Winter 2016 Publisher’s Note
There’s no place like home.
When the world is plunged into uncertainty and strife I reflect on the importance of focusing locally. When we pull together as communities we grow stronger and more resilient. In these divisive times it is more important than ever to greet your neighbor, volunteer locally, buy your holiday gifts at the corner store. In our own back yards we can have a great impact on the world around us. The Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture (p. 9) does just that by cultivating the next generation of farmers in the face of an aging agrarian population and uncertain climate future.
This issue also celebrates some groundbreaking women. Heather Sears captains her own boat out of Noyo Harbor (p. 26), catching and selling wild caught fish for regional restaurants and grocery stores. Janelle Weaver, owner and chef at the Bewildered Pig, strengthens our food system through her deep commitment to local farms and food (p. 5). Owner and head chef at Saucy, Cynthia Ariosta, is exploring a surprising new food source (p. 18). And Isabel Quiroz travels to crime-torn communities in Mexico to teach farming in order to cultivate peace (p. 13). These pioneers are engaging in ideas, projects, and professions that heal our communities and challenge us to discover our own opportunities for making things better.
I find solace and inspiration in the pages of Word of Mouth. Here in Mendocino County there are brave individuals doing great things. Make a commitment to shop at home this holiday season, whether your home is here or elsewhere—county residents can find some ideas in our Give It or Live It holiday gift guide (p. 20). Your support will make the season brighter for your friends and neighbors. An uncertain future can be brightened by focusing locally with our activism, our work, and our love.
Holly Madrigal, Publisher
Photo: A student at Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture holds a hen from her poultry project
THE PIG is loose in Anderson Valley’s Deep End
by Torrey Douglass
Photos by Mimi Giboin
Janelle Weaver grew up next to a lake in Southern Michigan. Seven days a week, three times a day, her mother cooked meals for “the ladies”—six residents living with them who needed extra care because of illness or age. Janelle and her little brother grew up pulling fish out of the lake, trekking veggies in from the garden, and canning in the fall. She learned early that the best ingredients can be right outside your kitchen door.
So it makes sense that today finds Janelle cooking in her own restaurant, The Bewildered Pig, down in Anderson Valley’s Deep End (just south of Navarro). Janelle and partner/landscape designer Daniel Townsend strive to give “a premium experience without pretension” in a space where “flip flops are ok, but you also want to come back to celebrate your ten year anniversary.” Servers are expected to treat guests like the friends or family of someone close to their heart. Come as you are—all are welcome. (Like church, but with better snacks.)
Inside, a mix of elements capture the Pig’s eclectic style of 19th Century Hunting Lodge meets French Country Farmhouse meets Middle English Pub. An antique farming poster in ornate gold frame, old wooden apple drying trays, weathered cleavers and cast iron pans all decorate the plain white walls. (For me it’s the cast iron that really makes an impact. Throw in some touches that are black, spiky, and dangerous looking, and you’ve got my attention.)
And then there’s the food. The thing you need to know about the food is this: when Janelle says “local”, she means it. Rose sorbet is flavored with essence derived from the rose outside the door. Greens come from Blue Meadow Farm down the road, fish is wild caught by Princess Seafood in Fort Bragg, even some of the dishware comes from the Pot Shop run by Alex Moyer outside of Philo. This is not someone who makes sure their crate of tomatoes was grown somewhere in California so they can slap “local” on the menu. This is local food for real.
The emphasis on local sourcing is reflected in The Pig’s experience with Frank Hartzell of Guthrie Ranch. Just outside of Fort Bragg, Frank grows an impressive variety of hard-to-find heritage poultry, and his deliveries contain birds of various sizes. It’s hard to serve a uniform cut of meat when one piece comes from a partridge-sized bird and another from a turkey impersonator, so initially Janelle asked Frank to send birds of similar weights. She withdrew the request, however, after realizing that prioritizing uniformity was one cause of the industrialization of poultry production and lack of breed variety common today. She didn’t want to be part of that.
Rather than specify the bird weight Frank would deliver, Janelle got her culinary creativity cracking. She created a double dish that doesn’t rely on serving the bird in discreet pieces. Dish One is a pan-seared boudin sausage made from the bird’s breast and puréed with eggs, cream, and lemon zest. Dish Two features cured dark meat with seasonings, slow cooked in duck fat and compressed in the pan, sliced and seared before serving. A pretty delicious solution.
Prior to coming to Anderson Valley Janelle worked at Kuleto Estate, a largely self-sufficient farm and winery founded by San Francisco restaurateur, Pat Kuleto. Besides a small selection of wines, the property produced its own olive oil, boasted a fish pond, extensive vegetable gardens, two acres of fruit trees, and a variety of livestock. As executive chef, Janelle’s job was to feed Kuleto and his family, and put together food and wine pairings for the winery throughout the week, all with the bounty provided by the estate. She lived in an uninsulated redwood cabin on the property and loved the peace and essentialism that came with living rurally. Life was pretty sweet.
But as the years went by growth and gridlock changed Napa and its approach to food. Restaurants became myopically infatuated with celebrity chefs and Michelin stars. Ostentation and a “rat race” element crept in, and eventually the live-off-the-land lifestyle of the estate seemed out of step with the Napa beyond its borders. When the property sold to a bigger winery in 2009, Janelle and Daniel knew the time had come to move on.
The Pig inhabits a long, low building that sits alongside Highway 128 surrounded by an expansive packed-dirt-andgravel parking lot. A new redwood fence has transformed a portion of the lot around the restaurant into al fresco gathering spaces—think patio, fire pit, and water features, with lots of seating and drought resistant plants, all beautifully designed and executed by Daniel. Besides expanding the usable space for the restaurant and keeping runaway toddlers off the highway, the fence prevents the headlights of departing cars from blinding diners seated inside. But Anderson Valley is notorious for its resistance to change, and locals have been heard grumbling about “Fort Pig.”
There’s more change on the way. A new back garden is in the works, occupying a grassy knoll that’s typically 10 degrees cooler than any other spot on the property. The plan includes a small outdoor theater, sunken firepit, and a (cigar) smoking zone. On the other end of the restaurant you’ll find the Towns End, a retail, meeting, and catering space that will soon be available for rent. It’s outdoor/indoor areas can host a yoga retreat (catered, of course), winemaker dinners, corporate retreats, or pop up wine tasting for local wineries that don’t have their own retail spaces.
