It is my belief that the best way to bring balance back in to the world is to support local, independently owned businesses. What better time to do it than Black Friday?! There are SO many reasons as to why it is better to shop local than big box / chain stores but I will spare you my ramble.  ShopLocalSF lists some of the reasons here: www.shoplocalsf.org/org

Below is a list of local, independently owned Bay Area businesses, organized by area.

Last night I asked my Twitter, Facebook and Google+ friends to tell me their favorite places to shop in the Bay Area. The response from Twitter was overwhelming! Facebook friends offered a few tips and one Twitter friend responded on G+. Hmm what does that say about G+?

If your favorite independent locally owned shop is not on the list please leave a comment below and I will do my best to add it to the list.

I came across the 3/50 project which I think is a fabulous idea! They’re asking that we spend at least $50 a month at 3 different locally owned independent businesses.  Read more about it here: www.the350project.net  Their Twitter hashtag is #350proj You can follow @cindabaxter, the founder of The 3/50 Project on Twitter. If Twitter is not your thing you can also “like” them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/The350Project

Thank you for checking out my Shop Local list! I’m currently offering special (a.k.a. affordable) prices to local, independently owned businesses for sponsorships on my blog. If you’d like to place an ad like the ones you see to the right of this post please contact me for pricing.  —–>

Another suggestion I got was to shop at your local Farmer’s Market – great crafts and food gifts often available.

For that special holiday outfit you might only wear once try local consignment and thrift shops. You might just find the perfect outfit!

I’ve also included a few coffee shops and restaurants on this list because we need to eat, right?!

Please join me in taking the pledge to shop local as much as possible. #shoplocal

North Bay / Marin

Corte Madera
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Meadowlark Gallery
Mimi The Sardine  (eco-coated products for kids)
Rick’s Wine Cellar (stop in and have a glass or pick up a bottle for a gift)
The Book Passage
Tiller Diggs (home & garden,  jewelry & clothing)

Fairfax
Good Earth Natural Foods (healthy holiday meals & gifts)
Iron Springs (brewery & restaurant)
Revolution 9
Sherman’s General Store
The Hummingbird Restaurant
Various & Sundries

Larkspur
Coquelicot (antiques, home & garden, jewelry)
Lark Shoes
Marin Brew Co. (brewery & restaurant)
Modern Cookie Co. (opening Dec. 5)
Rustic Bakery
What Poppy Wants (boutique & vintage consignment shop)

Mill Valley
At The Top Salon (gift certificate or jewelry)
Dan’s Liquor (for your holiday wine or bubbly)
F. Joseph Smiths (massage, ask for Jessica B)
Mill Valley Market (for you holiday groceries)
Moss & Moss
Mountain Biking Marin (bike tours and clinics)
Pharmaca (not totally local but great alternative to the big box drug stores & wonderful products)
Red Dragon Yoga (clothing, gift cards, yoga classes to destress)
Tea Fountain
Title 9
The Book Depot
Two Neat (gifts)
Vintage Wines
Woodland’s Pet

Muir Beach
The Pelican Inn (restaurant)

Napa
Peju Winery (this is where you take your out of town guest – fun!)
Rancho Gordo (heirloom beans) <– now that is original!

Novato
Dr. Insomnias (coffee shop)
Class Cycle (bike shop)
Grazie Cafe Italiano (restaurant)
Moylan’s (brewery & restaurant)
Studio 4 Art (make stuff)
Marin Humane Society (adopt a pet, pet store)
Rustic Bakery

Petaluma
Copperfield Books
Della Fattoria (restaurant)
iLeoni (kitchen & gifts)
Knitterly  
Mrs. Grossman’s Stickers (great field trip for young children)
Nan Winters (clothing)
Shop Paper White
Tara Firma Farms (for your healthy holiday meal or a fun activity for the family)
McEvoy Ranch (body care products, olive oil, more)
Robindira Unsworth (jewelry, clothing, accessories)
Sorella (hair studio, fashion boutique)
Tuscan Gardens (home & garden)

