All posts filed under: Life in California

Cycles

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about cycles. About how things repeat, but also don’t quite ever remain the same. About how energy flows. How emotions wax and wane. (I’m also thinking about bicycles, but that’s more of a witty aside.) I’m a person who likes structure. I write to do lists. I cross things off. I write more to do lists. I cross more things off. Repeat, adapt, repeat, adapt. But another side of me is enjoying this *very* unique (for me), non-INTJ cycle (summer light-induced, no doubt) right now where I feel free and open and mobile and friendly. This is a good cycle. No, this is a GREAT fucking cycle. Because I can think back to a not-so-distant past where I felt the opposite of all of these things. It was a no bueno cycle. Maybe cycles are more like ruts. Because I’m also in a cycle of “not writing.” I feel so many things about this! Embarrassed. Ashamed. Guilty. Like maybe because I haven’t been doing what I love doing for …

Thoughts on the Supermoon

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Living in a quiet place with almost no light pollution, I have been introduced to, and come to savor, night walks. Occasionally with the iPhone flashlight guiding my way, but most times not, night walks are a time for learning a thing or two or three about what lies up above from a thoughtful, knowledgeable companion, and an invitation to a walking meditation. I have never kept track of the moon as intently as I have this year. I’ve noticed its position in relation to my home, to the river, to the mountains, to my moving car, to my physical self, to my spiritual self… The blood moon of last fall while I was rushing around and hardly ever breathing in New York was a passing elevator conversation that I hardly recall. The supermoon of the last few nights was not. I just came from a yoga class where the instructor concluded by offering up that the supermoon is associated with feelings of gratitude and abundance. Gratitude for our selves and accepting that we are enough. Gratitude for feeling supported by and supportive of those …

Finally Feels Like Fall

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Every day, I see this tree in the street across from my office and all those crunchy leaves and have the urge to jump in… Growing up, I used to view rain mostly as an inconvenience. Rain meant tennis practice was cancelled, traffic would be even slower on 101, and trudging up steep hills in those stylish but heavy Hunter rain boots. But living where I do now, a cozy house in a quiet (during the week, at least) little town, I’ve really appreciated the plentiful rains and changing light of the last few weeks. It’s prompted a bit of a mental/energetic/practical shift within me. I’ve been doing more cooking, more reading, and more resting. More time spent with projects I keep putting on the back burner, like this blog which has gone neglected through the summer. That kind of thing. So when I had two lovely friends visiting from S.F. last weekend, I wanted to show them a good time, but also honor the glorious arrival of fall. After a spin on Saturday morning through the Healdsburg Farmers Market …

On Fish Vases and Seaweed Foraging

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You know you work at a unique establishment when you’re ordering a cup of coffee and your next door neighbor offers to buy your cappuccino because out of the corner of her eye she just spotted these new fish vases we put out yesterday and she almost wiped out your whole supply! Indeed, I’ve got fish, and bodies of water more generally, on the brain these days. For the last few weeks, I’ve been honored to conduct outreach for the 2017 Good Food Awards as the co-chair of the newest committee: Preserved Fish. From my first day as an intern there, the curious researcher in me loved going out into markets and scouting new products to investigate, but this iteration of my involvement with the organization has me learning a lot from my colleagues about how we take care of our friends in oceans, rivers, and streams. I’ve also got seaweed on the brain, dried bags of which are pictured in the photo above. Last Thursday I did a crazy thing, which was to set my alarm for 4:30 AM so …

Hiking Around

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The calm before the sort of unusual tiny rainstorm last week. I’m no serious backpacker, but I do enjoy a nicely strenuous hike every now and again. As I get to know Sonoma County on foot, I’ve also been enjoying little pit stops here and there, winding drives through tall trees, chatting with the passenger in my car. I’ve got the Sonoma County Trails Challenge on the brain, urging me to just get out there and walk around. For now, these are some of my go-to trails. After work, when I just need some air and movement, I head to the Healdsburg Open Ridge Preserve. It’s a mix of gentle hills, open space, and shaded areas. Nothing crazy, but hits the spot. A few weeks ago, I did Pomo Canyon trail out on the Sonoma Coast with a friend. I’d recommend parking at Shell Beach, walking inland through all the ferns and wildflowers, and then ending back out at the beach for lunchtime. Roll those windows down afterwards for a luxurious drive down Highway 1 past …

Scenic, Sunny Saturday Drives

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Spring is in the air at Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg. Growing up in the South Bay, Marin and Sonoma County always just seemed a teensy bit too far. Driving all the way over the bridge? When I could go get a scoop of salted caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite and hang out in Dolores Park for the afternoon instead? Nah. Well, now that I’m calling Healdsburg my home sweet home, I am soaking up all the scenic, sunny Saturday drives with my windows rolled down and the music turned up that I can get. I’m checking out farms, vineyards, backroads, and sideroads. Pending disagreeable weather (such as this weekend), I am trying my darndest to go for a hike every weekend so that I can get out there and explore the land on foot. The night before Easter, I found myself talking and thinking a lot about the beach and the ocean. Despite being from California, I did not grow up right on the water, and I have only (unsuccessfully) tried surfing once. But for some …

“So, What Do You Do?”

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Some days, I help write copy for signs in the SHED retail store. Tomorrow is my one month anniversary of my new job at SHED. In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to partake in some unique, tasty, learning experiences. I recently had the honor of helping write the signage for the March Story Table–a gorgeous, central space in the retail store that centers around a monthly theme. This month’s theme is “foodshed” and features several winners from the 2016 Good Food Awards (where I interned in the summer of 2014). I was so happy to see these two circles in my life intersect and put some hard-working producers in the spotlight. I’ve also been contributing content to the SHED blog and checked in on the Tofu Making Workshop with Japanese cooking instructor Sonoko Sakai a few weeks ago. I’ve since tried to make the term “bean to block” catch on (unsuccessfully), as she really did go from soaked soybeans to hand pressed blocks of tofu within a couple of hours. I’ll never look at the store-bought stuff the same way again. I …

Making a Home

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Brushing up on some reading material before moving into my new home. For the last few years, I’ve been quite…mobile. Nomad-esque, some would say. I’ve been packing and unpacking suitcases and backpacks, coordinating with my parents to swap out certain sweaters via FaceTime, and having friends from the U.S. bring me snacks and bags of tea when they came to visit Europe. At the end of last year, I decided that my main priority for 2016 would be to start to establish a home for myself somewhere, to get all my physical “stuff” in one place, and to start to feel more grounded in a place, or connected to a community. Over the course of the last several months, it emerged that I would jump onboard the team at Healdsburg SHED (or the SHED ship, as they call it), to help the owner with some special projects. It’s basically dreamland for a gastronome. After all, one of the main sources of inspiration behind the almost three-year-old business was this Wendell Berry quote: “An agrarian mind begins with the love …

Fermentation Fever

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What are all those scary things floating in the jars? SCOBYs. If you know me well, you know that I love fermented things. The funkier, the tangy-er, the better. What can I say? I’m weird like that. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to visit my parents, who have migrated West for the winter (smart, huh?), out in Hawaii. I don’t even remember how I ended up there, but I started following Kauai Juice Co. on Instagram a while ago, and was looking forward to having a taste of their concoctions at their retail shop in Kapa’a. Obviously Hawaii is quite blessed when it comes to its growing season, so they’ve got the best of the best in terms of fruits to pick from. There were all sorts of tonics and elixirs and immunity shots and smoothies, from green juice to mango to ginger (my favorite). Here I am picking up (a few days supply of) some turmeric ginger kombucha. Seems turmeric is the super trendy ingredient for all those New Year’s resolution detox type people. …

Good Food, Good Friends

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The scene at the Good Food Mercantile–a meeting of forward-thinking retailers and crafters inside Fort Mason Center.  Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of volunteering at a tasty series of activities with some time to catch up with both old and new friends: the Good Food Awards. Back in the day as an Outreach and Communications Intern, days at the office sometimes looked like this. You know, a little reorganizing, a little Google Doc-ing, a little snacking on dumplings. I was back in town to reprise my role as an usher, which I compared somewhat to being Miss Golden Globe, except I really just wanted to make sure that all the right people were on the stage at the right time. (My goal was to remain undetected, but the photographer approached me at the end of the ceremony and called me a boss for running up and down the stairs so many times. So, there’s that.) This is my very high-tech seating chart to help me distinguish the different winners in the audience, across categories ranging …