On my website you’ll find information about my recipes, articles/books, and illustrations. My book, My Davis Farmers Market Cookbook won the 11th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Best Regional Cookbook. BUY NOW
What I’m doing now: I just harvested wild elderflowers from the local elderberry bushes that grow along Putah Creek near Winters. I made Elderflower Cordial with them. When added to sparkling water or sparkling wine, it makes a refreshing Yolo County summer evening drink. Make it your new signature beverage.
The Sacramento Bee loved my Davis Farmers Market Cookbook, Revised Edition (Elderflower Press, 2016, $26.95). Buy now. The book is available in Davis, California at the Davis Food Co-op, Davis ACE, Avid Reader, UC Davis Stores, Ikeda’s Market and at the Davis Farmers Market. In Yolo County, find it at Seka Hills Olive Mill and Tasting Room in Brooks. In Winters, find it at Preserve Market and Berryessa Gap Winery. Find it on line through UC Davis Bookstores or Amazon. The book has 72 seasonal recipes, features the market’s farmers and vendors, and has a year of monthly seasonal menu’s using recipes from the book. Read my story of the history of the market. UC Davis Magazine also featured the students who started the market, including me. Read it.Net proceeds from the book go to the Davis Farm to School Program, a project of the Davis Farmers Market Alliance.
SEASONAL RECIPES INSPIRED BY MY GARDEN AND THE FARMERS MARKET
January. Meyer Lemons are prolific right now, so I’m using them in a number of ways, including making preserved lemons. I use them with roast chicken and some Middle Eastern dishes. Preserved lemons are stored in the refrigerator and are quite easy to make.
December. I’m making TAMALES for the holidays, hosting a fun tamalada, a tamale making party, with my friends Belinda Rodriguez and Joyce Hardi, in support of Slow Food Yolo. I have recipes for Vegetarian Tamales and Pork Tamales with Red Sauce. See my Instructions for Filling Tamales.
November. November is a good time to make Traditional English Mincemeat with Suet, Candied Orange and Lemon Peel, to put in your December holiday pies and tarts. I’ve just finished candying orange peels (Valencia, from my tree) and lemon peels (Lisbon, from my tree). These go into my homemade mincemeat and fruit cake for the holidays.
October. I just got back from Apple Hill. Together with my apples and those from a neighbor, I made applesauce and canned it. Use 3-5 kinds to create a more complex flavor, and I always add a stick or two of cinnamon when I’m cooking the sauce. Here is my recipe.