Pierce, Medrano, Geller for Council - Clayton Pioneer

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Page 22 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com November 7, 2008 Patty Flannery Your local neighborhood REALTOR since 1986 Call me. Let’s talk REAL ESTATE Office: 925.975.5255 email: granyflany@msn.com, home & fax: 925.672.0541 La Veranda Café (925) 524-0011 � 6201 Center St. Clayton Hatley Construction Co. Local resident with 39 years experience. Handyman services All phases of Construction: electrical, plumbing, roofs, tile, trim, drywall. Senior citizens special needs: grab bars, hand rails and ramps. Remodels, Fencing, Decks and more. Senior and Active Military discounts available Store Hours Mon - Fri 8 am - 7 pm Sat 9 am - 5 pm The UPS Store Independently owned and operated Small jobs welcome All work 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed 680-8554 General contractor License #573170 You don’t need an appointment. A notary is on staff when the store is open Clayton/Concord Clayton/Concord Location: Location: Vineyard Vineyard Shopping Shopping Center Center 5100 Clayton Clayton Rd., Concord Concord ph: 925-689-6245 925-689-6245 Holiday Special Color Copies for $.39 (8.5 X 11) from Nov. 15 thru Dec. 31 WE THE PEOPLE LOW COST,FAST,ACCURATE DOCUMENT PREPARATION YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS - WE PREPARE THE DOCUMENTS. Divorce . . . . . . . . . . . . .$399 Living Trust . . . . . . . . . .$499 Incorporation . . . . . . . .$399 Probate . . . . . . . .(call for pricing) Olivia Moore-Wraa, owner, Clayton resident New Location We offer more than 100 services to meet your needs! LDA#68 We are not attorneys and cannot offer legal advice 4474 Treat Blvd., Concord (925) 246-0370 8395 A Brentwood Blvd., Brentwood (925) 513-2106 www.wethepeopleconcord.com Space available in Village Oaks Center Prime Clayton location DOWNSTAIRS � 1,134 sq. ft. � 1,047 sq. ft. next to Clayton Pioneer � Retail preferred Wine Makers Dinner, Monday, Nov. 10, 6 p.m. Beringer Winery Coates & Sowards Call 408-371-8770, ext. 19 4 course dinner, $45 per person Mediterranean Night Lebanese Cuisine � Belly Dancing Monday, Nov. 24, 6 p.m. 6200 Center St. To conquer the garden, divide and transplant Autumn is the time to transplant shrubs and divide perennials. Perhaps you have a Japanese maple that fried in the summer’s sun or a gigantic pile of agapanthus crowding out other valuable plants. It’s now safe to transplant, divide and conquer your garden. Deciduous shrubs and trees can safely have their locations changed during the fall and early winter months. Crape myrtles that do not bloom and Japanese maples that burn are some of the plants that can be safely transplanted now, as well as shade trees that are not growing well. When transplanting from the ground to the ground, have the Belly-up for Mediterranean Night at LV TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer It was all Mediterranean at La Veranda one night last month when owners Anis Maamari and Johny Khalilieh hosted a festive evening of fabulous food, music and belly dancing at their family owned Clayton café. The restaurant was filled to capacity as guests feasted on baba ghanouge, spinach pie roasted okra, crispy green salad and a mouth watering mixed grill of chicken, prawns, scallops and kafta—a scrumptious ground meat with parsley and onions, followed by a pistachio pastry and all washed down with glass after glass of premium wines from La Veranda’s well stocked cellar. And if the food, wine and dessert weren’t enough to satis- You don’t have to be the Iron Chef to prepare a great Thanksgiving dinner. After a few clicks online, you can impress your family with gourmet recipes. Allrecipes.com, operated by Readers Digest, has a holiday section for those looking for main dish ideas. The Website has several user-submitted turkey recipes, including rosemary roasted turkey, upside down turkey and apricot-glazed turkey. Clicking on a recipe shows you its ingredients and cooking directions. You can also change the recipe based upon how many servings you want. You also can read reviews from people who have tried the recipes. The Easy Herb Roasted new site ready before you begin the big move. Make sure you have a substantial hole waiting for you. Look at the plant that is about to be relocated. As far as the branches reach is about as far as the roots reach; you will need to get as many of those roots as you can. Removing a tree or shrub in our Clayton Valley clay will be a challenge any time of the year. Once removed, you will have to reinstall quickly. Look carefully at the tree or shrubs roots. Make sure you untangle and straighten them out before replanting. Shrubs and trees can strangle themselves in our clay. Roots fy the senses, Natalia certainly was. Costumed in sparkles and Turkey, with 230 reviews, has an average of 4½ out of five stars. One comment said: “This turkey recipe is the best turkey recipe on the planet. Everyone loved it, including the kids!” Budding chefs with little turkey experience may want to read up on turkey preparation, so your bird is cooked safely and you don’t lose a finger while carving. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (www.fsis.usda.gov) says that a turkey is safe when its internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. It also tells you how long to cook turkeys of a certain weight. The University of Illinois offers tips on which methods work best for cooking a turkey. Its site (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/Turkey ) warns against using methods like putting your turkey in a paper bag or slow-cooking overnight. To keep safe while carving, read the how-to guide at Allrecipes.com. It provides pictures for every step of the way. Holidays.net makes it convenient to find recipes for other parts of the Thanksgiving meal. wrapping around them is one of the reasons trees fail to thrive. Use a premium planting mix to amend the native soil before installation. Add some starter fertilizer to initiate root growth. Water the transplant thoroughly after installation. Dividing spring and early summer blooming perennials will keep your plants productive and healthy. Agapantha, society garlic, canna lilies, bearded iris and daylilies are among some of the easiest, most grateful perennials to divide. Rudbeckia goldstrum, Echinacea, phlox, astible and Shasta daisies are not as commonly replanted, yet would rich colors, the lovely belly dancer brought several of the Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer La Veranda partner Johny Khalilieh, pictured here with belly dancer Natalia, had a great time at his own Mediterranean Night party last month. Join them on Nov. 24 when they do it all again. It has recipes for stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and even leftover turkey concoctions. Cooks with too much turkey can try making turkey pot pie or turkey enchiladas. You can find similar recipes on sites like Myrecipes.com, which has 30,000 recipes. Its Classic Thanksgiving Feast describes how to make favorites like Brown Sugar Glazed Sweet Potato Wedges and Herbed Bread Stuffing with Mushrooms and Sausage. But Thanksgiving is more than just the main course. After stuffing themselves with turkey, your guests will likely want dessert. Joyofbaking.com offers mouthwatering dessert recipes for Thanksgiving, including pumpkin ice cream sandwiches, cranberry galette and classic apple pie. Perhaps the best part about this Website is that there are large pictures on every page. After visiting Joyofbaking.com, I thought about making some pumpkin ice cream sandwiches for myself. After feasting, your guests may want to unwind with some drinks. If you want to serve NICOLE HACKETT GARDEN GIRL appreciate division every few years. Plants become tight in our clay. The ground acts like a large pot, so after a while, some perennials just stop growing the way they have in the past. Dividing perennials is moderately labor intensive. The first step is to lift the whole plant guests to their feet, only to find out that belly dancing is much harder than it looks. If you missed the party, cheer up. Anis and Natalia are pairing up again next month on Nov. 24 for a repeat performance with a few variations in the menu. Look for a hummos dip and sambusik (mini calzones filled with ground chicken) openers, followed by a creamy yogurt with mint and garlic, stuffed grape leaves and a salad of wilted dandelion greens and caramelized onions. All of this is in preparation for the main event – the mixed grill of lamb, chicken, fish and vegetables, topped off by baklava. Cost is $40 per person. Call La Veranda, 524-0011 to make your reservation. It’s time to be thankful for recipe Websites MARK FREEMAN ON THE NET 700 Ygnacio Valley Rd., #360 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Carol@carolkeanecpa.com (925) 937-5200 (925) 937-5202 fax www.carolkeanecpa.com See Garden, page 24 something interesting, visit Thatsthespirit.com. The site has more than 3,000 drink recipes, along with tips for stirring and garnishing drinks. The site says that “light fruity reds seem particularly attuned to turkey,” while many modern Italian white wines also work well alongside a traditional holiday feast. These Websites can also be used for non-holiday occasions. For instance, Allrecipes.com can show you how to make Polish style lasagna while JoyofBaking.com has a recipe for chocolate biscotti with cranberries. MyRecipes.com showcases grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist. With all the recipes out there, even the most reluctant cook can have fun serving a Thanksgiving dinner. Too bad the Websites don’t have tips on how to deal with post-turkey fatigue. Mark Freeman is a student at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, studying economics and English. He enjoys creative writing and is a reporter for the school paper. Questions/comments can be sent to mfreeman543@gmail.com. Don’t plan under old rules Since 2001, Congress has passed at least one new tax law every year. These laws have been filled with provisions that phase in or out over several years and some that apply retroactively or take effect at some distant future date. To do your tax planning under the latest rules, call on us. We’re here to help.
