good eats

Sonoma County Bakery Bakes with Passion

Owner Beth Thorp of Nightingale Breads bakes bread of such unique quality that you can identify it in one bite: Once, we dove into the bread basket at the renowned Farmhouse and immediately asked our server, “This is from Nightingale, isn’t it?”

5 Ways to Use Persimmons (Not Just Recipes)

A common quandary in the Russian River Valley this time of year is what to do with all the persimmons? A full-grown tree can produce a lot of fruit, and all of it is ripe at the exact same time. The fruit is too precious to let it spoil -- I see small, little guys going for $2 at the local grocery store -- so here are some ideas for how you can use all that lovely fruit so it doesn't go to waste:

A Summer Party on Gantz Family Vineyards

On a perfect-blue-sky day in August, we celebrated a special family birthday on Gantz Family Vineyards. Friends and family who traveled from near and far made the party spectacular.  And it never would have been so carefree and fun without the incredible skills of the professionals we hired to help us with this event. They include...

Summer Fun in Sonoma with Grandkids

We were again fortunate to have our grandchildren stay with us for several weeks. As they grew into their teens, we were concerned that keeping them entertained and interested was going to be more of a challenge. Once again, Sonoma County came through with more terrific things to do and wonderful places to eat. 

Santa Rosa Farmers Market: A Wednesday Tour

On a recent Wednesday morning, my daughter and I decided to try out the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market. We’re both hitting notable birthdays this year, and one thing we’ve noticed about ourselves as we’ve gotten older is our aversion to crowds. So we were both delighted to find that the Wednesday morning version had all the things we love about a farmers market -- local produce, quality meats, delicious fresh-cooked food and interesting goods -- without the one thing we don’t: swarms of people.