Simple, beautiful things that get the job done.

And keep on getting it done, beautifully.

{Please don’t forget to hit “like” right now or at the end so the algorithm and I know you were here, k?}

This barn has stood on the corner of North Street and Pescadero Creek Road longer than the roads have had names or paving.

What is it about an old barn?

What makes it simply beautiful? It’s held much, for many, for a long time. It’s worked perfectly to host weddings, memorials, yoga classes, construction projects; to store hay, and shelter the births, lives and deaths of countless critters, from small crawlies to large hoofed beasts. Now, in its latest iteration, spiffed up inside with rubber flooring, white paint, and full of kettle balls, barbells, treadmills and a whole range of torture apparatus, it’s doing great work as a small-town social center for sweaty humans in tights and tank tops.

This barn also comes with an official Barn Cat, Trucker, who was kind enough to lay a dead mouse on the mat next to me last week as I struggled with some bridge lifts. This is a simply beautiful critter, for sure, who definitely gets the job done, with plenty of purring and rubbing to boot, which takes a lot of the pain out of those bridge lifts.

Plus, because the barn is part of Harley Farms, we can walk the few hundred steps over to the Goat Dairy Farm Shop, which is completely full of more simple, beautiful things, made right here by (beautiful!) people we know.

I came home today with one particularly gorgeous, simple example: apricot and pistachio cheese, made on the premises with milk from Harley Farms’ most excellent goats. How simple? Look at the label. Not that making such an elegant cheese is a piece of cake, but other than expertise, craftsmanship, emotionally well-adjusted goats who eat beautifully, excellent equipment and lots of determination, all you need is basically goat milk, pistachios, and apricots. Boom.

For the holidays, I might be picking up some other simple, sweet, goat-related items made by beautiful people with love.

Let’s talk about a special favorite of mine, though, that you need to know about if you don’t already.

If you’ve been in my kitchen, or had a meal at my place, you’ve seen it and likely asked about it, so here’s the story.

La Chamba cookware is made by families of artisans in Colombia, on the banks of the Magdalena River. Each piece is crafted from local clay, smoothed with stones, and fired without toxins or glazes.

The result is cookware that’s perfect for broiling or slow cooking in the oven, or caramelizing on a stovetop burner. The finished dish then goes right on the table in its simple, beautiful pot — hopefully with a trivet underneath. Some kind of Colombian clay magic keeps the food from burning or drying out, and helps infuse the flavors.

When the pot is empty again, and washed (just soap and water, please) it goes back on the shelf as sculpture. Simple. Beautiful. Gets the job done with grace.

Here it is under my kitchen island.

And here’s a whole bunch more on display at the Harley Farms Shop, along with so many other simple, hard working, beautiful things.

When you drop by Harley Farms Shop, (virtually at HarleyFarms.com) or in person, and I hope you will next time you’re in Pescadero, you may also notice a few copies of “Brownies for Breakfast” squeezed in between the fabulous honeys, vinaigrette dressings, and the best goat cheese in the world.

More La Chamba recipes and ideas to come in future posts: please be so kind as to subscribe and share, and send requests and questions in the comments. I live for this stuff!