Slow Food Sonoma County North

Slow Books: The Fate of Food: What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
2024-02-19 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Although the Slow Books meet-up is currently full, you can join us in reading this month’s selection.
The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World by Amanda Little
In the fascinating story of the sustainable food revolution, an environmental journalist and professor asks the question: Is the future of food looking bleak – or better than ever?
Climate models show that global crop production will decline every decade for the rest of this century due to drought, heat, and flooding. Water supplies are in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the world’s population is expected to grow another 30 percent by midcentury. So how, really, will we feed nine billion people sustainably in the coming decades?
Amanda Little, a professor at Vanderbilt University and an award-winning journalist, spent three years traveling through a dozen countries and as many US states in search of answers to this question.Through her interviews and adventures with farmers, scientists, activists, and engineers, Little tells the fascinating story of human innovation and explores new and old approaches to food production while charting the growth of a movement that could redefine sustainable food on a grand scale.
Throughout her journey, Little finds and shares a deeper understanding of the threats of climate change and encounters a sense of awe and optimism about the lessons of our past and the scope of human ingenuity. (Amazon)

Celebrate Terra Madre Day With Us
2023-12-10 17:30 - 20:30 | Idlewild Tasting Room, 132 Plaza Street, Healdsburg, CA
Celebrate Terra Madre Day With Us!

Please join us for dinner on Terra Madre Day
Sunday, December 10, 5:30 pm.
This year we are observing Terra Madre Day with dinner at Idlewild Tasting Room, 132 Plaza Street, Healdsburg
(street parking)

MENU
Selection of Appetizers
Tuscan Kale Salad
Boeuf Bourguignon with Mashed Potatoes (a vegetarian option will be offered)
Bread & Butter
Apple bars
Idlewild wines are included

In the Slow Food tradition, please bring your own (non-disposable) plate + silverware + napkin to help reduce waste and clean-up time. Wine glasses will be provided. No outside wine, please.

Space is limited–reserve your place now!
Tickets are $60 for Slow Food members, $75 for non-members. Sales will close on December 6, 2023.
See you on December 10!

Reserve a Spot

Terra Madre Day is on December 10 every year around the world. It is Slow Food’s way to promote the diversity of food traditions and production and show how our network is using its creativity and knowledge to build a better food future.
Terra Madre Day brings together all who share the vision of a food system that supports local economies, and respects the environment, biodiversity, taste, and tradition.

©2023 Slow Food Sonoma County North | P.O. Box 1494 | Healdsburg CA | 95448

Volunteer With Us at the Redwood Empire Food Bank
2023-11-28 10:00 - 13:00
Volunteer With Us at the Redwood Empire Food Bank

The Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB)is the largest hunger-relief organization serving Northern California. Since 1987, REFB has been feeding our neighbors in need and leading the community to end hunger. Volunteers are critical to the Food Bank’s mission. Every month, volunteers contribute time which would otherwise require the work of 45 full-time staff members.
Our Sonoma County North leadership group is volunteering a few hours of our time to help pack food in the Food Bank’s warehouse. We have reserved 15 places and invite you to join us! Have fun together while giving back to our community and helping to alleviate hunger.
Tuesday, November 28, 10 am-1 pm
Redwood Empire Food Bank
3990 Brickway Boulevard, Santa Rosa
We must confirm our volunteer reservation with the Food Bank by November 25. We look forward to working together!

SIGN UP HERE

©2023 Slow Food Sonoma County North | P.O. Box 1494 | Healdsburg CA | 95448

Sonoma County North Annual Meeting
2023-10-15 15:00 - 17:00
Annual Meeting: An Afternoon of Conviviality and Information About the Food Movement

Meet and greet, sip and nibble, and hear about some cutting-edge issues in the food world.
Please join us for our annual meeting next month!
Sunday, October 15, 3-5 pm
Farm to Fight Hunger Barn, 12340 Los Amigos Road, Healdsburg
Greet your friends and meet new members, learn what your chapter has planned for the year, and make your voices heard. Three speakers will inform us on some of the current trends in the food movement.

There is no charge for the meeting, but please register as we need a count for planning purposes.
We extend a special invitation to our newer members–come meet other members and get involved in your chapter’s activities! If your membership has expired, attend and renew it. Not a member? Come and see what we’re all about.

