Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County
One of TIME magazine’s “100 most influential people of 2010” talks to us about his garden, cooking and his upcoming lecture in Santa Barbara An Interview with
Wild Yeast Bread Profound Pairings A Passion for Spices
Edible Books
12 Edible Garden: It’s Time to Plant Blueberries
14 Quail Springs: Bringing Permaculture to Santa Barbara County and Beyond
16 Edible Nation: The Reign of Terroir
20 Edible Santa Barbara Dining Guide
22 Profound Pairings: Winemakers Savor the Relationship Between Wine and Food
28 What the Grownups Are Drinking
30 An Interview with Michael Pollan
34 Baking Bread with Wild Yeast
40 Have Your Foods Got Culture?
44 A Frondness for Fennel: A Tasty Multipurposer Grows in Your Garden
48 Living the Plastic Challenge
50 A Passion for Spices
54 Edible Source Guide and Edible Events
56 The Last Bite Recipes in This Issue Soups
47 Potato, Leek and Fennel Soup
52 Roasted Carrot and Cumin Soup
Salads and Side Dishes
42 Coconut Yogurt and Coconut Kefir
42 Cashew Nut Cheese
52 Herb Quinoa Salad with Curry Vinaigrette
41 Sauerkraut
37 Wild Yeast Sourdough Bread
Main Dishes
52 Black Cod with Fresh Herb and Za’atar Rub
8 Savory Bread Pudding
Desserts
53 Pear and Ginger Cake
9 Sweet Bread Pudding
It’s a beautiful time to be in Santa Barbara. Winter brings those bright sunny days alternating with periods of rain and the occasional light dusting of snow on the mountains. It’s the time of year when the hills turn green, our gardens crank out the kale and our trees grow heavy with citrus.
It’s also a time to cozy up to warm kitchens—to cook, perchance to bake bread. If you love to bake bread or have just dreamed about it, you will want to read Nancy Oster’s piece on baking bread with wild yeast. Or perhaps you’ll try your hand at some of the fermented foods that Janice Cook Knight writes about or the spice-infused recipes from Pascale Beale-Groom’s article. This issue is filled with nice wintery comfort food.
You won’t want to stay inside all the time. This winter Santa Barbara seems to be a mecca for influential people in the food world. We have the Edible Institute on January 29–30. This will be an entire weekend of talks, workshops and local food and wine tastings featuring some of the local food movement’s most influential thinkers, writers and producers from all over country. I hope you’ll join us for this exciting event.
I’m also looking forward to Michael Pollan’s visit to Santa Barbara on February 10. The first book I read of his, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, changed the way I thought about food and food writing. So I was thrilled to interview him for this issue and talk with him about everything from what is growing in his garden to what he will be writing about next. We also talked quite a bit about cooking, and I think that is one thing that all of us can do more of: invite people into our kitchens and cook. It’s not a bad way to spend some of the beautiful days and chilly nights of winter.
Krista Harris, Editor
About the Cover
Photographer Fran Collin captures an image of Michael Pollan in his garden. Fran worked in New York for 20 years before moving back to Carpinteria (Brooks grad ‘82). His work has been published in Food&Wine, Eating Light and New York Magazine. In addition, he has worked with City Meals on Wheels and some of the most gifted chefs in the world, with an ongoing portrait series at work-for-food.com
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PUBLISHERS
Steven Brown & Krista Harris
EDITOR
Krista Harris
RECIPE EDITOR
Nancy Oster
COPY EDITOR
Doug Adrianson
CONSULTING EDITOR
Laura Sanchez
DESIGNER
Steven Brown
WEB DESIGN
Mary Ogle
Contributors
Erin Adams
Pascale Beale-Groom
Joan S. Bolton
Fran Collin
Macduff Everton
Erin Feinblatt
Rowan Jacobsen
Janice Cook Knight
Laura Lindsey
Diane Murphy
Nancy Oster
Carol Penn-Romine
Taylor Ross
Laura Sanchez
Carole Topalian
Contact Us
info@ediblesantabarbara.com
Advertising Inquiries
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Edible Santa Barbara ® is published quarterly and distributed throughout Santa Barbara County. Subscription rate is $28 annually. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from the publisher. Publisher expressly disclaims all liability for any occurrence which may arise as a consequence of the use of any recipes. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention please accept our sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.
© 2010 edible Santa Barbara
When the Community Environmental Council throws a party, you can bet it will be a green one. Last October they hit new levels of greenness with their woodland-themed extravaganza. The outdoor plaza of Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort was transformed into an enchanted forest glen by event planner Merryl Brown and designer Tricia Fountaine. Reusable décor, props and trees were donated by Eye of the Day, Cal-Western Landscape and Wilson Landscape. Green Project Consultants provided the waste audit, and 97% of the waste produced by the event was diverted from the landfill to recycling or a food waste composting facility. The party was a winning combination of delicious food, wonderful music (including special guest Kenny Loggins) and the opportunity to support an organization that champions local environmental causes. It might not be too early to mark your calendar for next year’s event in October 2011.
For more information visit cecsb.org and merrylbrownevents.com
Curious about cured meats? There’s an exciting new iPhone app that can clarify any carnivore’s questions. The Salumi app (available for $1.99 from iTunes) was developed by C’est Cheese co-owner Michael Graham and local programmer David Wagner. The app, considered the world’s most comprehensive pocket guide on the subject, is a well-researched resource that outlines the flavor, meat cut, country of origin and curing methods of a hundred different products.
While Graham is passionate about all things porcine (he is, after all, a proud bacon-of-the-month club member), helping folks explore cured meats of all kinds— from speck to smoked salmon—is his ultimate goal. And with the increased appearance of artisanal salumi on restaurant menus, the new app is especially helpful for deciphering menu items.
“Salumi reflects our food culture and history,” Graham explains. “Curing, after all, started as a practical food preservation method that just happens to taste really good.”
For more information or to download the app, go to the App Store on your iPhone.
Interested in making your next party a little greener? Whether it’s a holiday gettogether or a Super Bowl party, Green Project Consultants now offers a package that makes it incredibly easy on you and the planet. They deliver a box to you with all the compostable service ware you’ll need (plates, bowls, forks, spoons, napkins, etc.), signage and a box for all the waste. Put everything in the box at the end of the party, and they’ll come pick it up. They make sure that everything gets composted at a commercial composting facility, which can take all your food-related material (even bones, meat and dairy) along with the compostable-ware. Each kit is for 25 people and costs $60 for Edible readers, including delivery and pickup. For more information visit greenprojectconsultants.com
It’s estimated that each year 54 million children are affected by malnutrition. Through its ultraeffective outreach programs, Vitamin Angels, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit, offers children worldwide the nutrients they need. And in doing so, the organization demonstrates how pebbles cast locally can generate far-reaching ripples.
Vitamin Angels’ Operation 20/20 program provides infants and children with two annual doses of vitamin A supplements and antiparasitics—a combination proven to prevent blindness, boost immune function and reduce childhood mortality rates by 23%. And according to the organization, it costs 25 cents to reach one child for one year. Their Thrive to Five program reaches children under five and pregnant and lactating mothers with multivitamins to improve health before and after birth. By supporting Vitamin Angels in their meaningful work, each of us has the opportunity to cast a few pebbles of our own and help more children worldwide live to their fullest potential.
For more information, visit vitaminangels.org
Shu and Debby Takikawa and Noey Turk are known for their farm’s year-round fresh, organic produce, spring vegetable seedlings and summer flowers. But now you can add prepared food to the delectable items available at their farmers market booth. Soups, vegetables and even baby food are now being prepared from their produce by BR Chefs. The offerings will change with the seasons. This winter try the creamy but light potato leek soup or the flavorful squash soup. Everything is packaged in reusable glass jars, with a $1 deposit so you’ll keep bringing them back each week.
Julia Child once said “How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?” Thankfully D’Angelo’s Bakery (which was one of her haunts) has perfected all manner of breads, none of which remotely suggests a bland white tissue. We tasted four delicious breads that just might sustain you all winter long.
Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, whole-wheat flour, water, sourdough, wheat germ, sea salt, rye flour.
Uses: Your all-purpose, go-to bread. Serve with soups or any meal, make sandwiches from it, toast it for crostini and save any surviving scraps for breadcrumbs. This beautifully textured and springy sourdough loaf has a nice tanginess to it and is incredibly satisfying.
Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, whole-wheat flour, water, sourdough, rye flour, wheat germ, sea salt, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, yeast.
Uses: Serve with cheese or hummus or try it in a savory bread pudding. Some love it toasted for breakfast with a little olive oil and honey. The distinctive rosemary flecks and subtle lemon essence make this bread a real treat. It stands on its own, and yet it combines with other flavors harmoniously.
The Garden of….. is at the Tuesday and Saturday farmers markets in Santa Barbara and the Wednesday market in Solvang.
Ingredients: Unbleached wheat flour, water, rye flour, rye sourdough, walnuts, sea salt. Uses: Delicious with creamy cheeses, it also makes the most wonderful sweet bread pudding or French toast. The rye gives it a slight tartness and the walnuts give it extra richness, which is surprising in a bread. No butter needed.
Ingredients: Whole-rye flour, whole-wheat flour, water, sourdough, buckwheat, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, brown sesame seeds, rolled oats, honey, whole hazelnuts, sea salt, yeast.
Uses: It makes an incredible Reuben sandwich and pairs nicely with both beer and wine and perhaps a nice aged cheddar. Named in honor of the man who brought us Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture and a unique brand of philosophy, this is a bread that inspires healthy living. It is hearty, moist, rich and delicious.
D’Angelo’s Bakery is located at 25 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara. Open daily 7:30am–2pm. 805 962-5466.
Almonds (harvested Aug/Sept)
Apples (harvested July–Oct)
Artichokes
Arugula
Avocados
Bay leaf
Beans, dried
Beets
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Cherimoya
Chiles (various)
Cilantro
Collards
Dandelion
Dates (harvested Sept/Oct)
Dill
Fennel
Garlic (harvested May/June)
Grapefruit
Honey
Kale
Kiwi
Leeks
Lemons
Lettuce
Limes
Mustard greens
Onions, green bunching
Onions, bulb (harvested May/June)
Oranges, blood, navel, Valencia
Parsley
Peas, snap
Pistachios (harvested Sept/Oct)
Potatoes (harvested May/June)
Radishes
Raisins (harvested Sept/Oct)
Rosemary
Sage
Spinach
Sprouts and legumes
Squash, winter (hard) (harvested July/Oct)
Strawberries
Sweet potatoes (harvested Aug/Sept)
Tangerines/Mandarins
Tomatoes, hothouse
Turnips
Walnuts (harvested Sept/Oct)
Yams (harvested Aug/Sept)
Fresh Flowers
Potted Plants/Herbs
Local Cheese
(full selection of certified organic goat- and cow-milk cheeses, butters, curds, yogurts and spreads)
Locally Produced Breads, Pies and Preserves
(bread produced from wheat grown in Santa Ynez; pies and preserves)
Local Meat
(antibiotic-free chicken, duck, Cornish game hens, rabbit, grass-fed/hormone-free beef and pork)
Local Seafood
Many types of local seafood are available year round, but here is a list of some that will be in season this winter:
Squid
Sardines
Anchovies
Urchins
Rock crab
Prawns
Lobster
California halibut
Rockfish
Black cod
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 small bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves cut in thin slices
1⁄ 4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cut bread into 1-inch cubes to loosely fill an 8-inch soufflé dish or 2 quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the dry mustard, salt and pepper. Add the bread cubes and combine until bread is thoroughly moistened. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped parsley and set aside.
In a sauté pan over medium heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until softened. Add the kale and a little salt. Reduce heat, cover and cook until kale is tender, 5 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the leaves. Add a little water to the pan if it dries out.
Place half of the bread mixture in the baking dish, then add the kale and onion mixture. Then add the remaining bread mixture. Top with the grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pudding is set and lightly browned on top. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Kale may be grown year round, but it really comes into its own all winter long when this hearty green finds its way into soups, gets roasted in the oven or is the starring ingredient in a savory bread pudding.
Makes 6 servings
3⁄ 4 loaf or about 1⁄ 2 pound of day-old bread
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1⁄ 4 teaspoon salt
1⁄ 4 teaspoon dry mustard
Black pepper
4 ounces grated cheese (gruyere or cheddar)
1⁄ 4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Olive oil
1 onion or 2–3 leeks, white portion only, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
We look forward to winter as the citrus months when all the wonderful varieties show up in the markets. Oranges might be the most versatile: Eat them fresh, use them in salads, juice them or use both the juice and the zest in this sweet bread pudding.
Makes 6 servings
3⁄ 4 loaf or about 1⁄ 2 pound of day-old bread
2 large oranges or 3 small ones
1⁄ 4 cup limoncello or Grand Marnier
1⁄ 2 cup dried cherries or raisins
1⁄ 4 cup chopped walnuts (leave out if you are using walnut bread)
3 eggs
1⁄ 2 cup granulated or superfine sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups half and half (or 1 cup cream and 1 cup whole milk)
A little turbinado sugar (optional)
Cut bread into 1-inch cubes to loosely fill an 8-inch soufflé dish or 2 quart baking dish. Remove the zest from the oranges and set aside. Juice the oranges until you have about 1⁄ 2 cup juice.
In a small heavy saucepan add the orange juice and limoncello or Grand Marnier and the dried cherries. Heat over medium heat until the fruit is plump and tender, then pour it over the bread cubes along with the orange zest and walnuts.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar and salt. Add the half and half and whisk vigorously until well combined. Pour over the bread mixture and press down to submerge the bread cubes. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°.
Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top of the bread pudding and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the pudding is set and lightly browned on top. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.
SUNDAYS
Camino Real Marketplace In Goleta at Storke & Hollister 10:00am – 2:00pm
TUESDAYS
Old Town Santa Barbara
500 & 600 Blocks of State Street 3:00pm – 6:30pm
WEDNESDAYS
Solvang Village
Copenhagen Drive & 1st Street 2:30pm – 6:00pm
Harding Elementary School 1625 Robbins Street 3:00pm – 6:30pm
THURSDAYS
Camino Real Marketplace
In Goleta at Storke & Hollister
3:00pm – 6:00pm
Carpinteria
800 Block of Linden Avenue 3:00pm – 6:30pm
FRIDAYS
Montecito
1100 & 1200 Block of Coast Village Road 8:00am – 11:15am
SATURDAYS
Downtown Santa Barbara Corner of Santa Barbara & Cota Streets 8:30am – 1:00pm
Is there anything better than curling up with a good cookbook on a rainy day? Grab a cup of tea and cozy up to this selection of our picks and visit ediblesantabara.com for even more selections.
(Olive Tree)
By Pascale Beale-Groom
72 pages, hardback: $29.95
Number of recipes: 28; 8 menus
The fourth in Pascale Beale-Groom’s
A Menu for All Seasons series, Winter continues the seasonal and local theme with her trademark fusion of Californian, French and Mediterranean cuisine. The Winter book has recipes neatly arranged in menus, so you can easily plan your next dinner party. You might try the menu that includes Goat Cheese, Caramelized Shallot and Smoked Salmon Tartlets; Mache Salad; Wild Mushroom Ragout and Apple Spice Layer Cake with Meyer Lemon Cream. The beautiful photography makes it a coffee table book, but the tried and true recipes mean that it will often be in your kitchen. This is the perfect book for anyone who loves to cook and entertain, and it’s a must for those who are looking to complete their set of this delicious series.
