Moonstruck Chocolate's case

I realized that there couldn't possibly be a better day to do a chocolate tour than the day before Easter. OK, well maybe Valentines. But definitely after V Day the next one for chocolate is Easter.

I'm in the Portland area helping my elderly parents move into their new home in Vancouver. After endless boxes and sorting, I need a break and a reason to blog. It was pure coincidence that a week before my trip I received an email for Portland Walking Tours, which include three that are food oriented. I opted for the Chocolate Decadence tour. This tour is $49, but I bought the ticket just the day before and it was slightly discounted to $46.99.

You are given directions to park at the lot at Yamhill and 4th Ave, but this is several blocks away from the start and end points of the tour. My tip would be to look for parking between the two Cacao shops as that is where the tours start and end. You start at the Heathman Hotel and end at the 13th Avenue store.

The Heathman Hotel is one of Portland's premiere hotels. You might recognize the name if you've read Fifty Shades of Grey. The tour meets on the mezzanine level in the Library. This day there were 16 attendees that were broken into two groups of eight, each with a guide. Our guide was Dianne and she started us off with flashcards and the basic information on how cacao is grown and prepped for shipping. We then went down to street level for our first stop.

My senior parents just moved to Vancouver and we were surprised at the low number of Thai restaurants and none in their immediate neighborhood. Luckily this one had good reviews and was the closest. Dok Koon is found in a residential area called Minnehaha and is in a small strip mall. It's definitely isolated from competition of any restaurant sort.

drunken noodles

We entered to a very friendly greeting and were seated at a booth. The place is a medium sized restaurant and had a constant stream of customers. The service was decent, but a bit slow at times, especially with our green curry. The menus were interesting in that they did not even bother with using Thai names for the dishes. The dishes were just named by the main component: Basil, Ginger, Green Curry, etc.

We ordered the drunken noodles, spicy crispy catfish, green curry, and basil chicken - all medium hot. Even so, I found them to be on the lower side of medium hot.

The drunken noodles came out first and the order was very large. We enjoyed them, but I would have liked a bit more chicken.

Most people who like banana cream pie like coconut cream pie and vice versa. They will never argue against putting the two together. Why not just do it that way all the time? 

For this version I decided that I would meld the two by making the pie crust with the coconut flakes instead of folding them into the custard. The custard itself has coconut flavoring because it incorporates coconut cream, found in Asian groceries.

Banana Coconut Cream Pie
 

pomelos and lemons

Have you ever strolled down the streets of Sacramento and marveled at the number of citrus trees? Perhaps, like me, you've been a bit dismayed when you see a tree laden with fruit and rotted fruit below it because the fruit is unharvested, unreachable, and thus wasted. I used to think it must be because these trees have bad, non-edible fruit for some reason. It seemed inconceivable that it would just go to waste. Yet so much of it does.

That's why I want everyone to know about this great thing called Harvest Sacramento. Started in 2009 by Soil Born Farms, it is a volunteer effort to collect this wayward fruit and donate it to those who could use via the Sacramento Food Bank.

materials are supplied, but bring gloves if you have them

I volunteered this last Saturday and plan to do so again on April 6. (There is one this Saturday, March 30th, as well.) We met at McClatchy Park and after a round of icebreakers and a brief overview of the program, we split into teams of about 6-8 people and took off.

If you are bored with the usual strolling through downtown on Second Saturday yet still want to enjoy it with friends, you might want to consider hanging out with Adam Pechal, chef/owner of Tuli Bistro and Thir13een. You won't find him at either of those two restaurants though. Instead he'll be over at Lulu's Kitchen, formerly known as Steel Magnolia Commercial Kitchen, hanging out, doing a little cooking, and sharing some of his Northern California Favorites.

This past Saturday marked the first edition of what is being called "Adam Pechal's Northern California Favorites" and is described as "a monthly class featuring the best of local beer, wine, produce, and more hosted by Chef Adam Pechal". For March they featured "Beer, Beer, Beer: Tasting and Pairing with Berryessa Brewing Co. and brewmaster, Chris Miller".

Now for those who know that I don't drink, we all wonder why I'd go to a beer focused event. Honestly, I did too, but I was assured there would be food involved. There was, but not as much as I hoped for. More on that later.


