Christina Waters

Make plans for this Friday’s opening reception. Art for Art is positively packed with new works by some of our best painters, printmakers, and mixed media mavens. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what Charles Prentiss, Hildy Bernstein, Sara Friedlander, Bridget Henry, Ann Wasserman and Daniella Woolf have been up to.

They will be joined by (more…)

Come celebrate an astonishing array of oral histories of organic farmers and researchers, from the 60s through the present - on Monday, May 24, 5-7pm at the UCSC Farm.  Music by the Rolling Cultivators (with a name like that, they have to be good), food and biodynamic schmoozing - at the Louise Cain Gatehouse and Amphitheater. Lots of history highlights and photos on view.

Home grown history — nothing better — thanks to the UCSC Library Regional History Project.

Please RSVP by contacting :
ihreti@ucsc.edu or call 459-2847.
(photo: Rachel Glueck)

This Thursday, May 20, Vine Hill Winery teams up with top talent from the Cabrillo College Culinary Arts program for a dreamy match-up of wines and menu.
Actually, it’s close to the deal of the century. A four-course, $65 prix fixe dinner matching innovative dishes with memorable wines made by Vine Hill’s award-winning Sal Godinez. I was lucky enough to sit in on the class in which students sampled wines (instructor Michael Wille shown here), listened to comments from the winemaker, and then began to strategize on ingredients, seasoning and cooking styles to harmonize with the varietals.
Here’s what the students have planned.

The first Course involves duck rillettes with eggplant terrine, goat cheese tomato sauce and brioche toast points, paired with Gatos Locos Syrah, 2006.

Second course, matched with Vine Hill Chardonnay 2008, (more…)

Destined to be THE major event of the outdoor food, wine and music season, this Sunday, May 16 2:30-5:30pm, the gala New Music Works Garden tour and musicale unfurls at the gorgeous garden estate of Sam and Terry Wright.

You will savor flowers and music, while tasting wines and finger food from Salamandre, Windy Oaks, Alfaro, Silver Mountain, Storrs, Avanti, Gabriella, Ma Maison and cooking queen Mimi Snowden.

You’re wondering about the frog. (more…)

Nickelodeon Theater founder and fearless world traveller, Bill Raney, will be on hand this coming Thursday, May 13, at the Cabrillo College Bookstore, signing and talking all about his colorful book, Letters to Zerky, A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son & a Road Trip Around the World.

An anecdotal account of hippie era trekking literally around the world—Europe, Turkey, Afghanistan, India, Nepal—the book tracks Bill’s journey with wife and young son during the late 60s. It’s a real-life caper loaded with hair-raising events way beyond the pale of mere touristic wandering.

Bill is a trip unto himself and the upcoming Cabrillo event will be pure pleasure. Come meet a remarkable man with supernatural abilities to be lost, and found.

The book talk starts at 7pm on May 13 - FREE. Call 831/429-4234 for details.

In his glory and surrounded by a) adoring culinary fans, b) terrific music, and c) spicy aromas of garlic, chile and ginger, Joseph Schultz ascended the stage/altar and wok’d and wok’d until no plate was empty.

It was a May Day afternoon devoted to gado gado, Dragon chicken (very mild), Calamari two ways (the djawa was superb, just like the old days), Pad Thai (glorious texture and temperature, invisible flavor), and never-better lashings of Hibiscus Cooler. While Irene Herrmann plus the ubiquitous Rangells filled the courtyard nextdoor to the restaurant-in-waiting with mandolin melodies, the crowd ate its fill.

Astonishingly enough the entire outdoor, makeshift, camp cooking operation went smoothly. (more…)

I love this new ultra-thin faux English muffin invention that has been popping up at groceries under a variety of brands.

Our house favorite is from Oroweat, loaded with actual flavor, but only 100 calories (that’s for two halves!). Called “Sandwich Thins” they toast up quickly, are both crunchy and yet chewy, contain flavor and even whole grain interest, and yet they do so much less damage (to various midriff regions) than say an entire bagel.

Divine with cream cheese and Peach Amaretto jam from Stonewall. Divine.

They’re neighbors. Friends. Share common interests. Even collaborated on a restaurant concept together. And now they’ve both won prestigious James Beard Foundation awards.

They would be winemaker Randall Grahm, whose recent, word-twisting memoir Been Doon So Long has taken the Best Wine Book award, and chef David Kinch of Manresa, named Best Chef/Pacific division. That Grahm and Kinch are at the top of their game will come as no surprise to those of us fortunate enough to graze in their pastures.

But it’s still a sweet honor.

Kudos.

Join music lovers and amphibiophiles Sunday afternoon, May 16, from 2:30 to 5:30
at the17-acre Mt. Madonna estate  of Sam and Terry Wright for a gala New Music Works al fresco concert. Among the highlights will be NMW founder Philip Collins’
Frog Requiem, a piece for 11 instruments, soprano and narrator, dedicated to
those frog species which have succumbed to extinction in recent years. 

 The benefit concert—performed in a bona fide frog pond—will be preceded by a tasting of wines and hors d’oeuvres from top restaurants and winemakers , combined with a tour of the Wrights’ English garden. A donation of $100 per person is requested, 100% of which will go to support the  New Music Works non-profit founded by Collins 31 years ago.  Tickets may be reserved by calling Barbara Burkhart at 335-1429.

 Composer Collins was moved to write (more…)