Or maybe I should say citrus was California?  But no, despite the Southern California citrus industry going the way of the subsequent aerospace industry, I still think citrus is California.  I was inspired to write about California citrus by an article that recently ran in the Sunday Los Angeles Times’ L.A. Then and Now column: “Southern California’s Great Citrus Had It’s Crate Advertising.” The article is about the colorful labels slapped onto the wooden crates the fruit was packed in, and how they were considered cutting-edge marketing at the time.  Big, bold, multi-color images of the fruit and the growers logos let the consumer know that the oranges, lemons and grapefruit of that specific grower were special, above average.

Photo courtesy of the Citrus Label Society.

Oranges, Oranges Everywhere!

As the article goes on to explain, after the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 California’s citrus industry exploded.  Between 1880 and 1893 citrus acreage grew from a few thousand acres to more than 40,000 with 90% of it in Southern California.  That’s a lot of oranges.  Growers wanted to stand out from the crowd so catchy brand names, and colorful labels were born.  By the late 1950s when pre-printed cardboard boxes replaced the crates 8,000 designs had been created.  That’s a lot of labels.  I guess I’m a total geek after all because I love stuff like this!  I was also thrilled to learn through the article about the Citrus Label Society located here in Southern California.

My mother remembers coming to the Los Angeles-area when she was a child in the 1940s and seeing orange groves as far as the eye could see.  Much of what is now city, or housing tracts, used to be orange groves.  The industry existed all over Southern California down to San Diego, out to Riverside County and north to Santa Barbara.  One can imagine the air full of the scent of citrus.  It must have been magical.  What remains of local citrus growing is primarily in the Santa Paula, Ojai and Santa Barbara areas.  The California citrus industry ultimately migrated north to the San Joaquin Valley and now ranks second to Florida in overall citrus sales.  But remnants of the old days are still around.

Citrus, On the Honor System

A good friend’s mother lives in Loma Linda, a city in the Inland Empire that is located in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles by about sixty-five miles.  The area was once nothing but orange groves; there are still pockets here and there of leftover groves.  On a visit to Loma Linda to see my friend who lives in London, I noticed tables with bags of oranges on them in front of peoples’ homes.  On the tables there would also be a locked box with a slit for money.  A handwritten sign would list the cost of the fruit.  All on the honor system.  So wonderful and old-fashioned.  I saw this again on a recent trip to Ojai (see above photo).  To me this sort of throwback to bygone days is magical.  The trust people still have that no one will drive off with the whole kit and caboodle is heartwarming.

The Thompson children, Lee, De Ette, Russell, June and Ed (my father).

My Father, the Orange Picker

Citrus does have a place in the Thompson family history.  In 1940 at the tale end of the Dust Bowl, my destitute grandmother grabbed her five children, joined a widower neighbor and his two children, and high-tailed it out of Oklahoma City.  Where was my grandfather, you may ask?  He was holed up in San Francisco with his most recent girlfriend, one he’d met on one of his cross-country truck driving gigs.  My feisty, salt-of-the-earth grandmother wasn’t going to let him leave her high and dry with five young children so she went after him.  The group of nine piled onto a flat bed truck, sleeping alongside the road as they drove out to California.  Arriving in California flat broke, the ubiquitous orange groves beckoned.  The story goes that my grandmother split off from the widower neighbor, and she and the children made enough money picking oranges to continue on to San Francisco where she found my profligate grandfather.  And that’s how that side of the family ended up in California.  I can happily blame my wandering grandfather with a token of appreciation to those long ago orange groves.

Citrus still is California.  Citrus, more than any other industry, established modern California.  Orange County has its name because it was once all orange groves.  Imagine that where Disneyland is now used to be all citrus groves.  There was a time when “Citrus was King” in California, and the citrus boom of the early 1900s was called the “second Gold Rush.”  All those oranges, lemons and grapefruit helped continue California’s legacy as “The Golden State” — the land of sunshine and opportunity (and citrus!)

Did you know that California has a state historic park devoted to citrus?  Neither did I! ~ California Citrus State Historic Park

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the world of food:

#1 – Honest Cooking ~ I’m now a Contributing Writer to the new online food magazine Honest Cooking.  My first story was published on April 14, 2011: “Berlin Currywurst Arrives to L.A.” I’ll be writing several pieces a month about the L.A. food scene.

