Edible Santa Barbara Spring 2015

edible

ISSUE 25 • SPRING 2015

Santa Barbara Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Strawberries: A Love Story The Pig Next Door Decorative Eggs E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

2 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Downtown Santa Barbara Wine Tasting Serving Family-Owned Handcrafted Bordeaux from Happy Canyon

Daily 12 – 6 Mention “Edible” for a 2 for 1 Tasting

813 Anacapa St

(805) 897-3366 GrassiniFamilyVineyards.com

Margerum & MWC32 Join us at our NEW SPACE in the El Paseo Courtyard • Offering limited, library and reserve wines

OUR TWO TASTING ROOMS

MWC32

MARGERUM TASTING ROOM

813 ANACAPA STREET (In the El Paseo Courtyard)

813 ANACAPA STREET (Adjacent to the Wine Cask)

Open Daily 12–6pm • Space available for private events • 805.845.8435 • MargerumWineCompany.com EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 3

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SANTA BAR BAR A

®

M A R C H , A P R I L , M AY

page 20

STE VEN BROWN

ROSMINAH BROWN

spring

page 12

Departments 8 Food for Thought

28 Drinkable Landscape

by Krista Harris

The Straw(berry) that Stirs the Drink

by George Yatchisin

10 Small Bites Gluten-Free Delicacies

Community-Supported Cooking It’s Bacon Cocktail Supplies Kouign-Amann Vertical Tasting: Full of Life Flatbread Pizzas

12 Edible Notables Alma Rosa and Longoria

page 26 4 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ERIN FEINBL AT T

14 Edible Notables

30 Edible Garden Growing Your Own Strawberries

by Joan S. Bolton

34 Events & Happenings The Visionary Lucidity Festival

by Rosminah Brown

66 Event Calendar 68 Dining Guide

Events This Spring

70 Source Guide and Maps

16 Local Heroes

80 The Last Bite

19 In Season

Spring’s Don’t-Miss Dish

by Liz Dodder

20 Seasonal Recipes

Decorative Eggs Egg Salad Sandwich Scotch Eggs Egg Curry

Discover the new Seagrass and dine in casual elegance…

R E S T A U R A N T

We have a private dining room and can accommodate large groups.

30 East Ortega Street • Santa Barbara • 805.963.1012 SeagrassRestaurant.com

Organic, Farmers Market Driven Menu, Gastropub Inspired

Black Sheep is a local eating spot that was created on the premise of being different and being OK with it, let’s just eat, laugh and be merry.

Happy Hour 5 - 6pm private events

and

large groups

26 E O rt e ga , Sa nt a B a rb ar a • 805 96 5 - 1 1 1 3 • The B l a c kS he e p S B .c o m EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 5

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SANTA BAR BAR A

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M A R C H , A P R I L , M AY

page 62

Features

Recipes in This Issue

38 The Pig Next Door

Salads and Sandwiches

by Barry Estabrook

22 Egg Salad Sandwich 62 Strawberry-Citrus Salad 62 Strawberry and Red Leaf Lettuce Salad

40 Raise High the Pig Farms,

Santa Barbara County

by Rosminah Brown

Sides

46 A Father-Daughter Duet

by Laura Sanchez

21 Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs 24 Scotch Eggs

50 Strawberries: A Love Story

Main Dishes

by Shannon Casey

26 Egg Curry

56 A Campus Community Garden

Desserts and Preserves

by Jill Johnson

60 Strawberry Delight

by Pascale Beale

62 Spiced Strawberry-Pomegranate Jam 64 Strawberry Tartlettes with Lemon Mascarpone

Beverages 29 Very-Berry-Tini

ABOUT THE COVER

Photo by Carole Topalian of organic strawberries held in the hands of farmer Chris Finley.

6 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ERIN FEINBL AT T

spring

Building Peace of Mind.

Awa rd Wi nni ng Bui lder s S i n c e 1 986

> GiffinAndCrane.com |

(805) 966-6401 | License 611341 | 7 EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Strawberry

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SANTA BAR BAR A

C AROLE TOPALIAN

Fields Forever When I was about 11 years old, my best friend, Laura, and I would make strawberry shortcake for her birthday. Her birthday falls in April, in the middle of prime strawberry season, so it was a natural to make anything with strawberries. Of course in the 1970s in suburban San Diego, there wasn’t much of a local food scene, so I have no idea where those strawberries came from.

But perhaps they came from Santa Barbara.

In this issue, Shannon Casey writes about the history and lore of the strawberry in general and, more specifically, about the fact that it is the number one crop in Santa Barbara County. Pascale Beale gives us recipes for strawberries, George Yatchisin a cocktail and Joan Bolton tells us how to grow our own.

At first I wondered why on earth we would want to devote garden space to strawberries when we have such a prolific and virtually year round source of them here at our farmers markets and grocery stores. But clearly there are advantages to plucking a ripe, fresh berry right out of your own garden. And I can’t help remembering my first trip to Venice when I found the tiny, delicious alpine strawberries at the Rialto market. I bought a basket and we ate them in our apartment kitchen while looking out of the window at the rain. I said to myself I wish we had these in Santa Barbara.

The alpine strawberries, sometimes called woodland strawberries or wild strawberries, are also known as Fraises des bois. I haven’t seen them for sale at our farmers markets, but I have heard they are sometimes available. And you could, of course, plant your own.

After talking for just a few minutes with Noey Turk of Yes Yes Nursery I became really interested in this idea. She told me about exotic varieties such as Mieze Schindler, Mara des Bois and Sarian, all of which she’ll have starts for this spring. She also told me about a white variety that she tried, but not that many people had interest in. Too bad, I would like to try those, too.

I would like to try making some of the strawberry recipes in this issue with those delectable little alpine strawberries. I might also have to make strawberry shortcake and transport myself back to a time in the 1970s when strawberry fields were a song and there was nothing to get hung about.

Krista Harris, Editor and Co-Publisher

Join Us

PUBLISHERS

Steven Brown & Krista Harris EDITOR

Krista Harris RECIPE EDITOR

Nancy Oster COPY EDITOR & PROOFING

Doug Adrianson Marsha Frankel DESIGNER

Steven Brown SOCIAL MEDIA

Jill Johnson

Contributors Pascale Beale Joan S. Bolton Rosminah Brown Shannon Casey Liz Dodder Barry Estabrook Erin Feinblatt Karna Hughes Jill Johnson Laura Sanchez Carole Topalian George Yatchisin

Contact Us info@ediblesantabarbara.com

Advertising Inquiries ads@ediblesantabarbara.com 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 that may arise as a consequence of the use of any information or 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.

© 2015

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8 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

edible Santa Barbara

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

®

©2015 JEREMY BALL

LOMPoC

WINE Trail

An exceptional wine tasting experience in the Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County

E. Laurel Ave

WINE WINE GHETTO GHETTO

16 18

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15 N. 7th Street

E. Chestnut Ave

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3

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N. D Street

22

N. E Street

4

N. F Street

E. Chestnut Ct

26

1 14 10

27

N. 12th Street

6

23

E. Chestnut Ave

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of world-class, small-producer tasting rooms in Santa Barbara County, making it an easy destination for your wine-getaway.

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Santa Barbara County, making it an easy destination The Lompoc Wine Ghetto has the one of the largest concentrations for your wine-getaway.

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1 Ampelos Cellars

8 Fiddlehead Cellars

15 Longoria Wines

22 Scott Cellars

2 Arcadian Winery

9 Flying Goat Cellars

16 Montemar

23 Stolpman Vineyards

312 N. 9th St. 805 736-9957 AmpelosCellars.com 1515 E. Chestnut Ave., Unit B 805 737-3900 ArcadianWinery.com

1597 E. Chestnut Ave. 800 251-1225 FiddleheadCellars.com 1520 E. Chestnut Ct., Unit A 805 736-9032 FlyingGoatCellars.com

415 E. Chestnut Ave. 866 759-4637 LongoriaWine.com 1501 E. Chestnut Ct., Unit E 805 735-5000 Facebook.com/MontemarWines

316 N. F St. 805 736-6161 ScottCellars.com 1700 Industrial Way, Unit B 805 688-0400 StolpmanVineyards.com

3 Bratcher Winery

10 Jalama Wines

17 Moretti Wine Co.

24 Taste of Sta. Rita Hills

4 Brewer-Clifton Winery

11 JCR Vineyard

18 Pali Wine Company

25 Transcendence

19 Palmina Wines

26 Tyler Winery

20 Piedrasassi Wine & Bread

27 Zotovich Cellars

1515 E. Chestnut Ave., Unit B 805 737-3900 BratcherWinery.com 329 N. F St. 805 735-9184 BrewerClifton.com

5 Conarium Wines

1591 E. Chestnut Ave. 202 257-2171 ConariumWines.com

6 De Su Propia Cosecha

1501 E. Chestnut Ct., Unit A 805 345-9355 DeSuPropiaCosecha.com

7 Domaine de la Côte

1503 E. Chestnut Ave. 805-500-8337 DomaineDeLaCote.com

308 N. 9th St., Unit C 805 735-8937 JalamaWines.com 1500 E. Chestnut Ct. JCRVineyard.com

12 Kessler-Haak

300 N. 12th St., Unit 1F 805 743-4107 KesslerHaakWine.com

13 LaMontagne Winery

1509 E. Chestnut Ave. 805 291.6643 LaMontagneWinery.com

14 La Vie Vineyards

308 N. 9th St., Unit D 805 291.2111 LaVieVineyards.com

1595 E. Chestnut Ave. 805 735-4400 MorettiWines.com 1501 E. Chestnut Ct., Unit C 805 735-2354 PaliWineCo.com 1520 E. Chestnut Ct. 805 735-2030 PalminaWines.com 1501-1503 E. Chestnut Ave. 805 736-6784 Piedrasassi.com

21 Samasara

12

1505 E. Chestnut Ave. 805 735-8774 TasteOfStaRitaHills.com 313 N. F St. 805 455-9589 TranscendWines.com 300 N. 12th St., Unit 4A 805 741-7281 TylerWinery.com

300 N. 12th St., Unit 1D 805 736-1600 ZotovichCellars.com

1500 E. Chestnut Ct., Unit A 805 331-2292 EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 9 SamsaraWine.com

Small Bites Local Tastes

Places to go, things to eat and treats for your palate this spring.

Community-Supported Cooking Julienne

Inspired by community-supported agriculture (CSA), the concept of Julienne’s CSC (community-supported cooking) program is to help people eat wonderful, local food. But unlike getting just a box of raw ingredients, the offerings at Julienne include artfully prepared foods like duck sausage with kimchi, winter squash ravioli, creamy Parmesan dressing and sometimes a fresh produce item like Little Gem heads of lettuce from Roots Farm. The cost varies depending on the ingredients and amounts (the one pictured above was $35), and depending on what you do with your ingredients you may get one meal or several. The best part? The food is every bit as wonderful as what you find in their stellar restaurant, and yet you have the ease and convenience of eating at home.

You can see the weekly offerings at RestaurantJulienne.com in the Retail section or sign up for their email newsletter so you’ll be the first to know. The number of shares is limited, so first come, first served. Pickup is on Saturday afternoons at 138 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara.

805 845-6488.

— Krista Harris

Gluten-Free Delicacies Lilac Pâtisserie

With the opening of Lilac Pâtisserie, the gluten-free and glutenfull alike have reason to rejoice. The dedicated gluten-free bakery whips up a stunning array of delicious (and you’d never guess gluten-free) pastries and baked goods, from brioche to blueberry muffins, Linzertorte cookies to decadent cakes, like Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel, Berry Patch, Coconut Cream and the marzipan-laden Princess Torte. Their texture is light, airy and moist—the opposite of what many think of as gluten-free. The secret? Proprietors Gillian and Alam Muralles’ custom blends of rice, potato and tapioca flour and luscious pastry cream fillings and toppings. Gillian’s formal training at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and the Muralles’ years of working at SoCal bakeries add extra panache to the cakes, which are lavishly decorated, from floral bouquets to whimsical kids’ designs.

Lilac Pâtisserie is located at 1017 State St., Santa Barbara. Breakfast and lunch service and bread were in the works, as of press time. For bakery hours, call 805 845-7400 or visit LilacPatisserie.com.

—Karna Hughes

It’s Bacon Jimenez Family Farm

You’ll read more about some of the new local pork producers later in this issue, but there is one farm that has been providing us with natural meats in a sustainable and “beyond organic” way for years —Jimenez Family Farm.

While Marcie Jimenez is known for Marcie’s Pies and Goods (including fantastic jams), we really appreciate the quality and variety of their meat products—especially their delicious bacon.

You can’t go wrong with their MSG- and nitrate-free product; even a little bit added to a dish brings loads of flavor. Try it in a BLT or crumble some onto an open-faced egg salad sandwich.

Oh, you can have it for breakfast, too.

You can find Jimenez Family Farm at the farmers market on Tuesday and Saturday in Santa Barbara, Wednesday in Solvang, Thursday in Carpinteria and Friday in Montecito. You can also check prices and place orders at JimenezFamilyFarm.com.

—Krista Harris 10 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

vertical TASTING

Full of Life Flatbread Pizzas Frozen pizza is not something that you’d think would be local, healthy or mind-blowingly delicious, and yet Full of Life Flatbread Pizza is just that. Handcrafted in small batches right here in Santa Barbara County, their line of frozen pizzas make a quick weeknight dinner or snack for those times we just can’t drive to Los Alamos. The pizzas are fully baked in their woodfired pizza oven and just need a quick reheating in your oven or on your grill.

Cocktail Supplies Still – Elevate Your Ethanol

You knew it was just a matter of time… Santa Barbara needed a retail store for the mixologists. We are now lucky enough to have Still – Elevate Your Ethanol, which is both an online as well as a bricks and mortar shop right in the heart of downtown. Owner Jeremy Bohrer has selected a fine offering of tools, ingredients and cocktail accessories. We like the fact that you can find those practical and inexpensive items (simple wood muddlers start at $3.99) as well as the splurge items (a copper cocktail shaker for $72.99). And the selection of exotic bitters makes our mouth water.

Still – Elevate Your Ethanol is located at 37 E. Ortega St., Santa Barbara; 805 883-1080. They are open Tue–Sun 10am–7pm. You can also order online at ElevateYourEthanol.com.

—Krista Harris

Kouign-Amann A Specialty at C’est Cheese

Gooey. Chewy. Flakey. Cakey. Sugary. Salty. The KouignAmann (KWEEN ah mon) is a caramelized delight wrapped in a laminated pastry inside a popover-shaped enigma. Rumored to have been created in Douarnenez, a little village in Finistère, Brittany, in the 1800s, it certainly lives up to its Breton name kouign (cake) amann (butter.)

It may be difficult to remember one of the pronunciations bandied about, but the flavor will linger long in your memories. Locally, C’est Cheese bakes up these luxurious little breakfast buttery bites, but hurry… they are a best seller and they do disappear quickly.

Flax Seed & Pistachio Pizza with Red Onions & Rosemary Made with organic flour, flax seeds and pistachios You might recognize this as the Shaman Bread that is on their menu at the restaurant, and it is one of their signature flatbreads. The sweet red onions pair perfectly with the crunch of the slightly charred pistachios. It’s a lighter flatbread, but packed with flavor—great for an appetizer.

You could easily pair this with a Rhone-style white wine such as a Grenache Blanc.

Tomato Sauce Pizza with Three Cheeses Made with organic flour, tomatoes and vegetables Oozing with cheese, this is a classic pizza that everyone will love—especially finicky kids. We can’t help thinking about delicious amendments to place on top. Slices of cooked sausage, sautéed spinach, fresh arugula or crumbled bacon. It’s all good. You could pair this with just about any local beer, wine or soda/kombucha.

Olive & Feta Cheese Pizza with Cornmeal Crust & Tomatoes Made with organic flour, tomatoes and vegetables This pizza gets a hit of tangy, salty flavor from the olives that is beyond delicious. You could serve this with a fresh spinach salad lightly dressed with olive oil for a simple, elegant supper. It could either be paired with a light, almost effervescent white wine or an earthy, local Pinot Noir. Or both.

Mushroom Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Tomatoes Made with organic flour, onions and tomatoes This has robust mushroom flavor that again defies the fact that it was frozen. It is well seasoned and perfect by itself. But feel free to pair with a salad of spring greens and a citrus olive oil dressing. It would stand up to a hearty local Syrah or your favorite local brew.

C’est Cheese is located at 825 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara.

The bakery and café is open Mon–Sat 7am–6pm and Sun 8am–3pm.

805 965-0318; CestCheese.com.

Full of Life Flatbread frozen pizzas can be found at many grocery and natural foods stores throughout Santa Barbara County and beyond. Visit FullOfLifeFoods.com for more information.

—Jill Johnson

—Krista Harris EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 11

edible

Notables OLD FAVORITES, NEW TASTING ROOMS

Alma Rosa and Longoria

R

ichard Sanford and Rick Longoria— two of the most well known, respected and admired winemakers in our region—have each recently opened up new tasting rooms. And Santa Barbara County is all the richer for it.

Alma Rosa Winery In what has almost become legendary in the telling, Richard Sanford discovered that the temperatures in the Santa Rita Hills were conducive to Burgundian grape varietals by driving around the valley circa 1970 with a thermometer sticking out of the window of his car. He has been at the forefront of the local viticulture and winemaking industry ever since. His commitment to organic and sustainable practices reaches beyond just the vineyard.

The new Alma Rosa tasting room in Buellton couldn’t exemplify the name more— alma meaning soul and Rosa referring to the Santa Rosa land grant in the Santa Rita Hills.

From the large living olive tree in the center of the room to the fireplace in the back and the beautifully crafted wood tables with stones at the base, all the elements are here. While tasting the exquisite Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, you can see the location of the vineyards on a large photo on one wall; on the other wall a multimedia display provides you glimpses of the grapes and the winemaking process.

The tasting room is located at 181-C Industrial Way, Buellton (next door to Industrial Eats), and is open daily 11am – 4:30pm and often until 6pm on Friday and Saturday. 805 688-9090; AlmaRosaWinery.com.

Longoria Wines Rick Longoria has been a pioneer in the local wine industry since the mid 1970s and led the way in 1998 by turning Lompoc’s industrial business park into the famed Lompoc Wine Ghetto.

Now, after outgrowing that space, he has moved just up the street into a newly remodeled facility that houses his winemaking facility, tasting room and additional space for special events.

Showcasing local artists and with plans to plant a small grape demonstration garden, this tasting room has all the makings of a destination. And Longoria Wines never cease to impress during a tasting or paired with food. In addition to the classic Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietals, they are known for their Spanish varietals—Albariño and Tempranillo, as well as a dessert Port-style wine. Lovers of art and music collect their Blues Cuvée, which is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Bordeaux grape varietals.

The tasting room is located at 415 E. Chestnut Ave., Lompoc, and is open daily 11am–4:30pm. 866 759-4637; LongoriaWine.com.

—Krista Harris Top to bottom: A welcoming entrance to the Alma Rosa Tasting Room. In the center of the space is a large, live olive tree.The barrel room in Longoria’s new facility. Room for tasting and events at the Longoria Tasting Room.

