Edible Santa Barbara Summer 2024

Celebrating the Local Food and Wine Culture of Santa Barbara County

Moroccan Roasted Chicken and Chickpeas at the Terra Restaurant

Tasting daily at the Margerum Tasting Rooms Hotel Californian, 19 East Mason, Santa Barbara and 2446 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos

and Lemon Cucumber Salad by

Drinkable Landscape Shaking Up Quince to Convince by George Yatchisin

A Taste of Julia Child’s

Barbara

Conversation with Eric W. Spivey by Hana-Lee Sedgwick

30 From Orchard to Bottle at Rock 12 Distillery by George Yatchisin

Edible Nation Alaska Runs on Salmon by Julia O’Malley

Know Your AVAs

Viticultural Areas

A Family’s Legacy Vincent Farm in Goleta by Janice Cook Knight

Nourished by Nature by Pascale Beale

Roasted Chicken Legs with Champagne Grapes

Sriracha Lime Tofu Summer Rolls

photograph by Liz Dodder of Moroccan Roasted Chicken and Chickpeas from Terra Restaurant at the Steward Hotel.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Irecently spotted some tiny apricots forming on my Autumn Glo apricot tree. They are slightly fuzzy, bright green and no larger than my pinky fingernail. My tree is finicky and has only produced a sizable harvest once or twice since we moved into this house over seven years ago. It’s a self-fruitful tree but benefits from having other apricots nearby, which we don’t have. So each and every apricot it does produce is treasured. And as the name suggests, it ripens very late for an apricot—usually August or September. By that time, am I tired of summer stone fruit? Hardly. One of the absolute delights of summer is being able to find stone fruit at the farmers market, at a local farmstand or in your backyard.

Over the years, we’ve published many recipes, both sweet and savory, that use peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries—the classic stone fruits. In this issue Janice Cook Knight takes us on a tour of a local apricot farm and Pascale Beale shares a recipe for one of the most beautiful desserts I have ever seen—her “Sunflower” Apricot Tart.

When you find yourself trying to describe summer as a flavor, as I am trying to do now, it’s hard not to describe fruit. Stone fruit, berries, grapes, melons—those (along with a whiff of salty beach air) evoke summer to me. Perhaps you are like me, and this summer you would like to combine juicy, sweet watermelon with crisp lemon cucumbers in a salad as Jane Chapman does for a recipe in this issue or sip George Yatchisin’s cocktail featuring a locally produced quince liqueur.

Be sure to treasure each and every summer meal that you eat with friends and family. Every year is different. Summer itself has recognizable elements, but the exact weather patterns and harvest vary. The meals we eat can never be exactly replicated from year to year. The recipes we choose to make are different. For some, it’s because of what we grow in our gardens. We try growing new vegetables, or a tree produces a heavy harvest. Sometimes it’s a new cookbook that we pick up or the recipes in our favorite Edible magazine.

As you look back at memories of summers past, do you remember the taste of an exquisite piece of fruit or the smoky aroma of a backyard barbecue with friends? I suppose eating is just one type of memory that we have, but it’s often a meaningful one. And it’s reassuring to me that just as the sun rises each morning in the east, each summer will bring a bounty of fruit from my garden and the local farms around us.

Whether you are a cook, a gardener, a little of both or just an eater, may your summer be filled with flavor.

Email us at info@EdibleSantaBarbara.com and visit our website at www.EdibleSantaBarbara.com

Member of Edible Communities

James

PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Krista Harris

RECIPE EDITOR

Nancy Oster

COPY EDITING & PROOFING

Doug Adrianson

DESIGNER

Steven Brown

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

Tara Howard

SOCIAL MEDIA

Liz Dodder

Jill Johnson

CONTRIBUTORS

Pascale Beale

Rob Bilson

Rosminah Brown

Steven Brown

Jane Chapman

Liz Dodder

Janice Cook Knight

Julia O’Malley

Tracey Ryder

Hana-Lee Sedgwick

Carole Topalian

Terry Walters

Nathan Wilder

George Yatchisin

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Edible Santa Barbara® is published quarterly and distributed throughout Santa Barbara County. Subscription rate is $28 annually. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission from the publisher. Publisher expressly disclaims all liability for any occurrence that may arise as a consequence of the use of any information or recipes. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our sincere apologies and notify us. Thank you.

Krista Harris amongst the fruit trees.

Edible Communities

Beard Foundation Publication of the Year (2011)

Krista Harris, Editor and Publisher

STEVEN BROWN

small Bites

Epic Pizza Anywhere

by Rosminah Brown

Jonathon Schuhrke, a Santa Barbara geographer by training and former profession, found a calling in pizza making. He first moved to Santa Barbara in 2002 to attend UCSB, met his partner and stayed around for his work in geography. Calling himself lucky, he’s found a home in Santa Barbara that has provided the things in life he’s passionate about: all 12 months a year of being outdoors in beautiful places and eating delicious, fresh food.

He dreamed of running his own pizza shop until he was ready to take the leap from his former 9 to 5. In 2019, he left his geography job to pursue his passion by first landing a position as a pizza line cook at the Montecito pizzeria, Bettina. Then Covid hit, and life locked down while his family also welcomed the birth of their first child. This encouraged him to focus more on the art of pizza making and sharing it with a wider audience online and through cookbooks.

Schuhrke’s scientific background and curiosity about making good pizza inspired him to explore, experiment and document his work. Even when experiments weren’t bull’s-eye winners, he still made food that fed himself and his family. He took notes and learned from his mistakes, and he still had fun doing it. He started the blog SantaBarbaraBaker.com and posted videos on Instagram and YouTube, building a following that eventually got the attention of the book publisher Quartro. With a book deal in hand, he could focus on writing and recipe development for his first cookbook.

His cookbook, Epic Outdoor Pizza Oven, was published in 2023. It stands out from other pizza cookbooks with its deep dive into the details of professional-level pizza and the latest evolutions of compact pizza ovens like the Ooni or Gozney Roccbox. The book contains most of the tried-and-true combinations of toppings, plus tips on troubleshooting common challenges like burnt topsides or doughy centers. He provides recipes for a range of pizza dough recipes, each with a special flavor or texture dialed in perfectly for a home cook’s pizza oven.

What’s Schuhrke’s favorite pizza? Simplicity wins: It’s a basic cheese pizza. “There’s no way to hide bad dough or technique. The pizza maker’s craft really comes through. It’s the cornerstone and never gets old,” he says. On the modern artisanal side, try the pizza in his cookbook topped with merguez sausage, whipped apricot feta and pickled onions to feel a burst of earlysummer flavors. The recipe was inspired by a glut of summer apricots from his own tree in Santa Barbara’s Westside.

On weekends, you can find Schuhrke at the Saturday farmers market, shopping local and seasonal ingredients for his pizzas. His online persona may give enthusiastic beach vibes and the chatter of a perennial Southern California surfer, but he has a gentle smile and down-to-earth attitude when he browses the aisles looking for seasonal pizza recipe inspirations and other fresh produce to feed his family.

Resources

His cookbook, Epic Outdoor Pizza Oven, is out now. His second cookbook, Epic Indoor Pizza Oven, is scheduled to launch this fall. For more info, visit www.SantaBarbaraBaker.com or find him on Instagram @santabarbarabaker.

Jonathan Schuhrke shops at the Santa Barbara farmers market for weekly inspiration.

ROSMINAH BROWN

small Sips

Municipal Winemakers

Growing Community by Investing in Community

by Rosminah Brown

How does one grow a business? For Dave Potter, the owner of Municipal Winemakers and Potek Winery, it means finding a way to expand that involves an exchange between the customers and the product that feels encompassing and fulfilling.

Potter brought his experience of communal winemaking from France back to Santa Barbara and started Municipal Winemakers in 2010. Behind the label is Potter, but his brands evoke a sense of community and are always meant to feel approachable and unpretentious. He sources his grapes locally; his wine is made locally. You won’t see his name on the bottles because he knows it’s not all about him but the components that add up to something greater than the individual ingredients.

Yet the company wouldn’t exist without him. And what are the next steps when inevitable growth occurs? Investment is often required, and that can either come from entrepreneurial entities or loans from banks.

Potter turned to SMBX as a loan mechanism. SMBX (theSMBX.com) is an online marketplace for small business bonds that leverages both the crowd-funding appeal like Kickstarter—where smaller investors can feel a part of the bigger project—with the benefits of a bank loan: professional accountability, the ability to earn interest on the investment yet not seeing the interest lost to the big banking machine. He was inspired by his graphic designer, who had another client who utilized SMBX for their own fundraising.

Then Potter announced the investment proposition to the people who love his wine the most: Municipal’s own customers and fans. And he offered the most motivational perks of all: his wine. That’s when his investment project took off. Within a week, the program had shot straight through its goals, raising over $120,000. Not only were enough locals enthusiastic to take part, but outside individuals invested as well.

With that, Potter plans to add a tasting room in Ventura. There, he will have room to expand his wine storage and welcome the growing crowds of curious and future wine enthusiasts—the kind of people he has enjoyed throughout his winemaking career. He will realistically need more investment than just SMBX’s small business bonds provide, but this communal method of fundraising was a win-win for his company and the people able to invest. Look for more in his new space. He’s not leaving Santa Barbara, but Ventura is a great place to be.

Resources

Once his campaign was active, anyone within the SMBX community could view the business plan, loan requirements and 11% interest rate and decide how much to invest. It could be friends; it could be strangers on the other side of the country— anyone who felt the business plan was worthy of investment.

Visit www.municipalwinemakers.com for more information.

Rosminah Brown is a Santa Barbara native who types fast and eats slow. She once jumped in the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle. She’s always in search of the singular exquisite bite.

Dave Potter stands behind his eclectic yet approachable wine lineup.

ROSMINAH BROWN

$32,500

TOTAL IN CASH PRIZES AWARDED TO MARKETS

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MARKETS PARTICIPATED IN 2023

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE MARKET

Find out where honey comes from as Grandpa the Beeman teaches the basics of beekeeping to his young grandson. barefootbooks.com/beeman

is created in partnership with indie, award-winning, Concord, MA-based children’s publisher, Barefoot Books. Learn more by visiting www.barefootbooks.com.

Illustration adapted from The Beeman (Barefoot Books), written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Valeria Cis

LET’S EAT!

Grandma’s Apple and Honey Muffins

• 2 cups sifted flour

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• 1 cup whole wheat or bran cereal flakes

• ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

• ½ cup raisins

• 1 cup grated apple

• 2 eggs

• 2∕3 cup honey

• ½ cup milk

• ¼ cup vegetable oil

Makes 18 muffins.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. In a large bowl, sift flour with baking powder, salt, and spices.

3. Add cereal, walnuts, raisins, and apple.

4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs well; add honey, milk, and oil.

5. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture, stirring until combined.

6. Add mixture to a greased muffin pan, filling each cup about 2∕3 full.

7. Bake for 18–20 minutes.

Recipe and illustrations adapted from

The Beeman (Barefoot Books), written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Valeria Cis

Beekeeping

Diseases and pests have killed most of the wild bees, so today, beekeepers take care of the colonies. They provide weatherproof boxes where bees live. They act as insect doctors and supply medicine to keep the colony healthy. They also check the queen to make sure she is strong and that new bees are developing.

Just before autumn, the beekeepers harvest the hives’ extra honey, making sure they leave enough honey for the bees to use all winter. Beekeepers have special clothing that helps them do their job safely. They wear long gloves, coveralls, boots, and a hood with a protective veil to keep away curious bees.

A beekeeper’s hives are the boxes where the colony lives, raises its young, and stores its honey and pollen.

Large wooden boxes called deeps are placed on the bottom. Stacked on top of the deeps are shallows, smaller boxes that hold the honey. As they are filled, more shallows are added by the beekeeper and the tower grows taller.

Frames are man-made wooden rectangles that support the honeycomb. They are lined up in the shallows and deeps like folders in a filing cabinet. The honeycomb is the cluster of wax cells built onto the frames by the bees to hold eggs, larvae, pupae, honey, or pollen.

Beekeepers use a metal container called a smoker, in which they build a smoky fire. When beekeepers inspect the hive, they puff the smoke to calm the bees.

A hive tool is used to help the beekeeper pry open the hive to examine it.

When it’s time to harvest the honey, beekeepers remove the frames from the shallows. With a hot knife, they cut away the wax cappings from the cells and place the frames inside a large bin called an extractor. It spins the frames, and honey splashes against the walls, collecting at the bottom of the bin. Beekeepers open the extractor’s spigot and fill their jars with the tasty liquid.

Are you passionate about children’s books that prioritize diversity, encourage critical thinking, and teach kids to protect the planet? Learn more about becoming a Barefoot Books Community Bookseller! Visit barefootbooks.com/cb.

Illustrations and text adapted from The Beeman (Barefoot Books), written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Valeria Cis

Welcome to the Bee Hotel

When a bee visits a flower, pollen gathers on the bee’s body. When the bee goes to another flower, some pollen drops off. This allows the plants to reproduce, making fruits and seeds with new baby plants inside. Make a hotel for the bees in your yard!

YOU’LL NEED:

• ruler

• large, water-resistant container such as a handmade wooden house, wide-mouthed glass jar, can, or ceramic pot

Illustrations and text adapted from Kids’ Garden (Barefoot Books), written by Whitney Cohen, Life Lab and illustrated by Roberta Arenson

• several small, hollow tubes of different widths, such as bamboo sticks, reeds, empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls, or paper straws

• string or rope

4. Tie string or rope securely around your Bee Hotel so you can hang it up. The ideal spot is somewhere sunny, but where it will be sheltered from the rain.

1. Measure the depth of your large container.

2. Cut your hollow tubes to be just slightly shorter than the inside of your large container.

3. Fill your large container with the hollow tubes. Solitary bees of varying sizes look for hollow tubes in which to lay their eggs and you’ve created just such a habitat.

5. Visit your Bee Hotel regularly to look for evidence of visitors. You’ll know the bees have laid eggs inside if some of your tubes look capped with pollen and nectar or mud.

Good news! Bee Hotels attract solitary bees, not social bees. Solitary bees are not part of a group and they do not have a hive to defend. For these reasons, they are much less likely to sting than social bees. Tip

Fifty easy-to-follow activity cards invite children to learn the basics of gardening and new ways of looking at nature.

barefootbooks.com/ kids-garden-deck

Buttonwood Farm & Vineyard

Celebrating History, Farming and Education

BY LIZ DODDER

Located right in the middle of Solvang, Santa Ynez, and Los Olivos, sits a 107-acre historic farm with a 42-acre vineyard stretching across a sun-drenched mesa. The property was founded in 1968 as an equestrian facility before its transformation into a vineyard and farm in 1983.

The vineyard, winery and tasting room offer the community the simple joys of sharing a bottle of wine with friends and family. Nestled amidst the scenic charm of the produce farm, the tasting room, with its patio and gardens, provides a distinctive and tranquil ambiance for enjoying Buttonwood’s wideranging assortment of wines. Grape varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Grenache Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

wonderful biodiversity, and learning is essential to understand what the soils and climate will bring us,” says managing partner Anthony Curci. “There’s much to be explored, and we’re excited for the opportunity to share what we can create with the community.”

Tasting flights are available every day, and on Saturdays and Sundays, a seasonal food menu is offered, along with live tunes. And Buttonwood is always dog and family-friendly!

“We are stewards of Buttonwood and continue to discover the richness of the land and its history.”

But the farm transcends only vineyards and crops; it serves as a focal point for agritourism, inviting guests to discover an abundance of farm-fresh delights, from olives, peonies and pomegranates to herbs and their acclaimed peaches. With a vision for a harmonious ecological environment, Buttonwood aims to create a working farm based on good practices for people, animals, and the earth in a sustainable way. These founding principles persist as Buttonwood evolves toward the future.

“We are stewards of Buttonwood and continue to discover the richness of the land and its history. The Santa Ynez Valley has

Other experiences at the farm include a horseback adventure through the vineyard with Vino Vaqueros, as well as cooking classes for food enthusiasts and supporters of the local farm scene. Guests can take in the scenic views and learn about the vineyard’s rich history, sharpen their culinary skills and deepen their appreciation for the journey from farm to table, and enjoy wine tasting and lunch in the peaceful garden.

Buttonwood Farm & Vineyard is also an idyllic setting for weddings and special events.

The picturesque landscape, combined with rustic charm, provides a perfect backdrop for unforgettable moments. Buttonwood is also offering introductory and intermediate WSET courses, later to expand coursework to all levels serving students from wine enthusiasts to industry professionals.

To learn more about Buttonwood Farm & Vineyard, visit ButtonwoodWinery.com.

Buttonwood’s historic farm and vineyard produces a wide array of varietals and offers seasonal food, wedding venue space and events such as horseback riding.

in Season this Summer

SUMMER PRODUCE

Apricots

Artichokes

Asparagus

Avocados

Basil

Beans, green

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cabbage

Cantaloupe

Celery

Cherries

Chiles

Chives

Cilantro

Collards

Corn

Cucumber

Dill

Eggplant

Figs

Grapefruit

Grapes

Lavender

Limes

Melons

Mint

Mulberries

Nectarines

Peaches

Peppers

Mustard greens

Raspberries

Strawberries

Tomatillo

Tomatoes

Turnips

Watermelon

YEAR-ROUND PRODUCE

Almonds, almond butter (harvested Aug/Sept)

Apples

Arugula

Beans, dried

Beets

Onions, green bunching

Plums/Pluots

Squash, summer

Bok choy

Broccoli

Carrots

Cauliflower

Chard

Dandelion

Dates (harvested Sept/Oct)

Edible flowers

Garlic (harvested May/June)

SUMMER SEAFOOD

Halibut

Rock fish

Salmon, King

Sardines

Shark

Spot prawns

Swordfish

Tuna, albacore

White seabass

Yellowtail

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

Kale

Leeks

Lemons

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Onions, bulb (harvested May/June)

Oranges

Pistachios, pistachio oil (harvested Sept/Oct)

Potatoes

Radishes

Raisins (harvested Sept/Oct)

Spinach

Sprouts

Squash, winter (harvested July/Oct)

Walnuts, walnut oil (harvested Sept/Oct)

Yams (harvested Aug/Sept)

YEAR-ROUND SEAFOOD

Abalone (farmed)

Black cod

Clams

Oysters

Rock crab

Sanddabs

Urchin

OTHER YEAR-ROUND

Eggs

Coffee

(limited availability)

Dairy

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

Fresh flowers

Honey

Olives, olive oil

Meat

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

Potted plants/herbs

Preserves

Wheat

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

BOK CHOY

SPINACH POTATOES

PASTA

seasonal Recipes

Plant-based Recipes to Feed Body Mind and Soul

by Terry Walters

Terry Walters is the best-selling cookbook author of Clean Food, Clean Start, Eat Clean Live Well, and most recently, Nourish: Plant-based Recipes to Feed Body Mind and Soul. She is a James Beard Foundation Award finalist, recipient of the Nautilus Gold and Silver Book Awards, and recipient of the World Gourmand “Second Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the World” and “Best Vegetarian Cookbook in the United States” Awards. © Terry Walters 2022 www.terrywalters.net

Mexican Street Corn

It’s hard to improve on locally grown sweet corn in season, but traditional Mexican street corn may do just that with its perfect combination of sweet, crunchy and spicy. I make this in a skillet (as the grill is usually full), but you can easily skip the pan-sear in favor of grilling the ears of corn whole.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

FOR THE COTIJA

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 cup blanched slivered almonds (no skins)

1 ⁄3 cup water

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 ⁄8 teaspoon sea salt

FOR THE CORN

5 ears sweet corn, shucked (or 4 cups frozen corn)

2 tablespoons plain non-dairy yogurt

2 tablespoons vegan mayo of choice

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 ⁄2 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 ⁄8 teaspoon ground cumin

1 ⁄4 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges to garnish

MAKING THE COTIJA

Turn food processor on, drop in garlic clove, and mince. Turn off processor and add almonds, water, lime juice and salt. Process until smooth and curd-like, turning processor off to scrape down sides as needed to evenly incorporate ingredients. Set aside.

MAKING THE CORN

If using frozen corn, defrost and pat kernels with towel to absorb excess water. Preheat large cast-iron skillet over high heat. When water drizzled on surface sizzles and evaporates, add corn to dry skillet. Sear, shaking pan occasionally, until corn starts to pop and evenly chars. Fresh corn will take 5–7 minutes. Frozen corn will take 2–3 minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.

In separate bowl, combine yogurt, mayo, lime juice, chipotle, cumin, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Add to seared corn and fold to combine. Transfer to serving dish. Top with cilantro, as much of the crumbled cotija as desired and lime wedges and serve.

JULIE BIDWELL

Sriracha Lime Tofu Summer Rolls

Ilove the combination of sweet and spicy flavors in this roll. For a heartier texture, make the tofu a few hours in advance and it will firm up nicely. Even if you don’t have all the ingredients, you can make a no-recipe summer roll with leftover salad and a dollop of pesto that’s perfect for a picnic, light lunch or last-minute appetizer.