Pt.Reyes
Zuma (arts and crafts)
Pt. Reyes Open Studio

San Anselmo
3  Ring Cycles (bike store)
Gathering Thyme (herbs & health care products)
Gioia’s Boutique (Clothing)
Great Acorn Co. (gifts)
Holiday Pop Up Shop (Dec. 3 Only)
Marin Coffee Roasters
Pure Joy Body work
Sidekicks (clothing)
Susan’s Store Room
Fig Garden (gifts)

San Rafael
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Andy’s Market (great wine & chocolate selection)
Art Works Downtown
Bananas At Large (musical instruments & pro audio equipment)
Beads of Marin
Bedrock Music & Video
California Bike N Bean (bike store)
Celebracion Bridal (pretty dresses, tux rentals & tiaras!)
Clogs Unlimited
Dharma Trading Co. (fiber art supplies & clothing blanks)
Friends Books (used books, 100% proceeds support San Rafael Public Library)
Elegant Images Fine Art Photography
Gamescape (non-electronic games)
Jan Orcutt, Accupunture (remember to take care of yourself)
Marin Jewelers Guild
Merritt Chiropractic Center (might need this after all the shopping)
Pin Up Hair Emporium & Unique Boutique
Ponsford’s Place (Bakery)
Red Dragon Yoga
T & B Sports
The Magic Flute
Toni Tierney Baby Clothes (she often has great sales right out of her headquarters)
Via Diva (furniture)
Viva Diva (clothing)
Youth in Arts – Retail shop

Sausalito
Mollie Stones (groceries, gifts)
Sweet Ginger (Sushi restaurant, gift card!)
Downtown Sausalito is full of lots of wonderful little shops.

Sonoma
Bram Cookware
The Girl & The Fig (restaurant)

Santa Rosa
T & B Sports

Tomales
Fallon Hills Ranch (to buy your ranch raised grass fed holiday meal)

Online
Cowboy’s Fuzzy Duds
Bean Up The Nose Art
The Marin Store (Marin Magazine)

East Bay

Albany
Five Little Monkeys (Toy shop)

Berkeley
Berkeley Bowl (groceries)
Gather Berkeley (restaurant, gift certificate)
Kermit Lynch (wine importer on the larger side)
Tail of the Yak (gifts)
Fourth Street in Berkeley has lots of great shops

Hayward
Hayward Book Shop

Oakland
Calm, A Salon
Cole Coffee (local roasted coffee)
Glamour Paws
Laurel Book Store
Oakland Dish
Oakollectiv (local hand painted t-shirts, local designs)
Paws and Claws (pet shop)
Relish Catering (for your holiday parties)
Someone’s In The Kitchen
The Crucible (gift & art sale 12/10 – 12/11)
The Oakland Chocolate Factory (you can get my gift here)
The Wine Mine
Tootsies (shoe boutique, pedicures)
Walden Pond Books

Walnut Creek
Five Little Monkeys (Toy shop)
Walnut Creek Yacht Club (restaurant)

South Bay

Palo Alto
Books, Inc

San Francisco
A Childs Delight (Toys)
Cheekbob (pet store)
Christopher’s Books (Potrero Hill)
Cowgirl Creamer
Create More (Apple supplies, support & more!)
Farmers Market
Ferry Building San Francisco (lots of independent shops here)
Flax Art & Design
Green Apple Books – Inner Richmond. Clement at 6th.
Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper (honey!)
MSR museum (best #sf place for small children. Small place, lots to do & see, parents just relax @ entrance & watch them run. @thecara)
Pacific Catch (restaurant, gift certificate)
Palio Paninoteca
Prints, Etc (vintage art, framing, concert posters, antique stock certificates, maps, curiosities, collectibles, etc)
Rancho Gordo Beans (SF Ferry Plaza Farmers Market)
Recchuti (Did someone say chocolate?)
Streetcar Museum
The Book Passage (ferry building)

San Jose
Hicklebees Books (mostly kids)
Streetlight Records

Thank you to everyone who sent suggestions!

Happy Holidays!

#ShopLocal

Please leave a comment and let us know what you got at your local independently owned store!

If you live in another area please make your own list and share it with your readers!

If your appliances break during the holiday season… don’t fret! Call Appliance Techs of Marin!

According to this video you might even get a date if you shop local.

*disclaimer I have not been to many of these businesses they are suggestion I crowd-sourced from my social networks. If there are any corrections that need to be made please leave a comment below.

**This is an evolving/growing list. I plan to add links to all the businesses and to keep adding more local, independently owned businesses. However, if I continue working on this tonight I may find myself disowned by my family. Thanks for shopping local.

PS. Please feel free to copy/use this list and pass it on to others. I’d appreciate a link back to the original list. Here is the link: http://sallyaroundthebay.com/2011/11/shop-local-bay-area/ Thank you!

Thank you for shopping local!

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I got my turkey from Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma. This is going to be the first turkey I’ve ever prepared. I’m feeling kind of nervous. I’ve been asking for advice and I swear there are as many different ways to prepare turkey as there are turkeys. I’ll be taking photos of the process and let you know how it goes.

Read more about Tara Firma Farms here.

Chicken from Tara Firma Farms is one of my kids’ (teenagers) favorite meals. I was asked to share the recipe, so here it is:

Sally’s Roasted Chicken*
Preheat oven to 375

Mix salt, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, thyme and dried parsley together.

Separate skin from the chicken and spread herb mix on chicken between the skin and the meat part.

Place chicken on an upright chicken roasting pan. I heard you can also use a beer can if you don’t have this special pan.

Spray chicken with olive oil then sprinkle some salt and herbs on the outside. Squeeze a little lemon juice over it and insert a meat thermometer. It’s important to make sure you chicken is fully cooked.  I cook my chicken to 165 – 170. (The government recommends 180 but that’s for the mass produced chickens. If you get a chicken from Tara Firma Farms, you know where it comes from, how it is handled and you know it is not mass-produced.)

Depending on the size of the chicken it usually takes an hour (more or less) to cook. I also rotate it every 15 -20 minutes to get an even crisp.

Let the chicken cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.  The skin should be crispy and the meat juicy.

I serve with brown rice, a mixed green salad and a veggie like green beans or broccoli.

How do you cook your chicken? I’d love to hear your recipes.

*This recipe is loosely based on Leanne Ely’s Garlic Lime Chicken. I originally discovered via FlyLady years ago.

With the leftovers I made Chinese Chicken Salad for lunch the next day.
Chicken cut in small cubes, tossed with sliced almonds, sesame seeds and romaine lettuce with Comfort’s Chinese Chicken Salad dressing (from Comfort’s Cafe). You can also add green onions. Yum!

PS. You can also purchase Comfort’s salad dressing at Paradise Foods.

To benefit Giant Steps rider’s with disabilities
Ten year-old Bridget was born with a brain lesion that has resulted in severe cognitive, developmental and physical delays.  Her mom marvels that “riding horses at Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center has given Bridget a newfound confidence she never before dreamed possible.” During August 4-8, 2010 Bridget and her fellow students at Giant Steps will get a “leg up” from some elite equestrians who will come together to raise money for Giant Steps programs.

This inaugural Giant Steps Charity Classic is a five-day horse show highlighting California’s finest professional and amateur equestrians who will compete in fantastic events to benefit Giant Step’s Therapeutic Equestrian Program. Sonoma Horse Park, a newly completed world-class facility located off Lakeville Hwy in Petaluma, will be the host. Ashley Griffin, owner of Sonoma Horse Park, says “Giant Steps greatly improves the lives of so many children and adults with disabilities who live here in our community. It is an honor to host these outstanding equestrians who come from all over California to compete in this thrilling Charity event.”  Giant Steps provides unique body/mind/heart-opening experiences to special needs children and adults. They are provided with a catalyst for life-changing opportunities that combines sensor motor integration with a deeply satisfying experience of accomplishment and social interaction.