REGISTER HERE

Our Meeting Speakers
Naomi Crawford, Co-Owner of Lunchette in Petaluma and member of Zero Foodprint. Lunchette’s fast-casual model is designed to increase equity in the operation. Naomi has worked with suppliers for better compostable take-out containers, and reduced their restaurant’s trash to almost nothing. Lunchette is a Slow Food in Sonoma County Snail of Approval Restaurant. Naomi will talk about getting to zero waste.

Aleta Pierce, Owner and Farm Manager of Beet Generation Farm, Forestville. Aleta will describe the process of regenerating the soil and building the infrastructure at the farm’s new location. Beet Generation is the 2023 recipient of our chapter’s Local Farmer grant.

Steve Pogue, Glean Leader at Farm to Fight HungerHealdsburg. Steve will talk about the farm’s model of reducing food insecurity, and the partnership with the gleaning organization, Farm to Pantry. FTFH is a Slow Food in Sonoma County Snail of Approval Farm.

Volunteer Day for Farm to Pantry
2023-10-11 08:30 - 11:00
Volunteer Day for Farm to Pantry

Do good and have fun! Volunteer with us for a few hours of gleaning for Farm to Pantry!
Wednesday, October 11, 8:30-11:00 am
We are gleaning at Farm to Fight Hunger, 12340 Los Amigos Road, Healdsburg
We will meet at Farm to Fight Hunger at 8:30 am at the barn. Park near the entrance to the farm and walk up the driveway to the barn.
During the morning, we will harvest field vegetables and pack and weigh them. If you don’t want to bend over and pick, carry buckets of produce, or work in the sun, you may choose to weigh, bag, and box in the barn. There’s a job for everyone!
When we finish, the produce will be delivered to organizations that feed people in need of healthy food.
Wear work clothes and bring a water bottle, hat, and gloves. We’ll also learn a bit about this farm and its mission.

SIGN UP HERE

Farm to Pantry Executive Director Duskie Estes

In 2008, the nonprofit Farm to Pantry was launched to serve a need in our local community: to provide a continuous supply of fresh, healthy produce to our most vulnerable neighbors who lack access to it by cultivating a community of growers and volunteers. The mission then and now is to bring together communities to end food injustice and reverse global warming by rescuing and sharing locally-grown food with those who have been systematically marginalized. We envision a just food system in which everyone has access to healthy food that honors and nourishes our community and heals the planet through eliminating food waste.

Farm to Fight Hunger owners Bruce Mentzer and Anthony Solar

Farm to Fight Hunger is a non-profit organization that grows, harvests and delivers fresh nutritious produce, free of charge, to those in Sonoma County in need of healthy food. Eggs layed by happy pastured hens are also donated to local food banks. We farm in an earth-friendly sustainable manner and work to improve the soil health, therefore improving the nutritional content of the food we grow, increasing the amount of carbon the soil can hold and reducing greenhouse gases. We will work to make the farm its own healthy balanced ecosystem, with habitat for both native plants and beneficial insects.
Farm to Fight Hunger is a Slow Food in Sonoma County Snail of Approval farm.

Showa Olive Farm Tour
2023-10-05 10:00 - 12:00
Showa Olive Farm Tour

Continuing our 2023 farm tours, next we will be visiting Cloverdale and touring
Showa Farm
Thursday, October 5, 10 am
26070 River Road, Cloverdale
Tickets are $10 for Slow Food members, and $20 for non-members.
We will tour the farm and taste the Arbequina olive oil with Geoff Peters, the owner. We will see the olive trees full of olives right before harvest and learn about his farming practices— Showa is both organic and biodynamic. There will also be time to visit the animals he has on the property (chickens, goats, sheep, and two donkeys). After our tour, Geoff will host a tasting of his award-winning olive oil.
The ground will be uneven on this tour so we recommend you wear flat, comfortable shoes.

Get Your Tickets Here

Harvesting at night

Showa Farm
Located in the Alexander Valley, Showa Farm is family-owned. We use best practices based on biodynamic and organic farming principles. The olive orchards are 90% Arbequina olive trees with the remaining trees being pollinators.
Our estate-grown organic extra virgin olive oil is made solely from hand-picked Arbequina olives. Using well water, drip irrigation, low-density no-till farming, we organically press each small batch to create this flavorful and super high-quality EVOO.
100-percent of our electric usage comes from our solar panels and our water is all-natural aquifer well water administered to the orchard using drip irrigation. We raise goats, chickens, a burro, a horse and dogs. We grow fruits and nuts as well as vegetables to add to the diversity.
Of the 30 acres on the farm, only 8 are devoted to olive trees with another 2 acres devoted to other non-commercial organic gardens, trees, and food production. Even the 8 acres of olive trees are planted 16-18 feet center on center allowing very large areas for air circulation and lots of sunlight. This low-density approach has allowed us to be disease and pest free and has improved the quality of our olive oil.
Showa was selected as one of the top 100 olive oils in the world three times at the New York International Olive Oil Competition.

Slow Food Presents a Sunset Supper at Foss Vineyards
2023-09-23 18:00 - 21:00 | The Barn at Foss Vineyard, 6475 Starr Road, Windsor, CA, 95492, United States
As the season turns from summer green to the colors of fall, please join us for supper on the Autumn Equinox. The evening begins outside overlooking the Foss Vineyard, savoring a selection of appetizers, and enjoying a variety of Italian wines. Guests can peruse the treasures offered in a silent auction before sitting down for a three-course dinner accompanied by DaVero wines.
Between dinner courses, we will hear from those who attended Terra Madre 2022. Our delegate to Terra Madre 2022 was Tucker Taylor, Head Culinary Gardener of Jackson Family Farms. Also attending from the chapter were Donna Del Rey, owner of Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg (both Snail of Approval awardees), and Marie Giacalone, Chair of the chapter’s Events Team. The meal will be prepared by the Sonoma County North’s Events Team.
This will be a fundraiser to send our delegates to Italy in 2024.
Tickets are $75 for Slow Food members and $85 for non-members. Ticket sales close September 16, 6 pm. Note that there are no refunds after September 15.
If you prefer to pay by check, please mail your check made out to SF Sonoma County North to Mark Crapeau, 985 Lupine Court, Healdsburg 95448. Checks must be received no later than September 16.

TICKETS

Supper will be accompanied by wine generously donated by DaVero Farms and Winery.
MENU
Assortment of Slow Appetizers served with a selection of Italian wines
Late Summer Salad
Lasagna Involtini (with vegetarian option)
Fall Vegetables
Vin Santo and Biscotti

Slow Books: The Cooking Gene
2023-09-05 18:00 - 20:00
Slow Books: The Cooking Gene

We have two places open for the next meeting of Slow Books. Please join us!
Tuesday, September 5, 6-8 pm
Cloverdale
For this meeting, we are reading The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael Twitty.
Our meetings include a discussion of the book and a meal. Everyone makes a dish from a recipe in the book. Just select a dish you’d like to bring and let the group know by email.
There is no charge for the meeting, but please sign up now because there are only two places available.

Register Here

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by Michael Twitty.
A renowned culinary historian offers a fresh perspective on our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and slavery to freedom.
Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who “owns” it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine.
From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia.
As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the Southern past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep—the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together. (Amazon)

©2023 Slow Food Sonoma County North | P.O. Box 1494 | Healdsburg CA | 95448

Green Star Farm Tour
2023-08-11 10:30 - 12:00

Summer 100 Mile Dinner in the Alexander Valley (Wait List)
2023-07-29 18:00 - 21:00
Wait List
A 100-mile dinner sources every ingredient within 100 miles of the dinner’s location. Please join us for one of these special experiences!
July 29, 6 pm
Diaz Ranch, Cloverdale

The 5-course menu with wine is $150 per person. Our setting is the patio at Colibri Vineyard overlooking the vines and hills to the west. The meal is created and served by members of our chapter’s Events team, and raises funds for our many Slow Food projects that support farmers and food-related businesses.

Summer Picnic at Gradek Ranch
2023-07-15 17:00 | Gradek Ranch, 2323 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA, 95448, United States
Annual Summer Picnic at the Lake in Dry Creek Valley

It’s picnic time again! Let’s get together at our Annual Summer Picnic at the Gradek Ranch lake in Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Valley.
Saturday, July 15, 5 pm
2323 West Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg
Note that the cutoff date for tickets is July 8.

A selection of appetizers will be followed by a supper of grilled Italian sausage, handcrafted from California pork, your choice of hot or sweet; peppers and onions, Bodega Red potato salad, green salad, rolls, and dessert.
Bring your own beverage, place setting, and glass.
Want to take a swim in the lake? Bring your bathing suit.

Tickets are $45 for Slow Food members, $55 for nonmembers.
Children under 12 are free. The deadline for purchasing tickets is July 8.
If you prefer to pay by check, please register at slowfoodsonomacountynorth@gmail.com and send your check (made out to SF Sonoma County North) to 1321 W. Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg 95448. WE MUST RECEIVE YOUR CHECK BY JULY 8.
Directions will be sent upon registration.
Not sure if your membership is current? Email us at slowfoodsonomacountynorth@gmail.com.

Buy Your Tickets Here

Noble Goat Farm Tour
2023-06-08 10:00 - 12:00 | Noble Goat Farm, Kinley Drive, Healdsburg, CA, 95448, United States
Please join us for a tour of this 3-year old farm in the Dry Creek Valley. Our tour will be led by Noble Goat’s farmer, Jon Vandervelde, who will describe what it takes to create a bio-diverse farm from a neglected orchard, and how they work with Farm to Pantry and Farm to Fight Hunger to reduce food insecurity in our community.
Bring your lunch if you’d like to eat together at picnic tables in the farm’s Grove after the tour.
Full disclosure: there are no goats on the farm yet!
Tickets are $10 for Slow Food members and $15 for non-members.
Buy your tickets here.
Owners Shalie and Jeremy Jonkers describe their farm this way:
We’re a family-run truck farm in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley watershed. Established in 2020, we started by reviving a neglected pomegranate orchard. Working alongside a team of local experts, we’re on journey to develop a sustainable, bio-diverse farm. From revitalizing the soil and fixing irrigation, to selecting our seasonal crops, we’re growing every day. For every pound of produce we sell, we donate a pound to local organizations fighting food insecurity in Sonoma County.
Reinvigorating the soil, and restoring the biodiversity, will not only lead to higher-nutrient produce, but will also increase carbon draw-down and support climate improvement.
Today, the property includes 400 pomegranate trees and 4 acres of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. We aspire to build a sustainable family farm using a holistic and ethical approach to growing. We believe that mindful farming practices, bio-diversity, and local engagement will positively impact the health of our community and the planet.

Slow Books: California Soul by Tanya Holland
2023-06-05 18:00
The Slow Book group is currently full, but we are reading California Soul by Tanya Holland.

Slow Cookbooks: Focus on Deborah Madison
2023-05-17 16:00 - 18:00 | Cloverdale
Please join us for the next meet-up of Slow Cookbooks!
Deborah Madison is the author of 14 cookbooks and countless articles on food, cooking, and farming. She is revered for bringing vegetarian cooking to a wide audience, including non-vegetarians, via Greens restaurant in San Francisco and her cookbooks. A bestselling and award-winning author, her first cookbook was The Greens Cookbook.
Please join us on May 17 to share food from her cookbooks, and discuss her philosophy of food and cooking, what she has contributed to the world of food, and your critique of her cookbooks.
To participate, select a recipe from one of Deborah Madison’s books and prepare small bites to share with the group. We will let you know how many people will be attending. Please also bring a beverage.
There is no charge for the meeting, but please sign up now because space is limited.
Register Here
What Is Slow Cookbooks?
Slow Cookbooks is an informal group that will gather 4 times a year in someone’s home to discuss the book(s) chosen for that meeting and share food each participant prepares from the book. Each meeting will have a different food theme or cookbook, selected by participants, and is open to everyone who wants to explore that focus.

Slow Books, Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen, by Yasmin Khan
2023-04-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Cloverdale
Slow Books is currently full, but we are currently reading Zaitoun: Recipes from the Palestinian Kitchen, by Yasmin Khan.

