May/Jun 2016
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The Hard Work of Hope
Job skills take seed at SAY’s Sunflower Garden. Six months ago, Aryella Mahony moved from Southern California to Santa Rosa to escape from a living environment she describes as “unhealthy.” Mahony, 18, was able to find housing at Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) Dream Center, which provides emergency short-term shelter for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24.…
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Delicious Revolution
A new podcast out of Geyserville delves into stories of food, culture, and place. Like many media projects, Delicious Revolution, a radio show and podcast about food, culture, and place, was inspired by dissatisfaction. In this case, a dissatisfaction with existing academic and formal conversations about food—how it works, how to cook it, and how…
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Female Flowering
Cannabusiness is set to bloom for women entrepreneurs. On a blustery Thursday night in early March, a small conference room at Santa Rosa’s Volunteer Center was filled to overflowing. A few talkative young women buzzed about, but the majority of the people who filled the meeting room to capacity at this bland business park were…
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In the Drink
Looking beyond grapes, hops, and apples to what fills the glass Among the grapevines of Preston Vineyards, Mother Nature rules. The Dry Creek Valley property is owned and managed by Lou and Susan Preston, longtime organic farmers who were recently certified biodynamic. Meeting the criteria for such purity standards in viniculture means following strict guidelines…
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Found Food
Foraging is the best way to find true California cuisine. On a drizzling spring morning in Northern California, Healdsburg SHED’s culinary director Perry Hoffman leads a group walk along Grape Creek. Hoffman and his chef de cuisine, Bryan Oliver, are experienced foragers seeking the wild foods that naturally grow in northern Sonoma County: Land and…
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Whole Hog
Mateo’s Cocina Latina and the quest for true sustainability. The Wild Forest chicken chicharrones at Mateo’s Cocina Latina could be dipped in something easy, like aioli. But chef Mateo Granados had some good, fresh brain on hand from breaking down lambs for his Healdsburg restaurant. And so the Yucatán born culinary artist did what he…
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Scientific Method
UCCE Farm Advisor Paul Vossen set to retire. Imagine the bucolic glory of farming in Sonoma County 100 years ago! Except for that beetle. Or that fly. Or that leaf fungus that the trees simply can’t shake. And then the harvest doesn’t come in. And then the money doesn’t come in. And then the bills…
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Try, Try Again
Anti-GMO ban poised to come again before Sonoma County voters. On Nov. 8, voters will decide whether to ban raising and growing genetically modified crops in Sonoma County through the Sonoma County Transgenic Contamination Prevention Ordinance sponsored by GMO Free Sonoma County, a campaign of the political action group Citizens for Healthy Farms and Families…
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Common Ground
Can ‘open space’ mean an incubator farm and room for California tiger salamanders? L-shaped, flat, and nearly treeless, the Young-Armos property doesn’t look like much at first glance. But this 45-acre rural parcel north of Rohnert Park could determine the future of farming in Sonoma County. Whether the parcel becomes an incubator farm or remains…
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22 Things about a Strawberry
1 Strawberries are unique among fruit for having seeds on their exteriors, which is why botanists don’t consider them true berries. 2 Strawberries dipped in chocolate are not the best pairing, especially with some of the more fruit-forward artisanal chocolates, because you get this competing berry/acidity thing that’s not very complementary. 3 Native Americans in…