Regardless of new plans and projects, food made with love and integrity remains at the heart of The Pig. I joined three friends for dinner there recently, and as we passed our entrees around the table round-robin style there was no clear winner, and no repetition of flavors. Dishes included the Herbed Gnocchi Parisienne, Covelo Ranch Braised English Shortrib, Peppercorn Seared Rare Fort Bragg Albacore “Nicoise”, and a Beef and Wild Mushroom Loaf. Each dish was unique, beautifully balanced, and cooked to tender perfection in order to let the freshness of the ingredients shine through.
I’ve been known to resist change myself, so I understand why some might look askance at all the changes Janelle and Daniel have brought. For anyone tempted to grumble I have this advice: sit down and have dinner. It’s a lot easier to welcome something new when it tastes this good.
Zeni Ranch Chestnuts
Fish Rock Road is a rugged road that stretches between Anderson Valley and the coast. About ten minutes past the point where asphalt turns to dirt, you arrive at the remote and beautiful Zeni Ranch, owned by the Zeni family since 1918. It has dry farmed Zinfandel vines, cut-your-own Christmas trees, breeder pigs of various breeds, and a collection of hale and hearty chestnut trees that brings a mix of people flocking to the ranch the first Saturday of every November.
It’s a mild fall day when we arrive for the annual Chestnut Gathering, a combination community potluck, sustainable agriculture seminar, and pick-your-own chestnut sale. Couples, families with their kids, and even a large group from San Francisco are scattered under the trees filling their bags and buckets.
I’d forgotten how uncomfortable it can be to collect chestnuts, wrapped in their spiky jackets (“burrs”) and scattered under the trees like startled pufferfish. If I’d remembered I’d’ve brought gloves, but we manage to gently extricate the dark shiny nuts from their protective coatings anyway.
They say plant fruit trees for your children; plant chestnut trees for your grandchildren. It can take more than a generation for the trees to produce a really robust harvest. That’s not an issue here, though, as the trees have been around a good long time. The three types of chestnuts on the ranch include Collosal, Marone, and Navadas.
Raymond Zeni, now co-owner of the property with his brother and sister, guides the annual tour, sharing stories about his family and their various enterprises. At one point the ranch boasted a bar and bonded winery, complete with wine cave dug out of the hillside by his dad’s four older brothers. His grandmother would charge city folks $1/day to come up to spend the night—wine, lunch, and dinner included.
Chestnuts are high in carbs and low in fats, but also the only nut that offers a relatively high amount of vitamin C. Dried chestnuts can be boiled later to revive them, or milled to create a flour good for breads and pastas. And you can always roast them in a tinfoil packet for 30–45 minutes in a 425˚ oven (pierce and soak for 1 minute first—the steam is key to well cooked chestnuts). Peel, dip in olive oil and salt, and enjoy!
Creamy Chestnut Soup
In 2T butter and 2T olive oil saute:
ó cup sliced shallots or onions
2 cups chopped carrots
2 sticks of celery (or more)
Add:
2 cups veggie stock
2 cups peeled/roasted chestnuts
Cook until chestnuts are soft~20 or more minutes.
Blend until smooth and reheat with:
1-2 cups heavy cream
ó cup dry Sherry
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish bowls with freshly grated nutmeg.
Outstanding in the Fields The Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture
by Caroline Radice
Photos by Ree Slocum
The sun sets in a sky filled with rainclouds as Joshua Sternberg, the production manager of Field Crop, surveys the plantings of winter vegetables he’s growing as part of his capstone project at the Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture. The fields are lush with broccoli, cauliflower, winter greens, peas, beets, carrots, and more. Sternberg is a graduate of the 2015 class at the Grange School. He stayed on at the school to grow food for this year’s students and for sale at local farmers’ markets. The Grange School views his project somewhat like an incubator farm, but the Grange School also provides additional mentoring support from experienced farmers. Sternberg has been working with Doug Mosel, owner of the Mendocino Grain Project, who has been guiding him through a planting of winter lentils and spelt--a combination of two different crops which Mosel has had good luck with in the past. Sternberg and Mosel are running a trial of two different farming methods for this crop. They are utilizing tillage on one side of the field, where the soil was disced with a tractor before the seeds were planted, and using the no-till system on the other side of the field, where the field was mowed and seeds were then planted with a seed drill.
No-till farming has become increasingly popular in recent years as farmers have become more aware of the benefits to the soil ecology. While the concept is easily embraced, the actual logistics of transitioning a large-scale commercial farm into a no-till farm can be intimidating. One of the great benefits of having the Grange Farm School in our community is that as an educational farm, they have more flexibility to run these trials and work on perfecting techniques. Sternberg explains that, “The no-till method is a multi-year experiment, because you hope as you make the environment more advantageous for perennial grasses, that you see weed pressure reduce over time.”
Sternberg isn’t the only Grange School graduate who has chosen to stay in the area after finishing the program. As the school continues on their mission of educating and inspiring the next generation of farmers, many of their graduates are staying here in Mendocino County and making valuable contributions in our area. Elisha Hardy, also a graduate of the 2015 class, is working toward starting her own farm here in Mendocino County. This year she has been working at Tequio Community Farm and Green Uprising Farm and is growing a large winter crop of brussels sprouts at Brookside School Farm after doing production planning with John Bailey at the Mendo-Lake Food Hub. Recent graduate Lindsey Burns has her sights set on a larger scale poultry business in 2017 after a successful trial run raising poultry this year. James Bording, also a member of the 2016 class, will be staying on to manage and continue developing the orchard at the school.
While graduates tend to winter gardens and plan next year’s projects, the director of the Grange School, Ruthie King, is planning for the 2017 spring term, which has already been receiving applications. The term begins in April, and students will be working on preparing the field for planting, learning about plant propagation in the greenhouse, working with livestock, and much more. The 14-week program also includes field trips to 25 different local farms and food businesses, where students can see the many different farming methods in action and learn about how they can incorporate different pieces into their future farms. Says King, “Adaptive Agriculture is less about relying on one specific farming method, and more about critical thinking. We encourage students to pinpoint what their goal is and then think about how they can achieve it.”
As an aging generation of professional farmers in the United States approaches retirement, both our local community and the whole country will see a great need for motivated new farmers. Over the next 25 years, our country would need to see 700,000 new farmers to replace the population that will be retiring, and the Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture provides valuable foundational education that will help a farmer be successful. The program offers students immersion in a residential training program, combining experiential learning on Ridgewood Ranch’s diverse 5,000 acres with classroom instruction at the school. The curriculum covers a broad set of skills, including animal husbandry, field crop production, industrial arts, business management, and more. It will also give students a well-rounded education in small agriculture that will help launch them into a career in the food system. The school also offers workshops that are open to the public, including more advanced level workshops for the professional farming community here in Northern California.
Farming for Peace in Michoacán
by Isabel Quiroz
The state of Michoacán, located in western Mexico, is one of the most beautiful places in the country, with its vast mountain range, unique colonial towns, coast line and warm people. It is also one of the largest producers and exporters of methamphetamines to United States. In recent years the result of drug-related violence has caused an increase in insecurity, impunity and violence.
The rupture of the social fabric is a high priority issue in México. The communities with greater vulnerability are those with higher rates of marginalization and violence. To improve the social landscape and lower the rates of violence it is necessary to establish a holistic strategy of social integration that allows us to strengthen neighborhood ties and at the same time to develop the individual.
From 2014 to 2015 I was part of a team that created community gardens with federal resources in two municipalities of Michoacán. The purpose of these gardens was to build community by developing a healthy environment. We selected the neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence and identified the steps necessary to meet our goals. The first step we took was to organize a meeting to explain our objectives: we intended to create a vegetable garden, host training workshops, provide free materials to participants and also build all the infrastructure needed for the project. The initial response was not positive—only a few individuals attended our first meetings and those who did were not excited about the project. They did not know us or believe in us.
In the municipality of Morelia the land that we were assigned to make the garden was an abandoned park, normally only attended by people who wanted to drink alcohol or do drugs. Little by little we cleaned the park. We took out dozens of trash bags, cut the thorns and grass, swept the sidewalks, painted the buildings. As we slowly improved the site we gradually began to see kids playing with their parents in the park again. It took about three months and a lot of small actions like this to build the trust with the neighbors and community members. Our constant presence was finally being seen.
We trained and worked with the communities for approximately six months. In that time we were able to work in the garden and provide technical training that mobilized the participants’ capacities. During the workshops we would include topics such as human rights, gender violence, and building equity. Eventually we realized we had become part of that community and each member was brilliant and strong in their own unique way. Every person was able to recognize and value the other beyond the garden. The network we helped to create was alive and growing.
Agriculture is inclusive. It promotes healthy interactions through sharing knowledge and experience. It strengthens social bonds, creates dialogue and builds conflict resolution skills, and helps communities share success and learn together with the failures. It gives a strong sense of belonging.
The conditions of Michoacán are harsh. The breakdown of the social fabric, the conditions of violence in the home, the extreme violence from local gangs were all very real to us while working on this project. Fixing the violence problem is challenging—it requires every piece of the puzzle to be active, to be creative. It requires a lot of political will, and a lot of human resources. I’ve seen the peace that can be created when a person puts a hand in the soil and wants to work with nature.
All the people that were involved in the project went through a transformation, but it was very difficult. We were lucky to find wonderful people on the way that wanted to garden with us. Today the gardens are still producing food and acting as a reminder that it is possible to rediscover a new path, one that is deserving of beauty and one that can nourish our bodies and souls.
Alder Springs: Far Out Grape Growing at the Top of the World
by Holly Madrigal
Just outside of Laytonville, California, the view from Alder Springs Vineyard feels like the top of the world; I can see the far mountain ranges of northern Mendocino County across the vines. It is not on what would be considered the “beaten path” by many people; even as someone well trained in country living, I had to backtrack half a mile to find the proper entrance.
The truth is, Alder Springs Vineyard is somewhat out of place in this section of Mendocino County. Most wine grapes in the area hail from the Anderson and Russian River Valleys, yet Stuart Bewley, owner and viticulturist, sought out this location for one reason: excellent soil. Bewley, an inquisitive traveler who delights in solving puzzles, toured the world in an effort to discover what combination of factors make for great wine; surprisingly, that quest led him here, a solid three hours from the Bay Area.
He shared a story of visiting Pichon Lalande in the Bordeaux region of France. In 1982 they produced an extraordinary wine, so magnificent that people wrote odes about it. Stuart went to see what set this wine apart, his interest piqued since this same vineyard had turned out a horrid vintage just three years earlier. Also intriguing was the fact that the neighboring vineyard had a long track record of delicious releases costing over $300 per bottle.
Bewley visited in a spring downpour and was startled to see that Pichon Lalande was thick with mud; the neighbor had excellent drainage throughout their property. 1982 had been a very dry year, and through this realization and others, Bewley surmised that the combination of complex soil biology paired with the ability of the vineyard to drain and pull oxygen into the ground helped grow the most coveted grapes.
Cut to 1993 when, after extensively researching California geology and climate, he hit upon the exact combination of traits he was seeking in his Laytonville vineyard. Formerly a logging town, the common wisdom suggests that Laytonville is too cold for wine grapes. “I think common wisdom is not necessarily right,” says Bewley.
23 years later, he has proven his theory correct. “96% of the wine grown in the U.S. is from six varieties,” Bewley explains. “Those make good wines but they are not the most diverse or interesting. There is way more intriguing stuff out there that we haven’t even tapped.” This pioneering perspective has led to grapes with excellent flavor and a complex make up, used for both the Alder Springs label and sold at a premium to other vineyards. Alder Springs has grown to include 140 planting blocks and 13,000 vines, all of which are tended to by hand by Bewley, viticulralist Tom Piper and a crew of 21 full time employees. Some varietals hold familiar names, such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Less common are grapes such as Mourvedre, Picpoul Blanc, Marsanne, Counoise, Tannat, Grenache Blanc, and Cabernet Franc. Stuart points to an area lush and green in the summer sun. “This here is the lunatic fringe. This one plot has 40 different varietals.” He and Tom Piper have learned over time, what grapes work in this mercurial climate.
Yet wine grapes are not the only systems that have been pioneered here at Alder Springs. This vineyard has set the bar for ecological management systems: cover crops and native grasses are planted to reduce erosion, and an inverted French-drain system of pipes runs below the vines to filter and draw moisture down through the roots and into the bordering salmon bearing streams. Bewley has pushed the envelope on organic, frost protection methods. He sustainably manages the timber on the property and sequesters carbon. “We’re going to grow grapes here but we are not going to hurt the environment to do it,” he says.
