Come sip some Holman estate wines and learn the secrets to making delicious appetizers using fresh farmers’ market produce from Elena Salsedo—owner of the legendary Sweet Elena’s artisan bakery in Sand City.
Elena, who grew up in Provence, is now our local treasure and she’s heading up the second event in Edible Monterey Bay’s 2014 In Your Backyard series, which takes place on Thursday, February 27 at 6pm at the Holman Ranch tasting room in Carmel Valley.
After baking exquisite pies and pastries for more than 20 years, Elena is just now making her first foray into bread baking. But it’s not just any bread: “I’m only interested in organic, sourdough whole wheat bread, which apparently is the only one we should eat for easier digestion,” she says.
She’ll entertain us with stories of how she decided to finally take the plunge into bread making and demonstrate how to use thick slices of toasted sourdough as a platform for a number of tasty bruschetta preparations—some vegetarian and others for meat lovers.
She’ll also share her recipe and techniques for the bakery’s most popular dish—Eggplant Mozzarella Casserole—a fresh and light variation on eggplant Parmesan.
While Elena’s crusty loaves are currently only available in limited quantities on Fridays at the Monterey Peninsula College Farmers’ Market, she’s been dreaming about making bread for years. 
Last summer on a trip back to France she decided to gather inspiration by visiting the renowned Boulangerie de l’Hermitage in the center of Provence, which just happens to be next to her family’s vineyard.
This amazing bakery turns out 5,000 organic loaves a day all formed by hand and has inspired many other bread artisans, including Kelly’s Bakery in Santa Cruz.
Returning home from abroad, she found a batch of sliced apples intended for strudel had been left too long in the fridge and had started to ferment. 
So she took it as a sign and began to nurture the yeast, eventually using it as her sourdough starter.
Elena hopes to someday expand her bread business, adding walnut and raisin dinner rolls like they have in France and perhaps starting a bread-buyers club.
If you want to hear more and learn how to prepare some tasty new dishes, reserve now by calling the Holman Ranch tasting room at 831.659.2640 or emailing info@holmanranch.com. Tickets are $10 for Holman wine club members and $25 for others, with a portion of proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association.
We recommend not just marking your calendars—but making reservations for the whole series. Following the Sweet Elena’s event, Holman will offer the following program:
• March 27: Chef Brandon Miller of Carmel’s Mundaka will offer his expertise in creating irresistible, authentic paella. He’ll also send you home with a recipe card so you’re sure to be able to recreate this Spanish favorite at home.
• April 29th: Beau Schoch of Schoch Family Farmstead in Prunedale will lead a tasting of the aged cheeses his family creates with their own herd of Monterey County dairy cows, as well as tips for selecting, pairing and serving artisanal cheese.
• May 20th: Stephen Brabeck, a cardiologist and proprietor of The Quail and Olive, the Carmel Valley olive oil tasting room, will teach you all you need to know to be come an olive oil connoisseur—and a healthy one, at that.
• June 18th: John Cox, executive chef at Post Ranch Inn’s Sierra Mar restaurant in Big Sur and a contributing writer with Edible Monterey Bay, will team up with Alan Lovewell, founder of Local Catch Monterey Bay, to illuminate the world of our local fisheries and share their secrets for preparing our local fish.
To make reservations for any or all of these events, call the Holman Ranch tasting room at 831.659.2640 or email info@holmanranch.com. The tasting room is located at 19 E. Carmel Valley Rd. in Carmel Valley Village and is open from 11am to 6pm.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
