Edible Santa Barbara Spring 2022

edible

ISSUE 50 • SPRING 2022

®

Brunch Home Winemaking Brings Community Together Compost Isn’t Sexy, and Yet… Alcohol-free Alternatives to Wine for the Sober Curious Crowd Herbacious L O YA L

T O

L O C A L

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page 8

LIZ DODDER

BELMOND HOTEL

Spring 2022

page 56

Departments 6 Food for Thought

by Krista Harris

8 Small Bites A Bunch of Brunches

by Leslie Westbrook

12 In Season 14 Seasonal Recipe Sweet Potato “Toast” with Spinach

by Krista Harris

16 Drinkable Landscape I Left my Heart in Fizzy Pisco

page 12 2 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

KRISTA HARRIS

by George Yatchisin

18 Taste of Santa Barbara A Conversation with Donna Yen

by Sonja Magdevski

54 Support Local Guide 56 The Last Bite Spring’s Don’t-Miss Dish: Ojai Hive & Honey at Barbareño

by Liz Dodder

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Spring 2022

20 Grapes of Friendship Home Winemaking Brings Community Together

by Carmen Smyth

26 Compost Isn’t Sexy, and Yet…

by Janice Cook Knight

32 In Labels We Trust How Food Certification Label, Seals and Standards Can Help Eaters Make Better Choices

by Elena Seeley

40 Two Alcohol-free Alternatives to Wine

For the Sober Curious Crowd

page 48

Recipes in This Issue Appetizers 52 Pea and Mint Hummus

Soup 53 Spring Pea and Leek Soup with Pesto

Salads, Sides and Main Dishes 51 Grilled Asparagus with Spring Peas, Burrata and a Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

by Wendy Thies Sell

50 Grilled Zucchini with Avocado-Tarragon Crema

46 Herbaceous

48 Roasted Beets, Heirloom Carrots and Salsa Verde

by Pascale Beale

52 Steamed Spring Potatoes with Dill-Chive Vinaigrette 14 Sweet Potato “Toast” with Spinach

Beverages 19 The Oh My Darling Cocktail COVER PHOTO OF CROQUE MADAME AT BOB’S WELL BREAD BAKERY BY SILAS FALLSTICH

4 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

PASC ALE BE ALE

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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STE VEN BROWN

Member of Edible Communities

Edible Communities James Beard Foundation Publication of the Year (2011)

PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Krista Harris

E

very spring feels like a time of renewal, and this one feels both exuberant and poignant as society opens back up and we rediscover our community. Who hasn’t said the words “Oh, I haven’t been there in so long,” or “It’s been ages since we ___?”

I am looking forward to a spring filled with outings, events, outdoor dining and friends gathering together. The past couple of years have taught me much about the importance of self-care. Flavorful, fresh local produce continues to boost both my mood and my health. And when the current state of the world plunges me into despair, there’s nothing better than a walk on the beach.

This issue’s articles are all so different and yet they fill my craving for spring renewal. Outdoor brunches. Shopping at the farmers market to pick up the ingredients for Sweet Potato “Toast” topped with fresh spinach.

Looking forward to the Taste of Santa Barbara event this May. An Aperol cocktail with a punch of pisco and fresh citrus. I can’t help dreaming about making my own wine someday. Keeping my garden nurtured with homemade compost. Learning more about food labels and certifications. Much as I love wine, beer and cocktails, I’m curious to learn more about alcohol-free wines.

Cooking with the quintessential spring ingredient: fresh herbs. And topping it all off with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of bee pollen.

I hope the articles in this issue are as inspiring for you as they are for me.

January’s resolutions seem long ago. But the months of April, May and June evoke their own sense of awakening—whether you are picking up a bouquet of flowers or tending your newly planted vegetable garden. Let’s celebrate the beauty of spring!

Krista Harris, Editor and Publisher

Visit our website at EdibleSantaBarbara.com and sign up for our email Visit our website at www.EdibleSantaBarbara.com

newsletter or goand directly EdibleSantaBarbara.Substack.com/welcome. followtous on social media @edibleSB

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RECIPE EDITOR

Nancy Oster COPY EDITING & PROOFING

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Steven Brown ADVERTISING

ads@ediblesantabarbara.com SOCIAL MEDIA

Jill Johnson CONTRIBUTORS

Pascale Beale Liz Dodder Janice Cook Knight Tony Mastres Sonja Magdevski Elena Seeley Wendy Thies Sell Carmen Smyth Carole Topalian Leslie Westbrook George Yatchisin ADVISORY GROUP

Pascale Beale, Jordan benShea, Rosminah Brown, Janice Cook Knight, Katie Hershfelt, Jill Johnson, Nancy Oster Edible Santa Barbara® is published quarterly and distributed throughout Santa Barbara County.

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BITES

A Bunch of Brunches WORDS BY

Leslie Westbrook

Brunch (both the word and the concept) was created in the late 19th century in England for—drum roll, please— hangovers. In addition to being a portmanteau of the first two meals of the day, it usually included champagne or cocktails. It was also a Sunday meal out after church to give the lady of the house a day off from the kitchen.

The notion first appeared in print over 100 years ago, penned by Guy Beringer: “Instead of England’s early Sunday dinner, a post church ordeal of heavy meats and savory pies, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well.

Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, and it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

—From “Brunch: A Plea,” published in 1895 These days a hearty meal and a little hair of the dog—most often outdoors at a fancy hotel or picturesque setting with endless mimosas, Bellinis and/or Bloody Marys—might be the cure. What better time and way to share a congenial meal with friends and family than late morning when everyone is all bright and chipper?

Bob’s Well Bread Bakery The bucolic drive to Bob’s Well Bread Bakery in Los Alamos makes for a great weekend outing. It’s hard to imagine anything more fitting than beans on toast to salute the English roots of brunch.

Bob Oswak’s version is fit for royalty: a hearty serving of house-baked beans over thick slices of toasted Pain de Mie bread topped with a poached egg, sausage and a British flag! Or try the addictive mushroom toast on the peppery house-made biscuit that rocks or the Croque Monsieur or Madame with cheesy, crunchy edges.

Besides baking all their breads onsite, Bob buys organic eggs from small independent farmers when available. His wife, Jane, makes jams from local fruit brought to them by local farmers, such as peaches from Shea Family Farms in Ballard, among others. More than likely, you will have to wait in line to order at the counter before relaxing outside on the big wooden picnic tables, where you can also bring Fido, and your order will be cheerfully delivered. Bob’s also has a second location in Ballard.

SIL AS FALLSTICH

www.BobsWellBread.com

Croque Madame at Bob’s Well Bread.

8 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

El Encanto, a Belmond Hotel You can have the most leisurely brunch with mesmerizing views at the El Encanto at their Bellini Brunch—Sundays on the terrace, with bottomless Bellinis or mimosas.

Of course, I had a Bellini, the famed drink of prosecco and peach nectar invented by Harry Cipriani in Venice, Italy, and now enjoyed around the world.

BELMOND HOTEL

My brunch companion had the whole branzino, a great Mediterranean fish beautifully prepared and presented.

I went for the Huevos Rancheros on our waiter’s recommendation—he was right on. A three-tier dessert tray was brought to the table to choose from.

For Easter, they will have a special menu and an Easter adventure with seasonal activities for all ages. For Mother’s Day, they will have live jazz and spa specials. www.Belmond.com/hotels

The terrace with a view at El Encanto.

San Ysidro Ranch The San Ysidro Ranch and its lovely gardens have been beautifully restored after the devastating Thomas Fire debris flows. French champagne is flowing (along with other freeflowing beverages like mimosas, Bellinis and Bloody Marys) at their sit-down three-course brunch. The Dungeness crab cake starter was a meal in itself. Entrees include Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffle and Parmesan Crusted Halibut.

Executive Chef Matthew Johnson has an amazing organic garden and orchard to draw from that produces everything from peas, tomatoes, carrots, lettuces and herbs to figs, plums, loquats and Meyer lemons. The Ranch also has its own beehives and harvests honey (the bees love the lemons, lavender and rosemary in the garden) that’s drizzled over berries and the acclaimed San Ysidro Ranch Meyer Lemon Tart. Adding to his onsite culinary palette, the chef takes advantage of local purveyors like Seaside Gardens in Goleta for their microgreens including pea shoots.

LIZ DODDER

www.SanYsidroRanch.com

The San Ysidro Meyer Lemon Tart.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 9

BITES

ROSE WOOD HOTELS

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A Few More Not to Miss: Rosewood Miramar Beach (RosewoodHotels.com) is now serv-

LIZ DODDER

ing brunch in the Revere Room (pictured above), which has views of Miramar Beach. I loved Chef Massimo’s heavenly lemon ricotta pancakes, which were as light as air.

Shakshuka at Field + Fort.

Field + Fort In Summerland, Chef Austin Moore is wowing patrons at Field + Fort with his inventive menu of breakfast and lunch offerings that include Instagram-worthy breakfast boards. It’s not much of a stretch to see why: This native Santa Barbarian returned home after college and having worked in Portland, Oregon, for a decade.

Portland may be the world’s biggest brunch town. (Are the rainy weather and happening young late-nighters scene the reasons many wait in long lines for brunch?)

“There are 10 to 15 places with lines out the door on the weekends,” Austin says, adding, “I love brunch! I’ve always followed the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

Seeking things that are “comforting but unique” has informed his approach to devising the menu. Sources include bread from Baker’s Table in Santa Ynez; pecan butter from Avila and Sons; gluten-free bread from Oat Bakery; and ingredients from The Garden Of…, Roots Organic Farm, Earthtrine Farms, Frecker Farms and Ebby’s.

Little Dom’s Seafood (www.LDSeafood.com), the offshoot of the Hollywood Little Dom’s, is now open in Carpinteria. Co-owner Warner Ebbink and his partner, Chef Brandon Boudet, serve brunch foods cooked in the wood-fired pizza oven, including oven-baked breakfast pizzas, roasted eggs, frittatas and pastries. They’re sourcing from local farms, such as Givens and Frecker and Earthtrine for herbs and Beylik for tomatoes. They source seafood from local fishermen, such as Tony Luna and urchin from Sea Stephanie Fish.

In downtown Santa Barbara, I did try the fun and filling make your own hash at Dawn Patrol and intended to try the Carbonara at Oppi’z Bistro and Natural Pizza. I also hope for repasts at Scarlett Begonia, cited by many chefs. There are many more, but I’d be remiss not to mention my friend Wade’s favorite spot: Via Maestra 42.

The Southern California version of brunch would not be complete without a nod to Mexican-inspired brunches: Think menudo at any number of places on Milpas Street or Oaxacan moles at Flores de Maiz, the latest outpost of Los Agaves restaurateur Carlos Luna.

Last, But Not Least After all these fantastic brunch meals, I have to admit I came across one of the most sublime examples quite by accident one Sunday morning at the Santa Barbara Fish Market. A woman in front of me was handed the most beautiful box of shucked oysters followed by an equally stunning box of uni.

“Are you having a party?” I asked,

Cooking is in his blood: His mom, Kim Schiffer, is a longtime Santa Barbara caterer/private chef who first inspired Chef Austin’s call for a career in the kitchen—which began by making his own eggs.

“No, this is breakfast,” she answered. I then saw her outside, with her two young sons, blissfully sitting at a picnic bench enjoying our harbor and the bounty from our shores and beyond.

The Italian black rice porridge is predictably filling. It comes sweet (with seasonal fruit, labneh, candied pecans, baharat butter and orange blossom honey) or—my fave—savory (poached egg, pecorino, braised greens, lardon, tomato jam and truffle butter).

Toasts, weekly donuts and sweet bread pudding with brioche and seasonal toppings add to the fun offerings.

This brief encounter reminded me to think outside the box when it comes to what is now one of my favorite meals of the day. A meal that’s really all you need to eat for the entire day.

Actress Meg Ryan (a regular) also likes the savory rice porridge.

I can’t blame her… they are positively orgasmic. www.FieldAndFort.com 10 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Or maybe even for the week.

Leslie Westbrook is a frequent contributor to Edible Santa Barbara. She is looking forward to exploring “dinch” next, the late afternoon/early evening meal. When not eating or writing, she assists clients in consigning their fine art, antiques and collectibles to international auction houses. She can be reached at LeslieAWestbrook@gmail.com.

