This recipe comes from Allrecipes.com. I needed a dessert for a work potluck and I had just bought a lot of mochi rice flour. It's also the holidays. Combo all that together and I found a pumpkin mochi recipe.

Mochi has become more common and known about here on the west coast. It's found a lot in the new Japanese, tart style yogurt shops that are the latest trend. But Mochi happens to be centuries old to Asians. Basically it is glutonous rice flour that is shaped and used in different applications and called by different names depending on the culture. Mochi is a Japanese term. It is often shaped into little cakes and can be stuffed with red bean paste or other fillings. It's also become quite popular filled with ice cream. Think of Bon Bons with mochi around the ice cream instead of chocolate. The texture is a bit chewy. In the yogurt shops the mochi usually comes cubed like croutons.

For those unfamiliar with it and who stumble upon it at a potluck, they'll be confused about this boring looking item. Mochi can be very tasty and rich and the chewiness can be an acquired taste. Some might pass by it out of ignorance, but for those that try it, you'll find converts.

Pumpkin Mochi

* 2 1/2 cups mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 cup butter, melted
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Sift together the mochiko, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Mix together the eggs, pumpkin puree, condensed milk, butter, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Stir the egg mixture into the mochiko mixture. Pour into the prepared dish.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool before serving.


Mochi

On  Thursday I attended the Whole Foods Davis media dinner. For an article about the opening, go to my Whole Foods Davis Opens on Wednesday article at SacPress.com.
Below is a slide show of more pictures from the event.

 

Until about 15 years ago I was a Canadian and so I couldn't vote here in the United States. I successfully ignored politics for that reason. But now I'm an American citizen. I'm still not well versed in politics and so I tend to avoid political discussions. This post is not going to be preachy. I'm just going to lay down a few of my thoughts on why I will be voting YES on Prop 37.

Prop 37 is the one that requires labeling food that contains a Genetically Modified Ingredient (GMO). GMO's are when scientists take the DNA of an organism and tweak it for what they think is for the better. Some examples would be making grains more drought tolerant or pest resistant. 

Now I'm also not a religious person, so regardless of messing with God's creations, I certainly am against tweaking with Mother Nature. I don't think we have any business messing with DNA. That's how we get zombie/vampire viruses and deadly pathogens that are going to wipe out the human race. Even if that's an exaggeration, I still think it's dangerous. Just because you tweak one gene to be more pest resistant doesn't mean it isn't also related to some other function you aren't aware of.


 
That aside, if you are going to tweak with my food, then I have right to know it! That way I can avoid it. It's a basic human right - freedom of choice - and I choose to know what I'm putting into my body.

Now those that are against Prop 37 will say it is flawed and that's why shouldn't pass it. Guess what?  Most laws that get enacted are flawed and end up getting tweaked later to correct an error. I'd rather we pass the law now and then worry about cleaning up the loopholes or messes. You have to move one step at a time and step one is labeling the foods that contain GMOs.

update: now Davis Creamery 


Honey Lavender, Maple Bacon, Avocado Coconut, Dark Chocolate with Orange Zest. These are not flavors you will find in your supermarket freezer. You can find them relatively close by in Davis, at Sugar Daddies on E Street. They, and about 130 other flavors, are all made by Davis Creamery. And how good are they? Well, they put the Ben & Jerry's down the street out of business.


I met with Jesse Sahlin, a partner in both Sugar Daddies and Davis Creamery. It should be noted that Sugar Daddies also sells Cupcake Cravings, and so it was no wonder that my first questions were about this bit of identity crisis. 

Jesse explained that Sugar Daddies was started eight years ago by David Robert. Sugar Daddies is the store, while Davis Creamery is the ice cream label, both owned by Robert and Sahlin. Sahlin actually joined the business earlier this year when he had started working on a new website for Robert. Robert had been looking to sell the businesses and so Sahlin started by buying 15% of the business, then 51%, and by the end of the year he will finish buying out the last 49% and be sole owner. 

Asked why he wanted to go into ice cream, Sahlin said, "It keeps life interesting and I think it helps me keep creative and motivated both with the ice cream and with my other business."

Did you know you can eat watermelon rind? As typical with a lot of Southern recipes, watermelon rind recipes were born out of the necessity to use every bit of food, especially by the slaves on old plantations. The rind can be used in everything from pickles to pie. I tried a watermelon rind pie a few years ago but was unimpressed. But watermelon rind pickles made sense to me.

Basically, after you've finished enjoying the lovely red flesh, you skin the rind and cook in liquid until it is nice and tender. Where pie failed, pickles succeed. These come out tender and, with the jalapeno, a little spicy as well.

Certainly one of the best things in Sacramento is our beloved American River Parkway. We are so blessed that someone had the foresight 29 years ago to maintain this wildlife swath along our American River for generations to enjoy.

Unfortunately, tough economic times effect all aspects of civil services, including Parks & Recreation. Funding for maintaining the Parkway has been severely cut and so it falls to volunteers and charitable organizations to try and pick up some of the slack. The American River Parkway Foundation is the main group and they rely on the help of the public in the form of fundraising.

Think of all the things that the American River Parkway provides us:

• Bike trails
• Picnic areas
• Rafting
• Fishing
• Kayaking
• Running trails
• Horseback riding
• Mountain biking
• Bird watching

And let's not forget the most important of all - preserving the flora and fauna or our area. Coyotes, turkeys, and even mountain lions deserve it.

On Saturday, October 13th, the American River Parkway Foundation will be hosting Truckin on the River. This first time event will take place at William B. Pond Park at the end of Arden Way in Carmichael from 11-5.  There will be things for the whole family: bounce houses to beer garden to bands.

With all of your favorite food trucks gathered on the American River come enjoy their delicious treats or try them out for the first time. On top of the food trucks you'll also be able to enjoy a beer garden, a mainstage with local music, children's activities, and much more. All of that with the beautiful backdrop of the American River Parkway...what more can you ask for!

Did we mention that you will also be making a difference on the American River Parkway as you enjoy your food and festivities? Proceeds raised from this event will directly benefit the Parkway through the preservation and restoration work of the American River Parkway Foundation.

You will find over a dozen of Sacramento's finest food trucks from the California Mobile Food Association, better known as Foodmob. The music will be provided by Sacramento's own Jerry Perry Presents, who represents some of the best bands in the city. 

Chelsea Hughes: 11am - 11:30
The Bell Boys: 11:40-12:40
KB & The Slingtones 1:00-2:20
Kepi Ghoulie - 2:40-3:40
Musical Charis - 4:00 - 5:00

It is highly recommended that you use the bike trails to get there! There will be bike valet available. Overflow parking available, but there is Parks & Rec fee of $5.

Tickets are $5 in advance, $8 at the gate and go to preserving this gem of a Parkway. So buy them in advance. Truckin on the River tickets. 

Food purchases are separate.

Do you have a kickass cookie sandwich recipe that's worth $25,000? Then you need to enter the annual Scharffenberger Chocolate Adventure baking contest, this year's theme being Sandwich Cookies. 

Miette

As a pre-cursor to the start of the contest on October 1st, Scharffenberger hosted another bakery crawl in San Francisco for the media. I was lucky enough to be invited again. This year each of our four stops supplied us with a cookie sandwich using Scharffenberger chocolate products and one of the Adventure Ingredients.

Miette's Macarons

We started at the Scharffenberger store located inside the Ferry Building. After gathering our group we took less than 20 steps down the aisle to Miette.
Last year Miette was our last stop and we had to grab our desserts and run because we were behind schedule. Today they were our first stop and they had made for us Chocolate Macaron with Sumatra Coffee Ganache Filling. Even though I'm not one for coffee flavored anything, I LOVE a good macaron and these were delicious. 





Once again we climbed aboard a streetcar to continue on our trip. This year I stayed on the inside part of the streetcar since the sun never really came out and I'm too used to Sacramento heat. Brrrr!



Goody Goodie Cream & Sugar Dessert Salon & Cafe was our next stop. I had never heard of it. It was a small little place located in SOMA not too far from the SOMA Streat Food Park. This was a rather unusual cookie sandwich, with savory elements, super thin wafers, and just an overall odd combination that worked out well. The "Goodywich" was an Oil Cured Olive and Cacao Nib Wafer Sandwich with a Preserved Lemon and Basil Cream Filling. It reminded me of Giada Pamela De Laurentiis' panini with brie, chocolate, and basil. An unexpected combination that surprises you with how well it works.

