Travel Sebastopol

The Gravenstein Highway in Sonoma County makes its way to and through the town of Sebastopol. Over time, many apple orchards have been replaced with vineyards, but it's still an area known for progressive politics and back-to-the land attitudes when it comes to gardening and agriculture. In this area, the overlap of the new and the historical create a wide variety of possibilities for garden lovers.

Antique shops along the road to Sebastopol are great places to find planters, birdbaths, and vintage outdoor furniture. The biggest is the Antique Society , a collective of over 100 antique dealers. Just across the road is FFT Antiques which benefits the Food for Thought AIDS food bank. They have a great back area with lots of vintage wrought iron fences and other odds and ends you can put to use in your garden.

Stay on this road until you see tiered planting beds filled with lavenders, sages, yarrow and poppies. Turn right into the parking lot for Restaurant Eloise. The ornamental gardens in front are beautiful, but they are known for the chef's garden behind the restaurant. From here they harvest seasonal produce for their dishes, like ricotta and Swiss chard gnocchi in a brown butter sauce or their chilled heirloom tomato soup. If they aren't too busy, the wait person may take you back there to admire it. For desert, make your way five miles west of Sebastopol to Wild Flour Bakery in nearby Freestone to have scones with apricot or white chocolate whipped cream and visit their garden and admire the orchards and chickens.

Sebastopol has two heavy hitters in the world of edible gardening. The nearby Occidental Arts & Ecology Center is a nexus of gardens, art, and community that offers workshops on permaculture, festivals for seasonal produce as well as tours of the edible forest. They also have plant sales for open pollinated organic heirlooms throughout the year. Luther Burbank, horticultural father of the Santa Rosa Plum, thornless blackberries and plumcots among 800 other varieties of fruits, flowers and vegetables lived in Santa Rosa, but his experimental farm was in Sebastopol. They have plant sales most Wednesdays. The rest of the week, enjoy a self-guided tour through the remnants of his genius and madness. Luther Burbank's Gold Ridge Farm, is located on 7781 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA, 95472.

Then of course, there is wine. Gather around picnic tables and have a tasting in gorgeous gardens of Lynmar Winery . As part of the Russian River appellation, they of course make pinto noir and chardonnay, but also have a smoky syrah they will let you try if you ask nicely.

Recipe: Meyer Lemon Pizza with Fresh Corn, Zucchini, Roasted Garlic and Goat Feta by Chef Eric Lee of Simi Winery

Makes two 12" pizzas

Roasted Garlic
Place the garlic and the olive oil in a small sauce pan and heat over medium high. When the oil begins to bubble reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook until the garlic is golden and soft. Let cool. Place the garlic cloves into the bowl of a food processor and puree with a little bit of the garlic oil until it forms a smooth paste. Save the garlic oil covered in the refrigerator for a week for another dish.

Corn and Zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 spring onion or 2 scallions, minced
2 zucchini, cut into a small dice
2 sprigs thyme, chopped
2 ears of corn, cut off the cob
4 sprigs fresh Italian flat parsley
Salt and pepper
--Put the olive oil into a sauté pan, place over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini and thyme. Cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Add the corn, parsley and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.

Pizza Dough
Makes 2 Individual 12" Pizzas

½ cup warm water
4 teaspoons yeast
½ cup all purpose flour
--Place all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix for 10 seconds, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Add:
1 cup cool water
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
--Knead for 10 minutes. Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. Punch down and form into two balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. Shape into pizzas and top with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake on a pizza stone in a preheated 500 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

Assembly
1 recipe pizza dough
Roasted garlic paste
1 recipe corn and zucchini
3 ounces Goat Feta cheese, crumbled
1 meyer lemon, cut in half
--Preheat a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle some rice flour onto a pizza peel. Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch or to your desired thickness and place onto the peel. Spread with some of the garlic paste. Top with the vegetables. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake on the pizza stone in the 500 degree oven until golden brown. Remove from the oven and squeeze the lemon half over the entire pizza. Cut and serve immediately. Repeat the procedure with the second pizza.

Calendar Buzz

Head to Sonoma for the Farm Trails weekend on September 26th-27th and meet farmers, learn how goat cheese is made, honey is harvested, eggs gathered and apples picked. Restaurants like Zazu in Santa Rosa are participating, and you can have a BLT in their garden. As well, wineries are also part of the tour and Simi Winery has a tasting in their outdoor patio of pizza paired with flights of Simi Wines tasting for $15/person.