Olympic Show jumper, Guy Thomas says, “I am both excited and proud to compete at the 2010 Giant Steps Charity Classic! I am looking forward to a very challenging course and great competition. It is an absolute honor to be able to compete at the highest level against some of California’s best riders and to benefit such an incredible charity.  I’m so excited about meeting Bridget and talking with her about the possibilities that lie ahead for her.”

“Pleasures of Petaluma” featured on Thursday during the Equitation Classic Competition, will highlight local artists and their work exhibited alongside local restaurants & wineries.  Friday afternoon will feature the Ultra Motor A2B Ride & Drive combining show jumping with a rowdy vehicle obstacle course. On Sunday afternoon professionals, amateurs and juniors will all compete for a large cash prize in a Hunter Derby.

On Saturday, the premier event of the week, the Grand Prix Gala (formerly Giant Steps Annual Steppin’ Out Charity Auction), will feature California’s finest horse and rider teams who will attempt 12-14 extravagant 5 feet jumps. “Saturday’s Grand Prix will be an evening of nail-biting, electrifying competition, followed by an amazing live auction, and gourmet dinner. This will be a celebration of the incredible sport of show jumping, and in tandem will allow Giant Steps to continue changing the lives of children and adults with disabilities,” says Ms. Griffin.

In addition to the competition, this event will showcase all the culinary delights that Sonoma & Marin Counties’ have to offer including wine tasting and pairing and dishes prepared by celebrated chefs. Local restaurants, vendors, artists and farmers as well as the community are invited to participate.

Sponsorship opportunities are available and will provide an ideal venue for a captive audience to see your company name and logo. There are also volunteer opportunities for getting in on the ground floor of this historical event that will surely become an annual highlight on the Petaluma calendar. To sponsor this event or become a volunteer, please call Giant Steps at 707-769-8900.

# # #

For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with Executive Director/Founder, Robert Pope, please call Lissa Ferreira at 707-769-8900 ext. 13 or email Lissa at lissa@giantstepsriding.org

About Sonoma Horse Park
Sonoma Horse Park is Northern California’s newest horse show facility.  This world-class facility offers nine beautiful rings for the 2010 English horse show season.  Its goal is to offer superior shows that not only cater to the equestrian world, but also showcase all that Sonoma County has to offer.  It is inviting wineries, local vendors, artists, celebrated chefs, restaurants, and farmers to its various events.  Watching the shows are free and there are also VIP tables

Giant Steps Therapeutic Equestrian Center  is located on the same grounds as Sonoma Horse Park at Riverside Equestrian Center.  Giant Steps helps children and adults with physical, emotional, and developmental challenges, such as, ADHD, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy.

The upcoming event for Giant Steps will be held on Aug. 4-8.  It is a Charity Classic Horse Show and should be loads of fun for the whole family.  Guy Thomas, Olympic Show jumper, will be competing.  There will also be a gala on the Saturday of the event.

Upcoming horse shows at Sonoma Horse Park
Equestrian Challenge (C) May 19-28
June Classic (A) June 16-20
Equestrian Classic I (AA) July 27 – Aug. 1
August Classic (A)  Aug. 25-29
September Classic (A)   Sept. 8 – 12
Strides & Tides Sept.(A)  15-19

Fun things to do in the Bay Area this weekend. Are you trying to think of fun things to do with your family that is in town? Has your family already seen all the usual San Francisco tourist stops? Fisherman’s Wharf,  shopping on Pier 39,  the famous curvy Lombard Street and Ghirardelli Square? If so, here are some new ideas to entertain your out of town guests over the holiday season. Have fun!

