Best of 2014

 A favorite Easter snack of fresh green figs wrapped in smoked proscuito and grilled Tuscan bread with black truffle oil and white truffle cheddar cheese.  A champagne Mimosa to compliment the flavors of earth and smoke.  

Shades of Easter 2014 at the Wharfside Marketplace and an Edible Monterey Tasting event hosted by the Antles and their fine staff at their new location at the old Monterey Train Station now promoting the Bounty of the County with their local seafood market, fresh from the Salinas Valley Farms 'local produce & fruits', cheeses and a wall of beers to meet at taste a local or visitor would want to have at the Wharfside of old Monterey.

Edible Monterey Editor & Publishers, Sarah Wood and Rick Wood happy to enjoy Pebble Beach Food and Wine April 2014 at the Grand Tasting and looking like they've been thru the 4 tents and umpteen wines, spirits, beers and champagnes by the look of the smiles on their faces.  See you all there next year.

Home made Easter eggs (we didn't lay them NO chickens allowed in PG by law and only Carmel can now have a rooster - go figure?)  but these are died in natural beet juices and colored by wax crayons.

So it's Pebble Beach Food and Wine coming up this April for another year of stargazing chefs and delights beyond the realm of what most diners can call food.  We love our food with wine and there is sure to be plenty of it at this amassing of foodies who are devoted to what is now known as the number one - #1 that is in the world - BEST WINES IN THE WORLD! from Monterey County Vintners who have long been my fav in the world of fermented grapes AKA wines from Galante's Black Jack Vineyard Cabernet to Georis ' Sauvignon  Blanc then there's  Bernardus's  Sauvignon Blanc  and last but not least the end of the list but actually one of my favorite of wines as it is so easy on the palette and goes with everything from grilled lamb to a white fish with flavors that bring out the best of the dish.  That is a rare wine indeed in my book, none other than Morgan's Cote de Crox and on and on we could go.  Anyone who lives here or visits for more than a day or two knows we have substantially great wine in our midst.   Since there is a good deal of that wealth of good wines in Carmel Valley and beyond the mid-valley of fine grapes coming from the Santa Lucia Mountains that now are getting their due in respect world wide.  The new designature by wine enthusiasts will make it a bit more crowded at the tasting rooms and at these tastings - all the more reason to join their wine clubs and memberships to benefit from rare offerings and good prices from most of the top vintners are all about email blasts and informing you of their pairing events and special wine room invites to sample great food and wines.

Taking the trip at this time of spring has the advantage of good prices and less tourists so with the coming of Easter and sprouts of young vines showing their new crop of arms and legs.  Take to the Santa Lucia Mountain wineries with abandon and eat and drink the revolution of Earth and it's amazing fruits.  Enjoy and eat revolution!

Eating The Season

After growing up with a big backyard garden in the farming area of upstate New York, we learned to appreciate the ripening of vegetables and fruits in season and anxiously awaited their due dates like babies coming into the world.  Their arrival signified wonderful dishes of aromas and flavors that I can still taste in my mouth today, some 30 years later.

Eating seasonal produce is the natural way to eat and is how it was meant to be.  We weren't suppose to have melon in winter and apples in the spring.  Mother Nature has her own timing and growth cycles that are varied by the movement of the Earth, the stars and the atmosphere creating weather patterns that fuel the growing of our foods.  Some of us heed the rules of nature and respect them, follow them with religion and find ways to support the system that has survived many cultures and societies.  Some of us don't listen and continue to fight the natural path, changing what is healthy practices and foods into poisons that cause unhealthy bodies, diseases and death.  This is a highly debated subject but the end result is the same.  Growing and preparing healthy natural foods is essential to our lives and our health and longevity.  That being said - we need to go back to the garden and begin again in our society if we are to last on this Earth and if our wildlife is to remain a part of our culture - we need to respect it and protect it, whether we eat meat or not - they need to be considered to be part of our society to exist with balance and a purpose.

This has been one of my big thoughts for the way I live and plan my garden and foods.  My bunnies provide the best in fertilizers but I am plagued with no sun and wet weather in PG so I'm looking for the sunny patch in Carmel Valley now and ready to rent out the beach house for vacationers to walk to Pebble Beach golf or down to the Aquarium now while I watch the garden grow in the rich sun of the valley.  Still looking for the right spot but when I do, I'll be sure to balance my animals with my plants so that both benefit from the bounty of Mother Earth.

By the way check out edible Monterey Bay that has great articles on artisan foods and growers in our area.