(Nichols Brothers Restaurant Inc.)
By Matt and Jeff Nichols with James O. Fraioli
242 pages, hardback: $34.95
Number of recipes: 145
Matt and Jeff Nichols are brothers, chefs and co-founders of the wellknown Brothers Restaurant at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos. After countless requests for their recipes, they decided to put them together with their story into a beautifully photographed cookbook. The food is real wine country comfort food with things like Jalapeño Cornbread, Pinot Noir–Braised Short Ribs and Warm Olallieberry Pie with White-Chocolate-Olallieberry-Swirl Ice Cream. They don’t forget critical basics like Chicken Stock and Port Wine Sauce either. There really is nothing in this book that you wouldn’t want to cook. It also makes a great gift for someone who has been to Brothers Restaurant or simply loves good food.
(Wiley)
By Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian
Foreword by Michael Ableman
324 pages, hardcover: $29.95
Number of recipes: 75
We could not put together this list without mentioning the Edible book. As members of Edible Communities, we know we are biased, but this book is a real treasure. Drawing from many of the 60+ Edible magazines, the book is a collection of beautiful photography and inspiring profiles of farms and food artisans from all over North America. It’s a cookbook to read. But don’t get so caught up in reading that you don’t try some of the delicious recipes, like the Brew-Braised Lamb Shanks with Apple Butter and Sauerkraut or the Squash, Mushroom and Sage Strata, or for dessert how about Chocolate–Brown Ale Cake with Cream Cheese Icing? Treat yourself to this book; you won’t regret it.
(Artisan)
By David Tanis
344 pages, hardcover: $35.00
Number of recipes and rituals: 112
This book is organized in a novel and intriguing way. Author David Tanis (of Chez Panisse fame and author of the acclaimed A Platter of Figs) describes three types of cooking—small, medium and large. The first part of the book is about his quirky small cooking moments, private rituals in the kitchen such as peeling an apple or pasta for one. The second section of the book is made up of seasonal menus for family and friends, with delicious menus such as one for winter that includes Savory Baked Eggs in Filo, Fragrant Lamb with Prunes and Almonds and Blood Oranges and Pomegranates with Orange Flower Water. The last section is for those larger gatherings, titled “Simple Feasts for a Long Table.” If you are throwing a dinner party for 12 or 20, these are the kinds of recipes you want: Artichoke Antipasto, Roast Suckling Pig Italian-Style with Roman Potatoes, Salad of Fennel and Bitter Greens, Almond Cookies and a Bowl of Cherries. This is a book for every cookbook lover’s collection.
by Joan S. Bolton
Fingers, lips and tongue stained blue, plus a wickedly satisfied smile—all while standing in the garden.
Those are telltale signs that you’ve spotted another convert to growing blueberries. Home-grown, the fresh berries are so delicious that they often don’t make it to the table.
Blueberries have long been the domain of Easterners and colder climes. But a new strain of bushes is gaining traction in warmer areas across the West.
The two tricks to success are choosing the right type and going overboard with soil prep.
Traditional blueberries are northern highbush types, which require deep freezes and go deadly dormant during winter. New southern highbush varieties are low-chill and produce fruit in mild climates. Some, including Misty and Sunshine Blue, are even evergreen, forming shrubs that are so pretty year-round that they can be used in place of conventional plantings throughout the garden.
The best planting time is January through March. Whether you buy locally or by mail, be sure to select southern highbush. At local nurseries, I’ve found Jubilee, Misty, O’Neal, Sharpblue and Sunshine Blue.
While Misty is my favorite, I grow all five. Blueberries don’t require a companion type to bear fruit, but you’ll get a better yield if your bushes can cross-pollinate. Also, by growing different types, you may harvest berries off and on from February through
October. And you’ll discover the many sizes, colors and flavors, which range from pea-sized to marble-sized, from light to dark blue and from juicy sweet to quite tart.
Special soil prep is mandatory. While southern highbush varieties thrive in our climate, they have not lost their parent plant’s basic need for fertile, fast-draining, acid soil. To put it plainly, our soil tends toward alkaline, with a pH ranging from 6.5 to 7.5. Yet blueberries prefer a pH of 5.5 or less.
If you don’t push the acid, you’re likely to have punky plants and little—if any—fruit. Raised beds, mounds and large containers all provide an opportunity to create that perfect blend from scratch.
In my garden, I’ve had good luck with a beefy mix of peat moss, sulfur and well-aged compost. For my six bushes, which are planted in a raised redwood bed, I dug holes 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep; mixed the excavated soil, which was already heavily amended heavy clay, with an equal amount of peat moss; tossed in a handful of sulfur and a few shovelfuls of kitchen compost; then planted each bush an inch high, to allow for settling.
Blueberries need ongoing irrigation and they appreciate decomposing organic material. So I shaped broad basins around each plant and mulched with a couple of inches of homemade compost.
If you grow your bushes in containers, Dave Wilson Nursery, a commercial grower that offers nine varieties of southern highbush blueberries, advises a mix of equal parts coarse peat moss, ¼-inch
pathway bark and leaf mold—or forest humus-based potting soil; and 2 tablespoons of soil sulfur. Another favored planting medium is equal parts peat moss, azalea-camellia mix and coconut coir, redwood compost or other organic matter.
Do not let your blueberries dry out. They like moisture yearround, and peat can be difficult to re-wet. Plan to soak the bed once a week and replenish the mulch once or twice a year. I rebuild my basins with peat moss as well, for extra acidity. Containergrown blueberries like mulch, too. But even with mulch, they may need watering two or three times a week during hot spells.
Wait until spring to fertilize. Then apply an acid-based fertilizer every month or two until fall. Use a product that contains humic acid or is designed for azaleas and camellias. Avoid high nitrogen. Ammonium sulfate (not ammonium nitrate) and iron chelate are OK in small doses. Coffee grounds work well, too.
Whatever the product, thoroughly water it in. Don’t use a cultivator, as it can damage the tiny, fibrous roots that lie just below the surface.
Blueberries don’t need much, other than nipping back the occasional wayward branch. While some tags claim the bushes grow four to six feet tall and wide, my 3-year-olds have stayed in the two- to three-foot range. I’ve corralled them in large tomato cages to make the fruit easier to reach.
But the bushes are infinitely prunable. If you plant three or four blueberries in the same, large container, you’ll need to prune more often, to keep the branches from becoming overcrowded. Each individual bush won’t produce as heavily. But you’ll make up for it with a greater variety of berries.
Early- and late-season blueberries can be agonizingly slow to ripen. But wait until the berries are fully swollen and have darkened to their target color before picking. That usually seems to be about five seconds before they fall off, or about 10 seconds after the birds have swooped in.
Net your shrubs to thwart the birds. With practice, you’ll then have time to identify that perfect picking moment.
Daily harvests may range from a few berries on a new bush to a generous handful on an older one. By their second year, my two Mistys at their peak produced enough berries to fill a cereal bowl twice a week. From which we often stood in the garden and ate, rather than bowing to any silly etiquette that would have required us to sit down, inside.
and herbs year-round. SantaBarbaraGardens.com
by Taylor Ross
In this era of green living, words like “sustainability” and “Permaculture” abound. But what do they mean? Quail Springs, a 450-acre, hands-on farm and learning center is helping people find out. At Quail Springs anyone from the environmentally curious to the ecologically experienced can participate in the development of a sustainable farm and nursery.
Though Quail Springs is only 32 miles from downtown Santa Barbara as the crow flies, the long winding drive to get there passes through Ojai. Founded in 2004 by Warren Brush and Cynthia Harvan, Quail Springs Learning Oasis and Permaculture Farm is located in the upper Cuyama Valley and named after the on-site spring, which flows at 25 gallons per day after the farm’s restoration work, despite being almost dry six years ago. Originally home to the Chumash, the land was donated by a Santa Barbara family foundation, and now it has become the ideal setting for the caretaking and development work that Quail Springs is committed to. Quail Springs considers sustainable
systems as producing more energy than they consume and defines Permaculture as a method of designing and building sustainable human settlements by mimicking the earth’s natural systems.
“We’re trying to figure out how to live on this land in a sustainable, respectful way,” says Brush. “I believe the harmony of nature supersedes anything we could design.”
In keeping with the reigning motto of Permaculture, which is “care of the earth, care of the people and fair-share ethic,” Brush says, “Our idea is to build community by sharing abundance.”
So Quail Springs reaches out to Santa Barbara County residents with everything from worm composting workshops to food sampling events, farm tours and on-site classes.
The Permaculture Design Certification courses offer home design, waste cycling and water harvesting, and they include a certificate in Permaculture design. In the Farm and Garden Internships, students learn about a variety of topics including
animal husbandry, harvesting, butchering and cheese making.
The Sustainable Vocations Program offers green job training and leadership opportunities for youth participants (ages 15–24).
“The program is nourishing,” says 18-year-old participant Elizabeth Houghton. “I have learned how to make roofs and jam, to clean and butcher chicken, and how to garden. I see myself spreading this knowledge. It’d be a shame to keep it locked up in me.”
“Life is a lot less complicated for people after they’ve been here,” says three-year resident and Quail Springs handyman Chris Eiseman. “They bring that back to their communities. We each have the power to do something. Here you learn: This is what I can do.”
“I believe that all the problems of the world can be solved in a garden.”
With its motto of “no longer starving our grandchildren to feed our children,” Quail Springs has done just that with the creation of a 200-year plan. By the year 2012, Quail Springs intends to facilitate Permaculture Design Courses in local high schools. By the year 2013, cattle will be introduced to the farm, and Quail Springs will promote ranching grass-fed beef in a way that regenerates the land. The farm will sell monthly surplus at an onsite stand in 2017, and Quail Springs will publish a book in 2018. By 2060, the farm will have planted tens of thousands of trees and in 2200, “Earth, our primary client, is flourishing. The erosion process has been reversed. Our community has abundant resources and culture. We are linked with other bioregions across the coast, and we share and feed each other rather than fight.” Says Brush, “I believe that all the problems of the world can be solved in a garden.”
In October Quail Springs was hit by a devastating storm causing two days of major flooding. No people or farm animals were injured, but the entire garden, pond and much of the infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. With a flood recovery budget of approximately $100,000, Quail Springs will be reaching out to the community for support. Rebuilding has already begun with the help of contributions from supporters across the globe. To find out more about how you can help, visit quailsprings.org.
Taylor Ross is a freelance writer whose work has been published in Santa Barbara Magazine and CASA Magazine. She calls herself a “foodie” with her mom and sister in their exploration of and obsession with food. Her favorite dishes are her mother’s homemade chickenand-rice mushroom stew and family recipe potstickers (dumplings). pennedpennies.blogspot.com.
by Rowan Jacobsen
The term terroir has been used by different people in very different ways, and there is still a lot of confusion about what it includes. For example, locavores tend to get enthusiastic about terroir as a means for promoting local foods, but regionalism, tradition, and terroir are not the same thing. Manhattan clam chowder, Montreal bagels, and Seattle coffee are not examples of terroir. Cajun gumbo is, as it’s a dish that evolved to celebrate the best of what the land had to offer (crayfish, sassafras leaves, and so on). And though tradition is often a good indicator of terroir, especially in Europe, where they have had centuries to work out which agricultural products do best in a given place, terroir need not be traditional. Some of the best American wines come from new and surprising places with no grape-growing history.
To understand how the idea of terroir has morphed, why it has such power, and why it is only now being embraced in America, it helps to know the history of the concept, which is undoubtedly as old as agriculture itself, or possibly older. Did early hunter-gatherers notice that the shellfish near the mouth of a bay were saltier than those near the head, or that the fruit in the south-facing valley was bigger than that on the shaded, north-facing slopes? How could they not? From there, it’s an easy path to detecting increasingly fine distinctions from increasingly specific locales, and then to endlessly debating their respective merits.
Although the French get credit for concretizing the term, they certainly have no monopoly on the concept. The Greeks of 2,500 years ago favored wines from the Aegean islands of Chios and Thásos. The Thasians even had rules governing the production and distribution of their wines that are not unfamiliar to today’s French appellations. The Thasians dried the grapes they used to make wine and boiled the must to produce a high- alcohol, sweet, nearly black wine of excellent repute. The wine could not be watered down before shipment (as was done with many other wines). The amphorae that carried the wine (also made on Thásos) even had to be of a uniform size. As a rule, the Greek and Egyptian wine trade stamped any amphorae with the location and vintage of the wine it contained. People cared.
If the concept of terroir was alive and well in ancient Rome, it still took the French, with their fondness for regulations and hierarchy, to systematize it. In the Middle Ages, many of the best vineyards in Burgundy were carefully worked by Cistercian monks, whose standards were impeccable. They made their best wines from the Pinot Noir grape, and Burgundy wine developed quite a name, thanks to their efforts.
Over time, certain regions of France developed fine reputations for their wines, and some of these areas even became synonymous with the wines. Champagne is the most famous example, and in fact the Champagne vignerons were the first to seek name protection from the French government, in the early 1900s. Of course, lots of other places could produce a sparkling white wine if they tried, and they did, calling it “champagne,” which to many people was synonymous with sparkling wine. Thus the Champagne houses desired to protect their brand. They made a good case. Their region had a unique climate and
an unusual chalky soil created by marine organisms sixty- five million years earlier. It couldn’t be “Champagne” unless it came from Champagne. The government agreed.
Today, in continuing efforts to regulate quality, the rules sometimes cover everything from allowable yields to aging techniques. Starting in 1990, they also expanded beyond wine to protect everything from Camembert cheese and Bresse chickens to Corsican honey and even Puy lentils. Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Germany all have adopted similar systems.
Yet these traditions, as codified in the appellation systems of Europe, can also be stultifying. Because the ingredients and techniques for making things like Champagne and Roquefort cheese are set by law, nothing changes. Innovation is rare. It’s reassuring to know that Roquefort will always be Roquefort, but it’s also predictable.
In America things are different. Perhaps because we have less history, because we are immigrants and our connections to the land aren’t so rooted in family ancestry, we are less interested in what the land has been or has meant and are more excited about what it can do. If our terroir is immature, it’s also youthful, with all the energy and exuberance that brings. If you want to tour the museum of old terroir masterpieces, go to France and Italy. If you want to visit the galleries where new artists are trying new things, look around America.
Indeed, something extraordinary and unprecedented is happening.
You see it in more and more food markets, farmers’ markets, and restaurants: a spontaneous upwelling of passion for beautiful foods and the way they are made. Most observers thought that the artisan food movement would come and go, that people would tire of the expense and inconvenience and return to the supermarket. They didn’t understand that the trend was answering a deep, pent-up desire. Though this passion feels new, it began, like so many other contemporary trends in American society, with the seismic shifts of the 1960s.
In the United States, characteristically, the reaffirmation of the countryside came from a rebellion against government, first in the back-to-the-land movement of the forties and fifties, and then in its love child, the sixties. From naked hippies on Tennessee communes to virtually naked vegetables on plates served at Berkeley, California’s Chez Panisse, a new veneration of the land and the simple life arose. Earthy was in.
Yet, in a way, it didn’t take. Sure, we reminisced about our Bohemian youth and went to Chez Panisse for a special treat, but meanwhile our diet and lifestyle were getting farther and farther from any connection to place. We lived in cookie-cutter suburbs and ate at Chi-Chi’s. Even if we were part of the minority who still cooked regularly, we used supermarket ingredients that, in the process of being moved around the world, had had their identity whitewashed as completely as any participant in the witness protection program.
And it wasn’t terribly satisfying. I believe that our recent interest in the terroir of wine—and, by extension, of local food—is simply one manifestation of a much more fundamental desire. Maybe you have to be disconnected from the earth for a generation or two to truly appreciate the profundity of being connected to it.
Or maybe you just have to be burned enough times by the current system. As Mateo Kehler, cheese maker at Jasper Hill Farms in Vermont put it, “the whole industrial food system is failing. It’s hugely successful on one level, and on another you’ve got salmonella-tainted tomatoes and E. coli spinach.” When a single E. coli -laden hamburger bought at Sam’s Club, as documented by the New York Times, contains fresh fatty edges from Omaha, lean trimmings from old cows in Texas, frozen trimmings from cattle in Uruguay, and heated, centrifuged, and ammonia-treated carcass remnants from South Dakota, maybe it’s time to start paying attention. Maybe it’s only natural to feel that a single food should come from a single place and taste like it.
When most of us were more or less responsible for getting our own food, whether farming or foraging, reading the landscape was essential to survival. Understanding how it worked, and how to work with it, was no elitist activity. At the core, our interest in terroir is an enduring desire to partner with a landscape, survive on it, and live well.
At some level, our survival still depends on somebody knowing how to nurture the many living things we depend on. Most of us have outsourced this knowledge to thousands of rural people we will never know, but that doesn’t mean we are any freer from the earth. It just means we can no longer make the connections. Ultimately, that’s what meaning is—grasping the connections between things.
We are some of the first people in history not to have builtin connections to the land we inhabit, not to be able to take comfort and pleasure in its verities. Paying attention to terroir is one of the best and most enjoyable ways to reestablish the relationship. It can teach us much about who we are, why we like what we like, and how we go about living on this earth. It can allow us to rediscover a romance that is exhilarating, fortifying, and real.
Rowan Jacobsen writes about food, the environment, and the connections between the two. His work has appeared in the Art of Eating, the New York Times, Harper’s, Newsweek, Eating Well, and elsewhere. He is the author of the James Beard Award-winning A Geography of Oysters, Fruitless Fall, and The Living Shore.
Selected from American Terroir by permission of Bloomsbury USA. Copyright © 2010 by Rowan Jacobsen.
SANTA BARBA RA
Santa Barbara County has its own unique food traditions—from Santa Maria barbecue to Santa Barbara spot prawns and the world-class local wines that accompany them—so we’d like to help you find some of the area restaurants that create the distinctively Santa Barbara dining experience. Restaurants are chosen for this dining guide because of their emphasis on using local, seasonal ingredients in their menus and their commitment to real food.
Backyard Bowls
331 Motor Way
Santa Barbara 805 845-5379
5668 Calle Real Goleta 805 770-2730 backyardbowls.com
Santa Barbara’s most innovative breakfast and lunch spot featuring Acai Bowls—bowls of a thick smoothie made from acai, an antioxidant-rich berry, topped with fresh fruit, granola and other toppings. They also offer oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies and more. Mon–Fri 7am–6pm; Sat–Sun 8am–6pm. Bouchon
9 W. Victoria St.
Santa Barbara 805 730-1160 bouchonsantabarbara.com
Bouchon sources all of its ingredients using an “as-fresh-and-as-local-as-possible” approach, and Chef Greg Murphy is a familiar sight at the local farmers markets. Experience fine dining, excellent regional wines and relaxed service in a warm, inviting ambience. Private dining in the Cork Room is available for groups of 10–20. Dinner nightly from 5:30pm.
Coast Restaurant
31 W. Carrillo St.
Santa Barbara 805 879-9100 canarysantabarbara.com
Coast Restaurant and Bar offers savory, accessible comfort food in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara at the Canary Hotel. The food at Coast reflects Santa Barbara’s plentiful bounty of local seafood and farmers market produce. Restaurant serving 7am–10pm daily. Bar open Mon–Thurs 11am–11pm and Fri–Sat 11am–midnight.
Pizza Guru
3534 State St. Santa Barbara 805 563-3250 pizzaguru.com
Locally owned and operated, Pizza Guru serves traditional and eccentric gourmet pizzas, salads, panini and pastas made fresh daily from locally sourced, organic ingredients. They also specialize in vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free pizzas. Monday–Saturday 11am–9:30pm, Sunday 11:30–8:30pm.
134 E. Cañon Perdido St.
Santa Barbara 805 965-7922
sojournercafe.com
The Sojourner has been serving unique dishes created with wholesome natural ingredients for over 30 years. They purchase organic produce from local growers, carry local wines and beers and are known for their innovative desserts. Serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Open daily 11am–11pm, Sun 11am–10pm.
230 E. Victoria St. Santa Barbara 805 966-7759 spiritlandbistro.com
Spiritland Bistro serves organic world cuisine with a local flair, healthfully prepared and artfully presented. They are dedicated to locally sourced organic produce, sustainable seafood and meat, and in addition to traditional fare, they provide a wide range of options for vegan, vegetarian and raw diets. Open daily for lunch 11:30am–2pm and dinner Sun–Thur 5:30–9pm and Fri–Sat 5:30–10pm.
The Wine Cask
813 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara 805 966-9463
winecask.com
The Wine Cask Restaurant offers fine dining in their exquisite Gold Room and the Wine Cask Bar Café offers casual dining in the courtyard, patio or by their cozy fireplace. Their food is sourced from area farms and local purveyors. They also have a tasting room where you can sample some of the finest wines of Santa Barbara County. Restaurant nightly from 5:30pm; bar and café Mon–Fri 11am–10pm, Sat–Sun 4–10pm; Tasting Room daily noon–6pm.
bouchon santa barbara
Avant Tapas and Wine
35 Industrial Way
Buellton 805 686-9400
avantwines.com
Avant offers a selection of savory tapas, gourmet pizzas and desserts that are the perfect counterpoint to the over 30 wines available for tasting at their state-of-the-art production facility. Open Thur–Sun 11am–8pm.
Ballard Inn & Restaurant
2436 Baseline Ave., Ballard 805 688-7770; 800 638-2466 ballardinn.com
Chef Budi Kazali’s award-winning cuisine, extensive wine list, exceptional service and romantic atmosphere create one of the most memorable dining experiences in the Santa Barbara wine country. Open Wed–Sun 5:30–9pm.
Full of Life Flatbread
225 West Bell St. Los Alamos 805 344-4400 fulloflifefoods.com
On weekends Full of Life Flatbread converts their production flatbread bakery space into a restaurant and offers an extremely innovative menu based almost entirely on what is grown locally and in season. Open Fri–Sat 5–10pm, Sun 4–8pm.
Los Olivos Grocery
2621 W. Highway 154 Santa Ynez 805 688-5115 losolivosgrocery.com
The Los Olivos Grocery delicatessen is a valley favorite for breakfasts and lunches. In the evenings they offer alternating dinners featuring Southern soul, Mexican and Mediterranean dishes. Local wines and beers are also offered. Open daily 7am–9pm.
Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café
2879 Grand Ave. Los Olivos 805 688-7265 losolivoscafe.com
The Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café brings together the best flavors of the Central Coast. Their awardwinning wine list offers over 500 wines, primarily from Central Coast winemakers, to enjoy with their fresh, seasonal and local cuisine, or to enjoy at home. Open for lunch and dinner daily 11:30am–8:30pm.
406 E. Highway 246 Buellton 805 688-0676 hitchingpost2.com
From Santa Maria–style barbecue to more contemporary cuisine such as smoked duck breast, ostrich, homemade soups and outstanding pastries, The Hitching Post II also offers their own world class Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines. Open daily except major holidays. Cocktails/wine tasting Mon–Fri at 4pm, Sat–Sun at 3pm. Dinners only Mon–Fri 5–9:30pm, Sat–Sun 4–9:30pm.
by Laura Sanchez
One of the greatest pleasures of life is experiencing the interplay of food and wine. There is magic in this convergence—when the harmony of aromas, textures and flavors not only enhances the dining experience but elevates it from enjoyable to simply extraordinary.
Salty, sweet, sour, bitter and savory, or umami, are the five distinct flavors that our palates can detect. And just as the essence of great cooking is to bring these tastes into balance to create deliciousness, the soul of winemaking lies in creating a symphonic flavor equilibrium. No one understands this gustatory dynamic better than winemakers Doug Margerum, Paul Lato and Steve Clifton. Each brings to the art of winemaking an informed palate and extensive epicurean insight, the results of which are wines that resonate with balance and contribute illuminating counterpoints to the meals they accompany.
Doug Margerum worked in restaurants throughout his youth, eventually parlaying his culinary passion into an enterprise by opening the Wine Cask, one of Santa Barbara’s foremost wine and food destinations. He makes wines for Margerum Wine Co. as well as Cimarone and Happy Canyon Vineyard. Passionate epicure Paul Lato studied some of the world’s greatest wines while working as a sommelier in Toronto, paying close attention to what makes them truly profound as opposed to very good. He draws upon this experience in crafting wines for his own Paul Lato label as well as Costa de Oro Winery and Hilliard Bruce Vineyards. Steve Clifton, of Palmina and Brewer-Clifton, first worked in restaurants to support his music career and began exploring the intricate links between food and wine during trips to Italy, where he gained both insight and inspiration. “Wine is a natural extension of the plate,” he says. “And in my opinion, its highest goal is to heighten the sensory pleasure of a meal.”
In essence, wine enhances the dining experience by cleansing the palate between each bite of food so that one can experience the spectrum of a dish’s flavors again with every new mouthful. The acids found in wine—malic (green apple), lactic (milky) and tartaric (bitter)—not only act as a refreshing counterpoint
to food, cutting through fat and protein, but also help reset the palate, preparing it for a new sensory experience. Tannins, astringent plant compounds found primarily in red wine, offer further palate cleansing by forming chemical bonds with fats and proteins on the palate and physically lifting them away.
In order to craft food-friendly wines, these winemakers explain that they are conscious of three primary factors: acidity, aromatics and oak integration. “Acidity,” explains Margerum, “is perhaps the most important factor in producing a wine that marries well with food.” The trio makes every effort to harvest at an optimal point—when grapes are ripe yet still have plenty of vibrant fruit acids. Since our sense of smell accounts for 90%
“In many ways, making wine is similar to cooking.”
—Doug Margerum
of the flavors we’re able to detect, they also pay close attention to the development of wine aromas. Additionally, Margerum, Lato and Clifton concur that the judicious use of oak barrels contributes toasty vanilla nuances that help wines—especially reds—marry with food.
“In many ways, making wine is similar to cooking,” Margerum muses. Working with different yeasts, maceration methods, fermentation temperatures and cooperage or barrels, winemakers develop an array of wines with varying aromas and flavor nuances. Like chefs in the cellar, they use these wines as a spice rack of sorts when they blend the final wines, adding a little from this barrel and a dash of that. “I definitely think about food when I make wine,” says Margerum. “If you picture a wine as a plate of food, you get a sense of how we try to balance flavors,” he explains. “You don’t want the plate to be monochromatic, or for everything to taste the same. Like a great dish, there has to be an interesting dynamic.”
“The more passionate we become about eating and drinking locally, the more our area’s wines will reflect the sense of place and partner seamlessly with regional foods.”—Steve Clifton
When it comes to pairing food and wine, these gentlemen list memorable combinations like long lost loves. They recall simple classics like Pinot Gris and oysters, sherry fino with Marcona almonds as well as more elaborate pairings like radicchio Treviso risotto paired with an Italian Amarone or bacon-wrapped scallops with fennel, white pepper and truffle oil paired with the earthy spice of a cool-climate Syrah.
“I’m conscious of how each wine I produce is going to interact with food,” says Clifton, who creates a corresponding recipe for each of Palmina’s 21 different wines. And in creating symbiotic food and wine relationships, the trio agrees on two essential strategies—pairing according to complement: matching weight, richness and similar flavors; or contrast: juxtaposing distinct characteristics such as tannins and fat, divergent flavors or acidity and richness. Complementary pairings such as lobster and Chardonnay highlight the similarities (in this case the richness) of the two. Contrasting pairings such as blue cheese and Port or foie gras and Champagne celebrate the unique differences. Ultimately, the core of food and wine pairing lies in the decision to complement or contrast elements like texture, specific flavors, intensity or aromas.
Some of the finest pairings, according to these gentlemen, involve a tension of opposites with strands of commonality.
“Food and wine are interconnected but should be very individual,” Lato explains. Using a bridge ingredient or cooking method to create connections between liquid and solid is a technique that he became aware of during his sommelier training. Home chefs can link a dish to Chardonnay with the addition of ingredients like toasted hazelnuts and almonds that reflect the wine’s toasty characteristics or others like mushrooms, roasted sweet onions, cream and butter that suggest both flavor and textural similarities.
This bridging technique even works with challenging ingredients. “On its own, asparagus can make wine taste austere or tinny,” Lato explains. “But wrap it with a thin slice of Jamon Serrano and the salty smokiness and textural association can facilitate a better match with wine.”
“A great food and wine pairing has magnetism and an element of mystery.”—Paul Lato
All three vintners enjoy cooking during the holiday season and offer an array of wine suggestions. “The holiday plate is complicated to pair since there are so many flavors going on,” says Margerum. He recommends offering guests chilled Beaujolais or a Cote du Rhone blend and emphasizes the importance of serving wine at the right temperature. “Any wine that’s been on the kitchen counter while you’ve cooked is going to be too hot,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to stick it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to cool it down.” Lato recommends experimentation— buying a few bottles ahead of time and trying them to find connections with the foods you plan to serve. He suggests an elegant Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine as an elegant way to start a meal and suggests Chardonnay to mirror the richness of traditional holiday feasts or Pinot Noir to complement earthy, savory dishes.
Clifton believes that local wines are the best reflection of regional flavors and that, paired with a meal featuring local ingredients, they create a beautiful regional flavor dimension. Just as wines express terroir, Clifton explains that foods can express a similar sense of place. “The more passionate we become about eating and drinking locally, the more our area’s wines will reflect the sense of place and partner seamlessly with regional foods.” He suggests serving a crisp Santa Barbara County Malvasia Bianca with holiday feasts or a light-bodied yet powerful local Nebbiolo.
“A great food and wine pairing has magnetism and an element of mystery,” says Lato. “It doesn’t give you everything up front but invites you back to rediscover the nuances.” And this holiday season the trio of winemakers encourages home cooks to explore relationships between food and wine—to experiment with crafting their own intricate connections and to discover for themselves the bliss of a symphonic pairing.
Wine writer Laura Sanchez contributes to an array of print and online publications. Simple pleasures like Chablis and oysters, Champagne and French fries, and Port with figs and Point Reyes blue cheese make her a very happy girl.
• Drink local.
• Serve white wines between 46° and 54° and red wine between 57° and 63°. Put reds in the refrigerator to cool them down prior to pouring.
• The best way to learn is to experiment ahead of time and create food and wine connections.
• Look for lower-alcohol wines that won’t overpower foods .
• Keep side dishes in mind as you pair. Think beyond the protein.
by Diane Murphy & Laura Lindsey
Our last column featured wines from Santa Barbara County’s newest American viticultural area (AVA), Happy Canyon, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary. This time we thought it fitting to turn our attention to the county’s oldest AVA, Santa Maria Valley, which was established in 1981. Ocean fog and complex soil conditions make this North County region a prime location to grow beautiful Pinot and Chardonnay grapes. So let the tasting begin!
