Southern Sonoma Country Life

Immerse Yourself in the Wild West for an Authentic Gin and Gun Slinging Summer Read

Though I'm an ardent non-fiction nut, there's nothing better than a slice of bona fide history, artfully and effusively blended with a top-notch, reputable author's fine tuned, imaginative touch to bring to life the most colorful characters of a country's storied past.

If I hadn't read and been blown away by Mary Doria Russell's  phenomenal, previous science fiction works, it's likely that I might not have paused to pick up her fictional offering on the infamous dentist, card-shark, gun-slinging Doc Holliday of America's legendary Wild West. Hollywood's had its way with Holliday's legacy, after all. But the fact that this particular master author took him on, made Doc Holliday's story all the more irresistible for a summer read.

To keep me focused and turning the pages on fabled Dodge City shenanigans, I knew that Mary Doria Russell's "Doc" would have to be more revealing in her lead characters than Hollywood versions. And she didn't disappoint.

Known for his friendship with lawman Wyatt Earpp, his feisty common law marriage to high-strung, Hungarian-born prostitute Maria Katarina Harony (whom he called Kate and considered his intellectual equal) and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K Coral, Doc Holliday, born John Henry Holliday in Georgia, 1851, was the quintessential, well dressed, refined southern gent who'd found his way to Dodge City while suffering from consumption in his twenties.

Having soon figured out that he could make a year's worth of dentistry money on the frontier in one night of gambling, Doc unfolds in a perilously haphazard balance of his growing dental practice (including the fitting of false teeth oft salvaged in those days from the dead) with nights of high stakes, booze-fueled poker.

Mary Doria Russell brings the dusty, dangerous past of the American West to life in such a way that it's not too much of a stretch to imagine similar scenarios having played out in the early days saloons here in Southern Sonoma County. 

Today's memorial in neighboring Marin County for a recently slain, greatly respected sheriff from Petaluma echoes the timeless peril of the type of lawless gunmen Earpp and Holliday faced, who in one episode of madness, wipe out lives with little pause. The setting of Doc might be long past, but the potential for the unruliness of his time certainly does still play out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stumbled Upon on a Rainy Day - Best Tapas Outside of Spain!

For the most part our trip to England this June through early July was bright and cheery weather-wise, a pattern that has happily played out over several trips at that exact same time of year.

One extremely rainy day that was exception to the rule, but to be expected during a summer-time (or anytime) visit to the UK, sent us to the museum. Us and most all of London's visitors that day. Lines were long except for the Victoria and Albert Museum, frankly, the aesthete's choice.  

After a couple of hours perusing roman columns and the general essence of beauty with teenage boys in tow, it was decided that a late lunch break outside of the museum might be in mutually agreeable order. (Anyone who has traveled with the family for weeks on end will relate to the common denominating detour of a well-timed nosh to keep the troops from defecting).

The Italian husband has a knack of sniffing out the sorts of truly authenic eateries that compare in quality to the fruits of his mama's cucina. And that's exactly what happened. After a couple of days away from Nonna's summer-time dining table in the garden shed (shack, or outdoor eating area if we're going to be a bit more posh about this down home al fresco dining experience), he was craving the bell peppers, spicy sausage, all-round latin concoctions and detoured like a bear to honey over the road from the V& A to Casa Brindisa.

Let's just say, we're still talking about that lunch. Umbrellas and rain jackets stashed under the table, one look at the menu and it was serious eating at stake. Forget about the breathtaking artifacts (regretfully). I've never seen a bunch of guys so focused on their reading material. Everything on the menu sounded divine. Each selection outdid the next. There's something sublime about Tapas done well. I don't know much about Casa Brindisa other than it has several additional locations in London. It's South Kensington locale proved a perfect stopping off point for fabulous Mediterranean food to while away a rainy afternoon. 

Reporting for Pop Tart Duty at the Pie Hole, Rivertown Revival's Best Bet for the Sweet Toothed!

"Think early to mid-century (1900s), sailor girl, a nod to the waterway with dixie cup hats and stripes," instructed my bold and creative pal Mel in an email message to her crew of rowdy sailor-girls-at-the-ready for some seriously fun slinging of delicious hand pies, pop tarts, whoopie pies and fruit crisp at the bodacious baker's inuagural Pie Hole booth at this Saturday's upcoming Rivertown Revival.

Best of a number of reasons to stop by the Pie Hole for a slice of life and a sweet is that Courtway Catering & Events' luscious loot is all entirely local! And you can take that to mean whatever you choose in this case.

Mom-of-two, food and fearless family-life writer, cook, caterer, urban farmer and first home remodeler, Pie Hole Proprietress Mel would be tickled pink to sell out of pies on Saturday.

I'm on board for the first shift, bright and early in the Revival, so do stop by and say hello from 11 am to 1.15. Right about lunch time!

Slow Down for Tides and Surf - Summer at Bolinas

If you're out of the Bay Area and reading this post, it's possible that you've never stumbled upon the earthy beauty of the eclectic little West Marin County coastal community of Bolinas.

Geographically insular, unincorporated Bolinas has no mayor, no town hall, no problem in maintaining its reclusive, bohemian reputation at the storied lands end of narrow, deer-grazed, unmarked country roads.

Just under 700 households of rustic, hand built homes and hidden retreats of a motley array of coastal natives, past and present poets, surfers, artists, writers, chefs, designers, musicians, activists, environmentalists and film makers (some more famous than others), Bolinas is described by the New York Times as 'the Howard Hughes of towns'.

Get the picture? Visitors who do succeed in figuring out its signless whereabouts en-route from Stinson Beach to the south to neighboring Point Reyes National Seashore, either take to the place with its natural unruliness or not.

It takes a certain frame of mind to appreciate Bolinas, its spirit and sense of place and now's the season to best enter the kicked-back zone that sucks in the willing passersby and forces them to slow down and watch for the waves.

Out and about at the weekend we stopped by 2 Mile Surf Shop (advertising 522 steps to the beach!) to check out Bolinas' best in longboarding and beginning surf lessons, camps and rentals. After a balmy day of board swaps and bbq, fellow Petaluman and one of 2 Mile Surf Shop's partners, retired Marine Biologist and Environmental Protection Scientist Drew Reinstein was leisurely shutting up shop for a moonlight surfing after-closing session with the pros.

Dudes in sun-bleached cotton Hawaiian shirts made the most of the last of the grill as the final few day trippers strolled back with rental gear. Back at the beach playful seals popped up from the surf.

 

 

Bumble Bee Lavender Loaf Cake

July in Southern Sonoma County and the lavender is at its absolute best. Bush after bush scents the rocky hillside, as bumble bees have a field day before they buzz off into the woods at the top of the hill to make wild honey in natural, un-tampered hives wedged into fallen tree trunks off the beaten track.

Cooking with lavender takes a steady hand. Just a tad of the dried, chopped, aromatic wonder will suffice to infuse a summer-time loaf cake, cookies, ice cream, you name it, it all sounds good.

I chose a favorite family recipe for a tasty, simple Madeira Cake, perfect for infusing with a tiny, half teaspoon of dry lavender foraged from the vineyard pathways.

Bumble Bee Lavender Loaf Cake

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 cup of baker's sugar

3 large, farm fresh eggs

2 cups of organic baking flour

3 teaspoons of baking soda

5 ounces of milk

1/2 a teaspoon of finely chopped, dry lavender

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Cream butter, sugar until light and fluffy, adding eggs, one at a time, along with 3/4 of the flour and baking powder in batches until thoroughly blended. Add milk and the rest of the flour, beat. Stir in lavender. Add to baking pan and bake in center of oven for 50 minutes. Cool, remove from pan and paper, present with a sprig of lavender on top  and serve with freshly whipped cream, slices of white peach or berries.

 

 

 

Meeting Mr. Avett

There's nothing like meeting the family at a performance of a favorite band! And that's what happened to me last night at the Fox Theater in Oakland. We'd found ourselves a good spot in the standing room only floor up by the balcony at the back, by the bar. Great view, not too crowded. The Avett Brothers were energetically strutting their fabulously original folk, country, bluegrass, rock and pop stuff, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Have you seen this band before?" asked a white-haired guy in a blue denim shirt. "Yes," I replied. "I have, have you?"

"Oh yes, my dear," he said. "I'm their Dad."

We had a lovely 10 minute chat in which his pride was clearly fit to burst, despite being clearly accustomed to the huge and now well established successes of his prolific songwriter, musician sons. 

Retired from the navy, welding and social work, Jim Avett's now in his 60s, with a mellow country music career of his own on the back burner at the farm in North Carolina.

Jim Avett showed me photos from his wallet of the family as kids. He gave me sage advice for my own musician son.

Not surprisingly, Jim own father Clegg had been a Methodist Minister - music and song being the soul of generations of Avett men.

The show was superb. As we'd expected it to be. But meeting Mr. Avett was the highlight. "If fame comes your way, you have to be ready for it," he'd said. "Right then, or it passes by."

I aksed him if he'd taught them all they knew. "I did," he said. "Until they knew more than me, then I sent them to a friend."

 

Sausage Rolls, Syrah and a Lotto Ticket at Wednesday Night's Twilight Tour

  

Extent of my in-house catering expertise when called in by the Italian husband to rustle up a platter of something delicious, local and fresh for one of his real estate open houses, is typically a repeat popular request for "Frances' famous scones".

I've been whipping up toppling platters of these little beauties for years, served alongside a jar of gourmet jam and sometimes, clotted cream.

With one of his loveliest West Petaluma home listings on Twilight Tour this Wednesday evening, scones are officially off the post tea-time menu. And so it's my equally famous (in ex-pat Brit circles at least) home-baked Sausage Rolls on the menu to pair with a drop of Timo's award winning, artisan Que Syra Syrah!

And what's more, to make the Twilight Tour of dream homes a glimmer of possibility for all, Timo has a lotto ticket for each of the first 10 groups to stop by Timo's listing at 532 McNear Avenue from 6pm to 8pm, Wednesday July 20th, 2011!

What better time of day or season of the year to take a twilight tour of some of the finest homes and estates on the market right here in West Petaluma? Enjoy panoramic views, spectacular showcase houses, gourmet kitchens, sumptuous master suites, outdoor dining areas and some of the most manicured, private yards in the area.

From Italian-style villas to a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired private estate, discover West Petaluma’s top properties and meet the agents with the market knowledge of what it takes to  turn the key to these outstanding properties’ front doors.

If you can't make it to the Twilight Tour, click here to take your own virtual tour of 532 McNear Avenue.

For more information contact: Antimo “Timo” Rivetti – Broker/Associate # 01240796, Keller Williams 707 477 8396 cell/text
www.timorivetti.com

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Petaluma Educational Foundation's Sizzling Summer Updates

School's out for Summer but Petaluma Educational Foundation's new Tech Advisory Task Force has been hard at work developing an action plan to implement soon after school resumes for the fall 2011 semester. Key goal of the PEF Tech Advisory Task Force is to formulate and launch a unique and innovative, grant-funded, high-tech educational program available to schools throughout Petaluma, that will prepare students as a workforce for the new global economy.

Work is currently underway to define tech needs and baselines in schools prior to a first ever PEF Tech Share Fair with model classroom, a Grant Writer's Workshop with guidelines, as well as an Investor's Workshop for key community partners to become more involved in backing initiatives to boost innovations in the classroom. PEF Major Impact and Enrichment Grant application deadlines have been moved from October 2011 to November 16th, 2011 in order to accommodate these exciting new Tech initiatives. Click here for background information on the work of the PEF Tech Advisory Committee.

Don't miss this year's glam and glitzy fundraising gala BASH , Saturday, September 10th, 2011 in its new venue at the Sequoia Center, 1400 North McDowell, Petaluma. The BASH is Petaluma Educational Foundation's biggest and most prestigious event of the year and profits from this outstanding evening benefit all Petaluma schools. If you have never attended the BASH, there's never been a better time to help boost funds for outstanding grant programs. If you're a BASH regular, round up a group of friends and fellow educational supporters and fill your own table with great company!

Tickets are on sale now at $150 per person. Another new initiative this year is PEF Week, slated to follow the buzz of the BASH. Shop and Dine around town for our city's kids, September 10 to 17th. For more information on how to participate in PEF Week, as a merchant, service company or restaurateur, call 707 778 4632.

Nifty New Wine Guru App Solves Dining Conundrums

Let's face it, there are those amongst our nearest and dearest who just love a great, new app. Then there are people such as myself who absolutely prefer to flounder around the world opting to make our very own up-close-and-personal haphazard discoveries in B or even C routes to our chosen destination, things to do once we've stumbled upon a place, including various options on where to eat and shop.

In short, If you like to take a wild, emboldened or educated guess at a wine list, when dining out, then I say continue to go for it. But for those who are never quite sure they've made the perfect pairing choice, maximized their options or scored the greatest value for a quality deal, here's a very appealing, free, new app to whip out discreetly (and that's a manner's tip, who likes sitting opposite a dinner date watching him or her sucked ino a smart phone?) while perusing the wine list.

Wine Guru's Key Features:

Quickly and conveniently offers wine suggestions that highlight and pair perfectly with the flavors of any meal.

Growing database currently featuring more than 2,000 wines, with plans for 10,000 +
Options to specify regions and type of wine or let Wine Guru do the choosing.

Results generated based on type of cuisine, ingredients, method of preparation and budget

Provides three categories of wine pairings: Classic, New World and "Off the Wall""
Provides options for advanced searches

Free on the iTunes App Store. Developed by a smart team of sommeliers.

Keep Your Fresh Seasonal Produce Plastic Free

With all that lovely, luscious fresh fruit and a bounty of seasonal veggies at our fingertips here in Sonoma County this summer, it's a crying shame to stuff it into plastic bags whether at the farmer's market, the store, or simply as a method of storing home grown goodness in the fridge.

Check out Green Home's nifty reusable mesh bags as a healthy and sustainable alternative to the plaggy bag. They might take a bit of getting used to, just like we've had to train ourselves to scoop up the reusable shopping bags each time we head out to the grocery store. Think of all the plastic recycled over the course of a year's grocery shopping, it's definitely something we should all learn to do without.