12 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

FULL of LIFE

Flatbread Los Alamos, California

field baking since 2003

Restaurant, certified org anic frozen pizzas, field bakes and catering w w w.Fu llO f Li f eFo o ds.co m

APRIL 23RD - 26th, 2015

Photo by Bob Dickey

Photo: Crushed Grape Chronicles

THE PREMIER SPRING WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL GRAND TASTING SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH

RIVER VIEW PARK, BUELLTON 1:00 to 4:00PM 100+ Wineries paired with dozens of wine country restaurants & regional food purveyors. Enjoy local art & artisans and live music.

VINTNERS’ VISA: Extend your stay and see wine country! Get your wine tasting pass for April 23 ~26 and choose from dozens of participating wineries. Great value at $60 each; pay only $50 each when ordered with a Festival ticket!

For information & tickets visit sbvintnersweekend.com or call 805-688-0881

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 13

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Notables

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ISSUE 8 • WINTER 2010 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Events This Spring

D

espite having such balmy weather in the winter, springtime in Santa Barbara is when the events kick into full gear. Your calendar may be filling up, but you’ll want to make room for these two. And don’t forget to check our Event Calendar on page 66 for more events.

An Interview with

Michael Pollan 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

Wild Yeast Bread Profound Pairings A Passion for Spices The cover of Edible Santa Barbara Winter 2010.

An Evening with Michael Pollan

Second Annual Santa Barbara Food & Wine Weekend Everything you love about the food and wine of Santa Barbara County is packed into one weekend, and it’s a benefit for the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.

The beauty of it is that you can come and stay the whole weekend taking in every class and event. Or you can create your own a la carte schedule by signing up for just the classes and events you like. There are even some pre-event offsite excursions such as a tour of Rancho San Julian, wine tasting in Santa Ynez and a family-style dinner at The Lark.

Highlights of the weekend include a wine dinner with Kurt Russell, a seafood lunch with Chefs Suzanne Goin and David Lentz, Douglas Gayeton’s Lexicon of Sustainability and many classes, workshops and panel discussions on all things food and wine related. There will also be a screening of the film A Year in Champagne. And on Sunday, the Bacara sets up a tasting and marketplace that is grouped by Santa Barbara’s distinct culinary neighborhoods.

Although we may be biased because we are an event sponsor, but we think it’s just the type of event that Julia Child would have loved!

The Santa Barbara Food & Wine Weekend will be held April 16–19 at Bacara Resort & Spa. For the full schedule and tickets, visit BacaraCulinaryWeekend.com.

The last time Michael Pollan came to speak in Santa Barbara was February 2011, so it is definitely time for another visit.

As his many readers and followers know, he has had numerous New York Times bestseller books and has received countless awards and recognition. But perhaps more importantly, he has influenced the way people eat and think about food in a profound way.

His book Cooked has been out for a couple years and has inspired debate as well as discussion on the role cooking should play in our lives. In a recent email interview he told me that he was gratified by the response to Cooked, even when it was critical.

Michael wrote, “The debate pretty much acknowledges that regular home cooking is an ideal to strive for—since it is a good predictor of healthy diets and healthy families —but some critics have raised, rightly in my view, the issue that this is difficult for many people, especially the poor, who work two jobs or have long commutes, etc.” There is also the concern that the burden of cooking often falls exclusively on women. But he responds, “It's very important that not just women but the whole family return to the kitchen, husbands and kids especially.”

As for what he’s working on next, we hope he’ll speak more about that in his talk. But he hints that it will be a book on altered states of consciousness. And if you want a preview you can read the article he wrote recently for The New Yorker, titled “The Trip Treatment: Research into psychedelics, shut down for decades, is now yielding exciting results.”

Now we may be biased because Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma was one of the influences for starting this magazine, but we think everyone who eats should go listen to what he has to say.

An Evening with Michael Pollan will be held April 30 at 8pm at the Granada Theatre. For ticket information visit ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.

—Krista Harris 14 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Your body deserves the best, so feed it THE BEST!

San Roque Plaza ilfustino.com

Santa Barbara Public Market 888.798.4740

If you’re looking for an alternative to salmon, try our sablefish! It’s a buttery, mild white fish, loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that makes a perfect meal any night of the week. . . and it’s locally caught!

Santa Barbara

Santa Monica

38 W. Victoria St. #119 1000 Wilshire Blvd.

Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Santa Monica, CA 90401 (805) 845-0745 (310) 393-5244

@SantaMonicaSeafood

Costa Mesa

154 E. 17th St. Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 574-0274

@SMSeafoodRetail

www.smseafoodmarket.com

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 15

local Heros

Beverage Artisans

Figueroa Mountain Brewery & Storm Wines

Congratulations to Santa Barbara’s 2015 Local Heroes!

Farmer/Rancher/Fisherman

Ben Hyman We are excited to see a fisherman come out on top of this category for the first time. Like farmers and ranchers, fishermen have an incredibly tough job and it’s great to see our readers give recognition to those who put local seafood on our tables. Captain Ben Hyman brings his own catch and other local seafood to area farmers markets and wholesale. His decades of fishing experience have given him an appreciation of sustainable fishing practices, and he is committed to bringing the best quality product to consumers while providing a fair price to fishermen.

WildLocalSeafood.com

Restaurant

Full of Life Flatbread Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos is no stranger to the Local Hero award—they have won awards in three of the last five years. Readers are willing to drive from near and far to experience farm-to-table cuisine like no other. Owner Clark Staub and his team, including Chef David Jeffers, continue to set the bar for sourcing and showcasing our local ingredients.

FullOfLifeFoods.com

Food Artisan

Full of Life Flatbread Frozen Pizza Readers can’t eat at Full of Life Flatbread every night, but clearly they love the fact that the frozen pizzas are just a grocery store away. We also like the fact that they have locally and regionally sourced ingredients, of which 75%– 78% are certified organic—and there are even profiles of some of the local farms they source from on the box.

FullOfLifeFoods.com

16 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

We had a tie in the Beverage Artisan category and since one was a brewery and one a winery, we decided to award them both. Figueroa Mountain Brewery, owned by father and son team Jim and Jaime Dietenhofer, has grown beyond their Buellton facility to include three more taprooms in Santa Barbara County and two more opening soon in neighboring counties. They are known for their classic ales and IPAs as well as their creative small batch projects and collaborations with other local artisans.

FigMtnBrew.com Ernst Storm hails from South Africa, but has come to exemplify the creative winemaking style of Santa Barbara County. He has been handcrafting wines under his own Storm label since 2006, using a combination of Old and New World techniques and allowing the grapes to represent the terroir of each site. Wine lovers and critics consistently praise his Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noirs.

StormWines.com

M O R E R E A D E R FA V O R I T E S

The Pasta Shoppe

John Downey

Industrial Eats Cindy Black SY Kitchen Chef Pink Ballard Inn

Jason Paluska Justin West Elizabeth Poett Roots Farm Ellwood Canyon Farms Scarlett Begonia

Goodland Organics Finley Farms

Tom Shepherd

Fairview Gardens

John Givens Stephanie Mutz The Garden of….. Bob’s

Well Bread

Chocolate Maya Baker’s Table Sweet Lady Cooks Ojai Pepper Jelly

24 Blackbirds Bacon & Brine New Vineland Bakery Jessica Foster Pacific Pickle Works

Brewing Co.

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18 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

in

Season this spring Spring Produce

Year-Round Produce

Spring Seafood

Artichokes Apricots and apriums Asparagus Avocados Basil Blackberries Blueberries Broccoli rabe (rapini) Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cardoons Celery Chanterelle mushrooms Cherimoya Cherries Cilantro Collards Cucumber Dill Escarole Fava beans Fennel Garlic scapes Grapefruit Green garlic Kiwi Kumquats Limes Loquats Mulberries Mustard greens Nettles Onions, green bunching Papayas Pea greens Peas, shelling and snap Radishes Raspberries Rhubarb Strawberries Summer squash and blossoms Tangerines/Mandarins Tomatoes, hothouse Turnips

Almonds, almond butter

Mussels Ridgeback shrimp Rock fish Sardines Spot prawns White seabass

(harvested Aug/Sept)

Apples Arugula Beans, dried Beets Bok choy Broccoli Carrots Cauliflower Chard Dandelion Dates

(harvested Sept/Oct)

Garlic

(harvested May/June)

Herbs

Year-Round Seafood Abalone (farmed) Black cod Clams Oysters Rock crab Sanddabs Urchin

(Bay leaf, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme)

Edible flowers Kale Leeks Lemons Lettuce Mushrooms Onions, bulb

(harvested May/June)

Oranges Pistachios, pistachio oil (harvested Sept/Oct)

Potatoes Radish Raisins

(harvested Sept/Oct)

Shallots Spinach Sprouts Squash, winter

Other Year-Round Eggs Coffee (limited availability) Dairy

(Regional raw milk, artisanal goat- and cow-milk cheeses, butters, curds, yogurts and spreads)

Fresh flowers Honey Olives, olive oil Meat

(Beef, chicken, duck, goat, rabbit, pork)

Potted plants/herbs Preserves Wheat

(Wheat berries, wheat flour, bread, pasta and baked goods produced from wheat grown locally)

(harvested July/Oct)

Walnuts, walnut oil (harvested Sept/Oct)

Yams

(harvested Aug/Sept)

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 19

seasonal

Decorative Eggs Artful stencils are as close as your yard

F

or Easter or any spring celebration, here is an egg-dyeing technique that’s easy and makes use of local ingredients.

You decorate the eggs with flowers and weeds that are probably growing in your own backyard, and the results will garner oohs and aahs for their striking natural beauty.

The base dye uses onion skins—simple yellow onion skins from the grocery store or farmers market. I collect mine throughout the year, with the onion skins amassed through daily cooking, and I store them in a plastic bag in my cupboard.

You can also go to the market and ask the purveyor for spare onion skins. Often there are loose dry skins falling about the bins, or that are still in the shipping boxes. Always ask first.

You can use botanicals gathered from the backyard.

If you don’t have plants in your backyard—or don’t even have a yard—go to a friend’s. Be sure they are not sprayed with pesticides. Ideal botanicals have a nice silhouette and are tender

20 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ROSMINAH BROWN

Recipes

and pliable. Here is a list of plants that can produce stunning results, but try your own. Through experimentation, you might end up with a new favorite.

• Oxalis pes-caprae (Sourgrass): Use both the flowers and the clover-like leaves.

• Osteospermum fructicosum (Freeway Daisy): One of the best surprises I ever got when making eggs came from these South African daisies. Not only does the whole infloresence leave the white space, but the inner ray florets (the center part) transfer a purple dye onto it.

• Geranium sp.: The delicate frilly leaflets leave an impression reminiscent of wispy snowflakes.

• Escholtzia californica (California poppy): The leaves only, as the flowers do not lay flat enough to make a good impression.

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs 1 produce bag lightly filled with yellow onion skins, approximately 3 cups

⁄ 4 cup white vinegar, plus more for additional dye sessions as needed 1

1 dozen white eggs, plus more as needed Botanicals—flowers and leaves 1 pair of old nylon stockings, cut into 2-inch squares Twist ties A little vegetable oil A leaf decorates this naturally dyed Easter egg.

Fill an 8-quart boiling pot with 2 inches of water. Add the onion skins, and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes as the onion skins release a rich brown dye into the water. Take it off the heat and let it cool until lukewarm. Add the ¼ cup of vinegar. It is fine to leave the onion skins in.

Meanwhile, start assembling your eggs. Using a selection of botanicals, arrange the leaves and flowers against the egg. Wrap the egg snugly with the nylon and twist-tie, securing the plant design against the shell. You want a good seal, as the plant acts as a mask from the dye.

Gently add the eggs to your pot of onion skin dye. Add as many as the pot will fit in 1 layer.

The botanicals are placed on the egg, then wrapped in nylon stocking and tied.

Bring the pot of eggs and dye to a simmer and boil as long as you normally do for hard boiled eggs. I use the method of 3 minutes on a boil with the lid off, take it off the heat and clap on a lid, letting the eggs sit for a further 8 minutes in the dye.

Using tongs, retrieve the eggs from the dye, set them in a colander and run some tap water over them to rinse lightly and cool them.

When cool enough to handle, untie the eggs from their nylon pouches and remove any botanicals that might still cling to the shell. If you’ve used ideal plants, the eggs will be dyed a rich red brown while the parts covered by the plants will stay white. Or perhaps your plants transferred some of their own dyes, like the Freeway Daisy.

Finally, rub a small amount of vegetable oil in your hands and very lightly coat each egg, to give them a shine.

Some Tips: • If you like, keep using the dye for more Easter eggs. With each round, the dye goes into the eggs, so add a handful more onion skins and a tablespoon more vinegar for each round. It is fine to let the dye go lighter as well, it just adds more variety to the eggs.

• The purpose of letting the dye cool is to keep the raw eggs from cracking. If you have a surefire method of adding eggs to warmer liquid, such as piercing the bottom first, you are welcome to try and save a little time. It is helpful if you are making dozens upon dozens of eggs.

ROSMINAH BROWN

• The nylon squares can be hand washed and used over and over, even years later.

• Treat these eggs as regular boiled eggs, and they can be eaten as such.

The natural dyes do not impart any noticeable flavor or color to the egg inside.

The wrapped eggs ready to submerge in in the onion dyed water.

— Rosminah Brown EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 21

seasonal

Recipes Egg Salad Sandwich What to do with your beautiful onion-skin-dyed Easter eggs? First on the list must be a classic egg salad sandwich.

You have many variations to choose from so you won’t get tired of them, even if you’ve made dozens of eggs.

Makes 2 sandwiches 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons mayonnaise or 1 tablespoon mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon crème fraiche Salt and pepper, to taste Additions:

Additions:

• A tablespoon of something crunchy, such as capers, • chopped A tablespoon of something crunchy, such as capers, chopped celery, chopped pickled vegetables, chopped celery, chopped pickled vegetables, chopped radishes or chopped radishes or chopped onion

onion

• A sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, • cilantro, A sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, chervil or tarragon

chervil or tarragon • cilantro, A dash of something tangy, such as lemon or lime juice, or pickled juice or tangy, capersuch brineasiflemon you used either • the A dash of something or lime juice,oforthose the or a dash of or white pickled juice caperwine brinevinegar if you used either of those or a dash of white winebread, vinegarbaguette, roll, croissant or slider bun) Bread (sliced Bread (sliced bread, baguette, bagel, roll, croissant or slider bun) Additional mayonnaise and/or mustard (optional)

Additional mayonnaise and/or mustard (optional) Additional pickled vegetables (optional)

Additional pickled vegetables (optional)

Lettuce Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, seasoning and additions and mix Combine the eggs, mayonnaise, seasoning and additions and mix until incorporated but with a still chunky texture. Taste and add until incorporated but with a still chunky texture. Taste and add more seasoning or additions if needed. more seasoning or additions if needed.

Create an open-faced or closed sandwich using additional Create an open-faced or closed sandwich using additional mayonnaise on each slice if you love mayonnaise—or just mustard, mayonnaise on each slice if you love mayonnaise—or just mustard, or neither. Pickled vegetables make a great topping, such as a or neither. Pickled vegetables make a great topping as well, such as couple stalks of Pacific Pickle Works Asparagusto (pictured left). a couple stalks of Pacific Pickle Works Asparagusto.

— Krista Harris — Krista Harris

22 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ERIN FEINBL AT T

Lettuce

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 23

seasonal

Recipes

Scotch Eggs

Now it may not sound like a dish for the faint of heart or for those with dietary restrictions, but it can be surprisingly adaptable. Vegetarians can try it with a highly seasoned mixture of chickpea or bean purée instead of sausage, and it can be made gluten free by simply using gluten-free flour and nuts instead of breadcrumbs.

Makes 6 servings 6 hard-boiled eggs 1 pound sausage, bulk or squeezed out of its casings

24 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Flour 1 egg, lightly beaten Breadcrumbs or chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans Vegetable oil

Peel the hard-boiled eggs and rinse them under cold water to get rid of any little bits of shell. Divide the sausage into 6 balls. Lightly flour your hands and one of the eggs. Flatten a ball of sausage into an oval-shaped patty and wrap it around the egg, completely surrounding the egg as evenly as possible. Roll the sausage-wrapped egg in a little flour, then the beaten egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs or nuts. Set aside until all the eggs are completed.

Pour about an inch of vegetable oil into a deep skillet over medium high heat. When it reaches 350° or when a piece of bread sizzles and browns in the hot oil, it is ready. Fry the eggs, working in batches to avoid crowding the eggs in the pan. Turn the eggs so they brown on all sides, then put them in a 375° oven to finish cooking—the meat should be cooked and no longer pink even near the egg. Let cool slightly and serve.

— Krista Harris

ERIN FEINBL AT T

Still looking for things to do with your beautiful onion-skindyed Easter eggs? How about the classic British picnic snack Scotch Eggs? The flavor of these really depends on the sausage you choose. You can try anything from sweet breakfast sausage to classic bratwurst to spicy Italian. This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver’s “Proper Scotch Eggs” and he suggests serving them with a Scottish cheddar cheese and some pickles and pickled onions. You might try a little whole seed mustard, too.

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seasonal

Recipes

Egg Curry M. F. K. Fisher wrote of making an egg curry when she was a young girl that she called Hindu Eggs. It was so spicy hot that she and her sister had tears streaming down their face while they tried valiantly to eat it. You don’t have to make this dish quite so spicy, but the heat will depend on your curry blend. For a custom flavor make your own curry spice mixture. And like the previous two recipes, this is an excellent way to use up your leftover hard-boiled eggs.

Makes 4 servings 2 tablespoons butter or ghee 2 onions, finely diced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, finely diced 2 carrots, finely diced 2 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated Salt and freshly ground pepper 11⁄ 2 cups coconut milk 1 tablespoon curry powder* 1 tablespoon flour 4 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half Sprinkling of fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chervil or cilantro), chopped

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until just translucent and then add the celery, carrots, tomatoes, ginger, salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

* You can purchase curry powder or make your own blend using spices such as coriander, turmeric, cumin, ginger, fennel, mustard, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, fenugreek, cayenne, red chilies.

If the spices are whole, first lightly toast them in a skillet, then cool and grind in a coffee or spice grinder. Combine the ground spices and store in an airtight container. Do small batches and experiment!

— Krista Harris

26 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ERIN FEINBL AT T

Meanwhile blend the curry powder, flour and some additional salt and pepper with a little cold water to make a paste. Add to the skillet gradually, while stirring. Simmer, partially covered until the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Set the hardboiled egg halves gently in the curry sauce and spoon some sauce over them. Cover and cook for 5–10 minutes to heat the eggs. Garnish with the fresh herbs and serve over a bed of rice with chutney.

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DRINKABLE LANDSCAPE

The

Straw(berry)

that Stirs the Drink b y George Yatch isin

A

s a purist, I have to admit I hate finding the suffix “tini” slapped upon any drink served in an up glass. A martini is one thing—OK, four things (gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters, olives)—and one thing only. So spare me a vodka martini, or a saketini, or a tequila-tini, aka a margarita in Dior’s clothing. It’s not demeaning for a poor drink to be just called a cocktail.

Despite this opening admonition, this spring’s concoction I’ve dubbed the Very-Berry-Tini. You see, its base is the martini itself— gin and dry vermouth— but then it heads to fruitier 28 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

frontiers that also help it fit in this issue’s theme. The tricky part is that strawberries and drinks tend to merely meet in a Venn diagram where a blender sits, and although a strawberry margarita can satisfy, well, how could something sweet and icy and with an alcohol kick not?

We’re after something a bit more refined, here, something shy and enticing, not brassy and almost embarrassingly outto-please.

So here’s a general guideline: Think of concocting cocktails just like cooking —what flavors do you like together? Strawberries play well with a surprisingly diverse range of accents, and this drink aims to bring some of those into one orbit. Sure, you could use mint with strawberries, but basil gives you an almost mint hint without any of the sweet, since you’ve got the berry for that. Following that train of thought, balsamic vinegar has more sugar than you’d think, but its tartness makes the berries both brighter and tarter themselves, and, somehow, sweeter, washed of any lingering cloying. And then black pepper provides just a tickle of heat, some more depth and earth. (You’re not trying to make the drink spicy, just more pleasing to the full palate.)

The bulk of these flavors come from a simple syrup you need to make at least an hour before you want to make Very-Berry-Tinis, since it will need to cool. Simple syrups are a barkeep’s way to get sugar into a drink without graininess, since you’ll have it dissolve in boiling water.

It’s really easy to measure that way, too. Even better, beyond the basic 1:1 water and sugar mix, you can add all sorts of flavors to your syrup, and that means your cocktail will have “secret” power boosters. (If you read this column regularly, we used a simple syrup in the Tangerine Dancer last fall.)

The recipe calls for you to make much more syrup than you’ll need for a batch of cocktails, but you’ll be sure to find other uses: Who needs maple syrup when one can pour strawberry-basil-black pepper simple syrup upon one’s pancakes?

We’re talking flavors of which IHOP has never even dreamed.

Or use a bit in your salad dressing, cut with champagne vinegar, and add sliced strawberries to your salad (wild arugula, toasted walnuts, Fourme d’Ambert?). Thanks, spring.

Obviously the better the berry, the better the final sip, so here’s hoping you’re growing some in your yard or have visited the farmers market. Same for the basil, which can even come from a window box. Here’s a chance to use one of our local gins — Cutler’s Artisan Spirits Gin or Ventura Spirits Wilder Gin— but you don’t have to be picky or extravagant given all the other flavors alongside gin’s juniper.

As for the balsamic vinegar, you can use a cheaper one and not that special $50 finishing bottle you’ve had for five years as it hurts every time you drip it on something. You’re using the vinegar as a substitute for bitters in this drink, and because it’s phenomenal with strawberries, the amount you’ll use is pretty tiny.

George Yatchisin happily eats, drinks and writes in Santa Barbara.

He blogs at GeorgeEats.com.

Very-Berry-Tini Makes 2 cocktails 5 sliced strawberries 2 ounces dry vermouth

From the grill, from the sea, from the garden— join us for Northern and Southern regional Italian cuisine using local ingredients in our family’s tradition.

1 ounce strawberry-basil–black pepper simple syrup (see next recipe) 5 ounces gin 4 dashes balsamic vinegar 1 strawberry, cut in half with a cut partially down the center of each half 2 smallish basil leaves

Add sliced strawberries, vermouth and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the strawberries, really trying to break them down as much as possible but stop before boredom sets in. Add the gin and balsamic vinegar (be careful not to add too much vinegar—if necessary, pour the amount into a cocktail jigger first, then add). Add ice and shake well, until contents are well-chilled and the strawberries break up even more. Pour into 2 coupe glasses. Attach a strawberry to the rim of each glass and after slapping the basil leaf once to help it extrude its oils, float one atop each drink.

Strawberry-Basil–Black Pepper Simple Syrup 1 cup water 1 cup granulated sugar 1

⁄ 2 cup loosely packed basil leaves

1 cup sliced strawberries 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Bring the water and sugar to boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to be sure until all the sugar dissolves.

Add the basil, strawberries and peppercorns. Reduce heat and let contents simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, pushing the berries through the strainer with the flat of a spoon to get the most liquid out you can without making the syrup chunky.

Let cool. Simple syrup will remain good for at least a week when stored covered in the refrigerator.

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 29

EDIBLE GARDEN

Growing Your Own Strawberries

by Joan S. Bolton

Alpine strawberries or fraise de bois can be grown by the home gardener.

F

rom farmer’s fields to backyard gardens, strawberries are abundant everywhere on the South Coast. There’s good reason. Our cool summers and mild winters provide perfect conditions for Santa Barbara County’s number one cash crop.

But don’t let the fact that commercial growers produce the plump, juicy berries by the thousands dissuade you from growing your own. Standing in the garden with strawberry juice trickling down your chin and staining your fingers while popping just one more sweet, flavorful berry into your mouth is a delightful experience.

You’ll find a broader range of tasty varieties that commercial growers avoid because they’re too delicate for shipping and storage. And individual plants send out endless runners. Once your patch gets going, you may harvest fresh strawberries for life.

30 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Choose Your Type There are two types of traditional strawberries: short-day and day-neutral.

Short-day cultivars flower and fruit most heavily in late fall, winter and early spring, when daylight is limited. Their berries tend to be large, and include such popular varieties as Camarosa, Chandler and Sequoia.

Fruiting typically tapers off as the days lengthen and temperatures warm up. However, they’ll keep producing in cool, coastal areas such as ours as long as temperatures stay below about 75°.

Given that seasonal rhythm, if you plant short-day strawberries this spring, you’re not likely to see much fruit until fall. But plant them in fall, and they’ll begin growing, flowering and fruiting right away.

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In the meantime, spring is a fine time to plant day-neutral cultivars, such as Albion, Diamante, Quinalt, San Andreas and Tristar.

These berries are not sensitive to day length, so they hit the ground running. They will flower and fruit during all but the hottest days of summer. Their berries are usually a little smaller than the short-day types and tend to be softer, so not as good for preserving. But they taste delicious.

Some folks also grow alpine strawberries or fraises de bois, which make a dainty edging and bear miniature, intensely flavored fruit. These tiny tykes are native to Europe, while the ancestors of our short-day and day-neutral cultivars hail from North America and Chile.

In the Garden View the vast strawberry fields surrounding Santa Maria and Oxnard, and it’s clear that sunshine is a strawberry’s best friend.

Good drainage is paramount, too, as evidenced by the long, flat-topped berms stretching to the horizon.

At home, you can achieve the same results with a raised bed, mound or terra cotta strawberry pot. What you don’t need to mimic, though, is covering the berms with black plastic.

Commercial growers use the sheeting to smother weeds, warm the soil and keep the fruit clean. But I’d rather use a fresh covering of mulch to inhibit weeds and keep the fruit above the dirt. Granted, there’s no extra heating up of the soil. But plastic blocks water and oxygen from passing into the earth, which can harm beneficial soil microorganisms.

Also, to avoid exposing your strawberries to verticillium wilt, a serious soil-borne fungus, don’t plant where you’ve recently grown eggplant, melons, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes or raspberries.

Whatever the spot, work three to four inches of well-aged compost into the top foot of soil. Compost is key to boosting fertility. It also helps retain moisture in sandy soil and pushes apart dense soil particles to improve drainage in clay soil.

Plant your strawberries nine to 12 inches apart in a diamond pattern across the bed. Or dig a shallow trench about 18 inches wide. Shape a ridge an inch or two above the original soil height down the middle of the trench, then plant your plants in a zigzag atop the ridge.

Either way, push a narrow trowel into the soil, rock the trowel back and forth to open a crevice wide enough to comfortably accommodate a single plant, then slide in the plant, keeping the crown half an inch to an inch above the soil.

Do not smush the roots into the hole. The roots should dangle directly beneath the crown.

This accomplishes two disparate goals: The crown will rot if it’s buried, yet the roots need constant moisture. If you spread out the roots like spokes in a wheel, they’ll live just beneath the surface and be susceptible to drying out. Direct the roots straight down, and they’ll be deeper before venturing out.

Soak the bed, then apply one to two inches of mulch composed of loose, organic material or straw, keeping the mulch from mounding over the crowns.

32 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Applying mulch, such as straw, smothers weeds and keeps the fruit clean.

Ongoing Care Use drip irrigation or a soaker hose for weekly irrigation, or surround the plants with a moat, then flood the area regularly.

Fertilize with a complete product (such as 10-10-10) twice a year: after the main summer crop and again before growth begins in spring. But don’t fertilize at planting time. Some folks use diluted fish emulsion instead, applying it every two weeks until flowering begins.

Slugs, sow bugs and snails adore strawberries. Sprinkle an organic control like Sluggo or hand-pick the pests.

Conventional advice says to pinch off the first flowers in spring to promote bigger plants and more prolific harvests.

I haven’t had the discipline, yet still have bountiful harvests.

After your berries decline, remove any old foliage to minimize the spread of disease. Pull out older plants whose crowns are dying. Trim the remaining plants to encourage strong new runners, which are triggered by longer days and heat.

Spread out the runners, which will take root to produce next year’s crop. Or transplant the runners after they’ve sent out a few roots to achieve better spacing, expand your planting area or share with friends.

Joan S. Bolton is a freelance writer, garden coach and garden designer who confesses to a lifelong love affair with plants. She and her husband, Tom, have filled their four-acre property in western Goleta with natives and other colorful, water-conserving plants. They also maintain avocado, citrus and fruit trees and grow vegetables and herbs year-round.

SantaBarbaraGardens.com

APRIL 23RD - 26th, 2015 F R I E N D S • F L O W E R S • F A M I LY • F O O D • F U N

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Photo: Crushed Grape Chronicles

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In Goleta at Storke & Hollister 10:00am – 2:00pm

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A&L: (805) 893-3535 Granada: (805) 899-2222 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 33

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

The Visionary

Lucidity Festival Words and photos by Rosminah Brown

Melissa Cohen and Alison Hensley

n the surface it appears like a music festival or an art festival. Some might even call it a weekend party, but this event has grown from a simple vision into a multifaceted experience, which includes community involvement and sustainable practices.

It is titled Lucidity Festival, for the concept of lucid dream­ ing—the state where one becomes aware of their dream state and can take control of infinite possibilities within a creative environment.

Envisioned in 2012 by five co-founders—the four still involved are Luke Holden, Andrew Garrard, Jonah Haas and Alan Avila—the festival is scheduled this year for April 10–12 at Live Oak Campground.

O

34 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Events like the Burning Man art festival provided many of the Lucidity Festival’s co-founders with inspiration for the art installations. Other co-founders had experience with civic work, music and dance instruction, writing and art gallery curation.

They realized they had the foundation to create a unique event.

When it comes to sustainable practices, two local food activists have teamed up to tackle the festival’s need for an innovative solution to feed participants and staff. Alison Hensley (co-founder of the SOL Food Festival, among other things) and Melissa Cohen (manager of the Isla Vista Food Co-op and Girl with the Kale Tattoo blogger, among other things) are close friends and have been since college. Their friendship is obvious when they work together, with ideas in sync and

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Travis Mock is a former Santa Barbaran who returns every year to work and play at Lucidity. Bread is baked onsite from scratch. The festival site is at Live Oak Campground.

smiles to complement their enthusiasm for the event’s history of sustainable projects and its food program—and their excitement for this year. If they’re stressed about any details of the upcoming 2015 festival, it doesn’t show.

The kitchen is run by a catering duo, Chef Gage and Chef Julia Michelle, who operate Collision Cuisine. Together they ran a full kitchen and coordinate volunteers that served over 8,000 healthy organic meals in under nine days in 2014. They plan to do even more this year.

Care is taken to keep vegetarian options separate from meats, with Chef Gage using his mobile food truck to isolate specific food preparations. Bread is baked on site from scratch, fruit and vegetables are cut up for salads and soups, and even during production the experienced staff take the time to teach volunteers and improve their team’s working skills.

In fact, records are kept on all volunteers at Lucidity to track their progress and to actively challenge them to apply those skills to future events. This is part of an educational and vocational program called Lucidity University that aims to establish a work experience certification program for its participants.

Not only does the festival cook up meals for staff and volunteers, it also has a number of vendors who provide organic and sustainable food for participants. And sustainable goes beyond just the food consumed.

Festival organizers have also created a Reusable Dish Program—the first of its kind in Santa Barbara County. The concept was initially in conflict with the health code, which states that “all Temporary Food Facilities can only use single use service ware.” Lucidity organizers worked with the County for approval of this pilot program, which allowed attendees to make a onetime payment of $5 for a deep plate/bowl during the event. After each use the dish could be exchanged for a clean dish or a ticket to claim a clean dish later. At the end of the event, participants could either keep the dish or make a final return and receive $2 back—making the cost of unlimited clean service ware just $3.

The Reusable Dish Program passed its final health inspection in 2014 and will be implemented again this year.

Naturally, Lucidity also has a “zero waste” policy and provides recycling and composting bins throughout the campground for attendees and vendors alike. Reusable and sustainable coconut 36 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

fiber cutlery with the Lucidity logo is sold for $2, and they print the event map on a cotton bandana instead of paper—making functional souvenirs out of materials that would normally be discarded after one use.

For attendees who wish to make their own meals at their campsites, Lucidity also offers a daily farmers market on site for fresh, organic, local produce. In past years, the market was a consolidation of several local farms, and for 2015 it primarily will be stocked and managed by Ellwood Canyon Farms.

Outside of the event itself, the Lucidity organization works on its core values of participation and community reciprocity by supporting and co-sponsoring like-minded local events such as the SOL Food Festival, Summer Solstice, the Fermentation Festival and Open Streets. They also rallied together at a moment’s notice to support the “I AM Healing” event in Isla Vista after the tragic shootings in May devastated the community.

Lucidity’s recognition that their “network is their net worth” has allowed the organization to spread its ideas far beyond one weekend a year, spearhead sustainable projects to other festivals and events, and promote the personal growth of its participants.

In other words, Lucidity is transforming us and the events around us.

Rosminah Brown is a Santa Barbara native who types fast and eats slow.

She once jumped in the Neptune Pool at Hearst’s Castle. She is still upset that JR’s BBQ closed. You can read her blog at gutfud.com.

IF YOU GO Lucidity Festival takes place April 10 –12 at Live Oak Campground.

Three-day passes are available, which includes walk-in camping onsite and full access to events, workshops and seminars.

One- and two-day passes will also available. For more info, visit 2015.LucidityFestival.com.

To read more about their sustainability programs, go to Blog.LucidityFestival.com.

To find out more about Chef Gage and Chef Julia Michelle, visit CollisionCuisine.com.

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38 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

The Pig Next Door

by Barry Estabrook PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSMINAH BROWN

S

everal years ago, I bit into a chop that caused me to all but rendered from dead pigs, chicken litter (feces contain protein) eliminate pork from my diet. It wasn’t that the chop was and “feather meal” from poultry packing houses. Their feed also bad. On the contrary, it was transcendent: rich, juicy, fatty contained antibiotics, a practice that breeds resistant bacteria that and sublimely piggy. Compared to the commodity meat at the kill 23,000 Americans a year. supermarket, it was like an August heirloom tomato picked from My taste buds were obviously trying to tell me something. the garden versus a pale, imported January facsimile.

At first, finding pork that met my new standards involved I lost my taste for the factory-raised “other white meat.” effort. I could order it online from a few suppliers such as Niman I also became determined to find out how meat from pigs Ranch, which entailed shipping costs and more advance planning could be so different —and how I could secure a dependable than I typically give to weeknight dinners. Then one Saturday supply of great pork for my own table. morning, I noticed that a cheesemaker at the farmers market I A little sleuthing revealed that frequent had a cooler full of frozen the pig that produced the chop pork. She told me her animals were By any criterion—environmental, responsible for my epiphany was free range and fed a vegetarian diet ethical and gastronomic—factory- mixed with whey left over from an old-fashioned heritage animal bred for flavor, not cookie-cutter her cheese operation. I became a raised pork is the worst meat you leanness. It had spent its life with customer. can eat. By the same token, pork about 300 fellow hogs on the Around the same time, a few rolling pastures and woodlots of a raised by small farmers near home conscientious chefs in the area made small farm about an hour from my deals with farmers to produce hogs, is the very best.

Vermont home. It had cavorted, which they would buy whole and rooted, wallowed in mud baths, break down into an array of tasty, often imaginative dishes. snoozed in the summer sun and dined on a plant-based diet. Its After listening to the stories of these chefs and farmers and manure made the vegetation richer for future pigs. visiting a few swineherds, I settled on a simple principle: By any criterion—environmental, ethical and gastronomic—factoryAs I got deeper into my quest, which by then had become raised pork is the worst meat you can eat. By the same token, pork a book project, I spent a memorable day with a pig farmer in raised by small farmers near home is the very best.

Iowa. He raised 150,000 hogs a year that produced meat of the sort that makes up 95% of the pork Americans consume. To A year or so ago, the long-time meat manager at a nearby prevent my bringing in diseases, I had to strip naked, shower and supermarket saw that an increasing number of his customers came put on special clothing, as did the owner and everyone else who in looking for the same sort of meat that I sought. He left his job, purchased a USDA-compliant mobile slaughter truck and opened entered the facility. In one dimly lit barn, more than 1,000 sows a meat market about 10 miles down the highway. Demand was so spent their entire lives in metal cages too small for them to turn brisk that he soon opened a second store not much farther away around in or even contain their swelling, pregnant bellies. Piglets up the road. For me today, getting great, local pork requires no were raised indoors in groups of 20 or so in enclosures too small extra effort, regardless of which direction I drive. to allow them to take more than a step or two in any direction.

The floor was slatted concrete that allowed the feces and urine You may not be as fortunate — yet. But in my travels, I have noticed that pork and other meats are on offer at more and to dribble into a basement-like pit directly below, where it more farmers markets. Get to know them, but be warned: accumulated, creating an eye-watering stench and emitting You may never visit the supermarket meat counter again. gaseous ammonia and hydrogen sulfide that would have killed every pig in the barn were it not for jet-engine-sized ventilation fans that blew the fumes outside, causing the air to reek for miles Barry Estabrook is the author of Pig Tales: An Omnivore’s Guide to Sustainable Meat. around. The hogs’ commercial feed included “animal protein” This little pig lives at Valley Piggery in Buellton and eagerly comes up to explore visitors and the possibility of tasty treats.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 39

Raise High the Pig Farms, Santa Barbara County Words and photos by Rosminah Brown

Jake Francis is hands-on for all the pigs he raises, providing them with scratches and playful social interaction that complements their inquisitive nature.

P

ork has seen a resurgence in popularity, starting with the ubiquitous and delicious bacon we see across meals from breakfast to dessert, and expanding into the delectable world of salumi, sausages, cured meats. And have BBQ spare ribs and grilled pork chops ever been out of fashion?

Pork is incredibly versatile, with a tender flavor that can pair equally well with sweet fruit or with full-bodied wines and fiery spices. And we owe our thanks for this delicious meat to the pig.