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in

Season this spring SPRING PRODUCE

YEAR-ROUND PRODUCE

SPRING SEAFOOD

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

Almonds, almond butter

Mussels

12 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

(harvested Aug/Sept)

Ridgeback shrimp

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

Rock fish Sardines Spot prawns White seabass ALMONDS

Black cod Clams Oysters Sanddabs Seaweed

(harvested May/June)

Kale Leeks Lemons Lettuce Mushrooms Onions, bulb (harvested May/June)

Urchin BOK CHOY

OTHER YEAR-ROUND Eggs Coffee (limited availability)

POTATOES

Oranges Pistachios, pistachio oil

Fresh flowers Honey

Potatoes Radishes Raisins

Olives, olive oil

Shallots Spinach Sprouts Squash, winter

Potted plants/herbs

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

(harvested Sept/Oct)

Walnuts, walnut oil (harvested Sept/Oct)

Yams

(harvested Aug/Sept)

URCHIN

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

(harvested Sept/Oct)

(harvested July/Oct)

OYSTERS

Rock crab

Edible flowers Garlic

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

YEAR-ROUND SEAFOOD Abalone (farmed)

(harvested Sept/Oct)

Herbs

MUSSELS

HONEY

Preserves SPINACH

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

Tasting Room & Wine Library

12-6 PM Mon-Fri 11AM-6 PM Sat & Sun Taking tasting reservations on Tock

wines of vision, balance and character

Photo: Nell Campbell

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 13

seasonal

Recipe

Sweet Potato “Toast” with Spinach I first heard of sweet potato “toast” on the website Downshiftology. I loved the idea of substituting roasted slices of sweet potato for bread. It gives you a soft, savory, yet slightly sweet base to top with a softly cooked egg and some delicious garnishes—it happens to be glutenfree, too. If you roast an extra sweet potato or two, you’ll save the time of roasting them when you want to have it again for brunch the next day.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

1–2 medium-sized sweet potatoes Olive oil Salt and pepper Butter 2 eggs A couple handfuls of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped Optional garnish ideas: crumbled soft cheese, sprouted peanuts, hummus

Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes in ¼- to ½-inch slices lengthwise or in rounds. Arrange them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat both sides. Roast for about 30 minutes or until they are soft and the bottoms have caramelized slightly.

Place a few slices of the roasted sweet potato on a plate. Top with an egg and the fresh spinach. Then garnish with the cheese, sprouted peanuts, a dollop of hummus and a drizzle of olive oil.

—Krista Harris

14 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

KRISTA HARRIS

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a nonstick skillet and cook the eggs to your liking, but this dish is especially good if the yolks are runny.

This Spring, Santa Barbara Culinary Experience will host a county-wide celebration of all things food and drink.

MAY 16TH TO 22ND, 2022 visit sbce.events for details please follow us on Instagram @sbculinaryexperience

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 15

drinkable

LANDSCAPE

I LEFT MY

Heart in Fizzy Pisco George Yatchisin

It’s

easy to go a bit mad considering mandarins. Clearly pulling apart tangerines from clementines from trademarked brands like Ojai Pixies and Cuties… well, it’s certainly not as easy as pulling apart the luscious segments from these oblate wonders of the citrus world. Actually, telling them apart has something to do with the roughness of the skin, and, of course, genetic crosses you’d have to be a botanist to bother about. But the best thing is many of us locally have a tangerine tree of some sort or know someone who does who is probably offering you fruit. Say thanks, and get cracking on this cocktail.

The terrific tangerine taste trick is that it brings the zip and zest of orange but adds something sweeter without being sweet.

Tangerines are also more floral; you can still smell the blossoms on the fruit, it seems. It’s everything one might want in a flavor on a spring day, as vivid and electric as a Santa Barbara blue sky. That’s why it anchors this refreshing and dreamy Oh My Darling Cocktail, which I give you the permission to make even without official clementines.

16 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Yes, the drink is a gussied-up Pisco Sour, but that tangerine — and a bit of lemon juice, too —make for a much more complex palate than the usual lime juice. The pride of Peru, Pisco is a grape-based spirit that is aged in stainless steel or glass, not oak, so think of it as a clear brandy. It, too, has floral and citrusy notes, so it adds exponentially to the drink’s attraction. Plus, if you use Pisco Portón, you get to show off the handsome bottle with the cutout to a painting of the Hacienda la Caravedo, where it’s made, on the inside.

The way to think of the Aperol and simple syrup is as best buds who make their friends even more themselves. Sticky and bitter, the Aperol gooses the acids to help make your mouth water for more. The simple syrup layers on the sweet of the fruit, expanding the complete cocktail in the other direction.

Deliciousness is about perfect tension, after all.

Then, for texture, there’s the egg white. If you’ve got backyard chickens, this is particularly a treat, but we can get such great eggs now, so don’t be afraid to use them in cocktails.

STE VEN BROWN

WORDS BY

(The USDA requires me to warm you about Salmonella here.)

But, ah, the joys of a cocktail foamed to richness with an egg white. I’m pretty sure that old French line “C’est le petit Jesus en culotte de velours” was first uttered after a drink shaken with egg whites, for it is a religious experience of velvety goodness in your mouth.

That does mean you have to do two shakes, though, unless you like to wear your cocktail and not drink it. That foaminess comes along with a lot of gas expansion, so it’s easy to have your shaker lid blast off, making an unholy mess. Performing a “dry shake”—that is, one without ice —first does lessen the danger of a dramatic explosion. Still, hang on tight for both shakes, and just in case, do it over a sink and away from guests.

This is also a drink that benefits from a bar tool, so I’m going to suggest you buy a mister (you can get them for $10 online). The foam atop the orange cocktail is spectacular on its creamy own, but if you have an atomizer, you can add a lovely tinge of burnt orange by hitting a quick spritz of Angostura bitters on the foam. You might need to practice how much finger pressure makes how thick a spray in relation to how high you hold the canister over your coupe; it’s a feel thing, depending on whatever mister you buy. Not that they won’t love the cocktail if you make several dots of bitters in the foam straight from the bottle. But the atomizer is worth it for an extra ooh and aah from those you make the drink for.

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

He blogs at GeorgeEats.com.

RECIPE

The Oh My Darling Cocktail MAKES 2 COCKTAILS

4 ounces Pisco (Portón recommended) 1 ounces Aperol 2 ounces fresh tangerine juice

FARM

1 ounces fresh lemon juice

FRESH

1 ounces simple syrup 1 egg white

Angostura bitters, preferably in a mister

Shake all ingredients except for the bitters in a shaker, without ice.

Hold on tight, as the egg will foam and expand the air in the shaker.

Carefully remove the shaker lid. Add ice cubes and shake again until well chilled. Hold on tight. Strain into 2 coupes. Spoon out the ice from the shaker and then spoon any remaining foam atop the 2 drinks. Gently spray a mist of Angostura bitters onto each drink.

Alternately, decoratively add several drops of bitters on the foam.

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 17

Taste of Santa Barbara A Conversation with Donna Yen WORDS BY

Sonja Magdevski

DONNA YEN

Taste of Santa Barbara

SBCE Executive Director Donna Yen.

is back in person May 16–22, 2022, with a reinvigorated lineup of events after an extended hiatus. While we are certain we don’t need to remind you of the reasons for this pause, we are delighted to share hopeful news and introduce you to Donna Yen, the new executive director of the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE) spearheading this launch.

While Yen is less than six months into her position, she is quite familiar with the origins of the SBCE and its founding partnership with the Julia Child Foundation (JCF). Most importantly, Yen is well-versed with the goals of the inaugural Taste of Santa Barbara event and its role in elevating awareness of Santa Barbara’s bountiful food, wine and agricultural scene, keeping in alignment with Julia Child’s own lifelong tenets.

“Julia Child was, very early on, a visionary for saying the industrialized food system is not the best direction to go in, in particular because it encourages people to disassociate themselves with understanding how to make their own food, how to grow their own food, and understanding what food is and where it should come from,” said Todd Schulkin, executive director of the Julia Child Foundation. “I feel like the pandemic just bore Julia out. People realized they needed to know how to cook and how much they needed to know about the food system. She saw the importance of these things much earlier than other people.”

The Julia Child Foundation’s mission is both the learning and teaching of cooking as an important part of life. Each year the JCF provides grants to culinary history projects and scholarships for professional culinary education.

“Julia Child wanted people to understand what makes for good food and where it comes from,” Schulkin added. “I think this is particularly true specifically for Santa Barbara as our area plays such an important role in food sourcing for all America and possibly globally, which we still think is an under-told story.”

18 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Taste of Santa Barbara is the modern-day spinoff of the original Julia Child Santa Barbara Food and Wine weekend once held at the Bacara Resort and Spa. “We felt strongly about having an event in our hometown— we have a lot going on in the food and wine world but nothing that galvanized outside attention on all of the things that make Santa Barbara great,” Schulkin said. “We thought an in-person event in the heart of Santa Barbara would leverage and call attention both inside Santa Barbara for all the great things going on and bring people from the outside to experience them.”

Donna Yen has a personal connection to both Julia and Santa Barbara. As event coordinator for Cherry Bombe magazine based in New York for close to 10 years, she moved back to her home state of California before the pandemic to be closer to family. Cherry Bombe dedicated an entire issue to Julia Child and held their annual Jubilee gathering in her honor. It was with this issue that she worked closely with Schulkin and the JCF to deepen her understanding of the enormous impact Julia Child had on how we comprehensively view food.

“I think it is really Julia that brought me here,” Yen said during our recent phone call. “It is definitely her spirit, joy and energy. Over these last few months, I have gotten to learn about Santa Barbara in a way I didn’t see before. It has such a vibrant culinary and beverage scene that the world needs to know. You get the ocean and the diverse climates and an interesting mix of produce and wine. I am still learning so much about it. After living in New York and LA, I feel like people have to know how amazing Santa Barbara is. People don’t talk about it enough. I was very excited to step into this role. I really want to help tell Santa Barbara’s story.”

The conversation continued…

Sonja Magdevski: You must be overwhelmed with so many enthusiastic colleagues excited to reinvigorate the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience Taste of Santa Barbara after this long hiatus?

Donna Yen: I want the excitement! I secured the venue; we have the story and theme. Now we are finalizing our programming and talent. I really want to tell the right story and work with the right people and organizations to help do that. I am not from Santa Barbara though I have a big deep love for it. I am definitely working closely with the Julia Child Foundation and Santa Barbara Culinary Experience. We have amazing signature events in store this year.

What was that transition like for you from New York to Los Angeles?

It has been almost three years now, and it has been like coming back home and also figuring out who am I outside of New York. I have kind of grown more into myself as a person and California is a big part of that.

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My work being at Cherry Bombe has been about focusing on celebrating women in the food and beverage space. I swear to you, I feel like it is mostly women who are running the food and beverage scene in Santa Barbara and that is amazing.

Julia Child, then, is the perfect person to dedicate an entire issue of Cherry Bombe to. Were you familiar with the breadth of her work? I feel that when time moves on, we can easily lose sight of that impact of what she accomplished. Can you address that?

When the Julia Child issue came about, we received such an outpouring of love and admiration. We were just shocked at all the pitches we were getting about Julia and her legacy. There was a woman from the Amazon region in her early 20s who moved to the United States to learn to cook because of Julia Child.

How did she hear about her? Julia’s story has touched so many people. Something is really special about her and how she touches people. We got to hear so many Julia moments. Everyone has one.

Through that, I got to truly understand her impact and how she continues to impact younger generations.

How are you balancing your work with Cherry Bombe and orchestrating Taste of Santa Barbara right now?

For once, this is something I got to envision and help create. With Cherry Bombe, we have a formula and a theme. It was really fun to come up with what I thought was Santa Barbara’s food and beverage story and its scene and figure out how to tell that story through these events. It all feels intuitively right. I am pouring myself into it. It has been fun to be on my own and have ownership over this program. I want this to be successful, and I want to be respectful of those who have been there. Getting to know people has been the biggest thing I have been working on. That has been so rewarding. Everyone has been so lovely.

What are your goals for Taste of Santa Barbara?

I want this to be a countywide event. I want to create this pride in the community—to create an event that tourists will join and visit.

And really create programming for locals and those in the industry.

I also want to make it as accessible and inclusive as possible. A lot of our programming is free and low-priced. We want to encourage folks who may not normally go to these events to join in—like people in hospitality, our farmers and students. The idea is to make an event where everyone can come and enjoy. That is the main goal—celebrating what makes Santa Barbara so special. And what makes the food and beverage scene so special is the chefs, the winemakers and the farmers. Those are the three pillars we are celebrating and focusing on.

You have a vital conversation scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Rebuilding our Food System. How did this come about?

One of the recipients of the Julia Child Foundation award is Food Tank—and Danielle Nierenberg’s work on people helping to solve the food crises that have been happening. This talk will show people that Santa Barbara has actually been doing a lot of this work already, such as through the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network. The people at SBCFAN are really trying to bring these issues to light.

What has been the most surprising and challenging thing since you began your work with SBCE?

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The challenge is definitely Covid. Just trying to create in-person events with everything changing daily has been the most challenging for sure. The beauty of Santa Barbara is that everything is outside. I know we can do this safely. And this will not be our last event with SBCE. We want to make this an annual event. And, in addition, SBCE will take part in special dinners and programming that benefits the community and also really helps to tell these stories.

For more information on Taste of Santa Barbara visit www.sbce.events/taste-of-santa-barbara/ Sonja Magdevski is winemaker/owner of Casa Dumetz Wines, Clementine Carter and The Feminist Party wine brands and spends a lot of time in her tasting room in Los Alamos when she isn’t at the winery or investigating her next story.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 19

Grapes of Friendship Home Winemaking Brings Community Together WORDS BY

Members of the Central Coast Home Vintners’ Association.

20 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Carmen Smyth

C ARMEN SMY TH

Justin Redmond.

C ARMEN SMY TH

Have you ever thought of making your own wine?

