Edible Ventura County Summer 23

Inspired by the bounty of the Oxnard Plain and its pristine coastal waters, Ox & Ocean offers refined cuisine and unique craft cocktails in true So-Cal fashion. From a poolside breakfast or coastal lunch by day to an elevated dinner experience by night, Ox & Ocean is an evolutionary dining destination that marries land, sea, and libations in the unmatched setting of Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach

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CONTENTS

SUMMER 2023

KALLAS

MASTER

57 DIG IT

The Sarcastic Gardener BY JOE

SANTOS

THIS PAGE

Lemon-Lavender Olive Oil Shortbread. Recipe on page 33.

Photo by Viktor Budnik

COVER

The best ice cream is made with local flavors. Learn where to find these on page 28. Photo by Viktor Budnik.

RECIPES

14 Cherry-Lavender Lime Spritzer

16 Grilled Nectarine and Arugula Salad

18

Pan-Fried Salmon with Peach Salsa

20 Paleo Apricot Blueberry Crumble

22 Breakfast Millet with Roasted Star Anise Plum Compote

33 Lavender and Earl Grey Caramel Sauce

33 Olive Oil Hot Fudge

33 Lemon-Lavender Olive Oil Shortbread with Lavender Honey Glaze

47 Green Harissa

60 Affogato

A Destination for Everyone

“We strive to make eating great food and drinking fantastic wine a fun, inviting, and educational experience for all. We are passionate supporters of local farms and businesses, culinary lovers, wine drinkers and quality-food snobs. We created this restaurant to be what we loved - a foodie’s Paradise.” – Chef Kelly

Your Cool Retreat from Summer’s Heat

EAT TASTE SHOP DRINK

The Restaurant

From cheese plates to seasonal specials, Chef Kelly nourishes with the bounty from the Central Coast.

The Cheese Counter Sample any of our 200+ local and imported cheeses. Learn from our smart and sassy mongers.

The Artisan Market Shop our products and gifts. Pair cheese with olives, jams, crackers. Find foodie tools and hidden treasures.

The Wine Shop

Find the perfect bottle or ask Wine Curator Tina for a recommendation from over 400+ bottles.

Ihave a confession: Summer is not my favorite time of year. Since I was young—except for a glorious stint on the Central Coast for junior college—I have lived in places where summer brings with it scorching temperatures that make it difficult to be outside. And outside is always where I want to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful that I live here—and not in, say, Arizona— especially since even the most inland valleys of Ventura County are just a short drive to any of its 42 miles of beaches.

To be fair to summer, the heat is necessary to bring some rather excellent natural culinary delights—things like chilled juicy watermelon; freshly picked strawberries; plump, ripe tomatoes chopped up with a little torn basil and sea salt; sweet corn straight off the stalk, slathered in melted butter; and, of course, the incomparable short-seasoned stone fruits, including apricots, cherries, plums, peaches and more. If none of these invoke nostalgia, I would recommend treating your inner child to some simple-pleasure food experiences this summer.

I suppose we could have dedicated this whole issue to the magnificent stone fruit (see recipes by Anna Getty-Oster beginning on page 13), but another not-as-natural-but-just-as-nostalgic summer delight called out for recognition. Here’s the scoop: Ice cream is the ultimate summer comfort food and with its infinite versatility—sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, keto or vegan—it can fit into any diet. We decided to focus less on recipes (though there is a super easy one on the Edible for Kids page and some delicious pairings on page 32), and more on where to find good ice cream at locally owned shops (see pages 24 through 27). It seems to me that there is a special sort of comradery that comes from going out together for ice cream, especially if it is a treat after a warm hike or the culmination of a day at the beach.

Speaking of comfort food, we have been excitedly watching sleepy Simi Valley step up to the culinary table with a plethora of artisan bakers and bakeries bringing both traditional sourdoughs and modern flavors to the spotlight. On page 35 we share a few that are worth the drive, regardless of the weather.

Perhaps, like me, you are dreading the inevitable triple digits of summer (or the potential record heat at the beaches like last year). But perhaps, like me, you can still look ahead with joy to the gastronomic pleasures that await consumption this season. It is, to me, a more than adequate consolation prize.

May your summer be sweet, dear readers!

WE DELIVER!

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Ojai & Ventura County

PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Tami Chu

COPY EDITOR

Doug Adrianson DESIGN

Cheryl Angelina Koehler

CONTRIBUTORS

Anna Getty-Oster•Robin Goldstein

Camila Guzman•Anne Kallas

Avery Lieb•Nell Lieb

Kim Master•Jennifer Richardson Joe Santos

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Viktor Budnik•Natalie Dreadan

Anna Getty-Oster•Mariah Green

Stephanie Helguera•Kim Master ILLUSTRATORS

Ramiah Chu•Jim Valeri

SALES

Mary DiCesare mary@edibleventuracounty.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

EdibleVenturaCounty.com info@edibleventuracounty.com

CONTACT US

Edible Ojai & Ventura County 2470 Stearns St. #142 Simi Valley, CA 93063 805-622-9355 info@edibleventuracounty.com

Founded 2002 by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, Edible Ojai & Ventura County is published seasonally, four times a year. We are an advertising- and subscriber-supported publication, locally and independently owned and operated and a member of Edible Communities, Inc. Distribution is throughout Ventura County and by subscription for $28 per year. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and let us know. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. © 2023. All rights reserved.

FINDING EDEN IN MIDTOWN

BY ANNE KALLAS | PHOTOS BY NATALIE DREADEN

When Ashley and Zach Plahn first opened Edenic Smoothies on March 1, they figured that business at their Midtown Ventura shop would be slow.

“I thought we’d be bored. I was going to take my staff and go out and hand out fliers during slow times,” says Ashley, who originally rolled out her smoothie business in a small school bus that she converted into a food truck with the help of her dad, Jerry Biggs. “I’m shocked. I kept thinking ‘Today will get slower.’ But it just stayed busy and grew.”

The couple says the shop in Midtown is an extension of their own cozy Pierpont home. They’ve decorated with a church pew salvaged from the San Buenaventura Mission, comfy benches and seats at tables, hanging lights, a piano, stools and bookshelves filled with old knickknacks and books, all set in a bright, light space that was once Ambrosia by Caffrodite.

Edenic Smoothies is also an extension of their Christian faith. The

ingredients in the smoothies are all natural—and by “natural” they mean nothing artificial. “Ingredients found in God’s creation.”

At Edenic Smoothies, such offerings as the Seaster—a mixture of mango, pineapple, banana, honey, turmeric and coconut milk— vie for attention with Hälsa, a blend of green apple, celery, cucumber, avocado, spinach, pineapple, lemon, ginger, cayenne and coconut water.

“We currently source our ingredients from local restaurant suppliers who can provide us with organic ingredients,” says Ashley, but she’s working on getting more supplies from local farmers.

Ashley and Zach met in 2020 at a mutual friend’s house. “We were engaged for two and a half months and got married after three months,” says Zach. “When you know, you know.”

Zach grew up in Ventura County, going to Foothill High School, where he played on swim and water polo teams at Buena High School before Foothill had its own sports program. He went to The

Master’s University, majoring in business, and works as a real estate financial adviser.

Ashley, who was originally from Poulsbo, Washington, also attended The Master’s University and majored in business, though she and Zach didn’t know each other then. During an entrepreneur class, Ashley created a business plan for a smoothie business, which came in handy later when she decided to summon the courage to go into business for herself.

She had been working for an aerospace company, but during the pandemic she began to feel restless. This just wasn’t how she saw her life unfolding.

“I said, ‘Babe, you’ve got to quit your job’” says Zach. “‘We have paid off our debt. What do you want to do?’”

Ashley, who never really shook the spark the college course had ignited in her, wanted to open a food truck for smoothies. The couple played their own version of “Shark Tank,” asking questions, making plans and weighing options. After finding and renovating the old bus, they needed to come up with a name. “The name is so important. We knew it had to be one word and punchy.” They wanted it to reflect their deep religious faith and their belief in eating only foods “made by God.” They felt the word “Edenic” perfectly reflected their mission.

The food truck launched and it was a slow start, Ashley says. They had anticipated this, so it wasn’t a strain. Over time, and with persistent marketing, word spread about Edenic Smoothies, and they became more popular, landing a spot at the Ventura County Fair.

One day, Ashley and Zach happened by chance to park in front of Caffrodite while they were considering a brick-and-mortar business, when they got into a conversation with Christine Burke, the owner, who was looking to rent the space.

Edenic Smoothies has been successful so far, with a warm reception from the neighborhood, where women from the various surrounding salons come in with aluminum foil in their hair to grab a smoothie mid-highlights.

Edenic Smoothies

1987 E. Main St. Suite B Ventura | EdenicSmoothies.com

Anne Kallas is a prolific freelance writer focusing on Ventura County. A fan of local, seasonal produce, she is the farmers’ market segment contributor for the LIVE 805 show on KVTA 1590AM. She lives in Ventura and is a former columnist, writer and copy editor for the Ventura County Star

A Ringing Endorsement Bellringer Brew Co. Brings Back the Fun

BY ANNE KALLAS | PHOTOS BY VIKTOR BUDNIK

When Dan White was brewing at Ventura Coast Brewing Co., he felt restless, full of ambition. He wanted a place he—and wife, Emily—could call their own.

Then Anacapa Brewing Co., battered by the COVID shutdown, closed in October 2022 after 22 years in business. Dan felt the space still had purpose. So he and Emily have taken over the space and opened Bellringer Brew Co. in February of this year.

“We heard Anacapa was closing. We wanted to do something to revitalize the space and show what we can do,” says Dan. “Things are constantly evolving and changing. Especially when making craft beers with quality and style that meets the tastes people want. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with it.”

“We were talking to Danny [Saldana], who’s not the original owner,” says Emily, who handles marketing and community relation for Bellringer. “He knew there was still a lot of life left in a brew pub in this place. He didn’t have the energy.” (Saldana bought Anacapa Brewing from Paul Miller in 2007. The pub originally opened in 2000 in downtown Ventura.)

The Whites have painted and spruced things up a bit as they bring their own pub vision to life.

“The biggest thing was we brightened it up and removed some dividing walls” says Dan. “The lighting was in desperate need of an upgrade. We redid the bar top and changed whole seating arrangement.”