MAKES 6–8 ROLLS

FOR THE ROLLS

2 tablespoons sriracha sauce

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon lime juice

15 ounces firm fresh tofu

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 ⁄2 cup kimchi, homemade or store-bought

1–2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 cup mung bean sprouts

8+ large tapioca (or tapioca and brown rice) summer roll wrappers

FOR THE SAUCE

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon water

2 scallions, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F.

MAKING THE ROLLS

In small bowl, whisk together sriracha, maple syrup and lime juice. Wrap tofu in towel and press to remove liquid. Slice block into ½-inch strips. Place in baking dish in single layer and coat with sriracha mixture. Roast 15 minutes, remove from oven, flip tofu and roast 10 minutes longer (or until edges appear dry). Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Place cilantro, kimchi, avocado, sprouts and tofu next to work surface. Hold one wrapper under running water for 3 seconds. Place on cutting board and layer ingredients in middle of wrapper — cilantro, a forkful of kimchi, 2 avocado slices, tofu and sprouts. Fold in sides of wrapper, then one end, and roll tightly. If wrapper is not pliable, wait a few seconds for it to soften. Add a second wrapper if first one tears. Repeat to use up ingredients.

FOR THE SAUCE AND SERVING

In small bowl, whisk together sriracha, garlic, lime juice, ginger, maple syrup, sesame oil, water and scallions. Slice summer rolls in half on diagonal and serve with sauce.

WINE TASTING WEDDINGS & EVENTS PRIVATE TOURS

TASTING ROOM OPEN DAILY 10 AM - 4 PM

We deliver directly to your door—the best our community has to offer: local organic produce, grass-fed meats, hormone-free poultry, local seafood, fresh baked pies and breads, cheeses, coffees, artisan food specialties created by local chefs and much more…

• Subscriptions start at just $28

• Delivery options include weekly or every other week

• Freedom to suspend your delivery • Weekly billing

Various box sizes available

seasonal Recipe

Summer Watermelon and Lemon Cucumber Salad

by Jane Chapman

This salad has all the juicy goodness of summer on one platter. I love that the ingredients may be sourced from one trip to the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. Be generous with the fresh mint, which is pinched right at the base of the stem and left whole to keep it from browning. Source a mix of heirloom tomatoes of different colors and varietals for bright pops of color and nuanced depth of flavor. This versatile salad may be made ahead and packed easily for a summer picnic or assembled quickly “a la minute” for a quick dinner after a lazy day at the beach. I garnished this salad with flowers from my homegrown strawberries.

MAKES 4–6 SERVINGS

1 ⁄2 small watermelon, peeled and cubed

4–6 lemon cucumbers, skin on and quartered

4–6 medium heirloom tomatoes

1 bunch mint leaves, stems removed (do not chop)

1 ⁄2 cup feta, crumbled

Juice of 1 fresh lime

Drizzle of high-quality olive oil

Pinch Maldon sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Prep the watermelon, lemon cucumbers, tomatoes and mint. Crumble the feta on your serving platter and gently arrange by alternating the watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers and mint. Once you are ready to serve, squeeze the fresh lime generously over the salad. Next, drizzle the olive oil, and finish with salt and pepper.

Jane Chapman is a Santa Barbara native, has a lifetime of experience in the kitchen and recipe development and has worked in the restaurant business for over 20 years. She prides herself on simple, delicious and approachable recipes to encourage the burgeoning home chef. Her newest venture, The Communal Table Santa Barbara, curates intimate events for women combining food and conversation. Her goal is to create authentic community and connection one meal at a time. To learn more or attend one of her events, visit www.CommunalTableSB.com.

flowers for celebrations of all sizes delivering Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez

www.ellaandlouie.com

Shaking Up Quince to Convince

by George Yatchisin

It might just be the devil in me that’s here to tempt you with some quince. A cousin to apples and pears, according to some scholars quince might be the Biblical fruit the serpent presented unto Eve with a sinful hard sell.

While it’s been cultivated for millennia—it’s been claimed that in ancient Greece a bride would munch a bit on her bridal night to freshen her breath—it’s pretty much out of favor today, at least in the U.S. If we know it, it’s probably as membrillo on a cheese plate, providing a punchy fruit paste to accompany our Manchego.

But then there’s Dunjevača, a popular Serbian liqueur distilled from quince. Given Marko Suput from Rock 12 Distillery comes from a long line of Serbian distillers, it’s not surprising for him to try his hand at a quince liqueur. (See page 30 for a profile of 12 Rock Distillery’s Marko and Sarah Suput.) He is kind enough not to make us struggle with the pronunciation of Dunjevača, though. While apple and apricot trees dominate the Rock 12 orchards, quince have increased from a mere 10 trees originally to 60 more added this season and another hundred planned for planting the next.

“We thought we were just going to make some for home consumption, but then it took off in the tasting room,” Marko Suput says. And they realize it’s a drink that needs to be sold in person, as its unusual and lovely profile can win people over even if they are unfamiliar with the fruit. Not to mention, they can help people say “kwinz” and not a pronunciation more likely in this land of Spanish-speakers, “KEEN-say.”

The Rock 12 quince liqueur is floral, with notes of apple and pear—they add just a bit of sugar to counter the quince’s infamous natural astringency and a hit of cinnamon to push the baking-spice notes. Chilled, it would work as an aperitif; room temperature, a digestif. But as for its use in a cocktail, at first the Suputs were a bit stumped. Eventually, Marko suggested a quince hot toddy; Sarah likes to sub it in for the demerara sugar in an Old Fashioned.

I decided to complicate things. (I know, dear reader, you are shocked.) First, quince is unique: Cydonia oblonga is the only member of its genus. Second, given quince seems a kind of amalgam of apple and pear, I thought a combo cocktail might be in order. Hence, the Vesperoni—part Vesper, part Negroni, all boozy in-your-face delight. (Think of it as the kindest of punches.)

What’s more, you could make this with all Rock 12 product, as their quality gin and vodka would certainly nail the Vesper roots of the drink in a way James Bond would like. And then the cocktail even includes some Meyer lemon juice, so you have more of a reason to insist it be shaken and not stirred, beyond Ian Fleming’s whims.

STEVEN BROWN

That lemon is crucial as it bridges the fruit and spice of the quince liqueur, a mere 30% ABV, to the more potent potables of the gin and vodka. Note the Rock 12 gin also features some lemon peel notes, but what sings Southern California more? The addition of the sage also adds to the local terroir, dueting with the gin’s juniper and expanding the herbal palate, especially by inviting your nose into the glass with the one-leaf garnish.

How is this a Negroni, you may ask? One way to think of the quince liqueur is akin to an amaro, but one on the lighter side of the bitter continuum, like a fruitier Campari that’s golden, not fire-truck red. Sure, there’s no vermouth in the Vesperoni, but then there’s no Lillet blanc, either. It’s not like I aspire to be Willem Dafoe’s character in Poor Things, surgically sewing a goose’s head onto a basset’s body.

Developing a cocktail is about delight and not shock. And yes, Rock 12 does make a pleasing amaro of their own that certainly deserves a place in something Negroni-esque. But I couldn’t resist the challenge of quince. After all, even Pliny the Elder extolled it back in the day. So it’s enthralling to see it make a brilliant appearance in the Santa Ynez Valley.

George Yatchisin happily eats, drinks and writes in Santa Barbara. He blogs at GeorgeEats.com.

RECIPE

1 ounces fresh Meyer lemon juice

10 sage leaves

Muddle 8 of the sage leaves in a shaker with the Meyer lemon juice. Add the rest of the ingredients to the shaker along with ice. Shake well. Double strain—to avoid getting tiny bits of sage leaves in the drink—into two rocks glasses. (It’s up to you if you would like one big rock of ice in the glass—depends upon your mood, the temperature, how quickly you plan on consuming the drink so it doesn’t get too diluted from the ice melting.)

Float one sage leaf atop each drink.

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A Taste of Julia Child’s Santa Barbara

A Conversation with Eric W. Spivey, Chairman of

The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts

by Hana-Lee Sedgwick

One of the area’s most unique annual events, Taste of Santa Barbara, held each year in May, showcases a fantastic lineup of culinary and wine-fueled experiences throughout the region. This year’s Taste was held May 13–19. In anticipation of this gastronomic celebration, I had the pleasure of speaking with Eric W. Spivey, chairman of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. With a deep appreciation for both wine and culinary excellence, Spivey played a pivotal role in orchestrating this weeklong event, now in its fourth year.

In our conversation, we delve into all things related to Julia Child, including his personal connection with her, the foundation’s objectives and achievements and the unique elements that make Taste of Santa Barbara a must-attend event for food and wine enthusiasts.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. To begin, could you share a bit about your background and what led you to Santa Barbara?

I was born in Iowa but spent my middle school and high school years in Marin County. I came to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB in 1978. I met my wife here in January 1980, so Santa Barbara holds a special place in our hearts.

How did you cross paths with Julia Child, and was there an instant connection between you two?

I’ve been interested in food and wine since high school, and I sold wine while attending college. While at UCSB, I was invited to an inaugural event for the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF), which was held in Montecito. Julia was one of the founders of this organization, along with Robert Mondavi, Dick Graff, Richard Sanford and several

‘Julia Child’ roses. Julia picked out this specimen during one of her many visits to Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria.

JONA

CHRISTINA PHOTOGRAPHY

others. But there I was, a university student in a room with 30+ industry and local supporters, and that’s where I first met Julia. We connected a handful of times during my studies at UCSB. My wife and I moved away for 18 years, but we returned in 2000, around the same time Julia was planning to move full-time to Montecito at Casa Dorinda.

What drew Julia to this beautiful area?

Julia grew up in Pasadena and spent summers in Montecito and Carpinteria during her youth. She always felt connected to this region. While living in Cambridge, MA, with her husband, Paul, they wintered here in the late 1970s and throughout much of the 1980s. They had an apartment down along Hammonds Beach, and absolutely loved it. Julia loved the weather, food, people and overall lifestyle here.

Agreed—what’s not to love? At what point did you two reconnect?

Julia and I became close friends during her final years in Montecito, bonding over our shared love for food, wine and Santa Barbara. We lived just a few minutes away and enjoyed getting out for lunches and dinners. She was an important part of my life—she helped design our kitchen remodel, taught our kids to shuck oysters, and we even shared the same birthday of August 15th, leading to several joint birthday celebrations.

