Vancouver - In A Word

In a word, Vancouver was:

Picturesque

Stunning

Unique

Peaceful

Challenging

Educational

Relaxing

And of course, delicious!

Italian Panini from La Grotta

Memphis Blues BBQ

Morel pizza - great mushrooms!

Vancouver, British Colombia was beautiful (when it wasn't rioting), with clean air, natural beauty, and a gorgeous city that's been voted "most liveable" many times over by its residents. We had a great time, and it's also good to be back in sunny California. It was a little hard to get used to 9:30pm sunsets and 60 degree rain in June, but we surely enjoyed every minute of our trip!

To Vancouver We Go!

It's summer, and for many families, that means vacation time. Can you believe I convinced my family to go to a totally cool place like Vancouver BC?

Well, Vancouver is pretty awesome, so maybe I should rephrase that - can you believe I convinced them that they need to take us with them?!

We'll be busy this weekend packing and traveling. I'll be gone from the blogging world for a week but return with great pictures and stories, I'm sure! I can't wait! See you then!

Fat Face Relocates to Midtown

The author with a Fat Face Strawberry-Coconut popsicle

At the Sacramento Mobile Food Festival in April, we waited in forever long lines and the only thing we successfully tasted was a popsicle from Fat Face. I loved the bold, creative flavor combinations, like Kaffir Lime-Avocado, Strawberry Lemonade, and Plum-Basil. It also saved the festival from being a total waste for us, which was a bonus.

Formerly housed in Davis, this purveyor of creative frozen treats and gourmet meals has found a new home in midtown, according to an article in today’s Sacramento Bee. You can now try Fat Face's exciting popsicle flavors (for $3 each) at the new Fat Face café inside Bows and Arrows (1815 19th St.), a popular hipster clothing store/art gallery heavy on vintage style.

The menu is still evolving, but currently includes several sandwich plates like smoked Bledsoe pork sandwich with greens or chips and a pickled carrot ($9) and a beer poached fig sandwich with caramelized onion, arugula and goat cheese ($9), plus cheese plates.

So go ahead, indulge your inner hipster, and check out Fat Face!

Goodbye Pyramid - Hello Plate!

So this is the USDA's latest re-created food guide. Gone is the beloved pyramid of my youth. In addition to the divided plate, they have a slogan for each food category.

Grains - Make at least half your grains whole
Fruit - Focus on Fruit
Vegetables - Vary your veggies
Dairy - Get your calcium-rich foods
Protein - Go lean with protein

There is also a website, Choose My Plate, that offers free tools for weight management, including diet and exercise. There are tips for eating out, for pregnancy diet, vegetarian diet, etc.

I think the new website is nice. I like that the new plate method breaks down each meal and offers a more solid visual model than the pyramid. Of course, it has weaknesses, the main one for me being that I don't eat like this, and most of America probably doesn't either. Most ethnic foods like tacos, lasagna, pizza, pasta... heck, even a casserole, combine several elements in various combinations. The new website has a chart for "mixed dishes", but only includes about 2 dozen examples.

What do you think of the new plate method?

A Moroccan Dinner Party

A good friend hosted a fabulous Moroccan-themed dinner party this weekend, and while there was no belly dancing, the menu was to die for. The appetizer was a Bastilla, the sweet and savory chicken pie of Morocco, made with phyllo dough, braised chicken, almonds, and sprinkled with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

This is a dish that everyone should try at least once - and if you’re anything like me, you will crave it ever after. Next, a lamb tagine with kalamata olives and apricots, served with roasted veggies over couscous. (Didn't get a picture as we were fully engaged in stuffing our faces at this point.)

Finally, an orange-cardamom custardy flan for dessert, sitting in a pool of caramelized sugar.



Once again, I am in awe of the power food has to transport us far away from our everyday lives. You must try the Bastilla - it's like chicken pot pie on crack, a delightfully exotic dish to make on a weekend and impress your friends and family.

Moroccan Bastilla

1 chicken (about 3 lbs.)
2 med. onions, chopped
1 lg. can (49 oz.) chicken broth
1 c. chopped parsley
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 eggs
8 sheets phyllo dough (keep covered)
4 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. sliced almonds
Powdered sugar & cinnamon

Cook chicken in broth with onions, parsley, cinnamon stick, ginger, and pepper for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Debone and skin; cut meat into bite size pieces. Bring broth to a boil over medium heat. Lightly beat eggs and pour slowly into broth; cook, stirring until curds form, about 1 to 2 minutes. Strain.

Brush melted butter on bottom and sides of a deep 10" pie pan. Overlap 6 phyllo sheets to cover the bottom and extend 8" to 10" over the edge of the pan. Brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Top with chicken; spread egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with almonds. Fold edges of phyllo dough over filling and brush top with butter. Fold remaining 2 sheets of phyllo over filling and brush top with butter. Fold remaining 2 sheets of phyllo in half cross wise and place on top. Tuck edges inside pan and brush with butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Invert on a cookie sheet and bake until bottom is golden, about 10 minutes. Turn onto a platter and cool 5 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over top. Decorate with criss crossing lines of ground cinnamon. Slice to serve. Makes 8 main dish servings or may be used as an appetizer.

Newest Herb Acquisition: Cuban Oregano

We made our second trip to the West Sacramento Farmer’s Market last night. We bought:

- $8 half flat of super-sweet strawberries

- A bag of crisp snap peas for $2.50

- Flank steaks ($8/lb) from Lucky Dog Ranch, which I realized is the same meat they serve at the wonderful Roxy restaurant. Tonight we’re grilling it and making a stab at our first chimmichurri sauce. Looking forward to it!

- Two kinds of Oregano. I needed something replace the parsley that went to seed in the last month, as it typically does in the second year. I knew I needed to replenish my herb box, so I thought I would take a stab at oregano for the first time. The first plant I saw was familiar enough and looked like a baby version of this:

This is Greek Oregano, the typical kind grown.

The second is new to me : Cuban Oregano!

See how different it looks? The fellow who sold it to me said it was good to slice and put in a green salad. Does anyone have any suggestions for using this unique herb? Maybe I should try my hand at Cuban food.

Super Natural... Every Day?

In 2008, shortly after I started my blog, I discovered 101 Cookbooks, one of the most popular food blogs on the web. Heidi Swanson seemed like the sort of person who ordinary people want to spy on, or live vicariously through, depending on your perspective. After all, would wouldn't be curious about a vegetarian hipster from the Bay area who travels, cooks healthy, exotic food and photographs it all as she goes?

After a while I became disenchanted. Who was this health nut of a character with a pantry full of ingredients like tempeh, millet and wild nori seaweed? I found it all a bit much. However, with Heidi's new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, selling like hotcakes, I decided to give a go at a few of the simpler sounding recipes.

I made:

Green Lentil Soup

And Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries

I really liked the lentil soup, despite the small rock I bit into one particular bite. (They aren't kidding when they tell you to pick through your lentils! There is a reason for that, I've learned.) The soup was simple, dotted with spiced butter and sprinkled with green chives. The flavor was reminiscent of an Indian daal, and it was very tasty with wheat saltine crackers.

The baked oatmeal was rich (even more so because I substituted part leftover coconut milk from the lentil soup for the regular milk) and a hearty yet healthy breakfast. I loved the flavors of the coconut, spices, blueberries and walnuts all layered in one dish.

Heidi, maybe you and I can be friends again after all.