Written by Madison Lisle Photos courtesy of Produce Express Well, we made it through 2018. Throughout each year, we go through many phases, and this magical time of year is a phase to be celebrated. Whether you celebrate the new year with a rich, homemade dinner with family or Indian takeout on the couch with your dog, this time when the nights are long and the skies are dark deserve some recognition. And you know what? You deserve recognition too. You deserve to be celebrated and to remind yourself that, through ebb and flow, abundance can always be a part of your life. The winter is the perf ..read more

Enjoy health benefits of the season during National Pomegranate Month Written by Laura Petersen It’s a sure sign of fall when strange-looking crimson globes begin appearing next to pumpkins and persimmons at Greater Sacramento grocers and farmers’ markets. November is National Pomegranate Month and a great time to add the locally grown, health-giving fruit packed with antioxidants into everyday meal planning and special holiday menus. Photos courtesy of Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op “The foothill region here in California is optimal for growing pomegranates because of the hot dry summers a ..read more

Simple, Natural, Beautiful: Briar Rose Farm Written by Steph Rodriguez Photos courtesy of Briar Rose Farm Want to order a few pasture-raised broiler chickens from Briar Rose Farm? Find Briar Rose Farm Lamb on Facebook and contact Jane Scheuermann. Turkeys at Briar Rose Farm Life on the farm is simply paradise for Jane and David Scheuermann. Together, they tend to the 40 acres of Briar Rose Farm in Oroville, Calif., where they pasture-raise chickens, cows, lambs and a few goats just for good measure. “Where we live used to be an old dairy farm, and there’s an old rose bush that — I kid you not ..read more

No tricks here: Halloween recipes easy to create and share. Written by Tamara Berg Halloween is in the air. Leaves are piling up on the ground, pumpkins are everywhere, and maybe you’re still searching for the perfect costume. If you need that costume for a party, you probably need to bring a treat with you. As my invites piled up, I wondered what kind of appetizer I could bring that’s easy yet shockingly good. If you’re like me and your costume requires plenty of makeup or assembly, you probably want to spend minimal time working in the kitchen. So I sat down with food stylist Patty Mastracco ..read more

Digging into New Projects and Fresh Fall Flavor Written by Madison Lisle Today I felt a change in the air that I have been looking forward to for a month. That time between summer and fall is one of anticipation and expectance. I felt the shift today and everything has changed. Apples are now the fruit of choice and red wine is starting to sound more appetizing than white (red in the winter, white in the summer, am I right?). As the heat fades, I have started to make my time indoors the time to pick up projects I have not seen in a year. Reading books that feel cozy in a comfy chair with a cu ..read more

Raise A Glass To 150 Years Of Martinelli’s Ciders & Juices Sponsored By: Visit Santa Cruz (Photo by Garrick Ramirez) Beloved sparkling cider and apple juice producer S. Martinelli & Company is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2018, and we’re bubbling over with excitement! Founded in Watsonville in 1868 — the same year Ulysses S. Grant was elected president — the effervescent company is still family owned, locally based, and making juice the way it always has: fresh and 100 percent natural. We’ve got the inside scoop below, and trust us, it gets juicy! (Photo b ..read more

STORY AND PHOTOS BY TAMARA BERG  Living in California, I think it’s safe to safe to say we’re surrounded by some of the best grapes around. And though grapes are great eaten fresh, if you’re like me, you think about grapes as wine. You see them hanging in the lush vineyards and wonder, when will that be pressed and ready to drink? Freshly picked grapes ..read more

WRITTEN BY MADISON LISLE  August is a beautiful month that feels like the beginning of the end. With summer drawing to a close and autumn slowly creeping in (pumpkin-scented candles have already hit the shelves, as if we wouldn’t notice), it’s time to take advantage of the last of the summer fruits and feast on pears, cucumbers, and plums. Seasonal produce is just better. As much as I like a tropical guava in the middle of winter, there is nothing like seasonal pumpkin soup when golden leaves cover the ground outside ..read more

Bite into a crisp summer salad with these recipes. WRITTEN BY STEPH RODRIGUEZ On a recent trip to my neighborhood farmers’ market, I saw a woman carrying a bundle of deep purple beets tucked between her forearm and bicep. The beet greens were strikingly healthy, bigger than both palms of my hands and such a beautiful bright-green color with vibrant pink veins. It was at this moment when I had a craving for one of my most favorite summer dishes, a raw beet salad with julienned beet greens, sprinkles of goat cheese, diced walnuts, and a homemade orange vinaigrette. Simple and delicious.   ..read more

PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features an event that has already passed. Visit Granlibakken's website for future events. WRITTEN BY ANNORA McGARRY PHOTOS BY ANNORA McGARRY AND SJ MARKETING At the Restorative Arts and Yoga Festival at Granlibakken Tahoe, Ashley Aarti Cooper will be leading a forest-bathing, or shinrin-yoku, hike through the abundant forests that surround Granlibakken Tahoe in North Lake Tahoe. When you walk into the forest, do you see a city of trees? Or do you see an ecosystem teeming with life both observable and microscopic? What you might not re ..read more