Arcade machines were installed in back. The patio has been upgraded and expanded in front so patrons can continue the Anacapa’s

time-honored tradition of people-watching on Main Street.

“We have our brew system right behind the bar. It’s a seven-barrel system with four fermenters. There are five serving tanks behind the bar. All of the kegs have cold storage,” says Dan. “I’m focusing on hoppy West Coast–style ales and IPAs—body-forward tastes. And I do a lot of lager brewing. I make traditional beers, and we put our own swing on them,” he continues. “I’m about drinkability—not getting overwhelmed by the beer.”

They’re also making sure the staff is well-versed in beers and brewing.

Dan says he doesn’t feel bound to a certain kind of beer. “As far as beer styles, there are hundreds of styles. Everyone does things differently. We have our own pilsner, an American take. We have a whole palate of styles and tastes to satisfy all tastes,” he says.

The beer is brewed using grain from the Midwest, Canada, the U.K. and Germany. They source hops from Oregon, Washington and Europe, because, as Dan explains, these ingredients get their unique flavor profile determined by their terroir, much like wine grapes.

To complement the beers and ales, Dan has created a simple American-style menu that he spices up with such specials as Portuguese linguiça sausage soup with potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, onion and cream; or Carbonade flamande with slowcooked Belgian-beer-braised beef served with French bread and frites that comes with a recommendation of Hells Bells Dark Lager.

“Everything is made from scratch,” says Dan, adding that before committing to brewing he considered following a culinary career. “The chili is from my dad’s recipe. I make all of the marinades from scratch.”

All-beef hot dogs are imported from Chicago. The vegan bratwurst is made with Beyond brand products. There are salads, tacos, wings, fries and the famous Double Smash Burger, as well as a vegan/vegetarian selection.

Dan and Emily came to Ventura seven years ago so he could be head brewer at Ventura Coast Brewing. “I jumped in to work in the taproom and manage events as well,” says Emily. Dan had previously been head brewer at Smog City Brewing Co. in Torrance.

She says their family feels they have found a home. “We fell in love with the community aspect of [brewing],” says Emily, who left her marketing job at Ventura Coast when she had daughters Charlotte, now 5, and Maisie, 3. “Business has been really good. We’re super happy with the reception and with the community. It didn’t take long to settle in Ventura and buy a house. Dan really put himself into the community here. We’ve gotten a lot of support from beer friends and in general.”

Bellringer Brew Co.

472 E. Main St., Ventura

805-643-2337 | BellringerBrewCo.com

STONE FRUIT

Summer’s Bounty

AND PHOTOS BY ANNA GETTY-OSTER

Very little parallels the joy of hand-picking a sun-ripened fruit off a peach tree at the height of summer. Holding the warm, soft and fuzzy peach and biting into the fleshy skin, juices running down one’s hand, is such a great moment of simple bliss, evoking sweet memories of summers past.

The stands at the farmers’ markets are stacked high with nectarines, peaches, apricots, pluots, clear buckets of cherries and beyond, representing the bounty of the sun, soil and water, veritable gifts of nature. In the kitchen, I find stone fruit to be so versatile. For example, a peach is divine baked up in a crisp, crumble or cobbler and served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Or served savory and chilled, wrapped in sliced prosciutto and a mound of burrata cheese, drizzled with olive oil. Dice some Bing cherries into a chopped quinoa salad. Or macerate them for a refreshing sweet and crisp beverage.

Here I offer up some of my favorite stone fruit recipes. They are simple to make, healthy, free of refined sugar and gluten, and flavorful, highlighting the gifts and glory of the season. Create a whole stone fruit buffet or simply sprinkle the dishes into your favorite summer meal. Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy the colorful bounty of summertime.

free

is the founder and creator of AmalgamKitchen.com, a health food and holistic lifestyle blog. In the kitchen, she focuses on organic, locally sourced gluten- and refined sugar-free recipes. From her home in Ojai, she enjoys cooking, gardening, meditation, photography, community, nature and family.

RECIPES

CHERRY LAVENDER LIME SPRITZER

This delightful mocktail features my favorite flavors of the summer: the sweetness from cherries (I like to use Bing cherries), the aromatic floral taste of lavender and the tang of lime juice. Add sparkling water over ice and you have yourself a refreshing drink. Feel free to add a little mezcal if you want to make it into a cocktail.

Makes 6–8 beverages, depending on glass size.

3 cups cherries, pitted and cut in half

1 vanilla bean, sliced in half

1 cup monk fruit sweetener

½ cup water

5 sprigs fresh lavender

Juice of 1½ limes

1 bottle sparkling water

Agave to taste

Lavender flowers and extra lime wedges for garnish

Place cherries, vanilla bean, monk fruit and water in a small saucepan over medium flame and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Lower to a simmer. Add lavender sprigs and cook for 5 minutes more. Turn off the flame and let sit 30 minutes. Remove the lavender sprigs and transfer the cherry mixture to a blender. Blend for 1 minute and then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass container. Discard the pulp (makes great compost!) and add the lime juice to the syrup. Allow to cool before making drinks. The syrup can be made ahead and stored in the fridge up to 5 days.

To serve: Gather your favorite glasses, toss in ice cubes and then pour in the desired amount of cherry syrup. (I kind of eyeball it—I like my drinks pretty dark.) Then pour in the sparkling water. Add a dash of agave, some extra lime juice to taste if desired, and stir. Garnish with lavender flowers and lemon wedges.

GRILLED NECTARINE AND ARUGULA SALAD

This salad epitomizes summer. It is a light, fresh and colorful side dish, perfect for the hot days of the season.

Serves 4

For the dressing:

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

½ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

2 nectarines, cut in half

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1–2 watermelon radishes, thinly sliced

3 cups baby or wild arugula

½ cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped

Edible flowers

For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, honey and olive oil together. Salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

For the salad: Brush nectarine halves with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. Heat a grill or grill pan to a medium heat and then brush with olive oil.

Place the nectarines cut sides down and cook for 3–4 minutes, until you have nice grill marks on them. Turn over and cook the nectarines until tender and the skins are charred, about 4–5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place your arugula into a large mixing bowl and pour the vinaigrette over the arugula. Lightly toss until combined. Transfer the dressed arugula onto a shallow serving dish and arrange the nectarines onto the bed of arugula. Lay down the watermelon radish slices and garnish with pistachios and edible flowers. Serve.

Enjoy

wines by glass or bottle paired with the ever changing menu of small plates, pizzas, salads, and burgers created in our small kitchen.

Ventura

Co. offers a wide selection, some very familiar, some hard to find and some gems that are waiting for you to discover.

Shop a selection of more than 1,000 local, domestic, and international wines, sparkling wines, champagne, and beer.

PAN-FRIED SALMON WITH PEACH SALSA

This is a fabulous brunch or midsummer entertaining main dish. The peach salsa is refreshing with the salmon and adds so much life and color to this easy dish. Double or triple the recipe for a larger crowd, although if you do, be sure to adjust your cooking time for the salmon.

Serves 4

For the peach salsa:

3 firm white or yellow peaches, unpeeled, cut into small cubes

⅓ purple onion, diced

¾ red bell pepper, cubed

½ jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced

Juice of 1½ limes

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup chopped cilantro

½ teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

Extra cilantro for garnish

2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

The salsa can be made 1 day ahead. Place the peach cubes, onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño peppers into a small bowl and stir. Squeeze in the lime juice, add the olive oil and stir again. Add the salt and pepper and continue stirring. Gently fold in the chopped cilantro and stir until combined; do not over mix.

For the fish:

2–2½ pounds wild-caught salmon

½ teaspoon paprika powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Avocado oil for cooking (optional)

Extra cilantro and edible flowers for garnish

2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish

Mix together the paprika, cumin and coriander powders in a small bowl. Rub the salmon with olive oil, the spice mixture, salt and pepper.

Heat cast-iron pan over high heat till hot. Add avocado or olive oil to the pan and lay salmon skin side up and cook till golden, about 4 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip the salmon and cook the skin side about 3–4 minutes, until the skin is crisp. Transfer to a serving plate.

Generously spoon

the salsa over the salmon. Garnish with chopped cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds and some flowers for color.

PALEO APRICOT BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE

Hurry up and make this crowd-pleasing, super simple crumble quick while the short apricot season lasts. (It’s only about two months.) It’s not necessary to peel the apricots as the skin practically melts away once baked. I love the juxtaposition of the blue of the blueberries with the golden orange of the apricots, a perfect blend of sweet and tart.

Serves ???

For the filling:

4 ounces butter (can use vegan butter)

2 pounds (about 12–14) ripe but firm apricots,

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

Zest of ½ lemon

½ teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons monk fruit sweetener

2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

6 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries

For the crumble topping:

2 cups paleo flour (scan code for recipe)

¼ cup coconut sugar

2 tablespoons monk fruit sweetener

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

4 ounces cold butter, cut into small cubes (can use vegan)

¼ cup Bakers Blend or avocado oil

½ cup shaved almonds

Preheat oven to 350°F.

For the filling: Melt butter in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile, cut the unpeeled apricots into half-moon slices and toss in a bowl with the vanilla extract, salt, lemon zest, cinnamon and monk fruit. Add mixture to the pot and sauté on low until soft, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. When done, remove from heat and stir in the arrowroot and blueberries. Transfer into a lightly greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

For the crumble: Combine the flour, coconut sugar, monk fruit, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add cubed butter and oil, mixing with your fingers until pea-sized clumps form. Then, gently fold in the shaved almonds and mix until just combined. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top of the filling until all is used.

Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake 45 minutes. Check at 30 minutes and if top is browning too much, loosely cover with aluminum foil. Remove from the oven when the filling is bubbly and the crumble topping is golden brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature on individual plates with a dollop of whipped cream and garnished with your favorite edible flowers.

BREAKFAST MILLET WITH ROASTED STAR ANISE PLUM COMPOTE

Even in the summertime, it is sometimes pleasant to enjoy a warm breakfast dish. The dark purple of the aromatic spiced plum compote adds so much life to this light millet cereal. Millet comes as a small round grain but I mill it into a semi-fine powder in a coffee grinder to give it that smooth and creamy texture reminiscent of Cream of Wheat. I cook the millet with coconut milk to add extra creaminess. P.S. The compote will last up to a week in the fridge and tastes great with yogurt and granola.

