A Mid-Summer Letter from the Santa Ynez Valley
“Just now we are having a glorious strong heat, with no wind, just what I want. There is a sun, a light, that for want of a better word I can only call yellow, pale sulfur yellow, pale golden citron. How lovely yellow is.”
-Vincent Van Gogh
Dear Friends & Family,
This week marks the official mid-point of summer. We hope that you are finding time to enjoy the pleasures of this much-anticipated season! In this first edition of our newsletter, we are excited to share grove updates, travel news, and summer recipe ideas that shine with extra virgin olive oil.
Grove Updates
After abundant winter rains, fruit has emerged on the trees, and the outlook for this year’s crop is promising. With olives, the focus is generally on fall harvest, but mid-summer is always exciting from a farming perspective. Tracking the different needs of our cultivars, tending to individual trees on a more relaxed schedule, and simply watching Mother Nature work her magic as the olives mature is truly rewarding. Rather unexpectedly, our newer plantings of heat-loving South Italian varieties have produced ahead of schedule, so a new blend this fall may be a real possibility… Stay tuned!
Summer Al Fresco
The warm days and cool evenings of August are the perfect time to gather and savor the season’s finest produce. This is a time for everyone – including the cooks! – to partake in the enjoyment. With summer’s bounty (our garden is an explosion of color from dazzling yellow zucchini flowers to bright red San Marzano tomatoes) the focus should be on simple preparations that highlight fresh ingredients. Keep reading for some of our favorite recipes that require minimal effort in the kitchen but maximum delight at the table, dishes created with and enhanced by the generous use of our certified organic extra-virgin olive oil.
Travel Notebook
In June, Elise travelled to Sicily once again to visit organic groves that produce many of the varieties grown at Luretik. The experience was invaluable as different olive varieties (there are over 750 in Italy alone!) require specific growing practices that contribute to the overall quality of the oil. As part of her continuing education on olives and olive oil, Elise also attended three courses at UC Davis this year: Organic & Sustainable Olive Growing, Advanced Sensory Evaluation of Olive Oils, and Table Olives Workshop. Hands-on experience in the field and advanced technical training are crucial differentiators in the making of a great EVOO!
Recipes
While some of our best summer recipes come from Coming Home to Sicily (Fabrizia Lanza) and Toscana In Cucina (Dello Russo), we also recommend these olive oil inspired classics: