The Oxbow Public Market farm stands open Thursday, May 1, followed by the Napa Farmers Market on Saturday, May 3 in the Copia North Garden parking lot.

Seven days a week, at our shop in the Oxbow Public Market, we offer visitors the chance to sample a pair of our favorite spice blends: Zahtar and Zhug.

Their restaurant is kind of Brigadoon, that legendary country that only appears once every 100 years — although fortunately the restaurant appears a little more frequently. It’s the restaurant that students at the Napa Valley Cooking School open for a brief but delicious 15-day stint each spring and fall, and it’s  one of those secret places that those in the know don’t want too many others to find out about.

1/2 cup rice vinegar

Asparagus Timbale:

Author and culinary educator Patricia Wells will do a cooking demonstration and sign copies of her new book “We’ve Always Had Paris ... and Provence,” at Kitchen Library in the Oxbow Public Market, May 10, from noon to 3 p.m.

The enduring influence of James Beard on American food is the subject of a panel discussion at Copia Saturday, May 3, 2-3:30 p.m. Panelists include nutritionist and author Marion Nestle, chef and author Jim Dodge, food editor and critic Michael Bauer and Clark Wolf.