Perhaps it’s only natural when you live in a region known for quality grapes and world-class wines. There are bound to be more than a few people in our community who want to turn their love and appreciation of wine into a DIY project. I spoke with a number of local home winemakers to find out how they got started and what challenges they faced when learning to make their own wine.

I met Justin Redmond at a grape crushing event in Los Olivos. He arrived on his bike with a huge grin on his face. “I live just down the street,” Redmond explained. “I’ve always wanted to know who lives here,” as he stood by the vineyard.

Redmond is tall with dark curly hair and an infectious smile. He and his wife loved the Santa Ynez Valley so much they decided to relocate from Santa Barbara and bought a house here—which came with a small vineyard.

“When we moved into this house, there were about 24 Syrah vines planted on the property. We were, like, ‘Wow, if there is Syrah here, we have to make wine.’ I’ve never made wine before.

That really was the springboard for me to start,” Redmond said.

“I made about two cases of wine the first couple years, then the yields started to increase. We combined our harvest with a friend’s and we managed to make one barrel of wine. That was exciting for us. It was always a dream and a goal to make a barrel of wine,” Redmond said.

Not having any experience in winemaking, he went online for information and started asking a lot of questions.

“I really didn’t learn as much as I should have,” he admitted.

Then he met a member of the Central Coast Home Vintners’ Association. He realized that joining the association would be just what he needed.

“Shortly after that I went to the first event, the summer picnic. I could not get the smile off my face the whole day. These are my people!” he exclaimed.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 21

TONY MASTRES

TONY MASTRES

Syrah from Tierra Alta.

Pressing grapes.

When asked what got them interested in winemaking, “Everybody was so friendly. It was my goal to make friends John explained, “We got started in home winemaking because there. This group is a perfect fit for me. I’m just excited to at age 18 you are not legally able to buy wine. It started in a make connections. I made a new group of friends that are also bathroom. We have been making wine almost forever.” winemakers and we have just been sharing our knowledge.

They have accepted me with open arms. It’s, like, quickly “Our kids said they can’t remember when there wasn’t become this huge family.” something fermenting in the house, a closet, the bathtub,” admitted Linda. “The club is such a good deal. [Otherwise,] as Through the club, Redmond said he’s upped his game. a home winemaker you can’t get “I’m fine-tuning my process and good grapes. What you put in is know when to make additions “This is a 40-plus-year-old dream, what you get out. If the grapes and add nutrients. I never added are not cared for, you are going to anything before. It was just, like, to have a vineyard and make wine.” get a wine that is not serviceable.” keeping your fingers crossed and —Melissa Moseley hoping it turns out,” he said.

“We formed a wine group with six to eight people. That Redmond’s Syrah yields were allowed us to get a full bin [of low this year yet he was able to get grapes], and that would make one barrel. We were a subgroup a grape order in through the club, and he sourced 300 pounds of the CCHVA,” said John. of Syrah.

“When we were at our peak, we would make six to seven Getting small quantities of quality grapes is one of varietals. We would get together and do the work, rack the the biggest challenges of being a home winemaker. Many wine and bottle. It’s a community effort. We became a close vineyards don’t want to sell small quantities and they often group of friends,” added Linda . keep their best grapes for themselves or to sell to established commercial winemakers. If you aren’t growing your own or if “In the start there weren’t many good winemakers in the you have a low yield one year, what can you do? club, including us. But we worked hard at it and then we won a lot of prizes. We got so many commendations, we decided to John and Linda Thunen realized the value of banding go commercial,” John said. together and were early members of the Central Coast Home Vintners’ Association, which was founded in 1991 by Going commercial is a whole different thing. “It’s not fun,” Bob Weldon. admitted Linda. John and Linda ran their winery for 10 years.

22 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

What’s the best thing about his job? “I get to meet everyone.

I enjoy that part of it. I try and help as many as many people as I can, because there was a day I couldn’t pick up my grapes,” he said. “One of the guys in the club picked them up for me.

I’m here to offer to support, that’s what I do.”

Hank Rickett was at a club member’s home after harvest when I spoke with him. He was tall, with an infectious sense of humor. Rickett was a former president of the board and a longtime club member. He coordinates wine evaluation seminars and trains new wine competition judges.

“I started making wine when I was a teenager,” he said. “My grandmother used to make dandelion and watermelon wine. She would pay us a nickel a bag to pick dandelion flowers. I got my impetus from her and made dandelion wine and some fruit wines when I was a kid. Some of them were good, some not so good.”

“I made wine with the club with a small group of people. That was the best wine I ever made. It was really impressive stuff,” said Rickett.

“Then I got interested in wine evaluation and started holding wine evaluation classes for the club. I trained my palate. I would collect herbs, spices and dried fruit and use them to evaluate wine. I train the judges for the Santa Barbara County Fair home winemakers competition. I teach tasting and evaluation techniques,” he said. “You have to train your palate.

You are not born with it.”

Fred Carbone was at his home in Santa Maria on harvest day. He had about 25 people who volunteered to help harvest, de-stem and press the grapes. Carbone, another long-term club member, was president until 2020.

Carbone planted a Syrah vineyard in his backyard in 2006. It now yields about 30 gallons of Syrah and 10 of Viognier annually.

“I couldn’t do this without the club,” Carbone said. This destemmer is theirs, this basket press is theirs and the bin is from a buddy of mine,” he explained.

He has transitioned part of his garage into a winery where all the fermentations are managed.

Carbone is one of the club mentors who volunteers his time and expertise to assist new winemakers.

“I have no secrets. I’ll tell anybody anything about what I do. That’s how our club tends to work,” he said. Most of the winemakers in our club are doing five, 10 and 15 gallons in glass carboys.”

Melissa Moseley was pressing her Syrah when I stopped by her home in Los Olivos. She was a petite woman with a wellorganized winery in her garage. Four wine club members were there to help with the process.

C ARMEN SMY TH

Now they make small amounts of wine with friends.

“Both Linda and I have been very active in wine judging.

There is no question about the quality of the wine the club is making,” John said.

“They are making some amazing wines,” added Linda.

Jim Ford was at the club’s crush location in Orcutt when I met him. He was a tall, slim guy with graying hair. He was friendly and was helping everyone pick up grape orders. The club’s co-op would not function without the efforts of Ford, a longtime club member. He organizes and leads the annual grape co-op. He coordinates what grapes are available from the growers, monitors the harvest, picking times, and relates that information to wine club members who have placed orders.

Ford puts out the annual Grape Co-op Catalog with harvest selections that are available, and cutoff dates to get an order in.

Then he combines the orders to ton and half-ton purchases.

It was a busy day at the crush pad. “We have members that come here as far as San Diego. Two guys came up from Temecula, and a couple came from the Bay Area,” said Ford.

Why are people traveling so far to purchase grapes from the co-op?

Because they can’t find another source willing to sell small quantities of quality grapes.

The CCHVA sources grapes from Margarita Vineyards, and Lucas and Lewellen vineyards. The minimum is 100 pounds, which makes five to six gallons of wine.

Depending on the year, the co-op is able to source up to 27 different Fred Carbone. varietals.

Ford picks up the grapes from the vineyard and brings them to a crush pad. The club’s equipment is stored there in a shed. “The club takes a flat 10% for pickup, delivery, destemming, crushing or pressing. Then the people pick up the grapes, take them home and start the fermentation process, with mentors available to help. All they have to do is bring their own containers,” explained Ford.

The club’s equipment can be loaned out to members as well.

They have two crusher de-stemmers, two basket presses, three bladder presses, a barrel washer and a stand corker.

“The total order for this year was 25,000 pounds, or 12.5 tons. Last year it was 15,000 pounds. At the moment, the club has 98 members,” Ford said.

“I can deliver 500 pounds of one varietal if I can combine [club member] orders. I’m helping one guy get 100 pounds of grapes; I’m helping two gals make a Chardonnay,” he said.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 23

Moseley is one of the newest members of the club. She joined the board and is in charge of memberships. Originally from LA, Moseley got interested in wine on a few trips to Napa, Sonoma and Guerneville.

“I loved the whole ambiance [of winemaking], something about the smell of the must and the wine. It just sang to me,” she said. During her trip to Guerneville, she stayed in a B&B in a vineyard.

“From then on I wanted to have a vineyard on a property on a hill somewhere. I thought it would be Napa or Sonoma.

Santa Barbara at that time was a tiny enclave. It used to be all cows and ranches. Twenty years later it’s all vines. It was amazing,” she exclaimed.

“One weekend while in Los Olivos I rode my bike down a gravel road and saw this property. ‘Oh my God,’ I said.

‘There it is! This is the house I’ve been looking for.’ Three years later it was available, and I was able to buy it. It was a house on a hill with space for a vineyard. In 2021 I finally got my vineyard. It was a dream come true,” she declared.

Moseley learned about the Central Coast Home Vintners’ Association from a classmate at Hancock College while taking a wine course. He told her that she could source grapes from them. “I joined and that fall I bought my first batch of Syrah. I had no idea what I was doing but relied on friends and lots of reading,” she said.

“I made the first wine with a classmate. Somehow we muddled through it and ended up with a really good wine. We won a silver medal at the Paso Robles [Mid-]State Fair for our 2018 Syrah and a bronze medal at the CCHVA summer picnic competition in 2021. That was really exciting.”

There is a sense of accomplishment and enthusiasm in Moseley’s voice as she adds, “This is a 40-plus-year-old dream, to have a vineyard and make wine.”

“I had a lot of good helpers. In the beginning I had no idea what I was doing. That is the value of being a wine club member. There is an experienced winemaker that can answer 24 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

C ARMEN SMY TH

C ARMEN SMY TH

Melissa Moseley.

these rookie questions and you don’t have to panic.”

I visited Tony Mastres at his home in Goleta. Tall with silver hair, he walked me to the backyard where he has built an enclosed bar to enjoy his wine. Mastres started making wine with a group of friends.

“We’ve always been into wine, then one time we thought, ‘We should just try and make our own,’” he explained.

“One of the guys in our group was in charge of getting grapes. He started calling around to vineyards. That’s how we started out. The first vintage we made was half a ton of Malbec. We were supposed to get some Cabernet, but that fell through, because we were at the low end of the totem pole. The only thing left was Malbec, so we took it.”

Mastres and his group had to pick up the grapes from the vineyard, then transport them to a facility in Ventura for processing and then transport them back. “It was in our best interest to get our own equipment,” he said. “So we started scouring Craigslist looking for old beer and winemaking equipment. By the end of the year we had a de-stemmer, a basket press and barrels.”

Tony Mastres.

The group started with three guys, and the name of their wine, KEMABU, is a mashup of their last names —Kevin Kelly, Tony Mastres and Dan Burke.

“Everyone had a job. Kevin was the logistics guy; his job was to find grapes. I took the job as the winemaker; I asked winemakers about different yeasts, and just picked people’s brains.

I searched the internet and made a procedure,” Mastres said.

“The third person, Dan, was a PhD student in the chemistry department at UCSB. He was the one who did all the chemistry,” added Mastres.

The partnership is still making wine. “This was our 12th vintage this year. We did half a ton of Syrah, and a half ton

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of Grenache. But now we have modernized. We actually have a truck, what we call ‘the facility’ is actually someone’s garage and we have a dedicated cold room,” Mastres added with a smile.

They make two barrels or wine, or about 50–60 cases.

“We have won several awards in the past from Winemaker Magazine. It’s like validation,” continued Mastres.

Mastres and his wife, Krista, are thinking about going commercial in the future. “We don’t want to do this as endeavor to get rich. It’s just for fun, basically,” he said.

Home winemakers certainly strive to make good wines, but it also seems to be about community and the friendships that are forged in the process.

Is it possible to fulfill your dreams of dabbling in smallbatch winemaking or even planting a vineyard? Yes, when you have a little help from your friends.

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Carmen Smyth is a freelance journalist and photographer living in Ventura County who reports on wine news and trends at home and abroad.

Resources Learn more about the Central Coast Home Vintners’ Association at www.cchva.org.

Allan Hancock College offers multiple degrees and certificates in viticulture, enology, wine and food pairing and wine business. Visit www.hancockcollege. edu for more info.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 25

26 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

COMPOST ISN’T SEXY, AND YET… Janice Cook Knight

STE VEN BROWN

WORDS BY

Sam Dickinson.

C

ompost. Not the sexiest of words. Despite its lack of appeal, 17 people gathered in our backyard on a cloudy January day to learn more about compost. Sam Dickinson from the Santa Barbara County Resource Center shared his expertise and fielded many questions, and we listened intently.

Many of us were already making some form of compost.

Some of us had experience and were relatively successful.

Others of us were newbies, wondering if we were putting in the right mix of stuff. We wondered about compost tea (no, it’s not something people drink), earthworms, the correct compost temperature, and especially we wanted to know what kind of container, if any, is best for making compost?

Why compost at all? For me, composting is part of a cycle, as natural as eating and cooking food. I have scraps left over when I cook, and I know they will eventually become part of the soil if they go into our compost pile. The enriched soil will grow plants—producing vegetables and fruits, and then the process starts all over again. Food, scraps, compost. Compost, food, scraps.

I grew up composting. My parents composted. An old plastic bowl on the kitchen counter was always filling with food scraps.

Every day or so, my dad, mom or one of us kids took it out to add to the compost pile. It was usually located at the farthest corner of the yard (sometimes in other places; we experimented with

different composting techniques and in different areas). We never fussed with it much. Some people turn their compost piles, and sometimes we did, but not much. We generally let it sit, layering it with leaves and dried grass clippings, then starting new in another area nearby, leaving the old pile to decompose for a few months. Often as it broke down, the pile became very warm. I’ve seen steam rising from many decomposing compost piles.

Over time, the soil in that suburban San Fernando Valley backyard became lush and friable, crumbly and aerated, fertile and well-drained. It was not like that when we moved in. My parents bought that property because it had a large backyard, and our dad was a succulent collector, but the topsoil had been scraped off when the housing tract was built in the 1950s, then replaced with poor fill dirt. Most of the soil was heavy clay. As kids, we played in that dirt often—running the hose, creating rivers and streams. The clay, when wet, had a gluey-sticky quality to it. My dad had his work cut out for him, turning clay into fertile soil, but he set about doing it, compost bucket after compost bucket. Of course, there were other amendments brought in—mainly large bags of peat moss and aged steer manure. As a younger man, my dad did a lot of digging in of the amendments; when older, he was more inclined to layer his amendments and let earthworms do the digging.

After many years, the soil became quite wonderful to work with. Every year the soil improved, and after 50 years—their time in that house—it was even better. And that is the magic of slow change.

Compost Magic: Mold, Worms and Microorganisms Now we watch as our food waste, mixed with dried garden leaves and moistened, begins turning to mold. We see what happens when red wigglers, the composting earthworms, are added to the compost pile, where they munch on food scraps and turn them into beautiful “black gold” worm castings.

We notice that chicken poop, wood shavings and straw, gathered from our chicken pen and left to break down, turns into nice-smelling fluffy stuff. When mixed with the broken-down veggie compost, this makes another rich amendment for the garden.

When a tumbler of aged compost spills out into a wheelbarrow, EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 27

Scraps, left over from cooking, go into the compost pile.

crumbly black and ready to add to the garden soil, and with a clean and sweet aroma, we can’t wait to add it to our garden.

It’s hard for me to throw any food waste into a trash can, so deeply ingrained is the habit of composting. It just feels wrong.

The Tajiguas landfill processes waste for southern Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley. So, in much of Santa Barbara County, if one does throw food scraps into the garbage can, it will be sorted, retrieved and processed by our landfill’s new biodigester. This is wonderful, and yet we could relieve some pressure on our county’s resources and benefit our yards by keeping food waste from going there in the first place. North County uses the Santa Maria landfill. They do not have the benefit of a digester and resource center, so composting is even more important in those communities.

This is the concept of regeneration: We save a lot of time, energy and trouble when we compost the food and yard waste we generate. When we learn to make good compost, we benefit.

It’s like giving our food waste (food we’ve already paid for and cooked) a second life. It’s a happy side effect. Nature set it up that way, but it’s up to us to learn to imitate nature’s rhythms and cycles.

My husband, Jim, and I do our main composting in a pair of rotating, vermin-proof tumblers. (Having open piles of compost in our yard is not wise, as rats live in the neighborhood and we don’t want to feed them.) One tumbler is full of fresher scraps and leaves, and we add to it a few times a week. We keep it moist and rotating. The other is already full and is busy decomposing.

28 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

We don’t add anything fresh to it but leave it for several weeks until everything is broken down. We still turn it and keep it moist. Both tumblers have red wigglers in them. After a few weeks, we empty out the “resting” tumbler, worms and all, and let it finish on the ground. The worms can move on to other activities, and the compost is broken down enough to be unattractive to rodents. We’ll leave it there several more weeks, or even several months, until it’s finished.

There are as many kinds of composting devices as there are people to make compost. The key is to find what will work for your household, for the size of your yard (there are devices to make compost even if you lack a yard) and how to use materials you already have on hand.

It took a while before I realized how much dry material needed to be added to the fresh kitchen waste. For every two parts of green waste (the nitrogen component of the compost mix), you want to add three parts of brown, dry materials (as a carbon source). In our yard, leaves are our main carbon source. We keep a large, covered garbage can next to our compost bin and fill it with raked dry leaves from time to time, so they are always ready to go. If you don’t have leaves, you can use sawdust, hay, shredded paper or newspaper, small wood chips, wood shavings, cotton or wool rags. You can even shred cardboard in a heavy-duty shredder or a woodchipper. Just make sure it’s clean, not shiny or waxed, and if printed, it was done so with soy-based inks.

Once we figured out the carbon component, our compost improved dramatically. Leaves are nice because their curly

shapes are also good for aeration—they keep the oxygen flowing in the compost bin. Compost needs air and moisture as well as the raw materials. The compost bin should be about as wet as a damp sponge. Soon fungi, in the form of mold and yeast, will start working on the materials, as well as bacteria, and nematodes and protozoa are present as well to help process the fungi and bacteria (though you probably won’t see them— they’re microscopic).

You don’t have to add worms to your compost pile to achieve decomposition: Everything breaks down eventually, just more slowly. It’s the nature of bacteria and fungi to break down natural materials. But having worms in the bins will speed the process immensely.

Practical Matters: Bins, Containers and a House for Worms Before we started adding worms to our compost bins, we kept separate bins for the worms, which we still maintain. We have a Worm Café, a tiered plastic worm house with several interchangeable trays, and a redwood box for worms. We feed them every few days and keep the boxes moist, like a damp sponge, the same way you do a green-waste compost bin.

Eventually, we introduced worms into our rotating green-waste compost bins, where they are busy helping to break down the fresh produce scraps we introduce. The separate worm boxes are easy to manage and help us to have a healthy crop of worms at any time.

We shade the compost bin in summer and keep our worm bins in the shade, too, so the worms won’t get too hot—heat can kill them. They are live animals, so they must be kept moist and periodically fed. They are prolific reproducers. They can eat their own weight in food every day. A pound of red wigglers will soon— in a couple of months, say—become two pounds of red wigglers.

One time I managed to kill most of the worms in our compost bin by accident. I had cleaned the pantry and discarded some old flour, throwing way too much powdery flour into the bins. The compost became dry and dense, not aerated. It was too much all at once. A better way to dispose of the flour would have been to have simply dug a hole in the backyard.

Two of my college roommates were worm farmers. Ray and Janet had several large worm bins in the backyard, a late-1970s get-rich-quick scheme. Some entrepreneurs were promoting earthworms as the next great protein source, and my roommates believed we would all be eating earthworms to help solve world hunger problems. I do not recall tasting cookies made of worms, though I know my roommates made them! I was a vegetarian then, so I had an easy out. They did not stay in that business; evidently many people lost money investing in worm farms during that time.

Raising worms seemed mysterious to me. It’s a matter of knowing the habits of the critters you foster, as you would raising chickens or even taking care of a dog or a cat. Worms enjoy eating the leavings of our fruits and vegetables. Jim, my husband, is our household worm farmer, but I help occasionally.

Compost Tea To learn more about compost tea, I interviewed Sandy Lejeune of Santa Barbara Worm Farm.

Sandy is a ranch manager in Santa Barbara, and managed marketing and farm operations at Fairview Gardens for many years. Before the pandemic, he was a fixture at our Saturday farmers market, selling bags of worm compost rich in worm castings and dispensing important information about how to make compost tea at home. Since 2008, SB Worm Farm’s mission has been to provide a locally grown product to increase soil fertility.

What is compost tea? Probably an ancient practice, it’s basically an infusion made by steeping compost in unchlorinated* water for 24 hours or more. This allows time for the beneficial microorganisms in the compost to increase, so when you pour the mixture on or around your plants they’ll reap the benefit of this biological growth. The beneficial microorganisms present in worm compost, when added regularly to soil, will help increase the soil’s bacteria, fungi and protozoa levels, making nutrients more available to plants.

Compost tea on a modern, professional scale is often made by aerating the infusion with a pump, or bubbler. The aeration greatly increases the biological activity in the tea.

For home compost tea making, if you don’t want to invest in a pump, it’s still quite beneficial to steep compost or worm castings in a bucket of water. Give it 24–48 hours. Simply pour the tea on and around your plants. You can filter out the chunky stuff if you want, and add that back into your compost pile, or pour the thicker mixture on your plants as is. It’s up to you. It’s usually not necessary to dilute compost tea—tea made from worm compost won’t burn the plants. However, if your compost is rich in manure, it may contain more nitrogen, so should be diluted.

You can purchase compost tea bags directly from Sandy Lejeune (see Resources Sidebar).

You can also purchase compost tea bags made by Malibu Compost at Island Seed and Feed (also in Resources). * Simply leave a large bucket of water out for 24 hours, and the chlorine in the city water will dissipate. Or save rainwater when available.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 29

One thing I’ve noticed they will devour, which surprised me initially, are those cellulose sponges—the kind Trader Joe’s sells—and cellulose cleaning cloths meant to replace paper towels. After they’re worn out, I just cut them up for the worms, and they’re quickly eaten.

Why Make Compost?

We like making our own compost because we know what’s in it. It’s good homemade stuff. For very little work, we get to keep what we’ve used on our property and so buy fewer amendments at the nursery. In this way, we enhance our garden’s fertility.

Even though we are already experienced composters, there’s always more to learn and techniques we can improve. I’ve never tried using shredded newspaper or cardboard, which we seem to have in abundance. Of course, we can easily recycle those, but they could come in handy in spring and summer when leaves are not in abundant supply.

How to Get Started If you are new to composting, start small and simple. The Earth Machine compost bin that the county sells for half price, $45, would be a great way to start, especially in a small yard. Or perhaps you’d like to try composting directly on the ground, following the directions in the LessIsMore Composting ABC’s booklet (online), beginning on page 6. There are even countertop kitchen composters (requiring electricity, but speedy), and a device called a Green Cone. It is a very efficient (hot technique) device, shaped as its named—as a green cone. It heats so well that even small amounts of pet waste can be added to it because the heat (over 160°) kills pathogens. It’s designed to break down food waste into its natural components of water and carbon dioxide, which are then leached into the soil the device stands on.

Want to learn more about growing your own food in addition to composting? Oscar Carmona currently runs the urban community garden at Pilgrim Terrace in Santa Barbara.

Oscar has 40 years of gardening experience, including working for the Community Environmental Council, as an instructor for the Quail Springs Permaculture Network and for his own company, Healing Grounds Nursery. Through the SBCC school of extended learning, Oscar teaches Green Gardener Certification and Small-Scale Food Production courses, and of course, composting is part of the curriculum.

From the kind of counter container you put your kitchen refuse in, to the kinds of outdoor bins you use, Oscar advises the home compost maker to make it easy on yourself. Choose containers and methods that fit comfortably into your lifestyle; the simpler, the better. Treat yourselves well—by eating out of the garden. Good composting, he says, is the cornerstone of growing nutritious food; compost helps create disease- and pest-resistant plants. In addition, growing our own clean food empowers us in the face of unsettling world events, like our current pandemic and its food supply chain issues.

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The last two years have made it abundantly clear to me that there are things we can do at home to help improve our lives. I love the big impact of composting and gardening on a small scale when many of us decide to take better care of our bodies, homes, gardens and planet. These are small acts, and yet so beneficial and enjoyable.

Janice Cook Knight is an award-winning writer, cookbook author and cooking teacher based in Santa Barbara. She enjoys gardening, music and the science of cooking, and is thrilled by a good recipe. She blogs with her daughter Sarah Migliaccio Barnes at TriedAndTrueKitchen.com and can be found on Instagram @triedtruekitchen.

Resources Our county resource center has produced an excellent composting booklet, available online: Composting ABC’s. More composting information is also available at the SB County resources website.

Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening (Chronicle Books, 2009) has an easy explanation of compost making, both the slow (cold) method, and the more labor intensive rapid (hot) method. Also covers the basics of worm composting and various compost containers. This is a great basic gardening book, advising what to do month by month in our region.

The composting information is also on her website.

Island Seed & Feed in Goleta carries red wiggler earthworms for worm composting. A starter colony will set you back just $15. They also sell worm boxes, compost tea bags, books on composting, turning forks for compost piles and many other garden items and amendments.

Sandy Lejeune’s company, Santa Barbara Worm Farm, carries compost tea bags that will make 1 gallon or 5 gallons of tea from worm compost. He sometimes has pre-made compost tea and starter worms: sandy. lejeune@gmail.com Here’s how to grow them: Worms Eat My Garbage, 35 th Anniversary Edition: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System, by Mary Appelhof Pick up a simple compost bin, The Earth Machine, for backyard use at the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station: 4430 Calle Real, Santa Barbara.

Open Monday–Saturday 7am–5pm. Cost: $45 (half the retail price).

A Lomi Kitchen Composter will turn food waste into compost. It sits on your countertop. I haven’t tried this model, but it sure looks interesting (and expensive: $499). Still, this could be very useful for those without a yard.

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IN LABELS WE TRUST

How food certification labels, seals and standards can help eaters make better choices

STO RY

BY

E L E N A

S E E L E Y,

FO O D

TA N K

CO N T E N T

D I R E C TO R

Danielle Nierenberg, Food Tank president, contributed to this article.

Even before the pandemic, choosing what to eat was difficult.