Cancelled: Tastes & Tales of Terra Madre
2023-04-15 17:00 - 20:00 | The Barn at Foss Vineyard, 6475 Starr Road, Windsor, CA, 95492, United States
Please Join us for our bi-annual Tastes & Tales of Terra Madre dinner to celebrate Slow Food and our chapter’s delegates to Italy’s Terra Madre Salone del Gusto! The evening will raise funds to send our delegates to Italy’s Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in 2024.
Begin the evening by mingling with other guests overlooking Becky and Bill Foss’ vineyard, savoring a selection of appetizers and enjoying a variety of Italian wines.
Then peruse the treasures offered in a silent auction before sitting down for a three-course dinner accompanied by Sonoma County wines.
Between dinner courses, we will hear from those who attended Terra Madre 2022.
Our delegate to Terra Madre 2022 was Tucker Taylor, Head Culinary Gardener of Jackson Family Farms. Also attending from the chapter were Donna del Rey, owner of Relish Culinary Adventures in Healdsburg (both Snail of Approval awardees), and Marie Giacalone, Chair of the chapter’s Events Team. Donna will be the chef for this year’s dinner, assisted by the Sonoma County North’s Events Team.
Tickets
Slow Food members, $125
Non-members, $150
MENU
Assortment of Slow Appetizers
with a selection of Italian wines
Braised beef shanks with spring herb gremolata
Orzo with seasonal vegetables
Shaved spring vegetable salad drizzled with a creamy miso-tahini dressing
Quail & Condor baguette with Meyer lemon butter from Epicurean Connection
Sonoma County Wines
Almond biscotti with Vin Santo wine
Some Background About Terra Madre
Slow Food International holds a bi-annual gathering in Turin, Italy called Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. Over 3,000 representatives of the Slow Food network from 130 countries came together to share their experiences and come up with solutions to take back home, further strengthening the meaning of belonging that defines the Slow Food network.
The theme of Terra Madre 2022 was “RegenerAction: Act, React, Regenerate.” It is an outlook that considers food the key to regenerating our planet and a bridge to peace.
We invite you to join us for Tastes (appetizers and dinner) and Tales (with pictures!) from our delegates of their adventures at Terra Madre 2022.

Meet the Author: Jim DeMartini with Sophia DeMartini
2023-03-26 15:00 - 17:00 | Cloverdale Druids Hall, 111 N. Cloverdale Boulevard, Cloverdale, CA, 95425, United States
Please join us for an afternoon with Cloverdale author–and forager–Jim DeMartini and his illustrator daughter, Sophia! Jim will read from his book, The Cloverdale Forager, and they will discuss the art of foraging and the creation of the book.
Cloverdale Druids Hall, 111 N. Cloverdale Boulevard
Appetizers and wine will be served.
Tickets
$35 for Slow Food members, and $45 for non-members.
The book will be available for purchase (cash, check, credit).

The Cloverdale Forager: Your Guidebook for Gathering, Preparing, and Savoring Wild Food
by Jim DeMartini and Sophia DeMartini

If it’s in the wild – and allowed to be hunted, picked, or collected in Northern California – chances are good that longtime forager, Jim DeMartini, has a story to tell and advice to give. From a lifetime of experience crawling around on all fours looking for the perfect mushrooms, to wading through the surf and capturing succulent surf smelt, to bribing 10-year-olds to gather hard-to-find banana slugs, to fishing in the pristine waters of Clear Lake, California for black bass, DeMartini shares humorous and informative reflections, stories, and recipes.
The Cloverdale Forager provides ideas and recommendations for the best ways to capture wild food, while inviting you to sink your teeth into:
▸ Learning how to identify, capture, and collect the tastiest, most flavorful wild animals, fish, birds, and plants;
▸ Savoring the amazing taste that is unique to food that’s been prepared literally minutes after bagging it;
▸ DeMartini’s extensive repertoire of recipes and food preparation tips;
▸ Forging a deeper connection with nature, the creatures that inhabit it, and the socially conscious foraging community.
From acorns, spring mix, and blackberries, to quail, abalone, and surf smelt, The Cloverdale Forager is the essential guide for both veteran and new foragers alike. Discover the fun, amazing, and exquisite taste experience that only foraging can provide!

Slow Food Live: Celebrating women-owned food businesses embracing good, clean and fair, featuring our own Snail of Approval Awardee Gergana Karabelov, owner of Patisserie Angelica!
2023-03-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Slow Live Webinar
It’s Women’s History Month! Join a panel of award-winning women business owners who are making history by taking food to a whole new level on Tuesday, March 21 at 12 p.m. PT.
Including our own Snail of Approval Awardee Gergana Karabelov, owner of Patisserie Angelica!
Sign up for this free Slow Live event
This Slow Food USA production will create space for stories and experiences from four winners of our Snail of Approval award — a distinction given by chapters to food businesses demonstrating commitments to good, clean and fair practices. Join us to learn more about their journeys and this nationwide award program.

Panelists:
️ Debbie Pitula, Whistling Boar, Longmont, CO
️ Gergana Karabelov, Patisserie Angelica, Sebastopol, CA
️ Rachael Sobczak, Water Tank Bakery, Burlington, WA
️ Suzanne Simon, Chaia Tacos, Washington, D.C.

Moderator: Jodie Popma, Slow Food Boulder County, CO

Ofreceremos interpretación en español en la sala Zoom para este evento. Spanish language interpretation will be offered for this event in the Zoom room.

5th Annual Snail of Approval Awards
2023-03-14 17:30 - 19:30
Tickets
Join us as we celebrate our 2022 Snail of Approval Awardees! A reception will be held after the awards and you will be able to visit our awardees and enjoy their tastes and displays. Our Slow Food Events team will also be presenting bites and beverages.
2022 Snail of Approval Awardees:

Americana, Santa Rosa
COOKIE…take a bite!, Santa Rosa
Corner Project Ales & Eats, Geyserville
Gold Ridge Organic Farms, Sebastopol
Lunchette, Petaluma
Maison Porcella, Windsor
Sunray Farm, Sonoma
Taub Family Outpost, Sonoma
In 2022 the following Snail of Approval awardees continued to provide good, clean and fair food in Sonoma County and were extended for another two years.
Bernier Farms, Black Pig Meat Co, Black Piglet Food Truck, DaVero Farms & Winery, Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria, Estero Cafe, Handline, Laguna Farm, Seven Moons Farm (formerly Lantern Farm), The Naked Pig Cafe, Red Horse Pizza, Tierra Vegetables, Tilted Shed Ciderworks, Single Thread
Slow Food USA’s Snail of Approval directory is a national interactive Snail of Approval map that allows users to find businesses across the US that are embracing the Slow Food values.
Visit the Sonoma County map for a full list of local Snail of Approval awardees.
Slow Food in Sonoma County awards the Snail of Approval to local restaurants, farms/ranches and producers who are making a significant contribution to improving the food system. Snail of Approval is an international program which we run locally in partnership with Slow Food USA. Slow Food in Sonoma County is a partnership of two local chapters, Russian River and Sonoma County North.

Slow Cookbooks: Focus on Lidia Bastianich’s cookbooks.
2023-02-28 16:00 - 18:00
More informaton coming soon.

Meet the Author: Craig McNamara
2023-02-12 13:00 - 15:30 | Relish Culinary Adventures, 14 Matheson St, Healdsburg, CA, 95448, United States
Please come to meet author and farmer Craig McNamara, in conversation with Slow Food leader Michael Dimock, over a family-style lunch.

