welcoming fall at suzie’s farm

Well, Saturday evening was just magical.

It was the night of Suzie’s Farm‘s fourth annual autumnal equinox dinner, a celebration of the new season with a communal dinner under garden lights on the farm property. The dinner incorporated produce from Suzie’s—my favorite farmers market vendor—as well as meats and seafood from local vendors, and was prepared by the team behind La Jolla’s Whisknladle.

The space was set up like the most simple, charming and rustic wedding—it really felt that way with all the celebrating and reveling—and used color as this year’s theme. While jars of various dyed colors were peppered around the farm, at each place setting was a handkerchief hand-dyed by the farm owners Lucila and Robin and their daughters Sylvie and Inez. The real wow factor? The handkerchiefs were dyed with plants around the farm. I got a pale green napkin made from kale, while my friend visiting from New York City got a golden brown version made from basil.

Some of the highlights included the amazing pizzettes and zucchini fritters served during cocktail hour and the salad made of watermelon, compressed melon, cucumber granita, charred radishes and local cheese. I’m not even a melon person, but Suzie’s makes me a believer. For dessert, we left our communal seats for three different dessert stations, including pumpkin hand pies, chocolate chip cookies and mini ice creams made from beet, sweet potato and mint. (My tablemate who blogs at Look for Pinky got a great shot of these.)

The night ended with Lucila demanding that we dance, and so, the band played on. Take a look: