What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide French for "under vacuum," also known as low pressure long time cooking.  (LTLT).  It is a method of cooking in which food is place in a plastic pouch or a glass jar, tightly sealed, and cooked in a water bath for longer than usual cooking times.  (usually 1-7 hours).  Typically, the cooking temperature is around 55-60 degrees Celsius for meat, higher for vegetables.  The intent is to cook the product evenly and retain moisture.

In the 1970"s the method of food cooked low and slow was adopted by Georges Pralus, a French chef for Restaurant Troisgros and Bruno Goussault, chief scientist of Sterling, Virginia based food manufacturerer Cuisine Solutions.  Goussault and Pralus independently worked on development of sous vide in the 19970"s and eventually became collaborators.

Any type of meat, fish, chicken or vegetable can be cooked in this style.  I first experienced a steak cooked in a sous vide at my son Philip's house in Boulder.  I was sure the meat would be dry and overcooked, but it was probably the most perfectly prepared steak I have ever had.  Pork and pork chops cooked to you exact desired doneness, and the meat is moist and juicy.  Whatever you cook seems to come out better in a sous vide machine.

It goes against everything I thought I knew about cooking meat, but somehow meat, fish and chicken come out perfectly done and tender.  After spending an an hour discussing the sous vide with my friends at the dog park, I may just have to go out and get one.

Smorgasburg Brooklyn

If you're lucky enough to be in Brooklyn on a Saturday or Sunday from April through October, you will definitely want to stop by Smorgasburg Brooklyn.  It's the largest gathering of food trucks in the country, up to 100 vendors, which attracts 20,000-30,000 people each weekend.  Brooklyn is one of the foodie capitals of the world right now, and you will find every old and new at this gathering.

Darren Wong is a New York chef who has a booth at Smorgasburg, where he is exciting guests with his raindrop cake.  The cake was inspired by traditional mizu shingen mochi from Japan.  It is light and delicate and has no calories.  It's a jiggl, translucent ball made from water and agr.  Some people add a little sugar.  It is molded and refrigerated, then served in a ball with sugar syrup and roasted soy flour.  It doesn't sound like much, but it is intriguing.  There are lots of recipes out there, but apparently it's a little tricky to get the right consistency.  I have not seen it on the west coast, but my guess is it will be here soon.  If you're adventurous, get a recipe and try to make it.  Better yet, go to Brooklyn and try the rainbow cake made by Darren Wong.  It's exciting that there's always something new in food.  We won't like everything, but if I have a chance I will give rainbow cake a try.

Food Halls Are The Next Big Dining Trend

We all know how successful Liberty Station's two year old food hall has been.  It is packed for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, with 30 choices for diners.  Well, James Markham, the restauranteur who created Pieology, Project Pie and now Crackheads (breakfast), thinks that food halls are the next big food concept.

Markham secured the lease at the old TGIFridays in Carlsbad (big windmill hovers above it), which has been vacant for two years.  Years ago, this spot was the home of Anderson's Pea Soup.  Here, Markham plans to create the Carlsbad Windmill Food Hall, 12,000 square feet of 11 individual food vendors, bar, and games for the children.  Games will include Skee Ball, Pac Man and Ping Pong.  In order to free up servers to help customers rather than have to spend time processing credit cards, Markham plans to create a single point payment system, similar to the system used at the KAABOO concert in Del Mar last year.  When customers arrive, they check in, get a key fob linked to their credit card, which will be swiped at each booth for payment.  I can't wait for Carlsbad Winmill Food Hall to open.

Markham might be right about the food hall trend.  In June, Little Italy Food Hall is set to open.  Also this summer, Whisknladle Hospitality will open Park Commons, formerly San Diego Tech Center, in Sorrento Valley.  It will be 10,000 square feet of food hall space.  One chef will oversee multi concept food stations.

San Diego and North County are seem to be keeping up, perhaps even setting trends in food right now.  First breweries and gastro pubs, now food halls.  I hope the concept lives up to the hype.

Food Trends: Charcoal Lattes

Charcoal lattes are the next food trend, starting in the UK and parts of Asia, and now moving into the U.S.  The magic ingredient is activated charcoal, and is said to have major benefits to your health.  It can cleanse your digestive system.  It also reduces bloating and gas and increases energy.  It is also said to relieve a nasty hangover.  There are, however, some important things to consider before consuming a charcoal latte.

Activated charcoals is also used for drug overdoses and poisoning.  It is non discriminative and therefore can remove beneficial nutrients or medications as well as impurities.  It must be used in small doses.  Anyone who takes medications (probably everyone reading this blog) should avoid consumption of activated charcoal, according to some dieticians and nutritionists.  PLEASE, check with your doctor before making this drink or ordering it at a coffee bar.  Maybe this is a drink best enjoyed by the young and the healthy.  I don't know if it is served yet in San Diego, but you can find it on the menu in Chinatown in New York City at The Good Sort.  Below is a home recipe for it, if you dare.  Please, drink responsibly and check with your doctor before consuming.  I was all  ready to try it before I read about the negatives.  Proceed at your own risk.

Activated charcoal latte

3 cups of almond milk
1 tsp activated charcoal
2 tsp vanilla extract

Any sweetener, as desired

Heat all ingredients in a saucepan, then blend in blender until frothy.  Enjoy.

More Restaurant Openings

Who knew a city like San Diego could have so many restaurants?  Every month I find more and more openings, and not so many closings.  I have a few more to tell you about that you may want to try,

The Goods is a bakery in Carlbad Village.  It's known for its donuts, so I have to try it.  I have heard good things about it.  Will The Goods replace VG's as my go to donut shop?  We'll see.

Viewpoint Brewery.  I went by Viewpoint today but couldn't get in.  They don't open until noon.  It's in a big warehouse off of Jimmy Durante in Del Mar.  (near the bird sanctuary).  I hear it is mobbed at dinner, and is listed as one of the 10 hottest restaurants in San Diego.  They have lots of beer choices, and a nice menu.  Burgers, salads, wings, mac n cheese, and beef tartare.  Beef tartare is one of my favorites and it's not on many menus.  Since I originally wrote this blog I have been to Viewpoint for lunch.  It has a limited menu, but the food was good.  Beef tartare is only served at dinner, so I was disappointed.

Republic Brewery is opening soon in Carlsbad is the spot formerly occupied by Claim Jumper.  (Palomar Airport Rd and 5 freeway).  It should be a big hit.I have been there too, but didn't stay long.  I think you need to be 35 or under to enter the place.  So many young people, lots of them just standing around with friends, drinking beer and eating appetizers.  Not for me.

Pisco is the latest restaurant from restauranteur Sami Ladeki.  His chain of Sammy's Wood Fired Pizza have been around for years, so I guess he wanted to try something new.  This restaurant is in Liberty Station, a hot destination for dining, and is Peruvian.  Dishes like lomo saltado and plancha marina are on the menu, in addition to cerviche.  I have not been there, but my friend and fellow foodie Marilyn, loved it.   I'll wait till the crowds die down before I try it.  Since I originally wrote this blog, the Sammy's in Carlsbad has closed, and is now reopened as the second Pisco Rotisserie and Cervicheria.  The pictures look great, I will try it soon.

Crudo is in the new shopping center called Village at Pacific Highlands.  I went to Wokou a few weeks ago and loved it, and Crudo is another one of the very trendy restaurants in this center.  Crudo is light and welcoming, with an open kitchen.  The chef is Pascal Lorange is from Fig and Olive, and diners have high expectations for the restaurant.  It's a moderately priced restaurant, with lots of choices.  For example, they have a menu section called "crudotini," where you pick out three little tastes for an appetizer for just $9.  They also have lots of tapas choices, so you may order a nice meal, with lots of tastes, without ever ordering an entree.  In addition to an interesting menu, Crudo will offer cooking classes twice a month.  Sounds like a great idea.

Mendocino Farms is opening another location in Del Mar.  It's a great place for a casual, healthy lunch.

Grater Grilled Cheese has opened in Del Mar as well.  There are several other locations for this restaurant.  The restaurant began as a food truck.  They were so successful they decided to open brick and mortar locations, and they now have three.  Look for more to come.

I hope I have given you some food for thought, new places to go on your next night out.  I will keep you posted on new openings as much as possible.  Until next time, bon appetit.

Getting Your Palate Ready For The San Diego Fair

Every year, the food at the San Diego County Fair is more outrageous than the year before.  This year is no exception.  In case you missed the article in the UT recently, here are some of the fatty foods you can expect to find this year.

1.  Krispy Kreme fried chicken ice cream sandwich.  Take a Krispy Kreme donut and cut it in half, put on a piece of fried chicken, top that with a slab of vanilla ice cream maple syrup and fruity pebbles.  I can't even imagine what that might taste like.

2.  Jalapeno popper and bacon grilled cheese.  Take sour dough bread, load it with gooey cheddar cheese, bacon and crispy jalapeno cream cheese poppers, and you've got a new twist on grilled cheese.  At least this sounds good to me.

3.  Maui cowboy spam banh mi burger.  I'm a lover of Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, but this one I would stay away from.  A slice of spam, pepper cheese, pickled vegetables (cilantro, red peppers, green onion, jalapeno) and chipotle mayo are piled on a ciabatta roll.  I'll stick to the traditional banh mi sandwich.

4.  Deep fried buffalo chicken ravioli.  Take a slightly spicy chicken ravioli, dredge it buffalo hot sauce seasoned breading, and fry.  Top with a variety of dipping sauces, including ranch and marinara.  That sounds like it might actually be good.

5.  Bacon wrapped grilled veggies.  This is something I would love.  Take fresh asparagus, wrap in bacon and grill.  Top with brown sugar and cayenne pepper.  They also offer pineapple slices wrapped in bacon, which sounds delicious.  Actually, anything with bacon has got to be good.

 If these delectable goodies don't grab your attention, you might try the deep fried peanut butter meatballs.  Yuck  Sounds awful to me, one who LOVES peanut butter.  If you're a Weight Watcher, none of these things will work.  Points for the Krispy Kreme fried chicken sandwich are probably over 40 points!  If I go, I'll head for the corn stand!

Natural Food Expo Part 11

More food finds from the natural food show included Theo, a chocolate company.  They make a salted almond bar, lemon chocolate bar, and raspberry coconut bar, just to name a few.  I'm not a chocolate lover, but I tried the salted almond bar, and it was delicious.  They have bars in milk and dark chocolate.  Perfect Sense, which I mentioned in my last blog, also makes side dishes using kamut with chia and lentils.  Sadly, there were no samples available.  Everyone knows and loves Stacey's, who make delicious pita chips.  Now add bagel chips and pretzel thins to their line of products.  I loved the bagel chips.  They're great to eat right out of the bag, or with a dip.  Light Life is another company making plant based meat.  They were sampling sausage.  It looked like the real thing, and if I hadn't know it wasn't sausage, I never would have guessed.

We were getting tired at this point, so we went back to the Boulder Brands booth, where they had chairs and even a couch to relax on.  We spent 5 minutes with Phil before he dashed off to a meeting, and then took a short rest.  Our bags were full, so we left them at the booth, and started anew with empty bags.  We stopped at Food Should Taste Good, a company making chips.  Multigrain, guacamole, jalapeno and sweet potato were just some of the varieties, all excellent.  Kind, my favorite energy bar, is now making breakfast bars and more varieties of energy bars.  Pineapple coconut, cherry apple, apricot pear and banana pineapple with kale and spinach are some of their new products.  Crofters makes organic spreads like jam, that are so tasty.  Cherry mango and blackberry strawberry are just two of their delicious flavors.

Tates cookies have developed several new cookies.  Look for them in your supermarket.  They are sooo good.  Grecian Delights is a Greek food companies making swirls in apple and cinnamon and cheese and spinach.  they little straws that are flavored and swirled.  They make a great appetizer.  Additionally, they make tzadaki and Greek yogurt dip.  A new drink called BLK, is like a black lemonade.  Something in the process turns it black, and it looks very strange.  It tastes like lemonade, but it's black.  They say it is loaded with anti oxidants.  Stoneyfield yogurt was sampling some new flavors.  I tried a whole milk plain with honey.  It was fantastic.  We all agreed this was the best yogurt we had eaten all day.  The last product I want to tell you about is from a company called Pitaya +.  The base of the product is dragon fruit mixed with other ingredients.  It's in a powdered form, and is mixed with other ingredients to make a smoothie.  It was delicious and the most beautiful bright pink color imaginable.  It is used by companies like Jamba Juice as the base of their smoothies, but is also available to the public.

I saw many pickle companies this year, and other companies making pickled or fermented vegetables.  One was fermenting beets, kim chi and cabbage.  This is an acquired taste, but pickling and fermenting are getting popular.  Coconut continues to be popular in water, tea and lemonade drinks.  Unusual grains like kamut and spelt are also popular.  Seaweed seems to have waned.  I don't think I saw any seaweed products.  Bacon also seemed to be absent from anything I saw.  Snack crackers and energy bars are very popular, and yogurt, with different flavors and additions is more popular than ever.  Natural foods are here to stay.  Buzz words like GMO and locally sourced abound.  People are willing to pay a little more to know what they're eating.  Until next year, that's all from the Natural Food Expo.




The picture on this blog is of the number of plastic bags ONE person uses over the course of a year.  I thought this display made quite a statement.

Natural Food Expo Part 1

Every March I attend the Natural Food Expo in Anaheim.  It's row upon row of food, beauty and  health products.  It's important to have stamina when attending the food show.  I went this year with my mom and my friend Regina.  Good walking shoes, comfortable clothing, and a pen and paper and we were off  for a few hours of sampling new products and learning about new trends in food.

We first stopped by the Boulder Brands booth to visit with Phil.  He was not there, but we sampled the most delicious corned beef and egg breakfast sandwich, on toasted Udi's gluten free bread.  I've never had a gluten free product that I really liked, but I can't say that anymore.  The bread, at least toasted, was absolutely delicious.  We took off to explore the show, and stopped first to sample Bottoms Up ginger ale.  This is nothing like ginger ale as we know it.  This had a real ginger kick, and was so refreshing.  Right next door was a company called Arjuna, which makes a dynamite ginger bar.  It was delicious, not too sweet.  I guess I could say that ginger is a product that has become quite popular.  Over the course of the day I also saw chewy candies in a ginger flavor, and some lemonade and water drinks flavored with ginger.  Walkers, the cookie company, now makes a gluten free shortbread cookie.  It is delicious, and they've kept the buttery flavor of the cookie, which I liked so much.  The cookie is made with rice, corn and potato flour instead of wheat.

Silver Palate is a company that sells Grain Berry cereals and pasta sauce.  The cereals are delicious and include shredded wheat and cheerios.  The pasta sauce, which we did not sample, is made with special tomatoes (I can't remember the name), and are the only company making pasta sauce from these special, expensive tomatoes.  The sauce is carried at Gelson's.  Regina, who knows Italian food, said she can't wait to try the sauce made with these expensive tomatoes.  I will try to buy some too, and see if I can tell the difference.  Wildwood is another company making what they call "Plant based meat."  What that means is they make meat substitutes from soy.  I tasted the taco crumble and it was delicious.  They also make salsa, pesto and hummus.  Finally, Perfect Sense makes ruby red rice and sprouted rice dishes.  Of course they are gluten free.

I'm not even half way through all the wonderful products I saw and sampled, but this is enough for now.  Ginger was found in many products, and many, many products were gluten free.  I can say with confidence that gluten free is NOT a fad, as some thought it might be.  So many people feel better not eating gluten, and the processing and growing of our wheat today is not what it used to be.  Gluten free should continue to grow.  That's all for now, but I'll  be back with more products and trends that I noticed in the show, in a week or so. 

New Eating Ideas With Hungryroot.com

Sometimes I just browse the internet looking for new and interesting food ideas or human interest ideas to write about.  I recently stumbled upon the website hungryroot.com.  Food is delivered to you by mail.  It is not cheap, and I'm not even sure if it's good.  I haven't eaten it, but I thought I would tell you vegans, vegetarians, gluten free, and adventuresome eaters about it.  I'm not sure of the purpose of these food items.  I guess it's for those on a plant based diet, as everything is from vegetables.  Here are some of the items Hungryroot offers.

On the sweet side, you can get cookie dough made from chickpea, sweet potato and almond butter.  You can get coconut carrot cake bites, and sweet potato cacao mousse.  On the savory side you might want to try carrot noodles, cauliflower couscous, sweet potato noodle with creamy cashew alfredo, beet noodle, carrot noodle with tangy sriracha peanut, or daikon noodle in Korean scallion gochujang.  If any of this sounds good or maybe just interesting to you, visit hungryroot.com, buy some of the items, eat them and tell me how you liked them.  Most items are low in fat, calories and gluten free.  I don't know how they taste, so somebody help me out.  Just thought you'd like to know about another interesting food trend.

American Breweries Hit All Time High

It shocked me to find out that we now have more breweries or brew pubs in America than at any time since 1873.  My surprise wasn't that we have 4,144 brewers now, but that we had 4,131 American breweries in 1873.  How could that be possible with a population of around 38,000,000?  Our population now is almost ten times what it was after the Civil War, yet we have just about the same amount of breweries as we did then.  There must have been one on every corner!

From 1873 -1930, the number of breweries decreased rapidly, to the point that there were none during the years of prohibition.  The number of breweries stayed very low for the next 50 years.  In fact, in 1978 there were only 89 breweries or brew pubs in America.  Since then, the numbers have increased at a staggering rate.  From 2005-2015 breweries have increased 186.4%.  The number continues to increase.  North County San Diego is one of the hubs of breweries making craft beers.  Go to Vista and walk on Main Street, just a two block area, and see all the new local breweries.  America is in love with local breweries, brewing craft beers, but this is not just an American phenomenon.  It is world wide.  Not being a beer drinker (I've tried and just don't like it) I can't appreciate what all the fuss is about.  I do know that it creates jobs and businesses, and makes the big boys (Coors, Bud, etc.) up their game.  They can no longer see cheap tasteless beer.  The public is smart and they will go elsewhere for their beer if national brands are not up to par.

This is not dissimilar to what happened in the wine industry.  Over the past  50 years, the public became more knowledgeable about wine, and found that they could drink a good local wine or wine from a small winery for a modest price.  That forced the big wineries to compete, and now you see Gallo and other wineries that used to be producing low end tasteless wines, now making good inexpensive wines.  Competition is always good, and in the beer and wine business there is definitely a lot of completion.  That makes for more choice, more jobs, more businesses.  It's a good thing for our economy. 

More News From Expo West

One trend in food today is going back to nature.  A paleo diet means eating like we used to eat:  nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and grains.  Many of the food items at the natural food show this year were freeze dried fruits and vegetables and dried fruits and vegetables.  These fruits and veggies are added to almost anything from cookies to crackers to cereals.  Paleo Passion Pops caught my eye.  They are frozen juice bars like pineapple-ginger, and orange-coconut.  Each pop includes a "superfood," like chia or kale.  Additionally, there is no added sugar in Paleo Pops.  Snapz is another company using freeze dried fruits.  They make dried fruit in a snack pack.

Tumeric, a Middle Eastern spice, is popular today.  Temple Tumeric makes beverages flavored with turmeric.  It doesn't sound very good, but the flavor is very mild and hardly noticeable.  Siracha flavoring is another new flavor found in jerkies.  Krave, Country Archer and Golden Island all use siracha to spice up jerkies.

Here are a few more products I tasted and liked.  Daiya makes a gouda cheese that is plant based.  It's delicious, and even melts.  There is also a company that makes cheese from almond milk.  (sorry I don't have the name).   Mary's Gone Crackers has several new products.  Graham crackers, Italian herb, and ancient spice crackers are all delicious.  Kind, makes of protein bars, makes a spicy savory protein bar, a hickory smoked bar, and a honey mustard bar.  They were are good.  Vans made a bar that I really loved.  It was a cranberry almond bar, but they make several other great flavors.  I noticed that protein bars are more popular than ever.  I don't know how they'll all survive.

Last but not least, ice cream.  Aldens ice cream is fantastic.  I loved the caramel salt flavor.  Aldens also makes another brand called Julies, which makes delicious ice cream sandwiches.  Ciao Bell sorbets and gelato are not new, but they are delicious.  They have added ice cream sandwiches to their product line.  There is so much food at the natural food show that it's impossible to sample everything, but these are some of the products I enjoyed.  Protein bars, butter and cheeses from plants, spices like turmeric and flavorings like siracha, cereals and crackers from quinoa, spelt, and other grains, and freeze dried fruits and vegetables were the most noticeable trends.  I wonder what next year will bring.  

Have You Eaten A Cronut?

I was in Los Angeles in February, and my mom, her friend Buff and I, ate lunch at Café Rockenwagner. It was a great lunch, and as we were too full for dessert, I just admired the beautiful pastries. On the counter was a covered platter with what looked like two donuts in it. I asked what they were, and I was told they were cronuts, a cross between a donut and a croissant. I was intrigued, so I investigated the cronut when I got back to my computer.

A cronut is the unique pastry creation of Chef Dominique Ansel in his New York pastry shop. Many describe it as a croissant-doughnut hybrid. He created it in May, 2013, and it has become a world wide phenomenon. It has become the most virally talked about dessert item in history. Chef Ansel quickly trademarked his creation, so any other similar item is not the real thing. It took Chef Ansel months to perfect his recipe, and making it is extremely labor intensive. Thus, a $5.00 price tag per cronut doesn't seem so steep. The cronut is proofed and then fried in grapeseed oil, then flavored in a variety of ways, like rolling in sugar, filling with crème, or topping with a glaze. The process takes up to three days. They must be eaten immediately as they have a short shelf life.

After I discovered that this sweet treat was definitely something that I wanted to try, I checked around San Diego to see where they might be available. I found that V.G.'s, Paris Baguette (inside Zion Market and H Market) and Azucar, a delicious Cuban bakery in Ocean Beach, all make their own version of cronuts. Remember, the original recipe is trademarked, so these cronuts are not quite like the original. If you go to any of these bakeries looking for cronuts, be sure to call ahead and see if they are available. They only make a few each day, and apparently sell out quickly. (prices for the San Diego knock off cronuts run $2-$3). Chef Dominique Ansel's pastry shop in New York has a line that forms around 5:30AM, waiting for them to open. I have yet to have a cronut, but plan to find one soon and try it. I will report back to you then and let you know if it's worth the calories. My guess is, it is.

Natural Food Expo, 2014, Part 3

I walk through the food show with a paper and pen in hand, and most of the vendors think I'm a journalist. They want to tell me all about their product. That's a good thing, but some of them go on and on. I spent a total of about 4 hours tasting and learning about the interesting products. Here are a few more of my favorites.

Cherry Valle Farms makes boxed mixes for breads, pancakes and granola. They were all delicious. The three I sampled were blueberry and banana bread (two separate things) and cranberry granola. These are great products. Another favorite of mine was from Madhava. They make something like Crystal Lite, but it's made with agave. Luscious lemonade, peachy green tea and a coconut flavored drink were wonderful. They also make a pancake syrup with agave, very thick and sweet. Two Moms In The Raw make several items. Nut bars, truffles, and cereal. I loved the nut bars. (like an energy bar).

Marukome had a unique idea to show off its miso soup. They have a miso soup mix that just needs water, but they showed it off in a very unique way. They had a little bar of toppings to add to the miso soup: green onions, croutons, tofu, asparagus, seaweed, and edamame were all toppings that you could add to your soup. They gave you a cup of soup, and you added your own toppings. Clever. Suzie's makes a chocolate spread with olives, which I decided not to taste. It didn't appeal to me. Suzies also makes naan crackers and flatbreads. A butter substitute made by Melt, is very good. It comes in regular and chocolate flavor, and is available at Albertson's and Von's. Finally, Cedars and Mediterranean, makes beet hummus, taboule and other Mediterranean delights.

One final thing. Many of the yogurt companies were giving samples of yogurt, but rather than the low fat or 0%fat yogurts I'm used to eating, they all gave samples of the full fat yogurt. I had forgotten how absolutely delicious full fat yogurt is, and how thick and creamy it is, compared to the low fat version. It's 200 calories per container, rather than 80-100 calories for the lower fat version. I guess I'll stick with the low fat for now, and save the full fat yogurt for special occasions. It really is a treat.

Natural Food Expo, 2014, Part 2

There are literally hundreds of products displayed at the natural food show. All the big players are there, like Hain, Dole, Amy's, Chobani, Silk, and Kashi. There are also many companies that are new, and may or may not make it. The natural food business is so competitive, and many companies with a great idea don't have the financial backing to stay the course. A small company like Henry and Lisa's Natural Seafood may have trouble competing against big corporate operations like Chicken of the Sea. However, they have a great product and a great mission. All their seafood comes from environmentally sustainable fisheries, and is independently tested for contaminants. Their seafood is frozen and canned, and includes salmon, fish nuggets, and shrimp. Their canned products include wild sardines, albacore tuna and salmon.