Serves 2–4

For the plum compote:

6–8 small firm purple plums

3 cardamom pods, cracked open

1 cinnamon stick

3 whole star anise

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener

Pinch salt

3 teaspoons avocado or olive oil

¼ teaspoon rose water (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Halve and pit the plums, then cut on the vertical into half-moon slices. Place the plum slices into a medium baking dish.

Top the plums with the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut sugar, monk fruit and salt. Give the ingredients a quick stir and then drizzle with the oil. Place the dish on the oven’s middle rack and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 3–4 minutes. If using, sprinkle the rose water onto the plums. Stir once, then remove the cardamom pods, star anise and cinnamon stick.

For the millet cereal:

½ cup millet

1 cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pinch salt

Mill the millet to a semi-fine powder in a clean coffee grinder, high-speed blender or grain mill if you have one.

Place the millet into a small saucepan over medium heat and toast while stirring constantly for about 2 minutes or until you see some of it turn a little brown. Reduce the flame to low, stir in the water and the coconut milk and allow the millet to cook for about 15 minutes. Stir periodically to make sure the bottom does not burn. When it reaches desired consistency, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and the salt. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the plum compote. Add optional chopped nuts, seeds or other toppings you might enjoy.

Dig into delicious Amsterdam

This December, in partnership with EF Go Ahead Tours, Edible Ventura County invites you on a curated tour of the Venice of the North. Throughout your week in Amsterdam, you’ll savor some of the Netherlands’ most iconic culinary offerings: sweet stroopwafels, rich cheeses, and more. You’ll walk through Christmas markets serving seasonal delights, stroll into canalside chocolate shops, and get a taste of the Dutch seafaring tradition at a local fishmonger— all alongside Edible staff, readers, and friends of the magazine.

Crème de Crèmela

Tasting Ice Cream Is Hard Work but Somebody’s Got to Do It

By Nell Lieb

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own.

It’s easy to find ice cream around Ventura County, but more challenging to find the best! I took the hard work of finding the top tasting, most sustainably produced ice cream out of your summer plans so that you can focus on simply enjoying the flavors in our county. Don’t feel too bad for me—I’m not sad about sampling over 50 flavors of ice cream in the span of a week. Here are my top five choices and learn why I think they are the best.

How I Judged

Do they have dreamy tastes?

Do they use organic ingredients?

Do they use locally grown ingredients?

Do they use recyclable or compostable bowls and spoons?

Nell Lieb is an eighth grader at the Ojai Valley School. She loves swimming, bike-riding, acting, hanging with friends, cooking, writing about food and photographing food on her Instagram @lilfoodiecallednell.

ExVoto Chocolates

Ventura

ExVotoChocolates.com

ExVoto Chocolates is the Crème de la Crème of Ice Cream in Ventura County! I did not have high expectations because I don’t even like chocolate as an ice cream flavor, but their homemade dark chocolate was so good it danced in my mouth and made my eyes bulge out of my head. I looked over at my dad and his eyes were closed and he was groaning, embarrassingly (but my own simultaneous experience with the chocolate was so good, I didn’t care). I tried numerous ice creams from their ever-changing seasonal menu, and the salted caramel was the next best, made with house-made vanilla extract; it left a wonderful, refreshing and cleansing aftertaste in my mouth.

ExVoto wins on the sustainability front too: They use miniature reusable spoons that are not only adorable, but also eliminate waste. They use recyclable bowls and homemade waffle cones that infuse the shop with a glorious good-morning-vibe. As if it couldn’t get any better, the ingredients are all local and organic. This is a must-visit establishment!

Rori’s Artisanal Creamery

The Mark, Camarillo

RorisArtisanalCreamery.com

Rori’s is the quintessential cute, modern, small-batch ice cream shop— my go-to for consistently tasty ice cream! Their flavors are unique and outstanding; I love the mint-chip, peanut butter chocolate candy and New York cheesecake best. They source their organic (not certified) ingredients from Trader Joe’s, plus strawberries from Oxnard. The bowls are non-recyclable paper, and the spoons are plastic. If Rori’s could source more from local farms and start using compostable bowls and spoons, they would be a strong contender for the #1 ice cream spot! Note: Rori’s recently opened a new location on Main Street in Ventura.

Sanders & Sons

Ojai

SandersAndSonsGelato.com

This is a superb gelato and ice cream shop run by a local family who put a lot of thought into their quirky flavors and sustainable business practices. My favorite flavor, “It is Mint to Be,” is the reason I go here as much as I can! I also love the Cardamom Saffron & Rosewater, as well as the Chocolate & Peanut Butter, especially when paired with a homemade Midnight Vanilla cone. However, I think I’ve now tried every flavor of ice cream, gelato and cone made here, and you can’t go wrong—they are all unique and incredible. They use organic ingredients sourced nearby or from Trader Joe’s, recyclable paper bowls, but plastic spoons.

Sanders & Sons is a must-visit on your summer ice cream itinerary!

McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream

Ventura McConnells.com

McConnell’s is by far the cutest ice cream shop with the sweetest employees in the county, and runnerup for flavor and sustainability. When you walk up to the arched doorway with an old-fashioned red and white awning, checkered tile flooring, and windows with hand-painted cows, goats and rainbows, you cannot help but smile. My favorite flavors were the chocolate-covered strawberry, Santa Barbara strawberry, and salted caramel. The ingredients are all local, mostly organic, and there are numerous dairy-free options. Their cones are homemade, and while the cutlery is unfortunately made of plastic, this is the only ice cream place I visited with compostable bowls.

Café Dolce Vita

Oxnard

@visitcafedolcevita

Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge an ice cream by its location—in this case, the corner of a train station. However, from this unassuming shop comes some first-rate gelato! I’m crazy about the strawberry; it was creamy, thick and filled with real chunks of strawberry that made me close my eyes and swoon! Their cones and gelatos are sourced from Italy, which is wonderful for the authentic, mouthwatering taste but it’s not local or organic. Also note that parents will enjoy the premium “Intelligentsia” coffee options served here if they are coffee snobs like mine.

Overall, I think my week of ice cream tasting made it clear that Ventura County most likely has the best ice cream in the world. It was all exceptional! My main recommendation is that when you order your ice cream this summer, please ask for local, organic and reusable or compostable bowls and spoons. The more we request sustainable options, the more businesses will provide them. I hope my insight helps you drive less while you taste the best!

Camarillo

Ojai

Oxnard

Ventura

The Scoop on Local Ice Cream

In case you want to taste for yourself, here are some more of the locally owned ice cream and gelato shops that Nell had on her list to visit in her search for the best in Ventura County.

Moorpark:

Carrara’s Italian Eatery | Carraras.com Coaches Ice Cream (also in Newbury Park) | CoachesIceCream.com

Newbury Park:

Honeycup Coffeehouse & Creamery (Also in Port Hueneme and Wagon Wheel in Oxnard) | HoneycupCoffeehouse.com

Ojai:

Ojai Ice cream | OjaiIceCream.com

Ojai Bliss | @OjaiBlissnMore

Papa Lennon’s Gelato (Meiner’s Oaks) | PapaLennons.com

Oxnard:

Afters Ice Cream | AftersIceCream.com

La Michoacana Azteca (two locations) | @LaMichoacanaAzteca2

Michoacanita Ice Cream Company | MichoacanitaIceCream.com

Natural Fruit Ice Cream | 805-483-5056

Xielo Artisan Desserts | XieloArtisanDesserts.com

Santa Paula

La Michoacana Azteca | @lamichoacanaazteca_santapaula

Simi Valley:

What’s Rollin | WhatsRollin.com

Thousand Oaks:

Little Calf Creamery and Cafe (also in Westlake Village) | LittleCalfCreamery.com

Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. | TarantulaHillBrewingCo.com

Ventura:

Coastal Cone and Parlor | CoastalCone.com

CRAVE. Gelato Ko Bar (opening soon) | GelatoKo Bar.com

Palermo Café and Bakery | PalermoCafeandBakery.com

Westlake Village:

Tifa’s Chocolate and Gelato (also in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Agoura Hills) | TifaChocolateandGelato.com

make friends, share coffee, go to the beach!

LOCATED IN NEWBURY PARK & OXNARD

ragamuffinroasters.com

STARSTUDDED SEQUEL at Ojai

Ice Cream

BY ANNE KALLAS PHOTOS BY VIKTOR BUDNIK

One of the biggest compliments in the iconic Ventura County town nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains is to be “of Ojai.” It was a phrase created by an Ojai councilperson many years ago and it perfectly describes the unique sense of community that Kodi Kitchen Berg and husband, Jonathan Berg, are creating as they renovate the Ojai Ice Cream shop.

There is probably nothing more “of Ojai” than the Ojai Ice Cream shop. After purchasing the 44-year-old institution from Doug and Donna Rydbeck in 2021, the Bergs immediately set about “elevating” the menu with handmade ice creams made by Trista Gladden—who, along with husband Will Gluck, is a partner at the shop.

Both Jon Berg and Will Gluck are movie producers. Berg has such credits as Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Dr. Sleep; Gluck’s producing credits include Peter Rabbit, Annie and Easy A, which was shot entirely in Ojai.

Kodi says her husband is enjoying the physicality of shop owning. “He loves to be part of something that just is there,” she says. For her part, the joy is in taking an old favorite and giving it a more modern iteration. “We’ve taken the old flavors and made them organic-based. We wanted the quality to match what it could be,” says Kodi, adding that the entire family made the decision to go all-in on Ojai Ice Cream.

The Berg family includes Teddy and Miles Gardenerberg, 18 and 15 respectively, and Lola Berg, 6. Kodi says her “bonus kids” Teddy and Miles enjoy scooping ice cream, continuing a family tradition. For Trista, whose nest is emptying, it’s time to create her own path going forward as children Lexi, 20, and Taryn, 18, Gluck grow up. “I have more time to pursue other interests now that my children are older,” she says.

There was a consensus among the partners to physically renovate Ojai Ice Cream to help alleviate the crowded, cramped feeling that

was accentuated by crowds driven inside by the heat, as well as to update the look “to be a more welcoming space.”

