Pajaro Valley Magazine October 29 2021

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021

Paying respect Dia de los Muertos celebrations underway P4

A supplement to The Pajaronian

Marigolds thrive at a farm on Hall Road in Las Lomas.

GARDENING P6 | HOME OF THE WEEK P7 | MIXING BOWL P8

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Gardening

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Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2021. All rights reserved.

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the Watsonville Public Library’s Main Branch created this altar at the entrance to the library as part of Dia de los Muertos.

Photos by Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

DISPLAY The staff at

HOLIDAY TREAT Workers at Ricarmi Panadería y Pastelería, 11 East Fifth St. in

Watsonville, are busy making “dead bread” as part of Dia de los Muertos.

ADDING COLOR Ana Ruvalcaba, owner of Ruvalcaba Nursery on San Miguel Canyon

Road in Royal Oaks, includes marigolds in her array of flowers for sale at the Watsonville Certified Farmers’ Market to align with Dia de los Muertos.

Tarmo Hannula

CELEBRATION Mexican tradition in full swing around the Pajaro Valley

By TARMO HANNULA

ay of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, celebrations are underway around the Pajaro Valley as a continuum of a long-standing Mexican tradition.

The holiday, celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November, originated in Mexico, but is also recognized in other spots, especially by people of Mexican heritage.

Day of the Dead typically involves family and friends who gather, often at area cemeteries,

D

OF THE

to pay respect and to remember the dead.

Traditions include honoring the deceased with skeleton facsimiles, skulls, music and altars that feature favorite foods and other attractions of the deceased.

In Watsonville some vendors at the Certified Farmers’ Market continue the tradition by offering freshly harvested marigolds, trinkets and clothes reflecting Dia de los Muertos themes.

Though the celebration honors

DEAD the dead, it also includes gift giving to friends, that include candy sugar skulls or pan de muerto (dead bread).

The owners of Ricarmi Panadería y Pastelería in Watsonville have taken steps to bake traditional dead bread.

On Oct. 29, the Watsonville Film Festival will feature its Dia de los Muertos event in Watsonville Civic Plaza. Arts and crafts activities, dance performances, and more are on deck for the day that gets started at 4pm.

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021

IN THE SPIRIT Trinkets and other goods reflecting Dia de los Muertos are popular items for sale at the Watsonville Certified Farmers’ Market.

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OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

GARDENING

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VERSATILE PLANT Dill leaves can enhance many dishes.

Celery’s cousin Growing dill can be easy and rewarding

By KATE RUSSELL

D

ill’s delicate fronds and distinct aroma make it a useful addition to your garden.

Known for elevating pickled cucumbers, asparagus and green beans to new heights, dill (Anethum graveolens) is a cousin to celery. Dill oil, extracted from seeds, stems and leaves, is used to make soap.

Dill can reach a height of two to four feet, making it only slightly smaller than fennel, which has a similar feathery growth. Flowers are white or yellow umbels (think umbrellas) that attract many beneficial insects. Dill seeds look like tiny brownish-gray orange slices.

Once seeds start forming, leaf production is over and the plant will soon die. But worry not, dear gardeners! Dill reseeds itself easily.

Seeds from a single plant can create an entire bed of dill in future seasons. To collect seeds for kitchen use, remove seed heads and hang upside down over a bowl or in a pillowcase. Seeds will fall when they are mature, and the flower head can be added to the compost pile to feed next year’s generation.

Dill is a biennial that is grown as an annual. Dill does not transplant well, so site selection is your first step. Dill prefers lots of sun, though partial shade can be tolerated. Shadier sites will result in less bushy plants. You can easily grow dill in a container that is at least 12 inches deep. This will make room for dill’s taproot (“Fernleaf ” is a dwarf variety best suited for containers). Seeds should be planted a quarter- to half-inch deep and the soil kept moist until seedlings emerge. Seedlings should be thinned to 12 inches apart.

Once plants are established, allow the soil to dry out between waterings. Side dressing plants with aged compost during the growing season will provide important nutrients (side dressing simply means dumping an amendment around a plant and watering it).

