OLIVES are milling And Abby is singing It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It is the hap-happiest season of OIL. With OLIVES a dropping and growers arriving And all our good friends coming to call Our milling season is the happiest time […]

It is August! And it is Tomato Time at IL Fiorello!            The bounty of our gardens is keeping us busy in the kitchen. Isaiah and Abby are making tomato everything, sauce, dried tomatoes, tidbits, and roasted tomatoes. Tomatoes and our Mission Olive Oil are a perfect August pairing.  Nick planted […]

We are in full-on olive blossom set! Olive pollen everywhere. The Pendolino trees are doing their job of pollinating all the other olives. The Suisun wind is helping move the pollen around the Grove. This year looks like it will be a good year for production.  Given that last year was so poor for everyone, […]

  It is time again to prune the olives – but didn’t I just do that. A whole year has passed so quickly. Italian Proverb “Prune each tree so a swallow can fly through the tree without touching its wings.” Get those shears sharpened. Clean the blades, Grab a good hat, a flexible pair of […]

The month of January is a celebration of citrus on our Farm. The cooking class, the tasting plates, and the kitchen is filled with citrus. On our organic farm we have lots of olives, 3000 or more, but we also have 50 citrus trees. There are 16 different varieties. Our goal is to produce enough […]