Rick Misterly Bio

Last fall Rick visited with three students from the Kettle Falls fourth grade. They were interviewing community members and created a booklet titled, A Few of the Friendly People (for all of you who have visited Kettle Falls you may have seen the sign on the highway near the edge of town, Kettle Falls 1640 Friendly People and one Grouch)

Rick Misterly grew up in Southern California near Los Angeles. There was nice warm weather and no winter. He walked the two blocks to school with his two friends who lived right next door. Rick played football, baseball and basketball.
He moved to Rice in 1981. He wanted to have a farm and grow his own food and have many farm animals.

Rick Misterly and his wife, Lora Lea own the Quillisascut Farm. He grows vegetables, fruit, and nuts. Rick has lots of animals on his farm. He has cows, goats, chickens, pigs and dogs. The animals require a lot of work. Everyday he has to feed the animals and collect the eggs. He also cleans the animals’ beds. He prunes the trees in late winter. Something interesting about his works is that he never knows exactly what he’s going to do each day. There’s always something unexpected.

Goats are an important animal on Rick’s farm. He milks the goats and makes many different kinds of goat cheese. Then he sells the cheese. They also have a farm school. People come from all over to learn about farm life, how to make cheese and other cooking lessons. One time the governor, Chris Gregoire and her husband had lunch at his house. There is also a book about his farm called Chefs on the Farm.

Rick loves it when the kindergarten classes from Kettle Falls Elementary come to his farm every spring! The kids are always so excited. This will be the 21st year having kindergarteners come to his farm. He loves the questions they ask and the kids love to see the goats.

By Kimberly, Gabby, Paiton

For Money or Love

Often we are asked the question, “Who attends a Quillisascut workshop”? It seems the people who sign-up can be divided into two groups, for money “vocational” those learning skills for work, or for love *“vacational” those who are learning skills for life. Although, the outcome for most everyone is that Quillisascut is a place to dream up new ideas for the future. (maybe we should call it “idea farm”)

Many who participate are obvious food lovers who are looking for opportunities to refresh their memories around farm to table deliciousness, among them are those who are developing new skills for their careers or searching for a new path in life. It is apparent in our conversations around the dinner table that there is a common desire to make each day of their life vital and fulfilling. Continue reading “For Money or Love”

Spring Greens


Winter Cress, Yellow Rocket, or Barbara’s Cress (Barbarea vulgaris, R. Br. member of a large family of plants, cruciferae, brassica and mustard) Named for Saint Barbara since the herb can be harvested during the cold winter months, Saint Barbara’s Day is December 4 and used as a salad green.

Surprising how quickly we forget the use of wild foods when it is so simple to fill our refrigerator with store purchased produce. Late in April, during the Intro to Farming workshop we wanted to include some fresh and foraged foods in our meal so Rick took a group of students to the nettle patch. It was a prosperous harvest, as they also came across a large area of Winter Cress that was beginning to form florets.

Rick had them harvest a shopping bag full of cress, along with another paper sack of nettles. Continue reading “Spring Greens”

A Recent Visitor to Quillisascut


Vera Chang, one of the students during the recent Intro to Farming Workshop has written a wonderful article about her visit to Quillisascut. Read what Vera has written and see if you recognize yourself in her words. Vera is also a talented photographer. One of the photos from her visit is Gigi the goat.

Since I moved to Seattle a year and a half ago, there’s no farm whose name has come up more than Quillisascut, located in the foothills of the Huckleberry Mountains in Rice, WA. And since I visit farms as Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation’s West Coast Fellow, I have lots of conversations about food and farming. Quillisascut is a cheese company, selling what they call “traditional farmstead cheese from the pampered pets of Pleasant Valley,” but it’s also a school for the domestic arts.

After completing a five-day “Introduction to Farming” workshop at Quillisascut recently, nicely documented by Farmgirl Gourmet, I understand why this farm school is so beloved by food service professionals, healthcare students, farmers and aspiring farmers, vacationers, and other “co-producers” (as Slow Food and the farm’s cookbook, Chefs on the Farm refer to us “eaters”). Attendees from around the US and the world come to milk goats and share the dinner table with farmers Lora Lea and Rick Misterley. Celebrity chefs, such as Tom Douglas, and media, like Sunset Magazine, have lauded Quillisascut. I hope that you, dear reader, can one day visit it, too.Read More

What Came First?

Take a good look at the photo, and you will get an idea of where I am going with this chicken and egg story. Yes, that is a beautiful Muscovy duck sitting on her nest and yes that is a little chick peeking out from under mother ducks wing.

About a month ago when the weather was still cold and colder, this duck started to sit on a clutch of eggs. In the past we have noticed that when a duck sits on these late winter eggs that have been exposed to the cold, very few of the eggs hatch. So last month Rick decided to take the eggs away, but the duck didn’t want to give up. Continue reading “What Came First?”