Pajaro Valley Magazine | July 24, 2020

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

A supplement to The Pajaronian

JULY 24, 2020

ZOOMING IN

Watsonville artist streams online classes from her home P4

THE MIXING BOWL P5 | WARGIN WINES P6 | PHOTO GALLERY P8

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JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Raeid Farhat Real Estate Inc

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raeidfarhat.com

MAGAZINE

21 Brennan St, Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831.761.7301

ABOUT THE

COVER

C

We are here for all your Real Estate needs

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Cover story

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The Mixing Bowl

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Wine

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Photo Gallery

10 Home & Garden CEO & Executive Editor

Dan Pulcrano Publisher

Jeanie Johnson Managing Editor

Tony Nuñez Contributing Writers

Tarmo Hannula Johanna Miller Sarah Ringler Advertising Account Executives

Tiffani Petrov Jazmine Ancira Lupita Ortiz

The housing inventory is at an all time low. This is having a great impact on property values. The supply and demand theory is in full swing, thus driving home values up. If you are considering selling or just want an idea of what your property value is in this current market, reach out to us.

Ed Gagné

Kathy Oliver

egagne@baileyproperties.com CalDRE# 01450406

koliver@baileyproperties.com CalDRE# 01116175

Realtor 831.254.1432

Realtor 831.206.2249

Ed Gagné Local Real Estate Specialist CA BRE #01450406

Honesty • Loyalty • Integrity Extensive local market knowledge!

Community Involvement for over 20 years

Design Director

Kara Brown Design Layout

Hon Truong Cover photograph by:

Tarmo Hannula

Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2020. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form prohibited without publisher’s written permission.

TO PLACE AN AD Email:

jjohnson@pajaronian.com Phone:

831.761.7301

Circle of Champions - Watsonville Office

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

reativity is alive and well for many during the coronavirus pandemic.

Whether it has become a way to express uncertainty or to escape the global crisis, artists and other creatives are finding ways to keep inspired despite the circumstances.

This week’s cover story from reporter Tarmo Hannula features Sefla Joseph, a Watsonville JOHANNA MILLER artist who has switched gears, adapting her private art classes to be accessible online through Zoom.

Joseph seems to be embracing the new format and finding a silver lining in distance learning.

The most important thing for her, she says, is keeping her students inspired.

But creativity does not only manifest through art. People are also pushing boundaries in other avenues—in writing, film, food, drink and more.

Wargin Wines’ Assistant Winemaker Brenton Jones recently created a brand new hopped wine (page 6), something he had always pondered experimenting with but hadn’t had the time until now.

I think both of these stories illustrate the ways in which human beings are capable of adjusting in times of great hardship.

This might not be the most productive time for everyone.

Many of us are struggling to just get through each day.

But it is inspiring to see how the crisis has expanded certain people’s minds, giving them time and clarity to explore new possibilities.

I for one am eager to see what they come up with next.

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ART

Brush strokes meet keystrokes Art classes in the time of Covid

BY TARMO HANNULA

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

S

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TRANSCENDENCE An artwork by

Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph.

earching for joy in the ongoing pandemic calls for a certain focus amidst the cascade of negative numbers such as death tolls, cases and recoveries.

Such is the case for Watsonville artist Sefla Joseph, who has had to reinvent her studio art classes and take them to the computer screen.

Now, from her Watsonville home, Joseph has welcomed about a half-dozen students for one hour sessions to share her skills with brushes, oils and canvas.

“I was teaching classes in abstract figurative painting to groups in my studio,” she says. “Since Covid, I now work one-on-one for one hour sessions on Zoom.

For some of these classes, I collaborate with artist Evelyn Markasky. She brings the wonderful art of contour drawing to these sessions.”

The online classes, “Deliberately Irrational,” operate through the online painting group Art73.org.

“Working with painters on Zoom has held surprises for me,” Joseph says. “The first was: I discovered I love teaching private sessions online. I think it is the intimate nature of the painting and drawing experience between myself as a mentor/teacher and the painter that is supported in a most unexpected way on ➝7

THE MIXING BOWL

Very sweet Greek-Jewish honey cake ingredients as are citrus and honey. Flavored waters like orange or rose water can be substituted with brandy or ginger syrup.