#2 – Saturday, April 23, 11 am – 6 pm ~ The 2nd 8th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational, a grilled cheese cooking competition.  You cook.  Judges vote.  Everybody wins!

#3 – Sunday, May 15, 1 pm – 5 pm, ~ Taste of the Eastside 2011, an all-star regional tasting event with a diverse array of Eastside restaurants at Barnsdall Art Park.

My Status:  Enjoying the gradual arrival of spring in So Cal and the new spring produce: artichokes, asparagus, and the tail end of winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, collard greens.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood.  A visit and tour of Ojai Valley citrus grower Friend’s Ranch. More The Local Reports. Cookbook Reviews: Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers by Debby Maugans.

“Eat The Love”.   The very apt slogan for the new food delivery company Out of the Box Collective.  The OBC promotional flier also includes:  “Local”.  “Sustainable”. “Home Delivered”.   All good words in my world.  Out of the Box Collective is exactly those things.  They gather food staples that are local and sustainable, put them into boxes and deliver them to your door.  Unlike a C.S.A. they provide everything you need, or want to feed your family for a week.  Fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, bread, pasta and dry goods.  A meal plan and suggested recipes are also included.  The only thing you have to do is cook, and then ‘eat the love.’

Founded by Jennifer Piette along with farm-to-table Chef Erik Stenberg, the goal of the company is to source “local, seasonal, sustainably produced groceries from [a] collective of farmers and artisans: [that include] ‘beyond organic’ produce; pastured meats, poultry and eggs; locally caught fish; dairy, including raw milk from Organic Pastures; regional specialties, such as local olive oil, honey, cheeses, Fair Trade products, and the list goes on.”  Jennifer and Erik have spent a good deal of time tracking down the best quality, organic, and sustainable products available in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

Jennifer Piette and Erik Stenberg as they begin shopping the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market.

A Morning at the Farmers’ Market

Given that the collective will only use what is fresh and seasonal, the box contents change from week to week.  Additionally, new artisans, growers and vendors are being added all the time.  Piette and Stenberg meet each Saturday at the Santa Barbara Farmers’ Market to assemble the following week’s boxes.  Last Saturday I was lucky enough to spend the day with them as they gathered a week’s worth of food at the market.  Later in the day I watched as they assembled the boxes.  It was an educational and joyful experience — so much amazing food.  Santa Barbarans take food, eating, and their farmers’ market seriously.

The Los Olivos Roots Organic Farm stand from Los Olivos, California.

I trailed along with Jennifer as she made her rounds at the market before it opened.  Many of her orders had already been placed so she was picking up, and adding to where needed.  We stopped at the Windrose Farm booth for beautiful radicchio di Castelfranco, said ‘hello’ to the folks at the famous Los Olivos Roots Organic Farm stand, grabbed poultry from Healthy Family Farms, apple juice at Fair Hills Farms, fresh-squeezed orange juice from Ojai’s Friend’s Ranch, ground beef from Rancho San Julian, pork from Jiminez Family Farm, and blistered almonds from Fat Uncle Farms.   Jennifer also augments her farmers’ market purchases with produce from the Farmer Direct Produce Network, a wholesale produce distributor that features local and sustainably grown produce only.  Wesley Sleight from Farmer Direct met us at the market with a large produce delivery.

Jennifer buying eggs and poultry from Healthy Family Farms.

Buying pork chops from Jimenez Family Farm.

Buying 100% certified organic apple juice from Fair Hills Farms.

Buying blistered almonds from Fat Uncle Farms.

Two More Stops: A Fishmongress, and the Pie Shop

After we finished rounds at the market, I joined Erik as he made two more stops: for fresh fish, and homemade pies.  Cadena Yules of Cadena’s Fresh Fish is a Santa Barbara-based female fishmonger.  On a side street of downtown Santa Barbara she rents space along with several other male Latino fishmongers in a large industrial building that also sells meat (on one door is a sign for fish; a second door says “meat.”)  It was fascinating to watch Cadena at work.   She specializes in locally caught seafood.  Erik picked up line-caught halibut.  Our next stop was Simply Pies, a wonderful small pie shop that does a booming business.  We grabbed uncooked gluten-free pie shells, and freshly made apple pies.

