I have one word – Beignets!
There’s a booth that serves them at the Redwood Empire Farmers Market at the Veteran’s Building. I would have taken a picture of the ones I got but you know the story, I ate ’em the second I got ’em. Next time, I’ll get a good shot. Yea, right.
If you’ve read my blog before, you’ve noticed I talk about Leadership Santa Rosa a lot. I love being involved (as you can probably tell) and even though this entry mentions LSR, it’s about much more. See the Flickr Photo Album.
Jill, Cat, J, Julie & Sean - coordinators
J Mullineaux, Julie Montgomery, Jill Sanford and myself got together to brainstorm ways to stay connected with the rest of our classmates. J had a great idea to have a dinner party for Social Advocates for Youth’s (SAY). I can’t express clearly enough how amazing they are! SAY is a youth advocacy organization that provides: shelter for homeless teens, a foster transition home, meals for the hungry, counseling, crisis intervention, youth employment, helping encourage graduation, mentoring, low cost tattoo removal for ex-gang members, and a sense of support and belonging.
We chose to make a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at the Mary and Jose Tamayo House. Tamayo House is transitional housing for teens that have aged out of the foster care system yet still need guidance in the form of shelter, safety, job training, life training, and provides them with a sense of family. With 50 kids aging out of foster care every year, the 25 beds at Tamayo house are desperately needed. Otherwise these kids hit the street. In the recession, they’ve seen that the kids are staying longer (they are eligible 18-24).
I can’t imagine not having a family. I don’t know what it’s like to have no one to turn to when you want to learn how to cook, open a checking account, get a job, find a place to live, apply for college, or need a place to stay. These kids pretty much have nothing the minute they turn 18 and are out of foster care. I do know what it’s like to need crisis intervention and have a safe place to go. I was 16 when my family and I called SAY for help. The Dr. James E. Coffee Emergency Teen Shelter had a different name and location when I stayed there but the focus is the same.
We knew that these kids may not get a Thanksgiving meal so we brought it to them. 14 out of our 28 classmates divided up the menu and got to cooking all the traditional fixings. The tables were set for a harvest celebration and the sparkling cider flowed. Several turkeys, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, green salad, green beans, bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake (I have an awesome recipe, just ask me in the comments). These kids lined up with their plates and demolished the meal, some came back again and again. There were plenty of leftovers.
The Thank You
We didn’t know each other and they didn’t have to come out of their rooms to eat with us but it felt like a family dinner nonetheless. It was such a happy night and we laughed, joked, and ate with each other as if we’d done it every year. Not so secretly, I’d like to do it again and again.
In the theme of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for:
May your Thanksgiving be full of warmth, love, and lots of wonderful food to eat.
courtesy of Summer Nights at Railroad Square
Last year was the start of a wonderful neighborhood event here in Santa Rosa, Summer Nights in Railroad Square. On the first Friday evening of June, July, August and September you could expect to enjoy yourself with neighbors, food, wine tasting, art, music and the sunset. I only went to three of the four last year but I made sure I was at each and every one this year. For $20 you can get a wrist band and taste wines up and down Fourth Street in Railroad Square. You can enjoy food from one of several food truck vendors or patronize the great establishments up and down the street. The art, music, and people are entertainment that surrounds you. Every time I went, I saw lots of people I knew and had an unreasonably good time.
I wanted to say thank you to Ty Jones and Kernan Coleman and anyone else that had something to do with creating this lovely event. I am so pleased that it’s yet another great time, here in Sonoma County.
I’m involved in this great program called Leadership Santa Rosa run by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce. All chambers have leadership programs but we are going into our 28th year, which I understand is the longest running of it’s kind in the U.S. I was in Class 26 and am the incoming President for the Alumni Association. There are many theme days: government, business, green issues, health & human services, media & marketing, justice, education, hospitality & tourism (watch for a blog on that one), and the most popular is agriculture. I was on the committee to produce Class 27’s Agriculture Day on 5/19/11. See my blog from last year’s Ag Day.
We visited the Rancho Laguna Dairy and heard from Art Lafranchi about the dairy business. What is amazing about this day is that it starts so early in the morning yet we are halfway through their workday by the time we arrive at the dairy. Last year when I went through the program compared to today were very different experiences. Since earlier this year, I have been flitting between being a vegan and a vegetarian. Those cows looked a lot different, let me tell you.
Tierra Vegetables is this wonderful CSA farm in Santa Rosa. Community supported agriculture, or CSA, is basically a membership to a farm. You pay a monthly cost to get a set amount of veggies either delivered for you or available for pickup. Evie & Wayne James gave us a lovely tour and the thing I noticed the most, next to the beautiful vegetation, was the fact that Wayne walked his land barefoot. I was blown away at the thought that he knew how his land felt through his entire body. Sounds silly but it’s a grounding concept. If you know of anyone that is stealing their produce, they’d greatly like it to stop.
There is a secret in Sonoma County. The Gourmet Mushroom Farm is this enclave of amazing foodstuffs in the form of fungi. The GMF doesn’t open their doors for anyone really. That’s the beauty of LSR. We get to go places no one else could get close to. Bob Engel gives us a tour every year and the idea that mushrooms can grow on wood always blows people away.
Most of the people traveling on that day were by bus, I drove my car because I had to leave early. This day is even more special because of the bonding that occurs on the bus.
On to Shone Farm, the botanical educational laboratory for the JC agriculture, viticulture, and culinary courses. Leonard Diggs is a farmer through and through. The beauty here is striking. The students that get to learn about animals, farming, vineyard work, winemaking, the culinary arts, as well as having a location for large events within the horse arena in the Dutton Pavilion. Last year we were there during tomato season and got to taste some 🙂
We had a great panel of speakers to speak on Emerging Trends & Challenges of Agriculture. They were: Lex McCorvey, Sonoma County Farm Bureau; Dave Whitmer, Napa County Agriculture Commission & Interim Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner; Joe Pozzi, Pozzi Ranch Lamb; and Clark Wolf, Clark Wolf Company.
The day ended at DeLoach Vineyards with a panel on the Sonoma County Wine Industry with Brian Maloney of DeLoach Vineyards; Rhonda Smith of UC Cooperative Extension; and Nick Frey of Sonoma Winegrape Commission. There was a tasting but I’m sad to have missed that part of the day. The gardens, bees, vineyards, guesthouse, and pool were phenomenal.
Thanks to all the great hosts, speakers, and locations that are made available to this amazing program. We couldn’t do it without all of you!
Strange Fruit
I absolutely LOVE going to farmer’s markets. My favorite is Saturday mornings at the Santa Rosa Vet’s Building, Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Saturdays are like a street fair with music, prepared food, and lots of little kids. There are so many different markets, last season when the Press Democrat printed a list of where and when each was happening, I printed it and color coded it by day. It was really useful when I wanted to remember where I could shop depending on what city I was in. I found a list of the surrounding area markets for you if you want it.
Does anyone know what this fruit is? It was beautiful but I have no idea.
My Cooking Station
I’m smart. I married a really good cook. The problem is when I cook he’s not overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong. I can cook just nowhere near as good as he.
So when I heard about Dinner My Way a few years ago, I thought it was brilliant. A company that takes the pain out of cooking, the prep. You pick from the menu of meals they offer (they rotate monthly), reserve a time for yourself, and you go in and assemble your meals. They hand you a list of what you ordered, you pay, throw on an apron, and get cooking. The ingredients are all laid out and prepped. The recipe is easy to follow and you add the sides on when you are done. I had 3 meals made in 20 minutes.
The efficiency of the procedure makes the organizer in me shiver with delight. While the ease of it all makes me as a mom ecstatic. Yes, some of the soul of cooking is sacrificed. But I can be rebellious and add more or less of an ingredient, if I like, to balance that out a little. If I want the part of cooking that makes me really happy, I’ll bake a pie but that’s not feeding my family. At $13 a meal that has (realistically) 3.5 servings, I’m spending a small amount of money to know what’s in my food but I’m still able to put it in my freezer. It’s a happy medium between take out and home cooking.
Did I tell you they have pickup? This is a gift I think I’m going to get for a friend of mine that just had a baby. Thank you to whomever thought this service up! Now they just need more veggie meals!
This event was supposed to be beautiful. The weather was supposed to cooperate and show off the lush grounds of Bayer Farm, a great community garden. Guess what? I’ve never gotten so wet in my whole life. It absolutely poured.
My club, Rotary Club of Santa Rosa West, and LandPaths have partnered to plant a Rotary Grove of Trees to supplement the wonderful vegetation already being grown in this urban garden. This event was for awareness raising in the community. Boy, it rained. But you know what? We still had a great time! (See the photo album here.)
There were youth volunteers, LandPaths staff, Rotary Club members and community members. The kids chopped fresh veggies, Rotary members cooked and prepped, we had an art table, a pumpkin carving section, an art show, a raffle, a health education booth, and a salsa bike. The salsa bike was my favorite part of the day. I learned how to make salsa from scratch and I will never forget how much fun those kids (and our Rotary President Bill Dodson took a turn!) had making salsa from their own foot power.
Who says nature has to be dry to be fun?
I’ve eaten at Cucina Paradiso before when they were at their previous location and never had anything to write home about. This time was different.
I’m not a food writer. I’m a real person that enjoys writing about the places I go. That’s why I have this blog. I don’t know about you but I go through phases as to what foods and flavors I crave. Lately it’s been briny, pickled, and spicy foods. When I saw duck with balsamic vinegar, I knew this was right up my flavor alley. (Petto di Anatra al Balsamico e Timo $17.95, Roast breast of Petaluma duck with balsamic vinegar and Fresh thyme sauce)
Roast breast of Petaluma duck
So I’m telling you I will be dreaming about this bird for weeks to come. I don’t know when I’ll get back there for the perfectly tangy taste of that wonderful duck. But trust me, I will not stop thinking about it until I do. I don’t really even remember what else was served on the plate (potaoes and squash, I believe) but I do know that as I was eating, I kept hoping the plate would never be emptied. No such luck.
Also eaten: butternut squash soup (good but needed more than a bit of salt and I never salt ANYTHING, just ask my husband) and vanilla ice cream with espresso poured all over it.
Overall grade: A-
Bonus points for dreaming of tangy duck
I’m hungry now.
As an Ambassador for the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, I go to a lot of ribbon cuttings. We get to see a new or improved business, take tours, meet nice people, and eat good food. It’s tough (sob). Anyway, for the dozens of ribbon cuttings I’ve attended, never have they cut meat.
Anyone that’s lived in Santa Rosa for any amount of time is familiar with the old world charm of Traverso’s (@traversos on Twitter). They used to occupy the building between 2nd and 3rd Streets at B Street right next to the bus depot. That small location was filled with wonderful food and wine but never did I realize exactly how much was in there. I’ve only been there once in the last 10 years (since I stopped riding the bus…well then it’s been a lot longer).
Their new location is on Stagecoach Road on the Fountaingrove Parkway across from Villa Varenna and the Fountaingrove Country Club. At first I wasn’t sure that would be a good place for them. Boy, did they pick the right neighborhood.
First, I’ve never seen so many people at a ribbon cutting. Normally, the Ambassador team dwarfs attendees of any other category at an event like that but this time we were in the minority by far. When I got there, there were easily 75 people waiting anxiously for the festivities to begin. Three generations of Traverso’s were on hand to cut the salame (Italian spelling) and usher in a new era of tradition. Old customers and friends were so happy to tour the new store and I was surprised to realize the strength of their reputation in this community. Their loyal fans, customers, and friends were excited to be there and support the family business.
They offered us a wonderful selection of Columbus salame, a wide variety of cheeses, a balsamic vinegar tasting with strawberries (sounds strange but it was heavenly, picture of sample provider), wine and deli food tastings.
I walked down one aisle of wines and was surprised to see that each label not only represented a renowned winery but my friends and neighbors. These aren’t just well known vintners, these are people I grocery shop with, see at the Downtown Market, and break bread with. This is our community and gosh darnit, I’m proud we have such a wonderful tableau at our fingertips.
Eat up!
Balsamic Vinegar & Strawberry Tasting @ Traverso's
So as a Sonoma County native, I’m doing my best to buy local, eat local, stay local. I own my own business which means I go on a lot of coffee dates. You say, “I’d love to get together with you to learn more about you and your business.” So then you decide where to meet. It had gotten to the point where I got myself a frequent coffee card from the biggest coffeeshop we all know of *hint hint*. I don’t want to support their corporation so I was at an odds with what to do.
As a disgruntled yut (“My Cousin Vinny” reference), I spent much time wandering/loitering in downtown Santa Rosa. There was a coffee shop named Sonoma Coffee Company that went out of business recently. It was dark and bohemian. Cool when I was 16 but had too many teenage associations for me as an adult.
Enter Cafe Azul. This new business takes over the old SoCoCo spot and has done wonders with what they had to work with. I think my favorite thing is their decor. It’s lighter, more open, airier and BLUE! My favorite color is blue and they’ve done it just right. I’ve now switched my coffee dates to Cafe Azul because I really like to go there and they are a new business that recently joined the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce.
So next time you are downtown and need a dark roast, I recommend the Alligator Roast.
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