Author: Montalvo

A Taste of Place: Anchovies

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist ​ Have you ever had a fresh anchovy? Most people only experience anchovies packed in oil and preserved with salt on a common Caesar salad. But this fish, this tiny, unassuming, guppy-like sea creature, is a love of mine—eaten fresh or preserved. ​ I first experienced the importance of the anchovy and its economic significance while living on the Amalfi Coast in Italy near the town of Cetara, which is the anchovy center of Italy. Cetara itself is as tiny as an anchovy and splashed with color. Each morning, the little row…
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A Taste of Place: Fava Beans and Mezcal

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist I didn’t know I would be pairing fava beans with distilled mezcal last week, but I did. And it was under the auspices of the SETI Institute, the scientific organization dedicated to exploring and understanding the origin and nature of life in the universe. How wonderful that one can combine food, drink, and our relationship to the universe--all in one meal! ​ Alejandro AisMar, founder of Agavache and the collaborator of composer and SETI Artist in Residence Felipe Pérez Santiago (who is being hosted by the LAP through a partnership between…
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A Taste of Place: A Tongan Feast and Giving Thanks

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist   Tongan visual artist Kalisolaite 'Uhila and his daughter Nia. Tongan artist Kalisolaite ‘Uhila has family at the center of his practice. “The importance of family in my work signifies being grounded and community,” he told me recently. Before leaving Montalvo at the end of April, after a three month stay at the Lucas Artists Program (LAP), Kalisolaite, who prefers to be called Ite, invited his extended family and LAP residents for a Tongan feast. This meal of sandwiches and barbecued chicken took place at his studio, which was filled with…
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One Legged Woman Standing

Courtesy of Dolby Chadwick Gallery and the Estate of Stephen De Staebler. The fractured human form has long been a subject for acclaimed American sculptor Stephen De Staebler. As with many of his works, One Legged Woman Standing recalls the fragmented remains of figurative sculpture from classical antiquity. The incomplete figure registers the vulnerability of the human body—the cataclysmic effects of time, disease, and war—as well as the modern existential experience of the individual who feels psychically and spiritually fragmented. Balancing atop one leg, it also alludes to human endurance and tenacity. De Staebler’s One Legged Woman Standing finds a home among a classical…
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A Taste of Place: Edible Flowers with Kija Lucas

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), LAP Culinary Arts Fellow ​ Visual artist Kija Lucas came for a visit last week. We have been working on a project for over a year, documenting the seasonal ingredients I use in my meals, with the goal of creating a unique Montalvo-centric book with recipes and stories that play off her incredible images. Those special ingredients come from my travels to the farmer’s markets, from excursions into the woods, from dives into the sea, from walks on the beach, from my garden, and sometimes from the side of the road or plucked from a tree…
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A Taste of Place: Eden’s Greens

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist Ten years ago, Eden Israel started growing salad greens for the culinary artist at the Lucas Artists Residency. The little leaves she grows thrive in the Santa Cruz mountains at her home garden, hugging the side of a steep mountain. It was former Lucas Artists Culinary Fellow and Chez Panisse alum Michele Fuerst who found Eden, and a lasting relationship between Montalvo, a farmer, and the land was born. “The idea at the time was to know your farmer,” Eden told us at the lunch table when she visited this week. “It’s important…
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A Taste of Place: Eating Outdoors

By Andrea Blum ( @myamericanpantry ), Montalvo Culinary Artist (Clockwise, left to right): Monica de la Torre, Nina C. Young, Lori Wood, Howard Hersh, Gregory Sale, Mrugen Rathod, Julian Talamantez-Brolaski, and Sandhya Bordewekar Gajjar ​Why do we enjoy eating outdoors so much? What is it about eating beyond the confines of the dining room? The first thought that comes to mind is the feeling of freedom ; the cool air of dusk, the gentle breeze, the sound of crickets and the relaxed mood that naturally comes when sitting at a picnic table. The day’s work is done. The insects come out…
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