Dear Readers, It has been a busy month. We just had our fall Dinner Market, I hope some of you were there. As much as I love the Dinner Markets and the concept of community coming together to eat good food outside, it is a lot of work. For months I worked on every detail. I made up the recipes for the desserts and appetizers that I wanted to sell, I painted a sign with all the items we were offering and the prices. I ordered umbrellas, I designed the layout, the poster, talked with the press, organized the vendors, I worked all the permits so that we could drink wine and beer outside, and I practiced with my band to sing four songs.I think that I finally realized that I cannot do all the things I want to do for you all at the same time. It is just too hectic. I am the organizer as well as a vendor and this time I was roped in to being an entertainer too. I thought I was going to spin out of control. The whole event was over before I realized that my friend had made the sign for the rice croquettes on the back of a brown paper bag with RICE CROQUETTES written on it with a sharpie. I wanted to die, but honestly no one but me cared that much that it looked like HELL. (At least I hope no one else cared). What was wrong with the sign I had spent so much time on? And where was it?

But really the Dinner Market was amazing. The thirteen vendors who came together presented the most amazing food. The wineries and the brewery were pouring drinks and people showed up with their plates and utensils ready to join the party.

Oh another wacky thing that we did was to make it a waste free event. This I realized the hard way is impossible. The fact that so many people brought their own plates, utensils and glasses, itself was impressive. I was hard core and wanted to be WASTE FREE. That meant dessert on plates that had hunan bar-b-qued rib sauce on it and sticky hands with no more napkins. The irony was that the bakery was open and that isn’t waste free, we have paper napkins and plastic cups inside, why did I feel like I had to hold the line outside? All I can think is that my brain was on overdrive. I have spent the last four nights waking in the wee hours going over and over the concept of waste free and wondering why I thought that was a good idea in the first place. I guess my idealism got away from me and my practical mind went on vacation. Waste free what does that even mean? It was plenty that people carried all their own plates, utensils and glasses, I could have allowed them a dessert plate and a paper napkin. Sorry all of you that fell into my momentary activism.

I did sing. I didn’t want to. I was praying up to the last minute that my band would change their minds and not want to perform. Mike, our banjo player broke his foot the week before and I thought this was my out. I am sorry Mike, but I was counting on your foot to keep me off the stage. My band mates are all successful business people for a reason, they are persistent. Little things like broken feet don’t stop them. As I was running around placing vendors in their booths and making sure everyone had an umbrella, as well as getting my own “brown paper bag, waste free” booth together, my band mates showed up with the PA system. I knew I was stuck then. Pete, the mandolin player got everything set up and then asked me to get my music stand. I did a ninja jump into the bakery, grabbed the stand, passed it to Pete and was on my way to coordinate the volunteers who were working the entrances.

Pete was determined to play when the Dinner Market opened at 4 o’clock. I was coming around the corner carrying a tray of chocolate cupcakes and Pete was standing at the mic starting to sing. I was wondering if he had decided to sing and let me off the hook. I set down the tray of cupcakes and walked up to the mic and started singing the song. All my nerves melted away and the songs poured out. I was singing to the people I love. Luckily a crowd of my groupie friends made it all the easier. I just watched them and I knew it was all okay. I was so happy. I have been waiting all my life for that moment, thank-you all for listening. Even Mark liked it. He had told me it was a bad business decision to sing to our customers, the whole captive audience thing and all.

The real band played after us and entertained the crowd with jazz favorites. Children sat and played on blankets next to tables where their parents were eating great food and drinking wine. The band played on, the twilight came upon us and slowly, reluctantly the crowds packed up their plates and utensils and walked home. Mark spent some hours with Susan and Simon, taking down the fencing and Amy and I tore down the booth and cleaned the dishes.

When I do it again I think I will only sell rice croquettes displayed with the most beautiful sign you will ever see.

Post a comment

^ Top

I am so looking forward to butternut squash soup tonight. I know that the weather has warmed up again, after that nasty rain, but I am still craving a warm cozy soup dinner. When Mark worked at Chez Panisse, he taught me how to make pureed soups. I was so thrilled that they we so full of flavor and didn’t have cream in them. I never liked the creamy soups.

This pureed delicacy is especially true of butternut squash. The creaminess comes from the flesh of the squash itself and it is as rich as if there was cream in it. It is true that most vegetables lend themselves to pureed soups, but in some like fennel, a potato has to be added to get the right consistency. Lemon juice at the end is another important ingredient. The tiny bit of acid helps to bring out the flavors. It isn’t necessary to strain a butternut squash soup, but other pureed vegetable soups are because they might be stringy or have seeds or skins that may ruin the texture.

In the beginning I used a food processor to puree the soups and it was a mess. Then I discovered the immersion blender. This is truly my most favorite tool in my kitchen. It is so efficient. I use a deep pot to cook the soup and then I puree it in the pot. If it is a soup that I have to strain, I pour the pureed soup though a mesh colander and then clean out the pot and put the soup back in to season and warm it up.

Butternut Squash Soup

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 butternut Squash
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 pear
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 spring rosemary
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Tb lemon juice

Peel the skin of the butternut squash with a potato peeler or carefully with a knife
Cut in half and clean out the seeds and discard the seeds
Cut inside flesh into 2 inch pieces.
Peel the pear , seed and cut into 6 pieces
Saute the onion in olive oil
Add the butternut squash pieces and the pear pieces
Add the chicken stock and rosemary.
Cook until the squash is tender
Let cool a bit and remove the rosemary sprig
Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor
Put back into the pot and season with salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Add water if it is too thick at this time.
Serve hot with a sprinkling of fresh chopped herbs or some grated parmesan

^ Top

Dinner Market October 24 Saturday, 4pm-7pm

October 24th we are having another Dinner Market. This will be the same theme as the June Dinner Market with the addition of a few additional favorites. Those will include the Omei Restaurant, Ristorante Avanti, and our old Aptos neighbors and co-workers from the Chez Panisse days, Carried Away. The other vendors are the same as the June Dinner Market, Feast for a King Catering , Bonny Doon The Cellar Door, Woodfire Woodie Pizza, Nuevo Southwest Cafe,Everett Family Farm, H&H Fish, New Leaf Community Markets, Oso Velloso, and of course us, Kelly’s French Bakery. There are also the participating wineries and brewery, Pelican Ranch Winery, Sones Cellars, Vino Tabi Winery, Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz Mountain Winery, Silver Mountain Winery, and Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery.

So....come on down between 4pm and 7pm on Saturday October 24th with your plates, utensils and glasses and eat dinner with your friends. We will have more food and more tables and chairs. We just were not ready for the crowds last time, we were only expecting a couple hundred and wonderfully you all showed up. Well, we will be ready this time, I promise!

We are joined by Save Our Shores and will be donating some of the money to this wonderful organization. They help keep us aware of how much we need our ocean and how much our ocean needs us to help keep it healthy.

^ Top