This is a very, very sweet cake. I think you could easily get away with one cup of sugar in the syrup. Two cups of sugar and three-quarters of a cup of honey in an eight by eight-inch cake seems a little excessive when you think about it. However, it is very good and best served warm with a little ice cream or milk. It also freezes well.

TISHPISHTI

Tarmo Hannula

T

SARAH RINGLER

he title of the cookbook where I got this recipe, “Jewish Cookery from Boston to Baghdad,” reflects the breadth of Jewish history from its origins in the Middle East to the diaspora, when Jews were forced from their homeland in search of other homes around the world.

Tishpishti, or tezpisti, is a typical Middle Eastern recipe that involves pouring a honey-based syrup over a previously baked cookie or cake, like baklava. The cookbook is by Malvina W. Liebman.

Accompanying the recipe was this humble note, “One of the most nostalgic and best known of Yiddish folk songs in “Rozinkes mit Mandles,” Raisins and almonds, and it has to do with a widow who is rocking her only son to sleep. Her lullaby predicts that he will earn his living by peddling raisins and almonds.”

Tishpishti traveled with the diaspora and there are many versions in Turkey, North Africa, Northern Spain, Greece and beyond, like Boston. Raisins and almonds are common

SYRUP 1 1/2 cup sugar 1⁄4 cup honey ½ cup water 1 lemon, juice of 2 tablespoons orange blossom water, or rose water Butter an 8-inch square baking pan and chop the almonds.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

In a medium saucepan combine butter, coffee, brandy (if desired), honey, sugar, cinnamon and allspice and bring to a boil.

When the mixture has boiled, remove from the heat and stir in the flour mixture to ➝7

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

TREAT TRIO The dense, chewy and sweet diamonds are best served warm with ice cream or milk.

2 cups flour, sifted ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, one cube 1 cup coffee, freshly brewed or 1⁄4 cup brandy and ¾ cup coffee 1/2 cup honey ½ cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/2 cup almonds, coarsely chopped ½ cup raisins whole almond, for decoration

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WINE

Tom Brezsny’s

REAL ESTATE OF MIND

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Multiple offers are a given in today’s market.

But that wasn’t always the case. In the old days, when properties were often on the market for three or four months, they were the exception rather than the rule.

The first inkling of a multiple-offer market in Santa Cruz came in the late ‘90s, right around the time we began to see our first few million dollar home sales. Before that, the notion of a million dollar home in Santa Cruz was an oxymoron of sorts.

That’s quite a contrast to the $900,000 median price figure for the homes sold here these days.

The late ‘90s was also when I first noticed that the kinds of questions open house goers were asking was undergoing a subtle shift. Up until then, the two standard things we always heard were: “Why are these people selling?” and “Where are these people going?”

They were harmless questions that functioned mostly as an icebreaker and/ or a tool to satisfy people’s innate curiosity.

But they also served a more veiled purpose. Potential buyers often asked them when they were trying to discern any hidden pressures or motivations that the sellers might be feeling. Things that might give them a leg up in any future negotiation.

Back then, buyers really were negotiating with sellers, rather than negotiating against other buyers like they are today. The offer process was usually pretty simple: a buyer would make an offer lower than the list price. The seller would counter. The buyer would then counter the counter. And finally seller and buyer would agree to split the difference and move forward. There was almost always some give and take involved. The list price was the starting point for paying less, not for paying more like it is today.

Somewhere along the way, the most frequent question buyers were asking changed. More people coming into our open houses wanted to know one simple thing: “How long has this house been on the market?”

Why the subtle change? Was there a veiled meaning behind it? Perhaps masking some larger shift in how the market worked? The answer was a resounding Yes! It wasn’t a coincidence that buyers were starting to focus on how long any given listing had been on the market.

Turns out that as prices continued to rise and the pace of real estate continued to accelerate, Days on Market, or DOMs as they are fondly referred to in today’s real estate lingo, were becoming the most crucial thing that mattered for buyers who were trying to figure out whether any negotiation on a property was even possible.

Next Week: More on the importance of DOMs.

Tom Brezsny

Realtor® DRE#01063297

831-818-1431 getreal@serenogroup.com PA I D A D V E R T O R I A L

Watsonville winery now offering refillable growlers

By JOHANNA MILLER

W

argin Wines’ Assistant Winemaker Brenton Jones says he is ready to shake up the wine industry.

“When I look at the industry as a whole… it’s pretty set in its ways,” Jones says. “It gets stuck in a box— especially when you look at what breweries are doing, or the current hard seltzer boom.”

This has led Jones, 24, to create a new wine using Wargin Wines’ Greco di Tufo and infusing it with hops. Jones came across a homebrew section in a local liquor store, and eventually he and winery owners Mikael and Denise Wargin began to experiment.

“I’ve wanted to do a hopped Greco for a while now,” Jones says.

“When the current lockdown hit, we thought, ‘Well, we have nothing else going on.’ So we got to work.”

The winery has since done four different versions of the Hopped Greco. Each one has a different level of hops, and thus changes the taste, Jones says.

“I’m learning a lot more about beer and how hops can affect flavor,” he says, adding that he is looking into doing a blend with red wine as well.

For now, though, the Greco di Tufo—which is made from Greco, an Italian wine grape—has worked.

“Greco works really well for this kind of experiment,” Mikael Wargin says. “It’s a dense, citric

Johanna Miller

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Provoking thought since 1990

Wargin Wines introduces new Hopped Greco

HOPPED WHITE Wargin Wines’ new Hopped Greco is available to take home in a 750 ml growler. white that really stands up to the hops… it’s not overwhelmed.”

The Hopped Greco has led to another new addition at Wargin Wines: refillable growers. Wines can now be purchased in 750ml glass growlers—the equivalent of a standard wine bottle—and then brought back to be refilled. Customers receive a $5 deposit whenever they return the growler.

“It’s pretty cool,” Wargin says. “It started with just the Hopped Greco but then we thought, ‘Wait a minute, this is a really cost efficient, easy system.’ So we started filling [the growlers] with other wines.”

The growler program has been dubbed “Vino Sfuso,” which literally means “loose wine” in Italian.

Wargin says that it is a common

practice in Italy, with customers filling up home containers for the week.

“It’s much more of a direct transaction,” he says.

As for the future of Wargin Wines’ Hopped series, Jones said they have no plans to stop experimenting.

“Wine needs to be more interesting,” Jones says. “For young people, especially… they might start forgetting about wine, preferring other things. I want them to see its possibilities.”

Wargin Wines is open for outdoor tasting at its Watsonville and Soquel locations, by appointment only. For information and to place wine orders visit warginwines.com.

ART

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Zoom. I certainly could not explain why this works, but this is how it feels to me.”

Joseph said Zoom classes are a near-perfect fit for “intimate contact” with her students.

“I believe in the process of creativity,” she said. “While in the process of creating a piece of art, one steps out of time, and there is only the moment. This moment is so rich because it is full of possibilities, and the painter and I enter into this process of ‘What if?’: ‘What if I tried this? What if I let something go?’ There is an intimacy happening with another human being that feeds the soul through this act of creation.”

Joseph, 78, whose work has been displayed in countless exhibits around the county, from the R. Blitzer Gallery on the Westside of Santa Cruz to Pajaro Valley Arts in Watsonville, said she has been an artist “all my life.” She has shown her work in the annual Open Studios art Tour for 20 years and has taught classes and workshops locally, in the Bay Area and internationally. Her exhibits have also spanned the globe.

“My passion is teaching and helping my students to find their authentic voice,” she said. “The silver lining of these times has been that I am having opportunities to know my students in a different way, and as a result, I can also support their work in a deeper way.”

Joseph, who was born in Montréal, said she is hoping to have a virtual show with completed

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form a smooth thick batter.

Fold in the raisins and chopped almonds.

Using a rubber spatula, smooth the batter into the 8-inch baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan. With a sharp knife, cut diagonally about ½ inch into the batter to mark diamond shaped pieces. Press an almond into each diamond and bake in a preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Do not permit the cake to dry out. Cool for five minutes.