Can you tell us about your involvement with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, including its origins and your role as chairman?

Julia established the foundation in 1995 with the vision of supporting gastronomy and the culinary arts. It didn’t become fully operational until 2006, two years after her passing on August 13, 2004. I was asked to be the chairman and I’ve been deeply involved in this role ever since. I don’t take any compensation from the foundation—everything I do is purely out of love and respect for Julia and her place in history. Julia provided the trustees (the other two are her family relatives) a lot of flexibility by not defining specific directives for the foundation, so decisions by our small team are made through the lens of “What would Julia do?”

Part of the Julia Child Foundation’s mission is to educate and encourage everyone to appreciate the joys of cooking and eating. Could you elaborate on this and what it means to you personally?

I am honored to have considered Julia as a friend and feel so fortunate to chair her foundation. Since Julia’s death, the foundation has been responsible for the Rights of Personality (name and likeness) for Julia and her future royalties from books and TV shows. In 2004 we began with $10,000 in the bank and now our assets are roughly $8 million. During this time, we have awarded more than $3 million in grants to nonprofits that align with our mission. I’m hopeful Julia would be proud of what we have accomplished, all the while protecting her name and likeness similar to how she lived her life. Please visit www.juliachildfoundation.org to learn more about the foundation.

Julia’s legacy continues to captivate people of all ages long after her passing. What do you think is the secret behind her enduring appeal?

I think it was her genuine authenticity; how she was on screen is how she was in real life. She proved that a middle-aged woman of her size, charisma and with that voice—a person who didn’t seem to fit the profile for someone on screen— could have a hugely impactful career. She was larger than life, in all the best ways.

She truly revolutionized the way our modern society thinks about and interacts with food. In your eyes, what has been her most lasting impact on the culinary world?

I would say it’s her commitment to education and to helping bring people together to understand, enjoy, and appreciate food and the broader gastronomic world.

Can you share the inspiration behind the Taste of Santa Barbara event, and how it reflects Julia’s culinary philosophy and the foundation’s mission?

We established The Julia Child Award in 2015, which honors an individual in the culinary world each year. This award is distinct from other recognitions, such as the James Beard Awards, as it is a singular accolade, selected by an independent jury and award director. The award is presented each fall in Washington, D.C., at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. As the award and its fundraising support of the Food History Project at the Museum gained prominence, we began exploring the creation of an annual event to be held each spring on the West Coast. After considering potential locations in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, we decided that since our headquarters are in Santa Barbara—a place dearly loved by Julia—it was only natural to celebrate her legacy in a city she cherished. Thus, the initial concept of our Santa Barbara–focused wine and food event was born.

From the start, we wanted to help Santa Barbara increase its recognition for its culinary riches—something that would support the city and county, while shining a light on the incredible array of farms, winemakers, chefs, fishermen, restaurants and hotels we have here. So, thanks to the amazing support of many people in this community, including a wonderful advisory committee of business and civic leaders, The Julia Child Foundation created the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE). The weeklong set of educational and experiential events SBCE offers each spring is called the Taste of Santa Barbara. This annual event supports the foundation’s mission by showcasing local food, chefs, purveyors and makers, along with promoting the value of eating and cooking locally, while a majority of the net proceeds are gifted to nonprofits in the local area.

How do you curate the participants and experiences for Taste of Santa Barbara to ensure an authentic representation of Santa Barbara’s culinary scene?

It’s a combination of things. We try to mix it up each year to keep it different, but we encourage local businesses who fit our mission and ethos to reach out to us directly. Every year is a little different, but we’ve been thrilled by the overall participation and expanding interest in the weeklong set of events.

Was there a particular event during this year’s Taste of Santa Barbara that you were especially looking forward to?

There were so many events we were excited to share with the community, from vineyard and farm tours to farmers market pop-ups, cooking classes and unique dinners. A highlight is always the Friday night farm-to-table dinner with local chefs at Casa de la Guerra, a special evening under the stars.

We offered a signature set of weekend events including Thursday’s VIP kickoff event; Friday’s farm-to-table dinner; Saturday’s Taste of Santa Barbara Wines at El Presidio; Saturday evening at a local downtown theater featured clips and conversations from Max’s “Julia” scripted series alongside the original inspiration from Julia in the original “The French Chef”; and we planned a family-oriented free event on Sunday at El Presidio. This year, we made a point to offer both ticketed and free events, along with family-friendly events, to ensure true community celebration of all things food and drink.

Sounds like it was designed to be better than ever. What would you hope people took away from their experience at Taste of Santa Barbara? We want people to come away with a deeper appreciation for the wonderful culinary treasures Santa Barbara has to offer. It’s a fun celebration of our local food, wine and gastronomic talent. We hope it inspires people to explore more of what the Santa Barbara region has to offer, both during and well beyond this event.

The SBCC Promise

The SBCC Promise has provided more than 7,000 local high school graduates with the opportunity to pursue their dreams at Santa Barbara City College.

Created in 2016, the SBCC Promise covers all required fees, books, and supplies for two years, and is funded entirely by private gifts.

Before we wrap things up, I’m curious if there are plans to evolve Taste of Santa Barbara in the future.

Our goal is to continue growing and creating a more positive impact among those who work in and enjoy the culinary arts. We want to be recognized as an important annual event (similar to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival) that brings together people from all across the country and globe to experience the world-class wine, food and broader hospitality community of Santa Barbara County. As we grow, our intention is to have an even greater impact on local nonprofits year after year.

Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences with Julia Child, the foundation and the Taste of Santa Barbara event. It’s clear that Julia’s legacy continues to inspire and shape the culinary world, and your dedication to honoring her memory is truly commendable.

Every excuse we get to pause and remember Julia is a welcome one, and we are humbled and grateful to be part of her continued legacy.

For more information on Taste of Santa Barbara, visit: www.sbce.events/taste-of-santa-barbara/

Hana-Lee Sedgwick is a Santa Barbara native who writes about wine, food and travel. As a freelance writer, editor and wine consultant, she happily spends her downtime eating, drinking and wandering, documenting it on her blog, Wander & Wine.

Photo: Nell Campbell

From Orchard to Bottle

AT ROCK 12 DISTILLERY

by George Yatchisin

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROSMINAH BROWN

Rock 12 distillery and tasting room in the Santa Rita Hills.

When Marko and Sarah Suput lived in Redlands, it was a world of too much traffic and stifling heat. Now in their current bucolic life, they get to open wide the barn doors on their tasting room/distillery to a stunning view down Route 246 in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills (their property is almost directly across from Spear Winery). As the Suputs’ now-seven-in-number goat herd bleats nearby, Sarah says, “We’re trying to lean into the farm part of farm distillery.”

They have certainly come a long way from 2015, just after they had their second son and Sarah declared, “Let’s start a business together.”

The Suputs’ Rock 12 Distillery (the name comes from a favorite location of theirs in Palm Springs where, among other things, they were married) does things differently from your usual liquor producer. Their land use permit with the county, the one that they discovered was easier to score (of course, there are stories of permitting delays— this is Santa Barbara County, after all), officially makes them a winery with permission to distill. All their products—vodkas (two of which are infused), gin, amaro, coffee, quince liqueurs and many a brandy on the aging way—start with fruit and no grain at all.

Apples, apricots and quince orchards surround the residence.

Then again, their 11-acre property also grew no fruit trees when they bought it in 2016. Then, it was the Flying V Ranch, home to llamas for three decades. The Suputs have been building up their orchards—apples, apricots and quince—tree by tree since, adding up to about five acres currently. And, as Marko suggests, “Maybe someday we’ll plant a one- or two-acre small vineyard. Pinot Noir makes a beautiful brandy.”

Until they start growing their own grapes, they can count on the kindness of their neighbors. As Marko points out, “A lot of wineries are in the business of recycling wines.”

One only has to think of Re:Find in Paso Robles, where the Villicanas take the saigneé from their winery and turn that into the neutral base of their distillery program. They’ve been doing it since 2011, and last year were named the Paso Robles Wine Industry Persons of the Year. The Suputs were sure to visit and learn from the Villicanas in their early days.

Now, all the Rock 12 work is done in their production and tasting facility, rebuilt on an old barn site on the property. Their goal this year is to produce 400–500 cases (six bottles per case) of handmade, small-batch liquor and liqueur, all distilled on either a 400-liter brandy still or a 300-liter column still.

The learning process has been tough—Marko had been a homebrewer, but distilling at a level to sell is an entirely

EDIBLE SANTA BARBARA

Sarah Suput shakes up a fresh cocktail for guests.

The Rock 12 lineup in their tasting room, where guests can hang out at the bar or outside on the patio.

Marko Suput tending to the goats.

Apple trees in the orchard flush with blossoms.

One of the many apricot trees maturing in the orchard.

different proposition. So, Sarah relates the couple boning up at the American Distilling Institute Conference; Marko would attend a nosing session while she would go to a panel on building your distillery.

And then there’s learning how to farm. Sarah begins, “When you start farming in your 30s and 40s…” and Marko ends the sentence, “…you read a lot of books.” That’s what got them to the somewhat unusual quince in the first place, as they read planting quince trees would help apple yields. (To learn more about Rock 12’s quince liqueur, see the Drinkable Landscape cocktail column on page 24.)

Their dream was aided by the passage of a Type 74 craft distillery law in California in 2018. Before the law’s passage, distilleries couldn’t make direct sales to customers. “Before the law, there was a three-level distribution system for liquor,” Marko explains. “Before the change, it cut your profits 40 to 50% to let those two partners in the door.”

•

out to financial backers. Marko says, “We didn’t want to have to answer to others as we got started.”

On their own, they did find out that both the farming and distilling can come down to trial and error, but fortunately, that’s right up Marko’s alley. “I’m a lab scientist, hands-on guy,” he asserts. “I’ve been doing R&D for 20 years now—it’s always been appealing to me.” Indeed, he still works a day job as a senior research and development engineer for Continuus Materials, a manufacturer that up-cycles waste to make building products.

“The brandy, distilled entirely from Santa Barbara wines, mostly reds, has a two-year aging process that occurs in three different kinds of oak. Sipping a sample of it now makes it clear how complex and pleasing it will be upon release in 2025.”

Take Rock 12’s London dry-style gin. Yes, it’s juniper-forward, as with most gins, but it also has hints of rosemary, ginger and lemon peel. An early prototype of the gin also featured one of Marko’s favorite flavors: chamomile. It seemed to work… until they tried it with tonic. He recalls, “It didn’t play well in the G&T at all. It left a soapy finish.” So out came the chamomile.

