Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Scenes from Frog Hollow Farm’s “Peaches & Tango”

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Nectarine tree at Frog Hollow Farm.

It’s not every day that you find giant canisters of liquid nitrogen and elaborate sous vide cooking equipment on a bucolic fruit farm.

But when “Top Chef All-Stars” Champ Richard Blais visits to cook an elaborate fund-raising dinner for 175 folks, that’s just what you need to make it all happen.

The occasion was Saturday’s “Peaches & Tango: A Dinner in the Orchard” at Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, an evening of gourmet eats, live music and tango dancing performances by Trio Garufa. Proceeds benefited the Chez Panisse Foundation.

Chef Richard Blais tears the skin off of fried chicken to serve it as a garnish with hamachi crudo.

Yours truly served as emcee for the fun event, which marked my first time visiting this incredible farm.

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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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Meet Bradley Ogden and Rick Bayless, Plus Loads More

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Meet Chef Bradley Ogden. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Shop and Dine with Chef Bradley Ogden

On June 9, shoppers at the Marin Farmers Market will get a chance to meet Chef Bradley Ogden, co-founder of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, and Chef Aaron Wright of the Tavern at Lark Creek in Larkspur.

The two chefs will be at the Star Route Farms booth at the center of the farmers market at 9:30 a.m. to answer questions about the best produce.

That evening, join the two chefs at the Tavern at Lark Creek, when Ogden hosts a dinner to showcase dishes from his new cookbook, “Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden” (Running Press), which will be published in September.

The $35 per person prix fixe will include grilled apricot and goat cheese salad; flank steak with sweet oven-dried tomatoes and potato salad; and mixed berry cobbler. For reservations, call (415) 924-7766.

Rick Bayless will conduct cooking demos at Sunset magazine's big "Celebration Weekend.'' (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Rick Bayless Stars at Sunset’s Celebration Weekend

Menlo Park’s Sunset magazine opens its doors, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 4-5, for its annual “Celebration Weekend 2011: Make It Your Own.”

Chef Rick Bayless, Chicago restaurateur known for his prowess with Mexican cuisine and for winning the first season of “Top Chef Masters,” will headline cooking demos each day, 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.. He’ll be whipping up Mexican-inspired dishes, including Mexican-style shrimp cocktail and “Tropical Beach Ceviche.”

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New Whole Grain Pasta and A Food Gal Giveaway

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New 100% Whole Grain Pasta. (Image courtesy of Golden Grain)

We all know we should be including more whole grains in our diet for added fiber and nutrients.

Golden Grain just made that easier to do with the launch of its new 100% Whole Grain Pasta. This is one case where you won’t need a science degree to figure out the ingredients list on the back of each box, either. There’s just one ingredient: durum whole wheat flour.

The Whole Grain Pasta comes in four varieties: angel hair, spaghetti, penne and elbow macaroni.

Contest: One lucky Food Gal reader not only will win four boxes of the 100% Whole Grain Pasta (one of each type), but also a Cuisinart Chef’s Classic stainless steel four-piece, 12-quart pasta/steamer set.

Win samples of the new Whole Grain Pasta, plus this nifty pasta/steamer cooking set.

Entries for the contest, open only to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST June 4. Winner will be announced June 6.

How to win?

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Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti Visits the South Bay & More

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Meet Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Meet Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti in Campbell

Emily Luchetti, award-winning pastry chef of Farallon and Waterbar in San Francisco, will host a pastry demo and a book-signing at 6 p.m. May 26 at the International Culinary Center of  California in Campbell.

The center is operated by the French Culinary Institute in New York, of which Luchetti recently became a dean.

Luchetti will be signing copies of her new cookbook, “The Fearless Baker” (Little, Brown and Company), at this free event. Attendees also will get a chance to find out more information about the center’s Classic Pastry Arts class, which begins June 2.

RSVP to the event by calling (415) 781-5700.

Waterbar offers four-legged friends complimentary treats.(Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Free Doggie Treats Courtesy of Emily Luchetti

Speaking of Emily Luchetti, she’s now providing complimentary treats to pooches who are hanging out on the Waterbar patio in San Francisco with their two-legged owners.

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