Sonoma Country Life

Pizza and Politics in Petaluma

Look who I captured on my phone cam whilst strolling homeward along B Street, in West Petaluma yesterday afternoon. None other than the flour-fingered, politically involved Naomi of Pizza Politana as she deftly dealt with a mound of the day's softest, fluffy, white dough for a fleet of delicious, wood oven artisan pizzas to please the crowd at Lynn Woolsey for Congress fundraiser at Petaluma Women's Club. With supporters from all over the North Bay in town for the afternoon, Pizza Politana was a warm welcome to Petaluma, showcasing the best of the best of our regional produce and family owned business. After all, that's what it's all about.

To Be or Not to Be

Come clean, are you a Halloween enthusiast or not? Have you been planning your look for the past six weeks or will you be one of the many friends and neighbors showing up at my door tomorrow begging for a forage in the costume box?

It's slim pickings at this stage, as the boys have had at it, draping sofas, chairs and any clear surface inside of the house with scrunched up wigs and gold, lame bomber jackets, tatty old fake fur coats, an Elvis suit, pirate attire of various shapes and sizes, face paint, fake blood (all over the bathroom counter, thanks for that), Renaissance shirts and rapper glasses. It's all coming together, in a haphazard, somewhat eccentric sort of way. At least that's what I'm told. And the fantastic thing about the offspring all being of double digits in age at this stage, is that I haven't had to go traipsing around town and county in search of some random essential costuming element.

We all here in the house remember the oldest's rather unfortunate eighth grade Edward Scissorhands episode. Then there was a series of masks, Austin Powers, that sort of thing. Way too sweaty, ultimately distressing and almost totally vision impairing to parade safely up and down D Street.

Whatever mish-mash of a creative outfit comes out of the door for last ever elementary school parade is A OK with moi. It's only been about 14 million years since the oldest was at kindergarten, maybe I should be sporting a cave woman outfit in recognition of my tenure in line to view the annual grade-school parade?

As for me, I'm still thinking along the lines of historical Petaluma chicken ranch proprietress, but haven't decided if I need to hard boil the eggs first? Italian husband tends to look at me cross eyed whenever I bring up the concept. Think he'd prefer the French Maid approach, but why be boring with such rich, cultural heritage to call on? I know, how about exhausted English/American mother, sporadic writer and wife with faint image of ghostly, golf-club toting Italian Husband somewhere in the far outreaches of background? That might be a good one.

Demise of Gourmet adds to Dwindling Stack of Glossy Mags

This morning's rather shocking news of Conde Naste's decision to unceremoniously can its venerable 68-year print run on monthly Gourmet Magazine is less of a surprise than a wake-up call to the fact of this brutal economy undoubtedly being poised to continue its push of a whole slew of glossy favorites yet to head off the publishing cliff. 

Though one of my favorites for the luscious photography, intelligent feature articles and very essence of good taste, even as a subscriber, I have to admit, my ramshackle, batter-stained binder of torn out recipes reveals a distinct lack of Gourmet originals.

Sunset Magazine's simple, seasonal, California-friendly repertoire, a few wonderful dishes from Food and Wine, but on the whole, it's a quick hit on the likes of Epicurious.com  and the FoodNetwork.com that yield the most prolific response to my frequent, rapid-decision making in the kitchen, these days.

As a magazine writer it's in my blood to renew those pesky subscription cards to contribute to the cause of traditional print journalism having a home in keeping the presses rolling. Magazine junkies of my generation find it hard to imagine a world without a pile of the latest and greatest. And yet, like everyone else, I've cut the fluff and concentrated only on the periodicals that yield the greatest pleasure in a regular read.  

And I'm finding more and more that it's the printed matter that we can relate to that's focused closer to home which makes the cut in a crunch. Food from exotic places is a little too fantastic for our palate at present. Figuring out a localized holiday dinner that delights not only those around the table, but the immediate region's farmers, cheese makers, bakers, wineries, farmers market vendors and independent shop keepers. That's what we want to read about today. Whether on line, or in some sort of sustainable print.

What's on your coffee table in the magazine stack?  

Wine, Women and Petaluma Pumpkins!

Thinking of joining a no-strings social group that combines equal measures of fun and local philanthropy here in the Petaluma area? 

I’m always looking for a public place that captures the essence of our group and the community cause that we are supporting," says Krista Gawronski, leading lady of Petaluma's fast-growing Fabulous Women Group. "Our next gathering will be on Sunday, October 4th at The Peterson Pumpkin Farm. We will meet at 4PM this Sunday, October 4th at the farm, at 636 Gossage Avenue Petaluma."