Direct-to-consumer sales, legal since the change, made a proposition like Rock 12 more attainable. Especially since the Suputs wanted to open on their own, without having to reach

The good news is chamomile did find a home in Rock 12’s delightfully complex and engaging Victus Amaro, which was a 2023 John Barleycorn Awards Double Gold Winner. The nowhip bitter aperitif/digestif can often have 30–40 ingredients, so

Marko Suput talking about the quince liqueurs.

Marko notes, “It’s a researcher’s dream. I’m an engineer—there were spreadsheets involved.”

Using B.T. Parsons’ encyclopedic book Amaro as his bible, Marko created a possible ingredient list—which isn’t easy, as many producers refuse to divulge even the obvious use of gentian root—cataloging which herbs, bark, flowers, roots, and peels appeared most frequently. He began his amaro with those but then came up with nifty unique items, like his chamomile and some of the apricots from the farm.

“I wanted it to be more for cocktails than an after-dinner drink,” he says. “It’s really good in an amaro sour or a spritz, and we’re working on a Boulevardier recipe.” The amaro’s name also is a tip of the hat to the property’s previous owners, Bob and Tina Westin, and their family credo “Victus,” which means “manner of living.”

Even Rock 12’s “little bread and butter,” as Sarah calls their coffee liqueur, took a few attempts. Hoping to get the most coffee flavor they could into the bottle, they added eight gallons of cold brew into an early experimental batch. On the palate, it powerfully delighted, but Sarah admitted, “It smelled like an ashtray.” A few versions later, with a more tempered mix of dark roast and cold brew from Zaca Coffee, and a hit was born. Think of it as a less-syrupy, more-punchy (25% ABV) cousin to Kahlua.

Sarah’s background in hospitality and nonprofits serves Rock12 well, and upon moving to Santa Barbara she worked at Happy Canyon and Casa Dumetz to hone her tasting room chops and learn the region better. She likes to take the lead developing cocktails with their products, as visitors to the farm distillery get to choose either a tasting flight or a cocktail.

That process gets a bit complicated, as it’s crucial to keep things simple, for she notes, “It’s important to develop something that will be repeatable at home.” The flavored vodkas certainly help there, with the serrano-infused leaning into a spicy bloody Mary, say. The slightly more surprising and beet red hibiscusinfused made for a great winter mule, according to Sarah.

The latter vodka might be particularly fun to play with because a chef made a request for it. The Suputs asked chef Augusto Caudillo, formerly of Lompoc’s Scratch Kitchen and now at the new Terra in The Steward hotel in Goleta, for suggestions. He imagined the tropical sweet-sour of hibiscus would be a delight. As a bonus, Sarah has learned that folks touring the Sta. Rita Hills for wine find the tannic punch you get with some heavier reds matches the one found in the hibiscus vodka.

Of course, all the product now is just a preview for the major releases down the line—an apricot, an apple and a cognac-style brandy. They are particularly passion products for Marko, as he is carrying on a tradition from his Serbian family. The gorgeous, bulbous-topped brandy still even comes from Serbia, where it was forged from a single sheet of copper. Unlike the electrically powered, more traditional column still used to make the vodka and gin, the brandy still is direct-fired and requires a brass chain mixer at its bottom so the fruit doesn’t burn.

The brandy, distilled entirely from Santa Barbara wines, mostly reds, has a two-year aging process that occurs in three different kinds of oak. Sipping a sample of it now makes it clear how complex and pleasing it will be upon release in 2025.

The apple brandy will be released for their first anniversary this March. Made of all estate fruit, it is a brilliant balance of bitter and sweet, leaning on the varietals of Granny Smith, Dorsett Golden, and Honeycrisp. Despite the clear early quality of the brandy barrel samples, Marko has no airs about his aged spirits program, insisting, “We’re not snobs. I’m not afraid to put an ice cube in my brandy.”

The tricky part about growth is how much is too much? Sarah stresses she learned at Casa Dumetz, “The question is, how many SKUs do you want?” Marko jumps in, insisting, “It can get overwhelming for the customers.” So, they must keep their exploratory natures in check. That doesn’t mean Marko hasn’t considered trying to make the relatively obscure French liqueur noyau, made from the stones of apricots but tasting like almonds. That connects with the Suputs’ desire to be green about their work, of course. “One of the problems with distillation is all the condensation of water,” Marko points out, “but here it goes into a leach field and under the orchard.”

Those truly interested in Rock 12 can spend the night on-site, as there’s a ranch stay property, too. Originally a profit maker as the distillery products went online, it’s now a charming way for people to experience the Sta. Rita Hills on a farm.

“It’s great seeing guests here,” Sarah stresses, “and knowing they will walk back to the two bedrooms, one bathroom and large living and dining space after tasting and buying some of our liquor.”

“We did not know about the Sta. Rita Hills before we moved here, but we have a deep love of it now,” Sarah asserts. The Suputs are particularly impressed by how collaborative the wine community has been and relish the opportunity to take part in events like the Vintners Festival and the Buellton Wine & Chili Festival.

They feel they’ve found a true home for both their family and Rock 12. “Los Angeles people can go to Temecula for a wine experience, but if they want good wine…,” Marko says about Santa Barbara wine country. “Plus, it doesn’t hurt us being surrounded by boutique wineries with small production and higher price points.”

IF YOU GO

Rock 12 Distillery is located at 6605 E. Hwy 246, Lompoc. Tasting room hours are Friday through Sunday, noon–5pm. Call 805 246-6026 or visit www.Rock12Distillery.com for more information.

George Yatchisin happily eats, drinks and writes in Santa Barbara. He blogs at GeorgeEats.com.

EDIBLE NATION

ALASKA RUNS ON SALMON

Wild salmon connects consumers to landscapes and small fishing families in Alaska

by Julia O’Malley

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATHANIEL WILDER

When you see “wild salmon” on a menu or sign at your local fish counter, it usually means the fish were caught in Alaska.

Only about a quarter of the salmon Americans eat is wild. Of that portion, at least 80 percent comes from Alaskan waters in any given year, with the rest coming from Canada, the Pacific Northwest and California. The majority of salmon sold in the U.S. is Atlantic salmon, which means they were raised around the globe in fish farming operations that confine the stock in underwater pens where they’re raised on manufactured feed for uniform flavor, color and nutritional value. You can also sometimes find farmed king and coho salmon as well.

While salmon used to return to spawn in their natal streams and lakes across America and the world, dams, pollution and overfishing have decimated their populations over the last few centuries. Commercial and recreational fishing of wild Atlantic salmon ceased in 1948 and is still prohibited in the United States. The only wild Atlantic salmon that remain live in a few rivers in Maine and are listed as endangered species.

In the cold north Pacific, though, with its hundreds of miles of uninhabited coastline, most species of wild salmon still thrive in large numbers. Wild king salmon in North America and Canada have, however, faced a slow decline over several decades, though scientists say the species is still plentiful enough in some places for a small amount to be fished sustainably. In 2021, Alaska produced a harvest of approximately 860 million pounds of salmon, according to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Most of that salmon was born in Alaska, though much of the king salmon caught in Alaska came from rivers in the Pacific Northwest.

Alaska commercial fishermen catch five species of salmon — king (chinook), red (sockeye), silver (coho), chum (dog, keta or silverbrite) and pink salmon. While farmed Atlantic salmon is available year-round and predictable when it comes to texture and fat content, many chefs prefer Alaska salmon. Each type has

a different flavor, texture, fat content and size, and all are free of chemicals and medicines fish farming operations may use.

Some Alaskans swear they can taste the difference between salmon of the same species from different regions. A fish might be brinier because of what it ate in one place or oilier because it has to store more fat to travel up a longer river in another. Different fish also have varying uses when it comes to recipes. Chefs might prefer red salmon for grilling, for example, and pink salmon or chum for salmon cakes. Outside of Alaska, consumers are most likely to encounter pink salmon in cans while other species — king, sockeye and coho — appear at the fish counter or in the frozen foods section.

One way to think about wild fish as a consumer is to compare it to farming — buying farmed fish is like buying grocery store produce sourced from a large agribusiness, while buying wild salmon is more like shopping at the farmers’ market. Much of Alaska’s fishing is done by small operators with a few people on a boat.

“When you make the choice to purchase wild salmon from Alaska, you are instantly connecting to all of the people that are independent American fishing families,” says Danielle Ringer, a fisheries anthropologist who fishes commercially out of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska.

The biggest chunk of Alaska’s wild salmon comes from one abundant, famous fishing ground: Bristol Bay, the largest source of wild sockeye salmon on the planet. Thousands of small fishing operations descend on the bay every summer, netting millions of fish in six river systems. The last few years, the fish have been more abundant than ever, with record-setting catches. But in Bristol Bay and elsewhere in the North Pacific, the salmon are smaller, on average, than they used to be — something scientists have attributed to changing conditions at sea and competition from hatchery fish.

Salmon runs are subject to natural forces and have always had ups and downs. Alaska’s fisheries are carefully monitored by

Opposite: Chum salmon harvested at Pete and Polly Schaeffer’s subsistence net sit in a tote in Kotzebue, Alaska.

scientists and managed for sustainability, but they are not immune to the changing climate, overfishing far out at sea or the impacts of competition from fish born in hatcheries. Some see farmed fish as more sustainable, though large operations cause concern because they’re proven to spread diseases to wild fish, and the waste that leaches from the net pens pollutes adjacent waters. Also, when non-native fish species escape from farms, they invariably impact local species. There are a few small operations now experimenting with farming salmon on land in tanks.

Kirsten Dixon is a retired longtime chef who lives nowin Homer, Alaska, on Kachemak Bay. She can easily tell the difference between wild and farmed salmon in part by color — farmed salmon have distinct orange flesh, a softer texture and a thicker fat composition than wild salmon. One of her concerns about Alaska’s fisheries is the impacts of hatchery-born fish on them.

While fish farming is illegal in Alaska water, hatcheries in the state raise millions of fish each year. Approximately 40 million hatchery salmon enhanced commercial fisheries in 2022 — a little more than a quarter of the total harvest, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Pink and chum salmon are the dominant hatchery species, followed by red, silver and king salmon. Raising hatchery fry, or baby fish, to release into the ocean is sometimes called “ocean ranching.” Hatchery fish are also sometimes marketed as “wild caught” as opposed to wild. Hatcheries are located in Southcentral and Southeast Alaska, along the Gulf of Alaska, but not further north in Bristol Bay.

