An Autumn Picnic on the Coast

Letting go is easier said than done. Relinquishing the grip of urban busyness—the feeling that you’ve always got somewhere to be and somewhere better to be after that—for a life less dependent on constant stimulation requires a certain temperament (or at least a healthy leap of faith). For Seth and Kendra Smoot, the tradeoff between Manhattan and West Marin County, California, their home of just three months, is as simple as takeout versus farm-to-table. “In the city you have access to amazing food, but [getting it] is so much work,” says Kendra. “Here, good food is the only option.”

The couple and their two daughters—Stella, seven, and Imogen, two—are adjusting to their new surroundings with aplomb. Though Kendra, a food and prop stylist, and Seth, a photographer, spent the last 11 years in New York City, both grew up on the West Coast. Coming back is “sort of like muscle memory,” Kendra says with a laugh. “I could never say we traded New York for something better, but we traded it for something different, and it’s been really fun to explore that.” A 24-hour honor-system farm stand lies down the road; the kids grow their own produce at school; the beach, foggy or not, is a year-round retreat. Kendra has even taken to traveling with floral shears in her car, all the better to forage for wild eucalyptus.

“At first I was really shy about it—I kept thinking, what if I get in trouble?” she says. Now I just decorate with what I find.” It’s that kind of connection—a tangible joy at the immediacy of nature—that’s captured in this day in the life of a casual family picnic on the coast. Artifice is stripped away, and ingredients are allowed to shine in all their pared-down glory. “As a stylist, I love to make something beautiful, but it doesn’t have to be perfect,” muses Kendra. “In the end, it’s all about the food.”

KALE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans white beans, divided in half
2½ cups chicken stock, divided in half
1 tablespoon tomato paste
4 fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
5–6 large kale leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly grated pecorino cheese

In a large pot, heat oil and sauté garlic until soft over medium heat. Add half the beans and half the stock. In a blender, puree the rest of the stock, remaining beans, tomato paste, and sage. Stir into the soup pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cut ribs off kale and chop into small pieces. Mix kale into the soup and simmer until wilted but still bright green. Add lemon juice and serve with pecorino.

APPLESAUCE BUNDT CAKE

Serves 12

1 cup butter
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup applesauce, preferably homemade
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Butter and flour for greasing pan
⅓ cup cinnamon sugar (¼ cup sugar with 3–4 tablespoons cinnamon)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and applesauce and beat until well combined. Mix in remaining dry ingredients except for cinnamon sugar. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and add 1 tablespoon flour. Using a pastry brush, apply mixture to Bundt pan. Layer batter with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F. Remove cake from pan immediately.

CARAMEL GLAZE

¼ cup butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine butter, brown sugar, and milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar and whisk until combined and has reached desired drizzling consistency. (Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed.) Drizzle over cake and let harden before serving.

PERSIMMON SYRUP WITH GRAPEFRUIT SODA

Serves 6–8

2 ripe persimmons, skin and seeds removed, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 cup brown sugar
Generous pinch of ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
2 whole cloves
8 whole cardamom pods
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine persimmons, brown sugar, ground spices, and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and remove cloves and cardamom pods. Stir in vanilla. In a food processor or blender, puree syrup and strain through a mesh colander or cheesecloth to remove any pulp. Add to chilled store-bought grapefruit soda to taste.

An Autumn Picnic on the Coast

From farm to beach, one family’s food-centered journey through the wilds of Northern California

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