This month, the Fabulous Women will be supporting Petaluma's Committee on the Shelterless. COTS anticipates losing 40% ($750,000.00) of its revenues in the upcoming year, while demand for services is multiplying. Says Krista: "If you are unfamiliar with the mission of COTS services, here it is:  COTS provides clients with the support they need to make the transition into independent living, their goal is to break the cycle of homelessness, and provide programs to get people back into being productive members of society."

Karen Nau, a previous member of Petaluma’s City Council and a member of the Fabulous Women is strongly committed to helping this important organization. "Our gathering will take place on her parent’s farm which has served the community for a long time. They have raised livestock, grown vegetables, and educated members of the community about farming, bees, and agriculture," says Krista. "The barn was just renovated for her daughter’s wedding.  It should be the perfect backdrop for our function. There will be beautiful pumpkins everywhere."

"Please join us for this social and meaningful gathering," says Krista, who as always, encourages new members to bring along a few girlfriends. "Bring a food dish to share or a bottle of wine, and your own wine glass. We will have food bins available for donations.  We appreciate your non perishables," says Krista.

In addition to the above requests, The Fabulous Women are requesting that members and new members bring easy soup or crock-pot recipes. "We are putting together recipe books for the COTS transitional homes," says Krista, who would appreciate anyone interested in coming along this Sunday  checking in with her on line ahead of time.  "We are not just looking for quick donations…we are looking for opportunities to educate the clients in the COTS program, " she says. 

BASH Stimulus Advisors Toast Fundraising Success!

Board Member Chris Wallner will hopefully forgive me for swiping his Petaluma Educational Foundation group e-mail comment on the incredible news that Saturday's BASH raised the roof in topping last year's net raised and exceeding all expectations for this cash-strapped auction season:

"The net revenue record clearly confirms that the PEF BASH leaders have developed their own special brand of magic on how to fund raise in a deep recession.  What's next, BASH stimulus advisers to the White House?!" quipped Chris. Now, that's the spirit!

Photos below are thanks to the terrific album of photographer Peter Leabo.

Net revenues for Saturday’s 2009 PEF gala BASH exceeded goals for raising funds for much-needed classroom grants to Petaluma schools, and remarkably surpassed the success of the 2008 Bash - with a net revenue of $225,000.

“We exceeded our 2009 fundraising expectations by 16% and, to our delight, preliminary results show that we raised net revenues of $15,000 more than last year,” said an enthusiastic Janet Ramatici, Executive Director of PEF. “One year ago, the Dow Jones posted well over 11,000, the unemployment rate a little over 6% and Lehman Brothers was still four days away from declaring bankruptcy.  To raise more for our schools this year is an impressive accomplishment, made possible by cutting expenses almost $20,000 and through substantial growth in ‘Fund the Future’ pledges, corporate sponsorships, silent auction revenues, and advertising sales for the BASH brochure.”

The 27-year-old non-profit foundation remains unique in the state of California. Over 1,359 PEF grants totaling more than $1, 465, 274 have been awarded to teachers throughout Petaluma’s 33 schools since 1992. 100% of the Bash’s “Fund the Future” pledges will fund Enrichment and Major Impact Grants for Petaluma area schools.

“Having taken into careful consideration the fact that this year the country has been in the worse recession since the Great Depression, the board and staff of PEF had anticipated up to a 20% drop in income from last year’s event,” said Ramatici, “so our Bash Co-Chairs, Cathy Bachman and Carol Libarle, reigned in expenses and doubled efforts to underwrite Bash costs.”

Corporate sponsors almost doubled from last year with Exchange Bank and Clover Stornetta stepping up as the Event Sponsors, Andrea and John Barella, Basin Street Properties, Guido Enterprises, Lace House Linen and Petaluma Market providing Major Sponsorship and 15 additional Sonoma County-based businesses significantly contributing as ‘Friends of the Bash’.

Donation of the 30,000 square foot space overlooking Shollenberger Park by RNM Properties plus live music, lights, stage and sound provided at no charge by Moonalice set the stage for the auction’s ‘Fund the Future’ challenge, demonstrating just how far the community had come together to support its city’s schools.

“Petaluma’s business community led off the ‘Fund the Future’ program with $5,000 commitments from the Petaluma Chapter of Realtors, Clover Stornetta and TRAXX Bar & Grill,” said Libarle. “The kids have never needed our help more and everyone truly came together to make a difference.” Bash guests demonstrated their commitment to education as one hundred and fifteen additional donors raised their paddle to pledge financial support, totaling $87,000.

Indicative of the current value-for-money climate the BASH Silent Auction alone made over $25,000  - 41% more than projected and $3,000 more than last year.

Not only does the PEF Board of Directors work tirelessly to put on The Bash each year, this year the PEF Board, Emeritus Board and staff stepped into a leadership role by pledging their own $40,000 dedication and support for citywide schools, with a 100% participation in “Funding the Future.”

“What a wonderful showing of support for education from our Petaluma Community,” said Petaluma School District Superintendent Greta Viguie. “We here in the schools are sincerely grateful for everything PEF does to support our students and schools.”

Echoed Diane Zimmerman, Superintendent of Old Adobe Union Schools District, “Thank you to those who have worked for months getting the Bash set up--for a fabulous evening and such an upbeat event! We are so lucky to have PEF.”

To learn more about the foundation’s newly redesigned funding model, to contribute to Fund the Future of our schools or to find out about the PEF grant application process contact PEF at 707 778 4632 or online at www.pefinfo.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Smarter than Lesley?

Trivia night with Lesley, aka the oracle of Petaluma takes place down at everyone's favorite Aqus Cafe at 189 H Street, at Foundry Wharf this Thursday evening (September 17), offering plucky teams of four the chance to prove their mettle and get the gray matter moving in a positive direction towards whopping the competition in general knowledge from around the globe.

Known for its international crowd, you just don't know who you might be up against at Aqus - where all sorts of brainy, competitive types will be attempting to out shine one another in trivia answers from music to entertainment, sports and even, wait for it .... infamous murderors. Yes, that's our lovely Lesley for you, not one to shy away from going for the jugular in figuring out the smarts in her coffee counter customers!

Now don't let this put you off! Just because she knows everything about everyone on Facebook and beyond, Lesley really is a clever, practical, down-to-earth Lancashire lass who likes to have a laugh once she's annihalated any illusion you might have about being a brain-box. So pull up a chair at 7pm on Thursday, pay your $1 entry fee, order a tasty little bite to eat and bolster up your clever buds for the opportunity to take home the kitty of the winners' $50.

Rebuilding Petaluma's Daily Bounty!

Hot off the press: The progressive folk of the City of Petaluma, Daily Acts, Petaluma Bounty, and Rebuilding Together Petaluma are teaming up to transform out-dated, unattractive, water intensive turf & landscape around City Hall into a dynamic, water harvesting eco-scape, complete with community gardens, potential water catchment systems (approvals pending), native and edible plants. 

 
The inspirational landscape being planted will provide food, habitat, inspiration and education for a wide variety of community members, two legged and otherwise!. You too can make a difference by helping transform City Hall! 

As a volunteer you will learn the theory and techniques for sheet mulching, water catchment and planting dynamic systems that could very well help in the transformation your own yard into a productive food forest. Oh, and let's not forget to mention that you’ll also be helping the City of Petaluma lead by example in saving massive amounts of water!

Mark your calendar and sort out your gardening gloves for October 24th to coincide with two important events:  The annual Make a Difference Day, where more than 3 million people will be volunteering nationwide to help their communities and the International Day of Climate Action, where a worldwide network of organizations will be taking actions to impact & raise awareness about climate change.

Click here to register as a Volunteer here in Petaluma

Note: There will be no alterations to the ever-popular (and much in-demand) Pee Wee soccer field on the west side of City Hall. 
 

Alphabet Soup's Back to School Supplies Sale Funds Backpack Program

Petaluma Educational Foundation's downtown Alphabet Soup Thrift Store stages an excellent annual “Help a Student - School Supplies Giving Tree” program each August.

Next time you are out and about running errands, stop by the store at 200 Western Ave and buy the students in your life a selection of brand new back to school goods to help raise money for donating stuffed backpacks to needy Petaluma students.

Last year, store Manager Mary Shaw filled a couple car loads with brand new backpacks, stuffed with all sorts of super back to school goodies for delighted young Petaluman students facing extreme family hardships.

The need will be even greater this year given the fact that so many more households are scraping by without a current income.

Don't need any new school supplies this year? Then how about having a massive closet clear-out in readiness for the Fall? Moms and Dads who do have the means to update their kids' clothing for the new school year should keep in mind that 100% of the profits of Alphabet Soup go directly to PEF, enhancing educational excellence for over 12,500 students in 33 Petaluma area public, charter and private schools.

It's not just gently used kids clothing which is so highly sought after in Alphabet Soup this summer, adult accessories and clothing, housewares and furniture are in big demand from increasing numbers of customers looking for reusable bargains. Whether it's a green approach to consuming less that is driving the trend or a financial necessity, matching supply and demand is a major operation for stores such as Alphabet Soup.

If you have items of furniture you'd like to donate to benefit city-wide education, don't hesitate to call the store and talk to Mary about collection options. Although Alphabet Soup does not have a delivery van at this time, staff are willing to work something out if donors are unable to deliver good quality large furnishings.

When packing your goods to give to charity, keep in mind that an Alphabet Soup donation helps keep extraordinary, innovative programs such as city-wide Third Grade Wetlands Tours (blog with video and photos to follow) up and running for the benefit of thousands of local students.

