Fall Comfort Food

By Randy Graham

Fall brings a yearning for cozy blankets, hot apple cider, and comfort foods here on California’s Central Coast. One of my go-to comfort foods is poutine with plenty of tangy gravy.

My riff features French fries, cheese curds, and gravy made with vegetable stock and rice vinegar. If you’re looking for comfort food for Halloween or Día de Los Muertos, give my quesofundido a try. It is good with a bowl of fresh tortilla chips or small handmade flour tortillas for dipping. If you need to provide comfort food to vegetarians visiting at Thanksgiving, we have you covered there too.

Try my veggie meatballs made with walnuts, onions, fresh sage, and mild longhorn cheese. Veg heads and meat lovers of all ages love this recipe. AnotherThanksgiving favorite of mine is my mom’s riced potatoes recipe, made with russet potatoes, butter, half-and-half, sour cream, and Parmesan cheese.

Tin City, Paso Robles

 Laid-back Central Coast tasting at its finest Story and photos by Katherine McMahon  Just a few miles south of downtown Paso Robles, Tin City is a community of creative wine, spirits, and food producers that represents everything the Central Coast is about. Tin City began 10 years ago when BarrelHouse Brewing Co. was looking for a new home, and local businessman Mike English saw an opportunity to utilize land he owned near his pool and landscaping business. Since then, it has grown to include more than two dozen wineries, a cidery, a distillery, and several types of food options. By 2019, Tin City had made a big name for itself; it was featured in a documentary (available on YouTube) and in magazines like Forbes and National Geographic. When Travel + Leisure wrote that the Central Coast was one of the “50 best places to visit in 2020,” the magazine mentioned Tin City as a reason why. Although traveling took a hit from the pandemic, Tin City is still full of life.

Crafting connection:

Saddle making in Santa Margarita Taught by her dad, Samantha Huston is making her mark on the Central Coast equestrian community By Marlowe Hast  Whether you’re a rider or not, it’s easy to imagine that a horse’s entire body moves anytime a part of it moves. Picture the shoulder moving forward and back, muscles along the spine shifting as the horse walks, trots, or lopes. The body curves and bends as the horse covers ground, especially on the trail with elevation changes, hills to climb, and canyons to descend. Now imagine a saddle on the horse’s back. Most saddles are made with a rigid frame called a tree, which were (not surprisingly) traditionally made out of wood. In more recent decades, the wood was wrapped in fiberglass. Some trees today are made of other materials, including synthetics like polyethylene.

Camarillo Ranch House

By Adam Nuñez Photos courtesy Camarillo Ranch House. Do you have a real memory or story about the Ranch from long ago? Consider participating in the Camarillo Legacy Project! It’s a project started by the Camarillo Ranch Foundation with the goal of connecting people with a “shared local history, preserving the legacy of innovation, leadership, philanthropy, and education that Adolfo left behind.” For details on how to share, check out camarilloranchfoundation.com  Walking up to the Camarillo Ranch House for the first time, your attention will be drawn to the dazzling white wood exterior and red slanted roof. Your gaze will naturally move upward, as everything seems to veer skyward here. It’s grand, elegant, and homey all at the same time. It’s also an important historical monument in Ventura County. In 2003 it was successfully registered on the National Register of Historic Places.

Central Coast Hikes

Story and photos by Adam Nuñez Finding harmony in Harmon Canyon Preserve Follow the trails of the Harmon Canyon Preserve, and you’ll traverse over grassy hills and under knotted oak trees. You’ll pass fragrant sage plants and hear the skitter of wildlife through the thick brush. Bobcats, deer, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and badgers have been spotted here — along with human hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers, too.