Events & Travel

IFBC New Orleans is coming!

There once was a woman with a food blog. She blogged and blogged and blogged, and then a week went by when she didn’t blog. And then a month. And then she started to wonder, “Am I still a blogger?”

I think I am. If you’ve been exclusively waiting for me to post here, I’m going to gently guide you by the hand over to my Instagram, so you can get caught up. Someone called it “micro-blogging,” and for some reason that has sounded a lot more manageable than blogging here. There’s a lot going on in my world these days. Three jobs, volunteer committments, all that jazz. Long-form blogging has sort of floated to the bottom of the pile for now. I’m also trying to figure out exactly what I want this blog to be. I think I’m close to figuring it out, but one step at a time.

The International Food Blogger Conference starts in just a few days, and I’ll be headed off to New Orleans for a little learning, a little eating, and hopefully, a chance to just walk around and see the city. I’ll circle back here to do a wrap-up post when I get home, but again, I’ll tenderly push you from behind to go follow me on Instagram to see the food and fun as it happens.  Of course, I’m 100% on board to learn, and this year’s conference is jam packed with expert speakers and fun activities, but as with past years, there are definitely things that have really peaked my anticipation.

This year, IFBC is celebrating its 10th birthday, and to be doing it in such an iconic food city like New Orleans means the traditional “Taste of…” event on Friday night will boast some tasty bites from some of the Crescent City’s hundreds of restaurants and food producers, including Arnaud’s, Emeril’s, and Salt & Light Pastry Co. I’m SO ready to get my grub on, and maybe snag a few recipes from the local chefs.

On Saturday night, we’ll get to have some fun in what IFBC is calling a “Live Food & Drink Social.” Over 20 local food producers will each have five minutes to “pitch” their product while we, the intrepid food bloggers, try to share as much as we can in real time on our chosen blog/social media platforms. We did this last year and it was super hectic, but we all had a blast. It’s also a great exercise in how to prioritize. Do I spend my five minutes trying to get a great picture and letting my fellow bloggers ask all the questions, or do I put the presenter through their paces and just pray I get the shot?

One of the highlights of this year’s IFBC will be, for me, hearing from our Keynote speaker, African American-Jewish culinary historian and James Beard Award winning author Michael Twitty.  Go check out his blog, Afroculinaria, and get totally sucked into his unique style of storytelling.

Obviously, there’s a whole list of places I want to visit, and restaurants I’d like to try, but, I’m a girl on a budget. August just happens to be “COOLinary” month in New Orleans. If you’re familiar with the concept of Restaurant Week, it’s like that, only all month long. Perfect timing to get to try one of the city’s upscale restaurants for a fraction of the cost. I haven’t decided where I’m headed yet, but of course, there will be pictures and a full recap when I finally sit down to stuff my face eat a beautiful dinner like the classy lady that I am. I’ll also be utilizing a few other tried and true tips to get a taste of what the city has to offer without burning a hole in my wallet:

* Check out the bar menu. Small plates and bar snacks are a great way to try a little of what a restaurant has to offer without all the fuss of a full, sit down dinner. If you can catch a happy hour,  even better, because you might find one of the restaurant’s signature cocktails on the menu for a discount.

* Ask a concierge. IFBC is being held at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street. You best believe I’ll be quizzing their concierge staff about where to get some great, local eats that won’t break the bank. A knowledgable concierge will know their city’s restaurant scene like the back of their hand– not just the fine dining places, but also the hidden gems you might miss if you’re relying on your average travel guide.

* Ask a local. If you’re looking to step out of the tourist stream and experience the city like you live there, be brave and ask a local. For every IFBC I’ve attended, I’ve utilized the Couchsurfing app to find a local host, rather than staying in a pricey hotel. One of the most obvious benefits is all the great advice you can get from your host on where to eat, which attractions are worth the cost of admission, and the activities that really should not be missed. I’ve not been steered wrong, yet.

* Hit the grocery store before you leave. I know, it’s tempting, especially in a city known for its food culture, to want to eat out for ALL the things. There are so many places to try! But, you’ll find yourself blowing through your food budget pretty quickly that way. Obviously, I’ll be hitting Cafe du Monde for those iconic beignets and chicory coffee at least one morning, but I’ll also bring some snacks and breakfasty stuff with me from home, to fill in the meal gaps. When your dining dollar has to really stretch, let the grocery store do some pinch hitting.

I am, not surprisingly, not packed, or even close to packed yet, but my excitement for this little working getaway is set to 11. See you in New Orleans!

My crazy, fun, adventurous, happy, educational 2017
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Live Blogging: Product Tasting

Hi folks! I’m at IFBC, the International Food Bloggers Conference, in Sacramento. We’re closing out the conference with something really new for me, a Live Blogging Session. Feel free to follow along as I try to describe each product in 5 minutes.

Product 1 is from Fish People Seafood, @fishpeople on social media. They’re a sustainable seafood company based in Oregon. All the fish is caught in the left coast of the U.S., and it stays in the country. They are passionate about keeping those jobs in the American coastal towns that do the fishing. They buy their fish from independent fisheries, which are paid a fair wage. We could go to Tracethisfish.com, type in the code, PWS101 and learn more about the fisherman who caught the fish we ate today.

https://fishpeopleseafood.com/pages/track-your-pouch-PWS101

Fish People’s fish meal kits provide you with everything you need to produce a beautiful, chef quality meal.

Product 2 is a two-fer, olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Capay Valley Ranches, @cvranches.

Their Arbosana EV Olive Oil won silver at the New York International Olive Oil Competition this year. We also sampled the cranberry white balsamic vinegar.

Product 3 is Classy Hippie Tea Company, @ClassyHippieTea. We tried a tea called Beautiful People, which is a green sencha with strawberry and orange, blended with a little bit of champagne. It’s light, fruity, and refreshing. The second tea we tried was a Puerh Chai, which is a tea that is naturally fermented. There’s more spice on the nose than in the taste, but it really does smell lovely and spicy.

Product 4 is a 2016 3 Graces Blanc from Bella Grace Vineyards. It’s a blend of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino and Roussanne. It’s a very light straw color. It has pear and kiwi on the nose, with more pear at first taste. It’s a little tart on the back-end. I’m not a wine expert, but I’d definitely drink this as a summer wine.

Product 5 is Naples Drizzle, “The Italian Hot Sauce that Goes with Everything.” It’s all natural, with no sugar and no vinegar. It’s made with 100% EV olive oil. We tried it on a Margherita pizza, and it’s got the kind of kick you want from that little shaker of pepper flakes that sits on the table at every pizza spot, but as a drizzle. I think it would be a great addition to Asian inspired sauces, as well.  It can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Product  6 is kind of a surprise… Almond Butter from Lindsay Olives. This new product comes in Classic Creamy, Classic Crunchy, and a Honey Cinnamon. All three spread well, and that Honey Cinnamon flavor was so yummy on apple slices! There’s no added sugar, just the honey to add a touch of sweetness.

Product 7 is another wine, Obsession Symphony from Ironstone Vineyards. It’s a blend of Muscat of Alexandria and Grenache grapes. It’s super floral on the nose, with some fruit and a little grass (I think, because I don’t know much) on first sip. It goes really nicely with spicy food, and meatier dishes, like the pork with jalapeno we tried.

Product 8 is a beautiful citrus drink, a Chilean Clementine Cooler, from @FruitsfromChile. Chilean Clementine, Lime Juice, Club Soda, and a little simple syrup make up this yummy mocktail, but they recommend vodka or gin if you want to spike it. It’s Citrus season right now, so take advantage of the lingering warm weather before the fall chill takes over and we all start switching to ciders and hot cocoa.

Product 9 is a flash brewed coffee on nitro from Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters. They heat the water, and a concentrate is brewed over ice, which melts the ice, which Chocolate Fish says brings out more of the natural sweetness in the coffee. They just won 2nd overall in the largest coffee competition in North America, competing against over 800 other coffees.

Product 10 is California Strawberries. They recommend that strawberries be stored in the fridge, but should be served at room temperature for maximum sweetness and flavor. Eight strawberries make a perfect snack, weighing in at just 45 calories, packed with vitamins and antioxidants.

That’s the end of our live blogging. That was a wild ride, you guys! Thanks for tagging along.

Feast of Fermentation 2017

It’s been a busy summer, people. I got back from Oregon and hit the ground running with work, a book project (stay tuned!) and digging in on preparations for the 5th Annual Feast of Fermentation for the Boulder Food Rescue. It’s happening on September 23rd, at the Avalon Ballroom. Last year was my first time cheffing the FoF, and it was such an amazing time, I’m doing it again. (And honestly, for as many years as they’ll let me.)

In addition to some great local beers from the likes of Nighthawk Brewery and Montucky Cold Snacks, a homebrew competition sponsored by Boulder Fermentation Supply, a silent auction full of great items to bid on for any budget, and some highly danceable tunes from The New Family Recipe, my super talented (and a lot more organized than me) sous chef Elizabeth and I are developing taco bar and noodle bowl menus that are going to make your facehole so very happy. We’ll utilize not only a TON of delicious fermented product like kim chi, sauerkraut, salsas and hot sauces from the excellent folks at Ozuke and McCauley Family Farm, but also bring in other products grown and produced by companies in and around the Boulder, Colorado area. Also, the  Boulder County Farmer’s Market has hooked us up with market dollars to round out the menu with gorgeous, local, farm fresh produce. You guys, if you’ve never gone on a full blown farmer’s market shopping spree, let me tell you, it’s 100% some of the most fun I’ve ever had with my pants on. And getting to turn all that lovely produce into yummies for hundreds of members of my community? Pinch me! So cool!

If you live in the Denver/Boulder area, please come join us! I promise you’ll have a good time, and you’ll support an organization that is passionate about reducing food waste and bringing nutritious food to low income residents in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Win-Win, right? Tickets are $45 for an all you can eat, all you can (safely) drink, dance your face off evening of fun. But, if you can round up 5 friends to go with you, the individual ticket price for each person in the group of six is $35.

If you don’t live nearby, I’m not going to leave you empty handed. Behold! Instructions on how to put together your own quick, easy, and tasty noodle bowls. This should make enough for four large bowls.

Equipment:
Knife and cutting board
Measuring cups & measuring spoons
Blender or food processor
Large pot for boiling water or broth
Tongs for portioning everything into bowls
Small serving bowl and spoon for the sauce

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut, almond, or cashew butter
3 tablespoons fresh ginger (the stuff in the tube is fine)
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup Mirin (rice wine vinegar)
A healthy pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Additional salt to taste, if the soy sauce alone doesn’t work for you

Puree everything together in a blender or food processor until all the ingredients are incorporated.

For the Noodles:
1 14oz box rice noodles
10 oz boiling water or broth, for extra flavor (veggie, chicken, mushroom, beef… whatever floats your boat)
3 peeled and crushed garlic cloves
Healthy pinch of salt

Bring the water or broth to a boil. Add the crushed garlic and the salt, cover, and remove from the heat. Let the garlic “steep” in the liquid for about 5 minutes, then remove. Add the noodles to the hot liquid and cover. They’ll be soft enough to eat in 5-7 minutes.

