A Secret Garden
“Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of man.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
A whim and curiosity to learn more about growing herbs and edible flowers led me to Jacobs Farm in Pescadero. I had purchased their exceptional organic products at Whole Foods and my local Nob Hill grocery store. When I attended the Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers open house in June I brought home samples of their edible flowers and made my first batch of tangy infused vinegar. It was on a trip to Gidzich Ranch in Watsonville for olallieberries that I saw Jacobs Farm company sign along a back road and thought about visiting.
Jacobs Farm began in Pescadero in 1980 and has continued to expand it’s organic herb and edible flowers to include sixty products with seven growing locations between Watsonville and Pescadero in central California. Marina Pace, Director of Marketing, graciously offered to give me a tour of the original farm. Pescadero is seventy five miles north of my home in Salinas. I drove west and then north hugging the coast. White and frothy as beaten meringue the summer fog billowed in soft peaks my the entire trek up the coast. When I turned off the coast highway to drive east into the tiny town of Pescadero I found sparkling sunshine!
Along a eucalyptus and oak studded country road I drove past an ancient cemetery, rural homes and farms until I reached Jacobs Farm. The gates of Jacobs Farm opened into an enchanted valley. For a fleeting moment I was Mary discovering The Secret Garden as I crossed the bridge into the farm. The iridescent sunshine sparkled on the sunflowers that boldly announced their companions of zinnia, calendula and borage. Nasturtiums wove their graceful tendrils around the limbs of the taller plants. Delicate violas hid their shy faces among the larger plants. Flowering chive garlic stood at attention, remaining unperturbed as the morning progressed. And the hedges of sturdy rosemary stood guard, keeping an ever present watch on their flowering friends. Time stilled. I stopped and breathed in the heady warm scents of the garden and recalled a child who once daydreamed of a magical secret place.
“And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.” The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
The farm is nestled between soft rolling hills; framed on one side by a creek and it’s natural riparian zone. Rows of lush herbs and voluptuous flowers are the landscape of the hilly farm. Rosemary, spearmint, peppermint, borage, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bay, sorrel, chamomile and more are intermixed with an array of edible flowers. Rows of potatoes and carrots were being grown to share with the employees of the farm. A small crew was harvesting rosemary on the day of my visit. The piney scent lingered in the warmth. I could have stayed all afternoon.
Essentials
Beguiling edible flowers, lemon verbena and lemon balm came home with me. I stopped at Harley Farms Goat Dairy and purchased velvety goat cheese and crumbly fresh ricotta. Further south, I couldn’t resist stopping at Swanton Berry Farm for crimson hued organic strawberries. I have never seen such ruby red berries. Returning home my car was perfumed with sugary strawberry goodness and pungent lemon scented herbs. All the gifts of serendipity.
Gatherings my ingredients and new to me cookbooks I stumbled upon Warren Brown’s “Cassata Cake” in United Cakes of America. Reminiscent of wisps of coastal fog a billowy meringue is folded into the sunny yellow sponge cake batter. A custard filling with fresh ricotta, a hint of citrus and ruby red berries was a whimsical tribute to my coastal trip. It was meant to be. A sophisticated and not too sweet cake, worthy of a late summer celebration. The Cassata Cake recipe can be found here; the changes I made to the recipe are below.
Cassata Cake recipe adaptation
- Instead of citrus oil I used freshly picked lemon verbena. The sweet refreshing lemon verbena imparts a mild citrus flavor to the cake and filling. I was very pleased with my ingredient substitution. Combine 2 cups of milk with 2 cups of loosely packed lemon verbena leaves and stems in a saucepan. Gently bring the milk to a boil, simmer five minutes. Steep for thirty minutes and then drain. Cool before using. This yielded enough milk for both the cake and the custard filling.
- I also made two cakes, rather than one large one. Instead of three 9” cake pans, I used two 8” pans and one 5” pan. I cut all the layers half and filled them with the ricotta filling and sliced ruby berries. I am glad I made two smaller cakes instead of one large one. My mom was overjoyed when my daughter and I shared the small cake with her.
- In the original recipe sweetened whipped cream is piped on the top and sides of the cake for a formal presentation. I filled each layer with the lemon verbena and ricotta filling and then buried juicy crimson berries in the creamy filling. I couldn’t bring myself to frost any more than the top of the cakes with the whipped cream. A rustic cake was more fitting for a day along the coast and to decorate with edible flowers. Serving the cake with more sliced strawberries could only be a good thing.
With the remaining herbs and flowers I made infused or flavored vinegar. The first time I infused the vinegar I used plain distilled vinegar. I found the distilled vinegar was so intensely astringent the flavor of the flowers and herbs was overwhelmed. This time I used white wine vinegar. I kept filling jars until the entire gallon of vinegar was used which found me foraging in my yard for roses, lavender, geraniums, fuchsias, thyme and sage. And just because I could, I added dried lavender buds to one jar. I really wanted to have purple vinegar in my pantry. Once the vinegar steeps, the plant matter is discarded, leaving infused or flavored vinegar. I am excited to have infused vinegars to use through the winter months to add a boost of flavor and color to my salads and cooking. This is such a gratifying project. It doesn’t take much time, is fun, is not expensive and the outcome is sure to be excellent. A gentle reminder to use organic herbs and edible flowers which are free of pesticides and herbicides.
| Infused Vinegar |
| edible flowers and or herbs |
| white wine vinegar |
- Clean the herbs and flowers. A salad spinner is helpful. If you wish, gently remove and use just the petals of the flowers, discarding the stems and centers of the flowers. Do not use any damaged or decaying pieces of plant matter.
- Sterlize the jars in boiling water. Scald the lids with boiling water.
- Lighty fill the sterilized jars with flowers and herbs one-third to one-half full. Do not pack the jars, the vinegar must easily cover all the plant material.
- Fill the jars with vinegar.
- Let the vinegar filled jars steep in a cool shaded place for at least ten days.
- Using a cheesecloth lined strainer, strain out the plant material and discard.
- Store the strained, infused vinegar in clean, sterilized jars.
- The infused vinegar will keep for three months if stored in a cool dark place. Stored in the refrigerator it will last six months or more. At any sign of mold or other signs of decay discard as with any other food product that has spoiled.
This is not a sponsored post. The opinions are my own. I was given some wonderful herbs and edibile flowers to share with you.
The flowers are a lovely touch to the scrumptious cake. It is absolutely gorgeous!!!
Thank you for the gracious comment Denise!
I think I am going to make this cake with pomegranate for Christmas! 😀
The cake would be splendid dressed in pomegranate for the holidays! Thanks for commenting Tiffany!
Dearesy Deb – your vinegars are a delight to the eye! To my eye….And there is nothing quite like Lemon balm and Verbena – two herbs I miss like crazy, from my recent past in the Netherlands! Sigh. I too am pleased with you for your great substitutions – you should be proud. Finally, that cassata…..is work its weight in gold!!!!!! Well done for sharing and inspiring
Oh Oz thank you so much for your inspiring comment! Can’t wait to hear more about your recent trip!
What a gorgeous cake! How fun to have farm fresh, beautiful edible flowers to decorate it.
Thank you Barbara, it was a magical trip!
Absolutely gorgeous cake, Deb. Love the colors, textures – everything about it! Most of all though, are the beautiful flower garnishes. Well done!
Thank you for the delicious comment Viviane!
I am always inspired to create when I am in your neck of the woods. You have the most beautiful ingredients I have seen anywhere. Now I want to infuse some vinegar. Lovely post.
Thank you for your lovely comment Karen! I hope you try infusing vinegar, it is so much fun!
Hi, Deb! Sigh…I wish I lived in California! I have family living in Alameda and they have a big backyard! My aunt use to just throw seeds on the ground and they would sprout! Must be the soil there!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos! Also, your cassata and infused vinegars are just lovely 🙂 Have a good weekend ahead!
We are a bit spoiled here in California! Thank you for the tasty comment Jen!
Deb, what a stunning but playful cake. I am so glad you left it rustic…it did seem fitting with the day and the flavors and flowers that were used. What a lovely day you had perusing those farms. Your writing always, always draws me in a paints such a lovely picture along with your beautiful photos.
Geni thank you for lovely comment! I am so happy you enjoyed the post!
The infused vinegar looks so pretty, Deb! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Thanks Kiran! Very glad you enjoyed the post!
The colors in this pics are wonderful Deb! I never made infused vinegar and they look so gorgeous. Your ricotta is so velvety, completely different from what I achieve after whipping mine. Lovely cake!
The infused vinegar is so rewarding, easy with such great results! Thank you for our tasty comment Paula!
I’ve been really excited about fall and winter coming on, but this post makes me wish it were still spring or summer! The colors are vibrant and eye-catching, thanks to your brilliant photography, of course. This was such an interesting post with so many components that I would have never dreamed of. Thanks for teaching me something new today!
Thank you for your lovely comment Sydney!
Jacobs Farm sounds like a beautiful place to visit. And, your other stops made for an amazing food sourcing day! The cake is just lovely, and the infused milk must have been delicious.
Thank you Lisa! It was a beautiful day and I very much enjoyed making the Cassata Cake and infused vinegars!
A fabulous post in every way! I wish I could visit Jacob’s Farm and come away with everything to make some vinegars and that gorgeous-sounding cake. I bet your car smelled amazing. I would have stashed a handful under a seat to enjoy it all a bit longer…I do make herbal vinegars and such but you explained the process so well. And as for the cake, your lemon verbena tweak sounds perfection. Great images too. Pigeon Point Lighthouse looks either foreboding or romantic, depending on your mood!
Thank you Kelle! Pigeon Point Lighthouse is on the coast highway very near the road inland to Pescadero. It was a very foggy day. Driving along the coast the fog ebbed and flowed throughout the day. It was only when I drove inland that I found sunshine!
So much positivity in one post! Thank you for sharing!!!
Beauty is all around us. It is a matter of seeing, being open to the possibility of the present moment. Your comment is much appreciated Tiffany, many thanks!
Love the substitution for the citrus oil. Wow, never thought to infuse vinegar! Your cake sounds and looks delicious. Your scenic shots are beautiful.
What a tasty comment, thanks Jacquee! This post was a whole lot of fun!
oh my deb! that cake is GORGEOUS!!!! adding flowers to this cake has added such classic elegance!
Thank you for your scrumptious comment!
The cake and the vinegars are lovely. What spectacular scenery.
Thank you for your lovely comment El!
SO pretty, Deb! The cake looks gorgeous, too.
Talk about timely, I’m making sunflower cookies now!
Happy Fall to you!
Thank you Gail! Looking forward to your sunflower cookies!
Your cake is a vision and the photos of the farms and surroundings are stunning. What a post, Deb!
Carol thank you for the scrumptious comment! I’m ready to take another trip up the coast to Pescadero!
Beautiful pictures, Deb, and what a gorgeous cake! I love the edible flowers – a lovely touch!
What a tasty comment! Thank you Laura!
Such lovely pictures. Your infused vinegars are so beautiful. I have made vanilla before and also flavored oil, but never vinegar. I can’t wait to try your recipe.
Thank you! Infusing vinegar is so easy and rewarding, I hope you give it a try!