A Farm Stand Thanksgiving

Turkey-Day Recap!

Check out this map... You've got Monterey Bay on the left, what is probably Elkhorn Slough up top, and Highway 1 going up the center. 
That star-arrow thing in the middle is pointing right at one of the neatest/cheapest/diverse produce stands in the whole entire world: Farm Fresh Produce. 
Check out the Price indicator on Yelp. ONE DOLLAR SIGN. That's not a joke! This place is super duper di doooper cheap! Also check out "Hours Today: 6:00 am until 5:30 am" That's not true, because that would mean that they are open for 23 1/2 hours a day. You know what? They are actually open 24 hours a day! 
They get new produce around the clock so why not stay open around the clock? Driving from Santa Cruz to Monterey at 3 am and need 10 oranges? Want to get them for a buck? Well this is where you should stop!
My roommate Sarah originally told me about this place and the first time I went I was overwhelmed by all the deals. Now I've got it down to a science... I like to get grapes there, and freeze them for snacking on during the week. I'll also get some apples, plums, and usually an onion.

Before Thanksgiving, I made a booklet of all the dishes I wanted to prepare on turkey day:

1. Seared Brussels Sprouts
2. Orange Cranberry Sauce
3. Alton Brown's Best Ever Green Bean Casserole
4. Honey Glazed Carrots
5. Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms
6. Cornbread and Dutch Crunch Apple Stuffing
7. Pumpkin Pie!!
8. Salad stuff <- but I didn't end up making the salad



I bought my brussels sprouts from the Marina Farmer's Market on Sunday and the rest of my veggies came from Farm Fresh Produce in Moss Landing. Check out my spread:




Orange (#2), Green Beans + Portobello Mushroom + Onion (#3), Parsley + Carrots (#4), Baby Mushrooms (#5), Apple + Onion + Celery (#6), Lettuce + Tomatoes (#8)... Lemons are for beer... MMMMM I love lemon in my beer. Better than orange fo sho.




Yeah... and my total for ALL of that was $12.78 (plus I got a bunch of frozen grapes, not pictured).




Thanksgiving morning David, my mom, my sister Nicole, and I drove at the crack of dawn in the freeeezing San Jose weather to go run the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot! 
One of my favorite traditions is running this race with my Mom and Nicole and Aaron, but sadly he couldn't make it this year because he has a girlfriend and she lives in LA area.

We quickly started the race, and finished the race, and grabbed a bunch of freebie snacks - hoping for any sort of warm sun rays (didn't get any though). Instead of sticking around for a while, we jammed back to the car and drove back to my moms.

After showering, I got to work in the kitchen. Timing things is pretty difficult. I was so nervous that it would be 5pm and everyone would be starving with no food ready. With Nicole and Kyle's help, we actually got a lot of the food ready to bake ahead of schedule.

Adding to the list above: the turkey, Kyle's mashed potatoes, Nicole's secret-ingredient banana bread, and my mom's sweet potatoes (favorite dish), we had 5 things that needed oven time.

Luckily, everything finished on time and was warm and delicious. While it sounds kind of corny,  Thanksgiving dinner truly was delightful. In attendance: Mom, Nicole, David, his 3 sons: Nathan, Sam, and Ben, David's coworker Doug, family friends Becky, Megan, and Andrew, and good ol' Kyle Dozeman... and myself. After my pumpkin pie slice, Ben brought me a chocolate chip cookie he took home from Starbucks - perfect end to the perfect meal. It was so much fun to spend the day cooking in the kitchen with Nicole and Kyle.

I wish I had more time to make fun, creative meals. Sadly, during the week I just don't feel as motivated to make tricky things for just myself to enjoy. Maybe if I had the "Cooking for One" cookbook I could learn how to spice things up without having to eat leftovers for lunch/dinner 2 or 3 days straight!

"Cooking for One"??? That sounds like a depressing gift. Nobody give it to me out of pity! I will make do until my move to San Jose. Hopefully then I can cook with my mom, Kyle, friends.... any takers for dinner dates??

While there weren't any pictures taken of the Thanksgiving dinner spread, I did take pictures of breakfast the next morning: Apple Walnut Sticky Buns!!




Adapted from a Sandra Lee recipe I saw on a Bake Sale special on the Food Network:

You'll need:
1 Granny Smith apple
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/4 C brown sugar
2 T. softened butter
1 (8-count) tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 to 2 t. water

Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 12-count muffin tin a lil' bit.
- Peel/core/dice apple into 1/2-inch cubes
- Stir together diced apples with walnuts and brown sugar.
- Divide apple mixture evenly into 8 of the 12 muffin tin slots.
- Put the 8 cinnamon buns, cinnamon side up, on top of the apple mixture.
- Put the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake until the tops are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Put a clean baking sheet on top of the muffin tin and flip to remove the sticky buns.

For glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the frosting from the cinnamon roll tube with the pumpkin pie spice and 1 to 2 teaspoons of water.
- Mix until very thick and of pourable consistency. Drizzle over buns and serve.

SO YUMMY!




