Erin Tormey is the director of the Coastside Farmer’s Market

Well, Marketeers,

They arrived this morning!  BOTH Markets are now fully certified and set to open beginning on Saturday, May 3rd in Half Moon Bay, followed by a rousing good time for Opening Day in Pacifica on Wednesday, May 7th.

To celebrate, I opened that last bottle, you know, the one I have been storing, lovingly, since late last fall.  Right in the middle of the day, all by myself, as soon as the ink dried on my certificates.  I have been waiting for a good reason to celebrate, an occasion to savor the redolent fragrance, the gorgeous full bodied-ness of it. Ah, yes, that sublime, complex, late harvest olive oil from Big Paw was the exact right vintage in which to plancha a few perfect asparagus, and toss in a peel of the last of the meyer lemon, crushing of sea salt, a crack of pink peppercorn.  Quite a nice lunch when paired with a plate of white beans in a citrus vinagrette with garlic greens.  My, My.

Jeez.  What was I talking about?

Oh, yeah. Opening Day is coming up - and I am tickled.  It will be quite a surprise and thrill to one and all to see who appears on day one this season, what with this wacky weather and attendant silliness. 

Hey Marketeers! 

Good news since last go-round!  Thanks to all of you fine folks that dropped a love note to The City, we are cleared for takeoff on May 3 in Half Moon Bay, and as soon as I get the requisite love-letter from the Mayor, which is on the way, I’ll be good to go with the Dept O’ Ag. I may need similar love notes to our Board O’ Supes about another matter entirely, but more on that in the next installment. 

Meanwhile - the plan is to thrill and delight you each week until we open with exciting news and entertainments as Opening Day draws ever nearer.

Just to let y’all know, I am off like a herd of turtles and working through the requisite rigamarole to get the 2008 Season of the Market up and running.  We are heading toward opening in Shoreline Station in Half Moon Bay on Saturday, May 3rd, and opening day on Wednesday, May 7th at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica.  I am good to go in Pacifica, but have one more go-round before the Half Moon Bay planning commission once again on March 27th, and if any of you are so inclined to come to the meeting or drop an email of support to why that would be swell -

Good news for the impatient and impertinent: 

If you just can’t wait ‘till May, there will be a mini-version of the Coastside Farmers’ Market on Monday March 31st at the I.D.E.S. Hall in Half Moon Bay from 5 to 7:00.  This mini-market serves as the opening act for an evening with one of my personal heroes, the bold and remarkable Ann Cooper.  I’ve been lucky to be working with a great group of community members from the HEAL Project, Cunha Community Schools, Seton Coastside, Coastside Family Medical Center, CUSD Food and Nutrition Programs, and we are thrilled to present an evening with this Renegade Chef and Agent of Change, and author of “Lunch Lessons”. 

Reece Computer Systems in Half Moon Bay is offering free computer classes taught Terri Reece. Reece has many years of teaching experience in addition to her years as an executive, and explains concepts in a way that makes it easy for students of any level to quickly grasp and understand computing.

The two hour sessions will run from 6:30-8:30pm beginning on April 2, and will continue for 6 weeks through May 7, 2008. The curriculum will introduce students to the “guts” of the computer, the operating system, and the most popular Office 2007 applications. Students may take the entire session or individual classes, giving them the flexibility to pick and choose classes according to their individual time constraints and interests.  Seats are limited, so please contact Reece and reserve a spot ahead of time.  You can reach them at (650) 726-7155 or email:

4/2:  Introduction to the Personal Computer
4/9:  Introduction to Windows Vista and what’s new from XP Pro
4/16:  Introduction to Microsoft Office and Microsoft Outlook 2007
4/23:  Introduction to Microsoft Word 2007
4/30:  Introduction to Microsoft Excel 2007
5/7:  Introduction Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

The owner of New Leaf markets announced today that construction has started at the old Albertson’s location in Half Moon Bay. From the press release:

“This is going to be our flagship store,” reports Scott Roseman, President of New Leaf Community Markets. “At 22,000 square feet we will be offering an expanded selection of prepared foods, gourmet cheeses, fine wines, and the best selection of organic fruits and vegetables on the San Mateo County coast.” New Leaf is a leading natural foods retailer in Northern California, with five locations in and around the city of Santa Cruz, two of which have licensing agreements with New Leaf to use the name.

Coastside fishermen may have been trained as certified oil-spill responders, but they had little opportunity to participate in the Cosco Busan oil spill cleanup, reports the County Times.

Eventually, the Port of San Francisco hired 20 San Francisco-based fishing vessels to assist the cleanup and paid them $3,000 per day for four days.

Ironically, MSRC, the private company that supplied most of the manpower, vessels, and oil-cleanup equipment in the oil spill, was also the company that provided oil-spill cleanup training to up to half the fleet of commercial fishermen along the Pacific Coast in the 1990s.

The annual training sessions ceased abruptly in 1999 without explanation, according to Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

The company conducting the cleanup is funded by the oil industry. Julia Scott has an extensive article on what happened, what didn’t, and why. 

Franco Carruba has bought Shoreline Station, Cunha’s Country Store, and San Benito House.  And he’s making folks in Half Moon a little nervous, reports Julia Scott in the County Times. Carruba moved here six months ago from Palo alto.

Carrubba, 59, a native of Syracuse, Sicily, laughs at his reputation as an international Man of Mystery. Few people know that he bought a home in Half Moon Bay six months ago that he and his family took residence in after leaving Palo Alto. Rather than tear anything down, Carrubba intends to preserve the buildings that house Cunha’s and the San Benito House and expand their business the best way he knows how — by adding an Italian touch.
...
Carrubba made good on his vision right away. He kept all 35 employees at Cunha’s and added four more to help manage business on the second floor, half of which he turned into a wine cave stocked with rare Italian vintages. Italian frescoes adorn the walls, some so fresh they still say “wet paint.”
...
Few people took note when Carrubba — who owns Caffe Riace, an Italian restaurant in Palo Alto — bought Shoreline Station plaza on Highway 1 more than two years ago at a time when it had crumbling sidewalks, peeling paint and a 30 percent occupancy rate. Now every space is leased. Carrubba’s own Riace Wine Tasting & Deli opened there this fall, serving gelato, pannini, imported Italian cheese, pasta and wine.

NOTE: This review originally appeared in the Pacifica Tribune on December 19, 2007. Submitted by and reprinted with permission of the author.

At a recent birthday party for a young lady turning one, everyone came bearing gifts and love. But frankly, except for the guest of honor and several well-dressed friends under the age of 2, the rest of the crowd was way past the age of delicately mashed organics. Suddenly a plate of savory gruyere cheese toasts, and crostini finished with sun-dried and basil pestos saddled alongside the older celebrants. This was immediately followed by marinated and roasted chicken skewers served with sweet chili and peanut sauces. On the table were asparagus with cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and orange-béarnaise dipping sauce, chilled prawns with cocktail sauce, fresh lemon and sauce verte. There was a hot crab dip brimming with creamy crab, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, wine and herbs and the never to be forgotten, bruschetta. These freshly baked garlic and herb toasts came with three sides: artichoke hearts with fresh lemon, basil and oregano, olive tapenade with olive garnish and fresh basil and a curried eggplant which contained all the right ingredients of onions, peppers, tomatoes, Indian spices and of course roasted eggplant. The tastes – meltaway, fabulous, more. Just who was responsible for these mouth-watering creations?

Meet Coastside caterer Casey Alfred Sample, owner of “Sample This! Fine Catering” as well as Casey’s Café in Half Moon Bay’s Zaballa Square. Sample is appropriately the last name of this popular creator of fine cuisine.

On December 7th you showed a picture of a new Verizon Wireless Tower being installed at the Montara Sanitary District.  However, Verizon customers have been unable to receive any reception through this tower.  After much discussion with Verizon I heard from them today that the tower is not working and they are having troubles.  They also told me that if I had signed up for their service on the basis of this tower they were willing to break my contract.  When this tower is going to be functional I do not know, but as of this date there is no signal.

Jo Laster
El Granada