1. Take ferry to San Francisco and walk around the ferry building and then go ice skating in the Embarcadero (during the holiday season).
2. Walk around Tiburon.
3. Take a ferry to Angel Island and go for a hike.
4. Go shopping on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley.
5. Visit the Camera Obscura in San Francisco. (The giant camera)
6. Walk around Chinatown, be adventurous and try some Dim Sum.
7. Visit a farm in Petaluma! Learn about where your food comes from.
8. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.
9. Go to Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, Botanical Gardens, Conservatory of Flowers and so much more.
10. After Golden Gate Park you can walk around Haight Street and see the famous Haight/Ashbury neighborhood.
11. Go for a Mountain Bike ride in Marin County
12. Tuesday Night Comedy Night in Mill Valley with Mark Pitta.
13. Take a drive to Stinson Beach and keep driving to find the secret town of Bolinas.
14. Go wine tasting in Napa and then try some delicious vegetarian food.

Happy Holidays!

If you have any suggestions for fun and unique things I didn’t list here please leave a comment letting us know.

Halloween family fun in the Bay Area.

Looking for something fun and original to do for Halloween?

Tara Firma Farms is hosting a super fun and original Halloween Extravaganza!

Did you know you can visit a sticker factory in the Bay Area? I was delighted to discover Mrs. Grossman‘s on Twitter the other day. Seeing her name sent me spiraling down memory lane.

Those of us that were children in the 70s and 80s were of the generation when stickers become the craze! Did you have a sticker collection? Was the collection in an album? I did! My favorite stickers were Mrs. Grossman’s because hers were the best quality and there were so many choices. I remember saving up my money, going to the mall with my friend and buying the stickers one at a time off the roll, they were .5 – .10 cents each. Then my friend and I would go home add them to our sticker albums and be armed and ready to go to school to show off our new treasures and to do some serious trading.

Since I no longer own my sticker album I did a Google search and found this blog about stickers.  This woman was a serious sticker collector!

After discovering Mrs. Grossman’s on Twitter I followed her and found out you can visit their factory for a tour and discovered the factory is right here in the Bay Area! Mrs. Grossman lives right here and her stickers are made here in the Bay Area! How cool is that?! I immediately arranged for a tour.

Andrea Grossman started her home-based design business in 1979 from her dining room table in Woodacre, CA. Today Mrs. Grossman’s is housed in an 110,000 square ft. corporate headquarters with it’s own printing plant. The company has designed more than 2,200 different stickers and sells their products throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. -www.mrsgrossmans.com

When I arrived for the tour I was greeted by a friendly woman who gave me some stickers and walked me in to the room with the rest of the tour (I was a few minutes late). I joined the group and sat and watched a video about the history of Mrs. Grossman’s. I learned Mrs. Grossman has a dog named Angus who is the customer service representative of Mrs. Grossman’s. The first sticker ever made for individual sale was the big red heart. Mrs. Grossman’s favorite words are “I love my job” and everyone that worked there seemed to really love their job.

Mr’s Grossman is celebrating her 30^th anniversary in the sticker business this year. The first sticker was made in 1979 and sold in a little store in Sausalito (right here in Marin County) called Pine Street Papery. I just checked and they are still selling Mrs. Grossman’s stickers! Their Website says they carry every single Mrs. Grossman’s sticker made. I think I might be stopping by there for a future blog post.

Mrs. Grossman’s recycles their waste paper and were certified green in 2009. She has also donated millions of stickers to childrens hospitals throughout the years. She allows employees to bring their dogs to work. The factory is located on a beautiful piece of land overlooking the water and hills. I almost asked for a job while I was there.

Mrs. Grossman’s son Jason who is now the president of Mrs. Grossman’s. He  launched Pargaon Labels (a division of Mrs. Grossman’s) in 1988, it is one of the most successful wine and food label printing businesses in the County. It was also Jason who began the tour idea. The sticker factory tour attracts more than 30,000 visitors a year. If you live in the Bay Area or are visiting and have small children this is a super fun thing to do. Actually, you don’t even have to have small children, if you are a kid at heart or just want a walk down memory lane I highly recommend going for a sticker factory tour at Mrs. Grossman’s.