“That’s why we did this renovation. We wanted to shrink the counter and move it back for more flow,” says Trista. The interior design was by Marcia Hinds and Bo Johnson (production designer and art director for Easy A). The enlarged aisle for customers is bordered by a light alder wood balustrade, which was suggested by Valley Woodwork, who built all the cabinetry.

Ojai Ice Cream reopened on May 10 after months of renovations to update and modernize the Ojai staple. In what seems like a sweet partnership, Kodi Kitchen Berg (right) brings the joyful energy and Trista

Gladden (left), who makes the ice cream, balances with a stable calm. Kids of all ages will find many of the old flavors elevated to fit the new interior.

They originally planned to paint the wood white. But Kodi and Trista both liked the natural light color of the alder wood so much that they decided to just apply clear coat, leaving the wood grain visible.

On the large wall facing the ice cream counter, there is a large mural of Ojai, from end to end, painted by Phil Toolin. (See the mural on page 58.) The shop renovation was done by Element Landscape Construction.

Living in the middle of an agricultural cornucopia, Kodi thinks they’d be fools not to take advantage of their opportunities for flavorings. “We have Friend’s Ranch citrus and Heavenly Honey, which is next door,” she says.

Trista and Kodi say they draw inspiration for their flavors from foods they love. They laugh aside silly questions about butterfat content. “I use enough to make it taste good,” says Trista. “People who come here are looking for a little indulgence. We have some gluten-free and dairy-free and vegan options and we use organic ingredients when we can. I’m open to doing a lot of things. But I want to work on basic things first. One step at a time.”

The women keep using the word elevating to explain their process for re-creating the flavors

already on the menu. Lavender, for example, can be a “polarizing flavor, like cilantro,” Kodi says. So, for their Valley Lavender ice cream they steep the lavender overnight to tame the soapiness and to “have the taste be more natural and pure.” And Ojai Ice Cream only uses milk from the Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma, which immediately elevates the ice cream.

For Kodi, owning Ojai Ice Cream is a second homecoming. Her first was as a homecoming princess at Nordhoff High School, back when she was student there.

“We would go out downtown every Friday night to the [Ojai] Playhouse and then go to Ojai Ice Cream,” says Kodi, who eventually scooped ice cream there as a high school student. She started modeling at 15 and was eventually cast in the TV soap opera “General Hospital.”

“On my first day, I had 27 pages of dialogue to read. There’s no teleprompter and only one take,” says Kodi, adding that she is always open to adventure. “It was fun. I’ve always been a yes gal. I will jump at any opportunity.”

In addition to offering ice cream at the Ojai Arcade shop, Ojai Ice Cream will be offered on Island Packers boats. Her “bonus” dad, aka stepfather, Mark Connally, who heads up the family-run business offering tours of the Channel Islands along with a healthy helping of marine biology, has agreed to bring the ice cream onboard to sell to whale-watching customers.

Ojai Ice Cream also has an ice cream cart (used outside during renovations) for festivals and catering. Ice cream packs with Ojai Ice Cream branded coolers are now available for parties or picnic by advance order.

PHOTOSBYVIKTORBUDNIK|RECIPESANDSTYLINGBYROBINGOLDSTEIN

ICE CREAM PAIRINGS

Chef Robin Goldstein’s cooking career has been centered in California, where she has been preparing foods for 30+ years. She brings to the table a deepfelt art of balancing flavors while interacting with her private clients in their homes. She shares her delicious recipes through her popular cookbooks, perfectly paired for those who seek savory Mediterranean-inspired flavors. PrivateChefRobin.com

LAVENDER AND EARL GREY CARAMEL SAUCE

Serve this floral lavender and Earl Grey tea caramel sauce warm on top of ice cream or add to French toast for an extra-indulgent breakfast topping. Caramel is tricky, so if at first your sauce bubbles over, be ready to try again!

Makes 2 cups

2 tablespoons dried lavender

2 Earl Grey tea bags

1 cup water

3 cups sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

Place dried lavender and tea bags in a bowl, pour boiling water over, cover to steep and let cool to room temperature.

Strain into an 8- to 10-inch-wide saucepan and add sugar, stir to combine, then bring to a simmer over medium heat, WITHOUT STIRRING. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, again WITHOUT STIRRING (seriously, don’t even stick a spoon in it!) until the sugar reaches a dark caramel color, about 20 minutes. (The goal is to evaporate the water. It will bubble up, but the bubbles will dissipate when removed from heat.) Remove from heat and whisk in butter until combined.

Let cool slightly before serving over your favorite ice cream.

OLIVE OIL HOT FUDGE

Olive oil subtly enhances this silky-smooth, grown-up, not-too-sweet ice cream topping. A pinch of xanthan gum helps to emulsify the oil and dairy base and keeps the sauce from separating. Once made, the sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up 2 weeks

Makes about 2 cups

½ cup organic corn syrup

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon xanthan gum or cornstarch

Heat the corn syrup, cream, milk and oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium, stirring occasionally, until mixture just comes to a simmer, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate, sugar, salt and xanthan; let sit without stirring for 2 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Use immediately or store in the fridge and simply reheat in the microwave or over a pot of warm water to serve later.

LEMON-LAVENDER OLIVE OIL SHORTBREAD WITH LAVENDER HONEY GLAZE

Delicate and light, these lemon-lavender olive oil cookies may just be the perfect base for a warm weather ice cream treat.

Makes 12 cookies

2 cups all-purpose white flour

½ cup whole-wheat flour

¼–½ cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons dried lavender buds, crushed

2 lemons, zested or finely grated

½–¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Honey glaze, see below

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, lavender and lemon zest.

Pour in the olive oil and stir until all of the dry mixture is incorporated. Add in a bit more olive oil until the dough comes together. Try not to overmix.

Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie pan or square baking pan. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the pan. With a metal spatula or large knife, press down all the way into the shortbread dough to score

the size pieces you want, either pie-size wedges or squares, then prick the surface of the dough all over with a fork to create that authentic shortbread look. Sprinkle with granulated sugar before baking. Bake until the surface is lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Carefully rescore the cookies into pieces immediately after removing them from the oven.

Allow to cool and place on a serving plate; drizzle with honey glaze.

Honey Glaze

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground lavender buds

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir to combine evenly and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drizzle over cookies, use immediately.

The Art of Living and Learning

At Oak Grove School, our challenging college-preparatory curriculum is balanced with a comprehensive enrichment program - encouraging students to use their minds, bodies, and hearts well.

OAK GROVE SCHOOL

OAK GROVE SCHOOL

FOUNDED BY J. KRISHNAMURTI

The Art of Living and Learning

The Art of Living and Learning

HIGH SCHOOL MINI PROJECTS: Mindful Archery, Sound Recording, Pneuma Breathwork, Surfboard Painting, Cooking, Improv, Hiking, & Sewing NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR HIGH SCHOOL, GRADES 9-12.

Movie-Making TownG oes S o ru

Artisan Bread Bakers Take Center Stage in Simi Valley

BY KIM MASTER

Simi Valley is known for serving as a backdrop for dozens of famous television shows and films, ranging from “Little House on the Prairie” and “M*A*S*H” to Poltergeist and Everything Everywhere All at Once

But now, the craft food culture is taking over the stage as a handful of artisan bread bakers have sprouted up on the scene. Our Daily Bread, Farina Bread, The Baker’s Daughters and Carmela’s Bakehouse are a few notable new bakeries whose founders have diverse backgrounds and baking philosophies, but all fell in love with Simi Valley’s tight-knit community and movie-worthy landscape. They share with us how and why they started their artisan bread businesses in a so-called “sleeper town” where businesses close by 9pm. Perhaps the bakers reveal a transformation happening in Simi Valley, from a tranquil movie backdrop to a vibrant foodie hot spot.

Carmela’s Bakehouse

Founder/Baker: Maxx Power

Simi Valley Farmers’ Market, Fridays Carmelasbakehouse.com

“I believe in this more than anything else,” says Maxx Power of his artisan bread cottage business. He’s been baking sourdough bread for over 10 years with an admirable level of science-geekiness, intensity and love for his community.

To begin, Maxx made his sourdough starter from scratch with flour, water, “natural yeast that’s just in the air,” a little bit of time and a lot of upkeep: “I’m a slave to it. I feed it when it’s supposed to be fed. When I leave, I have to make sure it’s rested properly. It has to stay alive at all costs because that’s what keeps everything going.”

Every couple of years Maxx would challenge himself and try a new baking technique or type of bread he had never made before—until last year, when he had a realization: “There was a real void in the region for real bread, properly fermented bread. And I had the skills and ability to make it happen. For me not to bring that to the town was almost, like, a disservice. I decided the only way for me to do it was to go all in.” So, Maxx quit his managerial job working for manufacturing companies, converted his dining room into a commercial kitchen, and started baking full time.

He notes, “Carmela’s is a team of my daughter and myself. I am a single dad, and one of the reasons I decided to do this instead of continuing my operations career was to be closer to home, with my daughter, Caroline (15), by my side doing this for the people, being part of the community.”

“I enjoy things when there’s always a chance you can fail. The challenge of accomplishing perfectly baked loaves every week—I love it. No matter how many times I load the oven, there’s this flutter of anxiety, of excitement… You can’t ever be complacent; you still have to play it like a guitar and be in tune. Then I open the door to the oven, and look inside, and the bread is all beautiful. There’s nothing like validating all of your hard work. It never gets old. I do this for the people, but if it wasn’t for me getting excited all the time, I wouldn’t do this, there would be no point.”

Maxx currently bakes several dozen loaves, a couple hundred pastries and thousands of cookies every week using specialty stoneground flours and French Normandy butter, mostly for the Friday

Simi Valley Farmers’ market. “I want to be out there with the people in my town, providing a service to the town. People come to the market with this anticipation of hanging out and getting their inside connections to goods because they can only get it there.”

He makes everything the morning of the market, whether it’s his staple sourdough—“It’s so flavorful I have to apologize to customers that I’ve ruined [grocery store] bread for them now”—English muffins—“You’ll never be able to eat a store-bought muffin again… it’s next-level”—pretzel croissant—“They should put me in jail for serving that to people it’s so good”—or just something new he’s working on, like a marble rye loaf this week—“Oooooh, with toasted sesame seeds on top, YES!” The market opens at 11am and most of his breads are sold out by noon, so “be there on time and get yourself in the club.” (If you can’t make it, orders online can be picked up or delivered locally.)

