New Book Features San Diego Restaurants and Recipes

San Diegans are well aware of the abundance provided by geography and climate, as well as our diverse population, but you might not be aware of the breadth of eateries from Oceanside and Escondido down to Chula Vista — and perhaps you’re a home cook who’d like to make some of the dishes you’ve enjoyed in these restaurants in your own kitchen. Writer Ligaya Malones and photographer Deanna Sandoval have just published “San Diego Cooks: Recipes from the Region’s Favorite Eateries, Bakeries, and Bars”, a book that invites readers to explore the variety of culinary talent we have in San Diego County—and then cook from it.

I interviewed Malones and wrote a piece on the book (including recipes) for The San Diego Union-Tribune. If you love to eat and love to cook, this is a book worth exploring.

San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards!

The San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards, or “JAwards,” were presented on Tuesday of this week. I received first place in the Online and Daily Newspapers Gardening category for my story in The San Diego Union-Tribune back in December 2023 for my piece, Neighborhood Composting Creates a Community Out of Kitchen Scraps. The story focused on South Bay Sustainable Communities’ innovative composting program that features 16 neighborhoods in Chula Vista. It certainly benefits the environment, but has the additional benefits of giving the participants compost for their gardens—and is connecting neighbors to one another.

I also received third place for a story I wrote for Diabetes Daily called, “Keto for Kids? Why Experts Are Still Nervous.” This piece looked critically at whether the keto diet was beneficial for children and teens, many of whom have diabetes.

For the Birds with the San Diego Bird Alliance

Love birds? Have kids who love birds? Then you’ll want to put this San Diego Bird Alliance 75th anniversary community celebration in your calendar. On Oct. 20, San Diego’s avian-aligned will be gathering at Liberty Station’s South Promenade from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a day of music, art, food, live bird demonstrations, games and exhibits.

All of this is being organized by the San Diego Bird Alliance, a name that may not be familiar to some. In fact, it’s the new (since August) name of the San Diego Audubon Society. Learn more about the event and the evolution of the San Diego Bird Alliance, as well as their future plans, in my new story in The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home and Garden section.

San Diego Master Food Preservers Teaching How to Make the Most of Seasonal Produce

You’ve probably heard of master gardeners, the volunteers with horticultural training offered by universities who then go out into their communities, offering lectures, helping to create gardens, and answering home gardening questions.

Well, now in San Diego we also have master food preservers. They, too, undergo extensive training and then serve the public. Their instruction can bring a whole new level of opportunities for making the most of a good harvest or enjoying seasonal produce year round. And it can give home cooks who have been canning curious the confidence to tackle it safely. Learn more about these well-trained instructors and get some recipes in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Food section.

Get in Gear with Garage Organization

Maybe you can relate: Do you have a two-car garage with room for only one car due to clutter? Use the garage as random overflow space for everything from luggage and sports equipment to furnishings from your first apartment that you just can’t quit? Baby clothes your first grader long ago outgrew but that you can’t bear to part with?

Is it all “stored” haphazardly, against the walls, shoved into bags, or just loosely boxed and stacked wherever you can find an inch of space? Come to think of it, do you even have room for one car?

If this describes the state of your garage, maybe you need to take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and reclaim your garage. I spoke with two local professional organizers and got great tips for my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section for how to approach organizing a garage and actual steps for doing it. You need this!

Decorating with Fauxliage

No light? No time? No green thumb? No problem. As captivating as nature is, not everyone is a gardener or has the best environment for raising plants. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have greenery around. “Replica plants” have been around for centuries—think silk flowers—but most are now made of plastic and can surprise you with how lifelike they look. I connected with Jim Mumford of Good Earth (the guy who creates living plant walls) to learn about this intriguing additional product line he’s got, along with moss walls. There are so many reasons these may appeal to homeowners. Read about them in my new story for The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Home & Garden section.