Riverbench Vineyard
2008 Cork Jumper Blanc de Blancs
Chardonnay Sparkling Wine
Crisp and light, with a subtle nose of green apple, this is a great sustainably grown local sparkler for holiday events, Sunday brunch or Valentine’s Day. The soft bubbles give way to an acidic and earthy dry wine with exquisite hints of orange zest and crisp Asian pear. riverbench.com
Kenneth Volk Vineyards
2007 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Cuvee
The delicious aroma of this wine transports us to a mossy woodland or a foggy day at the beach. With the weather in Santa Barbara this year, perhaps we had fog on our minds. But what we had in our glasses was a wonderfully edgy, full-bodied Pinot, its flavors ranging from baking spices to smoky bacon to dark dried plums. volkwines.com
Au Bon Climat
2007 La Bauge Au-Dessus Estate Pinot Noir
Bien Nacido and Le Bon Climat Vineyards
This is a light-bodied Burgundian-style Pinot that we thought had a subtle nose of red currants and corn silk. It’s an easy, drinkable wine with good acidity and flavors of cassis with enough complexity to hold up to all the hearty soups and flavors of your winter cooking. aubonclimat.com
Rancho Sisquoc
2007 Cellar Select Meritage
Flood Family Vineyard
A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, this is a powerful, almost Port-like wine. Its purple intensity and aromas of violet honey give way to flavors of black fruit, licorice and white pepper. We enjoyed it with a selection of hard, nutty cheeses, and we thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to Santa Maria barbecue. ranchosisquoc.com
Qupé
2006 Hillside Estate Syrah
Bien Nacido Vineyard
Cedar and mushroom on the nose, this soft, lush Syrah has a stunning color and tastes of smoky plums and stewed cherries all the way to the back of the tongue. Some of us described it as pure velvet. It stands on its own and also has a restrained power that is respectful of food. It’s a wine to pair beautifully with everything from roasted meats to salted chocolate caramels. qupe.com
Presqu’ile (pronounced press-KEEL)
2008 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley
Presqu’ile, Solomon Hills and Bien Nacido Vineyards
First we noticed a cherry aroma, and we thought it had a big nose for such a light-alcohol wine. It’s an incredibly smooth, tasty and easy to drink wine, a little bit smoky with a note of pink peppercorns and holiday spices. We thought some salami really brought out its sweetness, and more than a few of us fell in love with this wine. presquilewine.com
Santa Maria AVA did not disappoint. With three decades of history, this fine AVA put Santa Barbara County wines on the map. Be sure to include some of the delicious wines from this region in your holiday festivities. Until next time, cheers!
Diane Murphy and Laura Lindsey are the co-owners of Classic Vines, specializing in distribution and online sales of small-production wines. Visit their website at classicvines.com.
by Krista Harris
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRAN COLLIN
hen Michael Pollan wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma in 2006, he set things in motion for an entire shift in the way we think about food and where it comes from. His numerous books and articles explore the nature of what we grow, what we eat and the culture surrounding it. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual; In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. He is also the author of A Place of My Own and Second Nature. As a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, his writing has received numerous awards. In addition to teaching—he is the Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism—he lectures widely on food, agriculture, health and the environment, and he will be speaking in Santa Barbara on February 10, 2011. In anticipation of his visit, we had the opportunity to talk with him and take a few photos in the natural setting of his Bay Area home garden.
You’ve written eloquently about nature and gardening. Tell us a little bit about your garden right now. What are you growing?
Well, we’re kind of in that transition time, and any day now I’m going to yank out a bunch of stuff and replant. But what I still have going is cherry tomatoes. I’ve got a lot of Sungolds and another one called Candy Isis, and they’re still churning out tomatoes. We haven’t had any cold weather. I’ve got chard. I’ve got kale. I’ve got maybe one basil plant left. I had a lot of basil this year. I’ve got some lettuce and the usual perennial herbs. But it’s a little thin now compared to what it was a month ago. It still looks nice because it’s a very structured garden, but it’s not as abundant as it was a month ago. I’m about to rip out the tomatoes and get some more greens.
So, you put in a cool season garden?
Yes, I actually put in more kale and spinach and fava beans. I plant a lot of fava beans, mostly for the soil conditioning, but we eat them as well. Last year I did garlic; I don’t know if I’ll bother with that again.
Are you an experimenter in the garden?
Oh yeah, I’ll try new things. I always have a list of the standbys that I know will be good, and then I try new things. Certain things I’ve never gotten to taste really good out of this garden. I’ve never gotten good broccoli. Even though I get nice-looking broccoli, it doesn’t really taste like much. It’s not as good as the broccoli at the farmers market. Same with beans, though I finally found a variety of green bean that was really terrific. There’s a kind of interesting relationship between your soil and varieties. Some things will taste really good, but let’s be honest, sometimes home garden produce is not as good as the farmers market produce. I couldn’t tell you why, but it probably has something to do with soil chemistry or sunlight.
In Santa Barbara we have access to wonderful farmers markets all year long, but there are some philosophical advantages to growing things yourself, aren’t there?
Yes, there are. It’s very satisfying. I mean, I do it for the pleasure of the work as much as the produce that I get. I enjoy working in the garden. It’s a really nice respite from writing. I love the idea of actually working for your own support by growing some of your own food. There’s also the convenience—the spontaneity of being able to go outside and find something for dinner or get that handful of herbs when you’re making scrambled eggs in the morning. So there are many, many reasons to garden. The wonder is that more people don’t.
You’ve talked about getting people back in the kitchen, cooking… can gardening be a gateway to getting people to cook more from scratch?
Oh, without question, because you’re going to have to do something with all this produce. You’ve got all these beans or you’ve got all this kale and you have to get creative with how to use it. I think gardening and cooking are very closely related. As someone who cooks, the luxury of having a garden is really great because you can step outside and get whatever that herb is that you need. And you can get things you can’t buy. For example, we grew a lot of cilantro this year and picked the green seeds of the cilantro before they really ripen. You can buy cilantro leaves and you can buy cilantro seeds, or coriander. But you cannot buy, as far as I know, the
green coriander seeds, which have this intense flavor—really delicious and very aromatic—and are a great thing to cook with. There was a month when I could go outside and get those whenever I wanted them. So I think the two things are very closely related. I can’t imagine cooking seriously without a garden, and I can’t imagine having a garden and not cooking at least fairly seriously.
“I’ve been fantasizing about a new concept of the dinner party where the guests get there long before the food is ready.”
So, are people cooking more at home?
Well, the trends in cooking are not very encouraging. Basically it’s been going down as long as people have been keeping track. There is some evidence that it’s ticked up a bit with the recession. Some retailers that I’ve talked to report that they’re selling more ingredients and more food from the bulk food bins. It is a way that people can economize, if they’re clever about using ingredients and don’t feel that they have to buy a fancy piece of animal protein to make a good meal. So, I think there is some increase in cooking tied to the recession. And people are going out less. There is evidence that meals eaten out have gone down in the last two years. But that doesn’t mean that people aren’t having processed food at home. You really have to break it down and see whether people are buying TV dinners and their modern equivalent or actual ingredients to cook with.
Basically I think that 54% of meals are cooked, though that definition is pretty loose. Pouring dressing over prewashed salad mix would qualify. Anything more than putting a frozen pizza in the microwave qualifies as cooking, the way the studies are done. Scratch cooking—nobody really looks at it as a phenomenon. The definition has gotten pretty weak. I tried to find statistics for scratch cooking and apparently it’s so rare that they don’t keep track.
But on the encouraging side, men are putting in about twice as many minutes in the day as they were 20 years ago. So that’s good news. To extol cooking is taken by some to mean that you are anti-feminist and that you think it means women having to go back in the kitchen and not work and not perform in a public way in our society, and it doesn’t mean that at all. I think it’s very important to understand that we’re talking about getting both genders back in the kitchen.
And maybe kids, too?
Well, yeah, the whole idea of the kitchen of a kind of place where one person worked alone is a historically fairly new development. It really has to do with the nuclear family in the last 75 or 100 years. Before then kitchens were much more social spaces. Lots of women got together to cook. Men, before the industrial revolution, were much more involved in food production.
Historically it’s true that women have been more involved in cooking, with the exception of grilling over fires, than men have been. But they weren’t always doing it alone. I think one of the real objections to cooking and other forms of housework was how isolating it was. You weren’t in the world when you did it. In fact, you were quite removed from the world. So, I think one of the things we have to work on is reducing the isolation of cooking and getting children in the kitchen and getting neighbors in the kitchen and getting husbands in the kitchen. Those are steps in that direction.
Is that why cooking classes are popular right now?
Yes, everything changes when you cook with other people. I know this because I’ve been taking cooking lessons— something my whole family gets involved with—and it’s a whole different experience, and it’s a lot fun. It’s a great way to socialize. I’ve been fantasizing about a new concept of the dinner party where the guests get there long before the food is ready.
“The more I work on these issues having to do with our whole food system, the more I realize that our problem is a cooking problem.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum from home cooking, what do you think about the measure that passed recently in San Francisco banning Happy Meals?
Well, we have a history here in the Bay Area of social engineering. I remember when I first got to California there was a ballot initiative for the city of Berkeley that would have banned any coffee that wasn’t organic or fair-trade. It got close to 40% of the vote, which is kind of amazing.
I think that the way that food is marketed toward children is very manipulative and should be regulated. I think giving away toys with food to very young kids is a very manipulative way to sell stuff to them and to undermine parents’ authority. So I think it’s a social experiment that should be tried somewhere to see if it works. I feel the same way about soda taxes. We should do these not just merely to express our disapproval of things but to see if they actually generate changes in behavior. I guess I’m willing to see it played out. If it works, I think it’s something that we should consider.
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It’s a great slogan, not just for locavores but for anyone who eats. How has your audience widened or changed over the years?
I’ve tried deliberately to reach a more mainstream audience, and the reason I published Food Rules was to reach all sorts of people who wouldn’t read a 500-page book about the food system or a 200-page polemic about nutrition science. That book was inspired by doctors who said they would really love to have a pamphlet that they could give to their patients, who didn’t need the whole backstory, didn’t need the history and didn’t need to know about the industrialization of agriculture or the uncertainties of nutrition science, but just wanted some guidance, a field guide to this very challenging landscape of the modern supermarket. So that’s my goal. I don’t want to be preaching to the choir. I want to bring a whole lot of new people into the church. I’m trying to widen the circle and extend this conversation to lots of people who haven’t been part of it.
Since we are looking forward to your visit in February to Santa Barbara, how does public speaking dovetail with your writing?
I have found speaking about this issue a very interesting experience. It really helps me figure out where the audience is, the questions people have and the things they’re struggling with. So, I think it actually helps my writing in various ways.
Writing is a conversation. It sounds kind of one-sided but what you decide to write about, the questions you choose to answer, come from somewhere. They might come from an editor, they might come from your own curiosity, but very often they come from audiences. And it was clear to me a couple years ago that people were very confused on the subject of what they should eat, given that they care about health and they care about the environment. They wanted the bottom line. They didn’t want to hear a lot of theory. And so I started trying to address that question in my writing. The speaking feeds the writing in all sorts of ways that are very useful. Sometimes somebody will pose a question that will really surprise me and get me to think, and I’ll realize that’s the kernel of an article.
What are you interested in writing about next?
I’m working on a book that is about cooking. I’m trying to figure out a way to explore it that is a little different. So, I’m learning a lot about it. And I’m going to tell the story of my education in the kitchen. The more I work on these issues having to do with our whole food system, the more I realize that our problem is a cooking problem. The changes in the diet that we’ve seen over the last couple decades and the various problems in terms of both health and family life are closely tied to the fact that people are cooking less and eating meals together less—those two things are also linked. And if we’re not going to go back to the kitchen, it isn’t really clear that we can have this renaissance of local agriculture go very far or that we can tackle this problem of obesity and Type 2 diabetes and all the chronic diseases linked to diet.
The most important distinction in food, I think, is not fat versus protein or carbohydrates, it’s highly processed or minimally processed food. And how they process food is the result of people not cooking food themselves and letting corporations cook. So unless we take back control over that process—that really important process—I think that there’s a real top on where this food movement can go. I want to address that. I want to write a book that doesn’t preach to people about cooking but simply gets them excited about it by watching this education unfold. That’s my hope.
Michael Pollan’s next book is still a few years from being published. But there will be articles in the meantime and speaking engagements, such as the one in Santa Barbara on February 10, 2011, at the Granada, which you can find out more about at artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu.
by Nancy Oster
When I was a kid, living in Southern California, most of my lunch bag sandwiches were lunchmeat and American cheese held together by machine-sliced fluffy white bread. But when given the option, my first choice was always sourdough. I even ate the crust because the bread tasted so good.
When I learned to bake my own bread, in the late 1960s, I read several books on sourdough bread, bought commercial sourdough starters and tried making my own starters. My bread often came out sour, but flat and heavy. Over time, I learned how to recognize when the starter was ready to use or needed more fresh flour and water, and I began to get better results.
Bread making has changed a lot since the 1960s, and our apprecia tion for good breads has increased dramatically. The artisan bread movement of the 1990s brought new techniques. No more punch ing down the risen bread to get a finer, more even texture; today’s artisan breads are made with wetter doughs and are handled gently so they develop large, irregular holes and a crunchy crust.
When 16-year-old Ila Rutten requested an Edible article on bread making, I was eager to explore the world of bread, particularly wildyeasted breads, with her and to learn more about what she looks for in bread. Ila likes a thick, crunchy crust, and I like a moist delicate interior. We both look for flavor.
A packet of dried commercial yeast makes bread making more convenient, but using wild yeast offers a much broader range of flavors. So we decided we needed a starter. A starter consists of flour, water and wild yeast.
Sourdough bread is made with wild yeast. However, a bread made with wild yeast is not always sour. Sourness depends on the particular starter and the length of time the bread is allowed to rise. Wild yeast is present in grains of wheat and also on ripened fruit, where it sticks to the white waxy bloom on the skins. A symbiotic relationship develops between the wild yeast and beneficial lactobacilli in a starter. The wild yeast provides the rise and the lactic acid, produced by the lactobacilli, contributes to the sour flavor. And according to Ed Wood, MD, pathologist and author of Classic Sourdoughs, “Evidence indicates that the lactobacilli produce an antibiotic that protects the culture from contamination by harmful bacteria.”
To get started, you can 1) ask someone with a starter to give you a portion, 2) buy dried starters online, or 3) start your own. Since we live in an area that grows fruit and grain, we figured we’d try collecting our own wild yeast.
At the September threshing bee (wheat harvest) at Jack Creek Farms in Templeton, I bought freshly threshed hard red wheat berries. After hand-cleaning these, I fully appreciate the work that goes into separating the wheat from the chaff. Next visit, I’ll buy their packaged cleaned wheat berries. The wheat berries available at the threshing were the first ones I used to make a starter. They also sell ground flour and freshly made bread at their farm store.
Next I visited with Ron and Jenn Skinner and Kevin Stephens at Huasna Valley Farm in Arroyo Grande. They are growing heirloom semi-hard white wheat called Sonora, which they sell as berries and as white whole-wheat flour. After tasting Kevin’s whole-wheat sourdough bread, I took home both berries and ground flour.
Solvang Pie Company grows the wheat for their breads and pasta. Tracy Derwin invited me to visit her commercial kitchen, learn more about her wheat, and see her fragrant active sourdough starter. She grows a hard white wheat well suited to the climate in Santa Ynez and Arroyo Grande. In fact this year she grew a two-year supply so she gave me some berries to try. Tracy will bring wheat berries and whole-wheat flour to the Saturday farmers market for purchase by request.
My last visit was with John and Leaf DeRosier of With the Grain in Paso Robles. John is working with many grains to find out what will grow best in his fields and learn more about their unique flavor characteristics. During our tour, Leaf brought us pieces of her homemade moist tangy sourdough spelt bread fresh from the oven. I took home berries of spelt, khorasan and emmer—all ancient forms of wheat.
Many fruits have a yeast bloom on the surface. You can see it especially well on grapes and plums. Tracy from the Solvang Pie Company told me that she used the skins from her apples to capture the wild yeast for her starter.
We decided ask Richard and Thekla Sanford, owners of Alma Rosa Winery, if we could try making a starter with their organic grapes. Richard smiled and told us that when D’Angelo’s Bakery first started, the owner came out to their vineyard to start his sourdough culture.
When I arrived at the vineyard, Richard met me with his fruit clippers and off we went to gather Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes from his Rancho El Jabalí vineyard and Pinot Noir grapes from the La Encantada vineyard. We also nestled a cheeseclothcovered bowl of equal parts flour and water in among the Pinot Noir vines at Rancho El Jabalí, which I picked up two days later.
All four starters were successful and each has its own unique fragrance and flavor.
All five wheat berry and four grape vineyard starters we created make beautifully risen, flavorful breads. At this point we haven’t identified a favorite. Some are rising faster than others and some are more fragrant and flavorful. Tracy told us that her starter continued to mature as it aged. There are hundreds of species of wild yeast that combine with the various strains of lactobacilli. I like to think that each of our starters represents a unique local terroir.
Personal taste will dictate which starters we keep. My grandmother told me that in her younger days in Ohio, she made all her bread from a starter shared by family members. The first time she tasted sourdough bread in California, she spit it out and said, “This yeast
has gone bad.” She never really did like the sourdough taste. Gradually you will develop a relationship with your starter and learn its characteristics. You will know by looking when and how much it needs to be fed and when it’s ready to use. Be sure to label the jar so it doesn’t get thrown out during a refrigerator cleaning.
Ila and I have done a lot of experimentation to arrive at the simplest, most reliable recipe for this article. In the process, we’ve learned a lot more about how to control crumb and crust.
In a comparison of breads 1) baked on a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven, 2) baked in a convection oven, or 3) baked in a Dutch oven, the Dutch oven method won hands down. We also tried a loaf baked in a Dutch oven in a closed barbecue, which yielded a gorgeous bread with a burnt bottom. This method will take more practice.
We found that a higher proportion of water in the dough made it easier to produce a bread with large, irregular holes and the longer we left the lid on the Dutch oven during the baking, the thicker and crunchier the crust. While I prefer a short kneading period, Ila was more familiar with the no-knead method popularized by Jim Lahey in 2006. Both work, but I love to knead and kneading is particularly helpful with whole-wheat flour, which tends to make a denser bread.
We found we could either leave the dough to rise in a covered container on the counter at room temperature or leave it out until we saw active rising and then put it into the refrigerator to extend the rising time until a more convenient time for baking. We found that longer rising increases the sourness, but may reduce the volume of the rise.
There are carbs and there are better carbs. Whole grains are a major source of protein for people throughout the world. In their book What’s with Fiber? Dr. Gene Spiller, PhD in nutrition, and analytical chemist Monica Spiller point out that the fiber our bodies need to function well is mostly carbohydrate and that whole grains are an important source of fiber, nutrients and antioxidants. However, in pursuit of whiter loaves of fluffy bread, we have refined away the value of our bread carbs.
I think unbleached flour makes better-tasting bread than bleached flour and using whole grains improves the nutritional value as well as the flavor. When we make our own breads, we can experiment with a variety of whole grains and flours. The slowrise wild yeast method works especially well for incorporating whole grains into flavorful, well-textured artisan bread.
We chose not to preheat the Dutch oven so we could do the final rise right in the pan, rather than try to transfer the sticky bubbly dough to the hot pan. As the Dutch oven warmed to oven temperature, the bread got an additional burst in height, called oven spring. The hands-on time for making this bread is brief, but scheduling needs forethought. I find countertop rising works best if you can bake your bread in 8 to 12 hours. Using the cool-rise method, you leave it on the counter for 4 hours, and then refrigerate it for 8 to 12 hours (with another 2 hours to warm back to room temperature before baking).
Once you’ve tried our recipe, go ahead and experiment with flour combinations, rising times and baking times. Personal tastes vary, as do flour and starter characteristics, and kitchen humidity and temperature. As you become familiar with your starter you will start to recognize when your bread needs more flour or is ready for the next step without adhering rigidly to the times or proportions given in our bread recipe. Our recipe is just a starting place.
While Nancy Oster has baked bread for many years, she has never baked it as intensely as in the past month. Fortunately her family, friends and her husband’s co-workers were willing to consume the excess and provide feedback on the versions they like the best. She knew it was time to stop experimenting when the igniter in her oven broke.
1 cluster of organic grapes (or raisins)
21 ⁄ 2 cups filtered water
2 cups flour
Put grapes (or raisins) onto a piece of clean cheesecloth and tie opposite ends together to make a pouch. Mix water and flour together in a 4-cup canning jar. (If using raisins, soak them in the water, slightly warmed, for a couple of hours before adding the flour.) Crush grapes slightly and press down into mixture. Put waxed paper on top and secure with the canning lid ring. Leave jar on the counter and stir daily. If liquid begins to separate in a layer on top, add more flour to absorb the liquid. When mixture starts to bubble, remove the grapes and begin feeding your starter.
1 ⁄ 2 cup (100g) wheat berries (kernels)
21 ⁄ 2 cups (375g) filtered water
11 ⁄ 2 teaspoons (3g) salt
1 cup (125g) whole-wheat flour
Soak wheat berries in 1½ cups of the filtered water for about 8 hours. Drain and rinse. Put berries into an 8-cup canning jar. Cover opening with cheesecloth and secure with canning lid ring. Lay jar on its side in a dark place.
Rinse berries daily as they begin to sprout. When the primary sprout is equal in length to the berry, combine the salt with the remaining 1 cup filtered water. Put sprouts into a blender, adding enough of the salted water to blend them into the liquid. Add this to the measured whole-wheat flour along with any remaining water. Mix well and put into a 1 quart canning jar. Cover the opening with waxed paper and secure with canning lid ring. Store jar on counter top, stirring every 8 to 12 hours. When it starts to bubble, you can begin feeding it.
To feed your starter, discard half and stir in 1 cup flour and 1 cup water. In the beginning the mixture will be like thick pancake batter. As it becomes more active (bubbles and begins to rise more quickly) you can use less water. (I prefer a thicker, mashed-potato-like starter.)
Put a rubber band on the jar to mark the starter level just after you feed it. Discard half of the starter and feed it again each time it doubles. When your starter doubles within a few hours, you can begin to use it in bread (no commercial yeast needed).
Use a glass container to store your starter. I usually cover the top with waxed paper and then the lid (avoid storing starters in metal containers). If it’s actively bubbling, don’t tighten the lid. Put your starter into the refrigerator if you don’t plan to use it again within 12 hours.
If my starter has been in the refrigerator for a few weeks without feeding, I discard all but a couple of tablespoons of the starter before I feed it. This gives it a lot of fresh food to reinvigorate it. It’s OK if the top of the starter turns a bit gray and fluid accumulates. Just pour and scrape off that top part. If your starter turns red, discard it. I keep a cup of my starter frozen just in case something happens to the one I keep in the refrigerator. (Most, but not all, starters will survive freezing.)
1 cup water (228g)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (8g)
21 ⁄ 2 cups unbleached bread flour* (350g)
2 tablespoons coarse grains (optional)
1⁄2 cup sourdough starter (85g)
A little cornmeal
*For a wheatier bread, I use 1½ cups bread flour (212g) and 1 cup whole-wheat flour (135g) instead of all bread flour. You can use a higher proportion of whole wheat but expect a denser loaf.
You can mix your dough by hand or use a standing mixer with a dough hook.
Mix salt and water in bowl. Put flour and optional grains on top of water. Add starter. Using a wooden spoon, a stiff spatula, or your hands, stir mixture until it forms a shaggy mass that can be picked up and shaped into a sticky ball. At this point, you can choose to knead the dough or not to knead.
Bread for Breakfast (Countertop-rise method)
8pm Mix dough and let rise in covered container on counter.
6am Form dough and put into covered Dutch oven for final rise. Preheat oven to 500°.
6:30am Score bread and put covered Dutch oven into hot oven.
6:55am Remove Dutch oven lid and reduce oven heat to 475°.
7:10am Check bread to see if it is sufficiently browned.
Bread for Dinner (Countertop-rise method)
6am Mix dough and let rise in covered container on counter.
6pm Form dough and put into covered Dutch oven for final rise. Heat oven to 500°.
6:30pm Score bread and put covered Dutch oven into hot oven.
6:55pm Remove Dutch oven lid and reduce oven heat to 475°.
7:10pm Check bread to see if it is sufficiently browned.
Bread for Lunch (Cool-rise method)
6pm Mix dough and let rise in covered container on counter.
10pm Put dough into refrigerator.
8am Form dough and put into covered Dutch oven for final rise.
9:30am Preheat oven to 500°.
10am Score bread and put covered Dutch oven into hot oven.
10:25am Take lid off Dutch oven and reduce oven heat to 475°.
10:40am Check bread to see if it is sufficiently browned.
Note: Word has it that you should let the bread cool for about 15 minutes before slicing. No one in my house pays attention to this rule—not even the dog, who has been known steal loaves of hot bread right off the countertop.
Kneading distributes the ingredients more evenly, making the bread texture more uniform. It also helps to develop the gluten in the flour more quickly. Gluten is like chewing gum… gum is extensible (stretchy) and becomes more elastic (snaps back) as you chew. As you knead, the gluten in your dough stretches further without tearing and snaps back when you let go. Gluten provides the elastic structure that traps gases that develop during fermentation so the bread can rise without collapsing. Gluten will also develop with no kneading at all if the dough is allowed to rise slowly (8 to 12 hours). So if you don’t enjoy kneading, you can skip the next step.
Wet dough is challenging to knead. I use a slap-and-fold technique, well suited to working with a sticky dough. Scrape the dough out onto an unfloured wooden board. Grab the edge of dough with your thumbs and fingertips to lift it off the board, and slap it back down onto the board. Stretch the dough upwards, then fold it away from you. Quickly pull your hands away from the dough. Grab the right-hand edge to pick it up, slap it down and fold again. At first it will feel like trying to knead oatmeal. Don’t worry if lumps of dough remain on the board or stick to your hands, they will eventually incorporate into the mass. Continue until the dough forms a tighter ball and the surface becomes smoother. You can use a scraper to loosen bits that stick to the kneading board. It takes 5 to 10 minutes to thoroughly knead the dough. However, even when the ingredients are evenly distributed, the dough will feel sticky. Now you’re ready to let it rise.
Put water and salt into mixing bowl. Measure in flour and optional grains. Add sourdough starter on top. Using the bread hook attachment, mix ingredients until the dough comes together into a smooth ball. The dough hook does the kneading for you so you don’t need to knead by hand.
Let It Rise
Put dough into a lightly oiled container, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and leave on the counter for 8 to 12 hours. An alternative method is to leave the covered dough on the counter for 4 hours, then refrigerate it for another 8 to 12 hours. See sidebar “Making It Fit.”
To form your dough into a round loaf, remove it from the container to a floured wooden board (or countertop), trying to deflate it as little as possible. Lightly stretch one edge and fold into the center, then stretch and fold the opposite edge to the center. Stretch and fold in the sides. To get a rounded shape, rotate the ball of dough between both hands on an unfloured surface, until the dough forms into a tight round loaf, called a boule.
Sprinkle cornmeal into the Dutch oven. Put the boule into the Dutch oven, put on the lid and let it rise. A loaf risen at room temperature can go into the oven as soon as the oven reaches temperature. If your dough is cold from refrigeration, it will take about 2 hours to come to room temperature and rise.
Preheat oven to about 500°. If an imprint remains when you press the dough with your finger, your bread is ready to bake. Just before baking, use a serrated knife to slash the top of the loaf (for decoration and to allow the bread to expand without tearing the crust).
Put the covered Dutch oven into the hot oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove lid from Dutch oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 475° and bake an additional 10 to 30 minutes. If you prefer a darker crust, bake longer, but check the bottom to be sure it is not burning. If you are concerned about whether your bread is fully baked, the internal temperature of the baked bread should read about 205° on an instant-read thermometer.
Creekside Apple Ranch/Solvang Pie Company
805 688-8948
solvangpieco.com
They are at the Tuesday and Saturday farmers market in Santa Barbara and the Wednesday market in Solvang.
Huasna Valley Farm (pronounced waz-naw) 805 473-3827
huasnavalleyfarm.com
Flour and wheat berries now available at Plow to Porch and Local Harvest Delivery.
Jack Creek Farms
805 239-1915 (farm stand) jackcreekfarms.com
With the Grain 805 237-9783
withthegrain.org
Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Baker’s Handbook Ten Speed Press (2001)
My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method W. W. Norton & Company (2009)
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice By Peter Reinhart Ten Speed Press (2001)
Visit ediblesantabarbara.com for additional resources.
by Janice Cook Knight PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN ADAMS
Have you ever noticed that unopened yogurt often keeps way past its expiration date? I’m talking weeks past, maybe even a month or two. I’ve even (gasp!) eaten that yogurt, to no ill effect. While I’m not recommending that you eat expired food products (don’t try this at home), the reason it keeps so long is that the yogurt has been cultured, and the lactobacilli organisms in it, which thicken the milk and give it its lovely sour taste, are still alive. This is what keeps the yogurt from going moldy and gross.
Some of my favorite foods are either fermenting or have been fermented. Sauerkraut, buttermilk, bread, yogurt, miso, soy sauce, beer, pickles, aged sausage, wine, liquors, chocolate, tea, coffee, kombucha, vinegar and many kinds of cheese have all benefited from fermentation at some point. “Cultured” sounds a little better, as “fermented” seems to imply that the food has gone south, when actually what we are talking about here are foods that were fermented on purpose.
The term “cultured foods” usually refers to foods that contain still-living organisms. They are beneficial for you, and here’s why: Those organisms, usually bacteria or yeasts or, in some cases, both, are still living in the food you are about to imbibe, foods like yogurt, buttermilk, kefir and unpasteurized versions of miso, sauerkraut and kimchi. Some kinds of beneficial bacteria can survive passing through the stomach and the intestines, take up residence inside and will set up healthy colonies that improve your digestion and may boost your immune system.
These beneficial bacteria are naturally present in our bodies to begin with. It’s just that sometimes they get out of balance—after we’ve been ill, perhaps, or after taking antibiotics. Antibiotics can kill the beneficial bacteria as well as the “bad” bacteria you were hoping the drug would eliminate, which is why doctors often recommend that we eat yogurt and other cultured foods after a round of antibiotics is complete.
Many of the foods we love have benefited from fermentation, but the yeasts or bacteria have done their work and expired before we eat the food. Bread is one example: Yeast made it grow, but baking it in the oven kills the yeast. If I save a bit of that live bread dough for a starter, however, and keep it in my refrigerator and feed it occasionally, then it will continue to live and help to raise a loaf another day. My husband has a sourdough starter in our refrigerator that he obtained from a baker in Alaska 17 years ago. He keeps it alive by feeding it occasionally and then makes bread with it. The sourdough starter, which has particular kinds of flavorful yeasts, is what gives the bread its distinctive sourness.