Why did he name his business Carmela’s? “My bulldog, Carmela, goes nuts for bread. I give her a piece of baguette and she takes off running across the house with it and shakes it to death, flipping it up in the air. What makes her the happiest dog in the world is the bread. So when I was thinking about a name for the business, I couldn’t think of anything better than Carmela’s because of my dog and her passion for bread.” The Simi Valley community is fortunate that Maxx shares Carmela’s exuberance and ceaseless passion for bread: “The best part is, someone eats it and I get to do it again tomorrow.”

Maxx Power sells his bread and pastries with his daughter Caroline at the Friday Simi Valley and Wednesday Northridge farmers’ markets and offers local delivery.

Photo by Mariah Green

Our Daily Bread

Founder/Baker:

Geovanny and Johnnie Ragsdale

@ourdailybreadragsdale

2020 was a rough year for many people, but not for sourdough bread bakers! Baking seemed to fill the new time spent at home, calm frayed nerves, and in the case of Johnnie and Geovanny Ragsdale, replace lost income. “Johnnie was a massage therapist, so when he wasn’t able to practice when the pandemic hit, we looked into running a home business,” says Geovanny. “By September we completed Our Daily Bread as a cottage food operation. By July, I also left my job as a fundraising executive, which allowed me to help the baking business full time.”

Additionally, they had a few kind benefactors who tasted their bread, loved what they were doing, and helped them to purchase additional ovens and a bread slicer. As word spread between customers and through social media, the Ragsdales soon had over 200 customers a month and were effectively replacing all their lost income since the pandemic started. “We have so much gratitude for our community,” Geovanny says earnestly. “They really championed around us and supported us. Some of them knew us, and some of them didn’t, but we are one of the lucky ones who came out ahead at the end of it all.”

Geovanny has since gone back to work, but Johnnie continues to bake in small batches three days a week. His staple offerings include the sourdough bread that kick-started his business, a sweet raisin sourdough challah that’s a bit denser than traditional Jewish challah

due to the fermentation process, and seasonal cakes and cookies.

“I like to educate people,” says Geovanny. “Sourdough from the store shelf is not the same as an artisan sourdough bread. The store shelf bread has preservatives. One of the things we’ve always prided ourselves on is that our products have no preservatives, and everything we make is baked and delivered that same day.” She adds, “Sourdough bread is one of the healthiest bread options people can select because it’s a lacto-fermentation process, so it’s actually a lot easier on the gut.” And their bread is easier on your gas budget: You can sign up to have a large sourdough, a cake and a dozen cookies delivered to your doorstep monthly.

“We like this level of production. It was too stressful baking during the pandemic for so many people. We always redo loaves if they aren’t up to our standards. And Johnnie doesn’t just do a basic score, he makes unique cuts and designs, more artistry than your typical baker. It’s hard to put this much care into bread when production levels are too high.”

As for the future of Our Daily Bread and the artisan bread movement in Simi Valley, Johnnie says, “There are more foodies here than the area is given credit for. There’s a lot of interest in this style of bread. It’s a rough business climate to get started in this area, so I think that’s why there is a proliferation of cottage businesses taking off. It’s such a high bar to jump over to get off the ground.” Geovanny can’t help but interject, “But Simi’s an incredible community.” And with hidden-gem businesses like Our Daily Bread sprouting up in town, there’s incredible bread too!

Geovanny and Johnnie started their artisanal home bakery during the pandemic and now deliver fresh bread and cakes to Simi Valley residents regularly.

Photo courtesy of Our Daily Bread

The Baker’s Daughters

Founder/Baker: Yasmin Almeida

131 Cochran Street B

@the.bakersdaughters

Yasmin Almeida named her business “The Baker’s Daughters” because she’s proud of her father. He was inspired by the book Tartine Bread, and became “the first person to bring sourdough to Brazil.” Yasmin’s father successfully started and managed four bakeries in Rio de Janeiro. When Yasmin moved to the United States eight years ago, she intended to pursue jujitsu, a skillful Japanese fighting method, and even opened a jujitsu studio with her husband two years ago. However, clearly missing her familial roots in baking, she recently decided to open a café next door to the studio.

Yasmin explains, “Owning a café was always a dream of mine from a young age, even though I initially came to the U.S. to pursue jujitsu. My dad came for five weeks when I opened my business to get me started and help me develop my recipes. He helped me so much. Even my sourdough starter comes from my dad.” Now she is up and running with a full-service café with almost entirely homemade goods, with family still at the core.

“I make everything from scratch; I use a natural fermentation process sourdough with just water, salt and flour. Nothing added. I also make a natural-fermentation focaccia that takes 24 hours and 48hour pizza dough. I make a French baguette that has a 72-hour fermentation, and a French brioche with a long fermentation.” The tomato sauce, sandwiches, quiche, syrups and even the condensed milk used for a Vietnamese-style coffee are all homemade. She laughs when she adds, “the coffee beans, however, are from Brazil.” But still, those Brazilian beans are roasted at California Coffee Republic in neighboring Moorpark.

Like her father, Yasmin has proven to be a successful baker in a short time period. Her store is busy with 10 employees making about 80 loaves of bread a day. She likes making good food, and educating people about gluten and sugar: “Gluten is broken down during a longer fermentation process and this creates a

healthier, lighter bread for people who are gluten intolerant. Without this long natural fermentation process, it ferments inside you, creating distress.”

Thinking of her future, Yasmin would like to grow her bakery: “We have room to bake 200 loaves a day.” Given her accomplishments so far, and the fact that artisanal bread is clearly in her DNA, there’s no doubt Yasmin will achieve her goals and help Simi Valley to become an artisan bread hot spot.

Editor’s note: Two more bakeries warrant mention in this story. We had intended to cover Farina Bread, but the bakery closed before publication. Baker Mauricio Salinas plans to reopen when a new location has been found, and meanwhile, you can follow them on social media @simifarinabread to be updated on their progress. Another new bakery in Simi Valley, Le Hérisson, was covered in our Spring 2023 issue. This story, including Farina Bread, is available online through the QR code or by visiting EdibleVenturaCounty.com

providing creative guidance on environmental

Kim Master has been researching and

and health issues to private and public organizations for two decades. She co-authored Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time, co-founded an organic coffee company and secured her BA in human biology and MA in anthropology from Stanford University.

Photo by Mariah Green

CULT QUEEN

Kate’s Bread

BY AVERY LIEB

If you haven’t tried Kate’s bread, it might be time to jump into the Ojai vortex and understand the hype behind Kate Pepper, Ojai’s bread-baking, style and so-much-more icon. Kate amassed a following of 39,600 on Instagram and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Magazine

The first time I picked up bread from Kate’s bread shed tucked away in Ojai’s Arbolada neighborhood, I witnessed another customer in a neatly pressed power suit and heels race to her Tesla with a large paper bag filled with Kate’s delectable goodies. She managed to open the front door and sit, but before she could swing her legs inside, she proceeded to shove a massive cinnamon roll into her mouth. Watching as sticky, buttery crumbs dribbled all over her face, suit and car, I knew I needed to learn more about the baker behind this irresistible bun. What follows is a rare interview (probably because I bugged her with emails until she finally relented).

Kate proved to be one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met, and I’m grateful for her refreshing perspective and insanely tasty breads that have transfixed our community.

Who inspires you the most?

I don’t think one person inspires me the most, but a lot of people are very inspiring. It’s important to have that perspective, to really tap into all those people.

What is your most memorable food experience?

When I was 18, I lived in Ecuador for six months and that experience just really stuck with me—because what we were eating was so different. I was staying with a family in the countryside, and a little old lady in the family took me into her kitchen, which was basically just a hut with a dirt floor, a fire pit, a bunch of pots, and guinea pigs just running around. Guinea pigs are one of the food staples [in Ecuador]. We’d gone out to her garden

Photos courtesy of Kate Pepper

Kate Pepper has baked out of a home kitchen, a bread shed and a professional space. She has a bit of a cult following with her quirky style and outstanding bread. Here she is pictured with Cade Stephens, her partner in the newish Embers Only Pizza Club, where they serve wood oven pizzas, salads and desserts at a variety of pop-up locations in Ojai.

and harvested a bunch of potatoes, we cooked up the potatoes, she just threw on cheese—just a massive bowl of potatoes and cheese. It was a lot to take in, especially with all the guinea pigs everywhere. And so I ate it. And it was great!

During this same trip, I ended up going into a tiny community in the Ecuadorian rainforest for a few months, and I had to eat forest rats and iguanas, or soup with every part of the chicken floating in it—the head, the beak, the feet, everything! I was, like, “I’m going to eat this because this is their food. And this is what they’ve offered me in hospitality. And this is what, as a visitor and as a guest, I must eat. Even if you’re, like, ‘Oh no, how am I gonna do this?!’”

So, my most memorable experiences are the ones that put your mind into a whole new world of the possibilities of what food offers.

What is your favorite thing to bake?

I love making bread because it is modest; it’s been around for so long; it’s humble. The idea of bread as an offering is humble; it’s something that we give to people as an offering of friendship, or love, or care in some way. I especially love sourdoughs and how alive the process of sourdough baking is. You’re working with a product that is still moving and changing; you’re on a time schedule; it’s fermenting; it depends on the environment, the weather and the temperatures. There are so many facets and things that contribute to what the bread is going to be like. If I pull a sourdough out of the oven, and I mess it up, I backtrack for two days. Where in the process did I mess it up? Did I go wrong at the starter build? Was it in the hydration? Was it the temperatures? And I don’t know until I pull it out of the oven and I just have to accept it. Bread, to me, is this very bizarre sort of process where we’d like to think we have a lot of control, but I don’t believe we really do. I think the process is more organic, which creates different loaves for everybody. I always hope that people get excited about the fact that their loaves are always going to be different, yet very true to where they come from, because they’re a product of their environment.

What do you love in particular about sourdough starters?