Petaluma School Garden Students Appeal to First Lady

Jacquie Perlmutter, of Petaluma-based Barbara's Bakery plants salad greens and lavender with students at Grant Elementary School. Teacher Julia Megna talks with Jacquie on the tremendous impact Barbara's Bakery continues to make via Petaluma Educational Foundation on a variety of Petaluma teaching gardens. Photos by Todd Cary. Students at Bernard Eldredge Elementary prepare their mission-style teaching garden for summer break. If the Nation’s First Lady responds to a big, bundle of handwritten letters penned by Petaluma elementary school students and were to pay a visit to any one of a variety of the city’s schools, she would be met with a wealth of horticultural knowledge and hands-on experience in how to make the most of a number of flourishing teaching gardens. For First Lady, Michelle Obama famously planted fruit and vegetable seedlings in the new White House Garden this spring, assisted by a group of Fifth Graders from a Washington D.C School, inspiring over 300 students at Valley Vista and McKinley Elementary Schools to write her in request of recognition for their efforts here in Sonoma County. Thanks to generous, on-going, annual PEF grants funded by community-minded, Petaluma-based Barbara’s Bakery, numerous schools throughout the city are already well under way with a ‘White House’ trail of sustainable, healthy lifestyle lessons being learned in a wide range of well-established teaching gardens. “We’re delighted to help support so many otherwise under-funded school gardens here in Petaluma,” says spokesperson for Barbara’s Bakery, Jacquie Perlmutter, pictured with students at Grant Elementary School Learning Garden. The goal at Grant is to enrich math, plant science and health education curriculums through ‘green’ use of the Learning Garden. 2008/2009 school-year garden grants represented year nine in a generous, 10-year $50,000 commitment by Barbara’s Bakery via PEF. Schools which have benefited are: Bernard Eldredge, Casa Grande HS, CG Native Plant Nursery, Grant, Mary Collins, McNear, Penngrove, Petaluma JH, Petaluma HS, St. Vincents HS, Two Rock, Valley Vista and Wilson. As with the White House Garden, 600 pounds of last year’s excess seasonal produce from St. Vincent de Paul High School’s innovative PEF funded Victory Garden was donated to Petaluma’s needy through Petaluma Bounty and the Petaluma Ecumenical Project. The Barbara’s Bakery Grant for 2009-2010 will fund the relocation and major expansion of the garden to provide more produce to meet ever-growing demand. The school’s kitchen coordinator will utilize produce to involve student gardeners in cooking classes. Latin class students have designed labels with scientific names of plants and the Art department is designing T-shirts for the Garden Club. Theology teachers plan to utilize the garden for thoughtful meditation for faculty and students. Bernard Eldredge Elementary School’s perfectly contained learning garden is based on the Spanish Mission gardens of early California. Native plants and grapevines thrive throughout the year on a sustainable drip system, as students learn which plants, fruits and vegetables thrive in this environment. This year’s PEF grant funded by Barbara’s Bakery will provide funding for a Redwood Tree Fairy Ring and an orchard of fruit trees. “Without the financial support of grants from Barbara’s Bakery through PEF, the creation and ongoing development of our wonderful mission garden would have been an impossibility,” says Jay Bushey, Upper Grade Teacher, Bernard Eldredge Elementary School, Petaluma Coordinator for Petaluma School District Gardens, currently funded by the non-profit SHAKE Foundation (Support Healthy, Active Kids in Education is a Petaluma Elementary Schools fund raising development task focused on providing total health for children in the Petaluma Elementary School district), is Vanessa Passarelli. It was Passarelli who spearheaded the letter writing campaign to the White House. “Students were not asking for funding, but merely to make the First Lady aware of the tremendous efforts taking place here in Petaluma to teach sustainable gardening in schools,” said Passarelli. “Reading the letters brought tears to my eyes.”

Petaluma Junior High School Students in Washington DC

Phone trees are in place for good reason when large groups of school kids leave their families for far-flung educational travel destinations.

Parents of Petaluma Junior High students on the 8th grade history trip to Washington D.C this week were relieved to hear that their teens were safely touring George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate today at the time of the devastating and deadly shooting at the D.C. Holocaust Museum.

And all the more reason to allow your teen to text. For it's the speediest way to communicate with one another when something as disturbing and unexpected as today's attack regretably can still take place.

Made contact with my newly promoted, soon-to-be high school freshman as the tour bus transporting the large group of Petaluma students, accompanying parents and PJHS staff passed by the closed-off scene of this horrific crime which has resulted in the death of at least one of the security guards wounded by an 88-year-old, gun-toting suspect who somehow made it sufficiently through heavy security into the foyer of the museum.

I have no doubt in the abilities of Petaluma Junior High's experienced staff to take the time to talk our youngsters through today's horrific events and guide them through the remains of their trip with the knowledge that they are in safe hands.