.Hack Attack

Confession: I’m not as good a cook as my better-looking half believes me to be. Which may be a long con to keep me feeding her. Or it may be that she doesn’t know I have two secret weapons.

Number one: a CSA box.

Number two: a sprinkle of salt and a splash of citrus, the two flavor enhancers that make pretty much everything ever made better, ice cream included. (I dare you to disprove.)

This week I’ve been on a heater stove-side thanks to peak summer produce, and the discoveries that come when working with what’s fresh.

Three quick and recent revelations:

1. Experimenting is sweet. Stone fruit is popping, so hopping on this is timely. I’ve taken to quick dicing peaches or nectarines with local tomatoes, sometimes avocado too, adding a little salt and pepper—and whoa, that’s a surprisingly versatile summer salsa.

2. Surprise bulk baking is beautiful. I’ve long loved bacon cooking en masse, made easy, by skipping the pan and heading to the oven. Now I do it with tortillas. Brush them with olive oil, maybe drop a little Pezzini Farms Artichoke Seasoning on them, bake for 4 minutes at 350, flip ’em for 4 more, and they’re healthier, fluffier and arguably tastier than frying.

3. Mane is magic. A swing by Far West Fungi led to seasoning fresh lion’s mane mushrooms with Old Bay and sauteing in butter for a delicious crab-like result in texture and taste, only better for the brain. Side note: A sizable box of fresh lion’s mane was 50% (!) less at their Ferry Building shop than Whole Foods.

Meanwhile our weekly CSA box means we’re never missing a dose of seasonal produce and the inspiration that comes with it, whether we can make it to the market or not.

Thankfully CSA options from around Santa Cruz—with some customizable frequency and quantity—abound.

Some to consider, rapid-fire-style: Sea to Sky Farm, UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology, Homeless Garden Project, Live Earth Farm, Freewheelin’ Farm, Winterspring Farm, Fifth Crow Farm, Route 1 Farms, Santa Cruz Permaculture, Everett Family Farm, Lindencroft Farm, Shumei Santa Cruz Farm, Tierra Madre Farm, Common Roots Farm and Dirty Girl Produce.

Next week: angles on community-supported fisheries.

PROGRESS IS REAL

Earlier this month, Biden-Harris announced a new goal to reduce plastic consumption by phasing out the purchase and use of single-use plastic across the federal government by 2027 for all food service and packaging, as well as at events—and by 2035 to eliminate their use entirely. Good news. And they could take a note on accelerating things from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, who shared the update on LinkedIn, and moved off plastics completely long ago.

Also: Happy 25th Birthday, Seafood Watch, which helped revolutionize how seafood lovers—from diners to chefs to industry—can make mindful choices. The Aquarium is celebrating all year, and my favorite element so far has been the monthly debut of a Super Green List foodstuff—think of it as the Clean 15 of the Sea—with insight on why they’re healthy for eaters and the ocean, plus fun recipes from culinary pros. First five to date: farmed mussels, albacore, rainbow trout, farmed seaweed and Alaskan flounder and sole. seafoodwatch.org.

GOOD NEWS BUFFET

As this hits newsstands Woodstock’s Pizza (710 Front St., Santa Cruz) is toasting its dramatic makeover with a VIP party and Chamber ribbon-cutting; more importantly the fly new space with striking bar has an ambitious new cocktail menu. woodstockscruz.com…Speaking of grand openings, Hidden Fortress Coffee’s new spot inside Cruzio Internet (877 Cedar St., Santa Cruz) just celebrated its own last week, and is open 8:30am-2pm weekdays, while its OG cafe/roastery/kitchen (125 Hangar Way, Suite 270, Watsonville) percolates on 8:30am-1pm Monday-Friday. hiddenfortresscoffee.com…Costco now has apocalypse packs with 150 servings of freeze-dried foods for $80…Let’s have Neil Gaiman takes us out with this line from The Sandman, “I have heard the languages of apocalypse, and now I shall embrace the silence.”