PROT E CT ING WO RK E RS

What’s healthy? What’s not? Do workers get a fair wage? What’s

In 2020, the World Economic Forum/Ipsos found that 86

better for the planet? For eaters looking to purchase products that

percent of people want a significant change towards a more equi-

are fairly traded or BIPOC owned, it can feel exhausting to find

table and sustainable world post-pandemic.

delicious foods from producers they believe in.

Standards from the food sector are working to eliminate

Certification labels and standards can be useful and neces-

forced and child labor, improve workers’ conditions, promote

sary ways to help consumers, but they’re often confusing. “Un-

gender equity and ensure better pay. Many fair-trade companies

fortunately, the burden is always on the consumer in terms of

are helping growers shift to environmentally sustainable practices.

evaluating the veracity of the label, doing the research to see

“While not a silver bullet, the Rainforest Alliance certification

whether the information on these labels is properly supported

is designed to provide methods and a shared standard for creat-

and accurate,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Con-

ing a more transparent, data-driven, risk-based supply chain…to

sumer Reports, says.

make responsible business the new normal,” says Alex Morgan

Focusing on one issue helps, says Jerusha Klemperer of FoodPrint, an organization that educates consumers about food production practices. Decide which issue you’re most passionate

from the Rainforest Alliance.

For foods from the United States, it’s more difficult to find companies upholding fair working conditions.

about and look for a label that upholds those standards. Labels

“Farm employees are still not equally protected under the Fair

can help increase transparency and provide insight into how food

Labor Standards Act and do not have a federally protected right

was produced. They can help eaters vote with their wallets for

to a weekly day of rest, overtime pay, sick time, collective bar-

food choices that support the environment, climate solutions,

gaining rights or even the right to a federal minimum wage on

animal welfare, workers’ rights, and healthy and sustainable diets.

small farms,” says Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-

But even conscientious eaters can get overwhelmed by the num-

Indigenous centered community farm in New York.

ber of choices they face.

Rosalinda Guillen, founder of Community to Community,

Choosing certified labels is a way to avoid empty claims, Klem-

says the Food Justice Certified label by the Agricultural Justice

perer says. But not all certification processes are created equal.

Project (AJP) is the most comprehensive label for protecting

Klemperer advises consumers to “do the research before you get

workers. “We call it the gold standard,” says Guillen, who has

to the store.”

provided input on AJP’s certification since 2000. Her BIPOC-

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 33 ediblecommunities.com

led organization fights for better farm working conditions. She trusts the

mals suffer unnecessarily,” says Ben Goldsmith of Farm Forward, a non-

label because farm workers were deeply involved in setting the standards

profit striving to improve farm animal welfare. It can be easy for us to

from the beginning.

imagine ideal scenarios—healthy animals that are free to roam in open

Soul Fire is one of just six farms using Food Justice Certified. And it's advocating for the Fairness for Farm Workers Act. “The exploitation of farm labor is so deeply entrenched in the DNA of this nation that it can feel daunting to confront it, and yet we must,” says Penniman.

pastures—but unfortunately, Goldsmith explains, few animals are raised this way.

According to the nongovernmental organization, Food and Water Watch, 1.6 billion farm animals live on 25,000 factory farms, or concentrated animal feeding operations, in the U.S. These animals face over-

IS AL L N AT URA L ME ANI N GL E SS?

crowded and stressful conditions and are regularly subject to physical

One of the most familiar labels is all natural. It sounds good—even healthy—but it’s an empty marketing tool.

alterations like tail docking and beak clipping.

To avoid meats from animals subject to inhumane practices, look for

Klemperer says, “Ignore it.” Look for labels like USDA Certified

the Certified Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) label. Farmers and ranch-

Organic, which is two decades old. According to the Economic Re-

ers qualifying for certification cannot use cages, must provide access to

search Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic foods can

pastures and must ensure animals are treated humanely when they are

be found in almost three out of every four conventional supermarkets.

bred, transported and slaughtered. Producers may also add a Certified

To meet USDA standards, foods must be grown in soils that have

Grass-fed label to this certification, meaning animals were fed a 100 per-

not been treated with artificial fertilizers and pesticides for at least three

cent grass and forage diet. Goldsmith says he appreciates the AWA label

years. And organic farmers cannot plant genetically modified organisms

because it helps to “support and encourage small producers.”

(GMOs).

Another label is Certified Humane from Humane Farm Animal Care.

Newer labels, like the Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) label,

Minimum space allowances and environmental enrichment must be pro-

encourage farmers to further improve animal welfare, fairness for farm

vided for animals raised under Certified Humane standards. That encom-

workers and soil health. The label’s three-tiered system allows producers

passes the treatment of breeding animals, animals during transport and

to earn bronze, silver or gold certification to incentivize action.

animals at slaughter.

This label is also designed to be adaptable. “As science and culture

These labels are better for animals—and farmers can find them more

morph and change, we can incorporate that into a flexible or dynamic stan-

rewarding. “You get to see animals exhibit natural behaviors,” says Ron

dard that can adjust at that level,” explains Jeff Moyer, CEO of the Rodale

Mardesen, a livestock farmer for Niman Ranch, a beef, pork and lamb

Institute, a nonprofit group dedicated to growing the organic movement.

company with Certified Humane products.

For products like eggs, terms like humane raised, free range and hor-

NON- G M O L A BEL S DE MYST I F I E D

mone free sound good, but lack a clear definition. The U.S. prohibits the

Many growers avoid GMOs without using USDA Certified Organic practices. GMO products are derived from plants and animals, the genetic makeup of which has been altered, often to create resistance to pesticides, herbicides and pests.

use of hormones in all poultry, veal, eggs, bison and pork production, so claims of hormone free don’t mean much.

AWA, Certified Humane and USDA Certified Organic labeling standards prohibit the use of antibiotics and synthetic hormones in animal

Consumers can look for the Non-GMO Project Verified label, which indicates that produce or products containing fruits and vegetables are not

production. Consumers looking to buy meat products raised without these inputs should buy certified labels.

produced with GMOs. For meat and dairy products, this label means that S O ME T H ING FIS H Y

animals were fed a non-GMO diet.

In 2022, products containing GMOs must use a new Bio-Engineered

The seafood sector is rife with labor exploitation, overfishing, eco-

label from the USDA. But some non-GMO advocates argue this label

system damage, fraud and intentional mislabeling. Mark Kaplan, of the

doesn’t go far enough. Many products derived from new modification

company Envisible, calls the challenges in the industry “appalling.”

techniques, including those having undergone CRISPR gene editing and crops meant for animal feed, will be exempt from the label.

Envisible works to make supply chains more transparent and equitable. Using blockchain, the company can trace a product from a fishing vessel all the way to the supermarket. Data entered at every point along

H UMA N E L A BEL I N G

the supply chain cannot be changed, helping eliminate fraud.

“I think everybody cares about animals and nobody wants to see ani-

Kaplan recommends consumers look for the Global Seafood continued

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Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices label, a third-party certification that

Numi prefers this approach. She believes that allowing companies to la-

addresses environmental health, social wellbeing, food safety and animal

bel individual products as carbon neutral “can give a green halo to that

welfare along the aquaculture supply chain.

company without necessarily committing to or investing in enterprise

The Fair-Trade Certified seal, a label given to various species of fish

level change.”

that meet certification requirements, is also helpful. Certification focuses

Numi plans to print on each tea box the precise estimate of green-

on supporting economies, improving working conditions and protecting

house gas emissions associated with it—something Oatly and Quorn are

ecosystems.

currently also doing with their packaging.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch is a tool to help guide more sustainable choices on a case-by-case basis. Its website allows users

U NWRAPPING LAB E LS

to search by species to understand the best options and alternatives, and

Emily Moose, executive director of the nonprofit A Greener World,

which species to avoid.

argues that it’s important for consumers to continually ask for sustainable

CARBO N L A BE L I NG

whelming, it might not matter.’ But that’s really not true,” says Moose.

products. “It can be easy to just say, ‘Oh, there’s too much, it’s too overAccording to Nature Food, more than one-third of greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to the food system. Many eaters are seeing this

“That only benefits an opaque food system and practices that will never improve.”

connection between global agriculture and the climate crisis, and they

If you care about workers, speak with store managers about carrying

want to purchase more climate-friendly food. Some businesses are seeing

products with AJP’s label. For environmental concerns, email store buy-

labels as part of the solution.

ers to let them know you’re happy they purchase organic or local products

Numi Organic Tea has Climate Neutral Certification. It helps com-

but wish they had more.

panies measure, offset and reduce their carbon emissions to reach carbon

And eaters don’t always need labels to do the right thing. BIPOC

neutrality—a balance between the amount of carbon emitted into and

and women-owned businesses have been disproportionately impacted by

absorbed by the atmosphere. Climate Neutral also tries to account for the

the pandemic. Consumers can look to local farmers’ markets or Yelp and

entirety of the supply chain—emissions caused by on-site facilities, pur-

Google for businesses with a Black-owned or women-led badge.

chased electricity, employee transit, shipping and transporting materials.

Ultimately, labels and certifications are helpful tools, but don’t tell us

Instead of specific products, Climate Neutral certifies entire brands

everything about how food is produced. As eaters, though, we have the op-

once they achieve zero net carbon emissions for one year and requires

portunity, every time we pick up a fork, chopsticks or a spoon, to choose

them to commit to emission reduction targets annually. Jane Franch of

more economically, socially and environmentally just food systems.

Closing Thoughts From Our Founder Thank you for joining us on these pages, the fourth in a series of thought leadership pieces from Edible Communities. We would like to send a special thanks to our partners for this issue, Elena Seeley, Danielle Nierenberg and the team at Food Tank, who made this story possible.

Exploring, investigating and changing our food system have been guiding principles of Edible Communities since we first began. And while I know our work has impact and is valued, there is still a lot more to do! In the case of labeling, for instance, it would be so easy if there were one label, one certification, one set of guidelines, one choice to make when it comes to our food, but alas, only one option would allow a broken food system to stay broken. Therefore, we hope you find this thought-provoking and thorough coverage on the topic informative and useful.

As you are reading this, Edible Communities is fully into our 20th anniversary year as a media company. We are approaching 100 titles throughout North America and reach over 20 million readers each year. Those are statistics we don’t take lightly. We are grateful for you, dear readers, who help guide and sustain us. And if you’re an Edible reader, we feel you will enjoy being a Food Tank reader as well. Part of its mission statement says: “We aim to educate, inspire, advocate and create change,” and it certainly does that. I encourage you to visit foodtank.com, to listen, learn, join and be part of the conversation.

Tracey Ryder, Co-Founder & CEO Edible Communities

edible Communities |

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EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 39 For more on this story, visit ediblecommunities.com

Two Alcohol-free Alternatives to Wine for the Sober Curious Crowd WORDS BY

Hand on Heart nonalcoholic wines.

40 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Wendy Thies Sell

HAND ON HE ART

Chef Cat Cora.

W

hether you’re trying to be a more mindful drinker, seek greater wellness or fit into the

“sober curious” category, you’re not alone.

Many wine enthusiasts look to minimize alcohol consumption on occasion, but still want the experience of sipping something

HAND ON HE ART

interesting before, during or after dinner.

Santa Barbara resident Cat Cora is one such person. The wellknown chef, restaurateur, TV personality, author and the firstever female “Iron Chef ” has a new collaboration, with Santa Barbara County’s Miller Family Wine Company—a line of nonalcoholic wines called Hand on Heart. Their slogan is “Full of heart, not alcohol.”

“For some time, I’ve been on a mission to find a nonalcoholic wine for people like myself who are seekers of superb flavors and want to enjoy a delicious wine, even in the dry times,” Chef Cora said. “I’m a wine lover and enjoy a glass of wine somewhat regularly, but I also need a little change of pace every now and then and believe that maintaining a balanced lifestyle is incredibly important.”

“So, to help maintain balance and stay focused on healthy habits, I like having low- or no-alcohol beverages on hand.

Nonalcoholic wine is perfect for those times when I want to

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 41

January Drinks

have that little ‘wine occasion’ but I just don’t want the alcohol.

Sometimes it’s when I’m cooking, working, sometimes it’s with Another Santa Barbara County winery recently debuted a dinner, sometimes it’s when I’m just relaxing at home,” she added. zero-alcohol wine alternative: a boundary-pushing, alcoholIt’s the first time this local winery has teamed up with a free drink centered around unfermented wine grapes, called celebrity spokesperson.

January Drinks.

“Being a renowned tastemaker from the culinary world, A couple years ago, Dave Potter, founder/owner/winemaker Cat Cora’s signature on a product demonstrates it has met her expectations, and her expectations are very high,” said Tommy at Potek Winery, Municipal Winemakers and Nowadays Wines, Gaeta, Miller Family Wine Company’s director of marketing. began to ponder producing a product with little to no alcohol. It started at home with his wife, Stephanie Dotson, an art professor Hand on Heart wines debuted this year, very purposely at Santa Barbara City College. Potter conveyed that she “didn’t during “Dry January,” with a nonalcoholic rosé, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon ($15/bottle), selling upwards of 10,000 want to reach for a bottle of wine every single day.” cases in multiple states, including California, direct to consumer.

“We wanted to come up with something that drinks like You may wonder, how does one make nonalcoholic wine? wine, but isn’t really wine,” Potter explained. “Something that fits in the wine moment: opening a bottle, pouring it out and “We make this wine just as we make every other wine,” Gaeta said. “There is just an added step at the end.” having a glass and sipping on it. It’s a different experience than drinking a beer, or a soft drink, or a cocktail.”

Hand on Heart’s wine grapes are harvested and fermented alongside all of the other wines So, he concocted some produced by the Millers in Santa unique recipes, a combination Maria. The label’s winemaking of tea and juice, designed for “The only way this makes sense for us to team is led by Jonathan Nagy, happy hour. do this is to build it around what we’re formerly Byron Winery’s “It’s almost a fancy Snapple,” winemaker.

Potter said with a laugh. But already doing,” Potter said. That means January Drinks are quite a bit “Some of the Chardonnay is terroir-driven fruit, local flavors and more sophisticated than massfermented on oak. The Cabernet handcrafting everything. market iced tea.

Sauvignon and Chardonnay are both aged on oak, so it’s the same His first release, Manzanilla fermentation and vinicultural Chardonnay, a nonalcoholic process that we use with any of our wines,” Gaeta said. aperitif infused with chamomile flowers and Meyer lemons, sold out. Juniper Grenache ($17), released in 2021 and still Then, the wines are sent off-site to a third party, BevZero, available, is a chillable red made from Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Rosa. They use a proprietary process to remove the Grenache, juniper berries, bay laurel leaves, black tea, sumac, alcohol, using a set of microfilters. The essence (aroma and angelica root, smoked sea salt and black peppercorns. flavor) is set aside. The wine goes through one pass of filtration which removes the alcohol. Then, the essence is added back Potter works with grapes that he uses in his winery—fruit that is sourced from some of the best vineyards in Santa to the wine, which is returned to the winemaking team to add Barbara County. some finishing touches. Organic and natural flavorings are added, when necessary, if lost during the filtration process.

“The only way this makes sense for us to do this is to build it around what we’re already doing,” he said. That means “Part of our goal was to make a nonalcoholic wine that terroir-driven fruit, local flavors and handcrafting everything. went with food really well and was food friendly,” Gaeta said.

“We soak grape skins to create the building blocks of a Chef Cora shares several of her recipes with wine pairings complex flavor that’s then enhanced with aromatic infusions, at handonheartwine.com, such as Peach Panzanella salad then we roast, smoke, steam and sous vide the fruit, aromatics served with the rosé; Roasted Rosemary Chicken and Grapes, and herbs, which are steeped in hot water like a huge cup of tea with the Chardonnay; and Garlic Mushroom Pasta, with the with herbs and spices,” Potter explained.

Cabernet Sauvignon.

Why tea? Tea means tannin, which gives the beverage “The Miller Family team has developed a product and a texture and structure. brand that I can confidently stand behind,” Chef Cora said.

“Without macerating on the grape skins and using the “My mission has been accomplished.” alcohol from the fermentation to extract the tannin, you’re not Opposite: January Drinks paired with nibbles.

42 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

LEEL A CYD

?????????????.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 43

LEEL A CYD

January Drinks brings casual elegance to food.

really getting the same body,” Potter said. “The biggest challenge is making these where they’re full of flavor, but not too sweet.”

This spring, Potter will reveal his two new January Drinks releases: Kick-on Ranch Riesling with zest of lime, lemon and grapefruit, plus ginger, jasmine and rosemary; and Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir with dried shiitake powder, black tea, macerated walnuts and oak tannin. Both are relatively small batches: 40 cases of each.

“The next two will be interesting,” Potter said. “I think they’re cool!”

Potter’s first showing sold well and he believes there’s a “strong and growing market out there for this type of thing. I think it’s genuinely interesting. I think people want something like this. There’s something here that as a booze lover I can get behind.”

Both producers predict that these new products—crafted here in Santa Barbara County—will evolve in years to come, and they expect the customer base will too.

Wendy Thies Sell is a four-time Emmy Award–winning journalist, travel, wine and lifestyle writer and emcee. Wendy anchored the local TV news on California’s Central Coast for 12 years at KSBY and KCOY. She resides with her family in northern Santa Barbara County.

Opposite: Dave Potter with his wife, Stephanie Dotson, and their kids.

44 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

LEEL A CYD

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 45

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WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Pascale Beale

“Pounding fragrant things—particularly garlic, basil, parsley— is a tremendous antidote to depression. But it applies also to juniper berries, coriander seeds and the grilled fruits of the chili pepper. Pounding these things produces an alteration in one’s being—from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. The cheering effects of herbs and alliums cannot be too often reiterated.” —Patience Gray

H

ave you ever caught the fragrance of basil in the air and thought of pesto, or brushed by lavender and thought of herbes de Provence? Have you noticed how specific aromas conjure up favorite dishes, one’s olfactory memory making a Proustian leap into the past, a remembrance of all things delicious?

Herbs, great mounds of them at the spring farmers markets, have that effect on me. I see tarragon, rub the leaves between my fingers, releasing its anise and peppery scent, and think of the Poulet a l’estragon my grandmother used to make. I see the willowy branches of lemon verbena, swooning slightly at its floral perfume, and think of afternoon tisanes and scented madeleines. I see basil and think of pistou, the rich basil sauce swirled into the vegetable soup of the same name. I am drawn to their fragrance and the promise they hold within their leaves.

Herbs are a culinary paint box, each adding hues and depth to a dish that brightens and invigorates our palates, complementing and intensifying the flavors of a recipe’s main ingredients. Mint added to a bowl of spring peas makes them pop with more flavor. Purée parsley; add some olive oil, capers and anchovies; and you have a piquant salsa verde that will add verve and depth to a platter of roasted vegetables. Anise-scented, feathery dill complements salmon. Finely chop handfuls of parsley and mint, add a little bulgur, and you have the basis for classic tabouleh. Herbs can be transformative.

Cuisines where herbs are more than a garnish are not a modern concept. Dive into the culinary lexicon of most Middle Eastern countries, and you find a rich treasury of dishes that celebrate all things herb. From Egyptian herbalist schools in 1,500 BC to medieval monastery gardens, from a liberal

sprinkling of culinary references in Shakespeare’s plays to recipes in some of the earliest known cookbooks, the use of wild and cultivated herbs in medicine and cooking has been documented through millennia.

Herbs proliferate in the oldest known cookery book, De Re Coquinaria dating from the first century AD with recipes such as Artichokes with Hot Herb Dressing, Braised Mushrooms with Coriander, or Baked Trout with Honey Mint Sauce.

Seventeen centuries later, in 1699, John Evelyn wrote Acetaria: A Discourse on Sallets, in which he champions the copious use of herbs and greens in healthy cooking. Yet making herbs the focal point of dishes and using them in abundance is a relatively new concept in American cuisine.

Many cookbooks from the 1950s call for the parsimonious use of dried herbs. There are few, if any, fresh herbs in sight except for the odd parsley sprig used as ornamentation rather than for flavor. The explosion of ethnic foods over the past 15–20 years has changed all of that. The interest in Levantine cooking, fueled in part by the success of books by Yotam Ottolenghi, Claudia Roden, Sabrina Ghayour and Naomi Duguid, has pushed the demand for fresh herbs to all-time highs.

When I first came to California in the mid-’80s, you would be hard pushed to find an array of fresh herbs at the market.

Now we find five different kinds of basil, three varieties of thyme, edible flowers and a cornucopia of herbs rarely found outside a keen gardener’s patch until not that long ago.

My love affair with herbs began in my grandmother’s garden, kitchen and at her dining table. She lived high in the French Alps, where the growing season was not long. Her summer garden had chives, tarragon, parsley and chervil.

Opposite: Spring Pea and Leek Soup with Pesto and Pea and Mint Hummus.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 47

The occasional basil plant sat in her kitchen. On a hook under one of the kitchen cabinets she kept a pair of scissors whose sole purpose was to snip chives. I felt privileged when I was finally old enough to use them.

At her side I learnt to choose vegetables and lettuces with care, to prepare the leaves and make simple fresh salads. Hers were not complicated salades composé, but ones filled with perfect greens and fragrant herbs, dressed with a simple, light vinaigrette. They were crisp and fresh. Ideal palate cleansers served after the main course. She had a deft hand with her cooking, classic cuisine bourgeoise, creating nuanced flavors in her dishes. She used herbs judiciously; finely chopped parsley brought freshness to her Hachis Parmentier (French shepherd’s pie), and fines herbes infused her omelets. These were the steppingstones upon which I built my herbal repertoire.

The more I cooked and explored the cuisines of the Mediterranean basin, the more herbs I used. The more herbs I used, the more I came to appreciate their ability to be the focal point of a dish—their floral, bright notes the arias in an opera of vegetables. I went from teaspoons to tablespoons to handfuls of herbs in recipes.

I have tried them nipped, crushed, striped, rubbed, tossed, mixed and puréed, relishing the fact that these different preparations enhance a different element of each herb.

Crushed basil leaves morph into glorious pesto. Thinly sliced into a chiffonade, they provide peppery ribbons of flavor sprinkled over any dish, and small leaves left whole in a salad provide big bursts of flavor, for example.

As a rule of thumb, when cooking with herbs, handle soft herbs, such as basil, dill, cilantro, chervil and marjoram, gently. Their leaves are tender. They damage easily and are better used with little cooking or uncooked when their flavor, color and vibrancy are retained. For example, cooking purple basil will turn the leaves black and mute its heady clovepepper taste. So-called hard herbs, such as rosemary, bay leaves, thyme and oregano with their woody stems, enhance dishes through longer cooking times. Add them to roasts, use them to baste and let their aromas infuse the dish as heat extracts, then releases their oils into the ingredients.

Discover new herbs at the local farmers markets.

BD Dautch of Earthtrine Farms has tables filled with an apothecary of aromatic plants. Pick up a bunch of fresh za’atar to roast with Romanesco broccoli, try fresh sorrel leaves in a delicate soup, use lemon verbena to infuse cream to make panna cotta, float chamomile flowers on top of the poached stone fruit. Explore new varieties of your favorite herb, too.

Try Thai, lemon and purple basil, for instance, reveling in their unique essence. Above all, have fun and be bold in your use of herbs. Bon appetit!

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, Salade II, Les Fruits and Les Legumes. Visit her website and blog: The Market Table at PascalesKitchen.com.

48 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

RECIPES

Roasted Beets, Heirloom Carrots and Salsa Verde MAKES 4 SERVINGS

FOR THE BEETS AND CARROTS 4 golden beets with their greens removed 4 heirloom carrots, yellow or white ones if you can find them, washed and sliced on a bias Olive oil Coarse sea salt and pepper

FOR THE SALSA VERDE 4 anchovies, drained of oil 10 basil leaves 10 mint leaves

⁄

3 4

cup finely chopped parsley leaves

2 tablespoons capers 1 small shallot, peeled and minced

⁄

1 2

tablespoon Dijon mustard

Zest and juice of 1 lemon Large pinch coarse sea salt 5 grinds black pepper

⁄

⁄

1 3 –1 2

cup olive oil

TO COOK THE VEGETABLES

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the unpeeled beets in a small ovenproof dish, drizzle them with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Roast for 45 minutes, or until a knife easily pierces the beets. Once cooked, let cool, then carefully peel and thinly slice the beets.

While beets roast, place the sliced carrots in a separate ovenproof skillet. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and toss to coat. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and roast them alongside the beets. Remove from the oven after 20 minutes. Spoon the carrots and any pan juices onto a serving platter.

Pour ½ tablespoon olive oil into the skillet the carrots roasted in.

Place skillet over medium heat. Add the beet greens and sauté for 1 minute, or until just wilted. Add the beet greens to the carrots.

Add the sliced beets to the dish and spoon the salsa verde (instructions below) over the vegetables.

TO MAKE THE SALSA VERDE

Place the salsa ingredients except for the olive oil into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles a thick paste, then, with the motor running, pour in the olive oil.

Use only enough olive oil to blend the salsa. The mixture should have a chunky consistency and not be too loose.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 49

Grilled Zucchini with Avocado-Tarragon Crema MAKES 4 SERVINGS

FOR THE CREMA 1 avocado, pitted and flesh scooped out

⁄

1 3

cup Greek yogurt

Zest and juice of 1 lemon Pinch coarse sea salt 5 grinds black pepper 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon leaves, plus a few small tarragon leaves for decoration

FOR THE ZUCCHINI 2 large zucchini, ends trimmed, cut on a bias into

⁄

1 4 -inch-thick

slices

Olive oil Coarse sea salt Black pepper 1 tablespoon toasted pepitas

TO MAKE THE CREMA

Place all the crema ingredients into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Run until you have a smooth cream mixture.

Using a spatula or a spoon, smear the crema over the surface of a shallow platter.

TO GRILL THE ZUCCHINI

Heat a griddle pan over high heat.

In a medium bowl, toss the sliced zucchini with ½ tablespoon olive oil, a pinch of salt and 6–7 grinds of pepper.

Cover the hot griddle with the zucchini slices taking care not to overlap them. Grill for 3 minutes on each side. You may have to do this in two batches.

