As the trees put on their golden and ruby coats, we all start bundling up. One of my favorite parts of fall is the return to my oven! Sacramento summers are hot, so I tend to avoid baking and oven-based meals. But now that it’s fall, I welcome the chance to cozy up in my warm kitchen, oven roasting baked sweets to share, or a hearty meal for family.

As I make Thanksgiving plans for two, I’m thrilled with a new option this year: Diestel’s boneless turkey roast! In the past, I’ve purchased 12-pound birds from Diestel, one of my favorite sources. Their turkeys have no artificial ingredients or preservatives, no hormones, or antibiotics. They also hold the highest GAP rating.

GAP rated farms are those that hold high animal welfare standards. The GAP rating was created by the Global Animal Partnership to help customers make thoughtful choices about the meat they purchase. GAP has developed a 5-step rating system to rank the level of humane care that animals receive, and Diestel holds a 5+ rating, the highest.

Past Thanksgivings have involved large Diestel turkeys, but I’m cooking only for me and my husband. While we love turkey leftovers, we have spent a lot of extra time freezing turkey burritos or wraps because we could never finish one bird by ourselves. That’s why I’m excited about the new boneless turkey roast. It’s only 2-3 pounds–the perfect amount to feed a family of two with plenty of leftovers for sandwiches and dinners over the entire following week. It cuts down on the cooking time, too: only 45 minutes to an hour. That leaves me plenty of time to bake a pie and other side dishes–and there’s room in the oven for more than one thing.

The Diestel roast combines both dark and light meats in each slice–just the way we like it.

You can find the Diestel boneless turkey roast at your local Whole Foods Market, along with all the other fixings for a great meal!

Boneless Turkey Roast Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Diestel boneless turkey roast
1 cup water
1 clove garlic, smashed, skin removed
1 small onion, roughly chopped, skim removed
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 small potato, roughly chopped
1 twig rosemary
1 twig oregano
1 orange, roughly chopped
1 hot pepper, roughly chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup cornmeal

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 1 cup water in the bottom of a 2 qt, 8 x 8 inch baking dish. Add the garlic, onion, carrot, celery, potato, rosemary, oregano, orange and hot pepper to the water. Place the turkey roast on top. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour (cook for about 25 minutes per pound of turkey).

Remove cooked turkey from oven. Place turkey on a carving platter to cool.

Pour liquid from the turkey pan through a strainer into a medium sauce pan. Discard solids. Add an additional 1 cup of water to the roasting liquid. Simmer over medium high heat until boiling, then add 1/2 cup of cornmeal and stir continuously with a whisk until thickened to create gravy. Remove from heat. Serve with turkey roast.

Yield: 16 3-oz servings for a 3-lb roast

The post Boneless Turkey Roast Recipe appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

Libraries play one of the most important roles in our food movement. Tucked quietly inside their brick walls lies free access to food literacy, which itself may be the most powerful first-line tool in our war against a poor food system.

“Food literacy,” as define by Food Literacy Center, means understanding the impact of your food choices on your health, environment and community. When you drill down, this means having the knowledge to make choices that improve our world—for yourself, for the planet, for each other.

Albert Einstein said, “Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” Many years ago, I stopped reading anything but food nonfiction. My mom was a librarian and my dad a principal–they raised me to be curious, to yearn for knowledge.

I have always been passionate about our food system, yet the more I read, the more I learned. The more I learned, the more I found broken. All this knowledge led me action: I had to do something about it. In 2011, I founded the nonprofit Food Literacy Center. I went big with my investment.

I know others who have also made changes based on the books they’ve read about the food system: changing food purchases to organic or local, planting native plants to provide habitat for native bees, and so much more.

Knowledge is power. The more we understand our food system, the more empowered we are to make healthy choices for our bodies and for our planet. Being food literate is about being invested.

The hope of Food Literacy Center is to inform the next generation about our food system, equipping them with unforgettable knowledge and the tools to put it into practice, especially through cooking.

While they might not read “Omnivore’s Dilemma” in the second grade, books still play a critical role in the food literacy education of elementary schoolers. Books like “Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza” teach them to make a meal from scratch and sit down with friends to enjoy it. Books like “The Lorax” teach kids respect for the environment.

At any age, the library opens the door to change, because it opens the door to knowledge. Libraries and food movement activists alike understand this link and have formed dynamic partnerships.

Food Literacy Center teaches regular cooking classes in libraries, combing cooking education with a storybook to complete the food literacy cycle. If a child can read, she can read recipes. She might also grow up reading food nonfiction, as I have, and choose to volunteer or work in the food movement.

Colonial Heights library in Sacramento partnered with Soil Born Farms to build a vegetable garden. While school gardens must close down during the very productive summer months, libraries are open year-round, making them an ideal center for community gardening education. Libraries across the country are building gardens, recognizing their central role in community health.

A library in Iowa lends cake pans in addition to books, a program that inspires the long-lost tradition of home cooking. In Arkansas, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center holds a teaching kitchen designed for kids’ culinary arts education.

Libraries have long held the esteemed role of deepening the knowledge kids learn beyond school. They keep adults learning long after graduation. Today, they’re turning that education into action by partnering with others in the food movement. Food literacy + reading literacy = the perfect recipe!

The post Libraries and the Food Movement appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

It’s Dine Downtown Week hosted by Downtown Sacramento Partnership, and that means great food and great deals abound.

What is Dine Downtown? Local Sacramento restaurants sign up to participate in a week of $31 three-course menus. Traditionally, the menus cost only $30, but this year an extra dollar is being added to support the nonprofit California Food Literacy Center (the nonprofit where I’m founding executive director). The funds raised will prevent childhood obesity by inspiring kids to eat their vegetables.

I have already enjoyed two Dine Downtown menus: Esquire Grill and Downtown & Vine.

Downtown & Vine offers a nice range of choices on their menu, complete with a dessert and drink pairing to round out the meal, a great deal for the price. We were very pleased with our meal and will be returning again.

My husband and I ordered the antipasti plate and the smoke salmon plate. The antipasti had some unique treats, such as pickled gigande beans, tangy and buttery, in addition to the wild boar salami and prosciutto. The platter had a healthy serving of Midnight Moon cheese, a pleasantly sharp cheese.

The local salmon plate offered a deviled egg with pickled mustard seeds, and a healthy portion of Oregon coast smoke salmon that popped under citrus zest and capers.

This was only the first course!

For our second course, we selected the wild mushroom flatbread, which exceeded our expectations with its bold cheeses and wide range of mushroom varieties. We’ll be adding this flatbread to our regular must-haves in Sacramento.

We also tried the wine country grilled cheese, which came as a hearty portion: a full sandwich with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, fig jam and arugula. This was paired with bread and butter pickles, olive oil truffle potato chips and a cup of lovely tomato soup.

Before course three arrived, we were already full, but we soldiered on, because there’s always a little more room for dessert, right?

With three desserts to choose from, you really can’t go wrong. The Big Rock Blue Cheese plate came with a delicious amber honey comb and candied nuts, paired with a 2009 DeLoach Late Harvest Gewurztraminer, which was clean and refreshing.

The apple and walnut tarts burst with almond and butterscotch, both worthy of savoring in the warm restaurant, tucked away from the cold night. These were paired with a strong, sweet 2012 Noceto Frivolo Moscato.

The final dessert is a walnut-studded chocolate brownie topped with rich, buttermilk chocolate frosting. It’s paired with by far my favorite beverage pairing of the night—Lindeman’s Framboise Belgian Raspberry Beer, which tasted quite precisely like raspberries, and more like a cider than a beer. It was an excellent match to the rich chocolate dessert.

At Esquire Grill, I enjoyed a colorful kale salad studded with shaved beets and sunflower seeds. For the second course, I had a perfectly cooked salmon filet topped with a light smear of dill sauce atop a bed of lentils. For dessert: an apple galette with a perfectly flaky pastry.

Dine Downtown runs through Friday with 28 amazing restaurants to choose from as you eat to support a good cause. For details and menus, visit their website: http://downtownsac.org/events/dine-downtown/.

The post Dine Downtown Week appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

It’s cookbook season: the time of year we all turn to the kitchen to recreate family favorites to share. It’s also the season when we look for inspiration from new cookbooks and old.

I’m delighted to make a cookbook recommendation this holiday season. In fact, I had the joy of witnessing it in action. My dear friends Garrett and Stephanie spent the last three years covered in cheese, learning and researching as they created their masterpiece, Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.

I was fortunate to be a guinea pig for Garrett. He invited me to lunch to taste one of his creations, and I’m excited to see the result in print, called Pan-Fried Morbier Macaroni and Cheese.

My favorite cookbook cheerleader task came in the form of squash. Two years ago, I received a summertime request for large zucchinis from Garrett, which I gladly obliged. Those turned into a gorgeous stuffed recipe fit for any gardener, called Stuffed Zucchini with San Andreas Sheep’s Milk Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, and Macaroni.

The book is filled with the stories and recipes of Sacramento friends, including Hank Shaw (Chili-Mac with Redwood Hill Smoke Goat Cheddar) and Peg Tomlinson-Poswall (Sopa Seca de Fideo con Tomatillo y Queso Hoja Santa). It demonstrates the strong community required to produce a book of this quality: zucchini from one friend’s garden, a cooking lesson in Mexican soup from another, and dozens of hungry mouths to taste recipes to provide feedback.

