Food Finds: Paradise Preserves

We are happy to start the first section of our Food Finds with the talented ladies Karen and Bridget of Paradise Preserves. The mother daughter duo who make the yummiest jams and amazing pickled treats!!!

1. Make. Shop. Live.:What do you make?
Artisan jam, jellies, marmalades and more.


2.Is there a green or Eco component to your business? 
Yes. we are a company that strives to maintain the 'locavore' ideal in regards to food cultivation and consumption . Bridget and I work along side small family farmers and organic backyard growers to get the freshest produce for our signature flavors.

3. Where (If anywhere) do you sell your goods/wares in-person?
We are a proud vendor of Crafted at the Port. Booth A199. Also a featured local product at the Corner Store in San Pedro where we do tastings quarterly. We participate in the Sugar Plum Festivals at the Orange County Fair Grounds and the Buena park downtown mall. I do the Lions Club Flea Market in Malibu every September. This year for the first time we are vendors at the three Patchwork shows in Los Angeles and Light at the Lighthouse at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro on September 22.

4. What is your favorite thing to make? 
Jelly and chutney. Jelly because you can get such gorgeous colors and flavors from fruit and chutney because it is so fun. Bridget is working on chutney recipes right now. We will roll out our chutney product line in October. I usually keep them as Fall product.

5. If you make food, Do you focus on Organic or Locally Sourced ingredients? 
Without a doubt. I need to add this comment however, we use certified organic if and when we can. Unfortunatley for the consumer and the small family farmer, to be a 'certified oraganic' farm the farmer must let farmland lay fallow for a number of years and submit to soil testing by the USDA. Small farms are not able to afford that and thus steps in (or continues to dominate) our recently traditional food sorces, the corporate farm. Consequently, Bridget and I are committed to finding fruits an vegetables that may best be designated as 'home grown or non-industrailly grown'. One of the farms we work with uses beneficial insects, chickens and guinea hens as varmint control. has his farmhands keep rows clean by removing over ripe or bad fruit and keeping the area as clean as possible so as to keep from using chemical insectisides. He also has assess to his horse for manure and neighbors' horses as well. His strawberries are sooo good that the are mostly juice!

6. What are your favorite blogs or source of cool information? 
Oddly enough the USDA. most of the information on preserving food is as old as the hills and this United States Federal Organization has been stellar at keeping the basic cooking standars high and the information available to all who ask. I also am a fan of really old cookbooks. These women (no offence to the other sex, but males were rarely involved unless they were pre-teens and charged with keeping the water boiling for the jars).

7. What are your favorite materials to work with?
Spices, herbs and alcohols. Using one or more of these can completely change the flavor profile of a fruit.

One of the strawberry farms. 

8. What is your favorite or most used technique in your art? 
I use basic science on a daily basis. Ph levels are important in food preservation as is the condition of the produce being used. My VERY favorite thing is going to farms to pick or pick up produce, and share.

9. If you could work with anyone, or learn from anyone (living or dead) who would it be? 
Julia Childs, the first person to ever eat an artichoke or a pomegranate and Jesus Christ. Not necessarily in that order.

Fresh Strawberries - These will soon be tasty jelly!

10. Lastly, if you want to talk about anything that may have been missed - feel free to rant here :)
I can not stress this enough. We ALL need to know where our food comes from. We ALL need to know what it looks like before it get to our grocer/farmers market. Environmental Impact reports are the norm when it comes to building new roads, tunnels, housing deveolpments, parks etc. but not when a corporation buys millions of acres of our prime farmland to experiment with genetically modified seed. seed that is putting the lifeblood of our beautiful country, family farms, out of busines. Seed that grows food that we use to put in our childrens mouths. I am all for technical improvements, America has that in her soul, I just want to know when I am eating them.

We are so glad we can enjoy the fruits of these ladies labor! Hope you can get some for yourself and try them all out - you won't be disappointed.

XOXO, KC & Kevin

If you go to Vancouver, go to Granville Market

Kevin here,

Recently I took a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia for a few days.  I was tipped off by previous Canadian travellers to make it a point of checking out Granville Island.  This is just a quick overview of some fun stuff anyone can enjoy there, especially people who love art and food!

Granville Island is across False Creek from downtown Vancouver.  It is an entire island of art, food, galleries, fresh markets, aquatic rentals, and it's only joined to the main land by a park!  Also, the topography is peppered by the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, which is a perfect location near artistic galleries and an active creative environment.  Seemingly more than just a tourist trap, I decided to spend much of my free time there.

Public Market
This building features the Organic Market and Food Vendors.  This is the reason you could spend a whole week on the island.  I arrived for breakfast and was overwhelmed with options.

all independent businesses, no big chains

hmmm fresh bagels, tomatoes, or chocolates....

I went for an authentic Canadian maple donut.  Ok.....2.

Shops
When I walked through the various craft businesses, I really got excited about the future of CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles.  There's range of unique mediums and a great sense of community here.  The mix of workshops and stores really made the whole atmosphere feel creative and involving.

It's like you are in Disneyland and every one of the facades actually had people in the windows creating.

I peaked in and saw various architecture models.  I totally geek'd out!

This shop lets you customize your own purchases.

After all my stories, KC is now daydreaming of an alternate Canadian life; studying at an Art and Design University a few steps from great breakfast options and future opportunities like these places:

If you ever want to take a sweet trip to Vancouver, I'm now one of the people telling everyone about awesome Granville Island.  If you have any suggestions or hot spots that I forgot, comment below!

Kevin Sears

Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

I love pickles! They are seriously one of my favorite things to eat and I crave them 99% of my waking time. I thought I would try a very, very simple take on Refrigerator Pickles to see if it is something I can make myself instead of buying them.

Spicy Refrigerator Pickles: (This recipe fills a Vlasic/ regular pickle jar)

4 Thinly sliced Organic Persian cucumbers
1/3 cup Thinly sliced red onions
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups of white balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cloves (light sprinkling works since the measurement is tiny)

Place cucumber in the jar of your choice; we love reusing "upcycled" pickle jars.  Since this recipe doesn't need to be "canned" by cooking on the stove top, cleaned and sterilized jars are perfect to make your own pickles in.

After adding the first layer of cucumbers to your jar top with 1 cup onion; then add jalapenos.  Repeat this process until the jar is full and layered with all the vegetables.

Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; stir. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute.

Pour over cucumber mixture; let cool.

Cover, chill and let reach full flavor in 4 days.
*Pickles can remain in the refrigerator for up to one month.

I hope you enjoy & that this will curb all of your pickle cravings ;) Yummy!

XOXO, KC

For the LOVE of Strawberries

 

Strawberries already appear number 3 in "the Dirty Dozen" Most people with any environmental knowledge already buy organic when it comes to fruits and veggies that fall under this category because you cannot remove all of them nor can you remove pesticides that have been incorporated into the fruits and vegetables while they were growing.   

I do not have an Iphone but there is an app you can purchase form the creators of "What's On My Food?" that you could use to keep the groceries you bring home pesticide free- EVEN BETTER, IT'S FREE

There is already 54 known pesticides found by the USDA on our strawberries I am just not quite sure why this isn't outrageous enough on it's own to end the decision now to put methyl iodide on our Strawberry fields!!! Methyl iodide is a neurotoxin and carcinogen that has caused thyroid tumors, neurological damage and miscarriages in lab animals.  I have signed a petition to help stop the use of this toxic substance which will not just be on our crops; but in our bodies and environment for our duration. Please sign the petition and pass along because this has to be
stopped!

In a controversial October 2007 decision, the United States Environmental Protection Agency approved its use as a soil fumigant in some cases, although it cannot yet be used in California, Washington and New York due to lack of state approval. EXCEPT NOW, in 2010 the decision has surfaced again.  PLEASE let's help this debate not go any further, because it is teetering on a slippery slope that our food and our environment should not slip into. 

When looking online I found the following article that was actually quite chilling that we would even think the rewards outweighs the risks: California's decision will have national implications.  It states easy to understand facts like: Enough is known about this chemical to predict that its use for soil fumigation will result in unhealthy human exposures. A history of mass poisonings involving other fumigants is part of the basis for this prediction. 

Here is a list of other posts to check out: 

huffingtonpost.com

pesticideinfo.org

osha.gov