TO ASSEMBLE THE DISH

Place the cooked zucchini on top of the avocado crema, then scatter the toasted pepitas over the top. Finish the dish with a few fresh tarragon leaves.

50 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Grilled Asparagus with Spring Peas, Burrata and a Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette MAKES 4 SERVINGS 3 tablespoons olive oil Zest and juice of 1 lemon (Meyer if possible) 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint Pinch coarse sea salt 4–5 grinds black pepper 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

⁄

2 3

cup shelled English peas

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed Olive oil Coarse sea salt Black pepper 4-ounce ball of burrata cheese, cut into 8 pieces

Place the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, mint, salt and pepper into a small bowl and whisk together well.

Heat a griddle pan over high heat.

Combine the mint and chives in a small bowl, yet large enough to contain the peas.

Bring 1½ cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately add the peas to the bowl with the mint and chives. Toss gently to combine.

Place the asparagus on a plate or shallow dish, pour ½ tablespoon olive oil over the spears and roll them in the dish to coat lightly. Season with a pinch of salt and 6–7 grinds of pepper.

Lay the spears on the hot griddle taking care not to overlap them. Grill for 3 minutes, then turn them over to grill a few minutes more. Remove from the griddle and lay them on a serving dish. Spoon the peas over the asparagus. Arrange the burrata over the vegetables and drizzle the mint vinaigrette over the top. Serve while the asparagus spears are still warm.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 51

Steamed Spring Potatoes with Dill-Chive Vinaigrette MAKES 4–6 SERVINGS, AS A SIDE DISH 1 pound small new potatoes 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine or champagne vinegar 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives Pinch of sea salt Black pepper

Steam the potatoes on a rack set above the water level in a covered pan until just knife tender, about 8–10 minutes depending on size. Place the cooked potatoes into a serving bowl.

For the vinaigrette, combine the mustard, olive oil and whisk together well with vinegar to form an emulsion. Add the chopped dill, chives, salt and pepper and whisk to combine.

Spoon the vinaigrette over the potatoes and gently combine.

Serve at room temperature.

Pea and Mint Hummus (pictured on page 46)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS, AS AN APPETIZER 1 1⁄2 cups shelled English peas, blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water then drained 1 avocado

⁄

1 4

cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Juice of 1 1⁄2 lemons

⁄

1 3

cup olive oil

Large pinch of coarse sea salt 5–6 grinds black pepper

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Purée until smooth. Taste, adding more lemon juice and salt if necessary. Serve with crackers or toasted sourdough.

Steamed Spring Potatoes with Dill-Chive Vinaigrette.

52 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Spring Pea and Leek Soup with Pesto (pictured on page 46)

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

FOR THE SOUP 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 large leeks, cleaned and chopped (yield about 2 1⁄2 cups) 1 1 ⁄2 pounds shelled English peas 5 cups vegetable stock Coarse sea salt Black pepper

FOR THE PESTO 2 cups packed basil leaves, roughly chopped Large pinch of coarse sea salt 8–10 grinds black pepper 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped 2 tablespoons pine nuts

⁄

1 2

cup olive oil

Juice of 1 large lemon

TO MAKE THE SOUP

Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan placed over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until very tender, stirring frequently. This will take 8–10 minutes. Be patient and resist the temptation to turn up the heat.

Add the peas and cook for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a strong simmer and remove from heat. Season with 2 large pinches salt and 8–10 grinds of black pepper.

Purée the soup in a blender or use an immersion blender to make the soup as smooth as possible.

Serve hot with a large spoonful of pesto (instructions follow) added to each bowl. Serve the pea hummus with crackers alongside as an added treat.

TO MAKE THE PESTO

Place all of the ingredients except the olive oil and lemon juice into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Run until you have a thick paste. With the motor running, gradually add the olive oil and lemon juice. The pesto can be made ahead of time and stored, refrigerated for up to 3 days. If keeping for more than 24 hours pour a little olive oil over the surface of the pesto to prevent discoloration.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 53

STE VEN BROWN

COLIN QUIRT

ROB HATHERILL

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SANTA BARBAR A & WINE COUNTRY

SUPPORT LOC AL GUIDE

Now more than ever, it’s important to seek out and support local businesses. Here is our guide of some of the current and past advertisers that we fully support and hope you will, too. Visit the websites to get more information about what they offer and any updated hours of operation.

Farms & Ranches Winfield Farm 805 686-9312 www.WinfieldFarm.us Taste the magic of Winfield Mangalitsa! Mangalitsa ground pork (the real hamburger) and hickory-smoked bacon are now featured in the Larder Meat Company’s Larder Club meat box, delivered monthly throughout California (sign up at www.LarderMeatCo.com). You can also order through our Mangalitsa Market on the Winfield Farm website—please call first! Follow us on Facebook (WinfieldFarmBuellton), Twitter (@ WinfieldFarm.us) and Instagram (Winfield_Farm).

Food & Restaurants Bob’s Well Bread 550 Bell St., Los Alamos, CA 805 344-3000 2249 Baseline Ave., Ballard, CA 805 691-9549 www.BobsWellBread.com Now in two locations with convenient online ordering, Bob’s makes bread the old-fashioned way: handcrafted in small batches with the finest ingredients and baked to perfection in a custom-built stone-deck oven. Drop in to taste what visitors and journalists are raving about as “worth the drive” about—signature Pain au Levain, award-winning artisanal breads, croissants and specialty pastries. All-day menu of made-to-order breakfast, lunch and weekly special dishes. Indooroutdoor picturesque café. Los Alamos: Thu–Mon 7am–4pm. Ballard: Thu–Mon 8am–4pm. Café closes at 3pm. Closed Tue and Wed.

Chocolate Maya 15 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara 805 965-5956 www.ChocolateMaya.com Chocolate Maya handmade chocolate confections: a variety of velvety truffles and chocolate-dipped temptations that are made from the highest-quality chocolate (Valrhona, Felchlin, Conexion, including small bean-to-bar artisans couverture) fresh local ingredients and exotic findings from their travels overseas. Covid-19 hours noon–4pm every day. Closed on Wednesday.

54 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

Il Fustino

Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro

La Arcada 1100 State St. San Roque Plaza, 3401 State St., Santa Barbara, 805 845-3521 www.ilFustino.com

3315 State St., Santa Barbara 805 569-2400 1324 State St., Santa Barbara 805 892-280 1187 Coast Village Rd., Montecito 805 324-4200 www.RenaudsBistro.com

Il Fustino is Santa Barbara’s first and finest olive oil and vinegar tasting room. Il Fustino purveys only the finest and freshest olive oils, all grown and milled in California. They also provide an unparalleled selection of artisan vinegars. San Roque Plaza: Open Mon–Sun 11am–5pm. La Arcada: Open Thu–Sun noon–4pm.

Olive Hill Farm 2901 Grand Ave., Los Olivos 805 693-0700 www.OliveHillFarm.com Specializing in local olive oils, flavored oils and balsamic vinegars as well as many locally produced food products. Olive oil and vinegar tastings with fresh local bread available. Open Thu–Mon 11am–5pm.

Pico 458 Bell St., Los Alamos 805 344-1122 www.PicoLosAlamos.com Located in the historic 1880 General Store, offering a casual dining experience with innovative cuisine made from locally sourced ingredients. The extensive wine list has earned a Wine Enthusiast “Top 100 Wine Restaurant” award two years running. Open Tue– Thu 3–9pm; Fri–Sat noon–10pm; Sun Burger Night noon–9pm.

Plow to Porch 805 895-7171 www.PlowToPorch.com Plow to Porch Organics is a local organic/pesticide-free produce and grocery delivery service to members who subscribe. They simplify the purchase of local fresh organic produce and other organic, local foods in order to inspire good nutrition, support local farmers, protect the environment and make eating healthy food fun!

Subscriptions start at $22.50.

Renaud’s is a bakery specializing in French pastries and French-style cakes, as well as a bistro offering an extensive menu for breakfast and lunch. Open Mon– Sat 7am–4pm; Sun 7am–3pm.

Wine & Beer Au Bon Climat 813 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara 805 963-7999 www.AuBonClimat.com The tasting room and the Jim Clendenen Wine Library are known for world-class Chardonnays and Pinots, yet other varietals are available. Jim Clendenen made wines of vision and character for over 30 years.

Amazing lineup of current releases and library wines on hand. Tasting room open Mon–Fri noon–6pm, Sat and Sun 11am–6pm. Outdoor wine tasting daily.

Reservations recommended.

Babi’s Beer Emporium 380 Bell St., Los Alamos 805 344-1911 www.BabisBeerEmporium.com Great beer. Impeccable selection. Great fun.

Adventurous beer drinkers can discover unique, hardto-find craft beers, ciders and special projects—on tap or in bottle. Stay to have a bite from Dim Sama’s menu.

Thu–Sat noon–7pm, Sun noon–6pm, Mon noon–4pm, Tue–Wed by appointment only.

Specialty Retail

Buttonwood Farm Winery 1500 Alamo Pintado Rd., Solvang 805 688-3032 www.ButtonwoodWinery.com

ella & louie

805 691-9106 www.EllaAndLouie.com

Since 1983, the vineyard and its award-winning wines have been hand-raised and hand-crafted with the goal of environmental responsibility. The vineyard now has 38,000 vines highlighted by Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc, along with small blocks of Semillon, Grenache Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasting daily by appointment 11am–3:30pm.

Floral designer Tracey Morris has two great loves: flowers and people. Relying on more than 25 years of design experience, Morris helps clients celebrate their big occasions with exquisite and expressive floral arrangements. Ella & Louie produces a range of looks from classic elegant designs or brightly colored flower crowns to unusual yet stylish. Local delivery.

Casa Dumetz

G&B Organics

388 Bell St., Los Alamos, 805 344-1900 www.CasaDumetzWines.com

GB-Organics.com

C AROLE TOPALIAN

A boutique winery specializing in Rhône varietals crafted with premier Santa Barbara County fruit. Their wines are sold almost exclusively at their tasting room in historic Los Alamos and through their wine club.

Thu–Sat noon–7pm, Sun noon–6pm, Mon noon–4pm, Tue–Wed by appointment only.

Foxen Vineyard & Winery 7600 Foxen Canyon Rd., Santa Maria 805 937-4251 www.FoxenVineyard.com The Foxen Boys’ winery and tasting room features Burgundian and Rhône-style wines. Visit the historic shack “Foxen 7200” for Italian and Bordeaux-style wines.

Picnic tables and scenic views at both locations. Open daily by reservation.

Lafond Winery 6855 Santa Rosa Rd., Buellton, 805 688-7921 www.LafondWinery.com Lafond Winery & Vineyards is the sister label to neighbor Santa Barbara Winery. With the first grapes belonging to Lafond Vineyards being planting in 1962, owner Pierre Lafond established the first commercial winery in Santa Barbara County. The Lafond label specializes in Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Visit the tasting room in the Sta. Rita Hills 11am–5pm daily.

Margerum & Barden Tasting Room at the Hotel Californian, corner Winery Tasting Room, 59 Industrial Way, Buellton; 805 686-8500 www.MargerumWines.com Enjoy wine tasting, order from their menu, and stock up on provisions at the combined Margerum and Barden Tasting Room across the street from Hotel Californian in the Santa Barbara Funk Zone. Indoor and outdoor patio seating, with an indoor mezzanine that can host private events. Handcrafted Rhône varietal wines from Margerum Estate Vineyard and from grapes grown at top Santa Barbara County vineyards. All complemented with a simple fare menu—cheese and charcuterie, pizzas, paninis, salads and other foods to complement the wine. The winery in Buellton is open by appointment for wine tasting and winery tours.

Meritage Wine Market 18 W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara 805 845-0777 SantaBarbara.MeritageWineMarket.com Meritage Wine Market offers the best personal wine experience with the core belief that making great wine is a complex process but choosing one shouldn’t be. They manage their customers’ needs with wine selections specifically chosen for their individual purpose and fulfilling the highest-quality wine within budget. Open Tue–Sat 10am–6pm.

The success of your organic garden starts with the soil. Ideally, you want your soil to support a rich life of beneficial micro-organisms that promote plant growth.

G&B products meet stringent National Organic Program (NOP) standards, independently verified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Organic Input Material (OIM) program.

Monterey County SeeMonterey.com/Now

Riverbench Vineyard & Winery 137 Anacapa St., Ste. C., Santa Barbara 805 324-4100 6020 Foxen Canyon Rd., Santa Maria 805 937-8340 Riverbench.com Established in 1973, when the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes were planted on the property. For years since then, some of the most renowned wineries have purchased Riverbench fruit for their wines. In 2004, Riverbench began producing their own still and sparkling wines in limited quantities, with many available exclusively through their tasting rooms in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara Winery 28 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara 805 963-3633 www.SBWinery.com Santa Barbara Winery is the oldest winery in Santa Barbara County. Established in 1962, Pierre Lafond pioneered the commercial vineyard business under the Santa Barbara Winery label in the Sta. Rita Hills. The winery and tasting room is located in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone and is one of the only fully operating wineries of its kind in the urban district. Tasting room open 11am–6pm daily.

