The Meyer lemon owes its presence in the U.S. to a USDA agricultural explorer named Frank Meyer, who discovered it in 1908 during one of his expeditions to Asia to collect new plant species. Among the 2,500 plants he introduced to the U.S. was the unusual thin-skinned, lemon-mandarin orange cross, which became the Meyer lemon,...Read More

Everyone enjoys a great piece of pie, especially at Thanksgiving, and it is easily one of America’s favorite desserts. However, the bane of most cooks is making the pie crust! While it’s easy and convenient to turn to store-bought, pre-rolled pie crust, nothing comes close to a homemade, buttery, flaky pie crust. If you’re a...Read More

Cornbread is an all-American bread, tracing its humble roots back to the days of the early settlers. When the first colonists arrived in North America, wheat flour was unavailable and they had to turn to local resources to make their bread. Corn was one of the first crops to be grown by the Native Americans,...Read More

The Aptos Farmers Market at Cabrillo College has launched a new Cookbook Exchange program. While the “leave-a-book, take-a-book” concept is nothing new (in fact, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie is credited with the concept of a book exchange movement at the turn of the last century), we hope that our Cookbook Exchange will serve as a place...Read More

I was a latecomer to the galette. Not quite a pie, and not quite a tart, this open-face pastry consists of a pie crust pastry, a layer of fruit, with the edges of the crust folded roughly around the filling. As a classically trained pastry chef, it didn’t appeal to my sensibilities. I’m convinced most...Read More

Crabapples remind me of the “Lemon Tree” folk song by Peter, Paul, and Mary. For those too young to remember, the lyrics went — “Lemon tree, very pretty, and the lemon flower is sweet But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat.”   The same can be said for crabapples. Sometimes called...Read More

Fresh jujubes (pronounced joo-joob) are stone fruits about the size of small dates with a spongy texture and mild apple flavor. The taste ranges from mildly sweet-tart to sweet. Under-ripe fruit can taste chalky or floury, but jujubes gradually become sweeter as they mature. Despite their thick skin, the skin is edible, albeit a bit...Read More

Gazpacho immediately comes to mind when the late summer harvests of ripe dry-farmed tomatoes, colorful peppers, and herbs are available in an abundance farmers’ markets. Originally a popular soup from the Andalusia region of Spain, ‘gazpacho’ has become a generic term for any cold soup served cold that has a vegetable or fruit base.  My...Read More

Seafood lovers rejoice! May 1 is the official opening day for local Wild King Salmon from our beautiful Monterey Bay! H & H Fresh Fish Company also has bigeye tuna, opah, king salmon, rockfish, swordfish, yellowtail, petrale sole, scallops, rock crab claws, mussels, and prawns. This year, H & H Fresh Fish Company will be...Read More

Admittedly — hot oatmeal is not my favorite breakfast. But, keeping in mind the benefits of increasing fiber in the diet and chasing the cholesterol monster away, it is a mainstay in the fall and winter breakfast lineup. But, when spring arrives — I’m so ready to jettison the gruel for granola topped with a...Read More