Admittedly, there could be a challenge in selling grapes from this natural, hard-to-reach spot to wineries three hours away in Sonoma County, but Bewley remains undaunted. “It tends to be a somewhat self-selecting group. Only the passionate arrive,” he explains. His confidence is validated by those driven by the desire for both quality and varietal exploration, who show up seeking the best.
As the sun sinks low over the vineyard, we discuss the Alder Springs legacy. Is it the air, the breeze, the water, or the farmer that makes great wine. “It is all of those things,” Bewley proposes. “And those who have tasted our wine from our vineyards for many years and taste a glass of our wine blind can say, ‘That is Alder Springs.’ The terroir is that strong.”
From this vantage point, seemingly on top of the world, it is easy to believe him. Looking out at the mountain ranges in the distance, it seems clear that wine produced from grapes grown here would indeed be something different, coveted, and truly special.
Entomophagy (Insect Eating): Poised for its “sushi moment”
by Cynthia Ariosta
Mendocino County is arguably a leader of sustainability, where local food production, organic farming, and support for local farmers are paramount to many who live here. Farmers markets, school gardens, farm-to-table restaurants, and events featuring local bounty are regular occurrences. We have a DPO (Direct Public Offering) funded wool mill in development, a heritage grains project, a robust foraging community and a thriving presence of boutique animal husbandry. All of this means that Mendocino County is ripe for the development of a new type of farm, specializing in insects raised for human consumption.
Yes, insects.
The first time I engaged in entomophagy (insect-eating) was in Mendocino County while on a mushroom foraging expedition with our very own resident mycologist, David Arora. David, author of the celebrated field guide Mushrooms Demystified, travels worldwide hunting and identifying mushrooms, but is also a collector of the eclectic, including fragrant Asian teas and canned edible insects. While preparing, marinating and sautéing our daily haul of mushrooms, we pan fried a can of Thai crickets in a mixture of white wine, garlic, butter and herbs. Scampi style crickets: delicious, albeit crunchy.
A trip to Mexico City solidified my entomophagy. A friend and I sat in a hotel room in the Polanco crunching on a bunch of market purchased chili-lime marinated chapulines (grasshoppers) sipping a glass of white wine. Later that week, we ate agave worm tacos in a roadside restaurant. The server presented a bowl of the high protein critters, cooked in garlic and xonostle liquor, made from the prickly pear, and we wrapped the worms appropriately in corn tortillas with salsa, onion and cilantro. I bit in and waited for the gush, but the worms were crunchy, nutty, and tasted quite like marinated Rice Krispies. It was, for me, an edible epiphany akin to discovering sushi, during which I realized that just because something isn’t intrinsic to our culture of eating doesn’t mean that we can’t also enjoy it.
Perhaps, for the benefit of the planet, we should.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2013 study on edible insects, by 2050 there will be 9 billion people living on the planet; in order to sustain them, food production will need to double. Our planet is already suffering from land scarcity, overfishing, climate change and chronic hunger. Edible insects could potentially contribute to creating food security. More than 1900 species of insects are consumed by more than 2 billion people on the planet. Insects are a source of significant protein, fat, vitamins and fiber and their cultivation utilizes less water and land resources than cows and pigs.
For example, crickets only need to consume two kilograms of feed to produce one kilogram of body weight, and grow to maturity in about six weeks. In a cow, the ratio is 8 to 1, and maturation can take two to three years. It takes 1800 gallons of water to create one pound of beef, and one gallon of water to create one pound of cricket protein. A cow uses two acres of resources in its lifetime; 55 crickets grow in a 4 x 6 box. House crickets contain approximately 21 grams of protein per 100 grams of cricket, while ground beef contains about 26 grams per 100 grams of meat. Insects can be fed with consumable organic human and animal waste, like spent grains and composted vegetables. They emit significantly less greenhouse gasses and ammonia than cattle and pigs, therefore contributing less to global warming than their farm animal counterparts.
So, what is the stumbling block? The disgust factor – which, it seems, may be something we can overcome. French restaurants, after all, fetch a hefty price for escargot, but we turn our noses up at the thought of consuming a common garden snail. Caviar is considered a delicacy but you don’t see carts of escamoles (ant eggs) rolling by on silver platters. We boast many “water bugs” in the American diet – lobster, shrimp, crab, crawfish – but don’t see “cricket” boils popping up for Mardi Gras.
Despite this, we are making great strides to incorporate insect protein into a neatly packaged Western diet. San Francisco based Bitty Foods creates and sells cookies make from cricket flour. Parisian Company Jimini’s, whose slogan is “Think bigger, eat smaller,” offers insect sampler boxes for your next cocktail party. Exo makes Paleofriendly, gluten-free bug based protein bars.
Can edible insects have their sushi moment here? It seems that we might have the right ingredients. Entomophagy offers one possible solution to the global problem of food shortages, over-farming, and depletion of natural resources. Mendocino is a pioneer for sustainability. We have abundant resources in our farmers, investors and land. We are collectively passionate about food systems and a healthy planet.
I’m ready for another worm taco please.
Give It and Live It
THE SWEET LIFE: CHERRY STORIES FROM BUTLER RANCH
Stories recounting the lives of George and Ella Butler and their u-pick cherry ranch on Boonville-Ukiah Road. Explore the legacy of those who experienced this “cherry heaven” of days gone by. Mendocinobookcompany.com
FREY VINEYARDS CHEF PACKAGE
Delight your wine lover friends and family with this gift from an organic pioneer. 1 bottle 2015 Organic Chardonnay, 1 bottle 2015 Organic Pinot Noir, 1 Frey Organic Cooking Apron, and 1 2015 Frey Cookbook. Each Gift Pack is wrapped and can include a gift note to the recipient. Freywine.com
SEAWEED SNACKS, A GIFT FROM THE SEA
Delight your friends and family with our yummy sweet or savory seaweed snacks—great for Holiday gift giving, stocking stuffers, party fare, and tasty nutrition all year long. Seaweed wild-crafted on the pristine Mendocino Coast. gluten-free, GMO-free, and vegan. LoveSeaweed.com
LOCALLY CRAFTED WHISKEY
For the connoisseur in your life. The Low Gap Whiskey is double distilled in an antique16HL cognac still in Redwood Valley California. Award winning absinthe, Rose Liqueur and more. Pure, beautifully crafted spirits. Caddellwilliams.com
PENNYROYAL FARM TO TABLE CHEESE CLUB
Local Cheeses with international quality. Receive a selection of seasonal cheeses delivered to your door. Each shipment contains crafters notes, as well as food and wine pairing. Pennyroyalfarm.com
SHARED TABLE AT INN AT COBBLERS WALK
Treat your loved one to a locavore feast. Chef Jonathan Fussell crafts a Farm to Table dining experience at the Inn at Cobblers Walk near Mendocino. One recent menu included sheep’s milk gnocchi with garden squash, pistachio and Fort Bragg Ling Cod with cauliflower and figs. Glendeven.com
STAY AND COOK AT THE PHILO APPLE FARM
Perfect for your favorite food lover. Stay in one of the Apple Farms modern farmhouse cabins and help cook a series of seasonally inspired meals throughout the weekend. Learn homesteading wisdom along the way from Karen and Tim Bates. Philoapplefarm.com
JAZZ AND BEER PAIRING AT THE NORTH COAST BREWERY SEQUOIA ROOM
Every Friday and Saturday evening you can pair excellent beers with world-class jazz. The Brewery in partnership with the Thelonius Monk Institute hosts dinner concerts. The perfect gift for a music lover. Northcoastbrewing.com
Royally Fresh Fish from Princess Seafood in Noyo Harbor
by Ree Slocum
Unwittingly, Heather Sears began her fishing career when she was about ten years old, spending many summers with her father on the family boat out of Morro Bay. They were away from home, frequently for a month or more, packing everything they needed to be at sea for days and staying at different ports. Early on, she learned the ins and outs of the fishing business from one parent while developing carpentry skills from the other. Her mother, not liking fishing much, remained ashore buying fixer-upper houses to renovate and sell. The family depended on fishing for most of their income.
Their lives revolved around the seasons, maintaining the boat and managing their catch. Heather remembers talking with other fishing kids who all had the same experiences: “We’d sand and paint bin boards, load needles with twine, and mend nets.”—but nothing compared to the thrill of bringing in the big fish.
At 19, Heather moved to Fort Bragg and crewed on boats out of Noyo Harbor. In 2001 when she was 21, she bought her first boat with her life savings of $4,000 – a classic 1930s wooden troller. “And everything took off from there!” she remembers. It’s been twelve years since she realized her dream of being captain of an all-women crew, sometimes spending months away from home with just one other person. Her eyes sparkle as she recalls, “It’s like another big camping trip, just like the times I spent with my dad on our own boat.”
Fishing from her current steel-hulled troller, Princess, Heather and crew fish waters off the West Coast from Baja to Alaska. She can go “...wherever the fish stocks are strongest...” since she has offshore permits from all four coastal states, and Princess, being a troller, uses fishing lines only, catching one fish at a time. This makes her fish sustainably caught (third- party certified) and considered some of the highest quality fish on the market, fetching the best prices.
During my time on board Princess, docked in Noyo Harbor, I watched Heather cut frozen Alaskan King salmon steaks with a bandsaw while her newest crew member, Maia Grodin, washed and packaged the one-inch thick, deep pink steaks for an off-the-boat customer. It was comfortable being around the two as they affably talked, worked, joked, and laughed. They moved about doing their activities in the easy, unhurried manner of people who live in and work closely with the natural world. This year Heather and other crew member, Cybelle Priestley, fished Alaskan waters for Coho and King Salmon. With two people at sea, “...it gets pretty crowded after four months,” Heather chuckles as she and Maia vacuum packed fish in the tight cabin.
One of only four boats that quick freezes salmon from Baja to Washington, Princess has a blast freeze freezer below deck. Highly expensive and unique, the blast freezer is the coldest (to at least -30 degrees) and fastest way to freeze freshly caught fish making it possible for Heather and crew to fish off Alaska and return to Noyo Harbor with the best tasting sashimi grade catches of Coho and King salmon. This year they harvested about 23,000 pounds of Coho and 10,000 pounds of King salmon. Of that, 90% of the frozen fish is sold on 1,000-pound pallets to markets in Morro Bay, Los Angeles, Whole Foods, Ukiah Coop, including a monthly delivery to Scoma’s Restaurant in San Francisco. Selling whole fish and fillets off boat, or processed at Ocean Fresh plant, and at farmers markets, is only 10% of their income, but that market is expanding.
Year-round you can find Princess Fish’s local catches including King salmon, sablefish, albacore, rockfish, black cod, Alaska King and Coho salmon, plus smoked salmon and albacore at the Fort Bragg farmers market on Wednesdays and Ukiah farmers market every other Saturday. Call ahead to pick up whole frozen fish from the boat, cut and vacuum packed free, most Fridays.
Winter spices, lemon and local honey warm up this cold weather cocktail
Winter is on the way and it looks like it's angling to be cold and wet, so you’ll want a go-to cocktail to warm you up. The spicy-sweet heat of this cold-weather gem goes right to your chest and blooms there, like a bright flower in the middle of darkness. Grab a bottle of good Brandy and start making your own infusion now. After all, summer may be about sun and fun and busting out, but winter is made for quieting down, cozying up and taking it slow. Share with friends and give a toast to this Wonderful Life.
IT’S A WONDERFUL TODDY
RYAN TUCKER, CHOP CHOP MIXOLOGIST
4 oz Hot Water
1 1/2 oz. Infused Germain-Robin Brandy
1/2 oz. Vanilla Vodka
A squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons Lover’s Lane Honey
Whipped Cream
Orange Twist
Cinnamon, Cloves and Star Anise
Mix hot water and honey in a mug or brandy snifter. Add Brandy, Vodka and lemon. Top with whipped cream and garnish with orange twist, cinnamon, cloves and star anise.
To make Brandy infusion: To one 1 liter of Brandy, add 5 cinnamon sticks, 3 tablespoons of whole clove and 1 vanilla bean (you may have to take a shot or two to make room to fit it all in there). Store in a cool, dark place for at least a week or until you are please with the flavor. Strain and pour back into the bottle.
Flow in Mendocino
By Ariela Marshall
Photos by Martin Wattenburger
The adventure begins as you ascend the steps of a historic wooden water tower to reach the second story entrance of Flow Restaurant. On entering, you have the impression of being in the ‘crow’s nest’ of a clean, spatially organized ship, with wood floors and sturdy beams. Large windows on three sides provide a wide-angle view of the coastline. A balcony offers wind in the hair and the scent of sea air, or, if you prefer shade and unswept hair, the establishment offers wide brim straw hats on borrow.
Throughout the main eating area, balcony, and bar, the restaurant has a warm, modern look that is both fresh and elegant, all of which whets the palate before even tasting the food.
In creating Flow, Meredith Smith imagined a place where locals and tourists alike could come for breakfast, but where they could also enjoy dining on evenings after a theater performance or during the Mendocino film and music festivals. She was well aware of the nature and risks of the restaurant industry, having been in business for over thirty years as founder of the perennially popular Mendocino Café. Having traveled widely, she liked the concept of a meeting place equally inviting to couples, friends and families, where the food, ambience and service are a balance of comfort and innovation.
The key elements of Flow’s conceptual development are found in the restaurant’s name. Meredith describes a philosophy of being in the flow, “when where you are and what engages you makes time disappear and your participation in the current moment completely satisfying… my goal is to create that matrix for the place and those who share in the experience”. Farm-to-table dining is central to Meredith’s approach of supporting local farmers and sourcing seasonal ingredients. She opened Flow with a vision that included and built on her standard of organic food offered in fresh creative versions of classical high cuisine.
Flow differs from the Mendocino Café in several ways. While maintaining the family-friendly atmosphere and commitment to sustainability, Flow has a particular emphasis on raw, vegan and gluten-free dishes. Baked goods are made in-house, in a newly renovated kitchen, by a pastry chef whose focus includes gluten-free desserts, ice cream and sorbets. Seasonal ingredients drive the menu, with current specials of stuffed artichoke and wild-caught swordfish.
As for drinks, there is a full bar featuring local beers on tap, infused and craft spirits, and a wealth of cocktails, like the Champagne Rose, made with Roederer Brut, rose petal syrup and rhubarb bitters. Non-alcoholic drinks include several exotic mocktails with intriguing ingredients and names such as Sweet Tart and Im-Peachment. The ginger beer is a treat to the senses, a perfect balance of zesty flavor and refreshing lemon, slightly sweetened.
Meredith opened Flow with a vision that included and built on her standard of organic food offered in fresh, creative versions of classical high cuisine. From the first impression of the restaurant, with that wide view of the ocean, to the last bite of a carefully constructed meal, it’s clear that she’s brought something special to our Mendocino Coast.
Planting Wisdom
Round Valley Public Library stretches beyond book lending to food security
By Ree Slocum
Pat Sobrero, Library Technician at the Round Valley Public Library, greeted me with a warm smile when I visited her at the sunny, community-built library. During our conversations I asked Pat why she wanted to form a seed library in Covelo. She confessed that, through her parents and grandparents, she was a product of the Great Depression that followed the stock market crash in 1929. Money was scarce and people turned to frugality, reusing, and gardening to survive. Food security was on everyone’s mind. The idea of being thrifty and saving became a way of life for Pat.
Hearing about the “seed library” movement, Pat wanted to add the service to the Covelo Library to ensure the community's food security. “I had been talking about it with others but nothing was happening fast enough for me,” Pat remembers. She wanted to “be the change [she] wanted to see,” so she contacted Rebecca Newborn in Richmond, California at the Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library, the first seed library in the world. Rebecca believes strongly that people should have access to healthy, fresh, and affordable food in the same way they obtain free information from books in libraries. She generously provides all of the information she’s developed to newly germinating seed libraries, including hand outs, brochures, and membership and regional planting guide forms. This wealth of information made starting the seed library much easier than Pat expected.
In 2012 the Covelo Seed Library took root. Attractive, old-school card catalog cabinets organizes open-pollinated organic seeds in packets donated by seed companies. The print-outs provided by Newborn offer guidance to beginning gardeners and seed-savers. When opening a drawer of seeds at The Covelo Seed Library, one is greeted by beautifully labeled packets with handwritten information about where the seed was grown and by which member. Colorful commercial seed packets are interspersed with the local gems. Members collect seeds from their tastiest, most vigorous plants once it “goes to seed” at the end of its growing cycle, which are then processed, repackaged, and labeled to keep the library refilled with new, naturalized seed. This process allows the seed library to remain self-sustaining while also encouraging varieties of seed stock that are more resilient to diseases and better adapted to their particular climate and soil. “We have leek seeds that have been growing here for 20 years,” Pat informed me. Over the years the growing catalog of locally-adapted plants will ensure the availability of more free seed stock for others to borrow.
In Covelo’s Seed Library the seed catalog is alphabetized by type (e.g.i.e. beans), then by variety (i.e.g. “Provider”). It also includes information about how to save the seeds from each plant. Not all types of seed are easily saved so the catalog has different colored labels for “easy,” “medium,” and “difficult.” It’s quite simple to save seed for lettuce, beans, tomatoes, or peas for instance, but some plants, like carrots, need special care. At the seed library you can also find informative handouts, times when people will gather to process seeds, and classes to teach gardeners—at all levels of experience—how to save seeds. Members are encouraged to save seed but Pat jokingly assured me that borrowers won’t pay a fine if they don’t.
One can sense Pat’s passion when she talks about food security. “If you control the food, you control everything,” she stated. “Right now Bayer is trying to purchase Monsanto, Dow is trying to purchase Syngenta and there’s a third merger. If all of these mergers go through, 60% of the world’s seeds will be in the hands of these companies.” These developments, are shocking when coupled with a decline in plant varieties (especially ancient breeds) and the fact that over 94% of the seed varieties available at the turn of the twentieth century have disappeared. “Having seed libraries is a political action that small communities can do,” Pat states, “We need it for spiritual reasons, we need it for health reasons, we need it for political reasons.”
Love in the Kitchen: Sulin Bell and her Cookbook for Two
by Holly Madrigal
Photos by Ree Slocum
“I have coined a new field of sociology” says Sulin Bell, who has a Masters in the subject. “Culinary Therapy,” she laughs.