Fishmonger, Cadena Yules of Cadena's Fresh Fish, Santa Barbara, CA.

Assembling the Boxes

The next step in the process was assembling the boxes.  Out of the Box Collective currently works out of a kitchen in Goleta.  I enjoyed watching this unfold as it was a bit like being a kid in a candy shop.  What amazing fruits or vegetables would go into each box?  What locally-sourced proteins?  What other local delicacies?  It was a flurry of activity as Jennifer worked on one side of the kitchen assembling the grocery boxes; while on the other side Erik worked on the produce boxes.  Both were assisted by Chris Schertzer, recently hired as packager, driver and deliveryman.

Jennifer, Erik and Chris as box assembly begins.

Erik assembling the produce boxes.

Finished produce boxes.

A finished grocery box.

The refrigerated delivery van ready to go.

Change Equals Growth

As with most new businesses there are moments of transition; Erik (aka The Surfin’ Chef) has decided to take a hiatus from OBC to catch a few waves.  In his place Jennifer has brought in Shaheda Gosla, a private chef and farmers’ market maven, to work on the meal plans and the weekly suggested recipes.  Until the business grows more deliveries are currently only made in northwest Los Angeles county.  Piette hopes to expand beyond that area soon.  When she does get to my area of Los Angeles, I’ll be her first customer.  I wholeheartedly applaud what she is doing.  OBC is of much value to anyone who enjoys fresh, local, sustainable food.

For more information ~ Out of the Box Collective.

To see more photos from my OBC outing, click here ~ http://tinyurl.com/6jknp92

100 Miles Shout Outs! Local events, mini-reviews, and mentions of things happening in the Food World:

#1  – Mini-Review: A shout out to a recent cookbook I received ~ “Everday Grilling: 50 Recipes from Appetizers to Desserst” by Sur La Table.  Grilling tips and recipes for first courses to desserts all (or part of the recipe) cooked on the grill.  Grilled Quesadillas.  Endless ways to grill vegetables.  Grilled Pizza (!)  Grilled Pound Cake (!?)

My Status: Enjoying winter in So Cal and the lovely winter produce: amazing citrus, kale, broccoli, collard greens.  Continuing to blog, cook, and eat.

I’m published!! My recipe “Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya” was selected to be in the cookbook: “Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices.”  You may order it here.

Upcoming Posts: More on my great-grandmother’s garden, and my California childhood. Cookbook Reviews: “The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook” by Rachel Saunders, and “Italy Dish by Dish: A Comprehensive Guide to Eating in Italy” by Monica Sartoni Cesari.

Last weekend was a whirlwind 24 hours of food.  Oh, yes, there was some wine (for Robert) thrown into the mix as well.  Saturday I spent the day at Artisanal L.A. at the Cooper Building in downtown Los Angeles, and Sunday Robert and I went out to Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu for Los Angeles Magazine’s ‘The Food Event 2010 From the Vine.’  (This post is broken into two parts ~ Part 1 (Artisanal L.A.) and Part 2 (Los Angeles Magazine’s The Food Event 2010).  Part 2 to be published soon.)

Artisanal L.A.

A first-of-its-kind event in Los Angeles, put on by the indefatigable Shawna Dawson of Sauce|LA (the mastermind behind the recent LA Street Foodfest(s), Artisanal L.A. was a weekend long community event that celebrated Los Angeles’s finest local, sustainable and handmade edibles all under one roof.  There were chef demos, panels and workshops, and attendees tasted, shopped, sampled and learned while supporting the local economy and local artisanal vendors.  This was my kind of event!  Located in the light-filled penthouse of the Cooper Building, it had a casual, relaxed vibe that fit perfectly with the goals of Sauce|LA:  to introduce to, and remind the public about the many and varied local artisans that work, produce and live in the Los Angeles-area.

Rachael Narins of Chicks with Knives at her booth.

