Monthly Archives: May 2012

A Taste of Portland Roasting Coffee and A Food Gal Giveaway

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Portland Roasting Coffee's Organic Dark Columbia beans.

The Northwest sure does love its coffee.

And Portland Roasting Coffee of Oregon has been satisfying taste buds since 1996 in a most sustainable way.

The coffee company buys coffee directly from growers, adheres to sustainable practices, has opened coffee cafes that are eco-friendly, and commits resources annually to global projects in partnership with the United Nations Millennium Development goals, whose aim is to eradicate extreme poverty. In particular, it is helping to raise awareness of the growing global water crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where the company is helping to fund the building of new water wells.

Recently, I had a chance to try a couple varieties of coffee from this company, which was just named “Roaster of the Year.” The Organic Dark Colombia is rich, earthy and with a faint chocolate note. The Organic French is dark with a bold, wake-me-up-pronto flavor.

The coffees, which start at $9.50 per pound, are available at four cafes in California so far (Sacramento, Nevada City and Grass Valley, but none in the Bay Area yet. They also can be purchased on the company’s Web site.

Just two of the organic coffee varieties you can win.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a sampler of eight varieties of organic coffees: Organic Espresso, Organic French, Organic Honduras, Organic House, Organic Peru, Organic Mexico, Organic Dark Columbia and Organic India.

Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST May 26. Winner will be announced May 28.

How to win?

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For the Halibut

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Halibut in a vibrant sauce made of orange juice. lemon juice and olive oil.

When trying out a recipe for the first time, it’s always a good sign when your husband exclaims after just one bite, “Mmm, you should make this again.”

Such was the case when I tried the “Sauteed Fillet of Halibut with Fennel and White Anchovies” recipe from the new “Cooking Without Borders” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) cookbook, of which I received a review copy.

It’s the first cookbook by the very talented New York Chef Anita Lo of Annisa restaurant in Manhattan. You probably recognize her from her appearances on “Top Chef Masters” and “Iron Chef America.”

I loved this dish as much as my husband did. To me, it’s the perfect spring-summer fish dish — healthful and light tasting, and full of vibrant citrus flavors and crunchy textures.

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Crunch Time for Gluten-Free

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Gluten-Free Multi-Seed Crackers to crunch the time away with.

I’m not even gluten-intolerant, but when samples of Crunchmaster Multi-Seed and Multi-Grain Crackers landed in my mail, I became addicted to them.

Yes, they’re gluten-free, cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.

But they are big on crunch.

The thin crackers are made from California brown rice flour, sesame seeds, potato starch, quinoa seeds, flax seeds, amaranth seeds, tamari soy sauce and safflower oil.

They taste almost like a sturdier, heartier Asian rice cracker. That’s not surprising when you learn that the method for making the crackers is based on the age-old Northern Japanese technique of baking rice crackers on open grills.

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Scrumptious Snapshots from New York, Part II

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What you get when you cross a croissant with a pretzel.

NEW YORK, NY — Yesterday, you got a glimpse of my savory adventures. Now, get a taste of the sweet side:

City Bakery

City Bakery has really fun, original baked goods, including a fabulous pretzel croissant. Yes, a flaky, slightly denser version of the traditional French pastry, only here it’s coated in seeds and a sprinkling of salt just like a pretzel. It’s addicting.

The buttery, pull-apart "baker's muffin.''

So is the “baker’s muffin,” a sort of monkey-bread in muffin form that’s showered in powdered sugar. It’s buttery and tastes like a cinnamon candied apple.

Levain Bakery

We bought three cookies (chocolate chip walnut, dark chocolate chocolate chip, and dark chocolate peanut butter chip) at Levain Bakery and boy, did our arms get a workout as we carried them around.

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Scrumptious Snapshots from New York, Part I

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Eating my way through New York, including this pasta at Eataly.

NEW YORK, NY — Yes, the hubby (aka Meat Boy) and I sneaked off to New York last week for one of the first real vacations we’ve had in a long time.

By that, I mean it was a trip that didn’t solely revolve around my work as a food writer. Instead, it was merely for relaxation and enjoyment — plus lots of good eats, of course. To make sure I actually did take time off, I wasn’t allowed to lug around my usual heavy camera, but only a tiny point-and-shoot. I had to ration my shots, too. After all, it’s not really a vacation if it’s viewed only through the lens of a camera and not the full spectrum of your own eyes.

Hope you enjoy the highlights:

When in New York, you've gotta have a bagel. Or two. Or...

Barney Greengrass

After taking the red-eye from San Jose to New York, we caught a couple of hours of shut-eye at our hotel before venturing to this 100-year-old institution. If you’re in New York, you’ve got to have a bagel or two, right? And what better place than at Barney Greengrass, famed for its smoked sturgeon.

Grab a table where you can at this tightly packed store flanked by deli cases.

My famished husband tore into a plate of smoked sturgeon scrambled with eggs and onions ($18.50), plus a bagel on the side, while I noshed on a sesame bagel stuffed with cream cheese, capers, onion, tomato, smoked sturgeon and Nova Scotia salmon ($20.75). Hello, New York!

BaoHaus

Chinese steamed buns filled with all manner of inventive fillings is the bill of fare at the shoebox-size BaoHaus started by the irreverent, lawyer-turned-street food-restaurateur Eddie Huang and his brother, Evan.

The zany artwork at BaoHaus.

Steamed buns filled with fried chicken (back) and pork belly (front).

The “Chairman Bao” ($2.99) is a fluffy white bun caressing juicy braised pork belly, cilantro, crushed peanuts and a hit of Taiwanese red sugar.

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