I’m over the moon to share the results of Garrett and Stephanie’s hard work with you.

Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese offers a modern twist on the fluorescent orange classic. The authors reach into the creamy, dreamy world of artisan cheeses and pastas to bring you a cookbook that turns the notion of mac and cheese on its head.

Inside you’ll find recipes for chocolate pasta, peppers stuffed with pasta and cheese, gourmet cheeses and lots of vegetables, including several doses of Brussels sprouts. You’ll find unique sauces, including chard pesto and an avocado lime sauce that will make you swoon! The cookbook also offers salads served with noodles, cheeses and veggies. It even features desserts!

Who knew mac and cheese could be so versatile?

In addition to the great recipes, you’ll receive your honorary cheese degree by reading the book cover to cover. The authors share their years of knowledge, helping the reader navigate the vast and velvety world of artisan cheese.

If you’re looking for comfort this holiday season, pick up a copy of Melt. It was truly crafted from the heart, which will shine right through to your own kitchen.

Congratulations, Garrett & Steph!

Live in Sacramento and want your book signed? There’s an event Sunday, November 24 with cheese tasting and chats with the authors. Find event details here.

Recipe: Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord, Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company

Pumpkin Stuffed with Fontina, Italian Sausage, and Macaroni

Reprinted with permission from Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients
1 sugar pumpkin, or other sweet variety, about 5 pounds
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 pound milk Italian pork sausage
4 oz elbow macaroni
5 oz Fontina, cut into 1/4 –inch cubes
2 oz Gruyere, cut into 1/4 –inch cubes
3 scallions, diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F/178°C. Cut a circle from the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle, the way you would cut open a pumpkin to make a jack-o’-lantern, and set aside. Scoop out the seeds and strings as best you can. Generously salt and pepper the inside of the pumpkin, pop the top back on it, place it on a rimmed baking dish (since the pumpkin may leak or weep a bit), and bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. If the sausages are in their casings, remove the meat and discard the casings. Crumble the sausage meat into small chunks and cook until lightly browned. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Discard the drippings, or save for gravy or what have you.

Also while the pumpkin bakes, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain through a colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.

In a bowl, toss together the Fontina, Gruyère, sausage, pasta, scallions, and herbs. Once the pumpkin is done baking, take it out of the oven and fill it with the macaroni and cheese. Pour the cream over the filling. Place the top back on the pumpkin and bake for 1 hour, taking the top off for the last 15 minutes so the cheese on top of the filling can properly brown. If the top cream still seems a bit too wobbly and liquid, give it another 10 minutes in the oven. The cream may bubble over a bit, which is fine. If the pumpkin splits while baking, as occasionally happens, be thankful you set it in a rimmed baking dish and continue to bake as normal.

Allow the pumpkin to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Be careful moving the dish, as the pumpkin may be fragile. You can serve this dish two ways: Cut it into sections and serve them, or just scoop out the insides with scrapings of the pumpkin flesh for each serving. Either way is just dandy. Salt and pepper to taste.

The post Melt: A Macaroni and Cheese Cookbook Review appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

How would you define Sacramento as an agricultural region? What sets our food scene apart?

A friend recently posed this question to me. She’s serving on a workgroup trying to identify how to market the Sacramento region’s agriculture.

Praising Sacramento’s agriculture? That’s something I always have time to help with.

Sacramento is paradise for a foodie. We’re the best kept food secret in the world. We are the food innovation capital of the world, in my opinion.

Yet, until very recently, we were also guilty of taking for granted our local bounty.

Having grown up in rural Illinois, I understand how poorly people eat when every local farmer is growing soy and corn for cattle feed or ethanol instead of food for human consumption.

The Sacramento region, on the other hand, leads the nation in farmers’ markets and roadside farm stands. California produces nearly half of U.S.-grown fruits, nuts and vegetables. We have a year-round growing season bursting with inspiration! Figs, pomegranates, kale, heirloom tomatoes, red walnuts—foods the rest of the world only dreams about, or pays a hefty fee to import.

We’re growing this food at such high rates that home owners donate excess produce from their backyard fruit trees to the food bank to get the fruit out of their way. Walk down any city street, and you’ll find perfectly good citrus falling straight to the ground to rot, unwanted, taken for granted.

Yet, Sacramento is turning a corner to embrace the amazing food we grow.

Sacramento is home to some of the world’s most renowned food writers: James Beard Award-winner Hank Shaw, cookbook heavy weights like Georgeanne Brennan and Deborah Madison (originally from Sacramento, now living in New Mexico). Pick up the latest copies of Best Food Writing (a compilation of the top food stories in the nation), and you’ll find The Sacramento Bee’s food and wine writer, Chris Macias, among other Sacramento writers featured. The world’s largest food blogger, Elise Bauer, is at home cooking something right now that once posted on her website, will likely enjoy hundreds of thousands of views in a single day.