She discovered this new field when researching and writing “Two Hearts, Four Hands,” a unique, fun cookbook for two. The first book of its kind, multiple publishing houses expressed interest in it, but Sulin says they ran into challenges when they sought to put the book in a single category. “It really is unique,” says Sulin. “It is a cookbook but it is also a way to learn to cook with another person and to create healthy, delicious food together.”
Sulin crafted the recipes and set up the book so that each cook has their own set of instructions. You can choose between recipe categories: ‘romantic,’, ‘wild side’ or ‘feeling cozy.’ I was drawn to the Scallops in Chili Butter Sauce and the Rose Petal Chicken. There are full meals with suggestions for musical accompaniment.
“It is a fun way to get to know each other in a different way,” says Sulin. “One way to think of it is an edible path to better relationships” she adds.
The success stories, it seems, are multiplying. One couple designated Tuesday as date night and worked their way through every recipe. They had such fun they bought the book as gifts for all of their kids and friends. In another case, a newlywed couple is enthusiastically using the book to learn to cook together.
And romantic partners are not required; roommates that are on their own for the first time at college, or friends that want to learn something new in the kitchen can also benefit. As people cook together, this book can teach a whole new way of relating to food. Sulin mentions that we are now through two generations of young people where many do not know what it is like to sit around a dinner table for meals; in our current fast paced world the traditional “family dinner” has gone by the wayside.
When it came time to experiment in my own home, my husband and I dove in and tried the Mediterranean Phyllo Strudel and cous-cous with lemon, apricot and pistachios. Normally we are quite compatible in the kitchen, with the exception of when I go rogue and change ingredients or alter the recipe, which drives my detail-focused spouse crazy. Overall, the menu came together easily, though we did have some confusion when we reached the phyllo pastry construction: What pan are we using? How is this going to look when we’re done? Are we doing this right?
Admittedly, it was handy having four hands to layer and butter the phyllo dough. We negotiated through it and when done, we had a beautiful pastry crescent. Realizing how key communication was – and how much we would have benefitted from reading through the entire recipe together before starting – the end result seemed like an edible metaphor for the joy of a successful relationship. The finished product was delicious, impressive, and generous enough to share.
When asked how she came up with the idea for this book, Sulin remembers, “A good friend and I were cooking, dancing around the kitchen, when my partner passed through and said, ‘Hey, two hearts four hands’ which is when the idea came to me. There are a ton of cookbooks about cooking, even cooking for two, but nothing had ever been created for two people to cook together.”
“People are hungry for a way to access good food,” she explained. “At the same time, they are hungry for connection. These are parts of the same thing.”
Indeed they are; my husband and I are already strategizing about how to improve our phyllo technique the next time around. I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out.
MEDITERRANEAN STRUDEL AND COUSCOUS
This savory vegetarian dish is both impressive and delicious. Pair with Fry Pinot Noir or a Cranberry Spritzer. Musical suggestion Yehuda Poliker.
Strudel (S)
1/2 a 16oz. package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch spinach
4oz. feta cheese crumbled
1/4 c. fresh basil chopped
1 onion or 2-4 shallots
5-6 sundried tomatoes
1/4 c. Kalamata olives
2-4 garlic cloves
1-2 Tbs. soy sauce or tamari
1/4 lb. sweet butter
4 Tbs. olive oil separated in two halves
Couscous (C)
1 c. whole wheat couscous or bulgar
2 scallions sliced thin
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley
2 Tbs. fresh mint leaves
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/3 c. raw pistachio meats, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. dried apricots chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Cook One
S 1. Rinse chard, remove large center stems and cut into medium large pieces. Place in colander.
S 2. Rinse the spinach. Cut off the thick ends if in a bunch.
S 3. Put 2 Tbs. olive oil in a sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the onion or shallots from Cook Two. Press in the garlic cloves, 1 Tbs. soy sauce and mix well. Add the chard leaves and cover to wilt. Mix occasionally.
S 4. After about 5 minutes – once wilted, add spinach.
S. 5 When both are wilted, mix in tomatoes, basil, and olives from Cook Two. Sauté 1 minute more and remove ingredients to the colander to drain and cool. Rinse and dry skillet for use by Cook Two.
C 6. Roughly chop apricots to make 1/4 cup.
C 7. Rinse, pat dry and chop 2 Tbs. of parsley. Set aside.
S 8. Clear a space to lay out phyllo dough.
C 9. Combine 1 . cup water, 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1 tsp. salt in a saucepan. Bring to boil. Check with Cook Two to see when to add this to Couscous.
S 10. Open phyllo dough package, remove half the sheets and lay unfolded on flat clean surface. Place a rimmed baking sheet near the work surface.
S 11. When Cook Two is ready with melted butter/oil mix, carefully remove two sheets of phyllo dough from the pile and place on the baking sheet. (its handy to lift the phyllo sheets together) Cook Two will brush the entire sheet with the butter mixture.
S 12. Repeat this process each time Cook Two finishes oiling (3-4 more times)until you have only two sheets of dry phyllo dough left.
S 13. Add the crumbled feta to the colander and mix well. Remove batches of this filling, squeezing out the liquid with your hands and place on the oiled phyllo leaving 2” from the edges.
S 14. When Cook Two finishes rolling up the strudel, oil the outside of this log and carefully lift it onto the remaining two sheets of phyllo. Roll it all up and use butter on the edge to seal it. Then oil the entire log.
C. 15 Thinly slice 2 scallions and set aside. Rinse, dry and chop mint leaves.
S 16. When strudel is browned and ready to remove from the oven by Cook Two, fluff the couscous thoroughly with a fork. Gently mix in the pistachios and lemon juice from Cook Two. Add your scallions, parsley and mint.
C 17. Consult with Cook Two to season the couscous with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook Two
S 1. Peel and dice the onion or shallots.
S 2. Peel the garlic cloves
S 3. If the tomatoes are dried and not in oil, soak in some warm water for a few minutes to soften. Drain and chop.
S 4. Coarsely chop 1/4 cup of olives.
S 5. Rinse, dry and coarsely chop 1/4 cup of basil leaves.
S 6. Give the onion, garlic, drained tomatoes, olives and basil to Cook One.
C 7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
C 8. Coarsely chop 1/3 cup of pistachios. Toast them in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 2 minutes, remove to a bowl.
C 9. In the same pan, toast couscous until it just begins to brown (3-4 minutes).
C 10. Place in large bowl and ask Cook One to add the apricots and boiled water. Cover.
