The people I know

Last week's local paper, The Press Democrat (owned by The New York Times), contained a section that looks like a magazine - it's called Savor. It is mostly advertising and a few stories. I knew the people written about in 2 of the stories. Scott and Erica Lindstrom-Dake are two of the nicest people that I know. They are the winemaker, co-owners, proprietors of Thumbprint Cellars Tasting Lounge in Healdsburg, CA www.thumbprintcellars.com . My book The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment is available there, and they are vegetarians which is even better. Did I mention that their hand-crafted wine is superb? If you're in Healdsburg be sure to stop by their lounge and taste some wine.

The other couple featured in Savor is Sue Ellery and Tom Hunter of Philo, CA (Mendocino County), proprietors of Stella Cadente Olive Oil www.stellacadente.com . Their oil is pricey and even their extra-virgin oil is too good for everyday use except as a flavoring oil. The Meyer lemon oil and blood orange oil are quite tasty and a drizzle or two will perk up your dishes. I have a recipe for Red Rice (from Lotus Foods) Salad with Lemony Roasted Cauliflower in my book which is a great way to use their Meyer lemon oil. I bought 8 ounces of blood orange oil in bulk today and at $1 an ounce, I can guarantee that it will last a while.

I will not likely be making the recipe for Asian orange vinaigrette by John Ash that Sue handed me at the Healdsburg farmer's market this morning. It calls for 1/4 cup of the precious gold liquid which is far too much oil for me to include in a dressing, as I prefer low-fat dressing, and it's too expensive. I prefer to save my money for good chocolate, wine or for putting gas in my car so that I can drive to yet another farmer's market for choice edibles.