Edible San Diego Fall 2011 : Page 3

NOTABLE EDIBLES Ramona Bath and Body: Dare to Be Hooked! Eighteen happy animals of seven different species reside on the five-acre family farmette where Ramona Bath and Body products are lovingly handcrafted. Indoors live Rex, a resplendent and placid Chinese water dragon, and the vociferous Jack Sparrow. Not yet a fledgling, Jack keeps everybody hopping to meet his feeding demands. His special diet of goat milk and oatmeal gruel is delivered hourly through a straw by very patient hands. Outdoors in his paddock, 3-year-old Romeo—half Friesian and half Tennessee Walker—handsomely presides over the rest of the farm’s menagerie. But it’s the pudgy Oberhasli-Pygmy milk goat, quaintly named Goat, that is the centerpiece of the whole operation. Ramona Bath and Body came into existence thanks to Gratia Tarling and Adam Conard’s two older children. When they roundly protested having to drink goat milk, Gratia was left with two options: make cheese or make soap. Assuming that cheese making would be a more time-consuming process, she dived into the study of soap making. Fortunately, goat milk soap turns out best when the milk has first been frozen. So while Gratia learned about the age-old process of saponification and how to blend fragrances, Goat’s milk filled ice tray after ice tray. Today Gratia concocts a dizzying array of goat milk soaps—along with luscious made-to-order lotions, body washes and body mists—in three broad categories of fragrances she’s named Fruits, Florals and Hey Tough Guy. But Gratia’s products also include an unscented soap named Plain Jane Doe, a delightful Oatmeal and Honey Soap made without goat milk, a beer soap called Sierra Lime that keeps the bikers lined up at her Ramona Farmers’ Market booth, and a coconut-oil-based Fisherman’s Soap that will actually lather in salt water. (Did you know that most soaps can’t do that?) Although Gratia has learned that making soap is a much more time-consuming process than making cheese, she loves everything about it. While she’s measuring out precise ratios of olive, avocado, coconut, palm and/or hemp oil for any given recipe, she can glance out her workroom window and catch the antics of Goat’s two kids, Ritz and Oreo. As they gambol and leap about the yard in a tumble of perpetual motion, Gratia methodically tackles each step of the process: saponification, blending and tracing, the cold-pour hot processing, cooling, molding and shaping. Finally, she cuts the soaps and sets them out on curing racks to be aged for a minimum of six weeks. This aging process insures a much longer life for the soaps, especially in the shower. Because the goat milk that goes into Ramona Bath and Body’s products is raw and unpasteurized it is high in vitamins, caprylic triglyceride, lactic acid and natural enzymes. The soaps produce a rich, creamy lather that nourishes and moisturizes the skin like nothing else. As Gratia is a stay-at-home mom who appreciates getting real value for her dollar, she is committed to keeping her products truly affordable. Indeed, these are luxury products without the luxury price tag. Soaps run $4.50 for a large bar (or five for $20) and $3.50 for a small bar (or five for $15). Both five-bar specials include a free handmade redwood soap dish crafted by Adam. Because their lotions, mists and body washes are equally well priced, go ahead and indulge yourself. As their slogan says: Dare to be hooked! You can see, sniff and sample Ramona Bath and Body’s products every Saturday at the Ramona Farmers’ Market. But if you don’t plan on heading that way any time soon, you can order directly off the website: ramonabathandbody.com. A few predictions: Café Mocha soap will be a sure path to bliss for all you coffee lovers. Coconut Lime body wash and lotion are so luscious and refreshing that they could well become your summer favorites. And you’re sure to find that every product in their Very Vanilla line smells good enough to eat . . . but please don’t. —Mo Raphael fall 2011 edible San Diego 3

Notable Edibles

Ramona Bath and Body: Dare to Be Hooked! Eighteen happy animals of seven different species reside on the five-acre family farmette where Ramona Bath and Body products are lovingly handcrafted. Indoors live Rex, a resplendent and placid Chinese water dragon, and the vociferous Jack Sparrow. Not yet a fledgling, Jack keeps everybody hopping to meet his feeding demands. His special diet of goat milk and oatmeal gruel is delivered hourly through a straw by very patient hands. Outdoors in his paddock, 3-year-old Romeo–half Friesian and half Tennessee Walker–handsomely presides over the rest of the farm's menagerie. But it's the pudgy Oberhasli-Pygmy milk goat, quaintly named Goat, that is the centerpiece of the whole operation. Ramona Bath and Body came into existence thanks to Gratia Tarling and Adam Conard's two older children. When they roundly protested having to drink goat milk, Gratia was left with two options: make cheese or make soap. Assuming that cheese making would be a more time-consuming process, she dived into the study of soap making. Fortunately, goat milk soap turns out best when the milk has first been frozen. So while Gratia learned about the age-old process of saponification and