To view Joseph’s art, visit https://seflajoseph.com and for information, contact her by email at sefla@seflajoseph.com, or by phone at 831-295-3922.

Meanwhile, bring the sugar, water, honey, and brandy to a quick boil; stir and remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice and orange blossom water.

With a sharp knife, completely cut through the hot cake to the bottom of the pan where you made the original marks.

Spoon the syrup over the cake so that it is well covered and is absorbed between the pieces and around the edges.

Return to the warm oven for five minutes; remove and let cool.

Let stand overnight so that the flavor and texture can mellow.

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JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

MIXING BOWL

works by students online in the near future.

“This time of Covid has put me into a state of gestation, and many ideas are percolating,” she says. “I began to work with contour drawing, thanks to Evelyn's inspiration. I find the contours relaxing, fun, and interesting in unexpected ways. Now I am finally painting again, and the work is definitely reflecting how I am feeling at this time. My palette has changed: it is full of many shades of grays, blacks, and umbers, and juxtaposed with brushstrokes of unexpected colors. Even the layering process that I use is expressing itself in a deeper way.

It feels authentic and holds a truth for me.”

Joseph said she feels that creativity, like her painting, helps people build coping skills and resilience in a trying time.

“I believe we are bearing witness to an extraordinary moment in the world, and our challenge is to find our footing in this process,” she says.

“It is our individual and collective creativity that will see us through these times. This is our time to ripen, as Buffy St. Marie says.”

Through her classes, Joseph said she hopes her students will “learn to imagine possibilities and create in the face of ambiguity… and perhaps see the world in a different way.”

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PHOTO GALLERY

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Tarmo Hannula

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to tnunez@pajaronian.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 14, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

SPLASH ZONE A short-beaked common dolphin leaps from the water

just off the shore at It’s Beach on the west side of Santa Cruz.

Johanna Miller

SEA CLIFFS Waves crash into Pescadero State Beach

along the Pacific Coast Highway.

DUCKS IN A ROW A female mallard leads her string of ducklings along

the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz.

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Tarmo Hannula

Tarmo Hannula

BASKET BUNDLE Fresh eggs are collected

at a Santa Cruz home.

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SEA VIEW This custom home in Watsonville borders Manresa Beach

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JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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PRINT & DIGITAL

Custom-made Mediterranean homestead Watsonville property overlooks ocean

T

Account Executive 831.761.7314 | tpetrov@pajaronian.com

his custom Watsonville home, with ocean views, borders Manresa Beach State Park.

Located at 69 Crest Drive, the 3,742-square-foot home includes four bedrooms and four baths.

The custom, Mediterranean-style home, which sits on two-and-ahalf acres, was originally built in 2006 by the contractor-owner as his own residence. As such, it has many custom features including radiant heat, exterior stucco and

tile roof with copper gutters and downspouts.

The home features an open kitchen-living area, two master suites, one with an ocean view, private ocean view patios and threecar garage. It is zoned for a large second guest unit, and has room for a small vineyard.

It is listed at $2,250,000 by Century 21 Sandcastle Realty. For information, visit tinyurl.com/ y7wbrs7x.

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WINDOWS

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YARD MAINTENANCE

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(831) 722-3242

FOR SALE — Lovely move in condition 2 bedroom home in the Bay Village community. Newly remodeled bathroom with large walk in shower, designer tiles and solid surface counter.

Enjoy the updated kitchen with white cabinets, granite counters and tile backsplash. Double pane windows throughout, beautiful wooden laminate floors and new carpet in the bedrooms. Sit under the covered patio while enjoying the easy care sun filled yard with plenty of room for your flowers and vegetable garden. Must be 55/45 to live in this community which is close to shopping and the new Staff Of Life grocery store that will be opening soon.

Please contact Listing Agent John Skillicorn at 831-818-1540 with any questions.

JOHN SKILLICORN Realtor®

831-818-1540 | www.JohnSkillicorn.com | johnskillicorn@att.net

CALBRE #01875872

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

479 Vivienne Drive Watsonville

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– Sarah Cannabis Consultant

JULY 24 - 30, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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