Local Winter Squash

Boxes full of different organic squashes are available at The Farm—Bertuccio's Market.

Gourmet Tortillas

Chipotle, spinach, tomato, beets, whole wheat, and jalapeno & cilantro tortillas.  Sound yummy and nutritious, huh? Suppose you could buy a package of these 8-inch freshly-made tortillas for $1.75, or three packages for $5.00.  Would you? That's the cost of these gourmet tortillas when you could purchase them directly from the makers right here in Hollister.

That's right! Right here in Hollister, California. These yummy gourmet tortillas, along with regular flour and corn tortillas and bags of corn chips ($1/50/bag), are produced by La Piedad Tortilla Factory on 1551 Lana Way, off of Fallon Road. Here's a 2011 article about La Piedad Tortilla Factory when it was in Gilroy.

La Piedad Tortilla Factory is open from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday. It is located on the north side of Lana Way. You can't miss the company's sign. Turn left into the driveway after the sign and go through the gates. Look for a black security screen door. That's the entry. Not only will you be able to buy the tortillas, you can check out the operations at work.

What other hidden gems do we have in our county?

Teresa at the 2013 San Benito Olive Festival

A Fun Day at the First San Benito Olive Festival

The first ever San Benito Olive Festival has come and gone. Did you have a chance to stop by?

It was quite a beautiful and magical day. Hundreds and hundreds of folks came from all over. Not only from throughout San Benito County, but also from the San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo county, Sacramento, and other parts of the state. I heard that a few festival patrons were from New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Whoo-hooo! 

The Paicines Ranch was the perfect setting for the first San Benito Olive Festival. The old hippie in me just wanted to take off my shoes and run barefoot through the lawn and dance with the little joyful kids as they bounced and jumped and ran with the great sounds of Mr. O's Jazz Band, The Retrospect Band, David Huboi and The Architecturals, and Workhouse Poets.

Everywhere you looked, people were having fun sampling locally produced olive oils and wines, chocolates, fruit preserves, and other artisanal products by Brigantino Olio de Oliva, La Piedad Tortilla Factory, Jayse Wines, Marich Confectionary, Pietra Santa Winery, Calera Wine, San Benito Tea Company, Sharobed Grove, Casa de Fruta Winery, B&R Farms, Guerra Vineyards and Groves, Oils of Paicines, and many more.

Folks were also check out lovely, creative products from such merchants as M&M Plant Sales, Gioia Italian Art and Products, San Benito Bene, McAbee Feed, and Off the Chain Bikes.

And, the food, oooooh. I noticed quite a few people chomping happily into  tri-tip sandwiches by Vanguard Catering and the Philly cheese steak sandwiches by Philly Cheesesteak from Stockton. Myself, I ate a caprese panini sandwich from Grillin' and Chillin, while the Husband had a caprese salad made by Running Rooster. Ah, but the most delightful aroma came from Soul Sweets which offered fruit cobblers. The Husband continues to drool over the memory of consuming a blueberry cobbler with a big scoop of ice cream.

Yes, indeed!  To the tune of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, one, two, three: It was a beautiful day for a festival. A beautiful day for a festival. Hope you all had funnnn.

What did you like the most at the San Benito Olive Festival?

For more photos, check out these Facebook Albums. You don't need to be on Facebook or have a Facebook account to access them.

• 2013 San Benito Olive Festival
• 2013 San Benito Olive Festival (at San Benito Olive Festival's FB wall)
• Behind the Scenes

I'm looking forward to next year's San Benito Olive Festival. How about you?

First Annual San Benito Olive Festival

Click here to go to the San Benito Olive Festival website

Agriculture has been the largest industry in San Benito County since. . .forever. In 2012, the industry grossed over $297 million, according to the San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner. That's definitely a big WOW! This includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, livestock, poultry, honey, whole grains, and nursery stock. It's only befitting that come October 19, 2013, we will be celebrating the abundant bounty of our land with the first annual San Benito Olive Festival.

It will be one humdinger of a gourmet celebration. Here's just a few of the olive oil producers, wineries, food artisans, restaurants, and merchants who will be participating: Brigantinto Olio de Oliva, Sons of Sicily, Oils of Paicines, Pietra Santa, Guerra Vineyards and Groves, Casa de Fruta, Marich Chocolates, San Benito Tea Company, Running Rooster, Paine's Restaurant, Grillin & Chillin, M&M Plant Sales, Soul Sweets, San Benito Bene, and McAbee Feed.

Food demonstrations will be given by foodie legend Dorothy McNett and the chef team of Gene Sakahara and Sam Bozzo (aka SakaBozzo). Other food demonstrators will be Chef Maurizio Cutrignelli of Maurizio’s Restaurant in Morgan Hill and Chef Matt Woolston of Supper Club/ Matteo’s in Sacramento.

Mr. O's Jazz Band, David Huboi and The Architecturals, RetroSpect, and Workhouse Poets will be some of the bands playing throughout the day. Other live entertainment will be offered as well.

Click here to go to the
San Benito Olive Festival website

Have I teased you too much with the what? Good. Then, you're ready for the when? where? how much?  and why?

When: October 19, 2013, 11 am to 5 pm

Where: Paicines Ranch, 13388 Airline Highway, Paicines 95043, about 12 miles south of Hollister  (Did you know that Judy Garland and Sid Luft got married at this working, historic ranch in 1952?)

How much: General admission tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. VIP admission is $30, which includes access to the wine tasting.

You can purchase tickets online at Eventbrite.com. Tickets are also available at the door.

Why: The San Benito Olive Festival (SBOF) is a not-for-profit organization. Its mission is to  promote awareness and appreciation of the region's world-class culinary agriculture and premier artisans and to help support community causes with festival proceeds.

Program Schedule
The Music 

11 AM to 12 PM -- Mr. O's Jazz Band
12:30 to 1:30 PM -- Retrospect
2:00 to 3:00 PM  -- David Huboi and the Architecturals
3:30 to 4:30 PM -- Workhouse Poets

The Olive and Cooking Demonstrations

11:30 to 12:15 -- Don Landis, The Olive Guy
12:30 to 1:15 -- SakaBozzo, chef duo featured at the Gilroy Garlic Festival
1:30 to 2:15 -- Matt Woolston, chef/owner of Matteo's Pizza and Bistro and Supper Club in Sacramento area
2:30 to 3:15 -- Dorothy McNett, Central Coast Foodie, Chef and Instructor of the Cooking Club in Pacific Grove
3:30 to 4:30 -- Maurizio Cutrignelli, chef/owner of Maurizio`s Italian Restaurant in Morgan Hill

For more information about the first annual San Benito Olive Festival, visit www.sanbenitoolivefestival.com or its Facebook page.

Hope to see you there!

Disclosure: Just so you, dear readers, know, I'm volunteering on the SBOF's marketing committee. Hello, FCC: No money or free products were given me to write about the upcoming gourmet celebration.

San Benito County from the Bus

This year the Husband and I took the San Benito County Express's free shuttle to the San Benito County Fair. It was the best way to travel. The only stress for us was making sure we got down to the bus stop in time. We could've driven and parked next to the stop, but the whole idea was to experience getting from here to there and back by just walking and riding the bus.

The final assessment: We would do it again. The bus was clean, comfortable, and safe. Every seat had a seat belt. The drivers were friendly and courteous. The fair had someone on board to sell us our tickets. Convenient, yes? And, the shuttle stop at the fairgrounds was precisely in front of the Pavilion. Hello, no hiking a fair distance from the car over uneven ground. A very nice plus for young old fogeys like the Husband and me.

We got on at Veterans Park, the first stop, so that we could see the sights on the shuttle's full loop around Hollister. To see the photos I took from the shuttle, head over to the album Riding the Free Shuttle to the County Fair at Take 25 to Hollister's Facebook page. You don't need to be signed on or even be a Facebook member to access this link.