Go Farm to Basket


You know how I love going on daytrips... well, I love going on picnics too- to the beach, the wine country even just down to McKinley Park. There's something just so romantic and timeless about it. Whenever we picnic though, I always think about how great it would be if someone else could pack the food for me so I could just relax and enjoy the day fully. Well, now there is! Sacramento Picnic Company is launching later this month. Their elegant baskets will be packed with fresh produce, tasty gourmet dishes and delicious local meat and artisan cheeses. I took a peek at their website and saw homemade jams and pickles listed, smoked salmon and chipotle deviled eggs with Osetra caviar, and creamy banana pudding listed amongst other goodies. This creative company offers "theme" baskets with prechosen items or you can customize your own basket. Baskets run roughly about $60. In addition to the food, the basket rental includes a picnic blanket, plates, silverware, napkins, glassware, wine opener, sparkling or still water and a map of some their favorite picnic spots. SPC will not have a brick and mortar location, instead they'll be cooking out of a local commercial kitchen and coordinating with local businesses, florists and vineyards to serve as pickup locations for the preordered baskets.

* I think this would also work great as a gift for new moms and dads. They're usually too exhausted to cook. What better than a romantic picnic basket full of tasty goodies so that they can picnic with their new bundle of joy?

More info: Sacramento Picnic Company
Phone: (916) 477-8269


Step Back in the Past



Remember The Coral Reef, Stan's Drive-In and The Hong Kong Café? These are just a few of the nostalgic food places that will be discussed next Wednesday. Time Tested Books in Midtown will be holding a reading, book signing and multimedia presentation of siblings Maryellen and Keith Burns' new book, "Lost Restaurants of Sacramento and Their Recipes."

The event is free and open to the public. July 17, 7pm. 1114 21st Street.
The book will be on sale at the event for $19.99.
More info: Time Tested Books


Vive la France!



Bastille Day is just around the corner and the folks at Matteo's/Supper Club have put together a pretty amazing French-inspired wine dinner to honor it. The menu will be offered on Monday, July 15th from 630pm-9pm and includes mouthwatering items such as crispy leg of Muscovy duck confit, classic steak au poivre with peppercorn crusted filet mignon and garlic butter basted escargot nestled in crimini mushroom caps.
Reservations are required so make yours now, before they fill up!

Location: Matteo's, 5132 Arden Way Carmichael
Cost: $58/pp + tax and gratuity

For more info, contact:
(916) 779-0727 or email: wineshop@pizzamatteo.com

For full menu & wine pairings: Matteo's Bastille Day Dinner


Pickle Me This


By now, most of us have heard about (or tasted) the awesome pickled products from local company, Preservation and Co. From pickled habanero chips to horseradish dilly beans, these Sacramentans are rockin' the house with their tasty preserved foods. Currently their products can be found at The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op, local Williams-Sonoma locations, and Amazon.com. They make a crazy-delicious zesty Bloody Mary mix that I received as a gift from a friend and used to make crockpot Bloody Mary chicken. Loved it! Supposedly, they're planning on coming out soon with a All-Natural Bloody Mary Mix soon that will be Gluten Free, Non-GMO, and preservative free. Can't wait!

Product Website: Preservation and Co.
More info: Jason@Preservationandco.com

Happy (belated) St. Paddy's Day everyone!


I hope you enjoyed the sunny weekend and indulged in some corned beef, tipped back some good Irish whiskey and perhaps found some luck of the Irish. I took advantage of the beautiful weather and hit up the Sunday's farmers' market for fresh spring fruits and veggies and then lounged around on the back patio of one of favorite coffee shops, soaking in some Vitamin D while completely absorbed in my latest read, Nancy Singleton Hachisu's, "Japanese Farm Food." If you haven't checked out this book yet, please do so. Hachisu is a California Bay Area native who moved to Japan, married an Japanese egg farmer and raised a family in a charming 85-year old farmhouse in Kamikawa in the rural Saitama Prefecture. Part cookbook, part memoir, her book is a wonderful example of true farm-to-table cooking and her traditional recipes are simple to follow. The photographs are stunning and the detailed narration makes you feel like you're right there- whether it be in the midst of her garden, scrubbing root vegetables at her kitchen sink or just talking with the quirky fishmonger at the local market. I can't wait to attempt one of her recipes! In the meantime...


Post-caffeination, I strolled back to my car and noticed this cool old wall mural. I must have passed by this building in Curtis Park a million times over the years but never took notice. I'm sure there's more of these charming bits of artwork squirreled away around town, which one's your favorite?


After I got home, I had the urge to open all the windows in the cottage, get some fresh air circulating and bake something...possibly some sweet, moist, spongy banana bread? Yup. Now I've always been loyal to the banana bread recipe I discovered in my well worn copy of "The Joy of Cooking," long ago; but earlier this month, I came across a tiny recipe at the bottom of a page in my issue of Bon Appetit. The recipe was called, "Julia's Best Banana Bread," and originated from a small roadside stand in Kahakuloa, Maui. Intrigued, I decided, "Why the heck not?" and clipped it. Well yesterday I decided to give it a whirl. I'm glad I did, the resulting product was delicious...a loaf of warm perfection. So perfect, in fact, that I'm making more today.





Julia's Best Banana Bread (Bon Appetit, March 2013)

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 3/4 cup AP flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup vegetable oil


Instructions


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

3. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

Spicy Thai Soup

Ingredients

2 (14 oz) cans lite coconut milk
1 (14 oz) can chicken stock
4 stalks fresh lemongrass (bottom 2/3rds only, remove tough outer leaves)
9 slices of peeled ginger (cut in 1/4 inch thick round)
4 kaffir leaves, hand torn
3 birds-eye chilies, lightly pounded and sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sliced cilantro
2 teaspoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts (drained and rinsed)
1 (14 oz) can baby corn (drained and rinsed), sliced in half
3.5 ounces fresh shimeji mushrooms
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned