Sweet to Savory

Our home is a bounty of rich, flavorful ingredients. This holiday season, elevate your table with these signature recipes that showcase some of the best locally-sourced ingredients in our region. Whether you enjoy sweet or savory, or something in between, we hope you…

Brews and Bicycles Bring Community

Cafe Velo In January, Kim Strang and husband Andrew Francis opened Cafe Velo, a European-inspired cafe with a twist — in addition to serving fresh espresso, the cafe houses a bike shop. While Strang serves up beer, wine, espresso, and cold sandwiches, Francis operates the in-house bike shop. The couple were inspired by their love…

West Coast Dominates Domestic Scene

What would happen to the wine industry in the United States if, by some crazy chance, Washington, Oregon, and California were hit by a devastating plague that wiped out every vineyard in the three-state area? Would it be the “end…

Tank to Table

Goat Mountain Pizza Goat Mountain Pizza just might be the first living restaurant in Bellingham. To sustain local produce year-round, Goat Mountain has installed an aquaponics system. The in-house garden looks anything but traditional. With no dirt and no garden bed, you may not even notice the growth — unless you take a closer look. Here’s how it works: Fish live in a large tank that sits beneath…

Hemp House is Small, but Cool

While the tiny building that sits on Pam Bosch’s property isn’t legally a house, it serves as a model for future construction projects. It was built using hempcrete, a cement-like mixture that’s made from combining…

Could I Do That?

“Paying the ultimate sacrifice for our country” — I dislike that expression. We hear the phrase every Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and sometimes on the Fourth of July, as if the majority of us age 60 and younger know its meaning from personal experience. I know that I don’t. To me, whenever I hear the words, especially from the mouths…

Celebrating Summer: Self-Care through Seasonal Eating

In the height of the sunshine season — family vacations, downtown concerts, summer festivities, early sun rises and late sunsets — it can be easy to feel a bit drained by the time fall rolls around. Luckily for us, it’s also the time locally grown produce is at peak production. Community farmers markets and local grocers are bursting with ripe berries and carefully stacked, farm-fresh vegetables. Taking the time to prioritize these foods, grown in our place, is…

Something Old Meets Something New

Pike Street Press We all love the convenience and connection modern technology affords us, but do you ever yearn for the old-school ethos of doing things slowly…

Stylishly Tasty, Irresistibly Beautiful

Forte Chocolates Pushing away from corporate chains mechanically mass-producing their chocolate, Forte Chocolates takes a step back, continuing to handcraft their world-renowned sweets. Turn the corner and walk closer. The smell of hot chocolate hits you first, drawing you inside. Go…

Going Boutique in Seattle

The Edgewater Hotel If you are looking to pamper yourself in Seattle and want a truly Pacific Northwest experience, the historic Edgewater Hotel is the perfect boutique alternative to Seattle’s predictable national chains. The Edgewater is a fusion of old school and contemporary styles — offering warm and rustic charm, edgy pop-culture energy, and stunning unobstructed shoreline vistas of brilliant sunsets, Seattle’s burgeoning skyline, and the snow-capped Olympic Mountains. As Seattle’s only waterfront hotel, the Edgewater is in a class…

A Bigger Slice of the Pie

Pizza’zza Expands in Fairhaven After about six months of renovation Pizza’zza officially reopened in June as a full-service, sit-down restaurant and tap room. While the carryout counter has been a part of…

Play on Wheels

Western Washington University Summer Theatre With the vast amount of outdoor activities available to Pacific Northwest residents in summer, theater-going is rarely at the top of the list. From hiking to windsurfing to jumping in the bay, being outdoors is a priority in our short summer months. So Western Washington University’s Summer Theater program decided to integrate the best of both…

Pickin’ Washington’s Bluest Jewels

Bow Hill Blueberries Summertime means warm breezes, crab boils, and berry picking. If you haven’t already visited Bow Hill Blueberries in Bow, then you’re missing out on some of Washington’s best berries. The farm has been selling blueberries since 1947, owned by the Anderson family until Susan and Harley Soltes bought it in 2011. The Solteses wanted a farm…

A Family Farm for Everyone

Cloud Mountain Farm Center Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, apples, pears, peaches, pumpkins, and so many more types of produce cover the 20 acres of farmland known as Cloud Mountain Farm Center. Cheryl and Tom Thornton began their family farm in 1978 with commercial apple trees, garlic, and a nursery. In 2011, it transformed into a non-profit community farm designed to help farmers and gardeners learn. Cheryl Thornton describes their programs as a three-legged stool. The first leg provides an…

Master Chef Opens Specialty Bakery

Opera Pastries and Coffee Those hungry for a taste of France have a new destination to try in downtown Bellingham. Opera, a French pastry and coffee shop, officially opened its doors on April 1. The bakery features an array of classic French pastries baked in-house daily. Opera’s display case is filled…

Wonder Woman

Barb Demorest Barbara Demorest’s story is one that begins with a diagnosis and leads to a ripple of hope for thousands, extending from her Bellingham community all the way to women of rural Uganda. In July of 2011, Demorest received the devastating call that a lump she had biopsied was indeed breast cancer. She would undergo a mastectomy and, due to complications, Demorest was unable to be reconstructed. After hearing about Knitted Knockers from…

No Dairy? No Problem

One of the greatest tragedies of being lactose intolerant is the inability to enjoy one of the best go-to foods there are—pizza. You can, of course, make your…