Summerland Buzz
Show a Little Local Love
Hey Summerland and beyond, time to show a little love to Summerland Beach Café. The café is open for take-out (8 am – 3 pm) and will deliver to Summerland! Their ever-popular Hamburger Tuesday is still on ($6.99/half price), so order burgers for the family, your neighbors, or someone who may be shut in alone. The café has been a popular Sunday breakfast spot for many after attending church. While you may be able attend church virtually, you can’t eat virtually nor can many restaurants survive on virtual customers. Check the full menu at www.summerlandbeachcafe.com. Call for take-out orders and help support this longtime Summerland institution and the hard-working new owner Pancho Lopez. (805) 969-1019.
by Leslie A. Westbrook A third-generation Californian, Leslie, currently resides in Carpinteria but called Summerland home for 30 years. The award-winning writer assists clients sell fine art, antiques and collectibles at auction houses around the globe. She can be reached at LeslieAWestbrook@gmail.com or www.auctionliaison
Closed in the Time of Corona The prayer flags still fly at the closedoff parking lot, shop, and gardens at Sacred Space in Summerland (photo by Leslie Westbrook)
A
s I waltzed through the mostly empty streets of Summerland this past Sunday, the cowboy ballad “The Cowboys Lament” (aka “Streets of Loredo”) came to mind:
“As I walked out on the streets of Laredo. As I walked out on Laredo one day, I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen, Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay…”
I did spy two couples walking hand in hand, as well as two fellas perched atop a pile of firewood at Summerland Liquor (which remains open). Many places of business are shuttered, some with signs posted – The Nugget: Closed Until Further Notice. Summerland Presbyterian Church: sermons online. Field + Fort: Closed. A Sacred Space: beautiful, but closed. Rusty’s Pizza in the old Stacky’s: closed, but a new sign offers up hope. Only Tinker’s, Summerland Beach Café, and Red Kettle remain open, so far, for vittles. Summerland Liquor is also open. Carpinteria has many nearby restaurants that deliver and/or are open for pick up. Thario’s Kitchen on Santa Claus Lane is making terrific lasagna trays and daily specials and safe physical distancing pick-up from Thais and Mario who are trying to keep the doors open. Delgado’s, if you’re craving Mexican food, has pick-up and delivery, regular menu and family size portions including taco kits and soup combos. Siam Elephant, for delicious Thai cuisine, delivers. For a complete list, join the Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce’s Takeout and Delivery Options Facebook page.
Keepin’ it Sweet
Sweet Wheel Farms & Flowers just set up shop again in Summerland this week at 2285 Lillie Avenue in the lot across from the Summerland Beach Café. They too are offering free delivery in Summerland. The cart sells organic produce (posted daily on their website www.sweetwheelfarms. com), farm boxes, and homemade sourdough breads (plain and organic honey wheat orange) made in conjunction with Summerland’s Beach Cottage Confections. Call 805-770-3677 for next day delivery and/or more info. “Adam’s Angels” has grown to 50 Sweet Farms cart in Summerland (photo by Leslie volunteers, including a bread maker Person Ryan) and a psychologist. The bread baker is seeking a loaner breadmaking machine to double her output. Contact CarpBreadLove@gmail.com. Adam, who has been making daily Costco runs and is delivering everything from water to adult diapers to the housebound in need, reports a website is in the works for volunteers and recipients. In the meantime, call Adam McKaig (805) 452-6884.
40 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Cooking Through Corona
The buildings have emptied at 101 Innovation Place – the QAD campus atop Ortega Hill – but the staff of five and volunteers at ShelterBox, the global non-profit whose U.S. staff normally does their good deeds from the building that once housed the original Josten’s college ring manufacturing facility, are spreading a little recipe Cooking Through Corona Summerland particilove on their Facebook page. A chili pants and ShelterBox supporters, mom Deborah cookoff is in the works and you’re Liu and daughter Rae Fox. Rae is a volunteer with ShelterBox and attends Cate School. invited to enter: virtually. ShelterBox’s work of helping refugees around the globe is far from over, but USA President Kerri Murray and her team of supporters have come up with a “novel” idea in the meantime: Cooking in the time of Corona on their Facebook page. ShelterBox brings emergency supplies and shelter to those who have been displaced due to disaster and conflict across the world. Kerri reports: “It’s been ten years since the war in Syria started, and of the one million people that have been displaced in Syria, 80% are women and children.” Committed to continue to help throughout this pandemic, the organization has been nominated for two Nobel Prizes. ShelterBox has sheltered 250,000 families with not only tents, but solar lights and also important, stainless steel cooking equipment, which is what inspired the cooking videos. “The most frequent thing I hear is that the ShelterBox stainless steel cook pots, bowls and utensils provide a huge level of certainty and restores a sense of normalcy. Cooking and sharing a meal can connect families through a crisis,” notes Kerri, “Food is a great equalizer… that insight from the field led us to create the Facebook page to connect people through food!” ShelterBox’s “Cooking Through Corona” page’s first guest chef, Leslie Zemeckis, shared her secret recipe for Contagion Cupcakes, while Summerland mother/daughter team Deborah Liu and Rae Fox (a ShelterBox summer intern and a junior at Cate School) offer their recipes for Yaki Soba Noodles and Lentil and Squash Stew. “There have been lots of requests for a global isolation chili cookoff,” Kerri said, which will be launched soon. There are even prizes for contributors! John McGovern of Summerland says he’s ready to enter his chili recipe… so dust off your best recipes, turn on your video phones and share your fav recipes on the Cooking Through Corona Facebook page: facebook.com/cookingthroughcoro na. For more info on ShelterBox, go to shelterboxusa.org. The local chapter’s full-time paid staff of five is growing to ten, so there could be work opportunities for those displaced from their own jobs. ShelterBox also welcomes volunteers and utilizes college interns from Westmont, SBCC, and Cate School.
What Goes with Chili? Beer!
Island Brewing Company recently introduced same-day beer delivery for Summerland (and Carp) residents. Orders placed before 2 pm are delivered the same day between 4-7 pm, orders placed after 2 pm come the next day. All beer must be dropped off with an individual who can display legal ID of being 21+ years old, no porch drop-offs. There’s a $5 delivery fee, but for orders over $30, use code DELIVERY2020 at checkout for free delivery. Visit islandbrewingcom pany.com/delivery or call 805-745-8272 for more information.
A Final Thought
If you haven’t joined Facebook, this might be a good time to reconsider doing so.The platform is providing a vital lifeline and information platform for many – as well as some happy distractions and places to share valuable information from trustworthy sources. Just be sure to check the source! •MJ
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman
2 – 9 April 2020