November 7, 2008 Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer.com Page 23 Glorious garden tour, romantic inns await around Half Moon Bay PENNY CANNON TRAVEL NOTES One of the things I love about writing this article each month is when I discover something new. Researching Half Moon Bay and the area around it is how I discovered Filoli in Woodside. This 1917 California mansion was built as the country estate for William Bourn, the owner of the Empire Gold Mine. The mansion is impressive, but the gardens are spectacular. Forbes magazine has listed Filoli as one of the top 10 World’s Most Beautiful Gardens. The 16 acres of formal grounds are divided into a succession of garden rooms, each representing unique character. The walls of each outdoor room consist of stone, trees, hedges and water features. Although fall at Filoli is probably the least dramatic, I found the colors and the trails lead- ing from one exquisite garden room to the next an experience I will fondly remember and definitely repeat. A variety of special events are scheduled throughout the year. From afternoon teas to jazz concerts and black tie dinners, you can always find something exciting. From Filoli, a short drive will take you to the oceanside town of Half Moon Bay, often called the Cape Cod of the Pacific. Although most tourists come to town in October for Pumpkin Festival, December is also a great time to explore this area. You’ll find a month-long holiday show of lights and entertainment filling the calendar for the town. Great restaurants, interesting galleries, eclectic shops, wineries and breweries make this a great place for your next romantic getaway. Oh, did I mention the beaches? The area is filled with miles and miles of sandy beaches. The world famous Maverick is recognized as having the biggest surfing waves in the world. If you’re not into surfing, you YOU CAN’T HELP BUT HAVE SWEET DREAMS in the luxurious and spacious rooms of Mill Rose Inn. IF YOU GO Filoli: 86 Canada Road, Woodside. 650-364-8300 or www.filoli.org. Mill Rose Inn, 615 Mill St., Half Moon Bay. 800-900-7673 or wwwmillroseinn.com. Centrella, 845 Main St., Half Moon Bay. 650-726-4090 or wwwcentrella.com. Half Moon Bay. www.hmbchamber.com. Movie Review might try horseback riding or biking on the many trails that follow the Pacific Ocean. What you need to make a romantic getaway complete is the perfect place to stay. That is what you will find when you spend the night at Mill Rose Inn. Terry and Eve have owned and operated I never stop being fascinated with how peeling away a banana skin reveals a deliciously sweet and smooth-textured fruit. Every time I eat one, I’m also reminded of a silly joke from my childhood that brings a smile to my face. In all likelihood, almost all of the bananas I’ve eaten are the Cavendish variety. These first came to market about 60 years ago when the “Gros Michel” banana was wiped out by the socalled “Panama Plague.” Critics claim that a similar fate faces the Cavendish because the same growing practices persist—vast plantations using the same rootstock over and over. (Think Pondering the meaning of ‘W’ JEANNA ROSS AT THE MOVIES For months, the posters and trailers for “W” peppered the cinema, bearing the tagline “A life misunderestimated.” From that alone, it is obvious that this is not a film for die-hard George W. Bush supporters. The story unfolds in spectacular fashion, jumping back and forth between the early Bush years, beginning with his college frat days at Yale, and his terms in the Oval Office. Josh Brolin plays Bush, exhibiting a remarkable grasp of the physicality and speech patterns of our commander-inchief. I’m not a big fan of the news, but I have to assume that any time a media camera is present, that scene is true to reality. As such, the film pretty much skips to the points where W makes a fool out of himself in some ridiculously public blunder. His parents, played by James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn, appear level-headed and cha- grined by “Junior” on a regular basis, even when he is addressing Congress. The film is peppered with familiar faces, in roles large and small. These actors must have watched miles of film reel to practice their craft. Elizabeth Banks plays a sweet Laura Bush, but the story of their relationship isn’t fully developed so we fail to see what this adorable librarian sees in that angry, drunken loudmouth of a Texan dropout. Thandi Newton (“Crash”) plays a bob- JOSH BROLIN AS GEORGE W. BUSH in Oliver Stone's “W.” ble-headed Condoleezza Rice. She does nothing but nod for the first 90 minutes, then we realize that was preferable to the grating shrillness of her voice. Toby Jones (“Infamous”) is an endearing Karl Rove. His enthusiasm for the Bush presidents, past and present, shows us the mastermind behind W’s transformation from bumbling fool to a candidate capable of skidding headlong into the White House. Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic THE FRONT DOOR OF THE MILL ROSE INN in Half Moon Bay offers a promise of piece and tranquility. this magnificent bed and breakfast in the heart of Half Moon Bay for more than 20 years. Their vision and hard work have transformed this property into a true work of art. The two gardens are filled with color every month of the year. The gazebo with hot tub about the lesson recently learned by California wine growers who planted grapes subject to a lethal fungus.) Although you may have thought that bananas grow on trees, the banana plant is actually a giant herb. As the banana stalk grows, “hands” form off the mid-stem. Each “hand” has “fingers,” which are the bananas. The similarity of the banana to a man’s finger caused Arabian slave traders to give the fruit its popular name – “banan” is Arabic for finger. Bananas are usually harvested green to minimize damage during transport. Undisturbed, a banana cut from the stalk will ripen in 20 days. Few distributors allow the fruit to ripen naturally because of transportation, storage and distribution demands, so they refrigerate the green bananas and then use ethylene gas to simulate ripening (similar to a process used on tomatoes). The commercial monopoly of the Cavendish aside, there are has tropical ferns and flowers and a door that locks for your privacy. Each spacious room is filled with luxurious antiques, an extremely comfortable featherbed, a fireplace, a TV and a mini-fridge packed with wine and other treats. If you are planing a wedding, more than 400 banana varieties around the world. Local varieties have different flavors and textures – like the little “apple banana” you can find at Hawaiian farmers markets. Investigators believe that Southeast Asia, probably Malaysia or Papua New Guinea, is ground zero for domestication. It’s also likely the bananas were the first domesticated fruit. Bananas are mentioned in Buddhist texts thousands of years old, and they are frequently cited in Islamic religious texts. Alexander the Great encountered the banana in India and introduced it to the Middle East. Seafaring explorers and traders spread the banana to tropical climes around the world. Arab traders are credited with introducing the banana to the African continent, while the Portuguese first established banana plantations in various ports of call. Despite the proximity to the Caribbean, Americans didn’t know much about bananas until 1876 – when the novel fruit was introduced at Philadelphia’s 100th celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. So popular was the fruit in the United States and Europe that captains of industry identified them as a market to exploit during the late 1800s. They made arrangements with various Central American countries to provide capital to plant vast the gardens of Mill Rose Inn will make a great backdrop for your special day. Eve can work with you to plan every detail, from flowers to food. The inn had just hosted a wedding and the newlyweds were there during my visit. While enjoying a gourmet breakfast in the formal dinning room, I learned from both just how wonderful every part of their wedding day had been. There is a vast selection of restaurants both in town and along the coast. With the help of our hostess, we choose Centrella. An enjoyable walk through the historic downtown brought us to our destination. With its awardwinning cuisine, extensive wine list and live jazz, it proved to be the perfect end to our Half Moon Bay getaway. Try the deviled fig appetizer. It is a great beginning to a delicious meal. Penny Cannon is a published author and lifelong resident of Contra Costa County. Her most recent book, “Senso Oware” chronicles the life of her father and his years as a POW during WWII. Bananas are versatile – and fun 4”) appears briefly as Tony Blair; Colin Hanks (“King Kong”) is a speechwriter; and Noah Wyle (“ER”) is Don Evans. They appear briefly, do their jobs and disappear again. If they weren’t recognizable actors, one wouldn’t even note their presence. The greatest scene of the film belongs to Jeffrey Wright (“Casino Royale”) as Colin Powell and Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney. The topic is the invasion of Afghanistan vs. the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden, and the two of them basically ask the questions that all of America has been pondering for the last seven years – questions we still can’t answer. It is by far the most dramatic scene and the one that stands out in memory. If the answer Dreyfuss provides is true, then we are all bigger fools than we ever imagined. “W” is the first semi-biographical film about a sitting U.S. president and its release date was probably calculated to sway undecided voters. Take a chance – see how it makes you feel about the party that would support this man’s run for office or a nation that would elect him, not once, but twice. Jeanna Ross is an English teacher at Clayton Valley High School and a free lance writer. She regularly contributes to the Pioneer. Send comments to her at movies@claytonpioneer.com. LINDA WYNER FOOD FOR THOUGHT plantations. Those countries soon fell under the spell of the banana barons and became known as “banana republics.” For more “banana intrigue,” pick up a copy of Dan Koeppel’s “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World.” Any way you slice it, the banana is a nutritional powerhouse. It’s easily digestible and has tons of fiber, B vitamins and potassium. Available yearround, they are equally excellent fresh, frozen (in smoothies), sautéed (Bananas Foster) and baked. I recently developed a Vietnamese-inspired pudding made from bananas and coconut milk. It’s been a hit in our cooking classes at Pans on Fire. See Bananas, page 24
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Pierce, Medrano, Geller for Council - Clayton Pioneer

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