Now’s the time for fresh olallieberries to eat out of hand, to make jam or to bake pies and cobblers.
But there’s another fab way to enjoy the sweet-tangy flavors of these plump berries.
Luis Moro Chocolate of Santa Cruz has a lovely new bonbon made with olallieberries that is out of this world.
With a lyrical name that’s just too much fun to say, olallieberries are black knobby berries with a sweet-tart, wine-y flavor that grow along the Central coast for a fleeting six weeks in summer.
Now’s the time to enjoy them fresh, especially at u-pick farms such as Phipps Country Store & Farm in Pescadero.
Perhaps no place has made olallieberries more famous, though, than Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero.
The family-run business that started in 1934 is justly known for its artichoke soup, cioppino and other fresh seafood dishes. But it’s the hand-made ollalieberry pie that everyone saves room for. Enjoy it at this landmark restaurant for$6.50 a slice or $25 for a whole pie. Because Duarte’s freezes a huge supply of the ollalieberries each season, the pie is available year-round.
For the past few years, Duarte’s also has been selling ($14) unbaked, frozen whole olallieberry pies at select Bay Area stores, including Zanotto’s in San Jose and the Milk Pail in Mountain View. Later this year, the frozen pies also will begin being sold at all Whole Foods in Northern California.
Fourth of July might be the ideal time to celebrate the last of the season’s fresh cherries with a bang.
Those sweet, crunchy orbs come and go all too soon, don’t they?
But Payson Fruit Growers has a way to let you enjoy them all year-round.
Founded in 1964, the farmer-owned business processes tart cherries that are grown on local farms in the Payson, Utah area. Recently, I had a chance to sample some of their products.
Some of the tart Montmorency cherries are turned into Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate ($18 for 1 quart). The thicky, syrupy concentrate is fabulous for adding to smoothies or to pan sauces for duck, pork or chicken.
I stirred two tablespoons into 8-ounces of carbonated water, then garnished with fresh cherries and a rosemary sprig to make a refreshing summer soda. It’s super fruity and not overwhelmingly sour. But if you like it sweeter, you can add a tablespoon or two of simple syrup.
Get ready for “Peaches & Tango: A Dinner in the Orchard’‘ on July 23 at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood.
Farmer Al Courchesne, owner of the organic Frog Hollow Farm, has always dreamed of pairing his juicy, wonderful peaches with the drama of tango. Now, he’s doing just that — with the help of recent “Top Chef Masters” victor Richard Blais.
Blais will cook a feast using locally grown produce, featuring such delights as beet tartare with candied wasabi, grilled pork belly with cauliflower and peaches, and liquid nitrogen ice cream cones. Sit down to enjoy it all in the orchard, amid rows and rows of Suncrest peach trees.
To top the evening off, Trio Garufa, a company of contemporary Agentine tango dancers, will be performing, then teaching guests how to do the tango, themselves.
Tickets are $200 per person. Proceeds benefit the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Edible School Yard, both dedicated to fostering school curriculum and lunch programs in which students learn to grow, cook and share food at the table.
At least four times a year, each Whole Foods store sets aside a day in which 5 percent of the day’s net sales goes to a non-profit.
For June 22, the San Jose Whole Foods, 1146 Blossom Hill Road, has chosen as its recepient, the San Jose Police Foundation, which is the prime source of private support for the San Jose Police Department. And if you’ve been following the city’s budget woes of late, you know those funds are needed more than ever.
For those who live in San Francisco, if you shop on June 23 at any Whole Foods locales in that city, 5 percent of net sales will go to Project Open Hand, which provides meal and nutrition services.
From now on, I’m seriously going to have to put blinders on when I stroll past the freezer case at Whole Foods.
That’s because the supermarket chain has just started selling fabulous gelato bars by the Bay Area’s Naia that if left to my own devices, I could eat daily.
Forget those lickable ice cream bars of childhood, which were enjoyed mostly because of their creamy coolness, not their flavor. These gelato bars are made with primo, local ingredients including Oakland’s Blue Bottle Coffee, San Francisco’s TCHO Chocolate, Oakland’s Numi jasmine tea and Alameda’s St. Georges Spirits single malt whiskey.
Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.
Gelateria Naia (pronounced “NIGH-ah”) was founded in Berkeley in 2002 by Chris Tan and Trevor Morris, world travelers who studied with artisan gelato makers in Italy. The two now have two retail scoop shops in Walnut Creek and San Francisco.