There are so many fascinating things about sourdough starters. Some people think a really old sourdough starter is the best; however, I think it depends more on when you’re using your starter as to how the flavor turns out—everybody does it differently. They say that a baker’s hands have organisms on them that most people don’t have. They have a whole system of micro-organisms that are very specific sourdough breads. The starter’s ability to survive is incredible—they say that they’ve found sourdough in ancient Egyptian loaves that were buried in tombs, and they’ve actually been able to revive the sourdough! They also say that women are really good bakers because we are so yeasty, which is super interesting.

What are three words that describe your baking philosophy?

Intuition, acceptance and endurance. Yeah, the idea of “Don’t quit, keep going, just don’t stop.”

Do you prefer baking alone or with other people?

I really do well alone… but I also love working with people because it is fun, and there’s an energy to it. However, in my life, my baking has mostly been alone. It’s how my business started, and just how I ran, because I’m a mother, a creative and a little weird. Working alone as a baker, I can put my daughter to bed at night and still do my work. It’s a more meditative experience alone. It’s more my style of thinking.

Photo by Kim Master

What are your baking hours like?

At 1 o’clock in the afternoon I mix, and then I do the shaping. And I run like that until 12 o’clock at night. And then I sleep for an hour and a half, or two hours. And then to get back up and start rolling. I have very little storage space, I have very little refrigeration, and I am working with minimal equipment, so my timing of everything, and staggering of stuff, has to go a certain way.

What do you prefer with bread: butter or olive oil?

Butter. I guess it sort of depends on where you are when you’re eating it, but if you’re fortunate enough to be that person that gets to pull the loaf out of the oven hot, slather butter onto that! It’s the best bite of anything you can eat.

How does being a mom influence your baking?

As a mom, I don’t have the luxury of being able to put my head down, go into a bakery and work without thinking about my daughter at home. My business is built around the time schedule of being a mother. I need to be able to change my schedule in order to be around to take my daughter to school in the morning, and be there for her whenever. I think it has made my baking process a lot slower than it is for others. Mothers tend to run a home bakery, and they get creative with how they run it. I hear of a lot of men who are high on the ranked list of bakers, or best pizza makers, and women don’t tend to be up there unless maybe it’s for baking cakes or cookies. Being a mother really has, I think, driven the direction of my business and my choices.

If someone, like me, wants to be a baker, what advice do you have?

I would say, bake! I remember somebody saying to me, “You can learn a cooking technique in a weekend, but you will never be a baker unless you are baking all the time.” I think the best, most interesting, most inspiring bakers are the ones who are self-taught. They have picked up things that have resonated with them, and they’ve worked with that. They’re all scrappy bakers, just trying to make it work. They haven’t gone to culinary school; they just decided they’re gonna learn how to bake. And they’ve talked to people and they’ve interned from people; they’ve gotten really creative with how they figure out how to bake or how to sell. There are some really fascinating, nutty bakers out there, a very crazy group of people. So just start baking and I think you find your path through that.

What do you want to be doing in one year?

Well, I started a paid membership on my website and I hope it can work as my main source of income, so that I can travel to document bakers, and so I can have a tiny little space—like a creative food art studio. I’d like to bake bread for everybody once a week, cinnamon

rolls on a Wednesday, or space to host dinners. I just want to have a creative space where I can do whatever I want and give it to the world. I want the membership page full of crazy information: how to start baking, books that I went through to self-learn how to bake, equipment that I’ve found … I want the membership, and my life, to be creative and fun. I want to be traveling, seeing things, experiencing things and have a little shop. I think it’d be fun if I could figure it out.

Explain your “Embers Only Pizza Club Dinners”

The food industry has become pretentious, especially fine dining. There’s this big upheaval about industries where people work so hard for such a little amount of money, not even a livable wage. It’s a toxic environment, there’s a lot of toxicity to the food industry, to push out food, where you’re charging an exorbitant amount of money for it. And most often, only the elite can really afford it. There’s this feeling around chefs and that energy of egotism within the industry that, in my mind, really takes away from the feeling of food. With the pizza dinners, I want to get back to that feeling of “Look, we aren’t making anything great, but we’re just making you food. And we’re gonna set up a table so that you all can sit and eat.” That’s what I want. As far as the pizzas themselves go, they are just straight up my sourdough with a little alteration and a few other ingredients. But it’s straight up sourdough pizzas: They go in the oven, they come up beautiful.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for space. To read the whole interview, visit EdibleVenturaCounty.com or scan the QR code.

Avery Lieb, a 10th-grader at The Thacher School in Ojai, enjoys friends, family, good food and writing about good food. She feels strongly that affordable, sustainable, healthful food will dramatically improve local communities and our connected broader world!

FROM FARM TO GLASS THESE DRINKS KICK A&$

You already eat farm to table; with so many creative and refreshing options, why not imbibe locally too! Visit these local beverage makers or find in your local grocery to get a fresh taste of Ventura County.

School’s Out(side) FOREVER Meet an Ojai

family expanding outdoor education in Ventura County

BY JENNIFER RICHARDSON | PHOTOS BY STEPHANIE HELGUERA

The sight of a group of 2- to 10-year-old children in the forest or at a camp in lower Ojai might not seem out of the ordinary. What may be surprising is that these children are in school, and they’re not just outside for recess. Along with an Ojai farm, these locations and more serve as rotating campuses of a special educational program, Little Earth Forest School.

Forest school refers to a philosophy of open-ended education led by each child’s interests, with a high adult-to-child ratio to guide the experience. (Forest schools use the term “guides” rather than “teachers” to reflect the discovery-based approach.) The focus is not on college preparation nor conventional notions of success, but rather helping children learn who they truly are.

While other independent schools like Montessori and Waldorf share these characteristics, forest schools are different because they are held primarily outdoors. Started in the mid-20th century in Denmark by Ella Flatau, they have since spread around the world, including in Europe and the U.K., as well as Canada, the United States, Australia and parts of Asia.

Given our temperate climate, forest schools are a natural fit for California, and the founders of Little Earth Forest School were inspired by their own daughter’s experience at A Thousand Mornings Forest School in Santa Barbara. Upon relocating to Ojai, Barbara, who goes by “B,” and Garrett Smith opened the metaphorical doors of their Little Earth Forest School in late 2020, serving the Ventura County community, including their daughter Isabel.

To launch Little Earth, Garrett trained to become a level-3 certified forest school guide. He is joined by two other full-time guides along with the 15 or so kids who are present on any given day. Specialists come in on an ad hoc basis, including an ex-Cirque du Soleil artist who teaches mindful movement, and B, who taps into her profession as a nutritionist to lead cooking activities. At least one of their locations boasts a full kitchen, and she plans to step up the cooking program as the kids spend more time there.

Feeding the Children

In the meantime, the other campuses offer plenty of opportunities to connect children to their food, including harvesting, packaging and composting. “If they grow it, they eat it,” says B about the benefits of this experience.

Out in the forest and on the farm, kids forage for food, learning to identify edible plants like elderberries and miner’s lettuce as well as more conventional farm produce. Those foraging finds have occasionally been used to create their own play version of a farmers’ market, with acorns and special rocks serving as currency.

B explains that her hope is to one day put her nutritionist practice

out of business. “If we were raised learning what food can do to us in terms of healing, and ... what the wrong foods can do to us, then I wouldn’t have that many clients anymore. It’s important to teach them while they’re young.”

Outdoor Encounters

In addition to food, school outside means animals. Other than the occasional dog, there are no farm animals on the campuses, but occasionally a neighbor will bring over some chickens, and there are horses at one of the locations. And as Garrett explains, “the kids are very capable of finding their own animals,” including salamanders, lizards and snakes.

Forest school guides are responsible for scouting locations each day for environmental risks before the kids arrive, but kids are prepared for encounters with animals that can be a threat, which includes coyotes and mountain lions. “[Meeting larger wildlife] has never happened, but a lot of it is about ... highlighting [students’] skills and their capabilities and interests so that they just feel confident and safe to be who they are in any situation,” says Garrett.

On the March morning when I met the Smiths at one of the Little Earth campuses, the birds were singing, the sun was shining and snow was still visible on the Topatopas, a reminder of the recent storms that brought unusual environmental risks. These included the destruction of Foster Park, which had previously been one of the locations for the school. Still, it’s only dangerous weather that will put the kids inside. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. It’s part of building resilience,” Garrett says.

Training for Parents

Reflecting on the inherent risks of an outdoor environment, B observes that part of the forest school approach is training the parents, most of whom were educated traditionally. She is philosophical on this point, noting that “We do believe forest school is right for every child, but we understand it might not be right for every family.”

In addition to the benefits of exposure to agriculture, foraging, animals and weather, Garrett and B explain that the outdoor setting affords kids a more seamless transition into schooling. The theory goes that because children are familiar with playing outside, the environment is not as jarring as entering a classroom for the first time, and therefore separation anxiety is lessened.

Conversely, the transition away from forest school can also be challenging. Garrett relayed an anecdote from a recent Friday when a little girl, as she was leaving Little Earth, asked her mom if she was going back to forest school the next day. Upon being informed she would not because it was the weekend, the child responded, “It’s going to be a bad, bad, bad weekend.”

School Society

Prior to moving to Ventura County, B spent 15 years and Garrett three years in Los Angeles, where they met while working together on B’s parenting publication, Natural Child World: Sustainability for the Modern Family. B had previously relocated from Rome, where she grew up and earned a marketing degree, moving to Los Angeles to earn a graduate degree in public relations for print and broadcasting media at UCLA before going on to lead marketing for professional beauty products at Procter & Gamble. She then opened her own marketing agency that focused only on sustainable companies.

Garrett moved to Los Angeles from Virginia, where he grew up in a big Irish Catholic family that was very involved in the community. His mom rehabilitated animals, and his experience helping her in this work cemented his interest in the natural world. He graduated with a degree in marketing and a minor in early childhood education from James Madison University, as well as an abiding sense that college was not for everyone. Their path to opening a forest school may not have been planned, but reflecting on their life experience, it seems a natural culmination.

As of this writing, 28 kids are enrolled in Little Earth Forest School, participating between two and five days each week, some as a supplement for home schooling. The kids are not segregated by age, which B explains means that they “work like a small society; you can be a mentor, a buddy.”

