Southern Sonoma Country Life

New Year's Eve at the Warm Puppy Cafe

What could be better on a New Year's Eve afternoon than a whirl around the ice at Snoopy's very own Redwood Empire ice skating arena?

I for one, could think of nothing to compete with such a foray into the freezing realms of the late and legendary Charles Shultz's beloved Santa Rosa based Snoopy's winter wonderland http://www.snoopyshomeice.com !

Specially as there were five under thirteens seated in the Suburban in communal search of some serious post Christmas sporting activity! And skiing was out given geographical restrictions of a four hour window of group activity time.

Ice skating never fails to invigorate and tripping the light fantastic at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena has an extra special zing to the tingle of active seasonal family entertainment!

After an hour on the ice, the lure of hot chocolate in the Warm Puppy Cafe never fails to warm the proverbial cockles - and today was certainly no exception. It being New Year's Eve and all, it was sweet to see a sprig of fir tree set on Sparky's specially reserved table by the fireplace, simply adorned with three little red balls.

So much of the late cartoonist's life has been splashed across the local, regional, national and quite possibly international press following this year's release of a controversial biography Shultz and Peanuts, by David Michealis, but the real spirit of the man lingers long into the darkening afternoon skate sessions at his beloved ice arena.

A wonderful place to celebrate the drawing of an end to another year. Happy New Year Charlie Brown! Happy New Year one and all!

Days of Toast and Marmite

Winter is finally here in typically mild, mellow Northern Cal. Foggy, damp nights and chilly mornings make for cozy breakfasts in those fluffy robes and Ugg slippers that have been stuffed in the back of the closet for ten months of the calendar year.

The Brit in me comes out in full force at this time of year. Must be the first sniff of rain which sends me straight over to the pantry in search of that epic jar of endless Marmite!

Raising three American born sons, I can hear your cry of outrage before it has even so much as touched the hemisphere. "Oeoughhh, yuk, how could you?" Something along those lines and generally followed up by "The Australians are just as bad with their Veggimite!" I make no apologies, but guess you have to be born in the commonwealth somewhere (do Canadians eat Marmite? Answers, please!) to have been inducted at a tender age to the merits and taste of this uniquely eccentric Great British food.

Poached eggs on crumpets are just not complete without a thin spread of Marmite - which provides the perfect kick to an easy cooked breakfast on a drizzly late December Sunday.

In defense of the mighty Marmite product, I am linking you dear reader to the official Marmite website, so that you can see how versatile a spread this truly is: http://www.marmite.co.uk.

And my personal favorite (as I am sure you are keen to learn) has to be the ploughman's sarnie of sliced French bread with a slather of Marmite, grated cheddar cheese, thinly sliced spring onions, and lettuce. After all the festive fancy foods, there's really nothing nicer.

A Persian Feast

Azari Vineyard Estate is a wonderland of sumptuousness just ever so slightly positioned over the Western edge of P' Town, and tucked peacefully and appropriately into the darling green rolling hills of Spring Hill Road.

Proprietors Pari and Kamal have painstakingly created a picture-perfect slice of Iranian-American/Mediterranean nirvana and no one holiday gathering of local personalities could possibly have appreciated the Azari's unique flair for hospitality more than last night's well-behaved mob of Petaluma wine makers!

Pari cooked up a spectacular Persian feast fit to defy a single mention of having already wined and dined ourselves to capacity these past two weeks! Besides, it was all so incredibly healthy and wholesome looking, and who in their right mind would pass up platters of barbecued chicken skewers, Iranian style, spinach frittata, Persian rice, lamb, beef in pomegranate sauce....

You may have read a feature I wrote about the Azari house in the summer issue of Petaluma Magazine. Pari and Kamal had just settled the first few stately pieces of their gorgeously eclectic Persian furniture collection into the newly painted marble floored rooms of their  lifelong dream home when the glossy photos appeared in print.

Six months later a roaring fire in the great room hearth entirely transformed this spacious new construction into glorious Mediterranean country manor, bedecked in winter holiday style!

A redwood tree decorated with Western and Iranian winter holiday trinkets adorned the corner of the great room, awaiting a January planting on the outer edges of the sprawling vineyard property - a family tradition which has gradually populated the Azari's impressive parcel of land over the past few years.

Young wine from the Avesta Vineyard's recent harvest of Pinot and Syrah will gradually be set to age in barrels in the brand new winery built onto the property. And as Pari and Kamal prepare to produce exceptional cool climate vintages in coming years, the Azari's Avesta Vineyard will most certainly be a major contributor in placing the Petaluma Gap firmly on the map as a premium wine producing region.

In the meantime, atmospheric Iranian music piping through this enchanting, candlelit house provided the ideal post dinner workout for several energetic dancers amongst us. After-Christmas belly dancing! Might well be my new form of exercise!

Post Holiday Trauma

There really ought to be a name for this seasonal syndrome other than the winter blues - it's really more of an over-indulgence post holiday trauma in which the entire world as we know it appears to be buried under multitudinous layers of crumpled gift wrap, discarded candy wrappers, random hats, scarves, gloves, odd socks, unfamiliar shoes of still visiting relatives, dog, cats, extra kids (five extra this afternoon in this house - all boys, of course), half eaten ham sandwiches, an array of empty mugs of what appeared to have been hot chocolate, several open packets of those really weird beer and cheddar chips even the hungriest teen has turned his nose up at.....

A trip to the city yesterday was a breath of splendidly fresh, albeit trademark San Francisco foggy, soggy air. Riding in the back seat of a cab from downtown to catch a matinee performance of Cirque Du Soleil's kaleidoscopic, frenetic, ultimately fabulous Kooza, post holiday domestic chaos induced doldrums were startlingly halted by hearing a BBC report on the apparent Al Qaida slaying of Pakistan's brave and extraordinarily bold Benazir Bhutto.

Who did not see that coming? According to the immigrant taxi driver, barely any of his passengers had made so much as a comment on this major political catastrophe, not to mention the tragedy of losing such a significant global leader as Bhutto  should have surely become.

As hundreds of thousands of protesters mobbed Bhutto's funeral, the vast majority of San Franciscans seemingly went about their business returning oversized Christmas presents to Barney's, booking into five star hotels for a winter mini break, perhaps even a show and a decadent dinner of Californian cuisine and maybe a Napa Valley cabernet to keep up those holiday spirits...

We truly are in cuckoo land half of the time. Compared to the shocking and precarious social and political conditions currently faced by so many in the middle east. Shook myself back into reality real fast and relished the prospect of returning home to tackle those six loads of washing and drying, a toppling stack of dirty dishpans, dog begging to be walked, desk full of paperwork pushed aside for holiday celebrations. Etc, etc. Lucky me. Lucky us. All that liberty to indulge and later pay the very minor consequences.

Leeky Welsh Rarebit

Cheese on toast will never be the same now that I am in receipt of seemingly eccentric yet oh so down to earth The River Cottage Year cookbook in all of its bendy, pliable paperback glory!

For I'd only just read of the fearlessly bearded and bespectacled, shaggy headed English farmer/chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his fantastic, rustic, completely authentic farm cottage industry culinary adventures in strictly seasonal produce when the last of the Christmas parcels from overseas plopped onto the front porch

Apparently Hugh's all the rage with the hip, organic set in England these days, with several super-duper drop your mouth open at the photography cookbooks on the market and a television show & online courses to boot www.rivercottage.net. Bit like survivor meets Alice Waters a few decades back, only everything is centered in the here and now in dreamy, rain-drenched rural Dorset countryside with Fearnley-Whittingstall in comfy oldt-shirts, shoving his specs back on his nose with his elbow whilst stuffing a duck.

Food & Wine Magazine had featured The River Cottage Year as a top pick for holiday cook book giving and after making a quick search online, I'd filed a mental note to pick up a copy when over in the UK later this winter.

So low and behold, what do I discover right there on my red flannel pj'd lap midst prezzie opening frenzy yesterday afternoon, but my very own wish list in material form - courtesy of clearly (dearly) psychic sibling, my brother Stu!

Of all the cookbooks in UK bookstores today (Jamie, Nigella, both on my top picks for perfectly translatable Sonoma Vineyard Kitchen recipes), there must be a myriad of British chefs in print to pull from. My brother and I speak all too infrequently on long distance calls, but when we have time for a chat, we generally talk it up a storm. Sufficiently so for he to have figured out my current obsession with seeking out the seasonal for family meals.

I can't wait to dive into this book. I could eat it! From its rainbow tinted outer pages, to the thick, creamy Italian paper stock and wholesome food photography, I'm inspired. Leeky Welsh Rarebit first. Then maybe the parsnip risotto? Mince pies I already have - see previous blogs! Although the harvesting seasons are a little off from California to the frozen countryside of an English December, the premise of the book appears altogether more easily embraceable than Barbara Kingsolver's meaty Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which I thoroughly enjoyed but promptly forgot most of what she'd preached

Santa's Progress Report

Youngest son was delighted to discover the Norad Santa Tracking program on-line this Christmas Eve morning, and he is happy to report that the world's ultimate annual gift delivery service is perfectly on-schedule.

With You Tube videos from Sydney, Australia, Nepal, and The Taj Mahal, Santa is currently making  his rounds in central Europe and will be heading out to Italy, France and Germany in the next couple of hours!

Norad's http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm  geographically educational, interactive and entertaining coverage is certainly the ultimate in modern childhood Christmas media and festive enough fun for the rest of the family.

At this rate in the big guy's route schedule, aforementioned offspring can expect to catch his mommie kissing Santa Claus around 12.30pm pacific time!

Pucker up! Hang your stocking. And a Very Happy Christmas to all....

Turning Down the Volume

Sssshhhh.... can you hear the whisper of approaching silence sweeping the Sonoma county countryside? After all the jingle bell rock of pre-Christmas cocktail parties and rolling down the aisles of over-crowded gift emporiums, the promise of a little at home peace and joy is the best present we can give ourselves this holiday season.

Toys for all  good boys and girls are wrapped and tucked under the tree, happy fridge packed to bulging point, pantry stuffed with crackers, nuts, boxes of clementines and ginger beer, clean sheets and towels throughout the house, a stack of classic movies sits atop the tv.....

All that is missing from this festive scene is one of Santa's Little Elves on loan with an apron and a wooden spoon. This blogger is ready to kick back, can you tell? Just as soon as I have baked a frothy-topped chocolate Guinness cake, a hefty pan of chocolate gingerbread, assembled the sherry trifle, sausage rolls, a tray of cannelloni, baked the ham, peeled the parsnips....

Are We Not Amused?

Legendary, stoic leader of the British Empire in its ultimate glory days, the late, lamented Queen Victoria has been bumped off the charts this week as the mighty little island's longest living monarch!

For Queen Elizabeth II quietly celebrated her eighty-first birthday yesterday, topping the history charts as Britain's oldest ever monarch - surely a milestone to reflect the increasing longevity of our modern generation.

No doubt Victoria would not be amused! Elizabeth, on the other hand, appears not to be bothered about stealing the historical limelight in any other way. According to British press reports, she spent the day in the privacy of her royal quarters in Buckingham Palace, probably penning her Christmas cards by the fire, cup of celebratory tea at hand!   

Elizabeth is one of a mere five monarchs since the Norman Conquest to rule over her kingdom for more than half a century. 

Yet Victoria may still have the last laugh, for she still holds the record as longest reigning British monarch. Elizabeth will have to dig her royal heels in for another eight years to surpass Q' Vic's 64 year years on the throne.

So what does all this tell us? Chicks rule!

Update: The Queen's annual Christmas Broadcast will be available on podcast download this year since HRH Lizzy took up YouTube! http://www.royal.gov.uk.queen's speech  

Ringing in a New Year of Real Estate

Toasting the holiday season with a bunch of celebratory realtors sounds somewhat of an oxymoron in these dark days of rather dire conditions in the housing market.

And as January fast approaches, there is expected to be a full forty percent correction in the number of licensed real estate agents who will be hanging up their hats for a new career at the corner coffee shop, the nearest Toyota dealership, cellphone warehouse, Apple store or practically anywhere else where customers are still coming through the doors.

So what's to toast for the steely real estate pros still standing in the once thriving Petaluma real estate community?

Well, let's start with the fact that house prices are becoming more affordable by the minute, it is a buyer's market after all and lots of people do still have to move or want to move, or dare to dream of making their first tentative footprint on the local housing ladder.

Last night's Petaluma RE/MAX Marina Realty agents' jolly holiday pot-luck was appropriately up-beat, despite, or maybe rather because of the fact that a mere one fifth of the previous year's record number of licensed local sales agents are determined to hold on to their personal and professional tenacity in these tough economic times.

Thanks to Tracy O and Rich for opening up their beautiful home on Bull Frog Pond, and sharing the optimism for the coming new year with supportive real estate spouses and positively encouraging partners!

A Very Weber Christmas Eve Dinner

Dreaming of a jolly family filled Christmas, jostling around the kitchen table balancing a heaping plate of home cooked, traditional holiday goodness?

Feeling kinda blue that the necessary festive scene filling rellies are residing on the other side of the transcontinental divide?

Don't despair. For if you've found yourself extended family challenged of late (or you simply don't like the ones you have), head on down to downtown Petaluma's legendarily delicious Della Fattoria for a Weber Family Christmas Eve Dinner, this Friday night.

Benefits of celebrating Christmas Eve three days early include the potential to repeat the entire performance on a smaller scale at home, with your own Granny's traditional December dishes! Either that or have the whole thing done with and snuggle down for a few peaceful, purely down-time days off work!

And if you aren't inclined to join the wonderful Weber kitchen cast and crew around the Fattoria's commercial cafe work benches, there's plenty more on offer in the holly-decked counter displays.

Take home a decadent Della holiday gift basket stuffed with signature breads, neighboring McEvoy olive oil, cookies, cakes and pastries or special order a Panettone, some gingerbread people or maybe a Buche De Noel, if you are extra European in your holiday outlook!

It is all amazing. Get your holiday self in there before closing on Sunday, or to pick up special orders early on Christmas Eve. And if you are reading this post, and you have never heard of Della Fattoria, do check out their holiday web page at http://www.dellafattoria.com/dream63.htm