The pressure is on! Santa Claus is not only coming to town, but so are mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, multiple cousins, spouses and their children! While it’s no surprise that holiday cooking and entertaining can be stressful, a little planning can save a lot of time in the kitchen.Gearing up for the holiday season, Ceci Carmichael will tell your viewers about the latest innovations in the frozen food aisle, tips to ease the stress of holiday entertaining, and share easy, time-saving recipes. Ceci will also discuss the myths surrounding frozen food – frozen food is real food-just frozen!. Much of what you will find in the frozen food aisles today has been developed and prepared by expert chefs in test kitchens across the country – using real ingredients and rigorously evaluated by nutritionists and dietitians.
SOME OF CECI’S TIPS INCLUDE:
- CHEAT A LITTLE: Supplement your holiday cooking with quality foods from the frozen food aisle…you don’t have to make everything from scratch…just add a few homemade touches.
- STOCK THE FREEZER: Keep your freezer stocked over the holidays – ready for busy shopping nights and unexpected guests. Having your freezer well stocked ahead of time saves you those last minute frantic runs to the grocery store. The beauty of frozen foods is that they are always ready when you are!
- GET INSPIRED FROM THE BIG CHILL: From breads, potatoes, stuffing and pasta to a wide variety of vegetables you will never be at a loss for what to make. Frozen veggies are also a great addition to hearty soups and stews that will feed a holiday crowd.
WWW.EASYHOMEMEALS.COM
GRANT SPOTTS - CO-OWNER, DULZURA WINERY
established in 1885. Today the ranch is still family owned. The buildings are among the very few surviving structures from that era. Come visit and share a glass of fine wine while enjoying the historical ambience and beauty of the Clark Ranch.
VINEYARDS
Our Estate Vineyard produces eight select grape varietals. . Our vines are located on a gently sloped hillside above the winery. The vines recieve ample sun and a gentle breeze on most days. Our proximity to the ocean provides a nightly cooling off which allows the vineyard to produce fruit of exceptional quality.
HISTORIC CLARK RANCH
The Clark Ranch was established in 1885 by Frank J. Clark and his wife Lila. Frank found in Dulzura a climate that suited his predisposition to asthma and severe allergies that had plagued him while growing up in Nebraska. He and Lila decided to settle here, building their first home on the north side of the Dulzura Creek along the Campo Stage Route, as Highway 94 was known then. A large variety of citrus trees were shipped from the east coast, along with olive and figs. The two of them embarked on planting several large orchards with figs and olives being the primary commercial crops. In addition, persimmon, pomegranate, apple, pear, peach, plum, walnut, and almond trees were planted. Many of them have survived and still bear delicious fruit to this day. In the winter of 1894-95 a severe storm caused the creek to flood, destroying the home. As spring arrived, they began construction on a new ranch house to be built on higher ground on the south side of Dulzura Creek. It was completed later that year, and was constructed entirely from used lumber, including 1400 board feet of redwood purchased for the sum of $25.00 from what was then the National City Race Track. The stonemason who built the cellar walls and home foundations received $1.50 per day plus board for his efforts.
Sales of ranch-produced fruit in San Diego provided the growing family a decent living for the time from their agricultural efforts. Around 1902 Lila developed a recipe for a sweet 'dessert' that was a delicious, spicy confection made from the fruit of the family's fig trees. It caught the attention of San Diego grocer Charles Hamilton who made inquiries about having the Clarks produce the specialty food for sales exclusively in his store along with distribution rights. This was the beginning of 'Clark's Pickleized Figs'. By 1910 the Clarks had built an adjacent two-storied building for the sole purpose of making the 'Pickleized Figs' confection in commercial quantities. Soon the fig dessert confection was being enjoyed up and down the Pacific Coast, and large quantitites were shipped to the east coast as well. Things went well for the family over the course of the next several years until the onset of World War I, when sugar became scarce. The availability of a key ingredient in the 'Clark's Pickleized Figs' recipe was suddenly curtailed, and the business came to a grinding halt. The family returned to it's reliance on sales of citrus and fresh fruit for its income, and later ventured into cattle ranching to survive the Great Depression. Remarkably, the Clark Ranch has survived the years and remains under family ownership to this day.
In 2001 the family sold some 1,100 acres to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management through the Trust for Public Land. The acres upon which the original ranch house and improvements were located was kept separate from the sale, and is now the site of the Dulzura Vineyard and Winery. The 'Pickle House' is no longer the kitchen used for the production of 'Pickleized Figs', but theTasting Room for the winery. The original 'stone cellar' beneath the house built in 1895 is now the winery's cellar, where each year's vintage is aged and stored. Today the 'Pioneer- Era' ambience also survives at the Clark Ranch and one still can find relics from those bygone days and sense the history here as you enjoy some truly outstanding wines. The recipe for the 'Clark's Pickleized Figs' has unfortunately been lost.
WWW.DULZURAWINERY.COM
WWW.THEWINERIESONHIGHWAY94.COM
STEVE EVANS - THE MOVIE GUY
GREAT MOVIES OPENING THIS WEEKEND AND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS AND HOPES. FIND OUT WHAT MOVIES ARE WORTH YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. GET SET FOR THE WEEKEND.