As I surveyed the selections at the Canvas Ranch stall at the Santa Rosa Original farmers market last Saturday, I had to suppress a dance of joy when I saw little sacks of farro, an ancient grain sometimes known in North America as emmer. The ranch’s last two crops have [...]
After years of dreaming and months of planning, the Sebastopol Certified Farmers Market is launching a second day, a Thursday evening market in the town plaza. The new market will operate from 5 to 7:30 p.m. through October 31. The goal of the market is two-fold. First, management has long [...]
The Frates Rd. entrance to Green String Farms is lined with olive trees and rose bushes planted in wine barrels. The Adobe Rd. entrance takes you through fields of crops punctuated by trees, marigolds and other flowers, past a large chicken coop filled with happy laying hens and a few [...]
The Wednesday afternoon Healdsburg farmers market, which takes place from 3:30 to 6 p.m., is just what we need mid-week, when the bounty from weekend markets is running low. It’s a focused, no-nonsense market, with around a dozen vendors--not all attend every week--providing a huge array of seasonal produce, pastured [...]
It is mid-summer and apple season is upon is. Within a day or two, several apple farmers will begin picking the first apple to ripen, our beloved Gravenstein. Stan DeVoto, who has farmed apples on Gold Ridge Rd. in west Sebastopol since 1976, expects to pick his first Gravensteins this [...]
“We all know how to do this,” Brad Thompson of Roots of Creation Farm in Sebastopol says about growing food crops. “It is in our DNA.” Educating people about this, especially people his age--he’s 27--is one of the things he hopes to achieve with his new endeavor. “If you’re having [...]
Got bacon? It’s time for a BLT. The new Tusque Farms may be the first out of the gate with local tomatoes. They have just harvested their first Early Girls. The farm, located on five acres of The Kick Ranch in Rincon Valley, currently is harvesting Rainbow chard, Red Russian [...]
A conversation with Joey Smith, founder of Let’s Go Farm in east Santa Rosa, is inspiring, in a very focused way. The young man--he is just 30--is passionate about both farming and gardening. “One of my goals,” he explains, “is to show people that they can grow a [...]
“I want to recreate the experience of having a home garden for customers who don’t have one,” Lee Higbeeof the new Farm Sinclair says. Such freshness, he believes, is what makes customers choose a famers market over a grocery store. Currently, Higbee attends two farmers markets with rainbow chard and [...]
Nancy Skall of Middleton Farm grows what may be the best asparagus I’ve ever tasted. Stalks range from about the diameter of a chopstick to that of your big thumb and shoppers in the know reach for the fattest ones. The thinnest stalks are not, as many restaurant menus [...]
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Have trouble remembering what’s in season when? Looking for a favorite recipe from the Seasonal Pantry or Pairing archives? Michele Anna Jordan, Press Democrat columnist, chef, teacher and author of almost 20 books, draws from 17 years of columns and articles for seasonal suggestions, recipes and menus and tips on exactly where to get the finest local foods at their peak moment. And, yes, she takes requests. Just name the dish or even a few of the ingredients and, like magic, you’ll find the recipe here in no time. Any questions related to ingredients, cooking, nutrition and eating are welcome.