Slow Food Sonoma County North invites you to lunch and conversation with Craig McNamara, son of President Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, now an organic walnut farmer and former president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Craig will read from his book and engage in conversation with Michael Dimock, former Chair of Slow Food USA. Their topic will be the healing power of agriculture as reflected in Craig’s recent book Because Our Fathers Lied. Craig will sign books at the event.
Lunch includes appetizer, lasagna, local green salad, Quail and Condor bread, and dessert, accompanied by wines from the region. The starter and dessert will feature Craig’s Sierra Orchard walnuts.
Packages of shelled and cracked walnuts ($12) and extra virgin olive oil ($20/bottle) from Sierra Orchard’s 160-year-old trees will available for purchase at the event. Credit card payments for products will be accepted.
Individual tickets include a copy of Craig’s book; couple tickets include one book per couple. TICKET SALES WILL END ON FEBRUARY 9, 7:00 PM.
$55 for Slow Food Members, $65 for non-members
$85 for Slow Food couples, $95 for non-member couples
Tickets
Craig McNamara is the president and owner of Sierra Orchards, a diversified farming operation producing primarily organic walnuts.
By connecting people, policy and agricultural best practices, Craig works to protect the land that feeds us, to promote social justice and support the next generation of farmers.
In that capacity, he serves as the founder of the Center for Land-Based Learning, an innovative program that helps high school students build greater social and human capital in their communities. He also created the California Farm Academy that is training the next generation of California farmers.
He is past President of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture and served on the University of California President’s Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources. He has served as a board member of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, the American Farmland Trust, Roots of Change, and the Public Policy Institute of California. He currently is a board member of the Edible Schoolyard Project.
He is the recipient of several awards including CAFF Climate Smart Farmer of the Year, California Agriculturalist of the Year 2014, James Irving Leadership Award, Leopold Conservation Award, the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the UC Davis Award of Distinction and Outstanding Alumnus Award.
He is passionate about sharing his knowledge in sustainable agriculture and leadership with the world around him. Together with his wife and three children he lives in Winters, California.
Michael R. Dimock, Founder and President of Roots of Change (ROC), is a national food movement organizer and thought leader on food and farming systems needed for the 21st Century. He is a regular contributor to the blog sites Civil Eats and Huffington Post, and was featured in feature Everyday Heroes: 50 Americans Changing The World (Fried, 2012).
Michael has focused on agriculture and food since 1989. He was a marketing executive in Europe for agribusiness, farmed organically for three years in Sonoma County, and in 1992 founded Ag Innovations Network, where he began his work on consensus building and strategic planning to create healthier food and agriculture. From 2002 to 2007, he was Chairman of Slow Food USA and a member of Slow Food International’s board of directors.
Because Our Fathers Lied: A Memoir of Truth and Family, from Vietnam to Today
Craig McNamara came of age in the political tumult and upheaval of the late 60s. While Craig McNamara would grow up to take part in anti-war demonstrations, his father, Robert McNamara, served as John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense and the architect of the Vietnam War. This searching and revealing memoir offers an intimate picture of one father and son at pivotal periods in American history. Because Our Fathers Lied is more than a family story—it is a story about America.
Before Robert McNamara joined Kennedy’s cabinet, he was an executive who helped turn around Ford Motor Company. Known for his tremendous competence and professionalism, McNamara came to symbolize “the best and the brightest.” Craig, his youngest child and only son, struggled in his father’s shadow. When he ultimately fails his draft board physical, Craig decides to travel by motorcycle across Central and South America, learning more about the art of agriculture and making what he defines as an honest living. By the book’s conclusion, Craig McNamara is farming walnuts in Northern California and coming to terms with his father’s legacy. (Amazon)

Slow Books: Mango and Peppercorns: A Memoir of Food, an Unlikely Family, and the American Dream by Tung Nguyen, Katherine Manning, Lyn Nguyen
2023-01-23 17:30 - 19:00
Our Slow Books group is currently full, this month we are reading –

Mango and Peppercorns: A Memoir of Food, an Unlikely Family, and the American Dream by Tung Nguyen, Katherine Manning, Lyn Nguyen

Terra Madre Day Dinner-Sold Out
2022-12-10 05:30 - 20:30 | Relish Culinary Adventures, 14 Matheson St, Healdsburg, CA, 95448, United States
Celebrate Terra Madre Day With Us!

Adieu to the Red Barn, home to many fabulous and convivial Slow Food events.
Please join us for dinner on Terra Madre Day. This year we are observing Terra Madre Day with dinner in a new location. We leave behind our wonderful red barn, and will gather at Relish Culinary Adventures, 14 Matheson Street, Healdsburg.
Our speakers for the evening with be Jim Reichardt, a fourth-generation duck farmer, and his daughter Jennifer Reichardt who is part of the Liberty team and head of Raft Wines.
Our dinner will feature Duck Confit Cassoulet and will be prepared with Liberty Duck. This recipe is from our speaker Jennifer’s new cookbook “The Whole Duck”. (Cookbooks will be available for purchase at the dinner.)
Wine will be included.
You may have heard of our famous 100-mile dinners
There will be two options to join in on one of these upcoming meals in the Spring or Summer of 2023. The first will be a silent auction for a dinner for eight people in an individual’s home. Also offered will be a buy-in dinner in which anyone can buy a seat and join with others at the dinner. And yes, every ingredient in the meal is from within 100 miles of the location of the dinner!
Space is limited–reserve your place now!
Tickets are $60 for Slow Food members, $75 for non-members. Sales will close on December 7, 2022.
Terra Madre Day is on December 10 every year around the world. It is Slow Food’s way to promote the diversity of food traditions and production, and show how our network is using its creativity and knowledge to build a better food future.

