New Urban Wine Trails An Illustrated Guide to Some of Berkeley and Oakland’s Hot New Wineries Story and illustrations by Nikki Goddard   One of the great perks of living in the Bay Area is the ease of launching a weekend wine country getaway. But if you have only an afternoon and want to spend…

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Frailty Myths workshop participants collaborate to construct a three-part compost bin. The Power in Our Own Hands Building self-reliance with Pollinate Farm & Garden and Frailty Myths By Rachel Trachten | Photos by Cynthia Matzger Hammers are pounding, saws are buzzing, and sawdust is flying. Suddenly someone yells out, “I f***ed up!” The reaction all…

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Mochi by the Bay Wisdom from local masters of the craft Story and photos by Kaori Becker Mochi! Suddenly it’s everywhere. Made with mochiko, a flour milled from Japanese sticky rice, mochi went mainstream with the trend for gluten-free foods. But longtime fans of this traditional Japanese sweet know that mochi is just fun to…

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Yes, and we can thank Burning Man . . . . . . well, not the man that gets burned each year at the festival, but rather a group of artists and fabricators who in 2001 set up some shipping containers on a lot near Urban Ore in Berkeley to serve as workspaces for building…

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  One Calm Cookie Nerve-Soothing Almond, Lemon, Poppy Seed Bites Story and Photo By Alexandra Hudson As a certified clinical herbalist and holistic educator with a passion for combining therapeutic and pleasurable experiences, I like to find ways to make recipes more nutrient dense. To start, I note which parts include a fat or liquid,…

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A Harvest from the Garden of the Sea FreshCatch Brings the Watery Sense of Place to Our Plates Story and photos by Austin Price Ian O’Hollaren wades through the intertidal zone south of Half Moon Bay looking for the algae called “mermaid’s hair.” This deep-red, spaghetti-like seaweed, also known as “ogo,” can be eaten raw…

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Produce harvested at its peak is your sure bet for flavor and freshness. By Barbara Kobsar Illustration by Charmaine Koehler-Lodge   August Plums please the palate this month with their slightly tart or sweet honey notes. Over 200 types are grown in California (we see only 15 to 20 of these) and make up 90%…

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      What’s the secret to having your own farm under the constraints of city living? Come find out at this year’s East Bay Urban Farm Tours, hosted by the Institute of Urban Homesteading. The tours showcase farms that range from private homes to community spaces where the public can participate. You’ll see small-…

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Recipe and photos by Christian Reynoso One might think a chef at San Francisco’s Zuni Café would grow fatigued by the long-running marriage of flavors in the restaurant’s iconic roast chicken with bread salad. For me, it’s quite the opposite. Although I taste the dish almost daily for quality control (and snacking), it’s easy to…

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An Old-Fashioned Solution with a Tech Twist Tired of tossing disposable cups into the trash or just hoping they’ll be recycled? Join the reuse revolution, starting with reusable cups for your coffee, tea, juice, and water. The Ecology Center is paving the way through a partnership with Vessel, a reusable cup service. Their pilot program…

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