Month: December 2012

How Green Is Our Valley?

How green is our valley? Green. When the Santa Ynez Valley turns gloomy and rainy, which it does in winter though not often, everything turns green. It happens almost instantly. You go to sleep in oak savanna and wake up in Ireland. It’s a miracle. Nature is miraculous, of course, in all its heart-stopping beauty and staggering… Continue reading How Green Is Our Valley?

Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut: Part II – I Take It Back

For not the first time, a reader has proven me wrong. Jewelry designer Sissy Watson wrote in response to Tuesday’s post, Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut that I might want to reconsider that headline, because she in fact had a crêche with all the characters made from peanuts. I asked her please to send a… Continue reading Nativity Scene No Place for a Peanut: Part II – I Take It Back

The Hors d’Oeuvre of Your Dreams

Seriously. Simple. Classic. And just in time for the (alco)holidays. I’m talking about gougères, yum. Coming from a Southerner with the best cheese straws you ever ate, this is saying something. Gougères are just the right amount of crispy-gooey-crunchy-soft. Kind of a savory version of those gold-foil-wrapped Rocher chocolates. A girl could exist on gougères alone,… Continue reading The Hors d’Oeuvre of Your Dreams

Gingerbread Houses of the Solvang Bakery… and a Suspenseful Tale

I love nothing more than a pretty house. Especially one I can eat. Bringing delicious definition to the term “eye candy” are the gingerbread houses of our beloved Santa Ynez Valley Solvang Bakery. But don’t take my word for it. Ask the movie stars and super-celebs who beat the door down to get their holiday orders in… Continue reading Gingerbread Houses of the Solvang Bakery… and a Suspenseful Tale