On Friday Nov 6 Mrs. Grossman’s heart stickers will star in “How It’s Made” on the Science Channel!

After the tour I met with Barbara Morino, the PR gal at Mrs. Grossman’s. She was delightful and shared many storiesabout Mrs. Grossman’s stickers saying, “Mrs. Grossman’s is like the Tiffany’s of the sticker”. I even found out that Princess Diana bought stickers for William in the 80s. Even the Gosselin kids love Mrs. Grossman’s stickers (you know Jon and Kate’s kids).

As you can see, I’m very excited about my visit to the sticker factory. I could go on and on about how fabulous my experience is but this is something I think you should try for yourself. The tour is free, your kids (and you) will come home with some cool stickers, you will get to see all sorts of neat machines that do amazing things and you will meet lots of happy people who love their job.

I’m off to go play with my new stickers.

I learned that stickers aren’t just for kids and are not just for collection. You can make some very sophisticated things with stickers (cards, gift bags, etc). You can decorate office supplies, drinking glasses and so much more.

I took so many pictures I uploaded them to Flickr so you can see all of them. Mrs. Grossman’s has a wall of fame showing all the stickers ever made from 1979 until now. You can see photos of the wall of fame here.

Mrs. Grossman’s is located in Petaluma. Check their Website for tour dates and times.

You can also follow Mrs. Grossman’s on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

I’d love to hear about your memories of stickers. I’ve noticed that almost everyone woman I told about my visit to the sticker factory got nostalgic and shared some great stories with me. Do you want some Mrs. Grossman’s stickers? Post a comment below about  a memory you have about stickers and I will send you some Mrs. Grossman’s stickers. To get the stickers you must post the comment before 10/31/09 and email me your mailing address (please write stickers in the subject). Be sure to tweet about your sticker comment too!

Cool things to do around the Bay Area this weekend.

Music & Dance
I just discovered the San Francisco LovEvolution which is happening this Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
“America’s biggest dance movement event” www.sflovevolution.org

To find live music in Marin and all around  the Bay Area check out www.marinlocalmusic.com

Happy Hour
Cafe Flore in San Francisco (near the Castro) is my favorite place for Happy Hour! I was there last Saturday night and had the 2 for $5 Cosmo special! www.cafeflore.com Molly makes awesome Cosmos! They have different special every night.

Mellow Marin ***Update Feb 2012*** Teapod is no longer in business in San Anselmo but there is a cool new coffee shop in this same location.
If you are looking for a more mellow weekend. How about taking a stroll in San Anselmo and drinking some tea. I just discovered the Teapod this week and loved it! It’s an Organic Tea Bar. I had lunch there with my new friend Marilyn. The salad was delicious and the tea was really good! I had a green chai tea latte. The place is so relaxing. Doesn’t this picture just make you relax?

After you go to the Teapod make sure to stop by Gioia’s and say hi.

Petaluma
Looking for something new and original to do? How about visiting a farm! Tara Firma Farms is a cool place to visit!

I got to visit a farm! A real live family owned farm right here in the Bay Area. I also got to meet a real live farmer. Her name is Tara Smith. I want to be like Tara when I grow up. She is amazing and so incredibly inspirational. Tara started her farm less than a year ago. Before being a farmer she was working in Long Term Health Care Insurance. Two years ago she read the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and was inspired to become a farmer. She and her husband had been talking and talking about where their food comes from, what is the right way to eat, etc when one day her son said, “why don’t you just get your own farm?” Something clicked for her at that moment and that is exactly what she did.

Tara’s farm is located in Petaluma. It was a dairy farm until the mid 1950s (which means it had never been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers so the soil is rich with nutrients and perfect for planting).

I met Tara because of Twitter! Another Twitter friend Peggy (who I met at our Mill Valley TweetUp back in June) always talks about all the yummy food she is eating from Tara Firma Farms and I got curious.

