Category Archives: Fruit

Cherries for the Fourth — and Beyond

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Rasberry-Cherry Crumble Bars. You can't eat just one. Trust me.

Fourth of July might be the ideal time to celebrate the last of the season’s fresh cherries with a bang.

Those sweet, crunchy orbs come and go all too soon, don’t they?

But Payson Fruit Growers has a way to let you enjoy them all year-round.

Founded in 1964, the farmer-owned business processes tart cherries that are grown on local farms in the Payson, Utah area. Recently, I had a chance to sample some of their products.

Some of the tart Montmorency cherries are turned into Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate ($18 for 1 quart). The thicky, syrupy concentrate is fabulous for adding to smoothies or to pan sauces for duck, pork or chicken.

Make your own tart cherry soda.

I stirred two tablespoons into 8-ounces of carbonated water, then garnished with fresh cherries and a rosemary sprig to make a refreshing summer soda. It’s super fruity and not overwhelmingly sour. But if you like it sweeter, you can add a tablespoon or two of simple syrup.

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Chef Richard Blais Cooks In A Peach Orchard, Whole Foods Fund-Raising Days & More

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A beautiful Suncrest peach. (Photo courtesy of Frog Hollow Farm)

A Peach of a Time with “Top Chefs Masters” Champ Richard Blais

Get ready for “Peaches & Tango: A Dinner in the Orchard’‘ on July 23 at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood.

Farmer Al Courchesne, owner of the organic Frog Hollow Farm, has always dreamed of pairing his juicy, wonderful peaches with the drama of tango. Now, he’s doing just that — with the help of recent “Top Chef Masters” victor Richard Blais.

Meet Chef Richard Blais. (Photo courtesy of the chef)Blais will cook a feast using locally grown produce, featuring such delights as beet tartare with candied wasabi, grilled pork belly with cauliflower and peaches, and liquid nitrogen ice cream cones. Sit down to enjoy it all in the orchard, amid rows and rows of Suncrest peach trees.

To top the evening off, Trio Garufa, a company of contemporary Agentine tango dancers, will be performing, then teaching guests how to do the tango, themselves.

Tickets are $200 per person. Proceeds benefit the Chez Panisse Foundation and the Edible School Yard, both dedicated to fostering school curriculum and lunch programs in which students learn to grow, cook and share food at the table.

Whole Foods Community Fund-Raising Days

At least four times a year, each Whole Foods store sets aside a day in which 5 percent of the day’s net sales goes to a non-profit.

For June 22, the San Jose Whole Foods, 1146 Blossom Hill Road, has chosen as its recepient, the San Jose Police Foundation, which is the prime source of private support for the San Jose Police Department. And if you’ve been following the city’s budget woes of late, you know those funds are needed more than ever.

For those who live in San Francisco, if you shop on June 23 at any Whole Foods locales in that city, 5 percent of net sales will go to Project Open Hand, which provides meal and nutrition services.

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Gelato — In A Convenient, Totable Bar

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New Bar Gelato treats: Grapefruit, TCHO Chocolate and Blue Bottle Coffee.

From now on, I’m seriously going to have to put blinders on when I stroll past the freezer case at Whole Foods.

That’s because the supermarket chain has just started selling fabulous gelato bars by the Bay Area’s Naia that if left to my own devices, I could eat daily.

Forget those lickable ice cream bars of childhood, which were enjoyed mostly because of their creamy coolness, not their flavor. These gelato bars are made with primo, local ingredients including Oakland’s Blue Bottle Coffee, San Francisco’s TCHO Chocolate, Oakland’s Numi jasmine tea  and Alameda’s St. Georges Spirits single malt whiskey.

Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.

Gelateria Naia (pronounced “NIGH-ah”) was founded in Berkeley in 2002 by Chris Tan and Trevor Morris, world travelers who studied with artisan gelato makers in Italy. The two now have two retail scoop shops in Walnut Creek and San Francisco.

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A Visit to the New Love Apple Farms

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An apprentice watering vegetables at Love Apple Farm.

If paradise could be defined, it would be Love Apple Farms in Santa Cruz.

It’s hard to stroll around this verdant organic, biodynamic farm without feeling in awe of all that grows here — for just one fortunate recipient.

That would be Michelin two-star restaurant Manresa, a mere 15-minutes north.

Each morning, the produce is picked, then driven to the restaurant by noon, where Executive Chef-Proprietor David Kinch spotlights that abundance on that evening’s dinner menu.

Love Apple Farm started out as a two-acre spread in lawyer-turned-farmer Cynthia Sandberg’s backyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Last spring, she moved the farm to a much more expansive 20-acre spread in Santa Cruz.

Some of Cynthia Sandberg's famous tomato seedlings.

Potatoes ready for planting.

Dainty rat tail radish with a peppery bite. A favorite of Chef David Kinch.

The property was formerly the original Smothers Brothers Winery before the comedic duo relocated it to Kenwood. Sandberg proudly shows off a couple of bottles of wine leftover from that former venture. The property is full of lore, including the fact that it was also the site of noted winemaker Randall Grahm’s first job. The colorful founder of nearby Bonny Doon Vineyard once pruned grapes here.

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Pop-Up Tea Time, Free Father’s Day Burgers, Food Gal Cooking Demo & More

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Salmon rillettes with seaweed brioche -- with oolong tea. (Photo by Justin Lewis)

“Kettle Whistle” Pop-Up Tea Times

Those of you mourning the fact that Pastry Chef William Werner won’t be opening his Tell Tale Preserve bakery/cafe on Maiden Lane in San Francisco after all will rejoice to hear that you can still enjoy his innovative sweets in a new concept now.

He has teamed with Naivetea, an artisan tea company in Burlingame that was started by husband-and-wife, Lawrence Lai and Ann Lee, which specializes in oolong teas.

They will be presenting “Kettle Whistle” afternoon tea seatings at various locations around the Bay Area each month. The first will be June 25 at the Burritt Room at the Crescent Hotel in San Francisco. There will be two seatings: 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Tea with strawberries on yogurt sables. (Photo by Justin Lewis)

The three-flight, prix fixe menu is $55 per person. It will feature an array of Naivetea’s hot and iced premium Taiwanese  oolong loose-leaf teas paired with Tell Tale Preserve’s savory and sweet pastry creations.

For reservations, call (415) 643-4894 or email: events@telltalepreserveco.com

Free Burgers for Dad on Father’s Day at The Counter

Bay Area locales of The Counter want to treat Dad in meaty style on Father’s Day by giving the big guy to a free burger.

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