SOMA Streat Food Park

I have a dream - of a mobile food pod in Sacramento. That dream will hopefully come true within the next six months. You can get a glimpse of the dream this coming Saturday, October 6th.

My most popular blog post over my five years of blogging has been "Mobile Food Pods Revitalize Neighborhoods". First written in August of 2010, this post first explained mobile food pods and how I could see them as being beneficial to areas of Sacramento (and any other city). There have been studies that show that mobile food pods improve property values, decrease crime, and improve neighborhood community by creating family oriented social areas.

Basically permanent food courts for food trucks, they are a common sight in Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas. Usually the property owners just take a vacant parking or empty lot and rent out spaces to food trucks/carts. Sometimes they will add amenities such as shelters, bathrooms, and ATMs. A few months ago San Francisco opened their first permanent one, the SOMA Streat Food Park, which I've visited and posted on.This pod is significantly better in that the property owners built permanent structures and and spent a lot of money to turn the property into an inviting space.

Sacramento is close to allowing our first mobile food pods. Some of the ordinances currently being drafted by the City of Sacramento include a pilot of five mobile food pods within City boundaries. At the Law & Legislation Committee meeting on September 18th Councilman Jay Schenirer mentioned that he was aware of at least three that were in the works. Part of the upcoming ordinances say that the mobile food pods must be run by a mobile food association. So far, in Sacramento, there is only one formally filed association - the CA Mobile Food Association (CalMFA), publicly known as Foodmob. 

I'm looking at almonds strewn all over the ground and look up to see none in the trees. I wonder why they are there but know that I'm sure to get the answer shortly. I've pulled off the highway for a minute to get water from the trunk of my car and the sight has me curious. I continue just a few more miles to Ripon and pull into the shelling facility of Boersma Brothers, Inc. 

Almonds almost ready for harvest

Brent Boersma walks up to greet me. We've only really known each other via Twitter and through Know a California Farmer. Brent is a third generation almond farmer and has invited me down to see the harvest of this year's almond crop. As we climb into his pickup I am impressed that it's tricked out with a mounted iPad. Brent explained that now that cell service has improved in his area, it has really helped him to keep connected with the office and the goings-on in the fields.

The Boersma Brothers have almond trees on 17 ranches/fields in the Ripon/Modesto area. Most are owned by them, but a few are leased. Brent explains that there are 30 varieties of almonds, but they deal in the 10 major ones with such names as Carmel, Butte, Aldrich, and the most common, Nonpareil. The Nonpareil are the ones that most people are used to eating straight out of a can/jar of nuts as they are the most consistent in size, shape, taste. 

Brent Boersma

Each field will have a minimum of two varieties but more often three or four for the purposes of cross pollination. Most of the fields will have half Nonpareil and the rest will be other varieties. You might have a row of Nonpareil, then Butte, Nonpareil, Carmel, Nonpareil, repeat. Having a mixture of trees in each field means a lot of work as each variety will mature at different rates and each must be harvested separately. They might come through and do all the Nonpareils over a course of a few weeks, then come back another few weeks to do the Carmels and repeat again for the Buttes as they must keep the varieties separate. Only a few varieties are allowed to be mixed together. So a field can have as many as four different harvesting passes, which in itself takes a lot of time. More on that shortly.

OK. So I'm playing with a bit of alliteration to catch your attention. Of course, I could just say, "LOBSTER MAC N CHEESE TOPPED WITH LOCAL CAVIAR" and that would probably do an even better job of getting your attention. It certainly got mine when I tasted it! But that's not the only item worth noting at Dawson's.


Food blogging has its privileges and this was one. I was invited to a special tasting of new menu items that will start on Monday, September 17th. Dawson's has a new Executive Chef, Jason Poole, and Dawn, from Kitchen Travels, and myself were invited to lunch to meet the chef and taste some items. 

Dawson's is the finer restaurant in the Sacramento Hyatt Regency. I recently realized I've now lived in Sacramento 25 years and it turns out the Hyatt will be celebrating 25 years in 2013.  Over the last couple of years the entire hotel went through a complete remodel from top to bottom. That includes all the guest services such as restaurants and bars. Everything is updated with a slick, contemporary look.