May/Jun 2019
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Letter From The Editor
The long, rainy winter has wound to an end and we’re reaping the benefits with an explosion of blooms across Sonoma County. And really, what could be more beautiful than a spring afternoon of watching the sun shining its golden light on a field of California poppies? My flower reverie is quite possibly inspired by…
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Locavortex: After the Flood
In late February, as most people already know, a stalled atmospheric river caused severe flooding in Guerneville, Sebastopol, and other areas, partially or totally destroying many businesses and homes across Sonoma County. The Barlow, an upscale shopping district built within the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain that is home to many locally owned restaurants,…
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Q&A with Andrea Nguyen: The Banh Mi Handbook
Bay Area cookbook author Andrea Nguyen literally wrote the book on Vietnamese sandwiches with the The Banh Mi Handbook (Ten Speed Press; 2014). We spoke during a break from a busy tour schedule for her latest cookbook Vietnamese Food Any Day (Ten Speed Press; 2019) to get her take on one of Vietnam’s tastiest exports. Leilani…
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(Re)Charging into the Future
Could groundwater recharge buffer us from “climate whiplash”? On a cloudy day in late March, puddles of water linger below the vines at Saralee’s Vineyard as dark rain clouds loom overhead. From the second story of a large barn-turned-tasting room, the scene is a reminder that the rainy season has yet to end. But, if you look…
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Can Do! West + Wilder Canned Wines
Can you drink, can you enjoy, can you understand West + Wilder canned wines? The French invented the screw-top wine closure, but the Australians took the heat for it, popularizing it at the turn of the 21st century and enduring the withering disdain of the fine wine world—until everyone got a chance to try it.…
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Adventures in Drinking: El Gallo Negro
Sipping on Mezcal, Rocking out to Cumbia at El Gallo Negro El Gallo Negro, a lively mezcaleria run by Healdsburg’s Diaz brothers of El Farolito and Agave Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar, provides a celebratory atmosphere for reveling in the smoky goodness of authentic mezcal. The self-proclaimed black rooster of the Diaz family establishments, El Gallo Negro has…
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Into the Labyrinth: Bees N Blooms
At Bees N Blooms, pollinators magic dance with flowers, people, and soil. “Every almond needs a bee,” says Susan Kegley, who runs Bees N Blooms farm on Petaluma Hill Road at the foot of Taylor Mountain. It’s the first Friday of spring, a wet gray day. After loaning me a raincoat, Kegley’s giving me a…
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The Livestock is Back: Farmster Revives Ag in Cotati
The news about the birth of the baby goats spread fast through the neighborhood. Volunteers at Farmster, a new agricultural start-up on the historic, four-acre Veronda-Falletti Ranch in downtown Cotati, started hearing from the neighbors soon after the mama goat gave birth in a shelter right across the street from City Hall. “The town was on fire,”…
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Grassland Celebration: The Transhumance Festival
The word “Transhumance” refers to the migration of grazing animals, in accordance with the seasons, guided by the people who tend them. This generally means the movement of livestock between higher pastures in summer, and the lower valleys in the winter. It’s also something we don’t see often in Sonoma County even though cows, sheep, and…
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Savorbang! Golden KimchiCado Dip
Welcome to our regular column from teacher and stand-up comedian Sarah Whitmore. Do you think about gut health very often? Sarah has some thoughts about that, and a dip recipe to boot. Okay, everybody stop planking for two seconds and listen up. You need to stop saying “gut health” in front of me. It’s giving me…