Now let's start thinking about Christmas dinner... I'm thinking Vegetable Parmesan?

The Whole Enchilada, Moss Landing

There are three "Whole Enchiladas" in southern California. One is on Yorba Linda Blvd. But that one has nothing to do with this one. They offer a combo punch card, get 9 entrees and the 10th is free. 

This Whole Enchilada is different. Located at Highway 1 and Moss Landing Road in Moss Landing, this restaurant has a WHOLE lot going on. HAH. Wow, bad bad joke. Sarah and I were hoping to go to the Thai Seafood place in Moss Landing two weeks ago. When we got there, though, we saw a sign informing us that the place was closed Mondays... there was only one other restaurant in sight, The Whole Enchilada. This coastal cuisine eatery is open from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm weekly.

"The catch of the day is right off the local fishing boats and prepared in the authentic Mexican coastal style. You've never tasted tamales like ours, fresh sweet white corn tamales filled with chicken and topped with our cilantro cream sauce. Oaxacan tamal filled with fresh albacore or chicken, wrapped in a banana leaf and drenched in a rich, dark mole salsa. Check out Tamale Wednesday and try them all." 
- Whole Enchilada's website

Both of us ordered the Camaron Chon ($14)

House made corn tamal on a banana leaf, filled with prawns, spinach & cheese. Topped with a cream cilantro lime sauce & guacamole. Served with a side of rice and beans. 

It was amazingly delicious and they gave a very generous portion! Seriously it was exploding with prawns. There were about three on top and I was like "okay cool, here are the prawns" but then, as I forked into it, more prawns were mixed in to the mushy gooey tamale innards. Their tamal (tamale? why no e?) was probably one of the best tamales I have ever had. Not kidding.

The B&R side was a LOT bigger than than I thought it was going to be!

Waiters bring by a "salsa pitcher" so you can refill your own salsa bowl! What a clever idea...

The owner/chef guy came by and made sure we were enjoying our meals. Nice touch!

Their bar offers up fresh fruit margaritas (they even have cucumber ones!) and many different flavors of Tequila. On Sunday afternoons there's live jazz and blues music next door at Moss Landing Inn. 

Such a fun bar, makes me want to be a mermaid!

So what's the deal with Moss Landing? The tiny town is overshadowed by the giant towers of the Moss Landing PG&E plant. A few decades ago, most townies were employed by either the power plant or were fisherman. Now there's mostly antique shops, a Monterey Bay Aquarium research institute, and small yachts (can there be a small yacht?) in the Moss Landing harbor. Back in 1864, Moss Landing was a whaling station established by Captain Charles Moss, a sea captain from Texas. 

Unknown fact: the last Sunday in July, Moss Landing hosts the Annual Antique Street Fair. TODAY was that fair! 40th annual, no doubt.

The rest of the menu features quesadillas, nachos, and enchiladas - of course. They also get local and offer up some Castroville artichokes (either steamed or deep fried)...

Next Moss Landing restaurant stop: The Thai Seafood place

And after that... Phil's Fish Market & Eatery, known for their cioppino. Even Bobby Flay can't top Phil DiGirolamo's cioppino making abilities - he lost to Phil on a Throwdown.

Monterey County land for Mark Twain frogs

Monterey County land protected for Mark Twain's celebrated jumping frog: "Mark Twain celebrated them, hungry gold prospectors ate them, and rural landowners cursed the name of the California red-legged frog."

In high school Krizia and I volunteered as science camp cabin leaders at Camp Campbell for a week. It was either her cabin, or my cabin, or some other guy's cabin that had the "red-legged frog" as a designated animal. I came across this article and my interest was sparked by Mark Twain, because I think he is a brilliant author/person. Then I saw that the article was about the frogs. Dun dun Dun.

The frog's population has been dwindling because of farmers, ranchers, and developers that have, for years now, gotten all-Avatar on the poor croakers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made its THIRD attempt to set up frog protection rules. They are hoping to set aside a 150,000 acre protective habitat for the red-legged frogs.

These guys have meaty jumping legs, which any respectable Illinoian would love to gobble up in heaps. They have been hunted ever since time! Not really - hunted at least since 1867 when Twain published "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in newspapers and short stories. As time passed by, lots of developments left the froggies with sustainable habitats in only 28 of the 58 California counties (1996).

After a slight case of fraud in the Bush administration (government pressured scientists to alter findings - such a shame!), the new proposal outlines about 1.6 million acres in various counties to protect them. In our county, good ol' Monterey County, designated areas include 519 acres in the Elkhorn Slough (Moss Landing), 27,000 acres in Big Sur, and 119,000 acres along the Carmel River. Effects: developers will not be able to do anyyyything that could destroy those habitat lands.

"What might it be that you've got in the box?"

And Smiley says, sorter indifferent like, "It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, may be, but it an't it's only just a frog."

And the feller took it, and looked at it careful, and turned it round this way and that, and says, "H'm so 'tis. Well, what's he good for?"

"Well," Smiley says, easy and careless, "He's good enough for one thing, I should judge he can outjump any frog in Calaveras county."    ...want more Twain?