Let's back up a minute and review the history of Steel-Magnolia-now-Lulu's-Kitchen. As I reported in my post less than a year ago,Steel Magnolia Keeps Cooking, the commercial kitchen was established in 2009 by Gail von Huene. Here was a place that small entrepreneurs could produce their food goods following the State requirement that food sold be produced in a commercial kitchen. The two kitchens were also rented out for pop-up restaurants, food events, even weddings. But the bad economy was hard on the income and last fall Gail sold the kitchen to Feeding Crane Farms to be used for their food production while still being available for rent. 

Shannin Stein, General Manager, is at the kitchen for the event. I asked her about the name Lulu's Kitchen. She explains that it is an homage to owner Brian Shaad's grandmother, the one who gave him his incredible appreciation for food and gardening. 

The event starts at 4 p.m. and a small group gathers in the dining room, starting to sip on some of Berryessa Brewing's beer. I've been to a couple of events now with Pechal and so I'm not too surprised to see him rushing in rather harried. He seems to be a last minute type of guy. But that doesn't take away any of his enthusiasm and charisma. He's in a happy mood as he rushes to set up his first item.

Keep in mind this is a "first-time" event and as always, kinks need to be worked out. That said, more clarification on the event descriptions would be my first critique, which is easy to fix. Some of the Facebook and Twitter promos I was seeing implied cooking classes with Pechal. This evening there was one short cooking demo for making the shrimp fritters, but otherwise we kept to the dining room socializing, drinking beer, and waiting for the next pairing.



And that was what this was, a beer pairing with small bites, not a meal. The foodie-non-drinker in me was disappointed that we just had a few nibbles. The beer drinkers, meanwhile, were happy with the ever-flowing beer. 


So, how the evening progressed was that Pechal would come out with a bite to go with whatever beer matched it. He would describe why he chose the food and Miller would describe the background of the beer. For instance, the shrimp fritter had the Common Sense beer mixed into the batter to give it some lift and that was the beer was served with it. Later the Cease and Desist was served with the house cured sausage and spicy mustard.

The event was scheduled until 6, but we ended at 7. We were all so busy making friends and chatting away. Pechal spent most of the time chatting with us as the rest of the items were simple or pre-made, like the chocolate covered bacon. 


I asked Stein about future Pechal Second Saturday classes and she explained that they will all focus on what of Pechal's favorite products from the region. April will be Sean Minor Wines with cheese and cheese recipes while other months might focus more on a food item. Sometime soon, for instance, they will focus on oysters. 

Everyone left having enjoyed a fun evening. I will personally look forward to some of the upcoming classes - the ones with more food.

The Second Saturday classes are not the only ones available at Lulu's Kitchen. There are many classes throughout the month, many of which are hands-on.

For more information about upcoming events at Lulu's Kitchen, be sure to click on their Facebook and Twitter links.

Love all the family portraits

As I've commented on a lot lately, I've been in Sacramento 25 years now. I found it interesting, then, that the first Mikuni restaurant, the original one in Fair Oaks, opened the year I arrived - 1987. This came to light as I listened to the patriarch of the family, Koki Arai, give a speech in Japanese, translated by his daughter. 

Koki Arai was commenting a little on the history of the location, how they value their customers, have thrived over the years, and that the fire that happened last December was a blessing in disguise. Here was a chance for them to remodel the restaurant, using insurance money to do it. The remodel happened lickety split, in only 45 days time. Impressive. 

My history with Mikuni is an odd one to be sure. I only started to eat sushi about eight years ago. My prior experience had been in college with a classmate making California rolls. I just didn't care for the sticky rice with the vinegar and then, of course, the raw fish. I moved to Sacramento and my ex-husband used to go to that first location all the time. It worked for me in that I would allow him to have his boys night out with his buddies because they would usually end up at Mikuni .

It's because of this that I knew of Mikuni's reputation and that of Taro. Anyone who is in the Sacramento food scene knows about Taro and I did too. I just never happened to meet him over these 25 years. Now, with the Sacramento Food Film Festival coming up next week and Mikuni being a major sponsor, I find myself having been introduced to him just last night and then seeing him five times in the span of the next ten days. Crazy.


And so it was that I was invited to the VIP reopening of the Fair Oaks location last night.  I arrived late to find the place packed. I jumped into the buffet line to find a very impressive spread laid out all along the sushi bar - everything from edamame and sushi to ribs and lamb chops.

In the corner I caught the end of Koki's speech and then a grateful prayer. Taro was excitedly rushing through the restaurant greeting everyone and having a great time. 


Then came the special surprise of a new painting done by David Garibaldi, the Sacramento artist who was a finalist on America's Got Talent. In came a long painting with Elvis and Michael Jackson with Taro in between. 

It was a joyful evening for the Arai family, made even better by a jam packed month. Tomorrow (3/7) Taro is guest chef at Plates Cafe, an event that oversold tickets. Then he'll be at our sushi event at the Sacramento Food Film Festival next Friday, March 15th. Come join us for sushi from Mikuni and Kru and then watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi after, sponsored by Mikuni .

 

If you want something light and refreshing, cucumber flavored water is a good choice. Slice some cucumbers, throw them in a pitcher of water, and let the water become infused with the cucumber flavor.


Another light and refreshing twist? Cucumber lemonade. Now I will tell you that it was from the Papa Dale's Diner truck that I first had it. Keith was serving it last September at Truckin on the River. Meanwhile, I have a Eureka lemon tree with hundreds of lemons on it. My tree is about 25 feet tall, so it's an old one and it is quite fruitful.


Cucumber lemonade


For this version I didn't infuse the water. Instead I pulled out my juicer and juiced half a cucumber. If you don't want the green tinge, then be sure to peel your cucumber first.  If you want to infuse the water, then start the day before by thinly slicing a whole cucumber and let it sit in the 4 cups of water in the refrigerator overnight.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 a cucumber juiced or 1 cucumber thinly sliced
• 4 cups cold water

Make a simple syrup: Combine the cup of sugar and cup of water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar is well dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a large pitcher, mix together the lemon and cucumber juices with the simple syrup. Add the 4 cups of cold water. Mix well and refrigerate for an hour. Serve cold over extra slices of lemon and cucumber.

That's me!

It's not uncommon to go to Hawaii and try your hand at surfing. Waikiki is perfect for it because the long shallows allow for rather gentle rolling waves for the beginner surfer. This is where I took a surfing lesson myself about ten years ago. The instructor helped me out, helped me catch the first wave, and easily enough, I got up and surfed slowly into shore. I was thrilled.

The thrill wore off as I paddled out again. For those not used to it, it's murder on your neck and shoulders. You have to lift your upper torso up and paddle out. After only a few minutes my shoulders were screaming. I went one more run and then gave up. To try again in the future would mean doing shoulder exercises before I went.  Why can't they just have motorized boards to take you out and then catch the wave for the ride back?

Then surfing pools started showing up, particularly on cruise ships. You see those enticing commercials of folks enjoying their wonderful cruise and there they are surfing, on the top deck of a ship! This was the surfing for me. A safe environment with little water and no paddling involved.

Now we have that same opportunity here in nearby Elk Grove. SurfXtreme has the same indoor surfing facility like the cruise ships and I just had to go and give it a try. 

At SurfXtreme you can buy hour long sessions. After watching a brief video, you go in with a group of about ten. As you can see in the video, they can split the wave pool in two. There's only about three inches of water shooting over the surface. Underneath the water it is a stretched rubber sheet that is very bouncy like a trampoline. When you fall, you bounce. It's a little jarring, to be sure, but not too bad.

 

My friend and I went on Presidents Day. Two 48 year old women and the rest were kids under the age of 15. LOL!  You can either do boogie/knee boards or you can do flowboards and try to surf upright.  Our first two runs we did the boogie boards to get used to the wave pool. Then we moved up to flowboards.

The instructors are very helpful. They give you tips, position you, and hold the board for a while as you get the feel of it.  We got up every time....we just didn't stay up very long.



SurfXtreme is at 3443 Laguna Blvd in the Elk Grove sports complex. They also have trampoline rooms and paintball.

General Surfing Adult Admission






Click here for more stories like this: Fun Things to Do 

NEW OWNERSHIP - THIS REVIEW NOW OUTDATED

Aushak

I am a very unobservant person. Oftentimes it is several months before I notice a new business or a new landmark. Not this time. I saw Afghani food mentioned on a sign and I was suddenly very aware. As in, checking every other day to see if the place had opened yet.

Ali Baba's takes over the small, nondescript place at the corner of 7th & L streets that had formerly been occupied by an Indian restaurant. In its first couple of days I saw it was open and immediately stopped in to try them out. 

My first visit was for a quick lunch. I would immediately note that you may want to consider take-out if you are crunched for time. Even though it is counter order service, this is still a seated lunch that includes a small salad before your meal arrives. Said salad is a simple tossed green salad with a yogurt based dressing.