Our approach to food ripples around the world!

If you have read any recent books about the food system, you’ll find a chapter (or two) about California. Tracie McMillan’s The American Way of Eating takes place in California farm fields. Fruitless Fall discusses the impacts of California’s almond crop on honey bees. Bet the Farm’s author Frederick Kaufman travels to our region’s universities and farms in his quest to understand our global food system’s impact on world hunger.

The Sacramento region is home to the country’s largest CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. California farmers, many of them in our region, grow 75% of the world’s almond crop, and process 90% of the nation’s canned tomatoes (35% of world production)—to name only a few.

What we grow feeds the world, and our food systems set the bar for how farming is done across the country. The world’s biggest seed company, Monsanto, is located right here in our backyard.

Food innovations, for better or for worse, are happening right here.

Here in Sacramento, nonprofit heroes are working just as hard as food movement players in Cleveland or Kansas to address food access, hunger, or urban farming. We’re bringing food literacy education into elementary schools. We’re making food banks mobile. We’re bringing food stamps to farmers markets. We’re saving food waste from landfills and turning it into fuel.

But the thing that sets Sacramento apart is that our gripes about the food system are often heard in meetings where Big Ag is present. At a recent forum convened by the Sacramento Food Bank, attendees ranged from small urban farmers to social workers and teachers to lobbyists and commodity crop growers.

In Sacramento, not only are nonprofits innovating solutions to our broken food system, but we also have the opportunity to hold court with the biggest offenders. They have to look us in the eyes. They show up to our meetings and serve on our boards. Locally, they recognize the power of the food movement to shift our nation’s food system.

What happens in Sacramento’s food scene will have ripple effects around the nation.

Sacramento is where the world’s best food meets innovation on the ground. And you can bet our successes and challenges will be covered by local food writers, who post them on blogs and in newspapers viewed around the world.

What happens in food in Sacramento affects global food in a big way. Those of us working within this system carry a great deal of responsibility on our shoulders.

How would you describe Sacramento as an agricultural region? Leave your comments here, and I’ll pass them along to my friend’s workgroup. Maybe your voice will influence how our region’s agriculture is defined.

The post Sacramento: Food Innovation Capital of the World appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

This month, I join my food blog friends across the nation to celebrate October Unprocessed! Andrew Wilder of the blog Eating Rules created the event to help readers become more aware of what’s in their food. It’s harder than you think–even for folks already making lots of food from scratch.

I have participated in October Unprocessed since its inception, and am proud to be participating again as a guest blogger. Check out my story, which features 3 tips to teach food literacy to kids. After all, the fight against childhood obesity starts with each of us, whether it’s at home or in schools.

Join October Unprocessed by taking the pledge yourself. Then, join me, Andrew, and others as we encourage kids to get into the kitchen on Food Day, October 24, as part of a nationwide initiative to Get Food Education into EVERY school! Kids cooking, eating unprocessed food–what could be better?

Happy October Unprocessed!

Read on…

The post 3 Tips to Teach Food Literacy to Kids during October Unprocessed appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

Alaska! America’s last wild frontier has left a lasting impression on me. A week after my great Alaskan vacation, my hair still smells of campfire and my pants of smoked salmon.

I’m a lucky, lucky girl. Last year, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute ran a fish taco recipe contest. The blogger of the winning recipe earned a free trip to Alaska—and that lucky winner was me! Holy cow!

This July, my husband and I packed our flannels and headed north. Way north.

Moose running loose on the streets
I had never been to Alaska before, and didn’t know what to expect. My inexperienced impressions included wild moose running loose on city streets, cold weather, sunlight all night long and fish filling every inch of creeks and rivers.

I was a little bit right—but also in for a whole new world of surprises.

Preparing for Alaska: Canoeing the American River
Exactly one week before leaving for our big voyage, where we had planned to hike, fish and fully embrace some outdoor adventuring, Brendan and I decided to go for a quick canoe ride on the American River.

If any of you know me, you’re familiar with my hectic lifestyle, where work largely consumes the bulk of my time. I had just completed a late afternoon food literacy talk at a local library on this Saturday afternoon. I rushed home, eager to have a few hours with my husband. He had the canoe and gear packed, ready to roll.

Within a few minutes of putting the canoe in the water, we had a choice to make. Turn left at a fork in the river to avoid the mild rapids, or head straight through. The water is so low on the river right now we didn’t think about how it might change the pattern of the rapids we had easily maneuvered a dozen times before. So, we headed straight through.

Catastrophe in the rapids
All I remember was the pounding and scraping of my knees against boulders, ripping and tearing at my flesh. I remember thinking it was imperative to roll over, get my padded butt facing the rocks rather than my tender knees.