S 11. Juice 2 Tbs. of lemon juice – set aside.
S 12. In a small saucepan, melt 1 cube of butter (4oz.) with 2 Tbs. olive oil over medium-low heat.
S 13. When this mix is melted, bring it over to the phyllo area.
S 14. When Cook One removes 2 sheets of phyllo from the pile gently brush the entire surface with the butter/oil mixture. Offer to assist Cook One with removing phyllo sheets as it is often easier with four hands.
S 15. Repeat this buttering process for 3-4 more rounds until only 2 unbuttered sheets remain.
S 16. After the filling has been spread out by Cook One, fold the two shorter edges of the filling (like a hem) and begin to roll up the longer edge to make a log.
S 17. While Cook One is oiling the log, assist in wrapping the entire log in the unoiled sheets.
S 18. Lift the finished strudel onto the baking sheet and curve slightly to make a crescent shape Brush oil onto the outside of the crescent.
S 19. Place the strudel in the top third of the preheated oven. Cook for 35-40 minutes until browned.
S 20. When ready to serve carefully cut the strudel into generous portions with a sharp knife.
What Not to Miss in Greater Northern California
SONOMA COUNTY: RELISH CULINARY ADVENTURES
Cooking Class with Chef John Ash in a peach orchard? Mushroom foraging, cheese making or head to tail butchering classes? Yes please. Relish Culinary Adventures has been doing all this and more from their Healdsburg home. View their catalog and sign up for something adventurous; learn “pickles, vinegar & shrubs”? Lets do it. Relishculinary.com
LAKE COUNTY: THE TALLMAN HOTEL
The Bluewing Saloon at the Tallman Hotel is the spot for a destination brunch. Devotees flock to Upperlake from far and wide for crab benedict or Italian donut holes in the open-air courtyard. Live music fills the air most weekends. This historic stagecoach stop hides a sustainable side including geothermal and solar heating systems and fast charging vehicle stations. Minutes outside of Ukiah, California. Tallmanhotel.com
HUMBOLDT COUNTY: HUMBOLDT BAY OYSTER TOURS
“Wind in your hair, mud in your eye, and tasty oysters in your belly,” is the promise of the Humboldt Bay Oyster Tours. Produced by small farmers, some of the most delectable oysters are grown in waters of Humboldt Bay, like the highly prized, tiny Japanese Kumamoto Oyster. See first hand what it takes to make these delicacies, just as soon as you wipe that mud out of your eye. Humboldtbayoystertours.com
There’s chocolate. And then there’s Starchild.
Article and photos by Ree Slocum
There’s chocolate and then there’s Mendocino County’s own handcrafted and award-winning Starchild Chocolate. Impossible to be confused with an ordinary bar of chocolate, Starchild bars are made from carefully chosen organic cacao beans and processed in small batches using traditional methods of stone grinding. Chocolatiers, Ash and Bree Maki, then “add nothing more than organic unrefined coconut sugar and cacao butter.” Sounds simple but the process is as complex and detailed as producing a fine bottle of wine, a craft beer, or high-end cup of coffee.
It all started in 2012 when Bree brought home a bar of chocolate sweetened with coconut sugar for Ash to taste. Both enjoyed chocolate but wanted some that was healthier for them. They launched an exploration into the world of this elixir of the gods. Ash not only liked the taste of that original bar, he found that some pain he’d been experiencing disappeared after eating the chocolate. They were hooked and opened Starchild Chocolate in 2014 and in 2015, opened their doors at their building on Main Street in Willits.
The finished Starchild Chocolate bar begins in the humid, jungle-like climates within 10 degrees north and south of the Equator in countries like Tanzania, Ecuador, and Dominican Republic. Within that band of optimal growing climate, entire villages—with children playing under cacao trees, chickens scratching in yards, and old people napping in hammocks—are known for the quality of their bean. Everyone is involved in making a living harvesting and fermenting the cacao growing in their yards and forests. The cacao tree is also cultivated in plantations by landowners hiring local farmers to grow and process the beans. Once fermented to perfection and dried, the beans are bagged and shipped around the world. The next step is to taste the hard, brown bean varieties coming from certain regions and farmers. Ash and Bree, who want to support small farmers, have tasted hundreds of finished cacao beans. They look for different complex flavors before they commit to buying bags.
Once the cacao beans are selected, the fun begins. Ash, who keeps copious notes about the processing he’s doing with the beans, said, “There’s a massive amount of complexity when it comes to chocolate making. We keep all our chocolate at 70 percent to stabilize one of the variables.” The roasting time of the beans can vary the flavors greatly. They’re operating small equipment, sometimes handmade, and believe that using a quality bean is essential. Next comes the grinding of the beans, all timed and noted. Ash also keeps track of when the coconut sugar is added and how much, and the time “conching” the small batches (a way of mixing the sugar and ground beans together, rounding off the edges and making the chocolate smooth and creamy). That process takes many hours, sometimes days, of blending in the small batch mixers they use, until the flavor and consistency are what they’re looking for. Once that’s achieved, the chocolate is poured into forms for bars, packaged, and shipped all over the world to fulfill wholesale orders.
Of course naming a business can be an arduous affair but the name “Starchild” was no doubt handed down to the couple on cosmic beams of inspiration. After Ash and Bree made their first batches of the artisan chocolate, they were discussing names with Ash’s dad, who was visiting at the time. He had a dream one night where he was cruising around in the stars, exploding with chocolate. In the morning, Ash’s dad told them, “You’ve got to name your chocolate something planetary--about the stars.” It all came together when Ash remembered nicknaming his sister “Starchild.” And it sealed the cosmic contract when they realized Mayan folklore says that the cacao bean was gifted to the Mayans on the beam of a morning star falling to Earth.
When they first opened their doors at 101 North Main Street in Willits, they served the public a cornucopia of chocolate delicacies while making the chocolate and filling wholesale orders. It was overwhelming doing both. So they temporarily closed the retail part of the business. Bree and Ash have discontinued the café part and plan to be open to the public soon, offering chocolaty gifts, the full array of artisan chocolate bars they’re famous for, and a wonderful variety of truffles, and will again serve samples to delight our palates. Make sure to try the “Tanzania KoKoaKamili” bar which won the silver medal this year in the “Unrefined Sugar” category at the International World Finals held in London.