I saw many vendors I already new and met a few new ones.  Chef Akasha Richmond of Akasha Restuarant Bar Bakery in Culver City was there offering tastes of her new line of jams, jellies, marmalades and chutneys.  I’m a big fan of Akasha’s and I grabbed a jar of Local Mango Chutney.  We ate it at home that night with fried chicken and it was a mouthful of exotic fruitiness spiked with Indian spices.  I’ve been putting it on everything.  Another friend, Rachael Narins of Chicks with Knives was there too selling Bacon Jam and other pickled goodies that she and her partner, Suzanne Griswold make.  I grabbed a jar of Garlic Dill Pickles and Jalapeño Carrots.  When I’m not eating Akasha’s chutney I’m happily eating Chicks with Knives carrots and pickles.

Chicks with Knives pickled goodies!

Longtime friend, Kathleen Lewis and I explored the event together.  A personal chef, Kathleen and I go all the way back to the early ’80s when we both worked at the Oakville Grocery in San Francisco.  Oakville was one of the first gourmet grocers in the Bay Area.  The types of foods, and products we were seeing at Artisanal L.A. were akin to what we sold in the store:  fresh, local and sustainable whenever possible.  Kathleen was one of the chefs that cooked for the prepared foods counter.  The thing about Kathleen and last Saturday morning at Artisanal L.A. is that we’d not seen each other in over twenty-five years until I stepped off the elevator at the penthouse level of the Cooper Building.  It was so good to see her, and to catch up.  It’s always a nice thing to see an old friend.  Kathleen and her husband have been living in Los Angeles, right under my nose, for 17 years.

Jennifer Priette of Out of the Box Collective.

‘Eat The Love’ is the brilliant catch phrase used by a new friend, Jennifer Piette of Out of the Box Collective.  Out of the Box is a new company owned by Piette and her business partner Erik Stenberg aka The Surfin’ Chef.   Like a CSA but not limited to produce, Out of the Box makes living the local life an attainable goal by offering home delivery of weekly boxes of local, sustainably produced groceries including meat, dairy, produce, conserves, and regional specialties.  Most of the food stuffs are sourced from artisans and farmers in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.  Erik puts the weekly boxes together and includes recipes using the food items of that week’s box.  I LOVE what they do.  The company is new so at the moment deliveries are only made on the Westside of Los Angeles.  At my suggestion, Jennifer attended Artisanal L.A.  I hope it helped generate interest.  I’ll be going with Jennifer next weekend as she shops the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers’ Market, and I’ll meet Erik too.  In an upcoming blog post I’ll write about them, and Out of the Box.

My goal in life is to become a Gentleman Farmer.  Before I graduate to that post I’d like to own a beehive.  Given that desire Kathleen and I attended a lecture at Artisanal L.A. put on by Backwards Beekeepers.  Backwards Beekeepers are a local Los Angeles-area collective of small-scale chemical-free beekeepers that rescue feral bees and teach beekeeping skills.  I currently live in a condo, and my neighbors probably won’t tolerate a hive on my back porch so I asked the Backwards Beekeepers about people who might donate their yards or property to those of  us who want to have hives but can’t.  Backwards Beekeepers said they know of many people who are ready to offer their yards, or property.  Even more fun than that Pat Saperstein of Eating L.A. was at the lecture and offered me her backyard when she moves back into her Silver Lake house next Spring.  I may be taking you up on your offer Pat!  Two other fun meets were Craig and Gary of Winnetka Farms (an urban micro farm located in the west San Fernando Valley that specializes in heirloom Italian seeds) and Amelia Posada of Lindy & Grundy (an artisan butcher shop opening in the Fairfax District in December).  Both Winnetka Farms and Lindy & Grundy are doing great things for local food.  I LOVED Artisanal L.A. and I hear another one is coming up soon.  I’ll definitely be there again.

My Status:  Fall weather has arrived to So Cal.  Cool, wet even rainy.  More cooking, eating and blogging on the horizon as always.

News! I’m published!! My recipe ‘Chef Wally’s Baked Papaya’ was selected to be in the cookbook: ‘Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook: 100 Great Recipes, Photographs, and Voices,’ published on October 19, 2010.  You may pre-order it here.  I am thrilled.