This year the Smiths launched a more formal K–5 full-time program, called AWE (which stands for Advanced Wholistic Education), but their aspirations extend beyond the boundaries of Ventura County. “I want more people to open forest schools because I want to change this [education] on a global scale,” says B. She also explains she is motivated by creating revenue streams for

families, and the ability to “work where my kid is.”

“They’re a lot of people who are looking at outdoor education who say ‘Man, I wish I could do it,’ so we take the ‘wish’ out of it,” B says. They need to find the land, but the Smiths are providing a franchise model that includes all the other necessary tools, from contracts to content and marketing.

Twice during our conversation, B expresses her regret at not having been educated in an environment like a forest school, wondering aloud who she would have been if, in her words, “I was free to pursue my soul path and also not being offered college as the only path forward.”

But as she speaks about her intent to scale Little Earth Forest School to communities through franchising, and the potential those franchises have to create a better world, it seems that she has managed to find her calling.

“You can put a business in the hands of people that are looking for more inspirational type of work. Imagine if we multiply this by millions. You raise different humans, and then you change the world.”

And while they are dreaming big, Garrett is quick to note their appreciation for what they have built so far. “Ojai greeted us with open arms. Forest school is a natural experience for the Ojai community that thrives on connection with nature and organic relationships with the land and the people.”

For more information, visit LittleEarthForestSchool.com.

Jennifer Richardson is the author of Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage, an Indie Reader Discovery Award winner for travel writing. She and her British husband consider themselves lucky to call both Ventura and a village in the English Cotswolds home. To learn more, visit JenniferRichardson.net.

Green Harissa

B from the Little Earth Forest School, shares an easy recipe that the students might try after foraging. For more recipes and nutritional support, visit BarbabaManconiSmith.com.

Originally from North Africa, green harissa is a delicious and versatile sauce packed with antioxidants and flavor. From spicy to mild, it is the perfect condiment to accompany roasts, vegetables and fish dishes. The medicinal qualities of the fresh herbs make it a potent anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and digestive aid. The capsicum in the peppers supports metabolism, healthy blood pressure and heart health. Parsley and cilantro are known heavy metal chelators, while the spices and the garlic strengthen the immune system

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup fresh mint

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1–3 chili peppers (can be hot or mild)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

Juice of ½ lemon, about 3–4 tablespoons

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to preserve the sauce

Wash and dry the herbs, then transfer all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Alternatively, use mortar and pestle for a more coarse texture. Adjust the consistency as desired by adding more olive oil or a bit of water.

Store the harissa in an airtight jar in the coldest part of your fridge for up to one month. Cover the top with a layer of olive oil before putting it in the fridge to protect the ingredients from air and bacteria.

To Serve: Use the harissa as a spread, mash it up with avocado to make a dip or condiment for a bowl, thin it with more citrus to make an inviting salad dressing or have it handy for wraps, grilled vegetables or burgers or to revive a plain cooked rice.

Photo by Barbara Smith

Cattle & Coffee at Hobson Family Farms

BY CAMILA GUZMAN

Ventura County was once a wetland sanctuary surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, with rich resources that nourished wildlife and the indigenous Chumash people. Rich as well is its modern agricultural history, which has been greatly influenced by one family who planted their roots here six generations ago and is now moving to adapt to new ways of farming in the era of climate change.

Giving Downtown Ventura its Character

William Dewey Hobson (aka W.D.) earned the nickname “Father of Ventura County” when he started his land management company in 1865 and then worked successfully to separate the region from Santa Barbara County in 1873. With his wife, Isabel, he built many of the original buildings that give downtown Ventura so much of its character including a beef packinghouse and retail butcher shops. When W.D.’s great-grandson, Rodney H. Smith, took over the business in 1960, he moved the corporate headquarters from one of those packing houses to the current downtown Ventura location. The company had such influence in town that the street number on the headquarters building at 63 North Ash Street was chosen as a nod to the company’s 1963 move-in date.

Regenerative Ranching at Aliso Ranch

A century and a half after the founding of Hobson Family Farms, I met up with David Armstrong, CEO of the company now known as Smith-Hobson, LLC and the first non-family member to be appointed to that role. We toured the Aliso Ranch, which the Hobson family purchased in 1910 to raise their Flying H beef. This is thought to be the longest-operating cattle ranch in Ventura County.

“Our kind of history is one of innovation,” says Armstrong expressing confidence that the legacy of innovation and integrity will guide the company’s integration of more sustainable and regenerative practices into their cattle and agricultural endeavors. “Our climate is changing, our population is growing exponentially, and we have more mouths to feed.”

Three-hundred head of cattle roam 7,200 pristine hilly acres at Aliso Ranch. Well-watered with natural springs and wells, the ranch offers a low-stress environment that has helped the company earn the Global Animal Partnership’s highest level for humane treatment of livestock. Herding dogs don’t bark or bite the cattle here as they help rotate the animals between seven pastures, and the cattle are no longer stressed by getting shipped thousands of miles away to Nebraska for harvest as that is now done locally or in a nearby county.

Smith-Hobson has cultivated many community partnerships in its ongoing effort to connect local communities through farming. Armstrong describes these partnerships as “a kind of symbiotic relationship,” many of which help utilize waste. Spent grains and hops from MadeWest Brewing company are used as cattle feed and a local bell pepper processing plant also diverts food waste to the ranch. Looking forward to these tasty food supplements, the cattle and will follow the trucks hauling the goodies out to the active pastures.

“Since we don’t concentrate our cattle in feedlots ..., we don’t collect the manure,” Armstrong says as he describes how the animal’s hooves help integrate the biomass into the soil and regenerate the pastures for the next season. “It’s all being worked back into the pastures, which we think is a more sustainable way to do it.”

The company quarters 125 horses on the property, and the local residents who board their horses here enjoy the pleasure of private

equestrian trails with scenic views. “We collect straw from the stalls, we break it down into windrows [to compost] and then spread it in the cattle pasture,” Armstrong says. Horse manure has high salt content, but that has value for killing invasive plants.

Armstrong shows reverence for the cattle and the role they play. “They provide meat, but they’re also restoring the land and grazing for fire prevention. If we didn’t have cattle, we’d have to mow all that [pastureland] or bring goats.” He mentions that like others locally, the ranch lost cattle in the 2017 Thomas Fire.

Citrus, Avocados, Passion Fruit & Coffee

Smith-Hobson started planting citrus in the 1960s. The avocado orchards were added in the 1990s. These commodity crops were packaged and sold to distributors and wholesalers, but as local produce became more valuable during the pandemic, Armstrong saw new opportunities to diversify their crops, apply new agricultural technology and improve overall soil health. The growing stresses of climate change are foremost in mind with the technological upgrades.

“[There are] parallels between climate change and the [agricultural] technological advances,” he says. “The resources we use are as efficient as possible. [We] have to treat [farming] scientifically.” Tensiometers measure soil moisture levels so they can irrigate only when necessary and they are looking into using trunk monitors that can see which soil nutrients trees are taking up so they can modify the soil to meet exact needs.

Armstrong recalls the company’s long history of ranching and monocropping as he says, “We can’t change everything overnight, so

A Hobson Family Farms packinghouse, built by WD Hobson in the late 1800s, still stands at the corner of Santa Clara and Olive streets in downtown Ventura and has housed Patagonia Ventura since 1972.

Photos courtesy of Smith-Hobson; Patagonia, Ventura, building photographed by Viktor Budnik

we are phasing in regenerative farming practices. You learn as you go, and you try to make it better with each step. So, that’s what we’re trying to do in farming, too.”

As we gaze over the 300 acres of citrus trees, avocado trees on hillslopes and thick vines of passion fruit climbing up repurposed posts, I see something one would not expect to find growing here: coffee trees. A non-native and tropical plant, coffee can, in fact, grow wherever avocado trees grow. Armstrong says, “It’s [about] finding a harmonious match of plants to grow with each other.”

Coffee growing here is in partnership FRINJ, a Santa Barbara–based company with “a whole systems solution to growing coffee in California.” The “solution” is an opportunity for commercial farmers to increase their biodiversity by interplanting coffee between established avocado orchards, while improving the soil quality and boosting overall health and yields of the remaining crops on the farm. Now, with 18,000 coffee bean trees in four varieties planted, Smith-Hobson might just have become the largest coffee grower in the continental United States. Organic and fair-trade coffee farming is a long-term investment but the young trees will begin to yield fruits for commercial production in the next couple of years.

Repurposing & Interplanting

To make room for the new coffee trees, the Smith-Hobson team has been clearing citrus groves that have aged beyond their 50 years of useful commercial production. The old trees are processed into wood chips that serve as mulch for the young coffee trees, but some of the legacy lemon trees have been left to serve as windbreaks to protect the young coffee trees as they are getting established. However, the team found the wind block wasn’t sufficient. “We decided to use the architecture of existing

With 18,000 coffee bean trees in four varieties planted, Hobson Family Farms might just have become the largest coffee grower in the continental United States.

David Armstrong, (left) CEO of Hobson Family Farms (HFF), works with Jay Ruskey, (right) CEO of Frinj Coffee, to determine the variety of coffee plants to grow in the various orchards on HFF land.

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lemons as a trellis for passionfruit,” Armstrong says. “Nature teaches us a lot. We try to solve problems with plants. Nothing can really serve a single purpose anymore … it has to have multiple functions.”

Interplanted between each row of coffee trees is a legume tree, Inga edulis (aka ice cream bean), the raw pulp of which can be incorporated into any food that could benefit from its vanilla-ice-creamwith-a-hint-of-cherimoya-and-cinnamon-like flavor. These trees help fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, which is essential for plant growth. “Basically, we are trying to make sure that everything we do results in a product that people can eat or drink,” says Armstrong.

Flying H Wine & Tangerine Vinegar

Armstrong excitedly shares several more ways that the Hobson Family Farm has been able to extend its use of fruit crops. One sits to the north in eastern Monterey County, where the company farms 3,000 sustainably acres in the Monterey American Viticultural Area of eastern Monterey County using sustainable techniques. Until recently, those premium grapes were all sold off to various commercial winemakers, but the company has started reserving some acreage, where they hand-harvest grapes to make wine under their own “Flying H” family brand.

