Boris Tyomkin, Dylan Morgan and Dag Weiser are showing some fresh paint on canvas – an experimental mix full of attitude and gusto – at the Michaelangelo Gallery on River Road, at the edge of Santa Cruz, starting June 1. Not what you expect. Check it out.
Cocoa d’Arriba is yet another designer chocolate bar, priced at just under $3 and situated near enough to the check out lanes to tempt even the St. Anthony’s among us. We succumbed. At 77% cocoa and inflected with orange liqueur, this elite treat is ultra smooth and creamy. But the high cocoa content proves the downfall – at least in terms of enjoyability. Mono-dimensional in taste and almost unrecognizable as chocolate, this product lacks the balance between cocoa and butterfat to satisfy our chocolate desire. So there you are.
However, a sensational bar of pure dark chocolate – 61% cacao – from the house of Guittard (founded in San Francisco in 1868) proved almost perfect. Almost. The balance was exceptional, and yet, somehow the overall chemistry was not complete.
THE BEST! That’s when we discovered the electrifying Scharffen berger Semi-Sweet chocolate,
with 62% cacao. This elegant, $3.50 slice of heaven, hit every note. Substantial with a hint of creaminess, it started beautifully, opened into tangerine notes, and finished with a touch of honey. Absolutely perfect balance, and the company gets highest marks for using – and proudly printing on the label – non-GMO soy lecithin. Check out the labels of everything you’re tempted to purchase. If it’s got “soy” in any form, chances are it’s already been genetically modified. Franken food is everywhere – be vigilant. And while you’re on the anti-Monsanto path, fuel up on this glorious chocolate from Scharffen Berger. Stupendous chocolate any way you bite it.
Grilled sea scallops on a bed of Israeli cous cous, with ultra fresh snap peas and fava beans, micro bits of Meyer lemon all tossed in olive oil and Meyer lemon juice, with nano-strips of fresh basil. It is literally the month of May on a plate. Thanks to Avanti chef Ben Sims, who has other such goodies up his seasonal sleeve.
How unfair that we compare gluttonous humans to pigs! Pigs are absolutely sensational creatures — playful, intelligent and curly-tailed. I love pigs and I love pork. So that means I was curious to see TLC Ranch, home to a hundred free-spirited, free-range pigs. TLC Ranch overlooks the pastoral paradise that lies somewhere between Aromas and Watsonville. On the generous easements of a 200 acre spread, rancher Jim Dunlop raises hundreds of chickens, lambs and pigs. Big fat gorgeous Berkshire and Blue Butt pigs. All of these animals live in ways that would make even animal liberationist Peter Singer happy. The word “free-range” doesn’t begin to describe the prime wandering, foraging, rooting and lazing around Dunlop’s animals enjoy on their idyllic acreage.
I’d been interested in the pastured products of TLC Ranch since discovering them at the farmers markets last year, so I jumped at the chance to join a dozen or so folks, plus plenty of kids, for a walking tour of the Ranch, which is tucked into acres devoted to horses, organic strawberries and raspberries. Under the oaks, nestling in the soft dark forest floor of ponderosa groves, the fabulous pigs slept, ran around and rolled in deep troughs filled with mud. Weighing in at up to 400 pounds, the animals forage their way through one section of the property, and then are moved to another where their ability to eat anything is put to good use. Dunlop describes them in colorful ranchers’ terms, as “bulldozers with manure spreaders on the back.” (more…)
If you’ve never indulged in the exquisite sensory array of one of the “Outstanding in the Field” farm dinners, you have missed something wonderful. Imagine dining at a long, linen-draped table, placed out in the open next to a swath of atmospheric fields. Now add a variety of local wines, complete with local winemaker to discuss them — add five courses, each one paired to a wine, and to the season. Each course prepared on site, with chatty tasting notes from the chef. Complete the picture with 60 or so vivacious fellow diners, each one of them as seduced by the beautiful setting and the robust flavors as you are – and you have something close to the picture.
On July 1, this long, leisurely, utterly memorable moveable feast unfurls at Route One Farms, just north of Santa Cruz (seen above in the photo by earth entrepreneuse Tana Butler). Foods prepared by the expert hands of Oswald chef Damani Thomas will be matched by wines from Zayante Vineyards, presented by winemaker Kathleen Starkey. Your farm host for the afternoon will be Jeff Larkey, and a tour of the fertile fields is included in the $150 per person price. The event begins at 4pm, with wine, munchies and the start of the tour. This summer is the time to treat yourself to the ultimate experience in fresh, fresh, fresh flavors. How fresh? Well, you will be literally dining in the very fields that produced your salad. That’s how fresh.
For the complete 2007 Season schedule of al fresco dinners, go to the “Outstanding in the Field” website and make plans! These matchless multi-course culinary odysseys sell out quick – so get moving!
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.