Farmer’s market bashing on “Marketplace” … Huh?
Ah, the first farmer’s market of the season. We are very fortunate, as we live in both a coastside and rural community. The twice weekly Coastside Farmer’s Market is chock full of local, organically grown fruit, vegetables, plants, eggs, honey and other beautiful, seasonal treats. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed seeing the familiar faces of local farmers... Read More
All you knead
KNEAD baking company is a well-kept secret tucked away in a city you may not even know about. Ojai, California, population 8,226, is hidden in a cleft of rocky hills in Southern California’s Ventura County, about 30 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. It’s a place where Hollywood stars like Reese Witherspoon or Ted Danson can comfortably hang out at the local independent... Read More
A Passion for Flavor – in five chapters
http://www.vimeo.com/18353489 Ronit and Shuli Madmone are the owners of Whole Spice, which has a sweet little shop in the Napa Oxbow Market as well as a thriving online mail order business. They are purveyors of super high quality spices — the kind you often can’t find anywhere else. They know more about flavoring food than almost anyone I’ve met. Listening to... Read More
Truffle Tales Part 3
Link to Part 1 Link to Part 2, Bring on the Funk And now, the exciting conclusion… It was a real truffle we’d purchased — flown in from Italy, still fresh and outrageously aromatic. At the time, it had seemed a decadent, daring move. This was before we understood the repercussions of our rash decision. That what we’d actually taken on was a kind of culinary... Read More
Truffle Tales – Part 2, Bring on the Funk
Link to Part 1 Link to Part 3 Truffles. There is no aesthetic value to these foodstuffs. They look like a chunk of dirt, or perhaps an animal dropping. All their value is in one thing — the undeniable, imitable olfactory experience they provide. It’s the aroma that puts you in a coma. The smell that makes it all gel. To be succinct, it is the stink. Or, to quote... Read More
Truffle tales – Part 1
A few weeks ago I posted the following update on Twitter: “Crack is for people who haven’t tried truffles.” Various LOLs and retweets ensued. What I didn’t reveal: I’d only had truly fresh truffle once in my life. I was very familiar with the taste and aroma, of course. Nowadays, some version of this pungent tuber is available in all manner of delivery... Read More
Your dog ate … what?!
Our cat Clarence is verrrry particular about his pastrami. Try substituting the kind that comes in plastic packages from the local Safeway and he’ll sniff it suspiciously, then turn on his heel and walk away, fluffy orange tail raised skyward, a look of pure disgust in his eyes that seems to say, “did you really think I’d be fooled that easily?” Everything... Read More
Soylent Green is … Soybeans!
The 1973 Sci Fi horror flick “Soylent Green” depicts an overpopulated 21st Century earth. With almost no more meat, fruit and vegetables available, people are starving. They must live on a synthetic food substitute, which turns out to be made from something too horrible for words. We recently came across a real life story with chilling similarities to this dystopian... Read More
Eat Real!
What happens when you get 100,000 people together over three days to taste food from over 80 street food trucks? Add in music, dance, cooking demos and literary performances, and you’ve got the face-stuffing, finger-snapping foodie extravaganza known as Eat Real Fest. The event was held over the final weekend in August in Oakland’s Jack London Square. Here’s the... Read More
A Foodie Fast
After a good dinner body and soul enjoy a peculiar happiness. Physically, as the brain becomes refreshed, the face lightens up, the colors become heightened, and a glow spreads over the whole system. — Brillat Savarin, The Physiology of Taste Rumor has it that in France, people will often fast all day before a big meal in order to increase their enjoyment when it arrives. After... Read More