The toppings:
Literally any combination of fresh veggies will work here, plus about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of your preferred protein, pre-cooked. If you’re drawing a blank, here are some ideas:

Proteins:
Poached shrimp
Baked or grilled chicken, sliced
Sliced steak
Firm tofu, cubed or cut into matchsticks and sauteed
Tempeh
Seitan

Veggies:
Julienne bell peppers
Sliced mushrooms
Bean Sprouts
Thinly sliced carrots
Snow peas
Sliced cabbage
Bamboo shoots
Sliced celery
Sliced jalapenos
Sliced greens (spinach, kale, mustard greens, beet greens)

Garnishes:
Thin sliced green onions
Cilantro
Chopped nuts
Chow mein noodles
Crispy roasted chickpeas

I don’t think there’s a bad combination here, so go crazy kids!

So long, for now.

This was my last week for the season at Dunbar Farms. This afternoon, after one last harvest day, and preparing one last Friday lunch for the crew, I’ll point the Honda back toward Colorado and make my way home for the summer to reconnect with friends, save up money for the rest of the year, and chef it up for the Boulder Food Rescue‘s Feast of Fermentation. I’m pretty excited to get back, and knowing I’ll be back at Dunbar sometime in October makes this not so much a goodbye, but more of a “See you later.”

I know I’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg of what this place has to teach me. Of course, there’s the farm stuff. The growing things, and harvesting things, and all the work that goes into taking care of it all in between. But other pieces of the puzzle are just starting to click into place. I have some research to do before I get back in the fall. I need to take some classes and dig up some books to help me identify all the wild plants that grow around here. I have a feeling I’m leaving a feast of both food and medicine un-utilized by simply not knowing what’s what. That needs to be remedied.

I’m leaving in the middle of perfecting an almost finished, but not quite there method for making tortillas from scratch out of the corn we grow here. Making the masa from the corn I milled is the easy part, but it’s the milling itself that still needs some tweaking. I hear rumors of another cheffy type person coming to stay. I’m hoping whoever it is can pick up the reigns on that one, but if not, that’s at the top of the list for when I get back.

 

In case I haven’t mentioned it, and you didn’t already know, Oregon is stunning. Of course, so is Colorado, but this is a different thing altogether. I’ve only just begun to explore the area, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of the state upon my return.

Along with the people and the plants, animals live here, too! I haven’t gotten to spend much time with them this go around, so that’s on the list for my fall/winter stay, as well.

 

 

 

Our farm manager, Juan, and I have had some interesting discussions about U.S. immigration policy, work ethic, and the American way of life. He’s opened my eyes to just how differently those who are not native born see the country I’ve always called home. There’s a worker shortage on farms across Oregon this year. Looming questions about the future of immigration policy and more aggressive enforcement have frightened many of the undocumented workers who typically step up to take on the work of picking fruit, maintaining vineyards, and caring for livestock. Juan, who does have documentation, comments, “These are jobs Americans don’t want. Where are all the American people who say we take their jobs away? Why aren’t they asking for these jobs? They don’t really want to do the work. They just want to get mad and complain.”

I don’t have a good answer for him. Not yet. At least, not without admitting some hard truths about how some people view manual labor in general, and how disconnected many people are from the workers who grow their food, and the work it takes for that food to make it to their tables. I’m even more determined now to be a part of the solution… To be a voice that helps bring people together with their farmers and small batch producers to help promote relationships instead of just transactions. Even after laboring side by side for the past several weeks, Juan still isn’t even convinced I’ll be back in the fall. So, obviously, number one on the list is to just get my ass back here. There’s a burrito dinner bet riding on it, so you best believe I’m making good on my promise.

Speaking of food, I’ve heard it said this area “has zero food culture.” From what I’ve seen, though, it’s there if you know what you’re looking for. Much like in Colorado, a good bit of it seems to revolve around local craft breweries. Fine by me! From what I’ve experienced, not only is the beer good, but the food, made with ingredients often sourced from less than 100 miles away, is pretty damn tasty, as well.

Of course, I have a list for Denver, too, and I’m so excited to spend my summer with so many of my favorite people and places. But, it’s nice knowing there’s so much here worth coming back for.