Mouthful: Time for the National Heirloom Expo

Winter Squash Pyramids and More: The 4th Annual National Heirloom Exposition kicks off Tuesday and continues through Thursday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

A tower of hard winter squashes at least 10 feet high dazzled expo goers last year.

The three days of events include speakers, demonstrations, information booths, natural food vendors and live music. There are special activities for kids; a display of a wide array of heirloom varieties, with some available for tasting; a pumpkin weigh-off; a silent auction, and more.

Worth Our Weight will have a booth in Grace Pavilion, where both the program’s apprentices and local chefs will offer cooking demonstrations throughout the fete. I’ll join in on Thursday at noon, with something about how homemade vinaigrettes can change your life.

The festival is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, opening at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for some special school group activities. Adult admission is $10 for one day, $25 for all three days. Kids 17 and under are admitted free.

For a complete schedule of speakers, demonstrations and more, visit theheirloomexpo.com.

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Cooking Classes: Relish Culinary Adventures (14 Matheson St., Healdsburg) is offering some engaging end-of-summer classes this month, with topics ranging from homemade pasta, mozzarella, burrata, ricotta and pizza in a wood oven, to a Sept. 13 farm market class with Jordan Winery chef Todd Knoll. A Dry Creek Peach and Produce Farm dinner with John Ash will be tonight, with a few tickets still available at press time.

I’ll be there on Sept. 20 with a hands-on class I like to call “Salad, Salad, Salad & Salad,” which features a salad as every course. There’s a lot more than vegetables, including the unveiling of my chocolate vinaigrette as part of a scrumptious dessert.

John Ash will conduct a hands-on class on Sept. 26 with recipes from his latest book, “Culinary Birds: The Ultimate Poultry Cookbook” (Running Press, 2013).

Cost of classes ranges from $69 for homemade mozzarella instruction on Thursday and Sept. 18, to $144 per person for tonight’s Dry Creek Peach dinner.

For complete details and to register, visit relishculinary.com.

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Tomato Tasting: On Sunday, the Sebastopol Farmers Market hosts its annual tomato tasting, an opportunity to bite into the year’s huge array of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes. Last Sunday, Lazaro Calderon of The Patch, confused about the date of the tasting, brought his fabulous homemade salsa, made with a mix of his tomatoes. The market takes place in the town plaza at the corner of McKinley and Petaluma Avenues from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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West County Changes: Speaking of Sebastopol, there are a number of changes in town. The Mediterranean Cafe, located adjacent to the post office, has closed, and the owners have returned to their native country of Jordan. Everyone who tried their lamb schwarma or simply enjoyed their quiet, friendly hospitality is sad about the departure.

Holy Cow Coffee and Tea (130 South Main St.) is no more, but don’t worry. The transition of ownership has been nearly seamless, with little interruption in service. James Grogan, who was raised in Sonoma County and currently lives in San Francisco, has taken over the space and rechristened it Repose Coffee Bar and Gallery.

Grogan expects to keep the small plates menu the same but next week will introduce a new brand of coffee, Ritual Roasters of San Francisco. He also plans to display fine art from the Bay Area, including his own watercolors and charcoals. Sometime later this year he is opening a second location in San Francisco on Divisidero between Page and Haight Streets.

King Hwa Chinese Restaurant, long-time tenant in the Pacific Market/Fiesta Market shopping center, quietly closed a few weeks ago. The space, currently under renovation, will become the new home of Sebastopol Hardware’s paint store, and the adjacent Video Store will move into the paint store’s current space. The Video Store’s current location will become Ace Hardware’s new cookware store, now located within the main hardware store, across the parking lot from the new shops.

Finally, the lovely little road house west of Sebastopol on Bodega Highway, mostly recently known as Stillwater Kitchen, is vacant once again. No one is surprised at this most recent closure, as the restaurant never found its footing, but it is sad that no one has been able to make a success of that space, which is lovely both inside and out. Please, someone, revive this treasure and make it last!

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Chinese Moon Festival: On Monday, Chinese people around the world will celebrate the Moon Festival, one of the culture’s biggest holidays, similar to our Thanksgiving.

Holiday traditions including staying up late with family and friends to watch the money, drink tea and eat mooncake, which is available at Asian markets throughout the North Bay.

To celebrate the holiday, Pure Puer, a company founded in Marin County but now based in Santa Rosa, is offering some special gift items through its website, purepuer.com.

The small company will also join in the Sonoma Mount Zen Center Bazaar, a sale taking place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 6367 Sonoma Mountain Road, Santa Rosa.

In addition to an lovely array of arts, crafts, baked goods, bento box lunches and more, there will be live entertainment through the day, including an Ometesenke Tea Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. and a performance of the Black Sheep Brass Band at 3:45 p.m. Admission is free. For complete details, visit smzc.net.

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Irises and Butterflies: Healdsburg’s sweet little oasis, The Russian River Rose Company (1685 Magnolia Drive), hosts an open house this weekend, with iris classes at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. both days. This class is ideal for people suffering diminishing returns in their iris patches.

The butterfly garden is in full bloom at this time of year and is being enjoyed by a number of species, including Monarchs, Pipevines and Tiger Swallowtails.

The nursery and gift shop will be open both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Reservations are not necessary. Admission is free, but $2 donations for classes are greatly appreciated.

For more information, visit russian-river-rose.com.

Michele Anna Jordan blogs at “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. Email her at michele@saladdresser.com.