As soon as I was able to flip myself, I saw my giant husband standing in the middle of the river. In one hand he held the canoe, two paddles and our small cooler. He reached the other hand down into the swift water and plucked me out.

Blood poured down my knees. I was afraid to stand, but Brendan was urging me to help him get the canoe out of the water and up on the nearby bank. I willed my knees to support me despite the ache of every step. He emptied the canoe of water, righted it, returned our gear and helped me back in.

Alaska on crutches?
The next day, I could barely walk. I went to the doctor, who gave me crutches, prescription Ibuprofen and instructions to keep my legs elevated.

My dreams of hiking Alaska vanished. I saw myself hopping around on crutches, trying to stand at a bar with a beer in one hand, my crutches in the other. I saw myself hotel-bound.

Thankfully, within a few days before departure I was able to ditch my crutches. But my knees still throbbed and looked like giant softballs. There would be no hiking adventures. I boarded the plane, fingers crossed that my knees wouldn’t spoil our entire vacation. Who wants to be hotel-bound in Alaska?

Then I checked the extended weather forecast: rain, rain and more rain.

I gave a silent prayer to the vacation gods to let us have a happy trip. I really needed a vacation, and so did my husband. Our last vacation had been two years ago to hike the Grand Canyon. Not long after, I started a nonprofit while working a part-time job, working long days and full weeks just to get it off the ground. We needed time together, away from real life, chores, jobs and technology. Yet, between my swollen knees and a dreary forecast, the outcome wasn’t looking good.

#1. Anchorage & Moose’s Tooth
We landed in Anchorage, obtained our rental car (thanks, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute!), and headed for the Hotel Captain Cook (hotel also thanks to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute). This fine establishment offers the best accommodations in town, and we scored a corner room with a view: mountains to one side, the ocean on the other. The hotel manager was kind enough to offer my husband free access to the health center. If he couldn’t hike, at least he could stay in shape.

Alaska was looking pretty nice from the start!

Next on the agenda: dinner. The hotel clerk recommended a local pizza joint that brews their own beer: Moose’s Tooth. It was after 9 p.m., but we didn’t notice. The sun was still high in the sky. The Fairweather IPA was hoppy, bold and just what we needed after a long flight. The pizza was delicious and the Caesar salad dressing freshly made.

At the very least, I knew I could eat and drink happily on this trip. But would I see any wildlife if I couldn’t hike?

Turns out Alaska is so wonderfully wild that you don’t have to travel far to see nature, and if you’ve got a good rental car (thanks again, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute!), you can experience quite a lot without leaving the comforts of your dry vehicle.

#2. Farm to Fork Alaska: Giant vegetables & a musk ox farm
Everything is big in Alaska, including the vegetables. In early July when we were visiting, vegetables gardens were just beginning to grow. Yet, with 24 hours of sunlight each day, veggies grow fast and feral. Palmer, Alaska is known for a state fair that features cabbages the size of bears! Since we couldn’t see the giant veggies, we stopped by the town’s visitors’ center, which features a beautiful garden filled with varieties of vegetables commonly grown in Alaska.

Palmer also has an excellent Mexican restaurant called La Fiesta that serves local microbrews.

Just a few miles down the road there’s a nonprofit musk ox farm. We arrived after closing, and I was sorely disappointed. Musk oxen are ancient creatures that actually exist from the Ice Age! Their wool is among the most prized in the world, and apparently some of the warmest. Next time I’m in Alaska, I won’t miss my chance to see this farm.

#3. Glacier watching & glacier ice cocktails
There are lots of ways to see glaciers in Alaska. You can hike, drive, kayak or take a cruise. Glaciers are plentiful.

Brendan and I booked a glacier cruise so we could escape the rain, and so I could stay off my knees. It was called the “26 Glacier Cruise,” but that day the fog and rain were so thick we saw only three. Yet, that’s three more glaciers than I’ve ever seen, so I was impressed. Brendan and I had to share a table with a family who didn’t speak any English, which made the journey a little awkward.

One of my friends took this same cruise during non-tourist season on a fair weather day, and not only did they have a table all to themselves, they also saw all 26 glaciers.

The highlight of this trip (other than seeing the glaciers) was getting to drink cocktails made with glacier ice that the boat staff scooped out of the ocean on site. Where else can you drink 80 year old ice that fresh?

#4. Wild Alaskan animals
Despite my hopes that a moose would be waiting for me at baggage claim in the airport, I had been in Alaska for three days without seeing a single one. It was likely a combination of the rain, fog and my inexperience knowing where to look for them.

Luckily, I spotted a sign from the road as we were driving one day. It had pictures of all the animals I had been hoping to see: moose, bears, musk ox.

“Pull over! Animals!” I exclaimed when I saw the sign. My husband graciously obliged me. One left turn and we were suddenly in nature paradise!

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a nonprofit that takes in wild animals that are orphaned or injured and either rehabilitates them for their return to nature, or permanently houses them. Best of all, their facility is built to allow visitors an up close and personal experience with the animals. If you love animals, this place is like being a kid in a candy shop! Sheer joy!

At Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center I got to see my first real moose! There were also musk ox, elk, wood bison, eagles, lynx, grizzlies, caribou and so much more. We arrived one hour before closing, but were still able to pack in photos of nearly every animal. If you’re a real nature lover, you should plan for a few hours of animal bliss.

#5. Fishing King Salmon on wild rivers
The rivers in Alaska are exquisite! They’ve been allowed to run free and wild. My husband is a river scientist, and he was excited about something called a “braided river,” where the wide river bank has a series of twists and snaking turns that cut in and out of each other. The rivers are wide, flanked on all sides by nature or ocean and many are filled with silt from the nearby glacial runoff. As we drove from destination to destination we pulled the car to the side of the road many times to snap photos of the wonderful Alaskan rivers.

We also hired a guide through IFishAlaska.com to take us on the Deshka River for some salmon fishing. What a wonderful adventure! The guide drove us deep upstream to banks we never could have viewed from our car. Brendan and I grew up on the Mighty Mississippi River, which until then had been the widest river I’d ever seen. This massive body put the Mississippi to shame.

Eagles soared around us. A tiny bird called an Arctic Tern also followed our boat (eager to eat one of its favorite treats, salmon roe, which also happened to be our fish bait). The rain stopped long enough for us to both catch fish. Our guide knew exactly where to find them, what bait to use and what type of reel. All we had to do was show up with a fishing license.

We fished for King Salmon, which meant our fishing limit was one salmon per person. Luckily, we each successfully caught beautiful fish. Our guide said their color indicated they had quite recently left the ocean. He filleted them right on the beach, tossing the carcasses to the eagerly awaiting sea gulls.

Once back to our car, we put our salmon on ice in a cooler, and anxiously dreamt about eating fish tacos. After all, it was a delicious salmon taco that landed us this free trip to Alaska.

#6. Seaside fish tacos & beach bonfires
When our luxurious nights in the Hotel Captain Cook came to an end, we experienced Alaska on a budget. It’s a 4-hour drive from Anchorage to Homer, Alaska. My husband and I met up with dear friends who live in Fairbanks for a few nights of real nature.

In Homer, we chartered a boat to porter us, a kayak and our gear to an island on the ocean, where 2 nights in a yurt awaited us. The yurt cost $75 a night—cheap accommodations for Alaska in peak tourist season, especially when split between two couples. The yurt was equipped with mats for sleeping, a wood stove and the promise of a dry bed each night.

My knees were still sore, but getting better each day. By the time we reached the yurt, I could walk up and down the short path from the ocean to the hut without pain.

We had the entire beach to ourselves, though we gladly shared it with a family of eagles. For meals, we sliced generous chunks of our freshly-caught salmon and turned them into five star meals accompanied by five star views. Since a salmon fish taco recipe had landed us this free trip, we decided to honor the recipe by cooking fish tacos right there in Alaska, on the beach.

We brought a camp stove and dishes to aid in our cooking, but had no more than a pocket knife and a few plastic spoons. With our fish and other food safely packed in coolers, we had everything we needed to make a modern meal. Fish tacos never tasted so good as they did on that beach!

We also kept a robust bonfire burning late into each night and first thing each morning. Life just doesn’t get much better than that!

#7. Salmon Bakes & Halibut Cheeks
My friend Hank Shaw introduced me to the concept of eating fish cheeks. He swears by them as one of the best cuts of meat on a fish—and he’s right! Yet, rarely do you see fish cheeks served on a menu. In Homer, Alaska, we found halibut cheeks in a great little restaurant overlooking the ocean.

Unlike smaller fish, whose cheeks are about the size of a quarter, halibut cheeks are the size of golf balls. Of course, seafood in Alaska already tastes fresher and sweeter than anything we can obtain in Sacramento, but these halibut cheeks burst with seawater and rich, buttery flavor in such bursts, I felt as though my mouth were being sent on a sea voyage. Heaven.

Salmon bakes are also popular in Alaska, so of course we had to try one in Seward, Alaska. The restaurant had a giant barrel of pickles, and guests could help themselves. Served with a moist halibut sandwich and an ice cold, local microbrew, any thoughts of Facebook or Internets just slipped into the distant past.

#8. Alaskan microbrews
Thank you, Alaska, for appreciating good beer! From the biggest city to the tiniest village, Alaskans are brewing up great, local beers. Everywhere you go, you can get a decent microbrew. From the airplane upon arrival to the most commercial tour boat, you won’t be offered watered-down brand names in Alaska. They know good beer, and they drink it!

Some of our favorites included:

Midnight Sun Brewing Company

Glacier Brewhouse

Moose’s Tooth

#9. Wilderness photography
If you have a camera, be prepared to use it in Alaska! On our first day, I took some 200 photos. From the wild rivers to the glaciers to moose to wildflowers, everything is free and beautiful in Alaska. My friend, Johanna, is a brilliant photographer, and I had the benefit of her private lessons while we were enjoying the beach. I can’t imagine a more wonderful place to learn photography. We captured the glowing flames of our beach bonfire, the swift ripples of a mountain river flowing into the ocean and the tiny brushes of fluff on a wildflower.

I was grateful that I packed my laptop to download photos from my camera and my phone every few nights of our trip, because I filled my memory cards quickly.

Thank you, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute!

Alaska blew my mind in such a freeing way! Vast, wild and brimming with adventure; we ate amazing, simple food, drank fantastic beers, fished, explored nature and most of all—relaxed. Despite my injured knees, I was able to enjoy an adv

The post 9 Great Alaskan Adventures appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

Early this year, I walked into a party and saw a familiar face.

“How do I know you?” I asked.

“I don’t know. You look very familiar, too,” said the (very beautiful) face.

Back and forth we went, exploring mutual friends, my previous employers. We kept coming up blank.

“What do you do for a living?” I asked.

“I’m a photographer,” she said.

“Ah ha!” we both exclaimed in unison. She was my wedding photographer—10 years ago!

Today, it just happens that Janine Mapurunga shoots documentary photography of people and food. It was a coincidence that we should fall back into each other’s lives at this particular juncture, when we have both recently made the switch to dedicating ourselves to food full time.

I adore Janine! Her Brazilian spirit is free and cheerful—exactly the kind of joy that I feel around other kindred souls in the food movement.

Janine recently launched an ambitious project to capture photos and interviews of key players in the farm to fork effort. She calls it “Sacramento Farmers & Chefs,” and is aptly shooting portraits of Sacramentans who fall into this category. Her collection will be displayed during a kick-off reception on September 14 as part of Farm to Fork Month efforts. Her long-term goal is to create a book.

I was lucky enough to be chosen for this project among 50 other highly admirable chefs and farmers. Janine took extra time to let me play with my food, and shot the silly photo above. This is the image that’s part of the official collection:

A documentary project of this scale requires funding. You can help by attending this Saturday’s Backyard Eat & Greet. $40 gets you access to a backyard barbeque with Grange chefs, beer from Ruhstaller, and a live bluegrass band.

Get your tickets here.

The post Sacramento Farmers & Chefs Project appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

When it comes to filling my locavore fix, the Sacramento region has no shortage of farms for me to choose from. Feeding Crane Farms is one of my favorites! Let me count the ways I love them:

1. Local. Farms don’t get any more local than Feeding Crane. They’re the only farm inside Sacramento city limits.
2. Beautiful. Everything they grow is gorgeous! If you’ve ever visited their farmers market stands, you’ll see what I mean. Their carrots run a rainbow of colors in purple and orange. They have orange eggplants in summer. All winter long, colorful pops of pink radishes fill their tables.
3. Unique. I mentioned their orange eggplants. Their produce provides a new adventure with every bite! Black radishes (spicy). White carrots (sweet). Paprika peppers (sweet hot). Bottled pepper sauce (move over, Cholula!). Never a dull moment.
4. Organic. Need I say more?
5. Friendly. Seriously. The nicest folks around! So nice, in fact, that I invited general manager, Shannin Stein, to join my nonprofit board. She’s been a joy to work with.
6. Informed. General Manager, Shannin, has worked in nonprofits and understands the layered relationships of all the eaters in our community. Their chef, Paul Poore, completed the California Food Literacy Center’s Food Literacy Academy. I call him the “child whisperer,” because kids love to learn from him! Their owner, Brian Shaad, works around the world in microfinance and global agriculture, bringing a worldly perspective and big vision to keep the organization growing and focused.
7. Engaged. This social enterprise may be for-profit, but they have the folks who work in our community in mind. They donate their produce to lots of nonprofits in town—the same veggies that you’ll find at Corti Brothers. They believe everyone should have access to great, healthy food.
8. Green. This farm quite literally has the best greens in town! You’ll find them on many restaurant menus and in my own fridge regularly. In fact, when I run out of their braising mix, I become quite verklempt. The blend of baby kale, chard, mustard greens, tatsoi and other hearty greens sells at their markets for a mere $5 a bag. It’s a steal! It lasts me almost a week. I throw the greens in salads, eggs, sandwiches and pizzas. Grab and go! Best fast food there is.

I could go on, but I’m getting hungry.

Since one of my favorite Feeding Crane foods is their braising greens mix, I’m sharing a recipe that will change your world. You could use spinach, kale or any hearty green you happen to have, but I swear the recipe is elevated to the next level when Feeding Crane’s greens area available. When cooked in this pizza, they have an almost lemony sweetness that is the perfect partner to pesto.

Pesto & Greens Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
4-5 Tablespoons fresh pesto
2-3 cups greens, Feeding Crane Farms braising greens mix recommended
8 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 a large, red onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, optional

Farmers market ingredients: pesto (if homemade), greens, onion, red pepper
California-grown: cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 4 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with pesto, spreading evenly over surface of pizza. Add greens in a mound on top of pesto, spreading evenly over the surface of the pizza. Add cheese, spreading evenly over the surface of the greens. Sprinkle the onion slices over the cheese. Sprinkle with red pepper, if using.

Return pizza to oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is beginning to brown and bubble. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

Slice and serve.

Yield: 1 pizza

The post Pesto & Greens Pizza Recipe appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.

I was recently asked what fruit or vegetable I would want to be. I picked rhubarb.

Rhubarb represents my roots: my grandma’s recipes, my parents’ backyard garden, and carefree summers as a child in rural Illinois chasing fireflies.

This Mother’s Day, I give thanks to my mom and grandma for feeding me rhubarb!

My experience of rhubarb wasn’t a simple slice of pie placed in front of me. It started in our backyard, where the rhubarb grew past my head as a toddler. The older I grew, the bigger our rhubarb patch became. As soon as I was able to wield a basic cutting knife, I was encouraged to follow my brother and sister outside to harvest the ripe vegetable.

Paper bags swinging, knives clutched tightly, we stomped into the leafy patch. In my early memories, I remember stepping among the leaves and being encircled. I knelt on the ground, hunting for the reddest, thinnest stalks. Both Mom and Grandma liked those best.

“Oh! These look beautiful!” I knew they would exclaim as I stepped inside with a bag full of ruby stems. I wanted to please them and pick the best pieces I could find.

With my bag full of freshly picked rhubarb, my siblings and I proceeded to remove the poisonous leaves.

“You have to use a karate chop,” my brother instructed as he held a single stalk high. With a swift whack, the leaf fell to the ground.

I’m certain my mom never saw us out back swinging our knives through the air in karate chop fashion. She would have been scared for our lives. Yet, kids who grow up on the land somehow manage to eat dirt, throw rocks, and traverse creeks without more than a few scrapes or bruises, so I’ve lived to tell this tale.

To this day, despite my adult knowledge of knife safety, when no one is looking I still stand in the middle of my patch and karate chop the leaves off my stalks of rhubarb.

Once safely inside my parent’s house with our rhubarb, my next job was to help Mom and Grandma wash and chop it. After a soak in a sink full of water, the rhubarb was chopped into 1-inch pieces. No matter what we were making, the size was always the same.

Our family’s most-requested recipe remains my grandma’s rhubarb pinwheels. They take hours to make, but only moments to gobble down. I always liked my pinwheels with extra rhubarb sauce. The thick syrup tastes good on just about anything, including vanilla ice cream, stirred into oatmeal, or by the spoonfuls strait from the bowl when no one is looking.

For Mother’s Day, I’ve added rhubarb sauce to French toast. It’s the perfect way to sneak rhubarb into one more meal during its short-lived season. In California, the green variety of rhubarb grows best. I miss the deep red of my family’s Illinois variety, though it all tastes nearly the same. One thing is certain: if it’s got rhubarb in it, it’s sure to please the mothers in my family. I hope it’s true for yours, too.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Rhubarb French Toast Recipe

Ingredients:
5-6 cups diced rhubarb
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon spiced rum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Zest from half an orange
8 slices whole wheat bread
Edible flowers, optional

Farmers market & garden ingredients: rhubarb, eggs, orange, bread, edible flowers
Supermarket ingredients: sugar, vanilla extract, rum, cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Stir rhubarb, water and sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until rhubarb begins to break apart and the sauce thickens. Turn off heat and set aside.

2. Beat together eggs, vanilla, rum, cinnamon and orange zest.

3. Dip one slice of bread in the egg mixture, coating thoroughly on both sides. Place the coated bread slice in a preheated skillet over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip over and repeat.

4. Place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.

5. Repeat from step 3 with the remaining slices of bread.

Serve French toast warm with heaping spoonfuls of rhubarb sauce. Garnish with edible flowers (optional).

Yield: 2-3 cups sauce & 8 slices French toast

The post Rhubarb French Toast Recipe appeared first on Awake at the Whisk.