Fall Harvest 2022
One Hundred Years and Thriving
Four generations strong, Berkeley Horticultural Nursery remains a family business with a powerful reach By Rachel Trachten | Photos by Rachel Stanich “It’s not a home until it’s planted,” was a motto George Budgen adopted after he founded Berkeley Horticultural Nursery 100 years ago. The words still resonate today as the community celebrates this milestone…
Read MoreCooking Eggplant Meltdown for my Father
By Alison Negrin My sister and I swooped into our parents’ home in Palo Alto when we learned that our father’s health was rapidly declining. David Negrin had suffered a fall a month earlier and was willing himself to stay alive to see my sister, Lenore Arnberg, who would be arriving from far away…
Read MoreCheese Fever in Livermore Valley
The Cheese Parlor’s punk rocker entrepreneur jams with the local winemakers Story and photos by Deborah Grossman The Cheese Parlor Owner Brandon The shop is a place to watch us crack some wheels of cheese and gather with friends and family for some cheese and beverage,” says Brandon Wood. “I also want to raise the profile…
Read MoreFesenjān
From Saffron & Rose Water
Read MoreShirin Polo (Sweet Rice)
From Saffron & Rose Water
Read MorePersian Halwah
From Saffron & Rose Water
Read MoreSaffron & Rose Water
At Syma’s Grill in Albany, Sima Dehestani recaptures blissful flavors from a Persian childhood By Anna Mindess | Photos by Shannon Kelli Sima Dehestani (right) enjoys working together with her daughter, Sara Aboei, at Syma’s. The enticing aromas of saffron and rose water wafting through an open kitchen window attracted a six-year-old growing up…
Read MoreCon Mucho Cariño
Story and photos by Chava Oropesa When I would go visit my mom every year in Mexico, before I arrived, she would ask, “What do you want me to cook for you?” I would say, “Please make some chicharrón en salsa verde.” This and several of my other favorites would be ready when I…
Read MoreGuide to Good Eats: Fall 2022
Alameda C’era Una Volta Italian Kitchen & Catering 800 West Tower Ave on Spirits Alley at Bladium Sports Club 510.769.4828 | ceraunavolta.us Everything Starts with a Good Meal! Traditional Tuscan recipes with many vegetarian, vegan, & GF options. Daily Pick-up & Delivery. Pre-ordered Weekly Delivery. Catering for every occasion. Member of Associazione Cuochi Fiorentini. Dashe…
Read MoreUrban Sketcher Cathy Raingarden in Her Own Words
“I love to sketch my food and try to capture the color and texture of the dishes as well as the human interest and ambience of the dining area. There are so many layers of interest in a food sketch: color, pattern, location, culture, and conversation. I’ve learned to sketch quickly to…
Read MoreAlameda Alimentation
Island-Side Food Finds Story and photos by Meredith Pakier Through the past summer, I found myself whizzing through the Webster Street Tube on many occasions to visit a recently relocated friend. Always hungry on arrival, I had plenty of chances to explore some island-side eats. Here are some memorable meals and bites. The Tuesday…
Read MoreCooking Classes for Health and Budget, with a Side of Joy
“Getting people excited about making meals at home.” That’s a goal that would seem easy to reach with mouth-watering classes like “Flavors of Malaysia” or “Japanese Baking and Sweets” at the community cooking school run by 18 Reasons. But this San Francisco–based nonprofit also teaches students how to prepare wholesome, delicious food when budgets…
Read MoreThree Ways to Capture Carbon in Your Garden
and other carbon-capturing gardening ploys By Edible East Bay’s Staff Garden Fairies in Interview with Joshua Burman Thayer and Other Human Experts Inside your home, the practice of fixing, repurposing, or improving items you already own can help you avoid purchases that incur carbon debts during manufacture and transport. Out in your garden, you…
Read MoreWhat’s in Season? Apples & Winter Squash
By Barbara Kobsar | Illustrations by Charmaine Koehler-Lodge Apples New-harvest apples are here, and the varieties are crisp, juicy, and plentiful. While Gala, Red Delicious, Fuji, and Honeycrisp remain all-time favorites, I’m ready to enjoy some of the more intriguing heirloom varieties such as these: I won’t pass up the Hubbardston Nonesuch. Under mottled…
Read MoreCreamy Squash & Apple Soup
From What’s in Season? Apples & Winter Squash!
Read MoreWhat’s Cooking in the State Legislature?
By Rachel Trachten Our California state legislators have been busy working on bills that would affect our food and the farmers who grow it. Here’s an update on three important bills that may be passed into law in the coming months: SB 907- Electronic Benefits Transfer Systems: Farmers’ Markets Authored by Senator Richard Pan…
Read MoreEditor’s Mixing Bowl
The ancestors showed up this summer. Hovering over my shoulder as I was preparing this Fall Harvest 2022 issue, they offered no opinions. I think they simply wanted to watch. The dead are like that, you know. You can ask them questions and never get clear answers. We like to imagine that they have our…
Read MoreLive as the Tomatillo Reaches for Life on a Hot July Day
A three-month-old tomatillo, branches thickening, bursting forth like firm poles filled with fruit and flower— how it rises underneath the lemon tree, set on pulling itself toward the canopy straight to sun—it sends out fragrance meant to fill its flowers with bees and butterflies, bends itself until it’s squat set to take all summer…
Read MoreThe Virtues of Small Fruit
By Mike Madison | Watercolor illustration by Meegan Painter This year I planted apple trees on my farm. I didn’t plant in the usual way with freestanding trees about thirty feet apart. Instead, I bought bare root trees on dwarfing rootstocks and planted them only three feet apart in a straight line. The trees…
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