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July 18, 2005
From Farm to TableTLC Tomatoes showcases bounty with dinnersByRecord-Eagle staff writer SUTTONS BAY - Taking a tip from local vintners and orchardists, TLC Tomatoes owners Jim and Toni Beaton are testing the waters of agritourism. The couple's new "Dinner on the Farm" series was created to bring visitors to the farm to sample its hydroponic bounty, including tomatoes, basil, lettuce and cucumbers. "What we wanted to do is bring our products from the greenhouse to the table," said Jim Beaton, an area native and former restaurant owner who took over the TLC Tomatoes operation with his wife five years ago. "What better way to do that than to invite people in for dinner featuring fresh ingredients from the greenhouses?" The weekly series debuted last month with little fanfare on the couple's 11-acre spread in Suttons Bay. Nevertheless the dining room was filled to capacity - it holds 60 - and some people had to be turned away, Jim said. Surrounded by cherry orchards and landscaped with perennials like delphinium, foxglove and Russian sage, the scenic farm includes six greenhouses with an attached retail store; a barn with a stone foundation; a granary and a pole barn with a dining room and a U.S.D.A.-approved commercial kitchen. That's where Jim was carving prime rib one night recently, while Toni and Molly Straebel, a speech pathologist during the school year, prepared a salad of Boston bibb lettuce, sweet onion and feta cheese. The evening's menu also included kebabs of cherry tomatoes - one of two varieties the couple grows - baked potatoes rubbed with sea salt, and three kinds of cheesecake garnished with pansies from the greenhouses. Like small local eateries in France and Italy, the dining room is unpretentious, with a cement floor and walls washed with sage-green paint and hung with landscapes of Leelanau County by local artists. All meals are served family-style on 10 long tables set with red-and-white-checked cloths, candles and fresh flowers, also from the greenhouses. Toni believes many people are seeking a more convivial dining experience, as opening night would indicate. "The walls just reverberated because people were talking and laughing," she said. "They were sitting with strangers and that's part of the appeal, too. When you're eating, you're breaking bread." Anne Tucker, a transplanted Texan who now lives in Traverse City, attended the fourth dinner in the series with her husband, Robert, and his daughter, Lea. She said the meal was reminiscent of some the couple enjoyed while eating their way through France recently. "The trip out here - the cherry orchards, the corn fields - set the scene," Tucker said. "It's not gimmicky." Other diners included Albert Voras, a summer-turned-permanent Northport resident, and seven members of his extended family. "I love to eat," said Voras, a customer of the hydroponic greenhouse since it started some 20 years ago. "I've been all over the world, I've eaten all over. And I always like something different." The Beatons are heartened by the response to the dinner series - but not surprised. "I think a lot of people appreciate good food, a lot of people appreciate the quality of the product," Jim said. "We take a lot of time and effort to create a good menu that's healthy and goes well with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and basil." The menu, which changes weekly, has featured veal, chicken marinara over angel hair pasta and pork meatloaf with the couple's own chili sauce. But two things that never change are the bread - French for garlic toast and baguette for bruschetta - from Bay Bread, and cheesecakes created by friend Debbie Zinger, who comes north from Grandville every two weeks to prepare them. "She's got a 16-cheesecake repertoire," noted Toni. The dinners are both a way for the Beatons to indulge their passion for cooking and an opportunity to introduce people to their farm. "As these people leave, they'll walk around and look at the hydroponic greenhouses, look at the flowers, and they'll buy those things on the way home," Jim said. They're also a way to help pay for the kitchen, which is used to prepare TLC's processed product line including salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomato juice and jams (Leelanau County Wine Grape Jelly is a customer favorite). Other kitchen products available at the retail store are bruschetta, BLT wraps, desserts and entrees ready to pop into the oven. Besides the fruits and vegetables they grow hydroponically - in water without soil - the couple grows and sells hanging tomato baskets, annuals, herbs and perennials. TLC Tomatoes is open seven days a week, from daylight to dusk. Dinners are Wednesdays through Labor Day beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, call 271-4754. Tomato-Basil Soup 2 medium carrots, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, finely chopped 1 large onion, finely chopped 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 T. olive oil 1 c. water 2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped (about 6 c.) ½ c. snipped fresh basil 1 t. salt 1 T. balsamic vinegar
In a large saucepan, cook carrots, celery, onion and garlic, covered, in hot oil over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender container of food processor bowl; add the water. Cover and blend until smooth. Return to pan.
Cook macaroni according to package directions, omitting oil and salt if those are called for on the package. Drain and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, cucumber, carrot, mayonnaise, dill, salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta and salmon; toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours or up to 24 hours.
To make vinaigrette: Combine balsamic vinegar, 1 T. olive oil, 1/8 t. pepper and 1/8 t. kosher salt in a small bowl using a whisk. Set aside.
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Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
