100 Things I Like: The Pinnacle Farm Stand

Fresh, organic, and yummy-licious locally grown vegetables and fruit. That's why the husband and I like to head over to the Pinnacle Farm Stand in San Juan Valley almost every Saturday. The farm stand is open from  8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.
 

100 Things I Like: The Growing Cycle on the Bolsa

As you drive in or out of Hollister on the Bolsa (Highway 25), you can see food grow right before your eyes. For real. Day in, day out. All year round.

Sometimes, like yesterday, you can see plowed fields ready to be sown. . .

while nearby fields are being harvested. . .

We're rather fortunate.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: Pumpkin Fields

Two years in a row, I've stumbled across a pumpkin field that I had to just stop the car and tumble out to go stand among the pumpkins. Oooh. click.  Oooh. click. Last year, it was somewhere in San Juan Valley. This year, it was on Santa Ana Road. Who knows where one will suddenly be next year?

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: The Cannery

I like going by the cannery when it's in action—to catch a glimpse of steam escaping from pipes, fans spinning, pipes wrapping around the building.  There is beauty in industrial buildings.

Want to know what the cannery, San Benito Foods, makes every tomato season? Click here. And, if you'd like to learn more about Hollister's last cannery, click here.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: Swank Farms

If you're heading south on San Felipe Road, just look for this sign
that points to the Swank Produce Stand.

If you shop at farmers markets in the Monterey, San Jose, or San Francisco areas, you've probably stopped by the Swank Farms booth. It's the one with the delicious heirloom tomato salsa. The owners, Dick and Bonnie Swank, also have a produce stand next to the Hollister Airport. It's one of my sources for fresh eggs, which come straight from the hens on the grounds.

The Swanks have made visiting the produce stand a family fun adventure, with a farm corral, pedal carts, gigantic jumping pillow, mining sluice, and other activities. And, every fall, the Swanks create an elaborate corn maze and haunted ranch that lasts until October 31. 

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: Local Products

Kathina, the owner of San Benito Bene—
the local place to buy local products!

We really have a lot of wonderful goods created and produced by local foodies, artists, craftspeople,  farmers, and others. I'll name a few:
Bell Hill Goat Milk Lotion
San Benito Gold Honey
Sons of Sicily Olive Oil
Pinnacle Apple Juice (Organic)
Vista Notes
Marich Confectionary
Art of Shannon Grissom

And, you know what, you can now go to this one shop in Hollister to buy these products and other local goods, Monday through Friday. San Benito Bene is the place!

Today, Saturday, San Benito Bene continues its grand opening, starting at noon. You'll have a chance to taste some of the local foods that are available in the shop. Check it out, if you can. The shop is located at 615 San Benito Street, the same side of the block as Heavenly Bakery and Best of Times Cafe.

Christmas shopping is going to be so easy for me this year.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link. 

100 Things I Like: Organic Tomatoes

Yesterday, the husband and I picked organic tomatoes at the Mariquita Farm in the northern part of San Benito County. Nearly 30 pounds of red and green bursts of nutrition and flavor. If you're interested in getting in your own supply of tomato goodness, there will be another U-pick day tomorrow, Saturday, September 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. They'll have other vegetables on sale as well. Here's a link for more details.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link. 

100 Things I Like: Bertuccio's Produce Stand

"We need eggs."

Lately, that means a bicycle ride to Bertuccio's Produce Stand. There, the husband and I can get a dozen of fresh eggs "donated" by local chickens.  We also like to go there for nuts and jams, all locally produced. Sometimes we find great produce bargains; for instance, once time, we got avocados for 50 cents each.  And, every now and then, they have a basket of free produce that are still good, but not good enough to be sold. Totally like that.

Bertuccio's Produce Stand is just before you reach the corner of Highway 25 (Airline Highway) and Union Road, as you're heading south on 25. That cool old truck marks the spot where you'll be turning right onto Bertuccio's driveway.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: The Food Gatherers

It's September. It's harvest time. Give thanks! to all the workers who are out there picking and gathering the vegetables and fruits for our bellies. There is nothing easy about their jobs.

To get this photo, I leaned out the car window and snapped away as the husband drove east on Highway 156 through San Juan Valley.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: The Farmers Market

Today is Farmers Market Day in Downtown Hollister, from 3 to 7 p.m on Fifth Street.  Only three more market days left until next year.

Yes, I know this isn't the most flattering shot of the market. I just like the way the Granada Theater sign sticks up above the canopies.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

100 Things I Like: The Prickly Pear Cactus

Prickly Pear Cactus at the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park

The prickly pears are in bloom again.

Imagine Katherine Hepburn saying that as she tenderly holds a bouquet of prickly pears instead of calla lilies in the movie Stage Door.

I'm not so keen on eating the fruit or the pads. For me, the appeal of this plant is its look. It makes my imagination run rampant.

By the way, if your curious about the prickly pear plant, check out this page at the UC Small Farm Program Web site.

For more 100 Things I Like About Living in Hollister, click on that link.

Onion Leftovers

The other day I posted a photo of an apple orchard in San Juan Valley. Across from it was this onion field, the crop already harvested. For whatever reasons, these onions didn't make the truck.

Agriculture is the number one industry in San Benito County. According to the 2010 Annual Crop Report of San Benito County, 23,793 tons of bulb onions were produced in 2010, which valued nearly $6.7 million.

Readying for Harvest

As we were driving to the Pinnacle farm stand in San Juan Valley yesterday, we passed apple orchards bursting of fruit.

Another Peak Out the Elevator Window

A while back, I took a photo through the elevator window at the Briggs Garage, while I was at the top floor. Here's what I saw when I got down to the bottom.

Many of you probably recognize the name on the truck: Mansmith's as in yummy-tasting BBQ.

Onion Field

Harvest time is nigh. Some crops are already being harvested. This is the onion field at the north end of the 25 bypass in Hollister.

Setting Up for the Farmers Market

The Downtown Hollister Farmers Market is every Wednesday, from 3 to 7 p.m. on Fifth Street, between San Benito and Monterey Streets.  Lots of local food, crafts, wares, and joy are there.

Everything Garlic

More than six hours later, I still have a distinct taste of garlic in my mouth. Garlic fries. Garlic ice cream. Shrimp, mushrooms, noodles, BBQ, and sausages laced with oodles of garlic.

Yesterday, the husband and I drove over to Gilroy (not in San Benito County) and sampled some of the garlicky foods for sale at its infamous Garlic Festival.  Consuming all that garlic was for a good cause. Really.

This was the first time I attended the event, which started in 1979. I didn't know until just now that the festival is a major annual fundraiser for Gilroy's many nonprofit organizations. Last year, the festival raised $270,000, according to its Web site. Wow! Okay, maybe I'll excuse it for having to pay $3 for a bottle of water.

The festival continues today and Sunday.

I thought the garlic fries were the best tasting thing I ate.
The potatoes were totally loaded with the stinking rose.

As the mama would say, "Lots of people there."

 Setting the pans on fire was part of the show of cooking in front of a crowd.

San Benito Bene

San Benito Bene is a new boutique in downtown Hollister. How new is it?

It's opening today—July 18, 2011, for those of you who don't look at calendars.

I learned about it from its owner, Kathina, at the Downtown Street Festival on Saturday. Her booth displayed some of the samples of food, cosmetics, lotions, and other handcrafted items made by local artisans, crafts persons, and food makers, which she is selling in her store.

Finally, don't you agree? A local shop which carries many of the local items.

San Benito Bene is located at 615 San Benito Street, Suite B, near the Best of Times Cafe. The shop's hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

A note to FTC: Kathina gave me a sample-size bottle of olive oil, after I asked if I could take a photo of her and her booth  for my blog.

Hitchcock in San Juan Bautista?

I was wandering around downtown San Juan Bautista yesterday with the camera, of course. So, I think I shall do another week  (June 20 to June 27) of photos of the mission city. 

The arrow points to—what else—Vertigo Coffee Restaurant/Cafe at 81 Fourth Street.

Local Stand Full of Yummy Cherries

It's cherry season. Hurrah, hurrah!

The Ivancovich Family Orchards' cherry stand on Buena Vista Road is now open for business. Hurrah, hurrah! It's the husband and my favorite place to go for freshly-picked local cherries. Three dollars a pound. They've got both the deep red and the red/yellow types. 

The stand is located at 2420 Buena Vista Road. If you're traveling on highway 156, you'll see a truck with a huge cherry sign on the south side of the highway at Buena Vista Road. Just follow the signs to yummy delicious cherries. The stand is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They hope to stay open until at least the Fourth of July.