Peggy went with me on the farm visit. When we arrived at Tara’s farm we were immediately greeted by Tara. She invited us in her home, showed us around her home a bit and then began the farm tour. We started with the baby chickens.

Tara explained to me that her chickens come in the mail in a box. Before last week I might have been surprised to hear that her chickens came in a box but I had recently read about that in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) where Barbara Kingsolver describes her trip to the post office to pick up baby chicks. For anyone that is shocked by the thought of baby chicks being delivered in a box this excerpt may help explains things better.

“Poultry hatchlings don’t need to eat or drink for the first 48 hours of life, as they are born with a margin of safety called the yolk sac – the yolk of the egg absorbed into the chicks belly just before hatching. This adaptation comes in handy for birds like chickens and turkeys that have to get up and walk right way, following mom around to look from something edible… Some animal-rights groups have tried to make an issue of it, but mail-order chicks from reputable hatcheries have virtually a 100% survival rate.”

Tara’s farm is not certified organic yet because she is not sure she wants to do that. Each group of animals and all of the produce need individual sets of paperwork, filled out weekly.  Given that the farm is open to the public she feels that her customers can come to see for themselves and will trust that the plants are animals are grown/raised organically, sustainably and humanely.

Tara then brought me to the garden part of the farm. She explained to me that they are practicing bio intensive farming. This sounds like a very complicated practice but in the end saves a TON of water, creates 4 times more produce in the same space and they are able to farm without using any pesticides/fertilizers. She has been learning about bio intensive farming from an expert named Elijah who came from Kenya to work on her farm.

Another cool thing she learned from Elijah was how to get beetles off of her Kale plants without using any pesticides. Her Kale plants had suddenly gotten a bunch of beetles that were happily feasting on her Kale. Elijah paid close attention and noticed that the beetles were not touching the spinach plants right next to the Kale so he cut a bunch of Spinach, liquefied it and put it in a spray bottle and sprayed all the Kale plants with Spinach. Guess what? The beetles went away! How cool is that?!

After the garden tour we moved on to the full grown chickens. She introduced me to the chickens that were going to be used for food and then to the laying chickens. I also got to see her turkeys and one black duck. Notice the happy hens laying eggs coming in and out of their hen house.

I asked Tara how on earth did she figure out how to be a farmer so fast? Did she have past experience? Was she raised on a farm? No she was not raised on a farm. She had about 6 months past experience on a farm when she was in college but it was nothing like this. She learned by reading Joel Salitan’s books!

The night I came home from the farm I invited Amy (my neighbor, the professional cook) to come over and cook the pork I bought. We ended up having a small dinner party, two other friends joined us when they heard we had farm fresh pork and Amy was cooking. I asked everyone to look at my photos from the farm visit before eating. I think it is a good thing to know where your food comes from.

We had great dinner conversations about sustainable eating and my visit to the farm. I personally only ate a few nibbles of the pork off the leftover bone because I wanted to try it but to be honest I have a really hard time eating pork. Not sure if it is because I used to babysit my friend’s pot belly pig or what but eating pork is not easy for me. There is a voice inside of me that I can’t ignore that keeps telling me to be a vegetarian and especially don’t eat pork. I am not a vegetarian (yet…. again… I used to be… long story) however I think I will be again or at least be a 90/10 vegetarian (90% vegetarian). Right now I’d say I’m 80/20. However, after my visit to the farm today and reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.) I’m learning that eating locally is what is most important.

Have you ever thought about eating food that is grown or raised within 100 miles of your home? I have and it is not easy to do. I’m thinking about giving myself that challenge.

Thank you to Tara for sharing all your knowledge with me.

Thank you to Peggy for introducing me to Tara and for going to the farm with me.

To see all my pictures from the farm visit, check out my album on Flickr.

Tara encourages visitors to come by the farm. Bring your children or grab a buddy and contact Tara to schedule a visit. I learned so much from her!

Tara Firma Farms
3796 I Street
Petaluma, CA 94952
707.765.1202
www.tarafirmafarms.com