A Divine Affair: Purveyor of Fresh Local Perishables

As part of my Day-in-the-Life multi-media event last month, I ran into Divine Affair and to ask them to remember to take pictures and snapped this one of my own.

I can’t remember when Divine Affair opened, but they are relatively new in Healdsburg — as a dining entity. I’m sure they’ve been around as a catering entity.

If you end up either inside or on their back patio, I recommend the roast chicken (which–when you ask them, they claim to be the best roast chicken this side of the Rockies). I can’t lay claim that I’ve tasted ALL the roast chicken this side of the Rockies, but I can attest that they offer pretty damn good chicken.

The day they mentioned it to me…I was walking around promoting the Day in the Life event. I talked to Kahleen a bit about pictures. And her mum (pictured right in this photo) mentioned the chicken.

As I left the premises (to continue promoting), they must have been roasting the chicken, because that was all I could smell on the way out.

I returned later–because I just couldn’t get it out of my head–and tried it.

Yes. It’ is pretty damn good chicken.

This Week at the Farm: 04 August 08

Another week of fresh food and fun at the farm. This week we have sweet corn, tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, onions and garlic. Freshly dug, absolutely delicious red potatoes, chard, maybe some green beans, lots of carrots (with juicing and other specials), broccoli, cabbage, arugula, parsley, basil including lemon basil, sweet gypsy, italian frying and other sweet peppers, anaheim (my home town), poblano, serrano and many other mild and hot chiles and of course STRAWBERRIES.

I think we’re having a special on STRAWBERRIES as I am being told there are a lot of them today.

We also have a few eggs and the chili jams, honey from the field, chipotles and other dried chiles.

Hope to see you.

EASY RECIPE OF THE WEEK is my baked Ratatouille:

Onion, garlic, eggplant, zummer squash, chile and sweet pepper, basil, and maybe parsley, tomatoes.

Chop everything up and put into a baking dish with some olive oil. Bake at about 375, stirring every so often, until everything is tender and juicy, about an hour or so. I cover it for part of the time and then uncover. Parmesan on top. That’s it! note: sauteing onions first is nice.

Thanks,
Evie Truxaw

TierraVegetables.com
Tierra Vegetables Farm Stand (directions)

What’s Happening Healdsburg: 04 August 08

Tuesday, 05 August 08, 6:00 PM. Free. Get your jig on with The Gasmen performing Tuesday evening in the Healdsburg Park Plaza. Shop the Farmer’s Market, Oakville Grocery, Divine Affair, or Palette-Art for your wine country picnic.

Wednesday, 06 August 08, 8PM-11PM. Adam Lieb’s Locals Jam in the courtyard at the Palette-Art Cafe. Ongoing–that is…every Wednesday. You never know who will show up! Come for dinner, or just a drink. Contact Adam if you’d like to perform.

Thursday, 07 August 2008 7PM to 10PM. The Healdsburg Jazz Festival and Palette Art Café present the Thursday Night Café Jazz Series at the Palette Art Café. This week: Blue Seven with John Mihalik. A seven-piece group playing music from the John Coltrane - Miles Davis Era. Go for dinner, stay for jazz!!

Friday 08:08:08 The Olympics begin. If you want to experience the opening ceremonies with a few of your closest friends, in a social setting other than your living room, try the big screen TVs at the Healdsburg Bar and Grill or over at the newly renovated Western Boot Steakhouse.

Todd Reed: A Ranch Hand’s Day

I met Todd at a birthday party for a mutual friend. He sent me his photo submissions with the following text:

Hi Jennifer,
thanks for doing this project. I’ve talk to a lot of people who are really excited about what you’re doing. My name is Todd Reed, we met at a birthday party a couple of weeks ago. I’m the head gardener at the Bishop’s Ranch but I also do ranch work for some other people, mostly in the westside road area. I thought I’d share a few of the ranchy things I did today.

I also want to introduce you to a woman named Liz Schmidt, she’s a writer and a lot of her family lives in the Yukon.

Have a great Healdsburg day!

Five Ways to Stay Cool in Healdsburg

It was roasting yesterday. Absolutely roasting. I thought it would be fun to think of a few ways to stay cool in Healdsburg.

The fountain in the Healdsburg Plaza is the first cool thought that comes to mind. You can always take a minute and join the children. Just jump right in. That’ll certainly cool you off.

You can also buy an inner tube from Big O Tires and take it on up to Del Rio Beach and float down the river to Memorial Beach. Last time I checked, Big O was selling tubes for $15.

Rent a canoe or kayak from River’s Edge and spend some time on the Russian River north of Healdsburg. You can rent for a few hours, a day, or even two.

Rent an inflatable kayak from Soar’s and spend some time on the Russian River south of Healdsburg. I did this last year and had a pretty good time.

Finally, when it’s simply too hot in Healdsburg, you can always just putter on out to the Sonoma Coast and enjoy that huge air conditioner called the Pacific Ocean.

