Traveling can always be filed under the category "learning experience." For a moment's time, you're set outside your bubble and thrust into the unknown with unfamiliar cultures, traditions, and thoughts. Those elements are why so many people become enamored of travel — it's fuel for an open mind. Though not as cultural as a trip abroad, perhaps, my most recent trip took me to the fields of Driscoll's berry farms on the coast of northern California. I learned quite a bit.

At the end of a bumpy, red dirt driveway in a small town in southern Lebanon, you'll find the home of farmer Abu Kassem and his family. For about 13 years, they have been growing za'atar, the once-wild herb that plays a starring role in the increasingly popular spice blend of the same name. The path from field to flatbread is simple on this organic farm, but one fueled by dedication and hard work. Take a peek at how they do it — and you may never look at that bottle of supermarket za'atar in the same way again.

Earlier this autumn, I was invited by Rainier Fruit Company to spend a day in their orchards, seeing how apples are harvested and brought to market. It's an astonishing mix of old-school and modern — all the apples are picked by hand in orchards that don't look much different than they did decades ago, but then they get scanned back at the sorting facility by computers that can spot that one sneaky bruised apple in a group of thousands. Ever wonder how that perfect, shiny apple wound up at your grocery store? It probably looked something like this. More

Have you ever wondered where baby carrots come from? These bite-sized crunchers have experienced a pretty incredible journey by the time they wind up in our lunch boxes and snack trays. I recently got the carrot's-eye view of this whole process during Grimmway Farms' fall carrot harvest. It all starts with a big field, rows upon rows of green-topped carrots, and the hot California sun. More

When I first visited Quail Hill Farm in late March, the new batch of farm apprentices had only recently arrived. Farm work is typically a one-season contract, so young farmers move around a lot, working on new farms every year. I've always been curious: who are these young farmers who've signed up for a 5-8 month contract working on a CSA farm? How did they come to farming? Do they have time to eat what they grow? What do they think about city folk like me coming out to ask them a bunch of questions? Meet Barrie, Rachel, Kate, Sean, and Calvin. More

Who: Paul Durant of Oregon Olive Mill
What: Olive Oil
Where: Dayton, Oregon

in 2005, Paul and his family started to grow olives on their land in Dayton, Oregon, a feat many told them was impossible. After years of challenges (and laughter!) they've successfully harvested heritage varieties of olives and pressed them into olive oil. Take a tour with me of this unique olive oil maker!

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"It was so magical," Scott told me, as we drove from the train station to the farm. "A tempest was literally happening! [The actor playing] Prospero, the magician, was talking about his art and magic, and as he waved his hand, there was a flash of lightening outside! It couldn't have been better."

That's the first thing Scott Chaskey, poet-farmer of Long Island's Quail Hill Farm, wanted to talk about when I made my mid-summer visit to him earlier this week. For the second year in a row, six actors performed a play on the grounds of Quail Hill—this year was, obviously, The Tempest—and Scott went to all four performances. Shakespeare performances on a farm? Well, that's just one element of this farm's mid-summer swing. More

One of summer's great pleasures is eating handful after handful of fresh, sweet, crimson cherries, cold from the fridge, until all you're left with is a pile of green stems and pits. But producing a bag of perfect cherries isn't as easy as simply plucking the fruit from the trees and hoping for the best.

On a recent trip to Washington, I learned all about the cherry's journey from the field to your local supermarket's produce section, and the most surprising aspect of the process is the number of tests and quality checks the fruit go through to ensure only the best cherries end up on store shelves. It's a lot of work — but as any cherry-lover would agree, it's certainly worth it. More

Truffles! What else on this earth is hunted morning, noon and night in lush forests by men, women, children and dogs with the tenacity of Holy Grail seekers? I'd venture to say not a thing. Join me and the father-son team, Luciano and Christiano Savini, as we romp through the forests of Tuscany in search of this rare, precious, and mysterious fungus. (Oh, did I mention these two were the ones who received the Guinness Book of Records award for largest truffle ever found?) More

In late March, just two days after the Spring Equinox, I went to Amagansett to visit Quail Hill Farm, the first of what will be many visits over the course of the coming year, to look at the life and labor behind one of the oldest community-supported agriculture farms in the country. What can we, as home cooks, eaters, and amateur growers, learn from observing the seasonal changes on this farm? Come walk along with us as we document the life of a farm, season by season, beginning with the fresh start of spring: Seeding in March. More