I have a problem with my eyes being bigger than my stomach, especially when I want to try one of everything. I thought I would solve that problem by ordering two appetizers. I ended up with quite a bit of (lovely) food.

My order was for Samosas and for Mantoo.  First out was the samosas, meat filled with a side of cilantro chutney. There were three small ones which had a firm, rather than flakey crust. This is the one item that I would like to see improved. I would prefer two larger ones with a different crust. Still, they were a tasty start.

I had ordered the Mantoo which is Afghani style raviolis filled with onion and ground lamb, topped with yogurt. The kitchen got my ordered confused and instead sent out Aushak, same style raviolis, but filled with seasoned leeks. Lucky for me! The chef noticed the order and had them bring out my Mantoo, which I got to take home with me for dinner!

the kabobs on traditional skewers

Both the Mantoo and Aushak use the same delicate wrappers that are pinched closed into little purses (see top picture). They also have the same yogurt and tomato sauces garnished on top. And both are delicious!  Not only that, but if this was appetizer size, I'd hate see what entree size is.  Actually, though, I think the only difference is that the entree comes with a side of vegetables. Being that I'm a meat eater, I prefer the Mantoo. But put either of those in front of me and I love them both.

The location of Ali Baba is not one that one notice without a wary eye. Don't judge a book by its cover. Although the front is very small with three small window tables, there is a back dining room. What is a bit odd is that the kitchen is separated into two parts, making it a bit of an awkward running back and forth between the two sides. What they need is pass through window. 

Khushiwal and Aziz

The restaurant is owned by two cousins. Obaid Khushiwal manages the front of the house while Basir Aziz is the master of the kitchen. Both men are very friendly and were happy to talk about their place and Basir's culinary past. 

this bread is about a yard long

I knew that this place was special when I tasted the food, but the thought was cemented when I asked about details of some menu items, such as, he used to bake all his own Afghani bread but now buys it from an Afghani bakery located in West Sacramento. But he still makes his own cheese, more on this later.

Turns out Basir has had several restaurants over the years. Kabul Kabob, on J Street, was his creation before he sold it around 2005. That location serves lunch and dinner and a lunch buffet It sounded like he got tired of cranking out the endless buffet items. He then opened a place in Folsom on East Bidwell, also very popular. He sold that one after an unfortunate slip on a tomato injured his back. Being on your feet all day cooking is not fun with a bad back and as we chatted, Basir is sitting in a chair. 


I had come in for lunch earlier in the day. This time I wanted to taste their version of kufta - ground beef mixed with spices and then formed into meatballs or onto skewers.  This version was meatballs and was served over a seasoned basmati rice with  the flavorful tomato sauce. The two meatballs were hefty but tender and the delicate rice was a nice accompaniment.



I chose the Rasmalayee for dessert. It's described as an Afghani cheesecake served with a cardamom sweetened cream. For those with expectations of New York cheesecake, this is not for you.  The cheese is very firm and has a grittier texture. I asked Basir what type of cheese he used and he told me he makes it himself with a mixture of whole, 2%, and half and half. If you can adjust to the texture, than you can enjoy it as the sweetened cream makes it quite refreshing, although a bit rich. An easier dessert for Westerners may be the Firni, which is a rice pudding with the cardamom sweetened cream. 



Against a wall I notice an unplugged rotisserie, the vertical type used for mounting the rotating mound of meat used for gyros. In front is this sign explaining the different names for schwarma - gyro, doner, kabob. Basir says that he'll get that going soon. I'll be curious to see how close it comes to the ones I grew up with in Saudi Arabia.

I'm thrilled to see Ali Baba's open and nearby for me to walk to for lunch. I'm sure I'll be visiting Basir and Obaid on a regular basis.

629 L St.
Currently open lunches only

When I started this food blog six years ago there were only about 8 food bloggers in Sacramento. Now there are close to 50. The Sacramento food blogger community is a close-knit one. Many of us know each other, help each other out, and work together on many projects. There's no crazy competitiveness. I love the food blogger community here for that wonderful feeling of cooperation and support.

The most impressive thing is that many of us have turned our passion for food into projects or events that benefit the whole region. I wanted to introduce some of my friends/colleagues and their projects.


