In today’s Pairing column, where I suggest Grilled Skirt Steak in Korean Marinade with Spinach & Snow Peas as a great companion to a ten-year-old cabernet sauvignon, I promised to post information about cooking grass-fed meats, so here you go. It is not difficult but it does require a bit of adjustment for the best results. Basically, you need to cook grass-fed meats with hot and fast or low and slow or you’ll end up with tough meat. Medium just… Read More »
The Petaluma Farmers Market, located in Walnut Park a few blocks south of downtown, opens for its 26th season this Saturday, May 19. There will be about 50 vendors, most of them returning, a few new. Many of the vendors attend several markets a week. Among them are Hector Alvarez, with honey, honey products, eggs, garlic, chiles and other vegetables. The Patch starts its 2012 season here; you can expect early zucchini, onions, potatoes and such from this Sonoma farm,… Read More »
On Wednesday at noon, the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market ends its nearly four-decade long run in the east parking lot of the Santa Rosa Veterans Building, located at the corner of Brookwood and Maple Ave., across from the fairgrounds. The Wednesday market opens, as it always has, at 8:30 a.m. Participating vendors include DeSantis Farms, with an array of familiar and rare citrus and other fruits; Schetelwitz Family Farm, which has the season’s first apricots, nectarines and plums;… Read More »
There is still time to snag yourself a seat at Saturday evening’s benefit for Worth Our Weight Culinary Apprentice Program. Chef Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant will be guiding the apprentices through a special dinner featuring piquillo chiles stuffed with Dungeness crab brandade and served with Meyer lemon aioli, black cod with black risotto, Sebastopol mushrooms and sweet pea vines and, for dessert, rose-geranium-scented panna cotta with balsamic strawberries and shortbread. Wine will flow and there will be live music.… Read More »
The tours offered by Redwood Hill Farm Goat Dairy are a favorite spring tradition. Th 2012 tours take place this weekend, May 12 and 13, and the weekend of June 9 and 10th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. all days. If you are still looking for something to do with your mama, I can’t think of a happier possibility than taking her to this lovely farm. You’re the mom, you say? Gather up the kids–no pun intended–and head to… Read More »
Spring is in glorious profusion at the Sonoma Valley Certified Farmers Market. On Friday, the air was soft, warm, fragrant with lilac and filled with children’s voices, wafting from the adjacent playground. A crowd was gathered at Paul’s Produce, as shoppers eagerly gathered plump artichokes, murmuring to each other that they were the best they’d ever tasted. Wasn’t it just last week that I wrote about artichokes being one of the few things rarely if ever in abundance at a… Read More »
The Healdsburg Farmers Market could not have had a more gorgeous day to launch its 2012 season. The air was soft, fragrant and warm but not hot and everyone seemed to be in great spirits as they greeted friends and colleagues they’d not seen since last year’s market wrapped up in November. A seasonal market’s opening day is always a celebration. At exactly 9 a.m., manager Mary Kelley blew a whistle, signaling that the market was officially open for… Read More »
In today’s Seasonal Pantry, which you can read here, I talk about one of the season’s fleeting treats, fresh fava beans. In that column I offer two recipes, Spring Caprese and A Simple Spring Risotto, and promise to post links to some of my other favorite ways to enjoy favas, which you’ll find below, followed by another simple but really yummy spring dish. Strozzapreti Primavera, with favas, carrots, fennel, asparagus, artichoke hearts, mint & creme fraiche Oven-Roasted Asparagus with Shallot-Fava… Read More »
Until this year, the opening of the Sebastopol Farmers Market on the first Sunday in April heralded the start of the season. Now that the market operates year round, spring comes more quietly to west county. On April 1, the Sebastopol market quietly expanded into the town plaza, as vendors who took a winter break returned. The change was subtle, as most customers went about their shopping just as they had all year. The expansion has grown more visible and… Read More »
On Saturday, the Santa Rosa Original Farmers Market will offer free valet bike parking from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Riders will thanked for their physical–and environmental–efforts with a $2 market voucher (good for any market purchase), a complimentary cookie and free coffee. There will also be a drawing for a child’s bike, donated by REI. This Saturday is the third week in a four-week spring gardening series at the market. There will be information about selecting the right plants… Read More »
