The House That Garlic Built

You never know who will drop into the Side Street Cafe. Ranchers, artists, dancers, winemakers, movie stars and more come because they like the friendly country ambience, but mostly because they like Anne Bunch’s cooking.

Bunch turns out an amazing variety of food--luscious velvety soups, vegetarian dishes, ethnic creations, salads made with fresh local lettuces, great scones for breakfast and outrageous desserts, like a coconut cake with the thickest filling you’ve ever seen.

She manages all this despite the handicaps of a minimalist kitchen. Local regulations don’t allow her a dishwasher because water outflow has to be limited--the area is on septic tanks.

There’s no deep-fryer either. Diners eat off paper plates with plastic utensils, but they don’t complain. Instead, they ask for the recipes.

Bunch has received so many requests that she finally compiled the favorites in a cookbook called “Dancing With Garlic” (Olive Press Publications 1995).

“They call me the garlic queen because I love garlic--fresh, roasted, grilled, chopped, pressed, elephant, regular, super small--and I use it in almost everything,” Bunch says. “Sometimes the restaurant is perfumed with garlic, and customers say, ‘Oh, Anne Bunch must be here.’ ”

Bunch has toned down the garlic for the book, and a few recipes bypass it entirely. There’s no garlic in her black bean and brown rice enchilada casserole, which was on special one night with the book opened on the counter to show off the recipe.

The odd thing is that Bunch ever wound up here. She was born in Belgium to parents who operated a resort in the country.

“There were no neighbors, so I played in the kitchen,” she says. As a teenager, Bunch decided against kitchen work, but that lasted only until she married a Californian and they decided to open an American-style restaurant in Brussels.

Eventually, Bunch and her husband moved to the United States. They settled in Los Angeles, then Santa Barbara, where she handled deli food and catering for Pierre Lafond market in Montecito. “I was really given the kitchen,” she says. “I learned a lot and I grew a lot.”

Moving on to the Santa Ynez Valley, Bunch worked in local restaurants, including Mattei’s Tavern, the onetime stagecoach stop on California Highway 154. She also did a stint as private chef on a cattle ranch. Divorced, remarried and now a widow, she enjoys the neighborly feeling at Side Street.

“I vary the menu a lot,” she says. “I can be creative. This is why I am so happy here.” She likes to experiment with dishes from different cultures but seldom cooks Belgian food. “It’s a lot of meat and potatoes,” she says. “It’s very rich.”

The Side Street Cafe is housed in a quaint 100-year-old building on Alamo Pintado, walking distance from Bunch’s home. The cafe doubles as an art gallery and has a garden out back for dining, poetry readings and concerts.

Catherine Englert, who organizes the entertainment, wrote the book with Bunch. Betty Seaman, manager of a nearby resort, did the illustrations.

“Dancing With Garlic” is on sale at the restaurant and at some area shops; it can be ordered by mail. The price is $15 plus $4.16 for tax and shipping. Make checks payable to “Dancing With Garlic” and send to Bunch-Englert, P.O. Box 804, Los Olivos, CA 93441. Allow three to six weeks for delivery.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND ORANGE SOUP

This recipe has been reduced in quantity from the one in the book.

1 (2-pound) butternut squash

2 1/2 cups strong vegetable broth

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Salt

Peel squash with sharp knife. Cut in half. Remove seeds. Cut squash into 1-inch chunks.

Bring vegetable broth to boil in large saucepan. Add squash, return to boil and cook until squash is soft, about 25 minutes. Drain squash, saving broth.

Combine squash and marmalade in food processor. Puree. Add broth as needed to facilitate blending. Return to saucepan. Add cream and heat until almost boiling. Add remaining broth. Season to taste with salt.

Makes about 1 quart, 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

108 calories; 335 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.41 grams fiber.

BLACK BEAN-BROWN RICE ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

This is a big casserole, great for a party. But even if you are cooking for just a few, make the full amount because it freezes well.

2 cups cooked brown basmati rice (about 1 cup raw rice)

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 quart sour cream

4 cups grated Jack cheese

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons hot chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3 large jalapen~os, seeded and chopped

Salt

Oil

18 blue or regular corn tortillas

Nonstick cooking spray

2 (1-pound 3-ounce) cans red enchilada sauce

Mix rice, beans, sour cream, 2 cups cheese, cilantro, green onions, chili powder, cumin, jalapen~os and salt to taste in large bowl.

Heat 1/4 inch oil in skillet until very hot. Quickly fry each tortilla, turning to cook on both sides. Tortillas should remain soft. Drain on paper towels.

Spray bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add light coat of enchilada sauce. Arrange 6 tortillas in pan. Top with 1/3 rice-bean mixture and more enchilada sauce. Top with another 6 tortillas, more filling and sauce. Repeat, making third layer topped with remaining 6 tortillas. Pour layer of enchilada sauce over all. There will be sauce left over, which can be served separately or refrigerated or frozen for another use. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until heated through, 45 to 55 minutes.

Makes 9 large servings.

Each serving contains about:

749 calories; 738 mg sodium; 79 mg cholesterol; 42 grams fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 26 grams protein; 4.52 grams fiber.

ANNE’S COCONUT CAKE

It’s more convenient to make the pastry cream the day before so it will be completely cooled and ready to fill the cake.

CAKE

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Grated peel of 1/2 lemon

Nonstick cooking spray

Beat eggs and sugar in mixer at high speed until pale and frothy. Turn off mixer and add flour, baking powder, salt, oil, wine, vanilla and lemon peel. Beat 2 minutes at high speed. Divide batter between 2 (9-inch) layer cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and dusted inside with extra flour. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 5 minutes. Turn out and cool completely.

PASTRY CREAM

1 1/3 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pound mascarpone cheese or cream cheese

Heat milk and vanilla to boil and keep hot.

Beat sugar and egg yolks in mixer until fluffy and pale in color. Reduce speed, add cornstarch and beat until blended. Add hot milk, beating continuously. When well blended, return to saucepan and heat slowly, stirring constantly to keep mixture from sticking to bottom of pan. Cook until very thick. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

When completely cooled, combine cream mixture with mascarpone cheese to form thick filling.

ASSEMBLY

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

3 cups sweetened flake coconut

Spread all of Pastry Cream in thick, even layer on bottom cake layer. Cover with top cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with whipped cream and cover with coconut.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Each of 16 servings contains about:

668 calories; 362 mg sodium; 229 mg cholesterol; 43 grams fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.