A commercial fisherman can’t tell whether a fish came from a hatchery or not, when it’s caught. The main way to tell the difference is by examining a fish’s otolith, or ear bone. Dixon pops them out when she’s handling fish in the kitchen. Hatchery fish have markings on theirs. These fish help maintain abundance to meet demand, she says, but scientists are still learning how they interact with wild fish, especially when they compete for food.

“It’s a very complex situation,” she adds.

Theresa Peterson, the fisheries policy director at the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, says wild salmon carry with them an environmental message.

“Firm, delicious wild salmon captures the flavor of the ocean,” she says. “When you’re eating wild-caught salmon, you’re really supporting a fish that’s come from a natural environment and that has eaten organisms from that environment.”

When people buy it, eat it and see that it’s different, she adds, it gives them a stake in protecting Alaska’s unique environment.

GLOSSARY

Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon are raised commercially in confined fish farms, where their conditions are controlled for color, size and nutritional value.

Bristol Bay

This region in Alaska is home to the largest commercial red salmon fishery in the world. On average, 38 million salmon are caught there annually. This area has a very abundant fish population, which in recent years has had record catches.

Chum salmon

This Pacific fish, known in Alaska as “dog salmon” because it was once preferred as a feed for sled dogs, also gets labeled keta or silverbrite salmon.

Fishery

An area, most often defined by a body of water, where fish are caught for commercial or recreational purposes, and where fish populations are monitored and managed by scientists.

Hatchery

These state or nonprofit operations produce fish fry, or baby fish, for release into the ocean. These fish are usually native to the general region where they are born and live out most of their lives in the natural environment. Because they had part of their life cycle manipulated by humans, they are sometimes described as “wild caught” instead of wild. Scientists are still studying the way these fish impact wild fish runs.

Natal stream

Salmon return to the freshwater body where they were born, known as a natal stream, to spawn after spending the majority of their life at sea.

Pink salmon

Pink salmon are the smallest and most abundant type of Pacific salmon. They are also the most common hatchery-raised salmon in Alaska. When they spawn, returning to freshwater streams at the end of their life cycle, the males develop humps on their backs, which is why these fish are nicknamed “humpies.” This kind of salmon is often canned or smoked.

King salmon

The largest type of salmon, this valuable species has faced more than a decade of decline in abundance in many regions of Alaska, though there are still places where it can be sustainably fished, such as Southeast Alaska, where some are born in hatcheries. Individual kings have weighed as much as 100 pounds, though now they are generally much smaller. Also known as chinook, their meat is high in fat and can fetch as much as $50 per pound.

Red salmon

This fish, also called sockeye, has bright red flesh and is the primary species fished in Bristol Bay. The fish itself also turns red as it spawns.

Silver salmon

This type of mid-sized salmon, also called coho, has a mild flavor. Coho has also been farmed in some parts of the world.

Wild salmon

These fish are native to the place they are caught and have not had their life cycle manipulated by human intervention. These fish hatch from eggs in freshwater streams or lakes, grow to maturity in the ocean and spawn in their natal streams.

Julia O’Malley, a third-generation Alaskan, is a journalist, teacher, editor and cook who lives in Anchorage. Her work in newsrooms, classrooms and kitchens explores Alaska’s culture, politics, climate and food.

Know Your AVAs

American Viticultural Areas

1. Santa Maria Valley (Established in 1981)

2. Santa Ynez Valley (Established in 1983)

3. Sta. Rita Hills (Established in 2001)

4. Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara (Established in 2009)

5. Ballard Canyon (Established in 2013)

6. Los Olivos District (Established in 2016)

7. Alisos Canyon (Established in 2020)

Planted (Acres)

1. Chard onnay (4771)

2. Pinot Noir (3744)

3. Syrah (1040)

4. Sauvignon Blanc (920 )

5. Caber net Sauvignon (868)

6. Grenache (490)

7. Pinot Gris (216 )

8. Mourvedre (185)

9. Merlot (164)

10. Caber net Franc (149)

11. Petite Sirah (134)

12. Riesling (99)

SantaBarbara

Cachuma

Top Wine Grape Varietals

A FAMILY’S LEGACY VINCENT FARM IN GOLETA

by Janice Cook Knight

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE VINCENT FAMILY

Exiting the freeway at Winchester Canyon, Goleta, I wonder if I’m going the right way. Though I’ve been coming out here for 30 years, it’s usually just during apricot season. I slow down, on the lookout for the sign directing me to Vincent Farm. It’s a one-way lane, so I drive slowly, fields of apricot trees coming into view on my left, the farmhouse on my right. Parking my car near the classic red barn, I stand in the drive and take a sweeping look around.

To visit Vincent Farm is to take a step back in time. It’s so peaceful here. Sure, there are modern cars and farm machinery, but the farmhouse and barn and other buildings seem to be early 1900s. I can’t see other houses, really, or much else of civilization.

The apricot orchard slopes gently upward, and the hill

behind rises steeply, too steep to plant trees. Once upon a time, a previous farmer planted lima beans all the way to the top of the hill. Now, five acres of Royal Blenheim apricot trees dominate the landscape, looking like a rural scene from a hundred years ago, although these trees were planted in 1982.

On the day I come to interview Don and Bonnie Vincent and one of their two daughters, Breana, it’s a gorgeous spring afternoon on the farm, breezy and a little bit cool. The cover crop between the trees is still lush and green.

Don is a tall man, quiet and thoughtful. Bonnie is grounded and direct. Breana grew up here and fills in facts as the story of how they came to this place unfolds. Farming, and especially the kind of farming they practice, is their passion.

From left: the Scorso family, the Vincent family and the White family.

Above and below: Don Vincent has developed a dry-farming method for his Blenheim apricot trees.

Don and Bonnie Vincent bought this 54-acre farm in 1975 from the Langlo family. The Langlos had built the farm, including a traditional farmhouse, barn and outbuildings, in 1912. Originally, it was 100 acres, but they later divided it, selling the portion which had largely been a walnut orchard to a developer for housing.

Don grew up in Santa Barbara. While his family lived in town, they had a 22-acre farm in Goleta near San Pedro Creek, to the west of where the Miner’s Ace Hardware store now stands. His parents farmed chiefly walnuts, tomatoes and lima beans. Don’s great-grandfather, John G. Prell, was a farmer in Santa Maria beginning in the 1860s, so Don grew up immersed in farming, though he wasn’t certain he would choose it as his future.

After Don served three years in the army and married Bonnie in 1973, the Vincents lived near downtown Santa Barbara. They were raising chickens and decided they needed more land so as not to disturb the neighbors. In 1973, they started a 22-acre farm on Old San Marcos Road, growing oranges and avocados, which they farmed until 1978.

Eventually they decided to look for a larger farm, and considered the spot in Winchester Canyon several months before they purchased it. Coming back to it a few months later, the price had been substantially lowered, and it was the right time to buy. Though they purchased it in 1975, they leased out the farmhouse for several years as they began to prepare for what they would grow.

Above and below: the apricot trees in bloom attract bees and other pollinators.

The Vincents moved in and started actively farming their parcel in 1979, beginning with tomatoes, garbanzos and bluelake beans, and an already existing lemon orchard. Their farm did not come with its own well, and city water was expensive. They began exploring what they could grow that did not require adding extra water. They consulted long-time farmers in the area and looked at older farming books for guidance.

Dry-farming, as it’s called, is a time-honored farming method. Don says, “People used to dry-farm beans all over these hills, in Santa Barbara County and down towards Oxnard.”

The Vincents considered planting an orchard. Apricots! It was their favorite fruit anyway, so if they couldn’t sell them, at least they’d have something they liked. Farm advisor George Goodall, who worked for the University of California Extension, recommended a variety of apricots called Royal Blenheim, which could be dry-farmed successfully. His turned out to be very good advice.

Once ripe, Blenheims don’t ship well, but they have an intense flavor. They must get to market quickly. They are gorgeous fruits with a deep, rosy blush where the sun has hit them. When I discovered the Vincents’ orchard I was thrilled, as I grew up with a Blenheim apricot tree in my backyard and knew how good they are. Truly, other apricots don’t compare.

Dry-Farming

What does it mean to “dry-farm?” We somehow imagine a garden without water, but that is not accurate. Dry-farming means a crop is grown without added water, relying only on annual rainfall. The farmer must capture that rainfall. He or she does this by retaining moisture in the soil, which must be carefully prepared by adding mulch and other amendments and by a variety of farming techniques.

“The best thing for soil health is to feed, water and mow,” says Don. But if you must dry-farm, he’s developed a way to do it. His method works beautifully for his apricot orchard. In the winter, he grows a nutritious cover crop around the trees. It consists largely of clover, mustard and a weed called filaree, in the geranium family. He planted this years ago, and now it reseeds itself annually. The cover crop grows tall and lush if we get rain. In the spring, the cover crop is mowed down and allowed to dry. A very lightweight tractor is used, as it does less harm to the trees and prevents soil compacting.

After about a month, using a tractor with a discing harrower, Don discs the soil around the trees, cutting and turning the cover crop. Later, he’ll go over the disced cover crop again, but this time with a “spike tooth” attachment that leaves a fine dust mulch that insulates the moisture level below, like a blanket. Cutting down the cover crop ensures that the weeds don’t compete with the apricot trees, which need all the water for their growing season. The disced and spiked cover crop breaks down, feeding the earthworms and other soil critters. Earthworms thrive below the mulch, further aerating the soil around the trees as well as depositing their nutritious waste.

Apricot harvest time in the orchard.

Although dry-farming is an old, even ancient farming technique, it may also be fashionably modern again. One only has to look at the condition of the water table in California’s Central Valley (severely depleted—even after the last two years of abundant rain) to wish that farmers had been able to practice dry-farming techniques more extensively.

But it also means that there are some lean years. The Vincents have about 350 apricot trees. Many are the original trees planted in 1982, though Don replaces some of the trees each year. In very dry years, the trees survive—they have deep roots—but simply do not put out much fruit, greatly reducing the income for those years. Not all crops can be dry-farmed and, in fact, the other trees on the farm need added water. The farm also produces and sells avocados, citrus, grapes, apples, persimmons, other stone fruits and flowers.

The arrival of summer heralds the most exciting time on the farm—apricot season. Years ago, I brought my family here to help me pick (and sample!) the delicious fruit. My best friend and her kids often came with, and those were idyllic days, small children in tow, all of us delighted by the magical environment as well as the tasty harvest.

We’d pick the fruit, put it into buckets, weigh it and drop a check into the payment box. But more recently, social media attention to the farm brought more traffic than a small farm could handle, so now the way to get the precious fruit is to place an order before the season and arrange for a pickup (preorders are taken in May).

