Currents Winter

In Marin

CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND CAUSES OF THIS UNIQUE COUNTY

WARM WINTER NIGHTS

Fight off he cold weather with a toddy version of a familiar drink. BY LYNDA BALSLEV

THE MARGARITA GETS a winter makeover for a chilly party night, with hot cider and cranberry juice joining the usual suspects in a festive warming drink. Part toddy, part cocktail, and all good. The key to this beverage’s success is to use a decent tequila, but you already knew that.

RECIPE

Cranberry Tequila Toddy

SERVES 6

Ingredients

4 cups apple cider 1 cup cranberry juice cocktail ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice ½ cup gold tequila ¼ cup Cointreau Lime wedges Dried cranberries Orange slices 6 cinnamon sticks

To Prepare

Heat the cider, cranberry juice and orange juice in a saucepan until very hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the tequila and Cointreau. Serve warm with a squeeze of lime. Garnish with dried cranberries (for extra zing, pre-soak the dried cranberries in Cointreau for at least 30 minutes), orange slices and a cinnamon stick for stirring.

628

As of August, 415 is no longer Marin’s only numerical telephone prefix — 628 has joined the game in an area code overlay, meaning there will be two different area codes in the region from here on out. Practice starting your local calls with 1+415 when phoning your preexisting 415 contacts, as beginning in February 2015 calls made with only seven digits will not be completed. Existing phone numbers won’t change, but all new numbers issued in Marin and San Francisco counties will receive the new area

code. CALIN VAN PARIS

Giving Back

The pre-holiday season is the perfect time for a primer in generosity. Fortunately for us, there seem to be a number of givers in Marin, demonstrated by the impressive gifts and donations bestowed on county organizations this past year. We already mentioned the $1 million anonymously contributed to Marin Shakespeare at its May gala — here are three more gifts that are sure to keep on giving. C.V.P.

1MALT Local couple Marcia Barinaga and Corey Goodman (pictured) recently decided to bequeath their MALT-protected home, Barinaga Ranch, to the organization. “Our goal was to ensure that our ranch stays an active part of the West Marin agricultural community long after we are gone,” Goodman says. malt.org 2 Dominican University Dominican received a recordbreaking boost of $12.5 million this year courtesy of Andrew P. Barowsky, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. Barowsky, for whom Dominican’s School of Business is now named, was initially encouraged to get involved in the school by professor Francoise Lepage. Barowsky’s business partner, Albert Lepage, also gifted $5 million. dominican.edu 3 Marin Symphony Marin Symphony, the county’s oldest arts organization, was given $250,000 by an anonymous do-gooder this past summer. “The gift strikes at the heart of the organization and goes far beyond generosity,” says music director Alasdair Neale. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Marin Symphony.” marinsymphony.org

HEALTHY EATS, DELIVERED Life doesn’t stop just because you’re on the baby track, but

taking the time to eat healthy, well-balanced meals is paramount. That’s where Fertility FarmBox comes in. “Not everyone has time to plan and cook every meal at home,” says Dr. Christo Zouves of the Zouves Fertility Center in Foster City. “With the Fertility FarmBox, we’ve made it easy to eat most days at home with our simple-to-follow recipes and fresh groceries delivered to your door.” Created in partnership with food-delivery provider FarmBox, the service consists of weekly groceries and recipes for four days of the week, all crafted to boost wellness for women trying to conceive. FarmBox offerings are “farmer’s pick,” meaning you get whatever is freshest from local farms that week

— think asparagus from Zuckerman’s, flank steak and king salmon from Marin Sun Farms and organic brown rice from Massa Organics. goivf.com C.V.P.