Upcoming Posts: next blog post ‘24 Hours of Food ~ Part 2: Los Angeles Magazine’s The Food Event 2010.’ Soon: a write up on Jennifer Piette and Erik Stenberg’s local, sustainable grocery delivery service Out of the Box Collective.  Cookbook Reviews:  Mary Mac’s Tea Room: 65 Years of Recipes from Atlanta’s Favorite Dining Room by John Ferrell; The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook by Rachel Saunders, and Bon Appétit Desserts.

89 miles, about 1.25 hours, from my home in Atwater Village.

Lotusland in Montecito, California is a wonder to behold. I had the privilege of seeing it this past Saturday. Faye, a follower of this blog, and a docent at Lotusland, very kindly invited me up to visit. I took Robert and my mother, Dawn, along with me. Lotusland has nothing to do with food but it is so unique that I decided to write a bit about it here. A 39-acre botanical garden containing subtropical and tropical plants from around the world, Lotusland also includes rare cycads (the oldest plant species in the world), cacti, palms and euphorbias. The place is a botanist and gardener’s dream.A well-known Polish opera singer and socialite, Madame Ganna Walska, purchased the estate that would become the gardens in 1941. She spent the next forty-three years designing unusual displays with exotic plants. A series of gardens takes the visitor through a labyrinth of landscape adventures. There are a total of twenty-six uniquely different gardens spread across the thirty-nine acres. Gardens such as the Japanese, the Aloe, the Fern, the Cactus, the Topiary, the Cycad, and the Succulent to name a few. Her original purpose for purchasing the property was to create a retreat for Tibetan monks. The original name was ‘Tibetland’ and after the monks never appeared, she renamed the property Lotusland in honor of the Indian lotus that grew in one of the property’s ponds. ‘Madame,’ as she is and was known, spent a lot time and resources seeking out the most unusual species of plants, and often securing the biggest and the best plants available. She was a demanding, intelligent and extremely creative personality. She had a vision of what she wanted and didn’t stop until she had it. After marrying and divorcing six husbands designing, overseeing, and working in the gardens became her life work. She worked on Lotusland up to her death in 1984 when she was in her late 90s. She left the property to a foundation in her name, and the gardens are now owned by the citizens of Montecito.

The gardens are truly stunning. My favorite garden was the Theater Garden. A theater with stage and seating all in plants. Curved hedges and a raised grassy area formed the stage. Rows of hedges behind and around the stage formed the backstage areas where props were stored and actors changed costumes. Madame actually staged plays there often. I had heard about Lotusland from my mother who had visited before but I didn’t quite grasp the uniqueness of what it was. It’s hard to until actually witnessing it in person. The only way to visit Lotusland is to make a reservation to go on a docent-lead tour. As mentioned above, our docent was Faye. Her knowledge of the plants, and the history of the place was astounding. Not only did she know every plant’s botanical name, she was also able to tell us where it came from, how it grows, and why Madame chose it for Lotusland. It was a vastly interesting two and half hour experience. One I absolutely recommend.

Me, my mother, Dawn, and Faye, our docent.

Pictures don’t really do it justice but here are few we took during our tour.

Lotusland is located in Montecito, California, for reservations call 805-969-9990, or e-mail: reservations@lotusland.org. Website: http://www.lotusland.org/

My Status: Settling into fall, happily. New cookbooks to try, some to review; new kitchen equipment to try out. More cooking, eating, writing, blogging coming soon.

Upcoming Posts: ‘gleaning,’ or the act of gathering public produce, or leftover farmer’s market produce, and giving it to the poor, needy and hungry. A history of the movement, and those that are involved with it. Reviews: The Berghoff Cafe Cookbook and Cooking Light, a review of the redesign of the Time Inc. magazine.

*The Local Report(s): are occasional blog posts on restaurants, and/or businesses that either support the idea of one-hundred miles, and ‘living life locally’; or are small, localized businesses in my neighborhood, and/or within one-hundred miles of my residence, that I prefer to support over the larger, national, corporate chains. For other The Local Report(s) please go the Archives section of this blog. Also, I’d love to hear from my readers about businesses that they support in their neighborhoods: write to me at charlesgthompson@100miles.com, or leave a comment here.

Follow The Local Report on Twitter: @TheLocalReport