We now recognize that the fullest flavor of pork, as well as all edible flora and fauna, comes from organic sources, raised 40 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

naturally and the closer we source our ingredients, the more connected and respectful we are to the food that nourishes us.

There have long been farms providing us with local, organic and ethically raised pigs, with a special shout out to Jimenez Family Farm in the Santa Ynez Valley, but in recent years Santa Barbara County has seen some new piggeries popping up.

Whether it’s a special heritage breed or a sustainable farming technique, each brings a special approach to raising their pigs.

Here are three new stars, rising up to meet the county’s tall order for locally sourced pork.

VALLEY PIGGERY The Caretaker

V

alley Piggery is run by Jake Francis. It is the smallest of the new pig farms, and the most hands-on. Jake operates his piggery as a mobile space in partnership with other landowners and takes special care in being well-connected to his animals. In this way, he seems more a ward, fostering each pig and ensuring they live happily until it is time for them to take the leap. He sets up temporary paddocks and rotates them around larger pieces of pasture and woodlands every one to two weeks, building simple roofs when they need special protection from the elements. Currently Valley Piggery has its home near Los Olivos in a private walnut grove off Ballard Canyon.

The pigs are, well, they’re pigs and they root up the ground within days, even hours. They always seem hungry, despite being very well fed. They are pigs! They are also intelligent, curious and sociable. Jake gets right in there with them, providing scritches and rolling them around much like we would with our favorite pets. He doesn’t raise one specific breed, but mostly acquires them through local connections, and all of them are heritage or heritage crosses such as Berkshire and Duroc. At any given time he’ll have a handful of different varieties. Each pig has a name and they certainly have their own personalities. When I first visited, the favorite of the lot was Malty, with a beautiful chocolate color to her coat, and long floppy ears that often obscured her eyes.

Jake runs his piggery as a CSA, and members invest in a share of a pig—five full shares per pig, which is approximately 25–35 pounds of pork in a share. Half shares are also possible, and these are 12–18 pounds of pork, freshly vacuum sealed and not yet frozen. An email is sent out when a pig becomes available and members can sign up to receive a share on an as-need basis.

It is possible to make preferences for certain cuts known before committing to a share, but part of the joy of a CSA is receiving a variety of cuts and getting creative with them. All shares include a selection of fresh chops, roasts and sausages.

He can also make special arrangements for a whole pig roast or catering.

What makes Valley Piggery stand out is clearly the intimate care Jake invests in his pigs. He has respect for the pig’s social and inquisitive nature. He knows each pig and its personality, and he will take time each day to give each attention and keep them occupied with foraging challenges in as natural a state as possible, while being mindful that his paddock’s impact on the land remains beneficial to the landowner. Jake encourages people to come visit and see the pigs firsthand.

Being a one-man operation does mean there are limits to its scale, and for this reason Jake will always have a close hand in each pig that comes from his business. This means conscious and consistent quality pork for us. In the coming months, Jake will be growing his drove of pigs to nearly two dozen, and this will make more pork available in his CSA. This will also allow his Butchery Workshops to occur more frequently (see sidebar).

Valley Piggery to Chef – Industrial Eats Jake works closely with Jeff Olsson of Industrial Eats and New West Catering in Buellton. He also collaborates with Jeff for their pig butchery workshops, currently held about four times a year. The class is offered in two sessions over two days, each about four hours long. The first class is devoted to basic butchering: learning pig anatomy, Jake Francis leads the whole pig butchery separating the and cutting workshop held at Industrial Eats primals and break- and New West Catering. ing down these large pieces into manageable cuts like ribs, chops, shanks and hams. This is where the saws and large butchery knives are most involved and when the session first starts, the group gathers around a stainless steel table with two whole sides of a recently living pig lying across. It can be a startling sight to those who’ve grown up seeing their meat only in sterile styrofoam packets at the grocery story.

Attendees are encouraged to participate in the cutting, becoming familiar with pig anatomy and popular cuts, and handling the butchering tools.

The second class focuses on charcuterie and the class gets hands-on practice making fresh sausages, pâtés, curing bacon and pancetta. Each class is $150, and one can sign up for a single course or both. Attendees receive a packet of recipes used in the classes and several pounds of freshly butchered and cured pork. Each class ends with a full meal using some of the pork butchered by the class, plus side dishes and wine.

Resources Valley Piggery keeps such a selectively low number of pigs that it cannot keep up with wholesale demand. The easiest way to get your hands on the pork from Valley Piggery is through its CSA and Pig Butchery workshop.

But Valley Piggery has plans to appear on local menus once operations expand.

Sign up for the newsletter by contacting info@ valleypiggery.com, which sends notifications prior to each CSA distribution, information on how to CSA works and announcements of upcoming Butchery workshops. You can also follow Jake on Instagram @valleypiggery to see his happy charges feasting, wallowing and poking around in their walnut grove.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 41

The Mangalitsa pig is a special breed known for its thick fat, but is also identified easily by its unique curly and wooly coat.

Mangalitsa pigs enjoying a good wallow in the mud at Winfield Farms in Buellton.

Bruce Steele moves a maturing batch of Mangalitsas into new spring fields, letting them forage and till the land.

42 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

WINFIELD FARM Heritage Serendipity

W

infield Farm is run by Bruce and Diane Steele. Bruce had a longtime dream to have a pig that would help consume surplus produce on his farm. What ended up happening was an explosion of pigs that’s resetting the course of the farm’s operations and helping bring a heritage breed back into popularity that was once on a path of dying out.

Bruce started out as an urchin diver and fisherman, and in 2003 became a land farmer in Buellton on Highway 246 about three miles west of Highway 101. Winfield Farm is most easily spotted by his pale blue fishing boat parked at the base of the driveway. The farm had been in land production for 10 years before Bruce’s dream of having a pig first became a reality.

The Steeles specialize in just one heritage breed, the Mangalitsa, also called a Wooly Pig, and also known as a Lard Hog. The Mangalitsa stock hails from 19th century Eastern Europe. The Mangalitsa has exceptional fat and was the prize pork of Austro-Hungarian nobility at the turn of the century.

Once you see how much fat is on its body, it’s a wonder this tenacious breed can move about quickly and easily at all.

The breed is considered rare, and it almost died out entirely. Because the Mangalitsa has so much lard, the breed was unpopular in the 1970s and ’80s when fat became unfashionable. Who remembers the ad campaign for “the other white meat?” It was almost extinction for the Mangalitsa. But thanks to the growing popularity of bacon and pork in general, a desire for rich flavor and unctuous texture in meat, and the recognition that genetic diversity is a good thing, the Mangalitsa is making a comeback and its smooth silky fat is now held in glorious esteem. Winfield Farm is currently the largest breeder of the Mangalitsa in Southern California.

The pigs are fed with fruit and vegetables from the farm with additional organic grain supplement. If Bruce sees an opportunity to feed them something local and readily available, he’ll give it to them. Like autumn acorns or winter squash. So much squash.

The Mangalitsa pigs seem to breed like crazy and the Steeles are excitedly incredulous at times that their initial investment in 2013 of a handful of pigs has become an increasing series of enclosures with their original pigs, then a serendipitous rescue of 13 additional Mangalitsas, plus their next generations.

Now there’s new sets of spunky piglets that arrived over Christmastime, running around, squealing, rooting and foraging. They grow so quickly.

Bruce is often constructing new shelters for expectant sows to birth and nurse their young. It’s not all a fairy tale—the reality is that stillborns occur, and when some don’t make it due to a sudden cold snap or the lack of enough suckling teats to go around, it is upsetting to everyone. This is farm life and it comes with unanticipated death as well. As for their fondness of the Mangalitsa piglets, Bruce says with both a smile and a shake of his head, “they’re just so darned cute.”

Winfield Farm to Chef – Full of Life Flatbread Winfield supplies whole pigs by order to local restaurants, such as Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos.

Chef/owner Clark Staub purchased a whole Mangalitsa last summer, and he and his staff broke it down and processed it entirely. The specials menu ran fresh Mangalitsa dishes for several weeks, while its legs were set to Bruce Steele with his newest batch of cure for longerMangalitsa piglets. term projects, like smoked hams, speck and lardo that started to grace dinner plates this past February.

Sourcing locally is important to Full of Life, and the relationship between farmer and chef in this case is especially close—Clark lives just a few miles away from Winfield Farm off Highway 246 and passes it daily on his way to the restaurant. Not only do we have the opportunity to eat this spectacular pork prepared by one of our county’s favorite chefs, but the two are collaborating on recipes for an upcoming Mangalitsa cookbook. Something to watch out for!

Resources Direct purchase is available to the public, by ordering online or purchasing pork through the farm’s weekend produce stand. Winfield offers the magic of Mangalitsa in all varieties of cuts and processing. The primals, or basic large cuts, are the biggest and least expensive per pound, while packets of bacon, chops or sausages are available by the pound, which is a very approachable option for those making a first foray into local heritage pork. They are a great source for the Mangalitsa’s special feature: its fat.

Both leaf fat and back fat can be bought, useful for making flaky pastry or cut into lean-meat sausages, respectively.

Slaughter and processing takes place farther north.

Currently this requires driving the pigs to a USDA-certified slaughterhouse in Fresno; the Steeles hope to bring this closer to home when such an option becomes available.

In Bruce’s ideal world, he would like to convert all this farming equipment to solar—even the tillers and plows.

Whole pig prices are $7 per pound, and are custom scheduled by contacting Winfield Farm. Select cuts in smaller portions range from $10 to $15 per pound. These can be bought by mail order, shipped or picked up in person at their weekend farm stand in Buellton.

Winfield’s Mangalitsa website: WinfieldFarm.us/store

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 43

Casitas Valley Piggery to Chef – Bacon & Brine In keeping with the permaculture idealogy, where everything is connected and complementary, it is fitting to pair Casitas Valley with Bacon & Brine in Solvang. When Chef Pink was searching out local whole pig sources, the two companies bonded over their ideals and approach to livelihood, such as their investment in family, respect for their food sources Los Olivos-based Chef Pink buys only local and the internal whole pigs, breaking each one down to be and external forces cooked, cured and smoked. which sustain them and being creative with all the raw ingredients.

A Gloucestershire Old Spot enjoys pasture time at Casitas Valley near Carpinteria, munching grass and rooting around for other edibles.

CASITAS VALLEY CREAMERY AND PIGGERY The Collaborators

O

n the surface, husband and wife team Jesse and Ana Smith run this operation, but it really is a full family business. Fourteen members of this extended family live on site, with the wider property called Regenerative Earth Farm.

The family bought the property in 2012 as a land and farm investment. It was an existing farm and the county’s only commercially approved creamery, which was featured in the fall 2013 issue of Edible Santa Barbara. Ana’s father, Warren Brush, a longtime expert in permaculture, helps oversee the farm operations alongside three family generations with sustainable, holistic techniques that connect people, food and nature with ecological health as the primary goal. They are in the process of converting the existing land over to permaculture operations.

Currently, the property is 40 acres and approximately half is in farm production.

The breeds they focus on are of British heritage, designed to complement cheeses from the dairy. These breeds include Gloucestershire Old Spots, Tamworths, crossed with Red Wattles.

44 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Chef Pink and her partner, Courtney Rae, source 99% of their raw materials locally, paying a premium for products they trust from people they know. Ask either of them upfront where the current pork is from and they can tell you without blinking. Their pork sandwiches vary weekly and sometimes daily, and they are all delicious. Casitas Valley also supplies sausages to restaurants and breweries around Carpinteria and Ventura. Try the sausage sandwiches at Rincon Brewery, which pair so well with a flavorful beer.

Resources Public access directly to raw pork is through their meat and dairy CSA. Members normally commit to three or six months, and each share provides three pounds of pork and two pounds of cheese. You can also sign up for their newsletter and ask about a one-month trial option.

For those who want to go “whole hog,” it’s possible to buy an entire pig. This is sold by weight and you can arrange its processing through Casitas Valley’s preferred butcher located farther south in Santa Paula.

This March, Casitas Valley hosts its first charcuterie course. This takes place over three days of immersive hands-on work and attendees can even camp onsite during the course. Expert facilitators Jeronimo Brown, Roberto Garcia and Anthony Stotts join Casitas Valley to offer a chance to prepare chorizo, sausages, bacon and pancetta while teaching farming, butchering, preserving and fermentation. The course is taken as a complete set, includes catered breakfast and lunches onsite and attendees take home a selection of prepared products as well as pork for them to complete in their own curing cases. CasitasValley.com

Jesse Smith and his daughter Phoenyx in a newly raised enclosure set in a fruit tree orchard at Casitas Valley.

Casitas prefers these domesticated breeds because of their docile, friendly temperament that is more compatible with the children present on their family farm. One thing Jesse points out is that, generally, the shorter the snout on a pig’s face, with floppy ears covering its eyes, the more gentle the breed tends to be.

In retail, Casitas Valley’s pork products are supplied to restaurants and breweries. Try Rincon Brewery, where their sausages are on the menu. These are also businesses that are food sources for the pigs, providing spent grain or fruit and vegetable scraps. These include Rincon Brewery, brewLAB and Island Brewing Company in Carpinteria, and Ventura Spirits Company a few miles farther south. Juicewell, a pressed-juice company, closes the local loop even tighter by buying farm produce from Casitas Valley and returning the pressed pulp to the piggery.

Meanwhile, the pigs on the farm move in paddocks through the grounds and orchards, foraging the surplus of fallen or damaged apples, persimmons and other seasonal fodder that wouldn’t otherwise make it to the farm stand.

......

At these three piggeries, each farmer takes a unique approach to raising their hogs and all are deeply committed to raising them ethically. Everyone agrees that heritage pigs raised in healthy environments makes for some extremely delicious melt-in-yourmouth pork. The one thing they all wish they had more readily available would be a much closer source for slaughtering their animals. This would bring down processing costs greatly, save time and stress from the journey and keep more of their business local.

Watch this space—there are plans in the works.

Rosminah Brown is a Santa Barbara native who types fast and eats slow.

She once jumped in the Neptune Pool at Hearst’s Castle. She is still upset that JR’s BBQ closed. You can read her blog at GutFud.com.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 45

46 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

A Father-Daughter Duet

Fergie and Pat Ferguson Rock the Wine World

by Laura Sanchez

G

-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S. Fergie exudes glamour. As the lead female vocalist for the Black

Eyed Peas she travels the world singing soldout shows with sultry power. She is sexy and stylish— iconic even. And on occasion she performs a different kind of concert, to a very special live audience amid the rows of grapevines that she tends with her dad, Pat Ferguson, in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Fergie and her father have grown wine grapes on their six-acre vineyard in Solvang, since 2006. It ’s a flourishing, hand-farmed plot overlooking the valley. And with the help of winemaker Joey Tensley, they produce Ferguson’s Crest wines, estate-grown Syrah, Viognier and a red blend of Cabernet, Syrah, Grenache, Merlot called Fergalicious. The wines are dynamic and layered — much like Fergie’s music.

Fergie grew up in Southern California, where her dad tended an enormous home garden that included peaches, tangelos, artichokes, peppers as well as a few Syrah vines. Not surprisingly, the singer traces some of her fondest wine memories to sips of the wine her dad made in the garage during those early years.

I asked Fergie and her father about their

FERGUSON CREST

shared passion for music and wine.

Opposite: Fergie pouring a taste of “Fergalicious”.

Right: Pat Ferguson.

LAURA SANCHEZ: It sounds like you’re a

farmer at heart. What made you trade your citrus trees and backyard garden for wine grapes?

PAT FERGUSON: The Santa Ynez Valley—this

is wine country and the vines were a challenge and a passion I could share with my daughter.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 47

LS : Why did you choose Santa

Barbara County?

PF: I had visited a college friend in

Solvang and fell in love with the area.

LS: How do you create harmony in

the vineyard?

PF: By personal attention to all the

vines—I irrigate, fertilize, prune and harvest with utmost care.

LS: I understand that you made an

effort to expose your children to wine aromas and flavors at an early age.

Tell us about the Wine Olympics.

What inspired that effort?

PF: The Wine Olympics were a

creation of my wife, Terri, and her brother, Jack; we would have guests blind taste a variety of wine and they’d have to guess the varietal. We even had a trophy for the winner! We all loved wine and competition, so it worked and was a fun way to learn more about wine.

LS: Fergie, how did that exposure

inform your palate and influence your wine preferences?

FERGIE: My parents, Terri and Pat,

were always discussing wine at the dinner table, educating my sister and me on different varietals and how different regions produce different styles of wines. By having a better understanding I learned to appreciate wine and what I liked.

LS: What is the best food and wine

experience you’ve ever had?

Why was it so memorable?

F: I think that it clearly has to be one

of the amazing family gatherings my family has had at holidays and special occasions over the years.

When my mom would cook her famous turkey lasagna and my dad would uncork a couple of great bottles of red and my sister Dana and I would spend hours talking with my parents and our family, and then in later years those same holidays with our husbands there, and now amazingly with our own children there. There is no restaurant or event in the world that has been able to 48 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

match the experience that comes from being in a house full of your family and loved ones. The food and wine taste exponentially better!

LS: Was there an epiphany wine that

sparked your desire to produce your own wine?

F: Funny enough, it was my dad’s

own juice that he would make from the Syrah grapes that was really delicious when I was a kid. As I became an adult, memories of that kind of sparked the dream to take it to the next level. As far as discovering a great red as an adult, it was going to dinners with Jeff Fahey [actor, best known for portraying Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series “Lost,” starred in the 2007 film Planet Terror with Fergie] and friends in the ’90s.

Jeff would ALWAYS order Opus One for the table and I fell in love with it.

LS: When do you enjoy sharing your

wines with others?

F: I share my wine whenever I get a

chance, I am very proud of the wines my dad produces. When guests come over the only wine I pull out of the wine fridge is Ferguson Crest.

LS: Do you ever sing in the vineyard?

F: On occasion, yes, that has

certainly happened… and as a side note, it’s also the place where my husband, Josh, proposed to me!

John Deere mechanized tractor— I use it to get around the vineyard and up and down the hill—very essential!

The other thing I need all the time are my pruning clippers—I’m always pruning.

LS: What do you find most satisfying

about farming?

PF: The most satisfying part of grape

farming is the harvest—seeing a year’s toil come to fruition.

LS: What’s it like to collaborate on this

project with your daughters?

PF: My two daughters have become

an integral part of the operation—it helps create a very unique bond that is extremely rewarding. Dana is the analytical one, so it’s great for the business side of things, while Fergie is the creative one.

LS: Based on conversations you’ve

had with Joey (Tensley, winemaker), do you feel there are similarities between making wine and making music?

F: Yes, making wine and music are

both true art forms and take an artistic approach. Music starts with lyrics and winemaking starts in the vineyards—both require passion.

Laura Sanchez is a Santa Barbara–based wine writer whose work appears in an array of print and online publications. Laura@Nectar-Media.com

LS: Do you have a favorite toast?

F: I use them all, from all of the

international toasts like “Saude” from Brazil or “Salud” from France or “Salute” in Italy. I have also used “Cheers” and I’m even embarrassed to say I’ve said, “Bottoms up” once or twice in my life.

