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Life theArts
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023
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The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.
Baby artichokes
The artichokes are continuing to spike in great numbers at area farms, most notably prolific in the Lompoc area.
This week I purchased some petite baby artichokes from the Mendoza Family Farm, available at all weekly Santa Barbara certified farmers’ markets. Baby artichokes are quite easy to work with in the kitchen and are absent from that fuzzy pocket located throughout the central portion of the artichoke that is present in the larger specimens.
Baby artichokes can be steamed, fried, grilled, roasted as well as brinded or pickled. This week I prepared grilled baby artichokes as the Fix of the Week, on B2.
Arugula microgreens
I picked up some of these tiny arugula microgreens this week from Westland Floral, available at the Friday Montecito and Saturday Santa Barbara farmers’ markets.
They deliver a milder peppery flavor profile to the more fully developed arugula leaves we are more accustomed to, these greens are excellent for adding that signature refreshing flavor to salads, sandwiches, wraps, as well as a nice garnish. This week I used these arugula microgreens to top a homemade bruschetta over a toasted bread round.
A nutritionally packed food source, these greens are also nice over scrambled eggs and grain bowls. Price averages $3 per 1.75-ounce package.
Black garlic infused glacier
Drake Family Farms of Ontario California just rolled out this new variation of their signature glacier cheese, infused with black garlic. This goat cheese has a nice soft texture, which ripens as it ages, making it one of my goto options for a charcuterie platter. This cheese pairs very well with nuts, dried fruit, and tart apples.
All of Drake Family Farms cheese is produced from the goats on their property, made in small batches. The Drake Family Farm describes this cheese as a “mild bloomy rind soft goat milk cheese reminiscent of the finest Fresh bucheron but more dry to reflect our Southern California desert terroir.
You can find this new cheese offering at the Saturday Santa Barbara farmers’ market weekly. Price averages $15 per round.
Sam Edelman is general manager of the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market Association and host of “Farm to Table,” which airs live 9 a.m. Thursdays on KZSB AM 1290. Sam Edelman photos