Amber Stott and the CA Food Literacy Center

A few weeks ago I told you about my friend Amber Stott.  Her blog is Awake at the Whisk and she is an avid gardener and vegetarian. She created the California Food Literacy Center only two years ago. It has grown by leaps, bounds, and influence and last December Amber was even named one of Sacramento's Top 40 Under 40! 

The mission of the California Food Literacy Center is "To inspire change today for a healthy, sustainable tomorrow through enduring community food education." They do so by educating children on making proper food choices and helping them to learn about food and where it comes from. 



Last summer she was able to get the State of California to declare September as Food Literacy Month. This week she helped coordinate the State of the Regional Food System summit. It was there that she was presented with a CA Assembly Resolution of thanks from Assemblyman Roger Dickinson. 

I am happy to be working with Amber for next month's Sacramento Food Film Festival. Some of the proceeds will go toward her California Food Literacy Center.



Ann Martin Rolke and Tasty Books

I met Ann several years ago when we were in a dinner group together. Her background is culinary in nature with stints in restaurants. But since I've known her she has been working as a cookbook editor. You never really think about such things, but when a cookbook gets published, it needs someone to test every recipe, make sure the recipes are written in easy to follow directions, and to look at typical editing things like grammar and formatting. Ann also has her own cookbook, Hands-off Cooking, which has several recipes that I really love and make over and over. 


It's no wonder, then, that her newest project revolves around cookbooks. Tasty Books will be a quarterly series of events that pair book signings and lectures with prix fixe dinners. The first one is on February 27th at Mulvaney's B&L and will feature the book Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables with author Cheryl Sternman Rule. (Tickets) Ripe is uniquely divided into sections by color of produce and is meant to “embrace the vegetable, behold the fruit”. 

I'm always up for food events, so I look forward to see what is next on the Tasty Books calendar.

burgerjunkies.com

Rodney Blackwell and the Sacramento Burger Battle

Burgers are a thing of beauty for Rodney Blackwell, aka @Burgerjunkies on Twitter and the name of his blog. He's a great photographer and many of the photos of burgers he eats are often used by the restaurants. Usually his first choice when visiting a new restaurant will be to try their burger. 

Last year he went to the Denver Burger Battle and decided to create the Sacramento Burger Battle to help his favorite charity, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. One of his daughter's suffers from Crohn's Disease and so it was his way of supporting the organization.

The Sacramento Burger Battle was the best first-time event I have ever been to. Rodney took care of every detail and put on a fabulous, flawless event that raised over $25,000! He even managed to have it become a qualifying event for the World Food Championship in Las Vegas. Winner David Hill of the Chef's Table moved on to compete there in November and represented well, placing 5th out of 22 contestants.

It all occurred on the baseball field at Raley Field last September. It was a wonderful venue and a lot of fun. I actually can't wait for the second one coming up on September 18, 2013.

Garrett McCord (and Stephanie Stiavetti) and Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese

Six years ago Garrett was one of those handful of first Sacramento food bloggers. I remember being thrilled when he and Elise Bauer of SimplyRecipes.com invited me to a local food blogger potluck.  

Garrett's blog, Vanilla Garlic, is a must read. His wit and insightful look at the world is so entertaining that every post I read makes me envious of his writing skills. He often teaches writing classes around town and at food blogger conferences.

For him and his co-author, Stephanie Stiavetti, 2012 was a year of endless macaroni and cheese. That's because they are coming out with Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese next October. "A cookbook about making macaroni and cheese using artisan and farmstead cheeses." Currently they are undergoing final proofing with the publisher. Many a bookshelf will be holding that book since Americans have a definite obsession with this particular comfort food. Be sure to click on the link to pre-order and then watch out for his signing events around town. Next month he and Stephanie will be speaking (Saturday, March 23) at the Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma. 


Hank Shaw and Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast

Hank Shaw is known throughout the country as one of the top experts on foraging. In 2011 he published Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast  and toured the country talking about foraging and living off the bounty of the land. He was able to publish the book after years of success and two James Beard nominations for his blog, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.  

Hank also gives foraging tours, one of which I took last year. Thanks to Hank, I was able to forage my own elderflowers last year and make syrup from them that I use for my shrubs and kombucha sodas. 

Hank will be speaking at Bows & Arrows on March 6th for Words Aloud (tickets). Look next fall for his next book, Duck, the Cookbook. 


How fortunate are we to live in the Farm to Fork Capital and have so many passionate, proactive food bloggers? Sacramento is blessed with a fantastic food community and I am so proud to be associated with it.