Tag Archives: Sonoma County

Potato salad for the masses

After my initial success with Harriet’s potato salad recipe, I was feeling confident. Maybe a little too confident. I decided to go big. I committed myself to making potato salad for a 4th of July BBQ expecting about 30 guests. Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Harriet’s potato salad

Now that it is finally BBQ weather, I am craving potato salad. It’s that side dish that either captures your heart or leaves you full yet unsatisfied. I have not found a store-bought potato salad that gets the job done, so this weekend I knew the only option was to finally make my first homemade potato salad. I turned to my husband and asked, “What do you like in your potato salad?” Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home, Quick 'n Easy | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Making easy look good

This is my latest favorite meal. Seared scallops. They make me feel like a ninja gourmet because it is so easy to make them look a lot fancier than they really are. I don’t really have time to cook these days, so when I get to turn that quick dinner into something that looks like this, it makes up for it. Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home, Ooh-la-la | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Weekend Along the Farm Trails continued

Sorry for the long hiatus, but welcome back to my Weekend Along the Farm Trails! I’ve had so many more wonderful food experiences since then, I have a lot of catching up to do, but first I want to be sure to finish this tale. There is so much to say and I want to be sure I get all of it, so I’ve really struggled to finish writing about this experience. But I’m going off of memory, and the longer I wait the harder it gets. So here goes:

If you recall, we had spent Sunday morning touring the New Carpati mushroom farm in Sebastopol, explored family fun and tasted every cheese at Spring Hill Jersey Cheese farm in Petaluma, and escaped the Indian summer heat at Cafe Zazzle downtown Petaluma. After that we were recharged and drove to Tara Firma Farms on the southwest side of Petaluma. This was my favorite stop of the day. There is so much story behind it, and we were lucky to receive our guided tour from owner Tara Smith, so we got the full version.

Tara Smith of Tara Firma Farms with Thanksgiving turkey Continue reading

Posted in Local food sources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Weekend Along the Farm Trails

Tasting Sonoma County from the ground up

If I had tons of time (and money), I would make sure I knew where all my food came from and what it went through to get to me. Considering where I live, I would also do my best to source as much of it as possible from within a tight radius of my home. As it is, my resources are limited. I work with what I have to satisfy this desire. When I first saw an announcement for the Fall Weekend Along the Farm Trails, I put it on my calendar and diverted every obstacle that might impede my participation. There seem to be an unlimited and always growing number of food experiences offered here in Wine Country, and it is difficult to have to choose. But with so many local farms opening their doors in one weekend, it would have been a pity to miss it.

 

[caption id="attachment_144" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Chicken house at New Carpati Farm in Sebastopol"][/caption]

  Continue reading

Posted in Local food sources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Office potluck – Wine Country style

My office loves food. The first year we didn’t have a company-sponsored holiday party, we threw ourselves a potluck and discovered what a great bunch of chefs we are. I’m talking homemade lasagna, meatballs with dipping sauce, salad, chicken wings, kimchi pizza – real food. (And yes, this is actually a photo from our first holiday potluck back in 2007.) Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Saturday breakfast

Neighbor-fresh poached eggs, bacon, and pan-toasted bread from Costeaux Bakery in Healdsburg

Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

First visit to the Occidental Farmers Market

My first visit to the farmers market in Occidental yielded an unexpected result: a delicious meal of lamb, which I typically do not like. It also left me wanting more, so I’m sure many future posts will be rooted in local treasures plucked from this fantastic weekly market. Continue reading

Posted in Cooking at Home, Local food sources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment