Welcome to Lily Belli on Food, a weekly food-focused newsletter from Lookout’s food and drink correspondent, Lily Belli. Keep reading for the latest local food news for Santa Cruz County – plus a few fun odds and ends from my own life and around the web.
… Pop-up crab traps – also called “ropeless” or “on-demand” – will be available to all commercial crabbers in California for the first time starting next year for the spring fishing season, following four years of testing and a “wildly successful” trial this past spring, according to Oceana, the nonprofit involved with the effort.
The pop-up traps represent a potential solution to a decadelong crisis that has had an enormous economic impact on the local Dungeness crab industry. As whale activity along the coast has increased, so has the animals’ contact with fishers. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has responded by shortening the crab season on both ends in an effort to keep fishing lines out of the water. Meanwhile, conservationists and crabbers have struggled to find a solution that protects both sea life and fishers’ livelihoods.
The technology offers hope for economic revival in fishing industries on the Central Coast hit hard by years of restrictions on Dungeness crab season because of whale entanglements, while also promising to protect marine life and bring more local seafood to Santa Cruz County plates.
“If you can fish in a whale-safe way, it really is a win-win for everybody,” said Geoff Shester, Oceana’s California campaign director and senior scientist. Read the full story here.
… Anyone else’s garden exploding right now? I have just the thing to help. Santa Cruz Mountains-based chef Molly Bravo, head of catering company Wylder Space, wrote the book on how to preserve the bounty of the season. “The Essential Canning Cookbook,” released by HarperCollins this month, is a colorful, inspiring how-to on canning fruits, vegetables and even meat using the hot water bath method on the stove and pressure canning.
There is a smorgasbord of ideas in here for jams, pickles and sauces, from peach salsa and braising greens to bone broth and marinara, with clear instructions. Bravo invites even those uninitiated into the world of food preservation to dive in, and believes the benefits go beyond a well-stocked pantry. “Each recipe, each technique, each bit of preserved wisdom is a small act of rebellion against a system that wants us to be dependent on industrial food and industrial schedules,” she wrote in the introduction.
Bravo is also hosting “old-fashioned canning circles” every Monday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. for $10 per person. Guests can join in person in Scotts Valley or virtually from anywhere. More info at wylderspace.com.
… Cheers to two Capitola businesses that closed this week. After six years, Capitola Wine Bar in Capitola Village has poured its last pinot. On Thursday, the wine bar announced on Instagram and Facebook that they would close after a “last hurrah” on Saturday night. In the post, owners Doug and Ann Marie Conrad said that they are moving to Murphys, a small Gold Rush-era town in the Sierra Nevada foothills – and, coincidentally, my hometown – and plan to open a wine bar there. Go visit them at their new digs at 472 Main St.
And Roux Dat, a Cajun-Creole restaurant in the Brown Ranch Marketplace shopping center, dished up its last po’boys and bowls of jambalaya on Monday. Owner Chad Glassley announced on July 11 on the restaurant’s Instagram page that he would close the doors of the 11-year-old restaurant by mid-August, and thanked customers for their support. “When we first opened, I believed the recipes and menu were the most important aspects of the restaurant. A decade later, I’ve learned that I was mistaken. The most crucial part of having a restaurant is the relationships forged along the way,” said Glassley in the post.
ON THE MENU
With inflation and rising operating costs driving up prices at restaurants, finding a satisfying meal at a budget-friendly price can feel like two opposing ideas. But there are still some great deals to be found locally. My next guide, on the best eats in Santa Cruz County for $10 or less, will prove it. I’m including full meals that won’t leave you hungry, and avoiding deals that are available only at certain times or days. And I’m personally trying each one to make sure that you, dear reader, get the best of the best. Watch for the guide later this month, and email me suggestions at lily@lookoutlocal.com.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Support the Center for Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz at Farm to Fork on Saturday, Sept. 6. The evening starts with a reception and four-course benefit dinner with local wines from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Farm, an agrarian classroom. As the sun sets, guests can head to the nearby Hay Barn for live music, dancing and dessert starting at 7 p.m. Tickets to the dinner are $225 per person, and tickets to the barn dance only are $30.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
I intentionally didn’t plant any zucchini in the garden this year because my father-in-law, who lives 10 minutes away from me, planted three, which is enough to feed an army at the height of summer. In doing so, I thought I had avoided the phase of summer gardening where you’re staring at your vegetables with resentment because they just won’t stop producing. Too many zucchini is a drag, but too many tomatoes, eggplants or chiles? That I’m OK with.
But my lemon cucumber is laughing at me. My one, single plant makes yellow, baseball-sized fruit like it has something to prove, like it’s the last lemon cucumber on the planet and it’s up to it to save the entire lemon cucumber population. I swear I pick six to eight a day. I’ve given them to neighbors, made two gallons of pickles, eaten them as snacks, made them into tzatziki and chopped them into salads for weeks now. I like cucumbers, but my entire family is sick of the sight of them, and I have about 15 taking up space in my vegetable crisper. Does anyone have any good recipes that will help me get through this difficult time?
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Remember that article in The Atlantic last October that told everyone to throw out their black plastic cooking utensils because they were made from cancer-causing materials? It caused a minor hysteria in the food world, but it turns out the toxicity was miscalculated by a factor of 10. Some scientists now give black plastic the OK, while others say any level of toxins in cookware is too high. (The Strategist)
➤ It’s the lobster roll’s world, and we’re all just living in it. Americans are in love with this simple, buttery sandwich, and some schedule vacations around eating it. Former food critic Pete Wells traveled to coastal Maine to look behind the curtain of the vibrant industry, spending time at a booming seaside restaurant and exploring the traditional lifestyle of lobster fishers. (The New York Times)