Summer 2023
Strawberry Peach Agua Fresca
From ‘Flavors of Mi México Querido’ By Chef Enrique Soriano of Cocina del Corazón What better way to wash down our smoky, spicy guisado than with a sweet agua fresca. Serves a crowd 1 pint strawberries, hulls removed 4–5 peaches, halved, pits removed 3–4 quarts water Zest of 1–2 limes Sweetener of choice (to taste)…
Read MoreOpening Wine Cellar Doors
How mentorships, scholarships, and other outreach programs widen access to the wine industry By Mary Orlin Bâtonnage Forum mentee Shannon Holbrook is now the wine manager at Oakland’s CoCo Noir. (Photo courtesy of Shannon Holbrook) Want a life in wine? In addition to pouring tastes at Longevity Wines, Tracey Dyson is developing their wine…
Read MoreEditors Mixing Bowl
My entrepreneurial predilection emerged early in life. As an inventive kid favored with cupboards full of supplies and carte blanche permission to set up operations all over the property, I had a steady stream of ideas for low-tech startups that held promise within the kid economy. Some concepts were flawed, and that was the…
Read MoreWeedos
The specialty cuisine of the Malcolm X Elementary School Garden By Nora Becker At the height of recess, six-year-old Ozmo walks the tidy paths between well-tended raised beds in the Malcolm X Elementary School Garden. He stops at a towering plant. “This is tree kale,” he says, picking off a big leaf. “A leaf…
Read MoreWhat’s in Season? Nectarines, Blueberries, and Sweet Corn!
Recent rains and ongoing floods are causing immense worries for farmers, but they are a resilient bunch, and summer is a great time to support them since it’s when more varieties of produce come to market than at any other time of year. Fresh-picked cherries, buckets of blueberries, lugs of peaches and nectarines, and…
Read MoreFermented Finds
Story and photos by Meredith Pakier Part art, part alchemy, and pure patience, food fermentation is an ancient process that humans have relied on and reveled in throughout the ages. Here are some notable East Bay spots where food artisans keep the microbial process percolating. Look for unique applications of fermented foods throughout the…
Read MoreThe Missing Flavors of Home
How Kula Nursery and Diaspora Co. bring heritage ingredients to diaspora communities and beyond By Cheryl Angelina Koehler On a rainy day in March, faint afternoon light filters into Zee Husain’s greenhouse on the southwest corner of the O2 Artisans Aggregate compound in West Oakland. It glints off a disco ball and…
Read MoreCreate Moisture Microclimates on Your Property
Gardener’s Notebook by Joshua Burman Thayer | Illustration by Charmaine Koehler-Lodge Microclimates matter when it comes to what will grow well on your property, but did you know that you can manage the moisture diversity around your property by reshaping its topography? Even if you have a small or flat piece of land, you can create…
Read More40 Years of Fresh Food and Community at the Walnut Creek Farmers’ Market
By Barbara Kobsar Forty years ago, as the local food movement was catching fire, a small group of Master Gardeners and horticultural students at Diablo Valley College had an idea: How about bridging the gap between food producers and consumers with a local farmers’ market! The idea caught on with the community, and the…
Read More‘Flavors of Mi México Querido’
Chef Enrique Soriano enjoys the aroma of a smoky chile morita before adding it to his salsa. My mother’s guisados By Chef Enrique Soriano | Photos By Scott Peterson My mother made many guisados (stews): chicharron en salsa roja, fluffy fried whisked eggs in red salsa, fried chicken drumsticks simmered in red salsa, seared…
Read MoreGuide to Good Eats Summer 2023
Alameda Alameda Marketplace Sit down for a meal of wood-oven chicken or pizza, local oysters, house-made bread and pasta, and inventive small dishes, plus more substantial fare at East End. Relax with coffee, pastries, or gelato at the Beanery. Find enticing take-out foods at Greens & Grains, Sushi King, or Tahina Fresh Mediterranean. 1650 Park…
Read MoreCocina del Corazón
Where Community Tops the Menu By Rachel Trachten | Photos by Scott Peterson When Jazmin Villalta met Enrique Soriano in 2016, she had recently left an emotionally draining paralegal job with an immigration law firm and was canvassing for Amnesty International while contemplating what to do next. She noticed how Enrique always brought his…
Read MoreDavid Lance Goines: A Remembrance by L. John Harris
When I met Berkeley’s celebrated printer and poster artist in the 1970s, it was during those ecstatic early days of our fledgling food revolution. Of course, we didn’t know it was a revolution; we were just enjoying ourselves, each other, and great food like we had tasted on trips to Europe in the…
Read More