Hard cheeses are an example of a food that has benefited from fermentation, but at the point we eat it, most of the culture is no longer alive. Milk is high in lactose, a milk sugar, and bacteria and enzymes eat up the lactose, part of the process of turning the milk into cheese. This process has rendered the cheese more digestible. Many people have problems digesting lactose, but after the lactose-eating bacteria have done their work, there is very little
lactose left in a hard cheese like Cheddar or Parmesan. Humans have been fermenting foods for literally thousands of years. Besides their digestibility, fermentation has the advantage of allowing us to keep foods for much longer periods.
Cheese, for example, is a good way to store fresh milk. Once cultured and allowed to age at controlled temperatures, sometimes for months or even years, it can keep for many months if stored properly before it must be consumed. This is not true of soft cheeses, which are made quickly and should be eaten quickly, too. Wine, beer and liquors are a way to store fruit, grains and other ingredients—once they have been fermented and aged and bottled, they will keep for months or even years. Sauerkraut, kimchi and other pickled foods mean that the season’s vegetable harvest can be “stored” for later use. In the case of these foods, the culture used to ferment them is a live culture (unless the product is bottled and pasteurized), so when we eat it we ingest the beneficial bacteria.
Miso is usually made from soybeans, rice or barley, salt and a rice starter culture. Miso probably originated in China in the third century BCE before moving to Japan. Unfermented soybeans are very difficult to digest—they contain phytates, which prevent absorption of calcium and other nutrients, but the phytates are deactivated by fermentation. Here is a case where fermentation changed a food that was practically indigestible to humans and made it highly digestible, as well as delicious—I love miso in soups and spreads. Traditionally made soy sauce is fermented and aged in a similar way.
I had made yogurt in the past and even some easy soft cheeses, but had always wanted to learn to make sauerkraut. When I heard that Amy Bacheller, a nutritionist and raw foods chef, was going to teach a cultured foods class, I was eager to sign up. The subjects covered that day included, besides sauerkraut, how to make coconut yogurt, coconut kefir and cashew nut “cheese.”
Amy has been a nutritionist for 20 years, and finds cultured foods to be a healthful addition to our diets, benefiting our digestive tracts, boosting our immune systems and having an alkalinizing effect on the body (whereas most foods are slightly acidic). She practices what she preaches and keeps cultured foods in her house. She makes sauerkraut once a month and the young coconut kefir and yogurt about once a week. As a nutritionist, she finds that coconut is more digestible than dairy products for most people, without the allergic or inflammatory response that some people have to dairy.
Amy’s sauerkraut recipe is a little unusual: She’s added carrots and fennel, and she massages the sauerkraut to get it to release its liquid. Amy also uses Living Light essential oils to flavor her sauerkraut and many of her recipes. These are steam-distilled oils made at low heat and low pressure, and they are vibrant and flavorful.
I found Amy’s recipes creative, fresh and extremely tasty, and I am happy to have more fermented foods in my repertoire. Given that our ancestors have found cultured foods to be so beneficial for thousands of years, cultured and fermented foods bear exploring in the 21st century, too. Plus, making them is nothing short of fun.
Makes 4 quarts
4 heads of cabbage
3 carrots, grated
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons Himalayan salt
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
4 drops fennel food-grade essential oil (see sidebar)
4 drops lemon food-grade essential oil (see sidebar)
Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and set aside.
Core the cabbage and shred with a mandolin, in a food processor or by hand; or as Amy prefers, use the large-size grating attachment on a KitchenAid mixer.
In a large bowl, massage one head of shredded cabbage mixed with one teaspoon salt until the cabbage becomes soft and juicy. Let rest and repeat with the other three heads of shredded cabbage and salt in separate bowls.
25 years, and currently teaches a cookbook-writing workshop. She lives in Santa Barbara with her family.
In a large bowl, massage the grated carrots and sliced fennel with 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix everything together, including the fennel essential oil, lemon essential oil and caraway seeds.
Place all ingredients in a ceramic crock or glass container. Cover with the outer cabbage leaves. Push down to release air pockets and bring the liquids to the surface. Put a weighted object on top and cover the container so that it’s airtight. Leave in a cool dark place for one to four weeks, depending on desired tanginess.
Unpack sauerkraut. Place in covered glass containers and store in the refrigerator for up to two months.
Note: For red sauerkraut, use purple cabbage and/or beets.
Makes 3–4 cups
This recipe uses the meat and the coconut water from young Thai coconuts, which can be purchased at Whole Foods, Gelson’s, Lazy Acres and Indochina Market. Making a batch of this yogurt is pricey (coconuts are $2–$3 each), but it is worth the time and effort— naturally sweet, smooth and creamy. You will also have enough coconut water left over to make the kefir recipe, below, so you are actually getting two recipes for the price of one. You can buy some young coconut products but they are even pricier and not near as delicious as homemade. Sometimes Amy uses the finished yogurt, mixed with fruit, to make a coconut-based sorbet.
I’ve tested this recipe twice. One time, one of the young coconuts was rather mature (the meat was quite firm), so I needed to add an extra 3 4 cup of the coconut water to get a creamy mixture and keep my blender running easily. The blended mixture will have the texture of heavy cream when finished.
3 cups Thai young coconut meat from approximately 4 coconuts (see photos for how to open the coconuts)
1⁄ 2 cup Thai young coconut water
1⁄ 4 teaspoon Himalayan salt or other fine-grained salt
1⁄ 4 teaspoon probiotic powder (see sidebar)
1⁄ 8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
2 drops ginger food-grade essential oil (see sidebar)
1 drop nutmeg food-grade essential oil (see sidebar)
In a blender, blend the coconut meat and coconut water until smooth, creamy and slightly warm, adding more water as needed. You may need to let the blender run for several minutes, until the coconut feels warm.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend briefly. Pour the mixture into a covered glass container, leaving room for expansion.
Place in a warm area, covered with a cloth, such as on top of a food dehydrator set at 100° or in your oven if it has a proofing setting (85°). Or you can use a yogurt maker.
Let it culture for about 12 hours, depending on desired tartness. Store in a covered glass container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Makes 4 cups
This is so refreshing and easy to make with the coconut water left over after making the coconut yogurt recipe.
4 cups coconut water (from 3 or 4 Thai young coconuts)
1 packet kefir starter (see sidebar)
Warm the coconut water in a saucepan until it is warm to the touch. Briefly blend the warmed coconut water with the kefir starter in a blender, just until the starter is dissolved. Pour the mixture into a covered quart glass container. Place in a warm area, covered with a cloth to contain the heat, or place on top of a dehydrator set at 90° or in a proofing oven set at 85°. Let rest for 8 to 12 hours, depending on desired tanginess. Store finished kefir in the refrigerator. It will last for about one week.
Notes: Use 1 4 to 1⁄ 2 cup to start another batch of kefir. You can also make kefir with almond milk as the base or try with any nut or seed milk.
Makes 2½ cups
Adapted from The Raw Revolution Diet by Cherie Soria
2 cups raw cashews
1 cup purified water
½ teaspoon Ejuva moflora probiotic powder (see sidebar)
Combine the nuts, water and probiotic powder in a blender and process until smooth. Add a small amount of additional water, if necessary, to facilitate processing. However, use as little water as possible to achieve a thick, creamy consistency.
Place the mixture in a warm (65°–85°) location to ferment for 8–12 hours. It may take less time in warmer weather. When it’s finished, it will taste tangy—a little like goat cheese.
After the cheese has fermented to suit your taste, use it in any recipe calling for nut cheese. Stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator, the nut cheese will keep for up to one week.
For essential oils, look for organic, high-quality food-grade essential oils at local herbal shops and online. Amy uses Living Light essential oils, which are available at the Holistic Health Center of Santa Barbara and online.
For a reliable probiotic powder that does not need refrigeration, try Ejuva Moflora or iFlora Multi-Probiotic Powder.
For kefir starter, try Body Ecology Kefir Starter Culture or Yogourmet, which can be purchased locally at Lazy Acres and other health food stores or ordered online. You can also find yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, sour cream, crème fraiche and cheese-making starter cultures available from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company at cheesemaking.com.
For sauerkraut crocks, Harsch Fermenting Crock Pots made in Germany are unsurpassed. While sauerkraut and other pickled vegetables can be made in any simple crock, it’s easier in a crock designed just for that. The five-liter ceramic pickling crock is large enough for the recipe included here, and it comes with ceramic weights to keep the sauerkraut in the brine, a lid and a special indentation on top that serves as a reservoir in case the mixture bubbles and froths, which can happen when fermenting. We have not found these locally, but they can be ordered online from goldminenaturalfoods.com in San Diego.
Amy Bacheller will be teaching a Raw Foods Culture Food Class on January 15. Amy is certified in nutritional counseling, aromatherapy, clinical guided-imagery, bodywork, energetic healing and as a raw food chef/instructor from Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, where she also teaches aromatherapy. She practices at the Holistic Health Center of Santa Barbara, 411 E. Canon Perdido St., Suite 16. Contact her at: 415 450-5000; scentfromheaven-sb.com.
Visit our website: ediblecommunities.com/santabarbara/fermented
Local Organic EVOO & Over 50 Family Recipe Specialty Foods From Santa Barbara Wine Country Open daily for tastings 11 a.m. To 5 p.m. www.globalgardensonline.com 2477 Alamo Pintado Ave, Los Olivos, CA
by Carol Penn-Romine
Alarge, gangly but pretty plant looms over my backyard with all the grace of a construction crane. Unwieldy yet delicate in its coat of feathery fronds, it sometimes gets in the way of my gardening chores, but its distinction as a tasty, perennial multitasker earns it the right to loiter there.
Fennel is a perfect fit here in our Southern California clime. It’s a generous but low-maintenance plant, and because it’s perennial I don’t have to replant each year. Nothing makes me feel more Italian, down to my pale Northern European follicles, quite like having a fennel plant at my disposal. I can harvest several ingredients from it, all of them useful and tasty.
“If your garden has a wealth of fennel, pick greedily of the fronds and lay some into a roasted vegetable sandwich as a nice fresh contrast to the richness of the roasting.”
It’s the secret ingredient in the rich, red sauce of many an Italian grandmother, the component that gives a distinctively fresh flavor to the Florentine salami known as finocchiona and the key that enlivens so many Italian recipes for cookies and other sweets. One of the things I love most about fennel is that it is such an easy thing to use. A handful of chopped or sliced bulb, snipped fronds or crushed seeds tossed into the mix amps the flavor of scores of dishes. And the pollen makes a garnish that not only looks pretty but adds yet another layer of richness.
I started my own lovely green behemoth a few years ago with the purchase of a small potted fennel from the local garden center. While I give it an occasional sprinkle with the hose, for the most part I ignore it—that is, until I need something good to eat. Each year it is noticeably larger than it was the year before. Now it puts out an abundance of flowers, so I can easily harvest both pollen and seed (if you collect all the flowers for pollen you won’t get any seed). I collect pollen in early summer and seed in late summer.
I didn’t realize it at the time I bought my fennel plant, but it is a wild variety that doesn’t actually produce bulbs. However, it does give me fronds, stalks, seed and pollen. Double check with someone at your gardening center to be sure of the type you’re getting—since the bulb is a root, you likely won’t see it poking up out of the pot. The bulb-bearing variety is usually labeled “Florence fennel” or “finocchio.” The experts don’t recommend growing wild fennel, since it is an aggressive plant that spreads rapidly. Mine has minded its manners since I’ve had it, and we’ve gotten along quite well so far, so I’m inclined to let it keep its little patch of real estate in my garden.
A member of the parsley family (certainly a more chi-chi member, I’d say!), fennel is sometimes mislabeled at the grocery, so if you see this plant with “anise” posted above it, go ahead and pick some up. It’s fennel, and you want it. You really do. While you may hesitate to put fennel into a dish if you’re not crazy about the flavor of licorice, keep in mind that comparisons to the black jellybean are inadequate—unfair, even. This plant has a much more delicate flavor, one that doesn’t overpower a dish but rather enhances it (and it certainly won’t turn your teeth an unflattering color!).
Fennel is tasty both raw and cooked. The easiest way to enjoy it is in a quick fennel salad, one of those dishes you can assemble to taste, no measurements required. Slice some fennel bulbs thinly and toss with thinly sliced red onion and some good olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar, a sprinkling of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Top it with shavings of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano—or some pats of fresh goat cheese if you prefer—and you’ll have a refreshing salad that provides a bright contrast to richer, heavier dishes. If you want to cut back on the amount of cheese you scatter over a pizza, try substituting some raw shaved fennel. It will give you an entirely different mouthfeel, of course, but the fresh flavor is a good foil for the heft of the pizza. Raw fennel is a winning accompaniment to just about any rich, heavy dish.
When it comes to cooking the bulb, you have loads of options to consider. You can braise it, roast it, sauté it, grill it or cook it up in a gratin. Fennel is good alone and still plays well with other components in a soup, stew or sauce. Next time you make a red sauce for pasta, chop up a handful of fennel and toss it in when you sauté the onions. Give your sauce a double kick of flavor by including some fennel seed in addition to the fresh bulb. Toast them lightly first to bring out their full flavor.
While fennel’s celery-like stalks are too tough to eat, they make the perfect aromatic platform on which to set your chicken, fish or roast before it goes into the oven. Fennel has an astringent quality that in particular tames the richness of oily fish, duck and pork.
The feathery fronds make a pretty garnish for soups and salads. If your garden has a wealth of fennel, pick greedily of the fronds and lay some into a roasted vegetable sandwich as a nice fresh contrast to the richness of the roasting. The fronds look nice in floral arrangements, too, so if your plant has gone completely crazy, pick a few extra bits of fennel greenery to tuck into a vase with fresh flowers. Ditto for its cheery yellow blooms. You can even pinch off the pollen for later use once the flowers have begun to fade.
Fennel seed pops up in both sweet and savory recipes of cuisines around the world. It is a part of Chinese five-spice and a component that gives an array of curry blends a wonderful richness. You’ll find the seed in everything from German sauerkraut to Indian garam masala. It’s also a key player in making an assortment of aperitifs and digestifs.
One of the most imaginative uses I’ve yet found for fennel seed is for making fennel ice cream (epicurious.com/ recipes/food/views/Fennel-Ice-Cream-240251) The seeds are steeped in heavy cream and then strained out, so there’s no grit in the final product. It pairs wonderfully with fresh fruit, and, believe it or not, it sings when topped with a drizzle of chocolate syrup or good-quality balsamic vinegar. And no surprise, it’s lovely and satisfying all on its own.
And then there’s the green seed, that is, the seed that comes between the pollen stage and the dry stage (technically it’s classified as a fruit, but we’ll not split hairs, OK?). When you bite into these tiny green pods, you get a fresh burst of fennel flavor. Toss a handful into your pasta sauce at service or stir some into your salad dressing.
As for the flavor of the pollen, I can only say this: If licorice wore a tiara, it would taste like fennel pollen. I know that sounds goofy, but words fail me in trying to describe the flavor of this golden fennelish wonder. There’s a quality to it that I wouldn’t call sweet, but the flavor is soft, golden and rich yet delicate. Floral, even. It inspires a cream soda–type sensation in the mouth, if that makes sense. But it’s not for cooking—sprinkle the pollen from the flowers over a dish at the last minute, just before it hits the table. It helps round the fennel flavor in dishes in which you’ve cooked the bulb or seed.
So if the idea of a vegetable with the word “licorice” attached to it makes you back away, just remember words like “fresh” and “bright.” And “versatile.” Fennel wows with its possibilities.
Chef and food writer Carol Penn-Romine is a Tennessee farm girl who is still trying to get the hang of playing in the Southern California soil. A finalist for the 2010 M. F. K. Fisher Award for Excellence in Culinary Writing, she is a contributor to Gastronomica, Christian Science Monitor and a number of magazines within Edible Communities.
Makes about 6 1-cup servings
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fennel bulb, small dice
2 cups leek (about 3 medium), white part only, thinly sliced
2 cups (1 medium or 12 ounces) russet potato, peeled, medium dice
1 cup water
1⁄ 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste, depending on how much is in the chicken broth
1⁄ 4 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
White pepper, to taste
32 ounces (1 quart) of chicken broth (low-fat and low-sodium works just fine)
Fennel fronds to garnish
Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add fennel and leek, and sauté for about five minutes, taking care not to let them brown. Add potato, fennel seeds, salt, broth and water, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potato is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Pour about half of the soup into a blender, purée and pour the purée into another bowl; then repeat until all the soup is puréed (don’t fill the blender more than halfway, as hot liquid will blow the top off when you start the blender!). Pour all the purée back into the pan and let simmer for a few minutes to thicken slightly. (Alternately, use an immersion blender and purée the soup right in the pot.)
Strain to remove any large bits of fennel seed and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
Garnish with fennel fronds.
Note: To serve cold as vichyssoise, stir a tablespoon of heavy cream into each cupful (cream also helps correct the mixture if you overdo it with the white pepper!).
by Janice Cook Knight
Can we live without plastics? It wouldn’t be easy, as plastic is everywhere. Computers and keyboards, automobiles, telephones, printers, fans, light switches, video and audio equipment, clothing zippers—all of these things and much, much more contain plastics.
Our kitchens are full of plastic, too: storage boxes, like Tupperware and many other containers; the glides on our kitchen drawers; some dishes, measuring cups, picnic supplies, food wraps; plus the many containers we bring home from the grocery to hold our fresh food. Plastic is obviously very convenient, which is why we use so much of it.
During the month of October I decided to reduce my plastic usage by choosing dairy products that came in glass if possible, buying cheeses freshly cut and wrapped in what I hoped was biodegradable paper. I brought my own bags to the market, including cotton and nylon string bags for produce and bulkbin items. I bought a few items that came in recyclable plastic
containers. I had two concerns: to reduce my plastic use in general, and to be aware of and avoid, if possible, buying plastics that could not be recycled at all, because I know that these are just going to the landfill.
I was successful on some counts, and not so much on others. I do most of the shopping for our house, so other family members were forced to play along. The good news: We generated a lot less trash than usual and a lot less recycling, and most of what we recycled was glass and cardboard. Our “trash” container was hardly ever full.
Now, part of the reason the trash was so light was because I saved all the plastic and other containers we used that could not be recycled. I ended up with two big shopping bags full. These were mostly items that were already in the house before October— things like ice cream containers (cardboard but plastic coated), the wrappers around frozen sausages, and plasticized foil bags that crackers or chips come in.
I did buy a few things that I knew I couldn’t recycle. I buy local meats at the farmers market, and they come vacuum-sealed in thick plastic that is not recyclable. It was either that or buy meat that wasn’t local and had traveled a great distance. I also forgot a couple of times and bought things in plasticized foil—chips and cheese puffs! Thank goodness dark chocolate is still wrapped in recyclable paper and foil.
are
1
Bring your own bags to the grocery store: Cloth, paper, even used plastic and paper bags you have around the house. Buy some of those nylon net bags (many grocery stores have them). They work very well for produce and many bulk-bin items, and are easy to clean and durable. Or reuse the free plastic bags from the produce department. I have some cotton net bags too—they’re good for storing firm things like apples, but they absorb moisture and become moldy so aren’t great for lettuce or softer produce. When your plastic shopping and produce bags are too old and torn to reuse, take them (clean) back to the grocery store, where they will be recycled into plastic decking and other products. Only 5% of these bags get recycled, so just doing this would be a great way of reducing waste and keeping our oceans and landscapes free of plastic.
2
Bring your own containers: One day, knowing I would be stopping at the harbor to buy fish, I brought my own container and a small ice chest with me. The Santa Barbara Fish Market put my salmon into my own reusable plastic container and shoveled a little ice into the chest to keep it cold. Easy. I also bring plastic containers to the farmers market and transfer berries into them immediately at purchase. The farmers get to reuse their own baskets, and my berries arrive home unscathed (those that I don’t eat immediately, that is!)
January 29 & 30, 2011
Hotel Mar Monte, Santa Barbara
Edible Communities presents Edible Institute — a weekend of talks, presentations, workshops, and local food & wine tastings — by some of the local food movement’s most influential thinkers, writers, and producers.
For event and ticket information visit ediblecommunities.com
3
Buy less packaged food, especially junk food. We don’t really need to eat as much junk food as we do, and junk food is almost always packaged in nonrecyclable containers.
4
Don’t buy zipper-lock bags. They’re convenient, but they are not recyclable or compostable. We tend to use them for a single time only. Grandma didn’t have them and somehow she made it through the day. Instead store foods (like sandwiches or leftovers) in glass or steel or plastic containers that can be reused many, many times.
5
Don’t buy water in plastic bottles. Filter your drinking water at home and fill up stainless steel containers when you need to take water to go. Yes, plastic bottles are recyclable, but again, it’s a waste of energy to keep manufacturing and transporting something we don’t really need.
I find it alarming that so many containers we use still can’t be recycled. What I’m dreaming of is a city-sponsored residential “food scrap” bin alongside my recycling can, like those used at many Santa Barbara restaurants. These compost bins will take a lot of things that can’t be recycled, like pizza boxes, waxed cardboard, tissues and paper towels, compostable “plastic” bags or bio bags. The way they compost the stuff gets it really hot, and so it is much faster than the composting I can do at home. This program may be several years away, but I wish it would come sooner.
Nature finds a way to reuse everything. The more we can design like nature, the better off we will be. Until then, shopping and eating more thoughtfully can really help to reduce plastic waste.
Janice Cook Knight is the author of Follow Your Heart’s Vegetarian Soup Cookbook and The Follow Your Heart Cookbook: Recipes from the Vegetarian Restaurant. She has taught cooking for over 25 years, and currently teaches a cookbook-writing workshop. She lives in Santa Barbara with her family. janicecookknight.com
by Pascale Beale-Groom
The fragrant gift was hand-delivered wrapped in a brown paper bag. A spicy aroma emanated from within. As I opened the package a multitude of small bags, each a different color, spilled out. They had been hand-carried halfway around the world, from the market in Luxor, Egypt, where my mother had recently traveled. She told me she had found the perfect gift—and what a treasure trove it was, containing, amongst other things, a bag of fragrant cumin seeds, a sachet of beautiful fennel seeds and a small bag of pale four-peppercorn mix that, when ground up, released this incredible piquant flavor. The spices of North Africa spilled out onto my kitchen table, evoking the culinary cultures of Tunisia, Algeria, the Sudan and Morocco. I started planning dishes based on these flavors. It was intoxicating. Little wonder that spices had so captured the imaginations of cooks centuries earlier as they were first introduced to various parts of Europe.
The roots of the spice trade lie buried in antiquity, emanating from India, Asia and the Middle East and winding slowly across the globe. The first suggestion of spices being used in cooking date back to 5,000 BC. Indian peppercorns were being sold in the Middle East prior to 2,000 BC and became the most important of the exotic spices in medieval Europe. They could be easily transported, stored, then traded without any loss in flavor, a huge advantage as the journey could take over a year. Peppercorns are the most important spice traded worldwide to this day.
In ancient Greece and Rome the plentiful use of spices—as recorded in the texts of the day—show their importance in local cuisines. Early Romans liked spicy, sweet foods. Cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and ginger were all part of their diet, and Apicus’s book De Re Coquinaria speaks of spices at almost every turn. He has a delicious recipe for extraordinary spiced wine, Conditum Paradoxum, which includes honey, ground black pepper, saffron, a crushed bay leaf, cinnamon and dates all cooked slowly in white wine. The recipe is as fresh and current today as it was then.
As you delve into the food history of the countries that ring the Mediterranean you see the spice trade reflected in their regional
dishes, a legacy of the merchants who crisscrossed that azure body of water selling their wares originating from the markets in Syria and Egypt to Venice, Genoa, Marseille and Lisbon.
But why was there such a passion for spices from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance? Part of the reason was that the ample use of spices in food reflected one’s wealth and prestige and even though only a small percentage of the population could afford spices, huge quantities were imported into Europe. The demand for spices grew to such an extent that great economic powers were created by those who controlled the precious routes. Trade reached its zenith during the 14th and 15th centuries when the Republic of Venice and the city states of Florence and Genoa controlled much of the trade. Not to be outdone by their Mediterranean neighbors, and in an effort to gain direct access to the valuable spice markets, the Portuguese set about discovering new trade routes and capturing strategic hubs. In the 13 years that followed Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama’s journey to India around the Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499), Portugal brazenly took control of the three crucial hubs: Goa, Ormuz and Malacca.
The British and Dutch soon followed suit, each vying for a piece of this very lucrative pie. The search for new trade routes was one of the principal motivations for the voyages that resulted in the discoveries of the Americas. This in turn introduced Europeans to the plants and spices native to the New World. Ironically, as the new spice routes opened up the demand and price for spices from the Far East and Middle East went down, replaced by a new appetite for American novelties such as vanilla, chilies, chocolate and allspice. Vanilla is still one of the most prized spices, second only to saffron in terms of price.
Spices permeated all aspects of life, even literature. Little wonder that the great bard made liberal use of spicy expressions in his plays and writings, such as this one from Troilus and Cressida: “Is not birth, beauty, good shape, discourse, Manhood, learning, gentleness, virtue, youth, liberality, and such like, the spice and salt that season a man.” Characters in Shakespeare’s plays refer to spices and herbs and the effect that they impart on one’s physical well-being.
During this period there was great belief in the theory of the four body humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) and the analogous moods (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic). The use of spices was thought to have an effect on them depending on which spice was used. For example, cinnamon and ginger were used to generate warmth in the stomach and to aid digestion; cinnamon and nutmeg were used to help relieve symptoms of colds and sore throats. There are spice remedies for ailments that are used to this day that reflect the same principals.
Many early cookbooks refer to the liberal use of spices. Taillevent in his treatise on cooking Le Viandier (first published in 1395), wrote of “poudre douces” and “poudres fortes,” literally mild and strong powders—what we refer to as spices and spice blends. The term powders was used up to the 17th century. Many blends have become emblematic of their country of origin: Garam Masala and India; Ras al Hanout and Morocco; Five Spice Blend and China; Herbes de Provence and France; Harissa and North Africa are but a few examples.
It is interesting to note that some spices that are deemed so characteristic of that country did not actually originate there. Coriander and mustard, which are synonymous with many Asian ethnic cuisines, were imported from Europe where they grew abundantly. Similarly, the spicy chilies often associated with Chinese dishes and Indian curries only became part of their regional culinary makeup following the 15th century discovery and subsequent exploration of the New World. The migration of spices continues to influence how we eat. Now more than ever, we blend tastes from different countries and create our own styles. Call it fusion or Pacific Rim, the origins of these trends lie in the paths navigated by those ancient spice traders. America, with its multitude of immigrant cultures, has now become the largest importer of spices in the world.
A thousand years ago spices may have been linked to the body humors and moods, but I like to think of spices as evoking seasons. If I spy a golden bowl of saffron-infused aioli, a steaming pot of bouillabaisse or a plate of paella, my thoughts drift off to hot summer languorous days, but should I happen upon a cup of steaming spiced apple cider, scented with cinnamon and cloves, I am transported to a blustery winters day, bundled up in a warm sweater, cupping the mug in my hands. The aroma of baking gingerbread has the same effect. Spices have an uncanny way of permeating memories even if we are not aware of it. As Erma Bombeck once said “Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.”
Pascale Beale-Groom grew up in England and France surrounded by a family that has always been passionate about food, wine and the arts. She was taught to cook by her French mother and grandmother. In 1999 she opened Montecito Country Kitchen, a Mediterranean cooking school in Santa Barbara. She is the author of A Menu for All Seasons—Spring, A Menu for All Seasons—Summer and A Menu for All Seasons—Fall Her fourth cookbook, A Menu for All Seasons—Winter, is due out winter 2011. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and lives in Santa Barbara with her family.
Makes 8 servings
21 ⁄ 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups fresh vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Place the carrots, ginger, cumin and olive oil in a large roasting pan and toss to coat the vegetables well. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
Pour all of the vegetable stock into the roasting pan and continue roasting the carrots (covered with a piece of foil) for another 30 minutes or until tender. Remove the pan from the oven.
Carefully purée the carrots and stock in batches in a Cuisinart. (You get the smoothest soup using this method but you can also use a hand-held blender.)
Pour the puréed soup back into the roasting pan or another saucepan to keep warm until ready to serve. Just before serving, stir the butter into the soup, check the seasoning, adding a little more salt and pepper if needed.
Note: A vegetable stock made with red onions, a couple of carrots and a leek makes a wonderful base for this soup.
Makes 8 servings
1 ⁄ 3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, dry roasted in a pan for 2 minutes
1 ⁄ 2 tablespoon dried thyme
1 ⁄ 2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground sumac
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
8 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed and leaves chopped
21 ⁄ 2 –3 pounds black cod filets
1 lemon, quartered
Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a small bowl combine all the ingredients except the filets of black cod. Stir to combine well so that you have a thick herb/ spice paste. Place the filets on a roasting pan or sheet pan and then spoon the herb/spice mixture all over the fish. Make sure all the filets are well coated. Leave for 15 minutes before baking.
Roast the fish filets in the oven for 12–15 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the cooked filets, and then serve with the quinoa.
Makes 8 servings
2 cups red quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 ⁄ 3 cup olive oil
3 shallots, peeled and finely diced
1 ⁄ 2 tablespoon curry powder
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 small garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or Jerez sherry vinegar
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
1 ⁄ 2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 ⁄ 2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 ⁄ 2 bunch dill, finely chopped
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. You can also cook the quinoa in a rice cooker, using the same proportions.
Whilst the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. Pour 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a small saucepan or skillet placed over medium heat. Add in the shallots, curry powder, fresh ginger, garlic, a large pinch of salt and some black pepper and cook for 3–4 minutes so that the shallots are lightly golden and the aroma from the spices is released. Set aside.
In a medium-sized salad bowl combine the lemon juice, zest, vinegar and the remaining olive oil and whisk everything together so that it is well combined. Add in the spiced shallots and stir to combine well. Place utensils over the vinaigrette and add in all the chopped herbs.
Once the quinoa has cooked, let it cool down a little, then add it to the salad bowl. Fifteen minutes before you are ready to serve the salad, toss and combine all the ingredients well.
Makes 10–12 servings
For the Pears
3 firm ripe pears, peeled and cut in eighths
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Melt the butter and sugar in a large pan, placed over mediumhigh heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the pears and cook for 10 minutes, turning them carefully once or twice. (You want the pear slices to retain their shape—if they are very ripe, reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.) Set aside.
