A little slice of paradise.
I love California. I typically visit once a year to get my fix. I stopped being a resident during the pandemic and I am so nostalgic about my time living there. Eight years of my twenties were spent in California. Randomly, a trip will present itself and I have to take that opportunity to get back to the place I used to call home. Every visit offers a chance to get in touch with a previous iteration of myself. Moments of introspection emerge during a visit and I see just how far I’ve come.
I left New York City in 2012 on a quest for a simpler life. I booked my one-way ticket and fully relinquished myself to the experience of becoming a Californian. I sobbed on the tarmac leaving New York. I realized I made a huge mistake. So much of my identity is linked to the East Coast. At the time, I thought moving to a beautiful place with happy people would provide an enriched life and bring me closer to “happiness.” A familiar negative mindset followed me and it wasn't the location that had to change, it was me.
California is healing if you allow it to be. The markets, the people, the endless landscape provides just the right amount of mending. Recently, I visited and was overwhelmed with abundance. My friend Alana whisked me up from the airport and we journeyed to the Yuba River. Nevada City and the Yuba River are in a time capsule. You rarely feel the effects of modernity and capitalism there. This small chunk of California is certainly not free, but the experience itself is freeing. The waters of the Yuba River are as close to baptismal as I have ever experienced. The following day Alana and I went to a baby shower for our mutual friend Angela. Love and respect was felt across every interaction I had during my trip. I bonded with Angela’s grandmother and I feel confident I made a new friend.
During a trip to the farmers market in Nevada City I remembered one of the key elements of the California experience. EXCEPTIONAL PRODUCE. The smiles on the vendors faces ushered back fond memories of rummaging through baskets and bushels of fruits, leaves, vegetables, legumes and vibrant edible delicacies. Alana and I made with out loot garlic scape and sesame focaccia, quick jammy tomatoes with basil and ricotta, summer squash trifolati, a tortilla with new potatoes and chard, basil aioli and a cucumber salad with charred broccolini and whipped tahini. I thought the experience was not going to climax further, however, once I arrived in Oakland my friend Katri knows that I can’t stop myself.
Katri had proposed that we have a dessert with the last of the season apricots. Apricots at the end of the season are delicately sweet, soft and slightly tart. I had never made a large format galette before. In honor of where Katri and I first met, Chez Panisse, it felt fitting that this would be the best dessert to whip up. I have to say I shocked myself with this one. Baking the galette on a half sheet tray upside down in a very hot oven was the only way to get a crispy and well done crust and have the fruit intensify in sweetness without losing it’s integrity. Majority of the galette was devoured. For a brief moment when I was in California I could grasp the trajectory of my life. I felt closer to myself. According to some pieces of mail I’m receiving, California is still home.
Peach, Celery & Blue Cheese Salad
You may notice that this recipe feels closer to a method than formulaic. I enjoy the loose nature of method based recipes à la The River Café (London). When a recipe reads closer to poetry than science, it’s a beautiful thing. I love a salad that leaves a little bit of juice left on the plate. You will want to tilt the plate and waterfall the peach nectar towards your lips, it’s quite the experience.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
100g pecans
4 stalks of celery, peeled and trimmed of their ends
2 ripe peaches, each cut into eighths
mint, picked, large handful
italian parsley, picked, large handful
1 lemon
flaky sea salt
ground black pepper
2T extra virgin olive oil
120g blue cheese (Roquefort and Valdéon are good here)
Method:
Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Toast pecans on a small baking tray for 6-10 minutes until darkened in color and fragrant, allow to cool slightly.
Slice the celery thinly with a knife using a 45º angle for a dramatic bias cut and add to a large bowl. Add peaches to this bowl followed by the herbs.
Over the mixture, zest the lemon, cut the lemon in half and juice only one half onto the salad. Season with salt and black pepper and add pecans. Drizzle olive oil over the salad and being to dress with a pair of tongs. Stir deliberately ensuring everything is evenly coated.
Plate the salad and spread it out over the plate. Gently crumble the blue cheese on top of the salad. You want similarly sized pieces of blue cheese. Finish the salad with more flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper, maybe a few streams of some peppery olive oil and go grab a fork.