LS: Pat, what are some of the

greatest challenges you’ve faced as a wine grower?

PF: The greatest challenge is the

continuing drought in California.

LS: What is your most useful piece

of equipment? Why? PF: The most useful piece of equip-

ment is my Gator mobile, which is a

Wine and Music Pairing The 2013 Ferguson Crest Viognier has apricot, honeysuckle and peach notes. “I Gotta Feeling” is as refreshing as the wine’s mineraldriven finish.

The 2012 Fergalicious of course pairs with its namesake track, “Fergalicious,” because of its sexy complexity.

The 2012 Ferguson Crest Syrah is spicy with black pepper, graphite, chocolate and cassis. Its richness makes it ideal for “Glamorous.”

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Strawberries: A Love Story The History, the Lore and the Love for Santa Barbara’s Number One Berry

by Shannon Casey P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C A R O L E T O PA L I A N

50 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Strawberry plants grown at Finley Farms.

S

trawberry. To me the word conjures up visions of luscious red heart-shaped fruits, with an unforgettable sweet tart flavor. And it is the delectable fragrant aroma of strawberries that always stops me in my tracks. Nothing compares to the amazing bouquet of ripe strawberries. Not surprising, when you consider that strawberries are actually members of the rose family— Rosaceae—and the Latin name for the original wild strawberry is Fragaria vesca.

Oddly enough, the name “strawberry” has nothing to do with being grown in straw, and technically it is not even a berry. Because strawberries have their seeds on the outside it is not classified as a berry but an accessory aggregate fruit.

And the seeds are achenes, each of which is considered a berry.

The origin of the name is not known but a version of the word “strawberry” has been around for over 1,000 years.

The most popular theories are: The word came from the Old English “Streaw berige” because the berries have straw-like seeds on the outside, or since strawberries produce runners, the plant looks like it is “strewn” on the ground.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 51

I have been in love with strawberries for over 50 years, but the Furakawas, the Kagawas and the Matsumotos, went on to form their own berry companies in Santa Maria. the fruit has appealed to people for centuries, and there is no indication that our love affair is anywhere near over—in fact, Initially the Sheehy farming operation distributed locally consumption is increasing. because of the delicate nature of the fruit. But when more labor, refrigeration and transportation became available, the production Wild strawberries were first mentioned in early Roman and demand for strawberries grew exponentially. literature, as both an ornamental fruit and a medicine— apparently they were used to cure everything from bad breath The Sheehys are now one of the major strawberry growers to melancholia. The red heart-shaped berry is even a symbol for in the country, with 180 acres under production. They farm for Venus, the Goddess of Love.

Driscoll’s, one of the biggest berry distributors in the world.

They grow almost 92 million pounds of strawberries a year, and Wild strawberries are also native to the Americas. In fact, Pat Sheehy is only one of several Santa Maria strawberry growers. wild strawberries can still be found growing in the Santa Barbara hills. The wild strawberries cultivated by Native Americans on When I was growing up in a cold climate, the sight of fresh the East Coast were introduced to New World settlers as a fruit strawberries in the winter was a sign of luxury. And by necessity baked with corn flour. This recipe became the foundation for our strawberries have always been preserved, either by canning strawberry shortcake. or freezing. But because of Santa Barbara’s coastal climate, strawberries can now be farmed almost year round. Breeding of France was one of the first countries to bring the wild new varieties for resistance to cold and disease have produced a strawberry from the woods into the garden in the 1500s. They berry that can reach the market without significant deterioration became very popular in England as well. The strawberry variety within 10 days, and still have good flavor. Berries from Santa from North America (Fragaria virginia) found its way to Europe Maria are now shipped around the world, and are in high with returning explorers, and this variety proved to be hardier demand in China and Japan. than the European version. Another explorer brought to England the Chilean strawberry (Fragaria chileoensis), which was much That said, growing strawberries is a lot of work. They are a larger than the other varieties, and a chance breeding created demanding crop— some might say downright picky. First of all, what is now commonly known planting has to be done carefully, to as the ancestor of all commercial make sure the roots of the plant are Organic strawberry farming, a strawberries —Fragaria x anassas. straight down into the soil and not viable alternative, is thriving, and bent. Often the first sets of flowers No matter how much we or fruits are picked off (by hand) to rhapsodize about strawberries, our local Santa Barbara County give the plant some size. On organic they are serious business, especially farmers work hard to make sure farms weeding is done by hand, as is in Santa Barbara County. picking, which happens every other Strawberries are currently the great berries get to market. day when the plants are producing fourth-largest crop in California, to make sure the plants keep producing berries. And you have to and our county produces 50% of that crop, which makes pick all the berries, even the ones that don’t look great. So a lot of strawberries the #1 crop in Santa Barbara County. Although wine work goes into that basket of berries! grapes and vineyards seem to be ubiquitous around the valley, strawberries far surpass grapes in terms of revenue. The 2013 crop Strawberries are very susceptible to verticillium wilt, bacteria in Santa Barbara County was valued at $466 million. that live in the soil. So large commercial farms fumigate the soil with methyl bromide, a fumigant that is being phased out.

Significant strawberry production began in Santa Maria just Because it helps prevent disease from recurring in the soil, the after World War II, in 1945. Pat Sheehy, a third-generation Santa California Strawberry Commission has raised $1 million to fund Maria strawberry farmer, recalls his great-grandfather and greatresearch into strawberry farming without the use of fumigants. uncle deciding to come to Santa Maria to farm strawberries— even then they were a very profitable crop, and the Sheehys Organic strawberry farming, a viable alternative, is thriving, believed the country would want more fresh fruit after the war. and our local Santa Barbara County farmers work hard to make sure great berries get to market. To farm strawberries The plants like sunshine (but not too much heat) and cool organically requires significant additional labor—for hand nights—which describes Santa Maria’s climate. When the weeding specifically. Beneficial insects are used to control the mite Sheehys first got into the business they were considering options population. In addition, organic farmers need to grow a different in Gardena as well as the Santa Maria Valley. However, a marriage crop after a few years and move their strawberry plants to a new between the Sheehy clan and the longstanding Adam family of location to prevent them from getting verticillium wilt.

Santa Maria made the decision easy.

Local organic strawberry producers Chris and Johanna Finley During the start of their operation, they needed a significant of Finley Farms are growing the Albion and San Andreas varieties. amount of labor, and so the Sheehys employed several Japanese They selected these varieties for their flavor and early production families, who were returning from internment camps, to in the area where they farm in Santa Ynez, which is warmer help farm strawberries in Santa Maria. There was not enough than the cool climate of the Santa Maria Valley. They feel most housing so the Sheehy’s built homes on the ranches for their new strawberry varieties vary more on texture than flavor. employees. Over the years several Japanese family farms, such as 52 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 53

Chris Finley of Finley Farms.

Albion, which is a popular variety, has a crisp texture while also being a sweet berry.

Another organic farmer, John Givens of Givens Farms, which is on the Santa Barbara coast, is planting Camarosa, Albion and Monterey varieties. The Camarosa does really well in his area, and produces a lot of fruit. It is not as sweet as Albion, but is a very vigorous plant. He believes that strawberries are the most profitable crop in the area.

Almost every state in the union farms strawberries, but because their season is so short, none of those berries really travel outside state boundaries. Only Florida farms strawberries in a more commercial way, and this is still around 5% of California production. Each climate region has strawberry varietals that are particularly suited to that area. A strawberry that grows well in the Northeast, or the South, will not necessarily grow well in California. That is why commercial strawberry growers work with breeders for their own specific areas, to develop the best strawberry for their climate.

And studies have shown that strawberry lovers really enjoy a firm sweet berry, regardless of where it is grown or what variety it might be. What makes a strawberry fantastic is that remarkable combination of sunlight and temperature, something that changes on a daily basis. As the days change so does the strawberry flavor, slightly.

If you want to have your own selection of strawberries that you can pick at their absolute ripeness, you can plant your own pretty easily. A local nursery will have a variety that does well in your area, and your local farmers market may have a seller, like Noey Turk of Yes Yes Nursery, who can help you select plants for your needs. If you put in 10 or so plants you will have a few baskets a week once they start producing. And if you want them to keep producing you have to keep picking!

54 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

When you are looking at berries at the market, you should look for a vibrant red berry with yellow colored seeds that smells like a strawberry. John Givens suggests, “Super-ripeness is key when selecting strawberries—it makes all the difference in flavor.” Strawberries don’t really ripen after being picked. Use them right away or refrigerate them. No one wants to throw strawberries away. Many farmers cool the berries to 35° after they have been harvested, so they arrive fresh at the market and won’t get moldy the next day.

Don’t be afraid to experiment when it comes to strawberries.

While always popular for dessert, not quite ripe strawberries are nice in salads for their firm texture and tartness. When you have overly ripe strawberries try them in smoothies, margaritas and daiquiris.

Firm, tart strawberries are great in salsa, paired with jalapeños and mangos. They are also tasty by themselves with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. And you can also make a strawberry soup by blending strawberries with orange juice, plain yogurt and a little mint. Try grilling strawberries wrapped in pancetta and drizzled with balsamic syrup for a delicious appetizer.

Strawberries pair well with basil and you can even make a pasta sauce with strawberries and tomatoes. Just use some extra red pepper to counter the sweetness, and ricotta cheese is a good match as well.

And you can’t go wrong with strawberries and champagne. If you put them in a tall glass with ice cream and float the sparkling wine on top, it is a fantastic adult-tasting float.

From their delectable aroma to their exquisite taste, strawberries are one of my loves, and I am fortunate to live in Santa Barbara County where they prosper and thrive. I plan to plant a few this spring and more this summer to see how they grow in my garden — and so that I can indulge in sampling the berries whenever my heart desires.

Shannon Casey is a food-obsessed cook who owns and grows olives at Rancho Olivos, a local olive oil company. In addition to the olive oil business she writes occasionally for local publications.

Buying Strawberries The best strawberry is a local, preferably organic, strawberry. Here is a list of some Santa Barbara County Certified Organic Strawberry Farmers that can be found at our local markets. There are additional farmers who grow organically, but are not certified, so just talk to them about their growing practices.

The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens; Chuy Berry Farm (no pesticides, but not certified organic); Virginia Cortez, Rancho Mi Familia; Jacob Grant, Roots Farm; Chris & Johanna Finely, Finley Farms; John Givens, John Givens Farm and Something Good label; Jeff Hendrickson, Santa Rita Flower Farm; Miguel Inigues, Ebby’s Organics; Jack Motter, Ellwood Canyon Farm; Tom Shepherd, Shepherd Farms (farming organically, but not certified); Noey Turk, Yes Yes Nursery (for alpine strawberry plants)

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A Campus Community Garden Growing Food Sustainably at UC Santa Barbara

STE VEN BROWN

by Jill Johnson

The entrance to the UCSB Greenhouse and Garden Project.

T

here is a little green gem of a place hiding in plain sight on the lands of UC Santa Barbara. It is not on the path of a yellow brick road, mind you, but rather tucked away on a dirt service road lined by stately cypress trees, an area that looks to be a bike rack graveyard and, when there are rains, lots of tall grasses.

Nestled between the often roaring environs of Harder Stadium and the soft drone of cars traversing Los Carneros, silently lies a patch of land known as the Community Garden, but officially monikered the UCSB Greenhouse and Garden Project.

It has been here longer than most Isla Vista residents have been alive, yet has remained a relatively secret garden that has magically moved and transformed throughout the decades.

What began as a little garden with a geodesic dome greenhouse 56 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

and chickens where the Events Center is now located, graduated to a larger spot where the Santa Ynez Apartments currently stand, the little garden that could has now blossomed to a healthy fiveacre spread.

Replete with a ’70s Isla Vista vibe via wood-shingled buildings, a hanging crystal or two and hand-carved wood signage seen in various stages of tilt, it honors the optimistic character of Isla Vista of old—but the garden community members are looking and working toward a more modern and sustainable future.

Marcus Tullius Cicero prophetically mused, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Many a student, professor and employee of the University has found truth in those words. Not only is there an expanding library serving the burgeoning student community, but there is also a

Kristen LaBonte is the staff advisor to the garden.

STE VEN BROWN

growing number of people believing in the return to the basics of life and discovering the joy and tribulations of growing their own food sustainably.

Two current community garden members are, perhaps not by coincidence, librarians.

Denise Stephens is the UCSB university librarian and Kristen LaBonte is the Life & Environmental Sciences librarian.

Denise grew up in Oklahoma with a grandfather who was big on growing things, as his father was a gardener. The red clay soil of the Sooner State was great for garden plants, especially tomatoes, one of her favorites. She remembers her grandfather dutifully digging up the backyard to plant flowers for his wife and to allow Denise enough space to grow her own veggies.

She has lived in five states and has maintained a garden in each, learning the subtle (or not so subtle) variations of climate and soil that make certain plants survive and thrive and others futile to plant all together.

But no matter what edibles she plants, there are always flowers in her gardens, perhaps in homage to her grandfather or just because she enjoys the added color florals bring and the pollinators they attract.

At the Community Garden, she has slowly grown her numerous plots, like a skilled Monopoly player, for the past 2½ years and you will often find her out amongst the plants along with her “poor husband, Bill” who has helped build raised beds and fences to ward off nuisance animals such as rabbits, gophers and the ubiquitous squirrels. Denise has faced aphids and bugs before in other states, but the animals are a new challenge to her gardening here.

“I’ve never had to chase furry things before,” she chuckles. “This place is ground squirrel central.”

Having a garden also brings challenges and opportunities in influencing what type of cooking is done at home as the garden can produce dramatically different things from season to season—or plot to plot, depending on microclimate whims. Denise’s eggplants, a poor show last year, are now “harvesting up a storm” and her herbs are doing exceptionally well, especially the rosemary plant she describes as “behemoth.” Because of this boon, she has really “gotten into” drying more herbs, as well as experimenting with flavoring vinegars for culinary usage.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 57

As a librarian, of course, when asked what book she would recommend to any gardener, she quickly replies The Sunset Western Garden Book. And as to advice she would give a novice green thumb, “Never plant anything in the mint family (including catnip) freely. Ever.” I’m not so sure the garden’s resident feral barn cat, Lizzy, agrees with her on that, however.

Kristen is the staff advisor to the garden and initially got involved in 1996. She was actually the person to mention the existence of the garden to Denise. She has maintained various plots through the years and has seen many changes to the community, watched many people come and go, including Chris Finley, of Finley Farms in Santa Ynez, who was highlighted in the Summer 2010 Issue of Edible Santa Barbara as a part of the “Young Farmers” article.

Kristen also fondly remembers Peter Shapiro, a library assistant who passed away in 2002 and had carefully tended the garden for 20 of the 28 years he was employed at UCSB. There is a special section in the garden honoring his dedication and political activism marked with a wooden sign reading “Peter’s Peace Garden.”

She is proud of the sense of support the garden and its community provide, where transient people, mostly students, stay put for awhile and take root, learning life skills that they can take with them wherever they may venture next. There is also a wide variety of cultures and ages involved, providing a platform for institutional knowledge to be shared and reconnecting with traditions of working with, not against, the land.

Kristen also finds that people appreciate the empowering and emotional connection to this little space on a very sensory, personal level, illustrated most recently after the shooting tragedy in Isla Vista.

58 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

STE VEN BROWN

Top: Freshly planted bok choi. Kale grows amidst native California Poppies. Lettuce is protected from ground squirrels by an enclosure. Bottom: Lizzy the garden cat. Frank Kinnaman, a garden manager, working in his plot. A unique approach to growing strawberries.

“Students came to the garden seeking a safe place to get grounded and deal with their intense emotions,” she says.

Being safe in the garden also means that no pesticides or harmful chemicals are permitted to be used, allowing for a healthy environment for both plants and humans. To become a community garden member, a fee of $40 per year and a one-time $10 refundable deposit is required. Membership fees include an available plot of your choice, access to the greenhouse, tool use, water, woodchip mulch and manure provided by the nearby UCSB campus Horse Boarders Association. Potlucks and quarterly meetings are also held to connect with other members to discuss issues and events.

Educational institutions are very much like gardens, for each encourages exploration and experimentation. Perceptions of failure, a bad grade or a dead plant are only lessons from which to learn.

Seeds, of the knowledge or physical varieties, are planted in hopes of reaping a bountiful harvest at the end of the process—whether it be informed, socially productive citizens or a pantry chock-a-block with vegetables.

Library, check. Garden, check. You have all you need. Now, go read up on what you will be planting out on campus this spring.

For More Information: osl.sa.ucsb.edu/org/ghgp Jill Johnson is artistic soul with an inquisitive mind and a hearty appetite for life… and food. She is also a confirmed Twitterholic who swills soy lattes, hugs trees and on occasion whips up batches of cookies just for the heck of it.

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ERIN FEINBL AT T

60 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Strawberry Delight

by Pascale Beale

S

trawberries dot the memories of my childhood like fragrant gems, part of a delicious backdrop to memorable events.

My appreciation of this delectable fruit started at a young age in the shape of tiny wild strawberries in my grandparents’ garden in alpine France. Fraises des bois have an unusual earthy, intense flavor and heady perfume. They could sometimes be found in small tarts, glazed with currant jam, glistening like jeweled box tops in the village patisserie’s display case. I coveted them.

My grandmother liked to combine these wild berries with red currants from her garden and raspberries to make a delicate salade de fruits rouges (a red fruit salad). She would often serve this with pale, scented madeleines and lady fingers, paired with a light oolong tea that was poured into impossibly thin porcelain cups. This elaborate treat was prepared for her bridge group. They would pause to take light refreshments before getting back to the serious game at hand.

I considered it a rite of passage when I was deemed old enough to help serve these delicacies and to be presented to her guests in her sitting room. Afterwards, back in the kitchen, I would surreptitiously dip a madeleine in the sweet berry syrup, a clandestine treat that made it taste all the better. This was the taste of early summer.

Picture summer 1976. These berries are the ubiquitous summertime treat in England and nowhere more prevalent than at Wimbledon. It was an unusually hot July in London. My father took me to the Gentlemen’s Final at those most hallowed of hallowed grounds.

To stay that I was obsessed with tennis is an understatement.

He and I were both avid fans. The tickets were a huge surprise, and for the final no less! We found our seats on Center Court and sat behind a lady with a very large hat, which prompted a bobbing dance of heads in order to see Bjorn Borg beat Ilie Nastase.

The English, lovers of tradition, have a penchant for afternoon tea. They could be watching the most riveting match, but 4 o’clock in the afternoon rolls around and they will take a break for tea. Anyone who has ever watched a cricket match can attest to this—even the players break for a quick cuppa and some cucumber sandwiches. Thankfully Borg won in straight sets and the match had just ended by the appointed hour.

The Center Court throngs left en masse and a made a beeline for the tea tents arrayed on the grounds.

We dutifully stood in line to get a bowl of strawberries and cream. It was de rigeur. Oddly I don’t remember how they tasted, my memory of that distant Saturday is caught up in the pomp and circumstance of the occasion. However I do remember that the enticing aroma of the mounds of strawberries wafted across the Wimbledon lawns. Hardly surprising given the vast quantities of berries consumed there each year.

