You may not need a reminder just how astounding octopuses are. Just in case, here are three: their blue blood pumps through three hearts; they can change their skin’s texture, color and pattern instantaneously; and their arms have their own brains so they can multitask better than the most caffeinated office manager.
An upcoming Aug. 11 event at Elkhorn Yacht Club in Moss Landing, a funky fabulous venue geographically smack dab in the center of the coast that rings Monterey Bay, will touch those tentacles, and reach beyond.
The multispecies, multimedia and multidimensional event “Love, Grief, and Octopuses in the Monterey Bay” promises to “explore the depths of the Monterey Bay Canyon, and—through science and art—learn how we can hold our climate grief and our awe and love of these beautiful places simultaneously.”
In other words, profundity befitting a natural wonder dipping deeper than 13,200 feet.
The enlightening elements include speakers (Monterey Bay Research Institute researcher and “octopus garden” pioneer Dr. Christine Huffard, and climate- and mental-health visionary Luke Pustejovsky), creative works (short oceanic films by Santa Cruz artist Kalie Granier and a performance by singer songwriter Brian Wood Capobianchi), and a mesmerizing menu (inspired by event curator/chef/author Maria Finn’s new cookbook Forage. Gather. Feast.)
That menu merits a pause to consider the flavor that awaits guests (with sliding scale donations ranging $75-$250, benefiting Finn’s Institute of Ecosystem Based Living), and anyone who grabs Finn’s cookbook. Some highlights, among many, include from-scratch seaweed butter and smoked anchovy butter with local breads; greens with fresh nori, pickled bladderwrack and wild radish pods; squid and harissa flatbreads; black cod, kombu and wild mushroom chowder; and octopus-shaped trifles with candy cap whipped cream and berries. mariafinn.com
CATCH IF YOU CAN
Last week this column celebrated the abundance of community-supported agriculture options in the Santa Cruz area (aka CSAs; more at goodtimes.sc), and promised word on CSFs, the equivalent subscription service for seafood lovers.
The same home cooking hack applies with fresh produce and fresh catch: Participation helps farmers and fishermen alike navigate the ebbs and flows of an unsteady existence with reliable income, and they reciprocate with value unavailable at super markets—and insight into tasty local species (complete with recipes).
I’m grateful to report Greater Santa Cruz has three CSFs, all worth considering: West Cliff’s Ocean2Table (getocean2table.com), Santa Cruz Harbor-based H&H Seafood (hhfreshfish.com) and Moss Landing-centered Real Good Fish (realgoodfish.com), where Maria Finn (see above) once worked.
SUPER SCRAPS
Adored—and now-shuttered—French-inspired Cafe Sparrow of Aptos has a new iteration as its chef-owner Donnie Suesens debuts Food Talk, starting dinner service today (Aug. 7), a farm-driven pop-up at Ulterior (110 Pearl Alley, Santa Cruz)…This Aug. 10 chef Diego Felix of Colectivo Felix dishes the latest Santa Cruz Farmers Market pop-up breakfast flavor- and fund-raising installment—the good causes being Market Match food access, The Foodshed Project’s free educational events at the Felton and Scotts Valley markets, and KERMIT, a collaboration with Santa Cruz Public Libraries to bring a book mobile to pair with farm-fresh produce—more via santacruzfarmersmarket.org…Aug. 10 also brings on Community Bridges’ ninth annual Farm to Fork Gala at La Selva Beach Clubhouse, give.communitybridges.org…Rest in pizza and pasta Roberto “Loli” Linguanotto, creator of tiramisu, which he says was sparked when he spilled mascarpone into a bowl of eggs and sugar, and went with it…That inspires an anonymous quote to close with: “Stressed spelled backward is desserts.”
