Rancho la Puerta

Welcoming signs at Rancho la Puerta

Early this November I had the amazing opportunity to be the guest cooking instructor, along with Sarah Tenaglia, at the  stunningly lovely Rancho la Puerta Wellness Center and Spa in Tecate, Mexico. Just south of the border and a little inland from San Diego, the Rancho was founded in 1940 by the Szekely family as the Essene School of Life. The "school" promoted a healthy lifestyle of exercise, a vegetarian diet, spirituality, working in the garden and a grape-juice cleanse. (Hey! That's what I subscribe to as well! Except that my grape juice is usually fermented and I do eat small amounts of meat.) In the early days, guest brought their own tents to the Rancho and paid about $17 for the week, all inclusive. 

Although still family run, Rancho la Puerta has evolved since those early days. You no longer need to pitch a tent. Guests stay in a variety of charming casitas and villas with fireplaces, patios and views. I adored my little abode, but spent little time in it as I was so busy enjoying all that is on offer. 

Offer indeed! There is so much to do at the Rancho. It's impossible to fit it all in. I think the variety of activities is what makes Rancho la Puerta so special. The appealing range creates a fun mix of health-minded but distinct individuals. A visitor to the ranch can hike on mountainous terrain or level meadowland, can do intense interval training, spin, to weight training, pilates, yoga, swim, mediate, dance, make arts and crafts, indulge in spa treatments, attend concerts and lectures, play bingo and take cooking classes!

The cooking classes take place at the aptly named Cocina que Canta. (The kitchen that sings!) This kitchen and organic garden are like the prettiest songs you've ever heard. Denise Roa is the executive chef of the cooking school, and she and her staff make the luxuriously large and well-equiped kitchen run smoothly while creating a comfortable space for learning, cooking and eating.  Salvador (with whom I'm pictured) tends to the vast organic garden. 

The garden at La Cocina is the potager of dreams. Beets, kale, turnips and lettuce grow in abundance as do strawberries and chilies (in November!). Also flourishing are more exotic plants such as Lime Basil, the Hibiscus that Jamaica (the purple-red tea, not the country..) is brewed from, a delightfully tasting chrysanthemum, Lemon Verbena and Calendula. When you take a cooking class at the school, you pick a good portion of the vegetables for the evening in the garden! 

“click to see La Cocina que Canta Images”

Teaching the cooking classes was a blast! I focused on the savory dishes while Sarah taught some healthy chocolate recipes. The classes are sort of marvelous mayhem, but in magical Rancho style, at the finale, a glorious repast made by the attendees is set out and shared. 

But good food is not just to be enjoyed at La Cocina que Canta, all the food at Rancho la Puerta is good. Vegetarian, with gluten-free options, the food is fresh and of course healthy. I ate colorful fruit platters every morning with house-made granola and feasted on salad and soup at lunch. Dinners are more formal affairs with multi-course sit down meals as opposed to cafeteria style breakfast and lunch. All meals are served in the picturesque dining room. 

"Picturesque" is the running theme at Rancho La Puerta. I've been home a week and I'm still basking in the visual glory. The grounds are spacious and manicured- yet retain a natural nonchalance. The spa was filled to capacity while I was there, but strolling the ranch, I felt I was the only guest. Wandering around the campus, I might run into just one other blissed out student, then I'd come across a bronze sculpture or some rainbow-hued hammocks hung amongst oaks. Even the gyms for the most part are set among oaks and are crafted with stone fire-places and adorned with local weaving. It's a heavenly place to work out.

So what was my day like at the Rancho when I wasn't teaching? Here is an example-

6 a.m. Coffee in bed with Sarah (separate beds!)

7 a.m. Hike

8 a.m. Breakfast

9 a.m. Pilates Matt Class

10 a.m. Circuit Training

11 a.m. Stretch (So Great!)

12 p.m. Lunch

2 p.m. Water Fitness

3 p.m. Crystal Bowls  (Awesome! Healing and Meditative. One of my favorite discoveries.)

4 p.m. Sauna

5 p.m. A glass of wine from the Guadalupe Valley at the Bazar del Sol

6 ish- dinner

8 p.m. Concert or Bingo (yes! Bingo... so silly but fun.)

Well, I think you get the jist...

All this activity is paired with the most friendly and helpful staff. Can I wait to go back? No! I can't. And when I do go back (I think it will be in late October), I hope that I will see some of the wonderful people I met at Rancho again and I will let you all out there know with lots of fair warning so that you can join me. 

More image of Rancho!

I was in Italian Vogue!

....well not me, but food that I styled. It was fascinating to be on a fashion shoot. Photographer Michel Comte is vraiment Artiste, and the clothes, elegantly styled by Ayako Yoshida were exquisite. I loved just being in proximity to such fine garments; the detail, the tailoring (sigh). The models were very pretty. Some so young and sweet. Jamie Dean was the talented set designer on the job. Megan Gray of Honey and Poppies did the glorious, over-the-top flowers. 

The food was prepared by various chefs: Ori Menashe of Bestia did the charcuterie for the punk scenario, Genevieve Gergis, also of Bestia did the dessert for the Baroque scene. Valerie of Valerie Confections supplied the panna cotta for the Italo-deco set, the lovely Kuniko Yago of Hinoki and the Bird did the (duh) Japanese story and the folks from Love catering pitched in for the school house set-ups. Oh, and those beautiful loaves of bread? They're from Roan Mills! What did I do? What I always do. I made sure the food looked delectable. 

It's hard to get your hands on a copy of Italian Vogue, but you can check out this super pretty video.

Elberta Peaches and Le Grand Nectarines

For a couple of years now, I've been the "parent" of a fruit tree in Central California. It's a lovely arrangement. I adopt the tree in the winter and it gets nurtured until it bears fruit in the summer when I get to harvest the bounty. This genius plan is the brain-child of David Mas Masumoto of Masumoto Family Farms. The Masumoto's, who have been farming in the Central Valley since 1948, specialize in organic and sustainable peaches, nectarines and grapes for raisins. The "adopt-a-tree" program came about as farming automation killed demand for the delicate Elberta peaches and Le Grand nectarines that grow in their Del Rey, CA orchards. (You can read all about it in the pithy Epitaph for a Peach by David Mas Masumoto.) 

I got introduced to the program by Staci Valentine. Staci is a dear friend and the talented photographer who took the pretty pictures for The Perfect Peach, Recipes and Stories from Masumoto Family Farms. In the past, Staci and I shared a Le Grand, and this year, my brother joined our team and we added an Elberta tour our nectarine tree.

The fruit is truly amazing. The nectarines have so much flavor. They are super sweet, but have such a good acid balance. They're best when extra juicy and tree-tender-ripe, but if picked a little firm-- they're still tasty--a bit crunchy and sweet-tart. The Elbertas are tender with delicate flavor and a rich texture. I love having both varieties. The nectarines ripen really quickly, have a thin, colorful and tasty skin and pits that hold on to the fruit flesh for all it's worth. The peaches ripen more slowly and keep for a good while. The peaches have extra fuzzy skin that is not pleasant to eat but peels away easily. Because the Elberta is a free-stone variety, the pit comes out cleanly, leaving that pretty red stain at the center. 

The challenge of the tree adoption program is the onslaught of quickly ripening fruit. My portion of the bounty was about 20 lugs of fruit. I share the fruit with friends and family, make some jam (I don't LOVE peach and nectarine jam - I prefer more assertive conserves, such as plum, apricot, berry- but this years version, made with rose geranium is pretty darn good!) I bake pies galore, churn ice-cream and sorbet, blend yogurt smoothies, toss the fruit into salad, put a few slices in iced rosé as an evening refresher- but mostly I enjoy the fruit fresh, eaten out of hand or sliced and savored piece-by-piece.

This year my discovery is the frozen pie! I mean, people buy frozen pies at the supermarket, and those pies bake up fine. (Well, fine for what they are...) Why can't I assemble a pie, freeze it and bake it later? I can!  The pies take a little longer to bake and the top crust tends to crack, but I just put a few pats of butter and a healthy sugar sprinkle on the frozen crust before baking and the pies are just as delicious as when they are baked when freshly made. 

Peach (or Nectarine) Pie with Whole Wheat Crust 
Just a hint of the spices cinnamon and cardamom make the peach and nectarine flavor sing. When I remember, I like to add some whole grain flour to my pie crust, but this recipe is equally delicious made with unbleached flour. Citric acid is available wherever canning supplies are sold. I add it to the filling when I plan to freeze the pie to keep the fruit from turning brown. You can skip it if you plan to bake your pie right away.

Makes 1 Pie!

6 cups sliced peeled and pitted ripe peaches (about 3 pounds)

1/2 teaspoon citric acid

1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided
3 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pie dough disks (2) 

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Toss peaches and citric acid in a large bowl to blend. Mix in 1/2 cup sugar, flour, cardamom and cardamom. Roll 1 dough disk out on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer round to 9-inch diameter pie pan; trim dough so there is an even ½ inch overhang. Spoon filling into crust. Dot peaches with butter pieces. Roll second dough disk to 12 -inch round. Drape dough over filling and trim dough so there is a 1 ½  –inch overhang. Fold top and bottom dough under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Cut one 2-inch “x” in top of crust to allow steam to escape. (Pie can be made ahead. Freeze uncovered until firm. Wrap in plastic, then foil and keep frozen up to 2 months.)

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 400ºF. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Dot the frozen pie with butter and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown, peaches are tender when pierced with thin sharp knife and juices bubble thickly in the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool until warm.

Pie Crust Dough
Makes 2 disks, enough for 1 double crust or lattice topped pie or 2 single crust pies
21/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour OR 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour mixed with 1 cup whole wheat flour 
11/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ cup frozen non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening or lard, cut into pieces
5 tablespoons ice water
Process flour, sugar and salt to blend in food processor. Add butter and shortening and blend using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Using fork, stir in ice water. Gather dough into two even balls; flatten balls into disks and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 20 minutes and up to three days.