Asian food companies are found in abundance at the food show. The Shibuya Group (distributed by Mishima Foods) has a variety of sweet potato cakes and sweet potato chips. I loved the purple chips, so crisp and sweet, and gluten free! Tang's makes frozen dim sum items, like pot stickers, and edamame whole wheat dumplings that were delicious. FG (Feel Good food) products include a variety of frozen dim sum, gluten free, and great.

There were so many crackers at the food show, but most of them were not very good. They may have been healthy, but not to my liking. There were some I did like, though. Kashi makes crackers now, and the hummus crisp and black bean crisp were both good and crispy. Indian Life makes masala chips, an interesting new flavor. Le Pain des Fleurs makes crispbreads in buckwheat, chestnut and quinoa. They're gluten free, kosher, and vegan. Thin, crispy crackers.

Perhaps my favorite item at the food show came from Mama Lils. Mama Lils is a line of canned peppers, olives, and fava beans. Everything was good, but I went back for seconds of their peppadew goldew peppers, They are something between a pepper and an olive, and full of flavor. Perfect for a charcuterie platter or any hors d'oeuvres tray for that matter.

That's enough for now, but I still have pages of notes on products I have yet to mention. One more blog on the food show. I promise that will be it. This may bore many of you, but you foodies are probably enjoying this.

Natural Food Show In Anaheim, 2014, Part 1

Each year I look forward to March, as I know the Natural Food Expo is right around the corner. Phil would be there, and I would get to spend an hour or two visiting with him, before exploring the miles and miles, and rows and rows of wonderful (and some not so wonderful) food items. This year I asked Paula to join me, and she was especially interested, as she has several family members who eat a gluten free diet, and this would give her a chance to sample some of the products.

I look for trends in food as I walk up and down the aisles. This year, nothing new stood out. Yes, there were lots of new products, but they all seemed to be more of what is already out there. Yogurt as we all know, is a huge space in any supermarket. All the big yogurt companies were there, with both Fage and Chobani having very large, impressive booths. I was super impressed with Chobani. Their chef had created recipes using Chobani yogurt and a variety of toppings that we so interesting and unusual that I couldn't wait to get home and try them. Here are just a few of the recipes I got to sample:

Toasted Coconut and Pineapple Chobani

1/2 cup plain Chobani

1 T pineapple

1 1/2toasted coconut

1 1/2 T. light agave nectar

1 tsp chopped hazelnuts

Put yogurt in a bowl, then put the toppings on top. Do not mix.

Fig and Walnut Chobani

1/2 cup plain Chobani

1 T. dried figs, chopped

1 1/2 T. clover honey

1 T. chopped walnuts

Pistachio and chocolate Chobani

1/2 cup plain Chobani

1 T. chopped pistachios

1 1/2 T. dark chocolate, cut in small pieces

2 T clover honey

1 tsp fresh mint

Several other recipes for Chobani were available for sample. I was also given a refrigerator magnet that lists cooking substitutions using yogurt. For example, substitute 1 cup of oil with 3/4 cup yogurt. Overall, yogurt was everywhere in the show in some form, either plain or in frozen desserts.

Another item that has continued to grow is nut butters. Justins is my favorite peanut butter, and they continue to expand their product list. They now make chocolate peanut butter and several candy bars, my favorite being peanut butter cups, similar to Reese's. Nuttzo was also showing its line of nut butters, which include the original, with is peanuts, nuts and seeds, in both smooth and crunchy. They also have a chocolate nut butter which is 70% dark chocolate from Peru. Both of the above mentioned nut butters are delicious, but expensive. They have no added oil or chemicals.

Birch Benders was a name I was not familiar with, but will try it when and if I see it. It's a gluten free pancake mix. I tried the ginger spice which was absolutely delicious. They also have plain and blueberry. For those who are gluten free, this is a winner.

Kelp has been popular for several years now, and there are new players in the snack division, which offers dried, flavored seaweed. A company new to me is Gold Mine, which makes kelp noodles. They were sampling them as a cold Asian salad, and they were delicious.

I noticed lots of new, gluten free flour products. They'll turn almost anything into flour now. I saw flax flour and quinoa flour, in addition to rice flour.

My favorite drink was Bruce Cost's ginger ale. I have tried it before, and am always amazed how delicious it is, and how different it is than what we're used to. The Bruce Cost ginger ale has lots of bits of ginger that you can see in the bottom of the drink. It has a real zing to it. This year they also have a jasmine tea drink and a pomegranate drink. All the drinks are carbonated and loaded with flavor.

This concludes my first blog on the natural food expo. I'll be back next week with some more interesting items from the show that you may be interested in seeking out.

More New Restaurants (mostly in North County)

The economy must be picking up. Just look at all the new shopping centers going up in North County, and several newly remodeled ones. New shopping centers means new restaurants, so here are a few you might like to try. Let's start in the south, and move north. I've mentioned that Eureka recently opened in the newly remodeled UTC in La Jolla (burgers, fries, and salads). I've been there and will review it at another time, but it's a bustling eaterie with a great patio and a big bar. Also opening soon in UTC is Veggie Grill. This is a vegetarian restaurant that will be a nice addition to the great variety of dining possibilites at UTC. It's right next to Eureka. Moving north, we have the newly remodeled Flower Hill Mall. Sea and Smoke is the new dining experience from Matt Gordon, owner of Urban Solace and Solace. Sea and Smoke should be open soon (so they say) in the space formerly occupied by Paradise Grill. They will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner, which is exciting. I'm looking forward to that. Also in Flower Hill Mall, on the site of the old Chevy's, will be Cucina Enoteca. This is from the Cucina Urbana group. I talked to the pastry chef from Cucina Urbana, and he said they are looking foward to a summer opening. They better get busy, as they've got a lot of work to do. He (Jack, the pastry chef) says it will be a very contemporary looking restaurant with two stories, and an atrium. Across the street in the Alberton's shopping center is a new juice bar, called BBar Superfood Vitality Bar. All kinds of smoothes and juices, plus something extra. If you want to go on a 3 day or 7 day cleanse, they will provide you with the juice. Expensive, but if you're into cleanses, the juices are probably delicious. (don't know, as I've never done that). The Lumberyard has a new restaurant opening soon, right next to Lotus Cafe. It's called The Lobster Roll, and besides serving lobster rolls (yum), they will serve other seafood, like crab and shrimp. I can't wait to try it. It looks like a tiny little restaurant, with a bold new idea. I haven't seen a restaurant on the west coast offering lobster rolls as the star attraction ever. Moving on up the coast to Oceanside, we have two new restaurants. One is Board and Brew, another branch of the restaurant that is so popular in Del Mar. I haven't been to it yet, but if it's anything like the Del Mar location, it will be great. Finally, another pizza restaurant has opened in Oceanside on Coast Highway. It's call Privateer Coal Fire Pizza, and the reviews have been great. I will review it soon, and I'll let you know. Let me know if you hear of new restaurants opening in the San Diego area. I get around, but I can't keep on top of it lately. So much seems to be going on. It's great for the economy and great for us foodies!

Speculoos Cookie Butter

About a year ago I wrote about a delicious product, Biscoff Spread. It comes from Lotus Bakery, and it is mainly available online. It looks like peanut butter, but is made from speculoos cookies. It's amazingly addictive. It's a spread similar to Nutella, and is very popular in Europe, but just making its way to the U.S. Recently Trader Joe's started carrying something called "Speculoos Cookie Butter." It's the same product in a different package, and you've got to try it.

When I saw this product at Trader Joe's I knew it was just like the Biscoff spread. Speculoos cookies are buttery, brown sugar and spice cookies. For the spread they are crumbled, then additional ingredients, like margarine and more sugar are added. The Trader Joe's spread comes from the Netherlands, is $3.49 for a jar of delishisness. It is only 90 calories per tablespoon, but you wouldn't eat more than that at one time. Spread it on pancakes, English muffins or toast. Dip pretzels in it. Get creative. You can substitute it for peanut butter in cookies. I think this will become a staple in your pantry.

Several years ago my mom introducted me to a restaurant in Los Angeles (it's a chain) called Le Pain Cotedian. It's a little French bistro that we both love, and on each table they have their own product, similar to the Speculoos Cookie Butter. It's so good you want to eat it right out of the jar. My mom loves the spread, so when I tasted this product for the first time, I called my mom right away. I sent her to Trader Joe's to get her own bottle of the delicious spread. She loves the stuff more than me, so I doubt if it will last long at her home. She said she's going to have to hide it from herself!

If you're close to a Trader Joe's you can try Speculoos Cookie Butter too. You're going to love it, as I do.

More Food From Expo 2012

The frozen food section of supermarkets is bursting with new flavors. Chinese, Indian, and Mexican entrees dominated the food show. Aside from Evol's many varieties of burritos, both in size and fillings, they also make bowls, wraps, flatbreads, and pizza. I love all their products. I'm partial to the burritos but I also keep the bowls on hand for an easy meal. They're available at Sprouts, Whole Foods and hundreds of other markets. Check their website www.evolfoods.com to find the store nearest you.

Indian food was everywhere this year. I liked Tandoor Chef, with many frozen entrees available. I'm not a great fan of Indian cuisine, but some of the chicken dishes were really delicious.

I love Chinese food. A new product to me was Green Chopsticks. They have a beef bulgogi bowl (fabulous) and several varieties of potstickers. This is a great product. You'll think you're in a fine Chinese restaurant. Their products are available at Bristol Farms and Jimbos, and I'm pretty sure I saw them at Costco last week. Try them. Annie Chun has been around a long time, and this year I tried their wonton soup. Delicious. They also make frozen potstickers but I did not get to try them. Annie Chun can be found in most major markets.

I'm going to finish up my review of the food show with a few odds and ends, random items I liked. Buja, is a cracker mix with Indian spices made from chick peas. Unusual and delicious. Sea Noodles are a fantastic option for those that like pasta without the calories. They're made from kelp, and can be served hot or cold. I tasted a crunchy Asian salad with a sesame dressing and the sea noodles. You can also serve them hot with your favorite Italian sauce. Amande is a cultured almond yogurt which I enjoyed very much. Michael Seasons makes a popped snack from black beans. It was good and salty and loaded with protein. Yesto makes several skin creams from fruits like cucumber, strawberry and watermelon. I loved the cool refreshing feel and smell of the cucumber cream. Florida's Natural makes organic fruit nuggets, kind of chewy like gummy bears. They're available at Whole Foods.

Green toys are something I found a wonderful addition to the show. It's great to see trucks and cars made from recycled products that are sturdy, functional and made in America. Many other products like cooking bowls and utensils made from recycled products were seen at the show. They're a little pricier than the things we normally buy, but they are great looking and environmentally good. The final item I must tell you about is HydroFlask. It looks like your typical water bottle, but this bottle keeps cold drinks cold for 24 hours and hot liquids hot for 12 hours. They have bottles and food flasks in many sizes and shapes, and I'm going to get one. Go to www.hydroflask.com. I'm guessing they sell them at Whole Foods.

This is all for this year from the Natural Food Expo 2012. I hope you have an opportunity to try some of these new products over the next few months. I love going to the show and seeing what's new, then sharing that information with you. Enjoy.

More Food Show Finds

I was expecting the food show to be filled with items containing kale. It seems to be the "in" food this year, but I was wrong. There were a few items, most notably a crunchy kale snack. I have tried to make something similar. It is great when first made, but does not stay crispy, so I'm guessing the packaged variety has preservatives. In addition to crispy kale, here are other foods I tried and liked.

One of the best products I tasted is Julian's Belgian waffles. They are to die for. They're very expensive, but nice to have in the freezer if you're in a bind. You can buy them at Whole Foods in the freezer section.

Sunland peanut butter was sampling their various spreads. Crunchy, banana peanut butter, and chocolate peanut butter are all delicious. Justins is another peanut butter company, and this year they have expanded into peanut butter cups, similar to Reese's. They're delicious and available at Whole Foods and Jimbo's. Karoun is a great company that makes interesting cheeses. This year I tried the lebne cheese. It is tart and similar to the consistency of cream cheese. It is delicious on pita bread. If you want to try it first, go to Sammy's and order it. I love it. Another company, Adonia, sells Greek frozen yogurt. The bars are only 75 calories. Another cheese product made by Heini's caught my attention. It is made in the Amish country (since 1935). They have several varieties of yogurt cheese which I tasted, and was pleasantly surprised. I was also told that they melt well. Look for them in specialty markets.

Finally, one of my favorite products that I discovered last year and rediscovered this year, is Ozery's Morning Rounds. They're similar to English muffins only thinner. They toast up great. They come in several varieties, including multi grain and cranberry nut. Great for something a little different than toast.

I have much more to tell you, especially about trends in frozen foods, but that will have to wait for another time. I hope you look for some of these items. They're well worth trying.

Food Trends From Expo West, 2012 Part 1

I'm not sure where to start with what I saw and tasted at the recent natural food expo in Anaheim. First, it was much busier than last year. That's a good thing. It means more food and beauty industry people are doing business. Next, for the first time some of the booths represented food trucks, not actual food companies. My favorite was Cool Haus, a food truck based in Los Angeles. They have four trucks in the LA area, one in Miami, one in Austin and one in New York City. They sell ice cream sandwiches like you've never had before. They offer five flavors, the most interesting being brown butter candied bacon ice cream on chocolate chip cookies. I was stuffed by the time we got to their booth, but the young men and women I was walking the show with loved this. I know they're thinking of expanding, so look for them in the future in San Diego.

As always there were many, many water, tea, lemonade, natural soda and kombacha drinks. This year lemonade is big. Hansens has a new line of lemonade called Huberts, with many flavors like mango lemon, strawberry lemon, and maybe five others. They're delicious, but a little on the sweet side. Another tea company, Inkos, has nine flavors of tea combos. Go to www.healthywhitetea.com to learn more. The other new addition to the drink market is coconut. Coconut flavored water, plain coconut milk, and coconut mixed with cold coffee. Recently coconut has been touted as a "good" cholesterol, which perhaps explains the reason for the increase in coconut products. I also noticed a coconut spread, by Earth Balance, similar to margarine.

Ciao Bella was sampling their gelato and sorbet. I tried the blood orange sorbet, which was tangy and delicious. They have about 10 flavors of each, and their products are sold at Trader Joes. SO Delicious was a company that must have spent a fortune on advertising at this show. They were handing out samples of soy milk and soy ice cream sandwiches. I found the ice cream icy, not creamy. Their products can be found in most supermarkets.

I have lots more to tell you about expo 2012, but I will continue next week with more products, more trends, more wonderful things to eat. Finally, Phil's company (my son Phil), Evol Foods, sampled their flatbreads this year, which were delicious. They are not yet nationwide (their burritos and bowls are), but if you like Evol's other products, ask the manager for Evol flatbreads at Sprouts and Whole Foods. More to come next week.