Category Archives: Fruit

The Summeriest Salad

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A jumble of colorful summer peppers and stone fruit star in this lively tasting salad.
A jumble of colorful summer peppers and stone fruit star in this lively tasting salad.

Besides ones from my own home state of California, the wines that I find myself probably sipping most come from our neighbor to the north — Oregon.

Especially because Pinot Noir happens to be one of my favorite varietals, and grows exceedingly well there.

So, I couldn’t have been more overjoyed to see a new cookbook that highlights not only Oregon’s more than 50-year-old wine industry, but its rich food traditions found at its storied wineries.

“Oregon Wine & Food” (Figure 1), of which I received a review copy, is by my friend and colleague Danielle Centoni, who wrote it with fellow food writer Kerry Newberry.

The book spotlights 40 of Oregon’s top wineries, with two signature recipes from each one that each come with a wine pairing.

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Everything’s Coming Up Strawberries

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Chunks of strawberry chocolate dot these chewy-licious cookies.
Chunks of strawberry chocolate dot these chewy-licious cookies.

Other gals may covet a Prada purse or a pair of Louboutin heels.

This Food Gal? For the longest time, I had my eye on strawberry chocolate.

That would be the Valrhona Strawberry Inspiration Baking Chocolate that I spied online.

It’s white chocolate thoroughly combined with freeze-dried strawberries to create the prettiest-in-pink baking chocolate discs.

At $20 to $29 for an 8-ounce bag online, they were a splurge to be sure.

The color of these Valrhona chocolate discs is just dazzling.
The color of these Valrhona chocolate discs is just dazzling.

But I’m worth it, right?

At least that’s what I told myself when I finally went for it.

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Fire Up The Grill For Buttermilk Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Cherry Salad

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You won't believe how easy and fast it is to make this grilled pork tenderloin with cherry couscous salad.
You won’t believe how easy and fast it is to make this grilled pork tenderloin with cherry couscous salad.

Pork has a thing for fruit.

No matter its form, shape or preparation, pork’s wiles prove irresistible to most any fruit, resulting in a most magical coupling.

If you still have some of this season’s cherries at your fingertips, use them to make “Buttermilk Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Cherry Salad” to get the gist.

This simple grilling recipe is from the new “Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking With Fruit” (Chronicle Books), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Abra Berens, a Michigan-based chef and former farmer, who definitely knows a thing or two about fruit.

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Exploring Southern Oregon: Long Walk Vineyard

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Grenache vines at Long Walk Vineyards, which bucks the trend for Pinot Noir in Oregon and specializes in Rhone varietals instead.
Grenache vines at Long Walk Vineyards, which bucks the trend for Pinot Noir in Oregon and specializes in Rhone varietals instead.

Ashland, OR. — Stanford grads Kathy and Tim O’Leary were looking for a second home that would allow them to take a break from their hectic lives in Palo Alto where she was an engineer and he was an attorney.

They started scouting around in a circumference of a 2-hour’s drive away in California before ultimately settling on a spot nearly 8 hours away in Oregon.

That’s why their Ashland winery was dubbed Long Walk Vineyard. Or so the story goes. You can understand why they extended their search so far north, though, once you gaze upon this this 50-acre historic orchard on a hill that they purchased in 2000.

The 2021 Carignane with charcuterie board that includes the winery's own honey.
The 2021 Carignane with charcuterie board that includes the winery’s own honey.

That’s what I found when I visited the beautiful property a couple weeks ago, where unlike most wineries in this region, Pinot Noir is not king, but Rhone varietals are.

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When You Visit Maui And Tote Home Exquisite Vanilla Beans, You Must Make This…

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A rich cake fragrant with three vanilla beans and vanilla extract.
A rich cake fragrant with three vanilla beans and vanilla extract.

For the longest time, I have wondered what happened to the glorious Maui Gold pineapples that I used to snag so easily at Bay Area Costcos and local grocery stores.

A recent trip to Maui turned up an explanation for why they are MIA here — along with an unexpected gift of wonderfully aromatic Maui-grown vanilla beans.

It all started one morning just after I finished breakfast at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa. Guests like myself staying in the newly revamped Hokupa’a Tower rooms enjoy breakfast bites on the lanai included in their reservations. To make the lanai more festive, the resort often has featured performers, chef demos or other entertainment.

Maui-grown vanilla beans.
Maui-grown vanilla beans.

That morning, I spied Michael Schenk at a counter, cutting up samples of Maui Gold pineapples to give out to guests. Or rather, my nose first caught wind of the unmistakable sweet, tangy, tropical scent of the fruit and I followed it to its source.

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