Another is an experiment with a young scientist who is interested in fermentation as a tool for increasing food security. It came about as they discussed the possibility of using fruit from some old tangerine trees on the Aliso Ranch property. The variety that had no commercial market, but an experiment to make a tangerine vinegar has succeeded, and the much anticipated product is now available to the public. Customers are trying it out in cocktails and other culinary experiments.

Sharing the Experience

On departing from Aliso Ranch, we stop at the company’s newest holding, the Duval/Walnut Ranches, where exotic fruits are being planted and a vision is being nurtured that will honor the long family history of women who worked as teachers and educators.

“My idea is to create a series of experiences so you can come and learn about coffee and exotic citrus with a farmer or chef,” Armstrong explains as we walk through the hoop house where they plan to experiment with growing turmeric.

There is a sobering moment of pause as Armstrong turns his face to feel the ocean breeze and the scent of strawberries wafts through the air. “We want Ventura County to know that we’re proud to be part of this amazing agriculture community,” he says. “And with our long family history, we are clearly anchored to the land here.” The Hobson-Smith family, with fingers in just about every agricultural tradition and innovation, continues to plant seeds of regenerative hope into the soil and beyond.

For more reading on coffee growing in California: See “The Case for Couture Coffee” on EdibleVenturaCounty.com.

Camila Guzman is an environmental educator in Ventura County, studied environmental science and resource management with a focus on soil health at the University of Arizona and completed her Bachelor of Science degree at California State University, Channel Islands. She is also known as the Queen of Compost, and has dedicated the last four years to establishing Ventura’s first community compost.

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THE SARCASTIC GARDENER

Tips for dealing with slugs and snails

BY JOE SANTOS ILLUSTRATIONS BY JIM VALERI

So, you have snails and slugs in the garden? Me too. I decided to get ahead of the problem and think like a snail—but all I could think about was eating my garden and hiding in debris piles. Then I wondered: Are slugs homeless snails? Why do they leave trails of goo? Is that so they can find their way back home in the dark?

OK, that wasn’t working. Let’s talk about things that do. Have you heard of a beer trap? Slugs like beer. Really, they like anything yeasty. I’m not sure what that says about them. Maybe I don’t want to know.

If you put out a shallow plate or a jar lid full of beer, they will come. What happens is the slimy little things head over to the open bar, get a little wasted, fall in and end up drowning. It’s the best way to go. But they aren’t discerning, so feed them the cheap beer and keep the good stuff for yourself.

Don’t want to share your beer? Another option is to create a slug spa. You already offer the salad bar, might as well build the sauna. Just dig a six-inch-deep by four-inch-wide hole near your veggie victims, make sure it is moist and cover with something to make it dark, but be sure to leave a way in. They like dark damp spaces, making it an ideal way to attract them. After a day or two you should find some squatters there during daylight hours and can dispatch them at will.

For those of you with chickens, slugs and snails make them a tasty treat. It’s a pain to collect the li’l buggers, so just let the birds into the garden regularly to gobble up the pests. Watch that poultry, though— they also like to eat the greens. Ducks are better because they won’t eat

the vegetables, but you do run the risk of getting some of them trampled. One way to help solve this problem is to fit your chickens with night-vision goggles and a UV light and set them out in the garden at night when the slimies are usually out in public. The birds will be less likely to eat your plants with all the escargot plates available.

Maybe you’ve heard that salt can kill snails/slugs. Maybe you’ve even tried it. Yes, it works great if you sprinkle it on them directly, but you want to keep salt out of the soil. Otherwise they seem to avoid it. Does salt contribute to cholesterol? Maybe it causes water retention? We wouldn’t want bloated slugs.

No chickens and you don’t want to be a slug murderer? It’s fine, don’t feel bad. Simply wait until after midnight, collect as many of the slugs and snails as you can find and relocate them. I would pick a neighbor’s yard that is at least three houses down. If you want to be really kind to the buggies, make sure your neighbor has some sort of veggie garden.

My overall message here is to avoid using poisons that not only kill the slugs/snails but put the rest of the ecosystem at risk. So, just say no to slug pellets. There are other natural methods available. A quick web search will find other solutions that might be more to your liking.

Joe Santos is happily retired, which gives him lots of time for gardening and sarcasm. He is a former master gardener who now volunteers his time in a local homesteading group. His favorite garden-related activity is educating others while making life as fun as possible—for himself.

edible ojai & ventura county

Local Guide to Good Eats & Drinks

To join the guide, contact us at ads@edibleventuracounty.com

CAMARILLO

All Things Tea

European teahouse with certi ed Tea Specialist. Specialty loose-leaf teas from the nest plantations and gardens around the world. Cream Tea, Afternoon Tea and High Tea.

In Paseo Camarillo Center | 300 N. Lantana St., #37 | Camarillo | 805-445-8327 | Tea-Liteful.com

VENTURA

The Cave Restaurant & Ventura Wine Co. Sip, Dine, Shop, Wine Taste. Full Service Restaurant. 40 Wines by the Taste or Glass. Retail Wine Shop. Wine Club 4435 McGrath St., Ste. 301 | Ventura | 805-642-9449 | TheCaveVentura.com

Ventura Spirits

Since 2011, using the natural and agricultural bounty of California’s Central Coast to hand craft novel and delicious spirits.

3891 N. Ventura Ave. | Ventura | 805-232-4313 | VenturaSpirits.com

Onyx Bistro

Woman owned and operated, serving a casual but re ned seasonal menu made with locally sourced ingredients and paired with local craft beer and wine. Indoor and outdoor seating, live music on weekends, and brunch o ered Sundays. 2390 Las Posas Rd. Suite H | Camarillo 805-991-7356 | onyxbistrocamarillo.com

The Wine Closet

Wine lounge in Old Town Camarillo, featuring unique wines, craft beers, small plates, lunch and dinner. Weekly happy hours and featured wine tastings. Indoor and outdoor seating. The specialty market o ers retail sales of ne wines, craft brews, artisan cheeses and charcuterie. 2423 Ventura Blvd. | Camarillo | 805-746-5708 | WineClosetInc.com

Paradise Pantry

Food with a local emphasis, including great sandwiches, salads, mac ‘n’ cheese, gourmet goodies, a cheese counter and an extensive wine shop. Diners can also enjoy craft beers, wines by the glass or wine ights. 222 E. Main St. | Ventura | 805-641-9440 | ParadisePantry.com

Poseidon Brewing Company

A small, local, veteran-owned craft brewery making a variety of beer styles. Visit the tasting room or take a growler to go. 5777 Olivas Park Dr., Ste. Q | Ventura | 805-477-0239 |

PoseidonBrewingCo.com

mural at right by Phil

in the newly renovated Ojai Ice Cream. Read the story on page 28.

SANTA PAULA

Anna’s Ciders and Santa Paula Brewing Co.

Hard Cider Tasting Room in Downtown Santa Paula. Familyowned craft cider company producing dry & refreshing ciders. We serve food on our outdoor patio and are family friendly.

801 E. Main St. | Santa Paula | AnnasCider.com.

CONEJO VALLEY

Coin & Candor at Four Seasons Westlake Village

A seasonally inspired California brasserie featuring sophisticated casual indoor and outdoor space with stunning views of the Santa Monica Mountains. The menu presents locally sourced dishes that incorporate wood- red cooking techniques.

2 Dole Dr. | Westlake Village | 818-575-3044 | CoinAndCandor.com

NEWBURY PARK/OXNARD

Ox & Ocean

Tying into the unique makeup of California, Ox & Ocean serves locally sourced produce and seafood fresh from Oxnard’s plains and sea, celebrating a diverse in uence and distinct avors in an elegant, yet approachable fashion. 2101 Mandalay Beach Rd. | Oxnard | 805-984-2500 | OxandOcean.com.

FILLMORE

Roan Mills Bakery

California’s rst land-to-loaf bakery, Roan Mills grows the wheat, mills the our, bakes the bread and makes the pasta. Stop in at their bakery in historic downtown Fillmore and taste the di erence.

411 Central Ave. | Fillmore | RoanMills.com

SIMI VALLEY

Nectar of the Dogs Wine

Brand new wine tasting room on the west end of Simi Valley. Wines sourced locally in California with a portion of sales donated to local nonpro t dog rescue organizations.

791 Chambers Ln., Ste. 110 | Simi Valley 702-275-0482 | NectaroftheDogsWine.com

Freda’s Wood-Fired Pizza

Delicious NY-style and brick oven pizzas, sandwiches and salads. Dining, catering, pickup/delivery— and with two mobile wood- red ovens, we can bring the party to you!

3835 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village

NABU Wines

A member of the Malibu Coast wine trail, NABU makes wine from Napa Valley to the Malibu Coast. Live music and wine tasting every Saturday & Sunday noon–6pm.

2649 Townsgate Rd. | Westlake Village | 818-835-3704 | NabuWines.com

CATERING

Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters

Family owned and operated co ee shop and bakery with ethically sourced co ee, gluten-free pastries and excellent service.

111 N. Reino Rd. | Newbury Park 805-375-9000 | 550 Collection Blvd., Ste. 130 | Oxnard | 805-278-5837 | Ragamu nRoasters.com

Private Chef Robin

Robin Goldstein is a California chef who works her culinary magic combining unique avors and seasonal ingredients with classic techniques inspired by her extensive travel around the Mediterranean.  PrivateChefRobin.com

Affogato

“The magic of an a ogato is that even a bad one can be very good, but a very good one can change your life.”

—Eric Kim,

New York Times Magazine

noun. (ä-fō- gä-( )tō)

AKA

A ogato: A delicious Italian dessert made by pouring fresh espresso over vanilla ice cream or gelato. AKA “a ogato al ca e” (drowned in co ee).

Fact: The first known use of “a ogato”

Fun Fact was 31 years ago. (Source: Miriam-Webster Dictionary)

Make Your Own Affogato

Make this DIY a ogato or head to one of the many co ee houses and restaurants that serves them in Ventura County.

1 double-shot hot espresso, preferably from organic beans

2 scoops high-quality vanilla gelato or ice cream splash of liqueur, such as Amaretto, Frangelico or Kahlua

Optional:

Scoop gelato or ice cream into a small glass. Gently pour espresso over the gelato or ice cream. Top with liqueur, if using. Serve immediately.

Illustration by Ramiah Chu