Volunteer With Us at the Redwood Empire Food Bank
2022-12-06 14:00 - 16:00 | Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3990 Brickway Boulevard, Santa Rosa, CA
Our Sonoma County North leadership group is volunteering a few hours of our time to help pack food in the Food Bank’s warehouse. We have reserved 25 places and invite you to join us! Have fun together while giving back to our community and helping to alleviate hunger.
The Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB)is the largest hunger-relief organization serving Northern California. Since 1987, REFB has been feeding our neighbors in need and leading the community to end hunger. Volunteers are critical to the Food Bank’s mission. Every month, volunteers contribute time that would otherwise require the work of 45 full-time staff members.
We must confirm our volunteer reservation with the Food Bank by December 4. We look forward to working together!
Please sign up here before December 4.

Slow Books - Beans: A History by Ken Albala
2022-11-09 17:30 - 19:00
Our Slow Books group is currently full, this month we are reading – Beans: A History by Ken Albala

Embers of Awakening: Film Viewing and Panel Discussion
2022-11-05 15:00 - 17:30 | Windsor Regional Library, 9291 Old Redwood Hwy #100, Windsor, CA, 95492, United States
Register Here (advanced registration required)
Slow Food Sonoma County North, in partnership with the Windsor Regional Library and Listening for a Change, invites you to a special showing of the film Embers of Awakening: From Firestorms to Climate Healing. The 75-minute film will be followed by a moderated panel discussion, with Phyllis Rosenfield, the film’s producer and director and president of Listening for a Change, and other community activists.
Embers of Awakening: From Firestorms to Climate Healing
The film blends the powerful personal stories of survivors from the 2017 Tubbs fire with interviews with scientists and climate advocates to inspire each viewer to take action.
The 75-minute film will be followed by a moderated panel discussion, with Phyllis Rosenfield, the film’s producer and director and president of Listening for a Change, and other community activists.

Slow Cookbooks: Focus on Alice Waters
2022-10-26 16:00 - 18:00 | Cloverdale
Please join us for the next meet-up of Slow Cookbooks!
Register Here
Alice Waters has written numerous cookbooks during the many years since she founded Chez Panisse in 1971. Please join us on October 26 to share food from her recipes, and discuss her philosophy of food and cooking, what she has contributed to the world of food, and your critique of her cookbooks.
To participate, please select a recipe from one of Alice Waters’ books and prepare a snack or “finger food” to share with the group. We will let you know how many people will be attending.
There is no charge for the meeting, but please sign up now because space is limited. The meeting location will be sent to you when you register.
What Is Slow Cookbooks?
Slow Cookbooks is an informal group which will gather 4 times a year in someone’s home to discuss the book(s) chosen for that meeting and share food each participant prepares from the book. Each meeting will have a different food theme or cookbook, selected by participants, and is open to everyone who wants to explore that focus.

Flavor Exploration: Tasting of Bernier Garlic
2022-10-09 15:00 - 16:30 | Bernier Family Farm, 1720 Canyon Road, Geyserville, CA, 95441, United States
Please join us for a garlic tasting with renowned grower Yale Bernier, and raise funds to support local farmers and ranchers!
Bernier Home Farm, Geyserville
This event is a fundraiser for Sonoma County North’s Local Farmer Project, which awards grants to farmers and ranchers working in Sonoma County. The project team is Yael Bernier, Rebecca Bozelli, and Kelly Osman.
Yael will give us information about the cultivation and harvesting of garlic and describe the differences among the garlic types that she grows (some of which are on the Slow Food Ark of Taste).
We will taste 3 types of raw and roasted garlic with crostini, compare the flavors, and discuss which ones pair best with various foods. The tasting will be accompanied by your choice of beer or wine.
Following the tasting we will have vichyssoise made with Bodega Red potatoes and Bernier garlic.
We will also have a raffle for four wonderful surprises! Bring your dollars for tickets!
Tickets
$40 for Slow Food members, and $50 for non-members.
Bernier Farms
Bernier Farms is a small, certified organic, family-run farm in Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys of Sonoma County.
Established in 1976 when Paul and Yael purchased a small parcel of land in Dry Creek Valley, Bernier Farms has since grown into a larger operation that includes vineyards and perennial row crops.
You can find their produce at local restaurants and purchase for home use at the Healdsburg and Santa Rosa farmer’s markets.
Bernier Farms is a Snail of Approval Awardee.
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Slow Books-Black, White, and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant
2022-09-28
Our Slow Books group is currently full, this month we are reading:
Black, White, and The Grey: The Story of an Unexpected Friendship and a Beloved Restaurant by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano

Terra Madre
2022-09-24 - 2022-09-26 | Torino, Italy
