Category Archives: Enticing Events

Celebrate Persian New Year at Zaré at Flytrap in San Francisco

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Persian New Year begins March 20, the first day of spring. And Zaré at Flytrap restaurant in San Francisco is gearing up to celebrate in a big way.

Chef-owner Hoss Zaré, a native of Iran, will be hosting his first Persian New Year’s Celebration at his restaurant, a short hop from the W Hotel.

Think communal tables, where you can mingle and make new friends over a family-style spread of traditional dishes such as frog legs with pomegranate walnut sauce; and Thai snapper with fennel, winter vegetables and Persian pickle tartar.

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New Food Gal Veggie Seeds Give-Away — Plus Winners of the New Peet’s Coffee

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You can almost feel it in the air, can’t you? A little more sunshine peeking through, a little more daylight lingering at the end of the day. Yes, spring is on its way. And you know what that means?

Time for planting, of course. Yes, even for those with not-so-green thumbs like myself, this is the time to start thinking about the wondrous possibilities that we can nurture in our very own little window pots or in raised beds in the backyard.

To entice you further, the kind folks at the Cook’s Garden, a gourmet retailer of vegetables, lettuces and herbs, is allowing me to do a great give-away: Three winners will receive the seeds necessary to grow most everything in that colorful salad shown above. (OK, except for the cheese and olive oil, you wise guys.) Not only that, each winner also will receive a beautiful artisan oval cutting board to cut all those home-grown veggies on.

Call it the ultimate do-it-yourself salad when you grow the Myway Arugula, Lettuce Baby Red Mix, Tomato Persimmon and Tomato Carmelita, all by yourself.

When harvest time rolls around, slice the tomatoes about 3/8-inch thick, and alternate them in a row on a serving dish. Layer Myway Arugula and Lettuce Baby Red Mix over the top. Next, add slices of your favorite cheese over the top. Finally, whisk together olive oil, crushed garlic, dill, chives, salt, pepper, wine vinegar and dry mustard to taste. Drizzle over salad, and enjoy.

Here’s how to score those seeds and cutting board: Name the fruit, vegetable or herb that’s most like your personality, and why. Enter the contest by the end of the day, March 13. The three most clever or memorable responses will win. Contest results will be announced on March 15. Participants must reside in the continental United States.

To get you started here’s my own response: Kabocha squash. It’s Asian like me, as well as a little sweet, very versatile, and distinctive. It’s resilient — you can buy it, stick it on the counter, and it’ll keep just fine for quite a spell all to its self. It’s a bit starchy, too — and I never met a carb I didn’t like.

And without further adieu, here are the five winners of the last contest, who will each receive a bag of the new Peet’s Uzuri African Blend coffee:

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Celebrate Spring at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

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As if you needed any more reasons to visit one of the best farmers markets in the country, March is full of delicious events at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco.

The bustling market at the historic Ferry Building, just steps from the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, welcomes spring’s mother lode of fava beans, peas and asparagus with a series of cooking demos by local chefs.

Come watch, taste and learn at these free cooking events at the outdoor teaching kitchen under the north arcade:

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New Peet’s Coffee Food Gal Contest and Winner of the Global Knife Give-Away

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For the first time in eight years, artisan roaster Peet’s Coffee is adding a new blend to its line-up of beans.

Uzuri African Blend, available  starting March 3 at all Peet’s coffee houses and at Peets.com, will help generate greater income for 6,000 small farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Pronounced ”oo-Zur-ee,” the name of the new coffee means “excellent” and “beautiful” in Swahili. The name was chosen by East African farmers who are now producing the coffee to Peet’s exacting standards, and in the process, earning 30 percent more for their crop. That’s not insignificant, considering that coffee farmers typically live in extreme poverty, earning less than $2 a day, according to TechnoServe, an organization that empowers people in developing countries to build businesses to improve their lives, and which is collaborating with Peet’s to produce the coffee.

The new blend, which also will be available through March 31 on grocery stores nationwide, is smooth as can be with a subtle fruitiness to it. A 12-ounce bag sells for about $9.99.

Five lucky Food Gal readers will get a chance to try the coffee for free, too. Peet’s is generously allowing me to give away five 12-ounce bags of the Uzuri African Blend, one bag to each of five winners.

Contest details: Deadline to enter is the close of the day, March 6. Five winners will be announced March 8. The contest is open to only those in the continental United States.

To enter: Describe something that perks you up. The best five answers get the coffee.

Here’s my own answer to what perks me up: The smell of garlic sizzling in a hot pan. Just-washed laundry when it comes out of the dryer. Going for a long hike with a good friend on a perfect spring day — then pigging out on cake afterward. Fetching the mail, because I just never know what goodies are going to show up on any given day.

Now, it’s your turn…

And without further adieu, let me announce the grand prize winner of the Food Gal Global knife contest, in which I asked folks to describe something sharp and something dull. Faced with an unprecedented number of incredible entries (more than 70), I’ve decided to choose two runners-up, as well, who will each get a cookbook from my vast collection. Here are the winners:

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Wines that Care

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Sip wines that not only tantalize the palate, but do good for the planet.

Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants has introduced a new wine program, “Wines that Care,” at its nearly 50 hotels nationwide, including its San Francisco properties such as the Hotel Monaco, Hotel Palomar, and Hotel Triton.

At the hosted nightly wine hour at each of its properties, a featured winery of the month will be spotlighted for its dedication to the earth and local communities. All of the wines have been hand-picked by Kimpton’s wine director and master sommelier, Emily Wines (and yes, that is her real name).

Among the featured wineries are: Barefoot Wine (Modesto, Calif.), which works with the Surfrider Foundation each year to encourage locals to clean up beaches to make them “barefoot-friendly.” Banrock Station (Australia), which has contributed to the preservation of native ducks in New Zealand, flamingos in Kenya, and the re-introduction of otters in Holland. And Hayes Ranch by Wente Vineyards (Livermore, Calif.), which has worked hard to minimize water use, reduce non-organic wastes, and revitalize soils.

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