The Best Poke in Town: A Day in the Life of an Acupuncturist

by Lucinda Kotter, Licensed Acupuncturist

Healdsburg Integrative Medicine at 637 Healdsburg Avenue is where I ply my trade. I practice Traditional Chinese Medicine using acupuncture and Chinese herbs to treat my patients for almost any human health condition. When I heard about HealdsburgMagazine.com’s “a day in the life” feature, I jumped at the chance to record a day in my clinic.

First, I called all my scheduled patients to make sure they were comfortable being photographed while in my clinic. Everyone said “yes”. My friend, Margie Grant, was kind enough to be my photographer and spend the whole day with me.

My first patient brought in her four week old baby who nursed contentedly while I treated her arm for carpal tunnel. Before I brought out my needles, I questioned her closely about her general health since the birth of her son. Any night sweats or palpitations? Headaches or ringing in the ears? Anxiety or insufficient milk production? These can be signs of depletion that I can treat with acupuncture, herbs and diet. Long term depletion can compromise the immunity and leave her and her baby more vulnerable to contagious diseases or other complications.

My next patient complained of fatigue and insomnia. She had some surgery this spring and lost a lot of blood. Her tongue and pulse reflected this. Depleted blood can cause insomnia because blood anchors the mind at night. If the blood is weak the mind is not anchored and thus cannot be quieted to allow sleep. We talked about good foods for building her blood. I inserted needles into tonifying but calming points in her wrists and legs and let her rest for about a half hour while I entertained her son in the waiting room. He and I looked at my acupuncture doll; a rubber woman with all the points mapped on her body. Then I packaged specific herbs for this patient and send her on her way.

My third patient had a sore knee. He needs to get this diagnosed by an orthopedist but his general practitioner insisted that he try physical therapy before she will refer him. In the meantime it still hurts and is slightly swollen. I suspect a torn meniscus. Acupuncture won’t repair it but I can decrease his pain and swelling. I recommended he take an Omega-3 supplement like a good quality fish oil or flax seed oil to decrease inflammation.

My fourth patient doesn’t really have any complaints today. She has been improving her health very successfully with diet, exercise and a “change in attitude”. She was curious about acupuncture and alternative medicine in general. After talking for awhile about her health history I began to see a pattern. Her tongue and pulse confirmed it. “You have excess liver, just by constitution. Everything you have told me so far fits this pattern and it is a very common one. You are doing all the right things so keep it up.” I used a point combination that is like the reboot button for the body. It finds stuck energy anywhere in the body and helps it flow freely. After her treatment I felt her pulse again. It had changed significantly for the better. She left feeling relaxed and refreshed and I was pleased knowing that I had given her a successful tune-up.

My fifth patient just had three wisdom teeth removed. She is healing well but her jaws ached. “Will you let me use points on your face? If it is too sore to be approached I can just use all distal points on your hands and feet,” I say. She wanted the facial points and the others. I inserted needles in her cheeks. I also used the Master point for the face and head which is on the hands. I finished with a Stomach Channel point on the feet to drain excess energy from the opposite end of the channel, which is where her pain is located. (Acupuncture is so cool.) She told me it felt much better as she was leaving. I cautioned her it might ache more tonight and then feel much better tomorrow.

Now for my sixth and last patient. She is six months pregnant and had back pain that radiated down one leg - sciatica. She has been seeing a chiropractor but so far it has only hurt more. She said she knows this can sometimes happen and wants to continue seeing her chiropractor. Pregnant women can be tricky to treat, as they can’t lie on their back or stomach, so I often treat them lying on their side or sitting up in a comfortable chair. I also must avoid the “forbidden points” during pregnancy - they can stimulate premature labor. No points in the lower back allowed. That’s ok because I have many ways to treat low back pain. “Tell me when you feel something, like maybe a muscle twitch or a little electrical zing,” I said as I inserted a needle in her hand. “No zing but the baby just kicked,” she said with a smile. The baby kicked for each needle I inserted into her hands and feet. Fifteen minutes later she got off the massage table and said, “Wow, it really feels better!” I saw her that night at a barbeque and she said, “Lucy, it really worked, my pain is gone!”

I tidy up my office and go home. I saw a nice variety of patients today. I hope this piece can give readers a glimpse into the wide variety of health conditions that acupuncture can treat. I also hope it conveys how comfortable and relaxing an acupuncture treatment can be.

View more pictures of my day in the flickr stream.

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Already known as an alternative remedy for alleviating backaches and migraines, acupuncture has found a niche in treating the side effects of cancer treatment, diabetes, eating disorders, infertility, nausea associated with pregnancy, skin disorders, emotional disorders like depression and even smoking and alcohol addictions. Relief can also be found for respiratory, circulatory, digestive and gynecological problems.

I am Lucinda Kotter, a Licensed Acupuncturist. I have a Masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches Institute. I also hold California and national certifications in acupuncture and herbology. My family practice is at Healdsburg Integrative Medicine at 637 Healdsburg Ave. Lucinda may be reached at (707)239-1687 for appointments or questions.

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