Taste of Sta. Rita Hills 2923 Grand Ave., Los Olivos, 805 688-1900 www.TasteOfStaRitaHills.com Taste of Sta. Rita Hills is the go-to store for unique Sta. Rita Hills and Central Coast wines, featuring hard-tofind wines by Sea Smoke, Paul Lato, Bonaccorsi and many others. They offer some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Central Coast.

Zaca Mesa Winery 6905 Foxen Canyon Rd., Los Olivos 805 688-9339 www.ZacaMesa.com Since 1973, Zaca Mesa Winery has crafted distinctive wines from their unique mesa-top vineyard. As an early pioneer of the region, they now have 150 acres planted, specializing in the production of estate-grown Rhône-style wines. Tasting room and picnic area open daily 10am–4pm. Call for more information on winery tours and private event space.

From the panoramas of the Big Sur coastline to the fairytale cottages of the charming city of Carmel-bythe-Sea, Monterey County is a truly inspired California getaway. Visit the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium or take a trip through time on historic Cannery Row in Monterey.

Professional Services American Riviera Bank 525 San Ysidro Rd., Montecito, 805-335-8110 www.AmericanRivieraBank.com 1033 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara 805 965-5942 www.AmericanRivieraBank.com 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. Montecito branch open Mon–Thu 9am–5pm; Fri 9am–5:30pm. Santa Barbara branch open Mon–Thu 8am–5pm, Fri 8am–6pm.

SBCC Foundation 805 730-4401 www.SBCCFoundation.org The SBCC Foundation was established in 1976 to provide Santa Barbara City College with private philanthropic support. The foundation acts in partnership with the college and bridges the gap between available public funding and institutional need, as determined by the college leadership. The SBCC Foundation provides more than $4 million annually for student success programs, scholarships, book grants and other critical needs of the college in order to support SBCC students as they prepare for careers, transfer to fouryear universities and pursue lifelong learning goals.

Taste of Santa Barbara SBCE.events This spring, Santa Barbara Culinary Experience, in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, will present its first Taste of Santa Barbara, May 16–22, a countywide celebration of all things food and drink in the region we call home.

EdibleSantaBarbara.com SPRING 2022 | 55

AS

T

THE

L

Spring’s

Don’t-Miss Dish Words and photos by Liz Dodder

Ojai Hive & Honey at Barbareño Among the many wonderful restaurants with menus based on local, seasonal ingredients, Barbareño, which opened in 2014, goes one step further by creating a menu based on culinary history, traditions and modern food stories of Santa Barbara County.

The oldest story in our county shows in the pasta dish, which is based on Chumash traditions around oak trees: Acorn Tagliatelle. Cattle ranching culture paved the way for the Santa Maria–style tri-tip with traditional pinquito beans on the menu.

Modern food stories on the menu include the Eggamuffin, an elevation of a favorite fast food in the area, and a pork plate focusing on local heritage piggeries that have sprung up in recent years.

But one of the most important Santa Barbara stories is a modern dessert that also looks to the future, Ojai Hive and Honey (with coconut panna cotta). This dish features the many parts of a honeybee’s life: bee pollen they have gathered, honeycomb, the honey itself and the literal fruits of the 56 | EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA SPRING 2022

bees’ labor. Chef Preston Knox was inspired by the number of local farms that also keep bees, and their appreciation for the work bees do for us. He feels extremely lucky that he can source unfiltered, raw honey straight from these farms, where the product comes directly from plants growing all around us.

He supports farms that support bees.

Chef Knox has created a perfect little circle of life on a plate, showing his respect for these pollinators that are key to the health of humanity, and the entire world.

Note: To make this dish, you’ll need local honey, bee pollen, local mead and honeycomb, which can be purchased at local farmers markets, specialty food shops and natural/organic grocers. At the farmers market: Blue Ridge Honey from Ojai; microgreens and edible flowers from Flora Vista Family Farm in Goleta; tropical fruit from Rancho Santa Cecilia in Carpinteria.

Start the panna cotta by simmering coconut milk and honey in a saucepan. In another bowl, hydrate some gelatin. Take the pan off the heat and add in the gelatin. Stir, and let sit for 10 minutes. Once cooled, pour into serving bowl or ramekin. Cool in fridge until set, several hours or overnight.

Make the granita by putting mead (honey fermented beer), some fresh fruit juice and pulp in a saucepan with a mix of herbs, and honey. (You can substitute some water for the mead.) Boil this for 45 minutes, then cool. Place in the freezer for several hours, raking it with a fork every hour to keep it from fully freezing. Toast pistachios, then chop.

Place the panna cotta on a plate, add the granita, honeycomb and freshly sliced seasonal fruit — Barbareño adds pineapple guava, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, dragon fruit, grapes and spring stone fruit or citrus. Dust the plate with bee pollen, pistachios and microgreens —Barbareño adds baby corn shoots, mint, micro basil and edible flowers.

Liz Dodder is a drinker, eater and traveler who has eaten five kinds of foie gras in one day. She’s also a blogger, writer, photographer, recipe developer, web designer, social media maven and Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). www.CaliCoastWineCountry.com

2009

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Spring 2009 / Number 1

SANTA BARBARA Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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Summer 2009 / Number 2

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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Fall 2009 / Number 3

SANTA BARBARA 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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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

Member of Edible Communities

Member of Edible Communities

Member of Edible Communities

Member of Edible Communities

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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

Wine Caves: Down to Earth Stone Fruit Recycling Edible Flowers

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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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

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ISSUE 10 • SUMMER 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 11 • FALL 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 12 • WINTER 2011 MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

SANTA BARBARA Celebrating the Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 13 • SPRING 2012

Where’s the

An Interview with

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Winter Blossoms

Scoop?

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

Croissants!

Unsung Heroes

Bob and Ellie Patterson’s Artisanal Gelato and Sorbet

Wild Yeast Bread Profound Pairings A Passion for Spices

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

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Pistachio Harvest La Huerta Mission Gardens Farmer to Table

Biodynamics

Nothing Like Chocolate The Lazy Gardener

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ISSUE 16 • WINTER 2012

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

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ISSUE 17 • SPRING 2013

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

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ISSUE 18 • SUMMER 2013

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

EAT DRINK

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

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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ISSUE 22 • SUMMER 2014

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

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ISSUE 23 • FALL 2014

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

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ISSUE 24 • WINTER 2014

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

Santa Barbara

The COOKS Issue

The Art of Small Farming Tending Henry The Perfect Salad

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

5 YEAR

Santa Barbara

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ISSUE 26 • SUMMER 2015

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Anniversary Issue

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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ISSUE 25 • SPRING 2015

ISSUE 21 • SPRING 2014

Santa Barbara

Guerilla Brewing and Feral Fermentation

WINE & BREAD ISSUE

Funk Zone

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ISSUE 20 • WINTER 2013

ISSUE

COOKS ISSUE MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

LIVING BEER

LOCAL T HE BE L LY OF T HE

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ISSUE 19 • FALL 2013

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

THE

Sauvignon Blanc Coffee: Grown in Goleta Eating Acorns

Eating in Los Alamos Market Walk with Patricia Perfect Picnics

Diving for California Gold Fish on Friday Fisherman’s Market MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

ISSUE 15 • FALL 2012

Santa Barbara

Lompoc Wine Ghetto Culinary Lavender Pasta and Water

Eating Daylilies

Almonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

of the Harvest

Renaud’s Patisserie & Bistro

ISSUE 14 • SUMMER 2012

Santa Barbara

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

Michael Pollan

ISSUE SEVEN • FALL 2010

SANTA BARBARA

SANTA BARBARA

Celebrating the Food Culture of Santa Barbara County

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

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ISSUE SIX • SUMMER 2010

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 27 • FALL 2015

ISSUE 28 • WINTER 2015

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

EAT DRINK

LOCAL ISSUE

The

EAT DRINK

COOKS

LOCAL The New Solvang The Thrill of the Grill All Aboard to Carpinteria

The Season for Persimmons Eating Lotus Santa Maria Agriculture

Fine Chocolate Solvang’s Kringle and Crown Do Your Kids Cook?

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

Strawberries: A Love Story The Pig Next Door Decorative Eggs

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

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ISSUE 29 • SPRING 2016

Issue

The COOKS Issue

ISSUE

edible

ISSUE 30 • SUMMER 2016

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

Gaviota Wine Without Water Home Off The Range Grunion

The Shrimping Life Unleashing the Yeast Savoring Wildlands

E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

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ISSUE 31 • FALL 2016

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

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ISSUE 32 • WINTER 2017

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

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ISSUE 33 • SPRING 2017

Interwoven: Santa Maria In Search of Masa Chef Justin West

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ISSUE 34 • SUMMER 2017

Santa Barbara

ISSUE 35 • FALL 2017

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Harvest & Holiday

Harvest

& Holiday

ISSUE

ISSUE

Building

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Farm

ISSUE

Food

GUIDE

Communities

SPECIAL INSERT

The Tiny Mess A Big Taste of a Small Town No Cider House Rules

Santa Maria AVA The Channel Islands Eyes On Hives Girls Inc.

The Papaya Man Santa Ynez AVA Cottage Industry

The Fervor for Fermentation Year of the Rooster The Apiary

A Passion for Peaches Happy Canyon AVA The Beer Trail

A Sicilian Christmas Reverie Loyal to the Soil Fairview Gardens

E AT • D R I N K • R E A D • T H I N K

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L

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ISSUE 36 • WINTER 18

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Bringing the Homestead

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ISSUE 37 • SPRING 18

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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• SPRING ISSUE ISSUE 38 •37 SUMMER 2018 18

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE ISSUE 37 39 •• SPRING FALL 2018 18

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE 40 • WINTER 2019

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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ISSUE ISSUE 40 41 •• WINTER SPRING 2019

S anta B arbara Santa Barbara

ISSUE 42 • SUMMER 2019

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

The

Home

ISSUE

Wine Issue

ISSUE

Ten Glas s es Celebr ating Ten Year s

In Search of

Local Sea Renewal and Rebuilding

Renewal and Rebuilding

Cookbooks: Culinary Journeys Teach Kids to Cook Blue Sky Center in Cuyama

A Love Letter to Los Olivos From Grape to Great Winemaking Takes a Journey

Barbara County in this Issue A Love LetterSanta to Los Olivos From Grape Farm to GreatGuide Winemaking Takes a Journey

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L

L O YA L T O L O C A L L O YA L T O L O C A L

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ISSUE 43 • FALL 2019

Santa Barbara

Celebrating the Local Food & Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

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Harvest & Holiday ISSUE

San Ysidro Ranch

Urchin

ISSUE 44 • WINTER 2020

Santa Barbara & Wine Country

Meyer Lemon Tart at the Stonehouse

Heirloom Green Corn Frittata and Her Cousins Earth to Table Mistaken Identity

Funghi e la Cucina Italiana Talking Shiitake Jetsetter of the Vines Comfort Food

L O YA L T O L O C A L

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ISSUE 45 • SUMMER/FALL 2020

Santa Barbara & Wine Country

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T E N

A N N I V E R S A R Y

/

L O Y A L

T O

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ISSUE 46 • WINTER 2020 –21

Santa Barbara & Wine Country

Y E A R

L O C A L

T E N

& Wine Country

Y E A R

L A T OR LYO C/A L L O Y A L A N N I VL O E YA R S

T O

Wishful Recycling Wine Trailblazers A Beer in Every Kitchen Noey Turk

L O C A L

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ISSUE 47 • SUMMER 2021

Santa Barbara

®

Heirloom Green Corn Frittata and Her Cousins Earth to Table Mistaken Identity

T E N

Y E A R

A N N I V E R S A R Y

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L O Y A L

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ISSUE 48 • FALL 2021

Santa Barbara & Wine Country

®

T O

L O C A L

ISSUE 50 • SPRING 2022

®

The

Sustainability Issue

Nourish & Nurture

Issue

I S SUE

I Sea Olives Drinking the Landscape Everything But the Bird Dry Hopped Wine T E N

Y E A R

A N N I V E R S A R Y

/

L O Y A L

T O

L O C A L

Julia Child in Santa Barbara A Trio of Chef Memories Demystifying the Sommelier L O Y A L

T O

L O C A L

Julia Child in Santa Barbara A Trio of Chef Memories Demystifying the Sommelier LOYAL

TO

LOCAL

Gather. Nurture. Feed. Repeat. From Garden to Breadboard Baking Bread with Wild Yeast A Taste of Macedonia in Los Alamos Building a Better Meat System L O Y A L

T O

L O C A L

Sustainability & Wine

Finding Solutions to Food Waste

Rosé: Life Seen Through Pink Colored Glasses L O YA L

T O

L O C A L

The Birds & The Beef Day Trippin’

Purple Urchin Pearl Munak Rethinking Hunger The Sea Cellar Nurturing Nature Food Security and Cooking from Scratch Nine New Santa Barbara County Wines L O YA L

T O

ISSUE 49 • WINTER 2021–22

Cooks

L O C A L

Brunch Home Winemaking Brings Community Together Compost Isn’t Sexy, and Yet… Alcohol-free Alternatives to Wine for the Sober Curious Crowd Herbacious L O YA L

T O

L O C A L

2022

Thank you Santa Barbara County for all your support!

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