how to blend fragrances, Goat's milk filled ice tray after ice tray. Today Gratia concocts a dizzying array of goat milk soaps–along with luscious made-to-order lotions, body washes and body mists–in three broad categories of fragrances she's named Fruits, Florals and Hey Tough Guy. But Gratia's products also include an unscented soap named Plain Jane Doe, a delightful Oatmeal and Honey Soap made without goat milk, a beer soap called Sierra Lime that keeps the bikers lined up at her Ramona Farmers' Market booth, and a coconut-oil-based Fisherman's Soap that will actually lather in salt water. (Did you know that most soaps can't do that?) Although Gratia has learned that making soap is a much more time-consuming process than making cheese, she loves everything about it. While she's measuring out precise ratios of olive, avocado, coconut, palm and/or hemp oil for any given recipe, she can glance out her workroom window and catch the antics of Goat's two kids, Ritz and Oreo. As they gambol and leap about the yard in a tumble of perpetual motion, Gratia methodically tackles each step of the process: saponification, blending and tracing, the cold-pour hot processing, cooling, molding and shaping. Finally, she cuts the soaps and sets them out on curing racks to be aged for a minimum of six weeks. This aging process insures a much longer life for the soaps, especially in the shower. Because the goat milk that goes into Ramona Bath and Body's products is raw and unpasteurized it is high in vitamins, caprylic triglyceride, lactic acid and natural enzymes. The soaps produce a rich, creamy lather that nourishes and moisturizes the skin like nothing else. As Gratia is a stay-at-home mom who appreciates getting real value for her dollar, she is committed to keeping her products truly affordable. Indeed, these are luxury products without the luxury price tag. Soaps run $4.50 for a large bar (or five for $20) and $3.50 for a small bar (or five for $15). Both fivebar specials include a free handmade redwood soap dish crafted by Adam. Because their lotions, mists and body washes are equally well priced, go ahead and indulge yourself. As their slogan says: Dare to be hooked! You can see, sniff and sample Ramona Bath and Body's products every Saturday at the Ramona Farmers' Market. But if you don't plan on heading that way any time soon, you can order directly off the website: ramonabathandbody.com. A few predictions: Café Mocha soap will be a sure path to bliss for all you coffee lovers. Coconut Lime body wash and lotion are so luscious and refreshing that they could well become your summer favorites. And you're sure to find that every product in their Very Vanilla line smells good enough to eat . . . but please don't. –Mo Raphael A Food Truck Franchise with a Conscience A longtime staple in Los Angeles' competitive food scene, the Green Truck franchise has moved south, joining the growing fleet of San Diego food trucks offering toothsome roadside fare to local residents. North Park denizen David Holtze brought the LA-based foodie phenomenon to the area, in the hopes of luring food co-op types out of their offices and onto the streets. With ingredients that are sourced from local farmers or certified organic when possible, the Green Truck serves some of the healthiest vegetarian and organic meals on four wheels. Holtze's new business venture is about more than just making tasty veggie wraps. Armed with a business plan that mixes marketing savvy with a social conscience, the former PR executive envisions running a profitable food truck franchise that offers healthier food choices and, in turn, helps the planet. Eventually, Holtze hopes to expand the number of food trucks and routes he runs in San Diego County, and perhaps move on to other cities. In the meantime, "It's all about logistics," he says of scouting new locations, building a loyal customer base and catering corporate-sponsored events. As an activist/entrepreneur, Holtze is sending a clear message. He strives to keep the Green Truck's carbon footprint to a minimum by reducing his menu's food miles (the distance traveled from farm to plate) and running the truck on biodiesel. He embraces sustainability and supports narrowing the gap between producers and consumers. If you're feeling peckish and want a quick bite, the signature Mother Trucker veggie burger would be a good start. But first, you'll have to find the rolling restaurant. The best way to track down the mother ship is to visit the Green Truck's website, greentruckonthego.com, where locations, dates and times are posted under the "San Diego" tab. Now you just have to hope the food truck is scheduled to trundle somewhere near your office park. –Enrique Gili Keep Your Holiday Table Local This Season When holiday season rolls around this year, you may need to look no farther than up the road–at least if that road leads to Jack Ford's family farm in Valley Center. This year, Ford is raising 500 turkeys, which he plans to sell this fall and have available for pickup the weekend before Thanksgiving. The turkey tradition isn't new to Ford, who has been raising turkeys for seven years, mostly for his family and friends. Each year, word spread about his pastureraised birds, and Ford started raising more and more to meet demand. Last year, Ford was raising turkeys for his entire neighborhood; this year, as he describes it, he's "gone commercial." On the farm, chicks are kept indoors when they are young, to protect them from predators. Once they are grown, they live in "large paddocks under oak trees," where Ford explains, they love foraging for acorns. They also graze on sunflowers ("they go nuts for those–the leaves, stems, everything" says Ford), chard, lettuce, zucchini, pumpkins, and more. "It's a natural foraging diet," says Ford, although the foraged finds are supplemented with natural turkey feed. The turkeys are not given antibiotics or hormones. "I try to follow the template for sustainable and ethical farming," says Jack. At the time of printing, a price had not yet been set for this year's turkeys, but Ford expected them to be about $120 to $140 per bird. "It is much more expensive than buying a turkey in the store," says Ford. He knows his birds are not for everyone. "They're for people who are looking for an alternative, for people who want their food sources to stay within the radius in which they live." Plus, he adds, "Once you've had a farmraised turkey, you'll never go back." Ford's adventures won't end after the holiday season. He is in the process of forming a farm co-op in Valley Center, which will offer a CSA model for meat. The subscription farming program is planned to include pasture-raised beef, pork, goat, lamb, and broiler chickens, as well as eggs and produce. Animals will be sold on the hoof, and customers will be able to purchase a ¼ or ½ of a whole animal. Currently, the only pickup location planned is at Armstrong Feed Store in Valley Center, but plans are in the works to open a weekly farmers market for the co-op, also in Valley Center. Although not yet live at the time of printing, a website is in the works: for more information on turkeys this holiday season or the upcoming meat CSA, visit tajfarms.net –Lauren Lastowka Healing with Food At a time when we are experiencing an unprecedented rise in ADD, ADHD and autism spectrum disorders in our children as well as stress, allergies and obesity, we can't ignore the importance that our dietary choices and the quality of our food play in our lives. This fall a three-class series on using nutrition to deal with these disorders is scheduled to take place on Oct. 5, 19 and Nov. 9, 2011 at the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club kitchen. Based on new research in the autism community (discussed in the recent KPBS special Autism Now), the classes will include cutting-edge nutrition tips, as well as practical tools, recipes and hands-on recipe preparation experience to help you enhance your and your family's health and well being. Participants will enjoy a delicious meal that they help prepare. All of the menus will be designed to meet the needs of anyone who is dairy and/or gluten intolerant. Recipes will feature local ingredients from local organic and sustainably run farms. Nancy Princetta, NC, will teach the part-cooking-class partlecture class. Princetta has taught cooking classes for 25 years, is a registered nutritionist, and works with children with autism disorders in her private practice. While the information is designed to help improve ADD, ADHD and autism spectrum disorders, anyone who has an interest in their health and nutrition can benefit. Class size is limited so register early. For more information, call 760-419-4050 or visit nancyprincetta.com. –Riley Davenport Celebrating Local Beer Get thirsty San Diego.. Our own backyard is home to nearly 40 craft breweries producing an array of award-winning brews. In fact, at the 2010 World Beer Cup, San Diego brewers won more awards than Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom or any of the other 43 countries that competed! And on top of that San Diego will be hosting the 2012 WBC competition. And now, to help beer lovers explore these great beers, there's a new book coming out this October–San Diego's Top Brewers: Inside America's Craft Beer Capital. Top Brewers takes you on a personal, behind-the-scenes tour of 18 of San Diego's breweries and some of San Diego's hottest craft beer bars, plus tasting notes from the brewers and pages of resources for any craft beer fan or homebrewer. San Diego's Top Brewers is packed with more than 250 color photographs and profiles of some of San Diego's unique beerrelated businesses, such as White Labs, which makes and banks yeast for hundreds of breweries locally and worldwide, and Doggie Beer Bones, which is a wonderfully sustainable business that is turning spent beer grain into tasty dog treats. For foodies, there's more than two dozen recipes by some of our region's top chefs that highlight great brews: stout onion soup, herb-and-hops-crusted ahi, smoked porter duck tacos, cup o'hefen cupcakes, and beeramisu just to name a few. Each recipe also includes San Diego craft beer pairings. San Diego's Top Brewers is published by San Diego-based Chefs Press, Inc. and will be available this October–just in time for San Diego Beer Week, Nov. 4-Nov. 13. It is $24.95 and can be purchased online at sdtopbrewers.com, amazon.com, and bn.com.

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