Don, Bonnie, Breana and other family members do the picking themselves. Breana reaches out to customers by email, keeping us abreast of the start of the season, sometime in June. (Currently, the farm does not come to local farmers markets, though occasionally, if apricots are abundant, they might be available at Mesa Produce during the season.)

For me and many other customers, the Vincent Farm apricot season is an annual ritual. I’ll buy a box weighing approximately 15 pounds, and what we don’t eat out of hand gets turned into apricot jam or apricot crostata. Apricot gelato, anyone?

I also love to preserve the apricots, halved and pitted, then packed into canning jars in a light syrup, which is easier than making jam and a lot less sweet. We eat these for dessert in the winter with a dollop of yogurt. And any extra fruit can be easily frozen on trays, then popped into freezer bags or containers for later use. Wrapped well, the fruit keeps for months. Apricots are also delicious when dried in a dehydrator.

After Harvest: Pruning Season

Apricot trees are usually pruned in January, when stone fruits are at their most dormant. But Don and Breana dedicate the entire month of August to pruning after the trees are finished fruiting. At this time of year, the wood is dry, and pruning during this dry time of year helps prevent the spread of a fungus, called Eutypa dieback, that the apricot trees are

Once ripe, Blenheims have a deep, rosy blush where the sun has hit them.

The apricots don’t ship well, but they have an intense flavor — they must get to market quickly.

susceptible to. They pitchfork the trimmed branches into windrows between the trees, then “munch” them with the tractor, so that everything goes back into the soil.

Vincent Farm uses organic growing techniques, although they no longer have organic certification. The paperwork required for certification is voluminous and time-consuming. Long-time customers know that their produce will be grown with care and of the highest quality.

Other Crops and the Next Generation

The Vincents’ daughter Breana left a career in education and nonprofits to work on the farm. Besides assisting with the abundant farmwork, Breana is largely the active interface with their customers and the larger community. She sends out informative and fascinating seasonal emails to their customer list every few weeks, detailing the available farm products. Breana also shares photos of the farming process throughout the year, with captions explaining the work season by season.

Besides apricots, Vincent Farm offers other fruits for sale, though in smaller quantities, nearly year-round. These include, in late winter, several varieties of tangerines; in spring, Kenny Grapefruits, a rare variety that is a cross between a grapefruit and a navel orange and is extra juicy and sweet; in summer, Hass and Lamb-Hass avocados, plums and peaches; in the fall, apples, Iona and Concord grapes, occasional pears, and both Hachiya and Fuyu persimmons.

Dried fruits such as persimmons are also available, as well as fruit preserves, and Breana grows gorgeous flowers, which she sells as bouquets and wreaths. She also sells lovely greeting cards with photographic images she’s taken of flowers, plants and farm scenes.

A dream I share with the Vincents is that this farm continues long into the future. The Vincents love what they do. Don says he never fails to stop and appreciate the farm during the day and that is he is grateful to be here.

The farming techniques practiced here in Goleta are just what our climate-challenged world needs. Goleta, after all, means, “the good land.”

Resources

For a recipe using fresh apricots, see page 52 for Pascale Beale’s “Sunflower” Apricot Tart. Vincent Farm is open for fruit and flower pickups by appointment only. Sign up for their email list for farm updates and produce availability at www.VincentFarmGoleta.com.

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.

Santa Barbara • San Luis Obispo • Ventura

Nourished by Nature

“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces—just good food from fresh ingredients.” –Julia Child

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY Pascale Beale

When I first read this quote from Julia Child, I immediately thought of my grandmother, Genevieve Fay, who essentially lived by this credo. She and Julia had a love affair with butter and crème fraîche. And like Julia, her cuisine was classic French, full of boeuf bourguignon, blanquettes de veau and hachis parmentier. Yet although she was an excellent cook, she often served simple food.

Dessert, for example, at her house was a piece of fruit rather than a cake, tart or baked confection, but what a piece of fruit it would be! When I was a small child, she would regularly take me on her daily shopping routine, and it was by her side that I learned the art of selecting fruit and vegetables at their acme.

My grandparents lived in Briançon, a fortified ancient town high up in the French Alps. There were no supermarkets there. So we went to the cheesemonger for milk, cheese, eggs and butter; to the butcher for chicken, pâtés, saucisson and other meats; and to the baker for the prerequisite baguettes and Pain de Mie that she served daily. There were no farmers markets during the snowy winter months.

Even in summer, as the growing season was short, the picturesque market—located along the banks of a burbling alpine river—ran for just a few months. As a result, my grandmother, ever the resourceful woman, shopped directly at the local greengrocer’s wholesale warehouse. It was called Chez Jacques. I was a little afraid of going there when I was small, as the building, tucked away on a narrow side street, was unusually cold, gloomy and intimidating. Thankfully, the proprietor was anything but and always greeted my grandmother warmly.

They would discuss in great detail what she planned on cooking and the choice items on hand. She would carefully inspect the proffered vegetables or fruit, accepting the ones she

deemed in perfect condition or rejecting those that didn’t meet her exacting standards. This was serious business.

I stood by and watched silently as she explained why she chose a particular item. All the produce came packed in wooden crates, which would be carefully loaded into her car once she made her choices. Once home, she placed the crates in her cellar, where the magic in her kitchen began.

It’s curious how the memory of a place, sight of an object, sound or aroma can evoke such strong emotions. Marcel Proust coined the term involuntary memory to describe this phenomenon, and I relive this experience every year when the first apricots arrive at our farmers market. Along with grated carrots, baby radishes, cherries, blueberries and red currents, apricots are some of my first memories of anything edible. I see them and am instantly transported back to my grandmother’s kitchen, where she schooled my brother and me in the delicious art of jam-making. Her golden-hued apricot jam was legendary in our family.

One of its key components was her use of the apricot kernels, which lent it hints of marzipan. She would cook them with the apricots and leave them in it once jarred. They were small, white and almond-shaped. We painstakingly extracted the kernels from the pits, a task to which we happily lent a hand, as our reward was a giant jar of jam we could take back home with us to London. (Although apricot kernels are toxic in large quantities, it is a common practice to use one or two in jam.)

To remove the soft kernel, you had to break open the pits using a small hammer, tapping them with enough strength to break the pit open but not squash the kernel inside. It took ages, and we’d often smack our fingers instead of the pit! It was a messy job, and we’d usually sit out on her terrace, halving the

apricots, bashing pits and telling stories. It’s funny how a little piece of fruit can be so evocative.

When I pick up apricots today, I imagine what can be made with them, apart from the jam. Clafoutis comes to mind; it is divine made with them instead of the classic cherries. Apricot tarts are a particular favorite of mine, and as soon as I get my hands on some just-picked apricots—I favor Blenheims, if I can find them—I’ll make two or three versions of the tart or a galette with them.

The key element is ripe fruit. Not so ripe that they will squish to a pulp when sliced but not too hard, as their flavor can be slightly sour if underripe. It’s worth waiting for that particular moment—you know, the one when you bite into fruit and let out a little involuntary sigh because the fruit is just perfect.

When something is that good, I like to let the fruit (or vegetable) be the star of the dish and not manipulate it too much, hence my new apricot tart where you don’t cook the fruit at all but instead lightly glaze them using a blow torch or under the broiler. You will taste their essence in all its glory.

In the summer months, some of the produce in my grandmother’s cellar came from small local farms in the surrounding valleys and the Provencal hinterland. I remember a particular honey whose floral taste was suffused with the abundant wildflowers and lavender growing in the area.

Imagine my delight when I tasted a local wildflower honey from the Santa Barbara foothills that was so reminiscent of the one I ate as a child! The honey was akin to a silky, sweet conduit, a connection between my childhood in France and my adult life in California.

It was a bridge between the two cultures I call home, but what struck me the most was the simplicity and purity of this link. Freshly harvested honey, nothing more. The bees, nourished by nature as they foraged in the local chaparral, produced perfect food.

I thought about this, the idea of food at its simplest, as I drove through the vineyard-covered hills on a hot summer’s day last year. I stopped the car on the side of the road and gazed out at the Santa Ynez mountains silhouetted against a cloudless sky. A breeze stirred up the sweet, rich aroma of the grapes ripening in the summer sun as the loamy warmth of the earth was palpable in the air. I smiled; it was an aroma I’d come across in the vineyards in Provence, and here it was again. It felt and smelled like home. I drove back to make a late Sunday lunch with my family: an herb- and flower-filled salad, roast chicken with some grapes I had picked up at the farmers market and an apricot tart. As Julia and my grandmother said, “just good food from fresh ingredients.”

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.

RECIPES

Summer

in the Alps Salad

There is an utterly magical valley high up in the French Alps near my mother’s hometown. It is a pristine, unspoiled alpine vale filled with gurgling crystal-clear mountain streams and vistas that will have you yodeling and singing in the hills a la Julie Andrews. I grew up hiking in these mountains, and one of my favorite times to meander there is late spring, when the valley floor erupts into a veritable carpet of wildflowers. On my last visit, I took a photograph of this floral magnificence, and that photo inspired this salad. I tried to capture the wild beauty of the valley in a bowl.

MAKES 6–8 SERVINGS

FOR THE SALAD

4 ounces assorted microgreens

2 ounces pea sprouts

6 ounces asparagus, ends trimmed and stalks cut on bias into 1 1 ⁄2 - to 2-inch lengths

6 breakfast radishes, thinly sliced lengthwise

6 zebra tomatoes, cut into eighths

50–60 edible flowers such as pansies, violas or nasturtium petals

Small handful of small mint leaves

Small handful of small basil leaves

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Pinch of salt

2–3 grinds white pepper

Line the base of a large shallow bowl with the microgreens. Nestle little pockets of pea sprouts into the microgreens, then insert the asparagus stalks and radishes into the pea sprouts. Dot the surface of the microgreens with the tomatoes, then scatter the flowers and herbs over the surface.

Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl to form a smooth emulsion. When ready to serve, drizzle the vinaigrette over the greens.

Provencal Roasted Chicken Legs with Champagne Grapes

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

8 chicken legs

Olive oil

1 1 ⁄2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence

Coarse sea salt

Black pepper

1 pound champagne grapes or the smallest grapes you can find, cut into small clusters

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the chicken legs in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet large enough to hold them in one layer. Drizzle with olive oil and turn once or twice so they are evenly coated. Sprinkle the Herbes de Provence, 2 or 3 pinches of salt and 5–6 grinds of pepper over the top. Roast for 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and add the grape clusters to the pan. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the grapes. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 30 minutes more. Serve with the pan juices, grapes and fingerling potatoes.

