Norwitz Notions

One of my pet peeves is when people tell me that buying produce at a local farm or farmer’s market is too expensive. Because they can go to Lucky’s or Safeway and get “the same thing” for less per pound. Except it’s not the same thing. Most supermarket produce comes from far away. Here in [...]

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Who doesn’t love a fair?  Even if you don’t have a child to share it with.  I grew up on the Del Mar (San Diego County) Fair, which is one of the biggest county fairs around.  Our local fairs here aren’t as big but they’re fun. There’s one right here in Petaluma, the Sonoma-Marin Fair, [...]

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Reading reviews of Lemongrass Thai Cuisine, I’m shocked by how many people love it.  Did we go to the same place?  Did they change chefs?  Are all the reviewers blown away by anything a step above fast food? Lemongrass Thai Cuisine 109 N McDowell Ave, Petaluma, CA 94954 (707) 789-9777 As we perused the menu, [...]

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Quick, name some fermented foods.  What did you come up with?  Beer? wine? cheese? pickles?  Let’s not forget yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, natto, tempeh, vinegar, and bread.  These and more were the focus of the second annual Freestone Fermentation Festival in Sonoma County, California, May 15, 2010. This was my first time at this [...]

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Riddle: What is harder than taking care of a baby after having major surgery? This will be my last pregnancy update. I was 36 weeks pregnant on Saturday, September 26, 2009.  40 weeks is the “due date” and 37 weeks is considered “full term.”  But 36 weeks is considered safe and close enough to full [...]

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I’ve made a variety of dessert/snack bars based on the simple ingredients of dates and nuts.  Sometimes I substitute prunes for half the dates to bring the carb count down.  Sometimes I add banana or other fruit.  And I use a bunch of different flavorings. You can make these raw (with a dehydrator) or cooked.  [...]

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A few months ago, a new cafe opened in downtown Petaluma near Walnut Park.  Foodies in the know thrill because the owners are family of the owners of a now-defunct Turkish restaurant in Santa Rosa, Real Gryo, which I never had the pleasure of trying.  Real Doner is a small place with a deli feel.  [...]

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Once a month, our synagogue, Ner Shalom in Cotati, California, holds a family Shabbat dinner.  Sometimes it’s a potluck, other times they order platters from a local restaurant.  A few months ago, I volunteered to do the cooking.  I had two motives here: 1) I love to cook for large groups of people.  Seriously, I [...]

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It’s Christmas Day and time for our annual tradition of Jews eat Asian food on Christian holidays (why? you ask…because we get the day off and nothing else is usually open, though that’s changed in recent years).  Normally we go down to Todai, a chain of buffets with huge amounts of decent sushi and other [...]

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My brother, his girlfriend, and my 10 year old niece came to visit us and shop at the local outlet mall.  Last time I saw them all (at the Marin County Fair the 4th of July) I brought a huge picnic lunch for everyone but this visit I decided not to cook.  I’d been wanting [...]

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Some comfort foods come from childhood (the one that fills my soul is very soft, very slow cooked scrambled eggs over buttered whole-grain toast, something I can no longer have) and others are with you all along but hidden until you happen upon that food.  My adult-found comfort food is Ethiopian.  The sour spongy bread [...]

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After all our travel posts, I thought it was time to share some places close to home.  Really close to home in this case. Peterson’s Farm 636 Gossage Ave, Petaluma, CA 94952 ettamarie@petersonsfarm.com http://www.petersonsfarm.com/ Yes, we are lucky enough to live across the street from a small, working, chemical-free farm.  In a mere 6 acres, [...]

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“Using masa harina [masa flour] is like making mashed potatoes from a box.” So says Karen Waikiki, owner of Primavera, the Sonoma company that makes masa, tortillas, and tamales from organic stoneground corn. And she has a point. Though the tortillas I made from masa harina were way better than the store-bought tortillas I’ve had [...]

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I’ve hosted a Passover seder at my home every year for the last 20 or so (except for the year my mother died the night before Passover 1996 and the following year, the first with Michael, when Michael and I both had the flu).  Each one has a different mix of people, cultures, familiarity with [...]

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When it came time for Miriam’s 3rd birthday party, we didn’t know where to hold it. Our house is too small and full of cats. The weather is too iffy to plan something outdoors. And we can’t stand most of the venues that turn children’s parties into entertainment extravagances. Fortunately, we discovered the Boys and [...]

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