For the Cake
10 ounces butter (room temperature)
10 ounces (2 cups) packed light brown sugar
8 ounces (12 ⁄ 3 cups) unbleached flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon clove powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 or 5 twists of freshly ground black pepper
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 ounce crystallized ginger, finely chopped
5 large eggs, separated, egg yolks lightly beaten in a small bowl
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 10-inch cake tin with a removable bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in a large saucepan placed over medium heat. Stir until completely melted. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, ground ginger, clove powder, cinnamon, fresh and crystallized ginger, baking powder, salt and pepper. Carefully fold the flour mixture into the melted butter and sugar.
Stir the egg yolks into the batter, stirring until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and then gently fold them into the batter.
Slide the pear slices into the prepared cake tin and arrange into a spiral pattern. Carefully pour the gingerbread batter over the pears so they are completely covered, smoothing the top of the batter.
Bake for 30 minutes. A skewer or knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing the outside of the cake tin. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving platter and slowly remove the parchment paper and the bottom of the cake tin.
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Eight markets, six days a week. See schedule on page 9. 805 962-5354; sbfarmersmarket.org
Dey Dey’s Best Beef Ever
Local grass-fed beef. Never any hormones, antibiotics or corn. They now sell pasture raised chicken, too. Available at Santa Rita Crossroads Farm Stand at the corner of Hwy 246 and Drum Canyon Rd. and at the farmers markets: Sunday in Goleta and Studio City; Wednesday in Solvang; Thursday in Carpinteria and Goleta; Saturday in Pasadena. 805 570-9000 or by email at bldegl@live.com; bestbeefever.com
John Givens Farm
John Givens started John Givens Farm in the Goleta Valley under the “Something Good” label in 1980. Their produce is USDA Certified Organic and is raised in Santa Barbara County on 180 acres in 12 locations. Contact them by phone to join their CSA program. 805 964-4477.
Rancho San Julian Beef
Rancho San Julian Beef produces high quality beef from cattle raised humanely and healthfully on an agriculturally sustainable ranch in Santa Barbara County. Available at the following farmers markets: Saturday in Santa Barbara 8:30am–12:30pm, Tuesday in Santa Barbara 3–6:30pm and Friday in Montecito 8–11:30am as well as on their website rsjbeef.com
Shepherd Farms
Organic since 1973, Shepherd Farms brings produce from the farm directly to your plate. Join the CSA program, or visit them at the farmers market or at the farm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1–5pm and Saturday 11am–3pm. 6701 Casitas Pass Rd., Carpinteria; shepherdfarmscsa.com
Cadena’s Fresh Fish
Cadena’s Fresh Fish specializes in locally caught seafood with home delivery and delivery service to restaurants. 805.698.8554; cadenasfish.com
Santa Barbara Fish Market
Focusing on providing the community with the local fishermen’s fresh, daily harvest. Member of the Santa Barbara Sustainable Seafood Program. Located right at the harbor at 117 Harbor Way, Santa Barbara. 805 965-9564; sbfish.com
Joëlle Olive Oil
Joëlle Olive Oil offers a full line of fresh, cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil estate grown in California. Award winning in international competitions, all of their oils are unfiltered, extra virgin, and date-stamped for year of production. joelleoil.com
Simply Pies
Simply Pies specializes in delicious organic pies, pot pies, quiches and cheesecakes that are handcrafted with fresh, local organic ingredients. Vegan, gluten free and sugar free options. Open Tuesday–Saturday 11am–3pm. 5392 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara. 805 845-2200; simplypiessb.blogspot.com
Isla Vista Food Co-op
A community-owned food co-op highly regarded for its sustainable business practices and high-quality foods. Highlighting local, organic, fair-trade, shade-grown, farmer-owned, vegan, vegetarian, kosher, raw, gluten-free all-around sustainable ways of being. Open daily 8am–10pm. 6575 Seville Rd., Isla Vista. 805 968-1401; islavistafoodcoop.blogspot.com
Local Harvest Delivery
Local Harvest Delivery provides weekly delivery of harvest boxes filled with a balance of chemical-free, fresh and local fruits, vegetables and other local foods directly to your doorstep. 805 845-8605; localharvestdelivery.com
Lazy Acres
Santa Barbara’s best source for wholesome, natural and organic foods and products with real people dedicated to providing unmatched personal service. Monday–Saturday, 7am–11pm, Sunday 7am–10pm. 302 Meigs Rd., Santa Barbara, 805 564-4410; lazyacres.com
Los Olivos Grocery
Los Olivos Grocery offers a wide selection of local products and produce and their delicatessen is a valley favorite. In the evenings they offer alternating dinners featuring Southern soul, Mexican and Mediterranean dishes. Local wines and beers are also offered. 2621 W. Highway 154, Santa Ynez. 805 6885115; losolivosgrocery.com
Plow to Porch Organics
Local organic market and produce delivery service. The market carries a wide array of seasonal and local produce, meat and food products and is located at 3204 State St., Santa Barbara. Open Monday–Friday 10am–5pm. 805 705-4786; plowtoporch.com
Ballard Inn & Restaurant
Comfortably elegant accommodations, attentive staff and award-winning cuisine make the Ballard Inn & Restaurant one of the most sought-after small luxury inns in the Santa Barbara Wine Country. 2436 Baseline Ave., Ballard. 800 638-2466, 805 688-7770; ballardinn.com
Crimson Day Spa Boutique
Experience the personalized attention you deserve in the warm intimate setting of Crimson Day Spa Boutique. Offering the finest selection of plant-based products to care for your skin, body and home. Monday noon–4pm, Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm. 31 Parker Way. 805 563-7546; crimsondayspa.com
Homegrown Pantry Kitchen Gardens
Homegrown Pantry Kitchen Gardens specializes in the design, installation and maintenance of organic vegetable and herb gardens. 805 305-7509; homegrownkitchengardens.com
Wilson Environmental Landscape Design
A full-service, landscape design and installation company, WELDesign offers consulting services specializing in all phases of ecological restoration and development of a Home Food Forest. 805 957-4729; weldesign.net
Integrative Medicine Center of Santa Barbara
The Integrative Medicine Center of Santa Barbara is a primary care medical clinic, balancing modern conventional medicine with alternative healing. Santa Barbara office: 601 E. Arrellaga Suite 101; 805 963-1824. Lompoc office: 806 E. Ocean Ave; 805 740-9700. drsaundersmd.com
Organic meals prepared by gourmet chefs delivered fresh to your doorstep. Customized plan to fit your needs/preferences. Weight loss plan with proven results. Pharmaceutical grade supplements discounted for meal delivery clients. Menu overseen by registered dietitian. 805 450-2628 or 805 683-4422; delishorganic.com
Be Green Packaging
Be Green Packaging, LLC designs, manufactures, and distributes well designed, high quality, industrial and food-grade, tree free, GMO free, compostable packaging made from renewable plant fibers. begreenpacking.com
California Solar Electric
California Solar Electric is dedicated to providing high quality customer service and the latest most efficient solar electric technology on the market. We support our customers and neighboring communities by providing a sustainable future with education, promotion and installation of clean, renewable power from the sun. Call today for a free analysis: 805 640-7903.
Modern Organic Design
Modern Organic Design is a boutique architectural firm specializing in residential, small commercial and tenant improvement projects. Contact Travis B. Colburn, A.I.A. at 805 259-4067 for a free consultation or visit modernorganicdesign.net for more information.
See our Edible Dining Guide on page 20.
Chocolate Maya
Chocolate Maya scours the world for pure, luscious chocolates and offers incredible savory bars, truffles, bonbons and gift baskets as well as a wide choice of organic and fair trade chocolate products. Monday–Friday 11am–6pm, Saturday 10am–4pm. 15 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara 805 965-5956; chocolatemaya.com
C’est Cheese
C’est Cheese is your local source for the finest cheeses and artisanal foods. In addition to cheese, they offer a host of gourmet foods such as salamis, fine cured hams, olive oils and vinegars, wines, handmade chocolates, catering services, gift baskets and picnic coolers. Monday–Friday 10am–6pm. Saturday 8am–6pm. Closed Sundays. 825 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara. 805 965-0318; cestcheese.com
Global Gardens
Global Gardens uses only the freshest of organic or natural, pesticide-free ingredients to make their exclusive line of extra virgin olive oils, fruit vinegars, appetizer spreads, glazes, savory snacks and confections. Open daily 11am–5pm. 2477 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos. 805 693-1600; oliverevolution.com
Montecito Country Kitchen
Montecito Country Kitchen is Santa Barbara’s unique Mediterranean-flavored cooking school and online culinary boutique, offering classes showcasing the seasonal produce of local farmers markets as well as an enticing line of cookbooks, herbs, spices, exotic salts, olive oils and more. mckcuisine.com
Here’s the Scoop
Here’s the Scoop offers the finest gelato and sorbet made fresh daily from local farms and farmers market fruit. They specialize in seasonal flavors as well as traditional Italian flavors. 1187 Coast Village Rd., Montecito. 805 969-7020. heresthescoop@ cox.net
Avant Tapas and Wine
Avant Tapas and Wine is the tasting room for over 30 vintners producing their wine at the Terravant Wine Company’s stateof-the-art production facility, in Santa Barbara County. Open for tasting and a menu of tapas and pizza Thursday–Sunday 11am–8pm. 35 Industrial Way, Buellton. 805 686-9400; avantwines.com
Alma Rosa
With certified organic vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills, Alma Rosa focuses on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir-Vin Gris. All wines are food friendly with the high acid and extraordinary balance for which Richard Sanford’s wines have been known since 1976. Open 11am–4:30pm daily. 7250 Santa Rosa Rd., Buellton. 805 688-9090; almarosawinery.com
BiN 2860 International Wine Shop
With both local and international wines available, BiN 2860 at Fess Parker Wine Country Inn & Spa has one of the best wine selections in the Santa Ynez Valley. 2860 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. 800 446-2455, 805 688-7788; bin2860.com
Buttonwood Farm Winery
In 1968 Betty Williams came to Buttonwood, creating a life that found expression through a connection with the land. The 39-acre vineyard, started in 1983, now has 33,000 vines with a mix of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Marsanne, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Visit the tasting room at 1500 Alamo Pintado Rd., Solvang. Open 11am–5pm daily. 805 688-3032; buttonwoodwinery.com
D’Vine Wine Bar
This stylish wine bar pours wines from the Santa Rita Hills and the Central Coast, as well as offers events and private parties. Open Wednesday through Sunday 3–10pm. 107 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc. 805 735-8771; winebardvine.com
Kenneth Volk Vineyards
Proprietor Ken Volk has been making Santa Barbara and Central Coast wines for more than a quarter century. He is known for crafting world-class wines, particularly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Their tasting room is open daily 10:30am–4:30pm. 5230 Tepusquet Road, Santa Maria. 805 938-7896; volkwines.com
Oreana Winery & Marketplace
Oreana Winery & Marketplace is a tasting room, wine shop, gourmet gift market and fully-functional winery housed in a historic tire shop. From their small batches of Pinot Noir to their sizable red table wine, Oreana has a wine for everyone. Open daily 11am–5pm. 205 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara. 805 962-5857; oreanawinery.com
Qupé
Qupé is dedicated to producing handcrafted Rhône varietals and Chardonnay from California’s Central Coast. They employ traditional winemaking techniques to make wines that are true to type and speak of their vineyard sources. Their tasting room is open daily 11am–5pm. 2963 Grand Ave., Suite B, Los Olivos. 805 686-4200; qupe.com
Riverbench Vineyard & Winery
Since 1973 Riverbench has produced some of Santa Barbara County’s finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. With their initial harvest in 2006, they have now begun producing their own wines with winemaker Chuck Ortman. Tasting Room is open from 10am–4pm daily. 6020 Foxen Canyon Rd., Santa Maria. 805 937-8340; riverbench.com
Roblar Winery & Cooking School
The spirit of easygoing hospitality is central to Roblar’s philosophy. Come by for a taste of their current releases, browse the gift shop and deli, or stay for lunch. Open for tasting Saturday–Sunday 10am–5pm, Monday–Friday 11am–4pm. 3010 Roblar Ave., Santa Ynez. 805 686-2603; roblarwinery.com
Wandering Dog
Wandering Dog Wine Bar offers the most interesting and delicious wines from artisan producers along the Central Coast, as well as from around the world. Sample one of their tasting flights or create your own from the nearly 50 wines available by the glass every day. Monday–Thursday 1–8pm, Friday–Sunday 11am–8pm. 1539 C Mission Dr., Solvang. 805 686-9126; wanderingdogwinebar.com
Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards
Zaca Mesa is a Santa Ynez Valley estate winery dedicated to Rhone varieties. Since 1972, they have handcrafted wines from grapes grown in their vineyards to express their distinct character and genuine quality. Open daily 10am–4pm. 6905 Foxen Canyon Rd., Los Olivos. 805 688-9339 ext. 308; zacamesa.com
SATURDAY–SUNDAY, JANUARY 29–30
Edible Institute
Hotel Mar Monte
Edible Communities presents Edible Institute — a weekend of talks, presentations, workshops and local food and wine tastings — by some of the local food movement’s most influential thinkers, writers and producers. To buy tickets, go to: brownpapertickets.com/event/138912. For more information: 800 652-4217; ediblecommunities.com
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10
An Evening with Michael Pollan 8pm; The Granada
With his trademark clarity, concision and wit, sustainable food movement leader Michael Pollan will be joined in conversation by NPR’s, Renee Montagne. Tickets $33 general admission and $16 UCSB students in advance and at the door, if still available. 805 893-3535; artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
Film Screening: Kings of Pastry (D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus, 2010, 87 minutes)
7:30pm; UCSB Campbell Hall
Sixteen of France’s finest artisans compete over three days in Lyon for the ultimate recognition, the prestigious blue, red and white striped collar that denotes the “Best Craftsman in France.” Tickets $6 general admission and $5 UCSB students. 805 893-3535; artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu
FRIDAY–SUNDAY, MARCH 4–6
World of Pinot Noir
The Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach
Bringing extraordinary Pinot Noir producers from around the globe together with Pinot Noir enthusiasts for a weekend celebration and education. To purchase tickets for the tastings, seminars and dinners, go to worldofpinotnoir.com
SUNDAY, MARCH 27
Ruth Reichl: A Spy in the House of Food 3pm; The Granada
A beloved authority on foodie culture, Ruth Reichl is a premier journalist and bestselling author. Tickets $21 general admission and $11 UCSB students in advance and at the door, if still available. 805 893-3535; artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu
BY LAURA SANCHEZ • PHOTOGRAPHY BY MACDUFF EVERTON
To Bernard Friedman, the ocean reflects infinite opportunity—a chance to partner with nature in providing a clean, sustainable food source for our coastal community while conserving valuable resources.
Bernard, the owner of Santa Barbara Mariculture, cultivates oysters and mussels in the Santa Barbara Channel. From his boat, the Perseverance, he plants young mollusks near Hope Ranch on submersible long-lines anchored to the sea floor. Amid the nutrient-rich coastal waters the shellfish filter-feed for about a year. “Nature does it best,” he says. There’s no need for chemicals or fertilizers of any kind. In fact, the lines themselves are completely unobtrusive, allowing pelagic fish and marine mammals to move naturally through them as they would a kelp forest.
Bernard is passionate about conservation and making thoughtful use of the ocean’s vast potential. After earning his undergraduate degree in marine biology and completing his master’s thesis in fisheries management, he set out to prove that we can use the ocean’s natural resources without depleting them. “People have sort of given up on the ocean,” he explains. “They feel that since we’ve abused it in the past it’s no longer a viable source of food when in reality, if we work with nature responsibly, it’s alive with possibilities.”