Herbed Fingerling Potatoes

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

2 pounds fingerling potatoes, washed

1 ⁄2 cup finely chopped parsley

1 ⁄4 cup finely chopped shallots

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ⁄2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

4–5 grinds black pepper

Juice of 1 ⁄2 lemon

Place the potatoes in the upper part of a vegetable steamer and cook until they are fork tender, about 15–20 minutes, depending on size.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a serving bowl. Add the cooked potatoes and toss everything together so the potatoes are well coated.

“Sunflower” Apricot Tart

Yes, this is a labor of love. It takes a while to thinly slice all the apricots, but the result is absolutely worth the effort. When I have lots of chopping or prep to do, I listen to a podcast, something inspirational along the lines of How I Built This, or a good audiobook or blast some James Brown at full volume while I slice away and in no time at all the fruit are sliced, and I had fun doing it. As with the other stone fruit desserts, you can, by all means, substitute peaches or

nectarines for the apricots, but make sure you make the crunchy nut layer between the fruit and the tart shell. It makes the dish!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

FOR THE DOUGH

9 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour

5 1 ⁄2 ounces cold butter, cut up into small pieces

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 large egg

Pinch of salt

FOR THE FILLING

1 ⁄2 cup pistachios

1 ⁄2 cup sliced almond

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar, divided

3 tablespoons apricot jam

14–16 firm ripe apricots, halved, pitted and thinly sliced

Butter a round 10- or 11-inch fluted tart pan and set aside. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Use repeated pulses until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough has formed a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the unwrapped dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a disk that is 1 inch larger than the size of your mold and ¼ inch thick. Line the tart pan with the dough. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and then prick the dough in the bottom of the tart pan with the tines of a fork. Wrap up the remaining dough for another use.

Cover the tart shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be a pale golden color. Take the tart shell from the oven and remove the parchment paper and pie weights. Return to oven and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

While the tart shell is baking, prepare the nut crunch base. Place the pistachios, almonds, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a heavy-bottomed skillet placed over medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sugar will melt, and the mixture will be sticky. Remove from the heat, let cool completely, then roughly chop the nuts.

Brush the baked tart shell with the apricot jam, then sprinkle the nut crunch mixture over the jam. Starting at the outer edge and working toward the middle, arrange the apricot slices in slightly overlapping concentric circles to cover the nut crunch layer. The apricots will form a pattern that looks like an open flower. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the apricots. If you have a blow torch, pass it lightly over the fruit, caramelizing the apricots. If not, place the tart under the broiler on the middle rack in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Serve with crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

edible

SANTABARBARA & WINE COUNTRY

SUPPORT LOCAL GUIDE

Now more than ever, it’s important to seek out and support local businesses. Here is our guide of the current 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.

Food & Restaurants

Alessio Artisanal Gelato

1623 Mission Dr., Suite A, Solvang www.ViaGelateria.com

Alessio Artisanal Gelato is a family-owned and -operated gelato shop using locally sourced ingredients to bring authentic Italian gelato to the Santa Ynez Valley. Wholesome, real ingredients. Featuring new flavors weekly. Located in the Parc Place shopping arcade with convenient parking. Open Wed–Sun noon–6pm.

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” —signature Pain au Levain, awardwinning artisanal breads, croissants and specialty pastries. All-day menu of made-to-order breakfast, lunch and weekly special dishes. Indoor-outdoor 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. Mon–Tue and Thu–Sat noon–5pm, Sun noon–4pm. Closed on Wednesday.

New Frontiers Natural Marketplace

1984 Old Mission Dr., Solvang 805 693-1746

www.NewFrontiersmarket.com

New Frontiers is in the business of providing naturally delicious foods of the freshest and highest quality, as well as a full array of other choices for healthy living. Visit their website for menus, special savings and coupons. Open daily 7am–8pm.

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 $28.

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.

Buttonwood Farm & Vineyard

1500 Alamo Pintado Rd., Solvang 805 688-3032

www.ButtonwoodWinery.com

A small gem set amidst the splendor of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley. Their vineyard is surrounded by a prolific farm with olives, pomegranates, peonies and their famous peaches. Enjoy wine tasting in their beautiful outdoor garden or intimate tasting room patio. Open for tasting 11am–5pm daily; food served Sat and Sun.

Clementine Carter

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

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.

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.

Goodland Wine Shop & Bar

4177 State St., Goleta 805 695-3003

www.GoodlandWineShop.com

The shop offers locally produced wine and beer, as well as kombucha and mead. Glasses of wine and snacks are available at their wine bar. Check their website for winemaker events, held on Tuesdays at 6pm. The shop is open Tue–Sat 11am–7pm. Happy Hour Wed–Thu 5–7pm.

Koehler Winery

5360 Foxen Canyon Rd., Los Olivos 805 693-8384

www.KoehlerWinery.com

Koehler Winery crafts premium estate-grown wines from the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. Situated on the celebrated Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, Koehler Winery is located in one of California’s most diverse and distinctive growing regions. Koehler Winery’s rusticinspired tasting room and estate grounds are open daily 10am–5pm.

Margerum Wine Company

19 E. Mason St., Santa Barbara 805 845-8435

2446 Alamo Pintado Ave., Los Olivos 805 504-1209

www.MargerumWines.com

Located near Santa Barbara’s waterfront across the street from Hotel Californian, Margerum Wine Company offers tastings or wines by the glass in their expansive tasting room or on the heated patio. An indoor mezzanine can host private events. All complemented with a simple fare menu—cheese and charcuterie, pizzas, paninis, salads and other foods to complement the wine. Or visit the tasting room in Los Olivos which offers bento box food and wine pairings and oyster and sparkling wine pairings with reservations in advance. The winery in Buellton is open by appointment

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.

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.

Specialty Retail

ella & louie

www.EllaAndLouie.com

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 to unusual and stylish. Local delivery.

Services and Organizations

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.

Bobby Williams Art

www.BobbyWilliamsArt.com

Artist Bobby Williams presents a retrospective of his paintings depicting agricultural life on the Central Coast at Gallery Los Olivos during July 2024. Opening reception July 1, 5–7pm. 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos.

Maravilla

5486 Calle Real, Santa Barbara 805 321-6718

www.MarvillaSeniorLiving.com

Senior living in Santa Barbara. A sprawling 20-acre community of beautifully landscaped grounds bordered by mature eucalyptus and the San Jose Creek—within walking distance of prime shopping

districts. Experience the best in senior living with quality care and upscale amenities.

The National Heirloom Exposition

www.TheHeirloomExpo.com

The National Heirloom Exposition has been called “The World’s Fair of Pure Food.” It is the nation’s premier event for celebrating the history, preservation and cultivation of heirloom varieties free from genetic modification. The Expo will be held September 10, 11 and 12, 2024, at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and will feature an expo hall filled with displays, seed swap, tastings, lectures and panel discussions.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

1212 Mission Canyon Rd., Santa Barbara 805 682-4726

www.SBBotanicGarden.org

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is a 78-acre botanical garden containing over 1,000 species of rare and indigenous plants. In this living museum, every plant is part of a special collection of California’s native plants managed by their team of gardeners and horticulture professionals. Open daily 10am–5pm, reservations required.

SBCC Foundation

805 730-4401

www.SBCCFoundation.org

The SBCC Foundation has provided Santa Barbara City College with private philanthropic support for over 45 years, serving as the vehicle through which individuals and organizations may invest in the college and its students. The Foundation provides more than $5 million annually for the SBCC Promise, student success programs, scholarships, emergency grants and more— supporting SBCC students as they prepare for careers, transfer to four-year universities and pursue lifelong learning goals.

Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce

www.SBSCChamber.com

Representing 1,100 businesses and 75,000 jobs from Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta and everywhere in between, the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce is proud to advocate for business, support economic development and promote tourism and visitor services.

Summer’s Don’t-Miss-Dish

Moroccan Roasted Chicken and Chickpeas at

Still standing tall are the family trees planted by Joseph Sexton in the late 1880s, as is his historic house on Hollister Avenue in Goleta. But there’s something new and fresh here, with the recently remodeled Steward Hotel and its Terra restaurant. This spot tucked into lush gardens melds historic with modern, international with local, and down-home comfort with delightful and charming touches.

Chef Augusto Caudillo has taken the helm, after working as a private chef during the pandemic years and co-owning and running Scratch Kitchen in Lompoc before that.

Chef Caudillo’s style of cooking is hearty and unctuous, creating dishes to warm the soul. It appears tossed onto the plate in a pile of wild and delicious art. There’s also simplicity in the ingredients and organically driven menu, as well as a rustic feel. The philosophy of the restaurant is locally sourced food in a modern, coastal California cuisine, and Caudillo has the freedom to mix it up, buying ingredients and cooking whatever inspires him. He likes experimenting with substantial dishes that are satisfying, ecofriendly, low-impact, ancient and nutritious.

Caudillo is super excited by current American cooking. “I love that right now we have the best food we’ve ever had in America,

Terra Restaurant at the Steward Hotel

much higher quality, and sourced with a higher consciousness,” he says. “Chickpeas are underutilized in the American diet. They are a peasant food in many cultures, but they are so versatile, so hearty and delicious.”

He makes sure at least one central part of each dish is driven by local ingredients. For this warm dish of Moroccan-spiced chickpea salad with garden gremolata and yogurtmarinated chicken, the chicken and all the vegetables come from Jimenez Family Farms in the Santa Ynez Valley.

To make this dish, first marinate a whole chicken in Greek yogurt, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper overnight or a few hours. When ready to cook, don’t clean off chicken, but spread the yogurt to make sure it’s evenly coated, and roast it in the oven at 350°F for 50–90 minutes (depending on size) until done and crispy on the outside.

Add dried chickpeas and water to cover to a saucepan, along with Moroccan spices (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, garlic), onion, carrots and celery. Cook for about 25 minutes, until

al dente, then drain. Spread one-third of the peas in a baking pan; drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper; and bake until crispy. At the same time, roast cubed yellow or pattypan squash in olive oil, salt and pepper until browned.

Over medium heat, sauté the other twothirds of the chickpeas in Moroccan spices with chopped onion, garlic and butter. Take off the heat and add dandelion (or other) greens and arugula to the pan and stir until slightly wilted.

Make the garden gremolata by finely chopping broccoli, other greens, parsley, basil, pistachios, spinach, mint and garlic, then mixing this with hot pepper flakes, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and avocado oil.

Smear the gremolata over the plate, top with stewed chickpeas, olives, fresh tomatoes and cucumber. Place a quarter of the chicken on top, along with more gremolata and some crispy chickpeas.