The strawberries served at Wimbledon still come from Kentish farms and are delivered on a daily basis at the crack of dawn. They serve some 62,000 pounds (yes, pounds) of berries during the fortnight. The tradition goes back to 1953, although the paring of cream with berries can be traced back some 500 years prior, to the reign of Henry VIII. Berries and cream, in all guises, have ever since enchanted the sweet tooth of the British populace, from scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam to trifles and Eton Mess, that traditional English dessert made with meringue and cream.

Now picture 1986 in Los Angeles. I moved to Tinsel Town in the middle of winter, leaving behind the omnipresent grey skies of London, and emerged blinking in the bright Californian sunshine. I was surrounded by tanned people with impossibly white teeth, who worked frantically during the day, and exercised morning, noon and night. They wore athletic shoes with suits, and I felt as though I had been transported into a Jane Fonda exercise video. For recreation people met in bars and drank ridiculously frothy drinks called strawberry daiquiris—in March—made with fresh strawberries!

This was about as far from an English pub with a warm pint of beer as you could be. We had parties at home where the cocktail du jour was known as “pink stuff ”— an innocuouslooking mixture made of puréed strawberries, ice and a lethal amount of vodka, all served up from a large punch bowl. People danced to a sound track of Dire Straits, Annie Lennox and Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” as we whizzed up flats of strawberries. Heady days indeed!

Then in Santa Barbara, a dozen years later, I stood in my new home surrounded by a mountain of unpacked boxes on a late spring afternoon. My infant daughter crying in my arms after the hectic drive up the coast, I decided to explore the garden in an effort to sooth her. To my utter amazement I stumbled across a couple of patches of wild strawberries peeking out from behind the rocks on the edge of a flowerbed.

Their fragrance and taste instantly transporting me back to my grandmother’s garden all those years before. It was as though I had come full circle.

These little plants never produced an abundant crop, but rather a small juicy treat to pop in your mouth as you passed by, or a little delicacy to top a mixed berry tart. My daughter liked to eat them on the way to school, and I introduced her to the delights of scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam; an afternoon treat that we still share with a cup of tea.

Opposite: Strawberry-Citrus Salad.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 61

Strawberry-Citrus Salad Makes 8 servings 1

⁄ 4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice 1 large pinch coarse sea salt 5–6 grinds fresh black pepper 1 basket fresh strawberries, rinsed if necessary, hulled and quartered 1 small fennel bulb, very finely sliced (you need 1 cup of sliced fennel) 1 small Meyer lemon, finely diced 2 blood oranges, peeled and diced 8 ounces baby arugula (if you cannot find baby arugula try to find the smallest arugula leaves possible)

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Pour the olive oil and lemon juice into a medium-sized salad bowl.

Whisk together to form an emulsion, add the salt and pepper and whisk again. Place serving utensils over the vinaigrette.

RECIPES Spiced Strawberry-Pomegranate Jam Makes approximately 3 cups 2 baskets of strawberries, rinsed clean if necessary, hulled and halved 2

⁄ 3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses 8 –10 grinds black pepper Juice of 1 Meyer lemon (keep the lemon as you will add it to the jam as it’s cooking)

Place all of the ingredients (including the squeezed-out lemon rinds) in a large saucepan placed over medium heat. As the strawberries begin to render some juice, mash the strawberries using a large fork or a potato masher. It’s OK if there are some larger pieces—the jam is not supposed to be completely smooth.

Cook for 10–13 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface of the jam. The jam is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Serve warm over Greek yogurt, with fresh berries and cream, as part of a trifle, with scones and clotted cream or an Eton Mess.

Place all of the remaining ingredients over the utensils ensuring that they do not fall into the vinaigrette. When ready to serve, toss the salad gently so that it is well combined.

Strawberry and Red Leaf Lettuce Salad Makes 8 servings 1

⁄ 4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon fig balsamic vinegar Salt Black pepper 1

⁄ 3 cup pistachios

2–3 small heads of red leaf lettuce, leaves rinsed clean, dried and left whole 1–2 small heads of red frisee lettuce, leaves rinsed clean, dried and left whole 1 basket fresh strawberries, rinsed if necessary, dried, hulled and thinly sliced horizontally 1

⁄ 2 bunch cilantro, stems removed, leaves left whole

Whisk the olive oil and balsamic vinegar together in a large salad bowl. Add the salt and pepper and whisk again. Place serving utensils over the vinaigrette.

Dry roast the pistachios in a small pan placed over medium heat until they are just golden. Place the pistachios in the salad bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl, placing the greens on top of the utensils so that they do not fall into the vinaigrette.

When ready to serve, toss the salad gently so that it is well combined.

62 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

ERIN FEINBL AT T

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 63

Strawberry Tartlettes with Lemon Mascarpone Makes 8 servings FOR THE PASTRY 9 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (approximately 1¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons) 6 ounces (1½ sticks) slightly softened butter, cut up into small pieces 1 large egg Zest of 1 lemon 1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 400°. Butter 8 individual tart pans with removable bottoms or one large round tart pan.

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then use longer pulses until the dough forms a ball in the bowl of the food processor.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes before rolling out.

Place the unwrapped dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out to a ¼-inch thickness. Line each tart pan with the dough, trimming any excess from the edges. Place some parchment paper over the dough in each pan and place some pie weights or rice on top.

Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes so that the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

FOR THE MASCARPONE 3

⁄ 4 cup mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste Zest of 2 lemons ½ tablespoon light brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and then spoon an equal amount of the mascarpone mixture into each of the prepared tart shells. Smooth the mixture out so that it covers the bottom of each shell.

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES 3 baskets strawberries (with some wild berries if possible), cleaned, hulled and cut in half Spiced Strawberry-Pomegranate Jam ( page 62)

ERIN FEINBL AT T

Starting from the outside edge of the tart, place the strawberries standing up, cut side towards the middle of the tart. Work in concentric circles so that the strawberries create a flower pattern in the tartlettes. Brush the tops with a little if the jam.

64 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Pascale Beale 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. She is the author of The Menu for All Seasons and Salade. Visit her website and blog: The Market Table at PascalesKitchen.com

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 65

W S PI N R ITNEG R EDIBLE EVENTS MARCH

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

T H U R S D AY

MARCH

MARCH

MARCH

Spring Festival

Third Saturday Dinner at Bell Street Farm

Edible Santa Barbara New Issue Release Party

6pm at Bell Street Farm, Los Alamos

5pm at Cielito Restaurant, 1114 State St., Santa Barbara

21

Noon–3pm at Longoria Tasting Room and Winery, Lompoc Celebrate the return of spring with live music by Southside Bluegrass Band and tacos from Valle Fresh. Dreamland Horticulture will be selling their beautiful succulent plantings. Wine tasting and wine by the glass will be available. 415 E. Chestnut Ave., Lompoc; 866 759-4637; LongoriaWine.com

A PR IL

21

Start with an endless antipasti bar, followed by a family-style chicken or short rib dinner (changes monthly), with roasted vegetables and potatoes. Finish with a cookie plate or affogato. $45/ person, not including tax or gratuity. For reservations or more info, call 805 3444609; BellStreetFarm.com. Ongoing.

APRIL

16 –19

4

Santa Barbara Food and Wine Weekend

Easter Egg Hunt

At Bacara Resort The Santa Barbara Food & Wine Week­ end at Bacara celebrates Julia Child’s passion for learning, love of eating well and appreciation for Santa Barbara’s bounty. Weekend includes cooking demos, educational seminars, wine tast­­ings and more. For tickets, visit BacaraCulinaryWeekend.com or call 888 886-9923.

11am–2 pm at Riverbench Winery, Santa Maria An annual, family friendly Easter Egg Hunt. Be sure to arrive on time as the hunts start promptly at 11am & 2pm.

Bring a picnic, purchase a bottle of wine and watch your kids up to the age of 9 search for treats. Free with the purchase of a bottle of wine, a tasting, or a club membership. 805 937-8340; Riverbench.com S AT U R D AY – S U N D AY

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

APRIL

APRIL

APRIL

Earth Day Festival

Earth Day Eat Local Dinner: From Sea & Field to Plate

Spring Farm to Table Dinner

Saturday 11am–7pm; Sunday 11am–6pm Alameda Park, Santa Barbara

18

7–9pm at Alameda Park, Santa Barbara

Join us when we celebrate the new issue of Edible Santa Barbara at Cielito. Pick up a copy of the spring issue and mingle with fellow foodies. Cielito will provide sample bites from their menu and drinks available for purchase. Free to attend.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com

APRIL

S AT U R D AY

18–19

26

18

6–8pm at Zaca Mesa Winery, Los Olivos Enjoy a five-course dinner featuring a lamb three-ways entree, catered by Chef John Harness of Custom Cuisine and Chef and writer Pascale Beale, author of Salade. Live music by Jineanne Coderre.

Tickets: $120 for nonmembers and $105 for members; call 805 688-9339 x311 or email angela@zacamesa.com. More info at ZacaMesa.com

The Community Environmental Council Earth Day Festival is the signature annual event for the region’s environmental organizations. Food, music and demos.

Free. For more info visit SBEarthDay.org

Following the Earth Day Festival, join the Community Environmental Council for a four-course ‘Eat Local’ dinner featuring sustainable seafood and farm fresh ingredients prepared by Jeff Olsson of New West Catering/Industrial Eats.

Wine pairings by Buttonwood Farm Winery. For tickets call 805 963-0583.

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

T H U R S D AY

APRIL

APRIL

APRIL

APRIL

Vintners Festival Grand Tasting

Foxen Winery Winemakers Dinner

Bragg Organic Farm to Table

An Evening with Michael Pollan

1– 4pm at Riverview Park, Buellton An afternoon of wine country wine tasting, cuisine and music! More than 120 wineries and restaurants will participate. Includes an Edible Food & Wine Pavilion with cooking demos and opportunities to meet the winemakers.

For information and tickets, visit SBVintnersWeekend.com

6pm at Alisal Guest Ranch, Solvang Enjoy a special four-course meal prepared

by Chef Pascal Godé (three courses plus a dessert course) accompanied by Foxen wines and live music. $150. Reservations: 805 937-4251. FoxenVineyard.com

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25

66 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

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2–5pm at Bragg Health Institute, 199 Winchester Canyon Rd., Santa Barbara Join in the fun for an afternoon of local food, music and community. Tickets $75. All proceeds benefit Explore Ecology’s School Garden Program. Visit BraggHealth.org for more information and to purchase tickets.

30

8pm at the Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara Best selling author Michael Pollan will be in conversation with Dr. Kurt Ransohoff and Dr. Fred Kass. Tickets $28–$38 and $19 for UCSB Students. For tickets, visit ArtsAndLectures.sa.ucsb.edu.

For updates and more details on these and other events, visit EdibleSantaBarbara.com

M AY

S U N D AY

S U N D AY A N D M O N D AY

MAY

MAY

3

3&4

The Santa Barbara Fork & Cork Classic

Cheese & Honey Class

3–6pm at the Montecito Country Club

4pm or 5:30pm on May 3 or 6:30pm on May 4 at C’est Cheese, Santa Barbara

Savor tastings from premium select wines and gourmet dishes prepared by over 20 Santa Barbara County top chefs and restaurants. Enjoy panoramic views of Santa Barbara’s coastline, fantastic wine and food and live entertainment. Tickets $95 general admission and $125 VIP; TicketsForkAndCorkClassic.org

One of life’s perfect pairings—Cheese & Honey. For this class you’ll taste through five cheeses paired with five different honeys and explore why these two foods work so well together and discuss the fascinating story behind honey and how it’s made. Tickets $20 or $25 with white wine pairing. CestCheese.com.

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

F R I D AY

MAY

MAY

MAY

9

9

15

Buellton Brew Fest

Roar & Pour

Cooking Up Dreams

12:30–4:30pm; River View Park, Buellton

5–8pm; Santa Barbara Zoo

6:30–10pm at the Montecito Country Club

A new wine tasting event where the animals stay out late and the Zoo is open so guests can stroll and sip; $60–95; more information at SBZoo.org/roar-and-pour/

An evening of deliciousness that will tickle your tastebuds and tug at your heartstrings. Delicious samplings created by leading local chefs, a full hosted bar, exquisite wine and dancing.

Benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Family Service Agency. $100 Visit CookingUpDreams.org or call 805 9651001 x256 for more information.

M AMAY R CH 16

S AT U R D AY

W E D N E S D AY

T U E S D AY

MAY

MAY

MAY

Los Alamos Third Saturday Evening Stroll

Zaca Mesa 42nd Anniversary Party

Solvang’s Wine and Beer Walk

Melville Wine Dinner at Cielito Restaurant

5–8pm, downtown Los Alamos

Noon–3pm Zaca Mesa Winery and Vineyards, 6905 Foxen Canyon Rd.

Over 50 breweries and wineries, three live bands and five food trucks will be on site at this popular event. $45; more information at BuelltonBrewFest.com

S AT U R D AY

The Los Alamos merchants on Bell Street invite everyone to join the fun and experience Los Alamos community charm first hand with its Third Saturdays program. Ongoing. For more information call 805 344-1900.

JU N E

16

20

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3–7pm, downtown Solvang

7:30pm; at 1114 State St. Santa Barbara

The Wine and Beer Walk is every Third Wednesday. Tickets cost $20 per person, and include a ticket to sample two wines at five participating wine (and/ or beer) tasting rooms, a specialty logo glass, and a map to help you navigate your way through all of the fun.

SolvangThirdWednesday.com

Enjoy an evening of exquisite food and drink, as Cielito pairs our Latin inspired and Santa Barbara realized cuisine with Melville Winery’s gems of the Santa Rita Hills. For details call 805 965-4770.

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

S AT U R D AY

JUNE

JUNE

JUNE

Los Olivos Jazz and Olive Festival

Red, White & Blues

Santa Barbara Wine Festival

Join Zaca Mesa Winery for a great afternoon of music, food and wine. For more information visit ZacaMesa.com

6

1–4pm in Lavinia Campbell Park, Los Olivos Spend a Saturday afternoon in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, tasting wine from 30 local wineries, listening to world-class, professional jazz musicians, and sampling 30 different olive-themed dishes prepared by local chefs. $60; JazzAndOliveFestival.org

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2–6pm at Buttonwood Winery, Solvang Join Buttonwood and Longoria Wines for the 20th annual Red, White & Blues concert in the Buttonwood vineyard.

Both Longoria and Buttonwood wines will be sold at this event. Bring a blanket, and a picnic and dance to some great blues music. Call 805 688-3032 for more information and/or tickets.

Santa Barbara Natural History Museum Swirl, sip and savor wines from premier Central Coast wineries complemented with sweet and savory delectable delights on the beautiful grounds of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

For details and to purchase tickets visit SBNature.org/winefestival

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 67

edible Dining Guide

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 invited to advertise in this guide because of their emphasis on local, seasonal ingredients and their commitment to real food.

South County Arlington Tavern 21 W. Victoria St. Santa Barbara 805 770-2626 ArlingtonTavern.com Offering a winning combination of local, farm-fresh fare, exceptional service and a unique relationship between beer, wine and food. Chef Ron True crafts his seasonal menu using only the highest-quality, simple and honest ingredients. Farm Friendly Dining Certified. Dinner Mon–Sat 5–10pm, Sun 5–9pm; bar 4pm–midnight, Sun 4–10pm.

Backyard Bowls Santa Barbara Locations: 331 Motor Way 805 845-5379 3849 State St., La Cumbre 805 569-0011 Goleta Location: 5668 Calle Real 805 770-2730 BackyardBowls.com Santa Barbara’s most innovative breakfast and lunch spot featuring Acai Bowls and smoothies. They also offer oatmeal, yogurt and more.

The Bistro Bacara Resort & Spa 8301 Hollister Ave. Goleta 877 804-8632 BacaraResort.com The Bistro offers a casual and relaxed oceanside atmosphere for all ages. Rich in fragrant olive oil and local vegetables, menu highlights offer traditional Italian dishes, such as pastas and brick-oven flatbreads, complemented by lighter, coastal cuisine. After an extensive renovation, the new dining room incorporates Santa Barbara’s beautiful panorama. Please call for hours.

The Black Sheep 26 E Ortega St. Santa Barbara 805 965-1113 TheBlackSheepSB.com The Black Sheep offers a casual gastro pub setting with local farm-to-table cuisine. Open 5–10pm; Sun 5–9pm.

Book Ends Café 602 Anacapa St., (upper patio) Santa Barbara 805 963-3222 Book Ends Café offers unique handcrafted sandwiches and seasonal selections of farm-fresh salads, quiches and treats, all prepared with ingredients sourced from local farmers. Enjoy organic, fair-trade coffee while sitting on the secret and tranquil rooftop patio. Mon–Thu 8am– 6:15pm; Fri–Sat 8am–2pm.

68 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Bouchon

The Hungry Cat

9 W. Victoria St. Santa Barbara 805 730-1160 BouchonSantaBarbara.com

1134 Chapala Street Santa Barbara 805 884-4701 TheHungryCat.com

Bouchon sources all of its ingredients using an “as-freshand-as-local-as-possible” approach. 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 5–10pm.

Chef /Owner David Lentz creates a new American Seafood sensibility, inspired by his Maryland roots, incorporating sustainable, seasonal fish, shellfish and produce into his weekly changing menus. This Santa Barbara location brings it all together with its urban setting, complete with signature raw bar, perfectly mixed artisanal cocktails and camaraderie at the bar and tables.

Ca’ Dario Pizzeria 29 E. Victoria St. Santa Barbara 805 957-2020 CaDarioPizza.net Located just steps away from Chef Dario Furlati's flagship eatery, Ca’ Dario Pizzeria offers a casual, urban atmosphere to enjoy authentic pizzas, salads and appetizers. The 30-seat restaurant boasts a welcoming bar, perfect for enjoying local or Italian beers on tap. Open for lunch Mon–Sat 11:30am–2:30pm, dinner Mon–Sun 5–9:30pm.

C’est Cheese 825 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara 805 965-0318 CestCheese.com In addition to being a local source for the finest cheeses and artisanal foods, C’est Cheese also serves breakfast and lunch—fresh salads, soups, sandwiches and incredible pastries. Mon-Sat, 7am–6pm. Sun 8am–3pm.

Cielito Restaurant 1114 State St. Santa Barbara 805 965-4770 CielitoRestaurant.com Cielito offers a Santa Barbara take on the flavors of Latin America and Mexico, featuring the freshest and most sustainable of Central Coast ingredients. Cielito features over 90 tequilas, with enticing libations and innovative cocktails, in addition to an impressive selection mezcal and exciting local spirits. The inviting rooms and gracious staff at Cielito reflect their mission to provide both Santa Barbara locals and visitors with an unparalleled and memorable dining experience. Latin American inspired, Santa Barbara realized. Weekend Brunch.

Happy Hour. Dinner.