Dill has very few pests, thanks to the volatile oils that give it its flavor. Tomato hornworms and parsley caterpillars may be seen and can be handpicked. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) or insecticidal soap can be used to treat severe infestations.

Dill is relatively disease-free.

Dill leaves enhance many dishes.

Simply snip off what you need. You can also dry dill leaves for later use by placing cut leaves between cloth napkins or paper towels, laid on top of nonmetallic screens to dry, and then storing in an airtight container. Dill leaves can also be frozen. You can keep harvested leaves fresh by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and refrigerating them for up to a week in a sealable container. Growing dill is easy and rewarding. Give it a try!

Kate Russell is a UCCE Master Gardener.

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PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021

Close to the scenic route

Provoking thought since 1990

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THE MIXING BOWL

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Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Homemade caramel corn

TREAT Buttery and sugary caramel corn can be easily made at home but be careful with the hot caramel.

By SARAH RINGLER

P

opcorn is funny. Its unique look comes from the hard shell that when exposed to high heat causes the moisture and starch inside to build up and explode. It is a good time food that is healthy, low in fat, sugar, sodium and high in fiber.

However plain popcorn is bland and the health benefits can quickly be destroyed by what you put on it.

For instance, a typical medium buttered popcorn at a movie theater that has been popped in coconut oil, according to DietFacts.com, contains the same calories as three

Big Macs. For another example, note the high amounts of sugar and butter in the Caramel Corn recipe below. This is a treat, not a snack.

Popcorn is native to North America and archeologists have found samples of it in New Mexico from 5,600 years ago. English settlers learned about it from the Native Americans and brought it back to Europe. In the United States it grew in popularity during the Great Depression because it was cheap. Sugar rations during World War II made it a substitute snack. It is still a popular snack and has its own unique niche as a movie snack, diet food and candy.

Oven Caramel Corn 5 quarts of popped popcorn made with 1 2/3 cups unpopped popcorn 1 cup butter 2 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda Nuts – optional

Traditional Popcorn: 1 2/3 cups popping corn 10 tablespoons high heat oil Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Put a large roasting pan in the oven.

Make popcorn using a Hot Air Popcorn Popper, or the traditional

method using a heavy bottomed 2 1/2 quart saucepan with a lid to make 5 quarts of popped corn. Dispose of unpopped seeds and keep popped corn warm in the oven in the roasting pan.

To use the traditional method, put a heavy bottomed saucepan on the burner on nearly high heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil and 3 kernels of corn. Cover with lid. Listen carefully and never leave the stove. When the test kernels pop, add about 1/3 cup of corn kernels. Cover the pan and shake occasionally. When the corn begins to pop enthusiastically, shake the pan holding the lid with a potholder. When the popping begins to cease, remove from the stove.

When the popping stops, pour the popcorn into a large roasting pan.

Keep warm in oven. Repeat 4 more times. Each saucepan load makes about 1 quart popcorn.

Measure out the baking soda and put aside. Combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and salt in the same 2 1/2-quart saucepan you used to pop the corn. Cook over medium heat stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for about five minutes until it is at the firm-ball stage. This means that when you drop some of the mixture into a small cup of cold water, the mixture turns into a firm mass that you can mold between your fingers.

You do not want to overcook this mixture.

Remove from the heat and completely stir in the soda. It will foam.

Quickly remove the popped corn from the oven. Be careful with the sugar mixture because it can burn you. Carefully pour the sugar and butter mixture over the corn, tossing it to coat the corn. When the mixture is completely combined, put in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes to keep the kernels separated. Stores well in metal cookie tins.

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PHOTO GALLERY Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

Tarmo Hannula

BIRDS THIS WAY

A painting of a pelican joins other road signs in Carmel.

Tarmo Hannula

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SOLEMN PERFORMANCE

A trumpet player warms up prior to performing at a graveside service at a cemetery in Moss Landing.

Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2021 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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Est. 1911