"Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know."
— Keats
Hanging out at neighboring McEvoy Ranch — a hop, skip and a jump from west Petaluma where the rolling hills of Sonoma County reach their softly rounded elbows out into west Marin, is one of my favorite things to do these days. Ever since joining the community-culinary-minded social club of this 550-acre sprawling ranch that is home to glorious organic olive groves, grapevines, lavender hills and a whole host of beautifully planted botanicals, I've been discovering more of the delights of this extraordinary property.
After a lazy August Sunday morning with the New York Times, drinking coffee and walking my dog Rosie through our leafy neighborhood, I jumped in my car and drove the few short miles through sun-bleached countryside to attend the second in a new series of McEvoy Ranch Social Club Chats, this one exploring the historical and cultural intersections between music and food and how they combine in traditional cultures to heighten the sensory experience.
If this sounds a little intellectual for a Sunday morning, let me take a second to say, activating the brain is one thing during a sleepy summer weekend, yet in this instance, all the senses were engaged the minute I stepped onto the gorgeous grounds of McEvoy Ranch for such a sublime and inspiring gathering. Driving through the ranch's large, wrought-iron decorative gateway is like entering a different realm from the hustle and bustle and stresses of today and once inside, I could not picture a more perfect setting in which to allow myself to be transported through time and place by in-depth conversation, food, wine and music to emphasize the sounds and cuisine of Near and Middle Eastern cultures.
Our late morning chat began in the light and airy, ornate Victorian room with ranch proprietor (owner & CEO of Chronicle Books) Nion McEvoy and Ken Albala, esteemed food historian, prolific author, chef, musician and professor at the University of the Pacific
Nion, a musician himself, who studied with Middle Eastern percussion here in the Bay Area, explained how music and food have such very close ties, especially within Middle Eastern cultures and how these are the elements that bring us together.
Ken and Nion treated us to a fast-paced dialog with musical interludes weaving an evocative and compelling tapestry of the timeline of 8th and 9th Century Islamic flavors, spices, the startling combinations of sweet and sour, salty and spicy that crept up through Spain to influence cuisine throughout the Mediterranean countries and into south America.
Having begun his travel in Europe, around the world and several times to Marrakesh as a boy, Nion described how he had fallen in love with the culture of Morocco, the traditions of which: "have so much to offer," he said.
"One of the things we have lost in our cooking," Ken said, "is the combination of the sorts of aromatic spices in Indian food . . . and also in Mexican food . . . mole sauce being the long lost cousin of curry."
He explained to a rapt audience how we are now bringing back these complex layerings of flavorings into our foods after many such combinations became largely extinct in western diets due to various social and cultural reasons.
I thought it was interesting to learn that when ginger and sugar were hard to obtain and super expensive, they were featured, historically in all sorts of savory dishes. After trade routes opened up and they became more commonplace, they lost their social status and allure and were relegated more to common place desserts.
Think of the ketchup or barbecue sauce we favor in our modern American diet — an interplay of contrasts make these basic staples so much more lively to taste thanks to the sorts of ancient layering combinations that come into play. Now think of a standard gravy — nothing remotely layered going on in comparison.
Spices and flavorings that morphed around the world via the Silk Road and expanded trade routes influenced the cuisine of any culture able to easily obtain such ingredients. Rice, for instance, Ken discussed as having an interesting history. If paella is the root of jambalaya, think also of the rich rices of Spain, of Italian risotto.
The ranch-land setting of 15 acres of celebrated Northern California organic olive tree plantings provided the appropriate backdrop to talk about this ancient fruit crop and how its historical use as the primary source of fat and cooking medium in a Muslim diet traces back more than 10,000 years B.C in the Middle East.
Ken talked about the use of olive oil in place of other animal fats in the Middle Eastern diet, hence the deliciousness of flaky filo dough in spinach pies and baklava stacked with honey and nuts.
He encouraged us to step back a bit and consider how we have all benefitted from the cross pollination of spices and flavorings and the cultural mix.
Nion and Ken talked of how foods have a baseline, much like music, a set of flavorings that ground a dish, or a tune. The middle space in food is formed with veggies, added layers or meat or whatever the main ingredient with the top notes being the sour or the salty, sweet or spicy.
"Think of the woodwinds, the clarinet," Ken said in the orchestral analogy. "If you have something missing, the whole thing needs to come together . . . music comes through our ears, food through our palate — we can tell when the frequency is off.
"Eating food from our local environment is not unrelated to spirituality and a sense of ethics," said Nion, touching on the spiritual aspect of food, what we eat, when we eat and how we eat. He also spoke on the incredible refinement of new forms of culinary inventions being made around dietary restrictions such as the gluten free movement.
A super enthusiastic Ken may well have been preaching to the long-since converted in this particular crowd, yet still, he encouraged guests to further explore the wonders of cooking a simple dish. "It does not have to be fancy (to be delicious and nutritious)," he urged, remarking that much of cooking is about the shopping and sourcing of quality foods. "It takes no skill whatsoever to heat up a skillet."
I've never heard anyone so passionate in talking of food history. Ken has a Food Rant blog with lots of tasty recipes, dozens of books to his name as well as a 36 episode food history course and podcast as part of the Great Courses & Lectures Series.
After a lovely Middle Eastern small plate meze lunch with estate wine, enjoyed partially alfresco in the light breeze of a gorgeously ornate Chinese Pagoda, McEvoy's culinary director Jacquelyn Buchanan demonstrated how to prepare a staple in the Egyptian diet: Dukkah. An intoxicatingly fragrant spice mix used for dipping meat, fish, or vegetables, this condiment is traditionally made with spices and nuts.
"If music be the food of love, play on . . "
Shakespeare
San Francisco based The Qadim Ensemble carried its authentic musicianship and timely message of peace and cross-cultural appreciation to the courtyard between the Victorian and the pagoda. The ensemble’s repertoire includes Arabic, Jewish, Turkish Sufi, Hebrew-Yemenite, Armenian, Greek, Ladino and Moroccan music, celebrating the common musical and spiritual heritage of the region’s cultures, while honoring the great diversity found within them.
I savored the experience, as I wandered back to the olive mill and tasting room, chatting further about future things to look forward to out at the ranch with fellow club members, guests and the always warm and welcoming McEvoy team.
The McEvoy Ranch Social Club is a community of culinary enthusiasts who appreciate food, wine, beauty, the arts, and sustainable living. This is manifested into products that are conveniently shipped three times a year and a myriad of experiences, both online and in person, out at the Ranch, the McEvoy Ranch Social Club truly is a showcase for a cultivated life.
Click here for more info on the ranch and/or how to be a part of such evocative thinking.