Giannfranco’s Trattoria 666 Linden Ave. Carpinteria 805 684-0720 Giannfrancos.com Experience authentic Italian regional cuisine at this family-owned and -operated trattoria in downtown Carpinteria. Chef Giovanni prepares each dish from the freshest local and imported foods to offer his creative take on Tuscan grill specialties. Weekday lunch served 11am–3pm. Weekend lunch served noon–3pm. Dinner served 5–9pm. Closed Tuesday.

Goodland Kitchen & Market 231 S. Magnolia Ave. Old Town Goleta 805 845-4300 GoodlandKitchen.com The Goodland Kitchen is a quick service café specializing in delicious, well prepared, affordable breakfasts and lunch, served outside under the magnolia tree. They prepare food fresh daily, in small batches with ingredients from local farmers to provide an exceptional and unexpected culinary experience in the heart of Old Town Goleta.

Mon–Fri 8am–2:30pm.

The Lark 131 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara 805 284-0370 TheLarkSB.com The Lark features artisanal and seasonal ingredients that celebrate our local community. Enjoy dinner and drinks in the architecturally urban-inspired dining room, at the communal table, the bar or out on the patio by the fire.

The private and classy Pullman Room is available for your next special event. Open for dinner Tue–Sun 5–10pm; until 11pm on Fri and Sat.

Mesaverde 1919 Cliff Dr. Santa Barbara 805 963-4474 MesaverdeRestaurant.com MESAVERDE, a plant-based restaurant in Santa Barbara, fuses Mediterranean flavors and fresh ingredients to establish a taste reaching beyond simple expectations.

They offer locally sourced produce and raw vegan desserts. House-made kombucha, cold-pressed juices and almond milk are made daily.

Miró Bacara Resort & Spa 8301 Hollister Ave. Goleta 877 804-8632 BacaraResort.com Miró offers progressive European cuisine, an interior inspired by the Spanish artist Miró and breathtaking views of the Pacific. Chef de Cuisine Johan Denizot's locally sourced ingredients are accented with unique international flavors. Miró Wine Cellar houses an extensive collection of 12,000 wines spanning 13 countries and 75 international appellations. Please call for hours.

Reds Bar & Tapas

Sly’s

Fresco Valley Café

686 Linden Ave. Carpinteria 805 684-6666 SlysOnline.com

442 Atterdag Rd. Solvang 805 688-8857 FrescoValleyCafe.com

Located in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, offering a tapasstyle menu, full bar and wide selection of cervezas and vinos. Enjoy a glass of wine and a cheese plate on the charming al fresco patio. Hosting live entertainment and eclectic events weekly. Open Tue–Fri at 3pm; Sat–Sun at 1pm; Happy Hour Tue–Fri 3–7pm.

Sly’s is known for great food, with an emphasis on farmers market and local produce, great cocktails and great times in Carpinteria. Open Mon–Fri for lunch 11:30am–3pm, lounge menu weekdays 3–5pm; dinner Sun–Thu 5–9pm; Fri and Sat 5–10pm; and weekend brunch & lunch Sat– Sun 9am–3pm.

Fresco Valley Café offers a broad menu of dishes made from scratch using homemade family recipes and organic and fresh local ingredients. You will also find fresh pastries, a fine list of local beer and wine and a plentiful catering menu. Wed 11am–8pm; Thu–Sat 11am–8:30pm; Sun 11am–8pm.

Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro

Sojourner Café

Loreto Plaza at 3315 State St. Santa Barbara 805 569-2400 Arlington Plaza at 1324 State St. Santa Barbara 805 892-2800 RenaudsBakery.com

134 E. Cañon Perdido St. Santa Barbara 805 965-7922 SojournerCafe.com

Full of Life Flatbread

211 Helena St. Santa Barbara 805 966-5906 RedsBarandTapas.wordpress.com

Renaud’s is a bakery specializing in French pastries and French-style cakes, as well as a bistro offering an extensive menu for lunch and dinner. Open Mon–Sat 7am–5pm, Sun 7am–3pm.

Sama Sama Kitchen 1208 State St., Santa Barbara 805 965-4566 SamaSamaKitchen.com Sama Sama creates meals inspired by Indonesian food and local farms and markets. Their food and cocktail menu is constantly changing depending on availability from our local sources. They are locally owned and operated and part of the Shelter Social Club family. Lunch Mon–Wed 11am–2pm. Dinner Mon–Sat 5–10pm and Sun 5–9pm.

Happy Hour Thur–Fri 4–5pm.

Santa Monica Seafood 38 W. Victoria Street Santa Barbara (located inside the Santa Barbara Public Market) 805 845-0745 SMSeafoodMarket.com Featuring a carefully curated selection of responsibly sourced seafood—both locally sourced and imported.

Also serving soups, salads, appetizers and entrees at their intimate oyster bar, along with wine and beer. Mon–Sat: 10am–9pm; Sun: 10am–8pm; Oyster Bar hours: Mon–Sat: 11am–9pm; Sun: 11am–8pm.

Scarlett Begonia 11 W. Victoria St., #10 Santa Barbara 805 770-2143 ScarlettBegonia.net Scarlett Begonia will always strive to have interesting, thoughtful food. Menus change weekly with an innovative, fresh approach to breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Showcasing progressive modern cuisine, Scarlett Begonia features sustainable, organic, high quality ingredients coupled with innovative cooking to provide one of the most food-centric experiences in Santa Barbara. Open for dinner and cocktail hour Tue–Sat 4–9pm, breakfast and lunch Tue–Sun 9am–2pm.

Seagrass 30 E. Ortega St. Santa Barbara 805 963-1012 SeagrassRestaurant.com Seagrass offers a fresh Santa Barbara Coastal Cuisine fine dining experience, procuring the highest quality ingredients available and superior local bounty. Open Tue–Thu 5:30–9pm; Fri–Sat 5:30–10pm; Sun 5:30–9pm.

225 W. Bell St. Los Alamos 805 344-4400 FullofLifeFoods.com

The Sojourner has been serving unique dishes created with wholesome natural ingredients for over 35 years.

They purchase organic produce from local growers, carry local wines and beers and are known for their innovative desserts. Open Sun–Wed 11am–10pm (desserts and drinks until 10:30); Thu–Sat 11am–11pm; closed Mon.

The Wine Cask

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 Thu–Sat 5–10pm; Sun 4–8pm.

The Hitching Post II 406 E. Hwy. 246 Buellton 805 688-0676 HitchingPost2.com

813 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara 805 966-9463 WineCask.com The Wine Cask Restaurant features the freshest local ingredients, the best wine list in town, and seasonal signature cocktails. They offer fine dining in their exquisite Gold Room and casual dining in the courtyard, and at their Intermezzo bar. Lunch: santa Tue–Fri 11:30am–3pm. barbara Dinner: Tue–Sun from 5:30pm. Last seating at 9pm Sun– Thu, 10pm Fri–Sat.

bouchon

North County Ballard Inn & Restaurant 2436 Baseline Ave. Ballard.

800 638-2466 805 688-7770 BallardInn.com Chef Budi Kazali's award-winning cuisine, an extensive wine list, exceptional service and a romantic atmosphere create a memorable dining experience in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. Open for dinner Wed–Sun 5:30–9pm.

Bell Street Farm Eatery & Market 406 Bell St. Los Alamos 805 344-4609 BellStreetFarm.com With farm-fresh cuisine and sophisticated yet comfortable design, Bell Street Farm offers a distinct environment to enjoy a meal, snack or a wine tasting. The market showcases picnic baskets and accessories for creating a portable meal, as well as gifts and merchandise from local artisans. Open Fri–Sat 11am– 6pm; Sun-Mon 11am–5pm.

Bob’s Well Bread 550 Bell St. Los Alamos 805 344-3000 BobsWellBread.com Bob’s Well Bread is about great bread, made the old-fashioned way—handcrafted in small batches and baked to perfection in a custom-built, stone-deck oven. Stop by their bakery for baguettes, croissants, bagels and more.

Closed Tue and Wed.

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. Cocktails/wine Mon–Fri 4pm, Sat–Sun 3pm. Dinners only Mon–Fri 5–9:30pm, Sat–Sun 4–9:30pm.

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 award-winning wine list offers over 500 wines, to enjoy with their fresh, seasonal and local cuisine, or to enjoy at home. Open for lunch and dinner daily 11:30am–8:30pm (8pm Sun) and breakfast Sat & Sun 8–10:30am.

SY Valley Kitchen 1110 Faraday St, Santa Ynez 805 691-9794 SYKitchen.com An inviting farmhouse in the heart of Santa Ynez, serving modern Northern Italian dishes showcasing local ingredients and Chef Luca Crestanelli’s light touch.

Homemade pastas; pizzas served from the wood-fire oven; oak-grilled chicken, lamb chops, steak and dazzling cocktails crafted by Alberto Battaglini. Dinner: nightly 5pm–closing. Lunch: Wed–Sat 11:30am–2:30pm.

Succulent Café Wine Charcuterie 1555 Mission Drive Solvang 805 691-9444 SucculentCafe.com Specializing in handcrafted and artisan culinary goods.

Featuring buttermilk biscuit breakfast sandwiches, gourmet sandwiches and salads at lunch and unique local-centric plates at dinner.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 69

edible

Source Guide The Edible Source Guide is a compact listing of all of our advertisers. Please visit them to pick up your free copy of the magazine and let them know how much you appreciate their support of Edible Santa Barbara.

Serving grassfed beef directly to customers since 1991

RESERVE YOUR Portion Today at:

MorrisGrassfed.com

BREWERIES AND DISTILLERIES

Figueroa Mountain Brewery Quality craft beer has been the focus of family-owned “Fig Mtn Brew” since they started production in 2010. Try their famous Davy Brown Ale or Hoppy Poppy IPA at their flagship tasting room and beer garden in Buellton (45 Industrial Way, Open Mon–Thu 1–9pm and Fri–Sat 11am–9pm) or their new tasting room in the Funk Zone in Santa Barbara (137 Anacapa, Suite F, open daily 11am–9pm).

805 694-2252; info@FigMtnBrew.com Telegraph Brewing Co. Handcrafting unique American ales that embrace the heritage of California’s early brewing pioneers and use as many locally grown ingredients as possible. Visit the tasting room at 418 N. Salsipuedes Street, Santa Barbara, Tue– Thu 3–9pm, Fri–Sat 2–10pm, Sun 1–7pm.

Telegraph beer is available at many restaurants and grocery stores in Santa Barbara County and throughout California. TelegraphBrewing.com

Indonesian food inspired by our local farms & markets.

1208 State St. Santa Barbara samasamakitchen.com LOCALLY OWNED, OP ERATED & PA RT of the S HELT ER SOCI AL C L U B fam ily

CATERERS AND PRIVATE CHEFS

New West Catering Uniting the artistry of fine restaurant cuisine with the versatility of full-service catering, New West Catering is your unparalleled choice for special events in the Santa Barbara County wine country and beyond. 805 688-0991; NewWestCatering.com FARMERS MARKETS

Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Eight markets, six days a week. See schedule on page 33. 805 962-5354; SBFarmersMarket.org FARMS AND RANCHES

“Where Every Goat Has a Name” Farmstead Artisan Goat Cheese Locally produced on the farm with milk exclusively from the farm’s own animals.

Available at local farmers markets and online.

DrakeFamilyFarms.com

(909) 947-8688 70 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

The Bragg Health Institute It all starts with the Food. The Bragg Health Institute is a local nonprofit that is dedicated to inspire the young and old to make a change towards a healthier future. See what they’re doing at BraggHealth.org.

Casitas Valley Farm & Creamery A multi-enterprise system using Permaculture principles to provide our local community with certified organic crops, artisan crafted cheese, and sustainably raised, heritage pigs. Farmstand open Sat–Sun 11am–4pm at 4620 Casitas Pass Rd., Ventura (Hwy. 150); 805 649-8179; CasitasValley.com

The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens Fairview Gardens builds critical connections between community, agriculture and education.

Guests are encouraged to take a self-guided tour or arrange with their staff for their school or organization to have a guided one hour educational tour. Camps, farm stand, field trips.

FairviewGardens.org Drake Family Farms Making locally produced farmstead artisan goat cheese in Ontario, California. At Drake Family Farms every goat has a name and their goat cheeses are made on the farm with milk exclusively from the farm’s own animals.

Available at local farmers markets and at DrakeFamilyFarms.com Global Gardens Global Gardens is Santa Barbara county’s premier Certified Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil producer. Visit their demonstration farm and tasting bar for their signature tasting palette of over 12 tastings, education, worldly recipes and more. 10am–4pm Fri–Sun or by appointment; 2450 Alamo Pintado Rd., Los Olivos; 800 307-0447; GlobalGardensOnline.com Heritage Grain Alliance Heritage Grain Alliance is a partnership of farmers, millers, bakers, brewers and food lovers who share equipment, resources and information in order to bring locally grown ancient grains to Southern California and the Central Coast.

Jimenez Family Farm Small family-run local farm specializes in sustainably grown food and their famous handmade pies, quiches and small batch preserves. Visit them at the farmers market to purchase produce, pies, jams and naturally fed and farm-raised rabbit, lamb, pork, goat and poultry.

805 688-0597; JimenezFamilyFarm.com Morris Grassfed Providing 100% grassfed and finished beef to customers throughout California. Processed in USDA inspected facilities, cut and wrapped by small-scale artisan butchers and delivered directly at pre-arranged delivery locations throughout the year. Family owned, they practice holistic management on the rangelands they manage.

831 623-2933; MorrisGrassFed.com Rancho Olivos Located in beautiful Santa Ynez, Rancho Olivos creates distinctively fresh artisan extra-virgin olive oils from their sustainably grown Italian and Spanish varietals of olives. Open for olive oil tasting daily noon–4pm. 805 686-9653; RanchoOlivos.com Winfield Farm Specializing in pasture-raised purebred Mangalitsa wooly pigs, a rare breed prized for marbled meat and mouthwatering fat. Mangalitsa is renowned for charcuterie. Winfield Farm offers USDA certified Mangalitsa pork. Winfield Farm will be taking more Mangalitsa pigs to market in early April. Order now to experience the magic of Mangalitsa. Visit WinfieldFarm.us/mangalitsa. html or call 805 686-9312 to order.

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Spring 2009 / Number 1

SANTA BARBARA

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Summer 2009 / Number 2

Fall 2009 / Number 3

SANTA BARBARA

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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Winter 2009 / Number 4

SANTA BARBARA Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE FIVE • SPRING 2010

SANTA BARBARA

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ISSUE SIX • SUMMER 2010

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE SEVEN • FALL 2010

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 8 • WINTER 2010 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 9 • SPRING 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

An Interview with

Heirloom Heaven Abalone Palmina Winery The Hidden Promise of Suburbia Food from the Hearth

Local Honeybees Culinary Bootcamp Edible Landscape Thanksgiving Santa Barbara Channel Seafood

Chocolate: From Cacao Bean to Confection Salmon A Seasonal Stew Endless Pastabilities

Eggs Backyard Chickens Beekeeping Salt: The Essential Ingredient Artichokes Community-Supported Agriculture

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Member of Edible Communities

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ISSUE 11 • FALL 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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ISSUE 12 • WINTER 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA

SANTA BARBARA

ISSUE 13 • SPRING 2012

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Pistachio Harvest La Huerta Mission Gardens Farmer to Table

Biodynamics

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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ISSUE 14 • SUMMER 2012

Santa Barbara Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 15 • FALL 2012

Santa Barbara Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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Croissants!

Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro

Wild Yeast Bread Profound Pairings A Passion for Spices

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

ISSUE 16 • WINTER 2012

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

ISSUE 17 • SPRING 2013

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Salt of the Sea Sorrel and Rhubarb The Rituals of a Meal

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ISSUE 18 • SUMMER 2013

Santa Barbara

Nothing Like Chocolate

Diving for California Gold Fish on Friday Fisherman’s Market

The Lazy Gardener

Eating in Los Alamos Market Walk with Patricia Perfect Picnics

Santa Barbara

COOKS ISSUE

WINE & BREAD ISSUE

Giannfranco’s Trattoria Culinary Inspirations Edible Mushrooms

For Love of Pinot The Art in Artisan Bread Zaca University

Santa Maria-Style Barbecue Lompoc Beans Ice Cream

Regenerative Earth Farms Aquaponics Exotic Edible Trees

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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Scoop?

Bob and Ellie Patterson’s Artisanal Gelato and Sorbet

Lompoc Wine Ghetto Culinary Lavender Pasta and Water

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ISSUE 20 • WINTER 2013

Santa Barbara Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

LIVING BEER

LOCAL

Sauvignon Blanc Coffee: Grown in Goleta Eating Acorns

ISSUE 19 • FALL 2013

Santa Barbara

THE

Eating Daylilies

Almonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

of the Harvest

Grass-Fed Beef In the Kitchen with Bradley Ogden What the Kids Are Growing Canning Farmers Markets

EAT DRINK

Winter Blossoms Unsung Heroes

Wine Caves: Down to Earth Stone Fruit Recycling Edible Flowers

ISSUE 10 • SUMMER 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Where’s the

Michael Pollan Sustainable Seafood Fairview Gardens A Culinary Journey The Pod Squad Whitcraft Winery

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SANTA BARBARA

Guerilla Brewing and Feral Fermentation

ISSUE THE BELLY O F THE

Funk Zone

The COOKS Issue MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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FOOD PRODUCTS

Bob’s Well Bread Bob’s Well Bread is about great bread, made the old-fashioned way—handcrafted in small batches and baked to perfection in a custombuilt, stone-deck oven. They use only the finest ingredients, sourced locally and seasonally, in all of their products. 550 Bell St., Los Alamos; info@BobsWellBread.com; 805 344-3000; BobsWellBread.com Crazy Good Bread Co. Crazy Good Bread makes the good life a little bit better, with handmade artisan breads. Be breadventurous and try one of their many flavors of levain loaf, crisps or croutons. Open daily 8am-8pm at the Santa Barbara Public Market.

Open Tu–Fri 10am–5pm; Sat 10am–4pm.

4191 Carpinteria Ave. #12, Carpinteria; 805 318-1819; CrazyGoodBread.com Joëlle Olive Oil Joëlle Olive Oil offers a full line of fresh, coldpressed, extra-virgin olive oils 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 Pacific Pickle Works All-natural, handcrafted pickles made in Santa Barbara using produce grown from California.

Try their Cukarambas, Bread & Buddhas, Asparagusto and Unbeetables, or kick up a cocktail with their Bloody Mary Elixir. Available in Santa Barbara specialty retail and grocery stores. 805 765-1779; PacificPickleWorks.com GROCERY STORES & PRODUCE DELIVERY

Isabella Gourmet Foods A boutique artisan grocery combining the down-home charm of an East Coast general store with an upscale West Coast setting and featuring locally made smallbatch foods. Located at 5 E. Figueroa St., Santa Barbara. Mon–Fri 9am–6pm; Sat 10am–6pm; Sun 11am–5pm; 805 585-5257; IsabellaGourmetFoods.com

Tecolote Book Shop Since 1925

1470 eaSt Valley rOad upper VillaGe Of MOntecitO

805 969-4977 Gift WrappinG • ShippinG • Special OrderS BOOk SearcheS • authOr appearanceS 72 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

Isla Vista Food Co-op A community-owned food co-op open to the public and highly regarded for its sustainable business practices and high-quality foods.

Highlighting tri-county local, organic, fair-trade, farmer-owned, vegan, vegetarian, kosher, raw, gluten-free and all-around sustainable ways of being. Open daily 8am–10pm. 6575 Seville Rd., Isla Vista. 805 968-1401; IslaVistaFood.coop Lazy Acres Santa Barbara’s best source for wholesome, natural and organic foods and products with real people dedicated to providing unmatched personal service. Mon–Sat 7am–11pm, Sun 7am–10pm. 302 Meigs Rd., Santa Barbara; 805 564-4410; LazyAcres.com

Mesa Produce A local “mom and pop”-owned produce stand offering farmer-direct produce at competitive prices. Although seasonal local products are their focus, they also carry a full line of produce items. Handmade jams sourced from Santa Barbara County, no-pesticide fruits; local organic produce, olives and olive oils, organic nuts and raw honey. Open Mon-Sat 10am– 7pm; Sun noon–6pm. 2036 Cliff Dr., Santa Barbara 805 962-1645; MesaProduce.com Santa Barbara Public Market The Santa Barbara Public Market, located in the heart of the performing and cultural arts district, houses handcrafted, regionally sourced and sustainably made food and wine.

With an ardent focus on local farms and artisanal ingredients, the Santa Barbara Public Market presents residents and visitors alike with a well stocked pantry for daily foraging.

SBPublicMarket.com Whole Foods Market Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market, a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America’s first national certified organic grocer, was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” in 2008 by Health magazine. 3761 State St., Santa Barbara; 805 837-6959; WholeFoodsMarket.com HOTELS & INNS

Bacara Resort & Spa Nestled on the bluff and beaches of the Gaviota coast, Bacara offers relaxed luxury and incomparable natural beauty. Additional features include a four-story spa, wellness center, zero-edge saline swimming pools, restaurants, lounges and tasting room. BacaraResort.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 Ynez Valley Wine Country. 2436 Baseline Ave., Ballard. 800 638-2466, 805 688-7770; BallardInn.com Ojai Valley Inn and Spa Rediscover The Oak, famed dining on the terrace at Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. The Oak’s executive chef has introduced a newly transformed menu that continues the Inn’s rich culinary tradition. Take a front row seat for new, mouthwatering specialties and reimagined classics. 905 Country Club Rd., Ojai, 855 417-4652; OjaiResort.com PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

American Riviera Bank Offering a local and sustainable approach to banking. The founders of American Riviera Bank are a carefully selected group of successful, prominent, experienced and influential community and business leaders who understand the unique needs of the Santa Barbara community. Mon–Thu 8am–5pm, Fri 8am–6pm. 1033 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara; 805 965-5942. AmericanRivieraBank.com

Giffin & Crane General Contractors At Giffin & Crane General Contractors, Inc., each project is unique, whether it’s a simple remodel or an extraordinary architectural estate.

Working closely with their clients to fulfill their clients’ dreams, they are committed to providing the best workmanship, on time and in budget. GiffinAndCrane.com RESTAURANTS—EDIBLE DINING GUIDE

A listing of Local Restaurants begins on page 68.

SPECIALTY RETAILERS & PRODUCTS

Central Coast Specialty Foods Central Coast Specialty Foods showcases high quality local and imported specialty foods, offering charcuterie, gourmet cheeses, a full-service deli, exotic meats and local beers and wines. Catering available. Mon– Wed 10am–6pm, Thu–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat 10am–6pm and Sun 10am– 4pm. 115 E. College Ave., Ste. 10, Lompoc; 805 717-7675; CentralCoastSpecialtyFoods.com 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 10am– 6pm, Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 10am– 4pm. 15 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara.

805 965-5956; ChocolateMaya.com Grapeseed Company The Grapeseed Company creates botanical spa and skin care products handcrafted from the byproduct of wine plus antioxidant-rich local and organic ingredients. Located at 21 W. Ortega St., Santa Barbara and open Mon–Sat 11am–6pm. Closed Sun. 805 456-3655; TheGrapeseedCompany.com il Fustino Purveyors of the finest and freshest olive oils, specialty oils and vinegars attainable in today’s market. All oils are grown and milled in California. il Fustino products are secured from small boutique growers and provide unparallelled taste. Located at 3401 State St. Santa Barbara; 805 845-3521 and in the Santa Barbara Public Market at 38 W. Victoria St.; 805 845-4995, Santa Barbara; ilFustino.com McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams was founded in Santa Barbara, California in 1949. Now in our third generation of family ownership, we make our ice creams as we always have: From scratch, using Central Coast, grass-grazed milk & cream and the finest local, sustainable and organic ingredients, from partner farms, artisans & purveyors we’ve worked with for decades. No preservatives. No stabilizers. No additives. Ever.

A 70-year, sweet legacy of keeping it real. 728 State St., Santa Barbara; McConnells.com Olive Hill Farm Gus Sousoures has been making his olive oils for many years in the Santa Ynez Valley and

now you can taste and buy them, along with other oils, vinegars and gourmet food products at his cozy store in Los Olivos. Open daily 11am–5pm; 2901 Grand Ave, Los Olivos; 805 693-0700; OliveHillFarm.com

Plum Goods Santa Barbara’s own eco-chic boutique offering handcrafted, fair trade, upcycled, simply inspired gifts, goods, furniture, lighting and art. Winner of Best Gift Store in SB! Open Mon–Fri 10am–6pm; Sat 10am– 7pm; Sun 11am–5pm. 909 State St., Santa Barbara; 805 845-3900; PlumGoodsStore.com Santa Ynez Valley Cheese Company Your valley source for cut-to-order imported and domestic cheese and charcuterie as well as gourmet products and fresh bread.

They prepare boards, platters and takeaway picnic trays for caterers, wineries and consumers. Open Mon, Wed–Sat 10am–5pm and Sun noon–4pm (closed Tue). 1095 Meadowvale Rd., Santa Ynez; 805 691-9448; santaynezvalleycheesecompany.com Tecolote Bookstore Tecolote Bookstore is an independent bookstore located in the upper village of Montecito at 1470 E. Valley Rd. Open Mon–Fri 10am–5:30pm, Sat 10am–5pm, closed Sun. 805 969-4977 WHOLESALE PRODUCE DELIVERY

Harvest Santa Barbara Delivering freshly harvested wholesale produce—sourced directly from local family farms to schools, restaurants, hospitals and retail businesses. Their mission is to be the catalyst for a healthier, more sustainable food system by strengthening the ties between farmers and the community. 805 696-6930; HarvestSantaBarbara.com WINERIES AND WINE RETAILERS

Alma Rosa With certified organic vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills, Alma Rosa focuses on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as other food friendly wines with the high acid and extraordinary balance for which Richard Sanford’s wines have been known since 1976. Open 11am–4:30pm daily. 250-G Industrial Way, Buellton. 805 688-9090; AlmaRosaWinery.com Alta Maria Vineyards Alta Maria Vineyards and its subsidiary wine brands. They strive to make the best wine possible in a conscious manner utilizing organic and sustainable techniques along with conventional methods, which leave no indelible mark on the people, places and products around us. Tasting room open 11am–5pm daily. 2933 Grand Ave., Suite A, Los Olivos; 805 686-1144; AltaMaria.com

Farmer’s market menu: always 3 courses plus a craft cocktail. always interesting, always delicious! $35

Full bar, all drinks and nibbles 4:30-6:00 tues-sat

11 West Victoria in Victoria Court

805-770-2143 www.scarlettbegonia.net breakfast & lunch: tues–sun dinner: tues–sat EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 73

Au Bon Climat Tasting Room and the Jim Clendenen Wine Library Celebrating 30 years of winemaking in Santa Barbara County, Au Bon Climat is world renowned for beautifully balanced and elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The tasting room features a large selection of cellar aged library wines and Jim Clendenen’s eclectic smaller labels. Open daily noon– 6pm; 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, next to the Wine Cask.

805 845-8435; AuBonClimat.com Buttonwood Farm Winery In 1968 Betty Williams came to Buttonwood, creating a life that found expression through a connection with the land. The vineyard 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 6883032; ButtonwoodWinery.com Cambria Estate Winery Farming for over 25 years, Cambria specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They are committed to sustainable practices in both the vineyard and in the winery. Visit the tasting room 10am–5pm. 5475 Chardonnay Lane, Santa Maria; 805 938-7318; CambriaWines.com Casa Dumetz They are a boutique winery specializing in Rhone varietals crafted with premier Santa Barbara County fruit. Their wines are sold almost exclusively through their tasting room in historic Los Alamos and their wine club.

Open Thu noon–7pm, Fri–Sat 11am–7pm, Sun 11– 6pm. Vineyard tours and barrel sampling available by appointment. 388 Bell Street, Los Alamos; 805 344-1900; CasaDumetzWines.com Cebada Vineyards This boutique winery produces sophisticated Burgundian-style wines handcrafted on the farm. Downtown Santa Barbara Tasting Room open daily noon–6pm. Inside Isabella Gourmet Foods at 5 E. Figueroa St.; 805 451-2570.

Tasting and farm store shopping by appointment at the farm in Lompoc, 805 735-4648 Consilience Producing some of Santa Barbara’s boldest, most expressive Syrah. Sister labels Marianello and Tre Anelli carry the tradition in food-friendly Spanish and Italian varietals. All three labels make wines with unique flavor intensity and source from vineyards in Santa Barbara County.

2923 Grand Ave., Los Olivos; 805 691-1020; ConsilienceWines.com Foxen Winery & Vineyard Bill Wathen and Dick Doré have been making wine together since 1985, when they founded Foxen Winery & Vineyard at the historic Rancho Tinaquaic in northern Santa Barbara County. Visit the two tasting rooms at 7200 and 7600 Foxen Canyon Rd., Santa Maria.

Open daily 11am–4pm. 805 937-4251; FoxenVineyard.com 74 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

The Good Life A craft beer and wine cellar featuring California craft beers and Central Coast wines. Open daily Sun–Thu noon–9pm, Fri–Sat noon–11pm.

1672 Mission Dr. (Hwy. 246), Solvang.

TheGoodLifeCellar.com Grassini Family Vineyards Boutique winery specializing in handcrafted production of Bordeaux varietals. They focus on farming the vineyard to its fullest potential using renewable and sustainable resources.

An artisan approach helps make wines that represent the uniqueness of Happy Canyon.

Tasting room 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara; 805 897-3366; GrassiniFamilyVineyards.com The Hitching Post II The Hitching Post II offers their own worldclass Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines.

Open daily except major holidays. Cocktails/ wine tasting at 4pm, dinners only 5–9:30pm.

406 E. Hwy. 246, Buellton. 805 688-0676; HitchingPost2.com Longoria Wines Longoria Wines is a small family owned winery producing acclaimed artisanal wines from some of the finest vineyards in Santa Barbara County.

Visit their tasting room in Los Olivos at 2935 Grand Avenue, daily 11am–4:30pm or at their new winery and tasting room in Lompoc at 415 E. Chestnut Ave. Open Fri–Sun 11am– 4:30pm. 866-759-4637; LongoriaWine.com Lompoc Wine Trail Easily accessible from anywhere in Santa Barbara County, the city of Lompoc offers the famous Wine Ghetto with over 20 wineries within one location, along with other urban wineries making world-class wines in many different styles. Addresses and contact information can be found on the Lompoc Wine Trail ad on page 9.

Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café Specializing in premium California wines with a focus on highlighting the Central Coast. They feature Bernat Wines, which are estate grown and made by owner Sam Marmorstein. Open daily 11:30am–8:30pm. 2879 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. 805 688-7265; LosOlivosCafe.com Margerum Wine Company Margerum Wine Company is committed to creating handcrafted wines using only the highest-quality grapes so that they can make wines that are indicative of the place where they are grown. They have two tasting rooms located in the historic El Paseo complex: Margerum Tasting Room and MWC32, which features their reserve and limited production wines. Daily noon–6pm with the last tasting at 5:30pm; MargerumWineCompany.com Martian Ranch & Vineyard We take our farming more seriously than we take ourselves. Come to Martian Ranch & Vineyard where you can experience wine tastings, weekend tours of the vineyard, daily tours of the winery, farming lessons and scenic picnic areas! 805 344-1804; MartianVineyard.com

Municipal Winemakers After spending their formative years traveling and studying terroir and techniques, Municipal Wine is now working hard to make honest, interesting and delicious wines for the people of this world. They do this with love—carefully and slowly. Tasting room at 22 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara and 425 Bell St., Los Alamos.

805 931-6884; MunicipalWinemakers.com Qupé For 30 years, Qupé has been dedicated to producing handcrafted Rhône varietals and Chardonnay from California’s Central Coast.

Employing traditional winemaking techniques and biodynamic farming practices, they are true to type and speak of their vineyard sources.

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 Clarissa Nagy.

Tasting Room is open from 10am–4pm daily.

6020 Foxen Canyon Rd., Santa Maria; 805 937-8340; Riverbench.com Refugio Ranch Vineyards Their family believes that it is “terroir” that gives a wine its soul. They grow 26 acres of organic grapes on their vineyard overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley, and they feel deeply connected to the land and its remarkable terroir. Visit their beautiful tasting room at 2990 Grand in Los Olivos to explore the current releases. Thu, Sun & Mon 11am–5pm; Fri & Sat 11am–7pm. 805 688-5400; RefugioRanch.com Sanford Winery Home to the oldest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines in Santa Barbara County, Sanford produces distinctly complex wines from their iconic vineyards. Make reservations for a VIP tasting or stop by to sample a flight at their picturesque tasting room. Downtown SB location coming soon! 5010 Santa Rosa Rd., Lompoc; 800 426-9463; SanfordWinery.com The Winehound The award-winning Winehound features the world’s best wines—from the everyday to a luxury cuvée—all top dogs, no mutts. Open Mon–Sat 11am–7pm, Sun noon–6pm.

3849 State St., Santa Barbara. 805 845-5247; TheWinehound.com Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards 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

AT THE COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL’S

EARTH DAY FESTIVAL 2015 April 18-19

ALAMEDA PARK SANTA BARBARA

free admission kids activities

live music

local & organic food

demos & workshops Eco-friendly products

DOG ZONE

climate art project test drive an electric car

children’s climate march

WA

ent

agem t Man Even ulting ns & Co

sbearthday.org

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 75

presents

Currently showing on PBS Television Check Your Local Listings or go to ediblefeast.com

www.ediblecommunities.com

76 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

805-705-9178

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 77

edible Source Guide Maps NT AM

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1. Full of Life Flatbread 2. Municipal Winemakers 3. Babi’s Beer Emporium 4. Casa Dumetz 5. Bell Street Farm 6. Bob’s Well Bread Bakery

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1. Central Coast Specialty Foods 2. Lompoc Wine Ghetto 3. Other Lompoc Wineries

1. Valley Brewers 2. Succulent Café Wine Charcuterie 3. Fresco Valley Café 4. Solvang Visitors Bureau 5. The Good Life 6. New Frontiers 7. Buttonwood Farm and Winery

(see page 11 for more detailed map)

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78 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

MO

MISSION D R .

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1. Refugio Ranch Vineyards 2. Qupé 3. Alta Maria Vineyards 4. Consilience and Tre Anelli 5. Olive Hill Farm 6. Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe 7. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. 8. Global Gardens 9. Ballard Inn & Restaurant 10. Los Olivos Grocery 11. Rancho Olivos 12. Beckmen Vineyards 13. Zaca Mesa Winery 14. Foxen Winery 15. Riverbench Winery 16. Cambria Winery

RAILWAY AVE.

GRAND AVE.

Los Olivos & Ballard

ATTERDAG

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4TH PL

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6 A NT

CHUMASH HIGHWAY

SANTA BARBARA AVE.

STEELE ST.

ALAMO PINTADO RD.

154

TO HWY 101

BALLARD CANYON RD.

CALKINS RD.

28.1mi 19.6mi 17mi 9.5mi

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9TH ST.

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1

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7 2 mi

ALAMO PINTADO RD.

HILL ST.

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ROBLAR AVE.

edible Source Guide Maps 2

VIA RE

TO SANTA BARBARA

AL

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LINDE N

9TH ST.

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20. C’est Cheese 21. The Wine Cask 21. Grassini Family Vineyards 21. Au Bon Climat 21. Margerum Wines 22. The Black Sheep 22. Seagrass Restaurant 23. McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams 24. Book Ends Café 25. Telegraph Brewing Co. 26. Renaud’s, Loreto Plaza 27. Il Fustino 28. Whole Foods 29. The Winehound 30. Backyard Bowls, La Cumbre 31. Mesa Produce 32. MesaVerde Restaurant 33. Lazy Acres

14 15

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LAS POSITAS

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RDENS LN.

W AR

Santa Barbara

4

SUMIDA GA

HOLLISTER AVE.

LA CUMBRE

PINE AVE.

MAGNOLIA AVE.

3

SP

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217

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SAN YISIDRO RD.

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101

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101 CA

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.

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.

ST

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MISSION DR.

C AR

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EDISON ST.

MADERA ST.

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.

INE D R REL HO

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2015 | 79

.

RD

the last Bite Spring’s Don’t-Miss Dish

by Liz Do dder

Spring Pea Salad at Mesa Verde Chef Greg Arnold’s modern plant-based cuisine at Mesa Verde in Santa Barbara stimulates more than your appetite.

Yes, the dishes’ vegetables come straight from the weekly farmers market. Yes, the menu’s inspiration comes from Mediterranean influences. But it’s the melding of all this plus art—what he calls “synesthesia”—that makes his food exquisite.

A vegetarian himself, Chef Arnold elevates plants to starring roles using a Mediterranean mindset.

“This style of cooking goes so well with California produce because of our similar climates,” says Arnold.

“My salads come from what I find here at the market, because ingredients in season tend to pair well together.”

The Mediterranean’s diverse spices also give Arnold’s dishes power: The menu is threaded with bold notes from the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe.

To make this simple salad, Chef Arnold roasts carrots in the oven with cumin seeds, thyme and olive oil until soft, then purées them. He also blanches fresh peas in salted water (it should taste like the ocean) for 1 minute, moves them to an ice bath, then purées them with water and lemon. He paints the plate with both, then adds halved peas and okra, torn kale and slices of cucumber, yellow squash, fennel and endive. Topping the salad is a sprinkle of blueberries, wood sorrel leaves and flowers with powdered sumac and chlorella on the side.

LIZ DODDER

The dressing is also simple, yet powerful.

Chef Arnold reveals his favorite supereasy vinaigrette based on a classic Levantine salad: fattoush. He blends grapeseed oil (it’s lighter than olive oil), lemon, fresh garlic, fresh thyme, salt and sumac, then lightly drizzles it over the top.

80 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2015

WINES LIKE NO OTHER

IN A PLACE LIKE NO OTHER.

150 R E VI E WS O F

90+

S I N CE 1 9 92

E STATE G ROWN AN D P RO D U CE D I N TH E SANTA MAR IA VALLE Y, CA .

© 2015 Cambria Winery, Santa Maria, CA

C A M BR I A E S TAT E W I N E S