About Us
Welcome to the RGB!
The Rustic Garden Bistro, or RGB, is a recipe blog. “What kind of recipes,” you ask? Well, it’s a little hard to describe without telling you who we are.
I’m Kim; American daughter of two Vietnamese immigrants. I blame my heritage for my salt addiction and my lust for intricate flavors. I like my plates colorful, my flavors bold and my textures crunchy. On elaborate days, my dishes read for 2 pages and take 12 hours. And probably use fish sauce. In a pinch, I can make do with five ingredients, a skillet and high heat. I’m married to one Barry; a third-generation Brunelli from the Villafranca di Verona region of Italy. Barry likes black coffee, blueberry waffles and spaghetti with meat sauce. A simple man, he eats anything I make him. An honest man, he may also say “this sucks.” (Shrug.) On the table: anything from garden food to bistro food, French food or Vietnamese food… perhaps all of the above. Here’s a sampling of what we made together in 2011:
We have a magnificent edible garden. In the winter, it’s a lot of citrus (tangerines and Meyer lemons) lettuce and chard. Spring brings us herbs and peas. By summertime, we have strawberries and squash. In the autumn, we get figs and artichoke. Here’s what we had in June 2011: 
Our best dates are in the kitchen; we’re happiest when we make food for ourselves, our family and our friends. This room means so much to us that we spent all of 2010 and most of 2011 planning, designing and building what you see here. We’re quite proud of ourselves and use this space to entertain as much as we can. Here’s a typical Night at the RGB:
We have a flock of chickens. A source of pure entertainment, they also provide us with plenty of eggs… white, brown and blue. These are the three oldest in the vegetable box:
In our dreams, we have a Community Bistro where we do on a larger scale exactly what we’re doing here.
Thanks for visiting and hope to see you soon!
[K] & |b|
Orange County, California
Website launched: 11/9/2009
About Us Last updated: 12/27/2011
Hello, friends!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Howdy Kim: Was cool having you up here, glad you had a good time! I’m not much of a cooking dude but wish I would have followed you back to Orange County for some of the chukar!
Your blog is very colorful and caught my interest! Fine cooking is certainly quite an art! Hope it all comes true for you guys!
All my best, Graydog (Steve) Reynolds
Hello Kim! Thanks for stopping by my blog and for the 2 suggested books! I’m excited about both, and promptly reserved them at the Boston Public Library. Your blog is lovely. Once I settle down (maybe moving back closer to family in northern California), I may venture into gardening! Your above picture of the breakfast omelet looks so good! keep up the great blogging and cooking!
Hey Kim-
Awesome site! If approach cooking with as much drive and passion as you did Planning, you should be a spectacular success. Good Luck on the new adventure.
I’m writing to ask you for permission to post your Baked Chicken with Lemon and Garden Herbs (and corresponding links back to your site) in our Lemon LoveFest Library. Please check out the links below for more specific info on the Library and to see what Lemon LoveFest is all about.
http://www.wineimbiber.com/index.php/lemon-lovefest-library-2010/
http://www.wineimbiber.com/index.php/2010/01/lemon-lovefest-2010/
If you’d rather make the submissions yourself, please let me know. We are conducting a Meyer lemon giveaway in conjunction with Lemon LoveFest, and anyone who submits lemon recipes or posts about lemon recipes and then makes a submission becomes eligible to win Meyer lemons from one of two California growers. It’s a weekly random drawing through February 21st; I hope you’ll consider making a submission!
Even if you are not interested in making a submission yourself, I hope you will still allow us to post your lemon recipe photo/link in the Library anyway. We are slowly building up a nice collection of recipes, photos and websites for other lemon-lovers to view, and yours would make a nice addition. We aren’t doing this for profit or anything like that (we don’t even accept advertising on our site). We just thought it would be nice to create a source for people who are always on the hunt for lemon recipes (like me) and also appreciate discovering new websites in the process. People who aren’t as fortunate as me to own a Meyer lemon tree (or have access to Meyer lemons) will have the opportunity to win some Meyers, and hopefully the growers who are supplying the lemon prizes will benefit from the exposure as well. That’s pretty much our motivation for doing this project.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Regards…
Leah
You are chefs, gardeners and wine aficionados! That combination can’t be beat!
Your blog looks terrific. Lots to see and read about. Good luck with your venture!
Gwen
Hi, fellow Orange County dwellers! I found your blog on Foodbuzz. Your garden is beyond beautiful. As a fairly new resident of California, I am constantly amazed by abundance of fruits, vegetables and greenery in DESERT!
I left my beautiful 1/3 yard with a compost bin and a great garden in suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I hope somebody is taking care of it:(
One day (I hope very soon), I can join you in gardening. Right now, I have a cherry tomato in a planter, bunch of herbs on my patio and a solitary lemon tree – my first attempt at growing something citrusy. The next on my list is a fig.
BTW, what Farmers Markets do you visit? I went to Irvine last Saturday, but would like to find some more.
Greetings from Mission Viejo.
Hi, I am so glad to have found your site.
I live in Orange County too, but grew up in the Long Beach area.
I have browsing thru your recipes and all your beautiful pictures. I am just starting to have a garden in my home (I am a beginner and grew a few herbs and tomato plant this season). I am envious of the abundance of your fruits and produce. I hope to have a garden like yours in many many years from now.
I will be following your blog from now on and I look forward to reading more.
Have just found your blog…and I love it! Can’t wait to try your recipes and enjoy your excellent ideas! Thanks for sharing!