Ukiah Super 8: Be the Change You Want to See in the World

Dear Readers, 

Sorry about the lack of posting. I have been a very busy girl lately. I am currently working three part-time jobs, and between those and keeping a steady fitness routine, that gives me little time to devote to writing.

But, while I have a moment to spare, I wanted to let you know about some events happening in Mendocino and Ukiah during the month of March, and a great place to stay while you are there.

Last month, I was hosted by the Super 8 in Ukiah while my boyfriend and I attended the latter weekend of Mendocino Crab and Wine Days (an annual Mendocino two-weekend long festival featuring a series of events including a cioppino feed we attended at Barra of Mendocino Wines), and tried a restaurant in downtown Ukiah called Patrona.

What is so special about Super 8 Ukiah and why did I title this post the way that I did? These awards on the wall begin to paint the picture. Super 8 Ukiah uses modern techniques of being nature friendly by using recyclable papers to for cleaning, electrically economical lights, healthy practices of waste and resource management. They also offer complimentary electrical vehicle charging for hotel guests.

You can find the Super 8 Ukiah on this list of Eco Green Hotels. They are a member of the Green Hotels Association, and here is the audit information on everything they do to maintain their unique environmental status.

You can read more about their environmental efforts and practices and what they do to maintain the awards bestowed on them here on their blog.

Car charging station.

Watching Ocean's Eleven (a treat because I don't have a tv at home) from the comfy bed and snacking on dates, almonds, and strawberries. :)

This is the breakfast nook area in the check-in lobby where complimentary breakfast is served every morning from 6:00am-9:30am.

Room 224 where we stayed. :)

You can find Super 8 Ukiah on Facebook here and on twitter here.


March 3-4, 2012: Mendocino Village Whale Festival
The 30th Annual Mendocino Whale Festival will see the area's top chefs serve up their takes on New England clam chowder, as well as Mendocino County wineries pouring their unique vintages for tasting at historic Mendocino Village shops, galleries and inns.

March 10-11, 2012: Little River Whale Festival
During the 3rd Annual Little River Whale Festival, visitors will savor bites from the kitchens of the town's noted chefs, sip wines from Mendocino County vintners, get their art and adventure passport stamped for the chance to win a fabulous prize, take a history or a whale watching walk, go on an artist studio tour, sit down to a fireside talk with local historians, or take advantage of a "Whale of a Sale" at various Little River inns (stay two nights, get the third free).The Festival benefits the Mendocino Area Parks Association (MAPA) and the jewel of Little River, Van Damme State Park.

March 17-18, 2012: Fort Bragg Whale Festival
The festivities are endless at the 30th Annual Fort Bragg Whale Festival, which features flavorful microbrew beer, chowder and wine tastings for adults and arts and crafts fair and "sea-life" kiddie parade for children. The Whale Run and Walk, Whale Cruises out of Noyo Harbor, Whale-Watching Excursions on Horseback and more round out the weekend of whale-tastic fun for all.

Other March Mendocino Events

March 3rd-4th
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Whale Watching – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, free, Point Cabrillo Lighthouse in Mendocino, 800.262.7801 www.pointcabrillo.org

March 3rd
Mendocino Whale Festival Concert: An Evening of Wood and Steel – 8:00 pm, $20 in advance & $25 at the door, Crown Hall in Mendocino, 800.585.0095

March 10th
Pt. Arena Crafts Show and Bazaar – 9:00 am, free, Point Arena City Hall in Point Arena. For more information call 707.785.3538

March 10th
Second Saturday Wine and Food Tasting – 9:00 am, free, Milano Winery, 707.744.1396.

Mendocino Stories and Music Series "Braet and Brown Jazz Duo": 7:30 pm, $10 to $15 per person, Hill House in Mendocino, 866.937.1732.

The Unauthorized Rolling Stones – 8:00 pm, $18 adults/$10 youth, Arena Theater in Point Arena, 707.882.3272.

March 12th
Dahlia Tuber Sale– 9:00 am, free, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg,707.964.4352 www.gardenbythesea.org

March 17th-18th Saint Patrick's Day Sale and Wine Tasting: 10:00 am, free, Milano Winery in Hopland,707.744.1396.

March 24th Mendocino Stories and Music Series "Mendo Bobfest" – 7:30 pm, $15 in advance/$20 at the door, Hill House Inn in Mendocino, 707.937.1732.

March 25th Orixa-Inspired Dance Workshop – 1:00 pm, $20, Mendocino Ballet Company in Ukiah, 707.468.5338

March 30th Mendocino Stories and Music Series "Hit and Run Theater Improv Comedy" – 7:30 pm, $10 to $15, Hill House Inn in Mendocino, 707.937.1732www.mendocinostories.com

March 31st – April 1st Learn to Kayak Weekend – 9:00 am, $160 to $200 per person, Liquid Fusion Kayaking in Fort Bragg, 707.962.1623 www.liquidfusionkayak.com


Ongoing Events throughout March
Mendocino Art Center's Marine Wildlife Show– Free, Open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Mendocino Art Center in Mendocino, 707.937.5818.

"Introductions": Devore, O'Feral, Sandberg and Lawrence – Free, Open Thursday thru Monday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Partners Gallery in Fort Bragg, 707.962.0233

Whale Graphite Objects by Agelio Batle – Free, Open Friday – Monday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Studio 391 in Point Arena, 707.884.9065

Taco Thursday – Prices vary, Mendocino Hotel in Mendocino, 707.937.0511

Farmers Markets – Free to the public. Visit www.mcfarm.org for city locations, dates and times.

Wine Pairing Host-Table Dinner– 6:00 pm, Sunday, Monday and Saturday, $90 pp w/wine pairing or $65 for non-drinkers, Glendeven Inn in Little River, 707.937.0083.

Sunday Brunch – Every Sunday starting at 8:00 am, prices vary, Mendocino Hotel in Mendocino, 707.937.0511.

Sacramento Opera Presents Rigoletto on February 24th and 26th

Sacramento Opera closes 2011-12 season with two performances of “Rigoletto” 

The Sacramento Opera closes out the 2011-12 season with the performance of “Rigoletto” on Friday, February 24 and Sunday, February 26. As one of Verdi’s greatest works, “Rigoletto” is one of the most widely adapted operas of all time.

Teaming up with the Sacramento Philharmonic, Rigoletto is filled with both remarkable and memorable melodies and tunes, the opera follows a story line that is riveting with all the workings of a concise, taut, and psychologically disturbing drama that concludes with a twist that is as shocking as it is horrifying.

The Sacramento Opera has compiled a stellar cast including Sacramento native Buffy Baggoott (Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera) as Maddalena, David Small (Lyric Opera of Kansas City, St. Louis Symphony) as Rigoletto, Katrina Thurman (Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera) as Gilda, Scott Ramsay (Opera Boston, Toledo Symphony) as The Duke of Mantua and Andrew Gangestad (Metropolitan Opera, Arizona Opera) as Sparafucile.

The LA Times describes Rigoletto as a story about a “corrupted clown who belittles the misfortune of others, keeps his beloved daughter Gilda under lock and key, and takes out a contract on his employer who has designs on Gilda.”

This opera is a great introduction to the art form for new audiences as well as beloved by seasoned patrons featuring a haunting yet heart-wrenching tale.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles, conducted by Timm Rolek with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sacramento Opera Chorus, the opera opens on Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m. with a matinee showing at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 26 at the Sacramento Community Theater (1301 L St., Sacramento, CA 95814)

Tickets are available online, over the phone or in person. Visit http://www.sacopera.org/Tickets/singletickets.html for more information.


You can find the Sacramento Opera on Facebook here, or follow them on Twitter here.

About Sacramento Opera 
The mission of the Sacramento Opera is to produce outstanding opera, to develop and cultivate a wider public interest in opera and its allied arts, and to further music education in the region.

Sacramento Food Film Festival is March 10th! Tickets going fast!!

Some of the best movies I have seen in the past few years have been all about food!!

More specifically, documentaries about our food and its production and distribution.

Needless to say, the inaugural Sacramento Food Film Festival is right up my alley! It will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at Guild Theater from 10am to 10pm. So basically, come out like you are camping out for a deal on an HDTV at Best Buy on Black Friday, ok? ;)

I know a lot of you seem to be aware and conscious of the serious food issues/problems that this world faces, but these movies will educate you (as well as entertain and provoke thought) to what is really going on and really going wrong with our global food supply.

Here is the film lineup for the day:

10:15 Lunch Line 63 min.

Lunch Line follows six kids from one of the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago as they set out to fix school lunch — and end up at the White House. Their unlikely journey parallels the dramatic transformation of school lunch from a patchwork of local anti-hunger efforts to a robust national feeding program. The film tracks the behind-the-scenes details of school lunch and childhood hunger from key moments in the 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s to the present, revealing political twists, surprising alliances, and more common ground than people might realize.

11:30 The Last Crop 50 min.

The Last Crop follows Jeff and Annie Main, and examines how one family’s mission to preserve their small working farm’s existence for future farmers is challenging the status quo of farmland conservation and farm succession policies within California’s 36 billion dollar agricultural industry. I saw this movie early this month and absolutely loved it. Since the filmmaker keeps adding on to the length of the film as the story progresses (as it is a work in progress), it will be a little longer than 50 minutes.

12:30 Dive 53 min.

Inspired by a curiosity about our country's careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food - resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action.

1:30 Future of Food 88 min.

The Future of Food has been a key tool in the American and international anti-GMO grassroots activist movements and played widely in the environmental and activist circuits since its release in 2004. The film is widely acknowledged for its role in educating voters and the subsequent success of passing Measure H in Mendocino County, California, one of the first local initiatives in the country to ban the planting of GMO crops. Indicative of its popularity, the Future of Food showed to a sold out audience of 1,500 at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2004, a benefit for Slow Food, where it was introduced by Alice Waters.  

3:00 Food Matters 80 min.

With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what's wrong with our malnourished bodies, it's no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. Food Matters sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide 'sickness industry' and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for overcoming illness naturally.

4:30 Ingredients 67 min.

Inspiring and rich, INGREDIENTS unearths the roots of the local food movement and digs into the stories of the chefs, farmers and activists transforming our broken food system. This upbeat, beautifully-photographed film introduces us to the verdant farms and pioneering restaurants where good food is produced and served. From innovative farm-to-table programs in Harlem to picturesque sheep farms in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, INGREDIENTS shows the heart of an alternative food system – healthy, sustainable and tasty.

Through interviews with world-class chefs such as Alice Waters and Greg Higgins and sustainability-minded farmers in Oregon, New York and Ohio, INGREDIENTS weaves an uplifting tale that is equal parts earthy rebellion and mouth-watering homage.

Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth, INGREDIENTS is a fun, open-minded film that will satiate both veteran slow-food fans and the uninitiated alike.

Narrated by Bebe Neuwirth? Guys, need I say more? :)

6:00 Farmaggedon 90 min.Farmageddon highlights the urgency of food freedom, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods safely and free from unreasona-bly burdensome regulations. The film serves to put policymakers and regulators on notice that there is a growing movement of people aware that their freedom to choose the foods they want is in danger, a movement that is taking action with its dollars and its voting power to protect and preserve the dwindling number of family farms that are struggling to survive.

7:45 Farmers Panel Discussion 60 min.

9:00 What's Organic about Organic? 59 min.

WHAT’S ORGANIC ABOUT “ORGANIC?” delves into the debates that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market. As the film moves from farm fields to government meetings to industry trade shows, we see the hidden costs of conventional agriculture. We also see how our health, the health of our planet, and the agricultural needs of our society are all intimately connected. The film compels us to look forward, towards a new vision for our culture and encourages us to ask, “How can we eat with an ecological consciousness?”

For more information on the event go to: http://sacfoodfilmfest.com

Special thanks to sponsors Simply Recipes, Whole Foods, Slow Food Sacramento, Munchie Musings, Mikuni Sushi, Guild Theatre, and the Sacramento Co-op.

You can find the Sacramento Food Film Festival on Facebook here!!

PS: If you buy a ticket by March 1st, you will be automatically entered to win a restaurant gift card from deVere's or Ella.

Buy tickets here now! Hurry because the Guild only holds 200 people and tickets are going fast!!

Last Night We Had a Paleo Dinner at: Il Fornaio, Downtown Sacramento

I thought I might start a little series on my website called "Last Night We Had a Paleo Dinner at…"

I will showcase all the meals we have out and show you how you can eat almost 100% Paleo anywhere you go. It's all about choices... :)

Seafood Trio Appetizer with parsley sauce.

House salad... we could have asked for no beans (but, my legume consumption is a rarity anyway and not the worst of Paleo offenses), I did ask for the dressing on the side. :)

We split a meal of game hen, sausage, and lamb with carrots, green beans, and spinach!!

Paleo Recipe: "True Love" Blood Orange and Red Onion Salad with Kalamata Olives

I just love going to the farmer's market and buying whatever catches my eye. Last Sunday, it was blood oranges. Here's a quick salad that's completely Paleo using those that beautiful citrus I picked up!! This recipe serves 2 people as an appetizer or side dish.

Ingredients:

3 blood oranges, sliced widthwise

1 red onion, sliced into rings

10-12 Kalamata olives, sliced into rings

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used Gaea Laconia P.G.I., 

kindly sent to me by the reps at Gaea.)

Procedure:

Peel the oranges and slice them widthwise so the slices will look like the picture above. Lay one layer of them out on a plate and then slice the onion into rings and lay them over/on the oranges. Then arrange another bit of oranges around the onions. As you are doing this, you can squeeze a little of the juice over the onions and the plate. Then chop the olives into little rings and sprinkle over the onions and orange slices. To finish, drizzle the olive oil over the salad.

So unique, but simple to prepare, and beautiful on the plate. I named the recipe "true love" because of the ring shapes in the salad (the symbol of eternity), and all that red/orange color in the mix.

It might sound like an odd combination, but I hope you try it. :) 

Happy Valentine's Day!