CONTENTS Winter Holidays 2014

ON OUR COVER Meknes Teapots (watercolor and India ink on paper) by Margo Rivera-Weiss

ON OUR COVER
Meknes Teapots (watercolor and India ink on paper)
by Margo Rivera-Weiss

EDITOR’S MIXING BOWL

SEASONAL WHIMSEY

SIDE DISH
Mac ’n’ Cheese Grows Up at Homeroom
News from the Farmer-Veteran Front
Takeout Without the Trash

SEVEN STARS OF WINTER

A FEAST OF LOCAL TITLES

LESSONS LEARNED FROM 4-H

DIGITAL DINING
Online ordering A to Z

GARDEN TO GLASS

MEDICINESHED
Ancestral Apothecary
Two recipes from Spinster Sister
Pet RX
Recipes from Ohone Herbal Center

Above: Pomegranate Expression (watercolor and India ink on canvas) by Margo Rivera-Weiss

Above: Pomegranate Expression (watercolor and India ink on canvas) by Margo Rivera-Weiss

WHAT’S IN SEASON

THE YEAR’S LAST SIP

ABOUT OUR FEATURED ARTIST: MARGO RIVERA-WEISS

A little over six years ago, Edible East Bay readers received a splendid harvest-season treat when we featured a painting of two apples on our Harvest 2008 cover. Since that time, Oakland-based artist Margo Rivera-Weiss has contributed numerous images to these pages, including a recent run illustrating Barbara Kobsar’s

What’s in Season column. We are pleased and honored to have Margo’s work on our cover once again.

“The linocut [above] started being me but turned into a morph of my dad and me.” —MRW

“The linocut [above] started being me but turned into a morph of my dad and me.” —MRW

Margo Rivera-Weiss adores colors, pattern, and using tools. She draws on her ethnic heritage, family background, and artistic energy to create an eclectic body of work that includes recycled and bottle cap creations, Hebrew calligraphics, and “a world of fruit—made primarily in the mediums of watercolor and India ink.” She calls her style of art “tropical expressionism.”

Margo thrives on the creative process: whether by connecting with other artists, sketching near and far, or teaching art. She has a BA in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley but is largely self-taught in her use of recycled materials, pen and ink, and acrylic painting.

Margo’s many exhibitions throughout the Bay Area include the SF Public Library, La Peña Gallery, EBMUD, and the Alice Arts Center. Her art has been published in books and periodicals including Other Tongues, Bridges, and Fireweed. In 1998 Margo initiated the JanRae Community Art Gallery at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland, which she continues to curate.

Margo is a former board member of Queer Women of Color Media Art Project and the Richmond Art Center. She won the Oakland Indie Award in 2009.

You can view more of Margo’s work at margoriveraweiss.com or at Margo Rivera-Weiss Art on Facebook. Contact her at either site to inquire about available art or upcoming art classes, which may include: keeping a sketchbook, rubbercut printmaking, watercolor, creativity and mindfulness, and more.

Okra (watercolor and ink on canvas) by Margo Rivera-Weiss

Okra (watercolor and ink on canvas) by Margo Rivera-Weiss