Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "locally grown"

Sacramento's Patrick Mulvaney to Serve as Celebrity Chef at California Nut Festival in Chico - 4/21

2012-02-08T18:23:45Z

Get your taste buds ready! With a focus on locally grown foods from the North Valley, the third annual California Nut Festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each year, this popular culinary event showcases plentiful gourmet food offerings, wine and beer sampling, nut-inspired cooking demonstrations, live musical entertainment on two outdoor stages, an inspiring art show featuring talented local artists and much, much more. Tickets go on sale March 1 for the 2012 California Nut Festival that takes place outdoors on the historic grounds of the Patrick Ranch Museum in Chico, California.

Locally grown nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans and pistachios take center stage during crowd-pleasing cooking demonstrations happening throughout the day. To showcase the locally grown edible treasures, the organizers of the California Nut Festival are proud to host two celebrity chefs at the festival this year -- nationally recognized chef and “healthy eating” cookbook author Holly Clegg from Louisiana and highly acclaimed chef Patrick Mulvaney whose Sacramento restaurant Mulvaney’s B&L was recently highlighted in the Zagat Survey annual guidebook as one of the country's top places to eat.

The goal of the vibrant, entertaining and fun annual festival is to celebrate the culinary delights grown and produced in California while paying tribute to the region’s strong farming heritage and providing festival guests with an opportunity to connect with local farmers and growers.

“With exciting new offerings and returning favorites, we look forward to dazzling, delighting and impressing both the local community and guests from near and far during the festival this year,” explains Kathy Chance, lead organizer of the 2012 California Nut Festival. “In addition, we take great pride in supporting the Patrick Ranch Museum, which is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich agricultural history of the area.”

Located in Sacramento’s North Valley 90 miles north of Sacramento, Chico boasts a rich agricultural history. To make the festival a weekend getaway, guests can fly directly into Chico via a short 45-minute flight from San Francisco. Sacramento International Airport is the closest major airport and offers shuttle services and rental car options. Visit the Chico Chamber of Commerce at www.ChicoChamber.com (click on Visitor Information/Places to Stay) for numerous local hotel and bed and breakfast accommodations.

A dedicated committee of local volunteers -- that include many farmers and local business people -- coordinate the vibrant one-day festival, which benefits the Patrick Ranch Museum, a newly restored mansion and working farm managed by the Far West Heritage Association.

The California Nut Festival is presented by the Butte County Farm Bureau, Tri Counties Bank and the Farmer’s Circle, and is sponsored by Enloe Medical Center, PG&E and various other farmers and local businesses.

For more information about the California Nut Festival, visit the official website at www.CaliforniaNutFestival.com or call 530-519-1882.

Disclosure: Traci Rockefeller Cusack represents a number of businesses and organizations throughout Northern California including the California Nut Festival.

Persimmons & Honey

2011-10-28T21:14:29Z

Persimmons & Honey
Saturday, November 12, 2011
10:00 am – 2:00 pm

This holiday season, we’ll be sharing samples from our neighbors - Otow Orchards, Rickey Ranch and Source Tapas

Otow Orchard is renowned for their Japanese art of hoshigaki -- hoshi means dried and gaki is from kaki, the Japanese word for persimmon. Each October, their persimmons are hand-peeled, strung onto a rack, and massaged every 3 to 5 days for several weeks. The result is a moist, sugary, comforting delicacy.

The 165-acres off Cavitt Stallman is home to Rickey Ranch. There are acres of vineyards, fruit trees, pumpkins, gourds, a large garden, and best of all honey bees! They will be bringing their locally produced honey to taste. Bushnell’s will be providing warm, fragrant, melt-in-your-mouth bread.

If this isn’t enough to come out of hibernation, sampling from Source Global Tapas Restaurant will. Their kitchen bustles in the clear light of winter, ovens on, cozy and warm with the aromas of brown butter and dreamy global cuisines. On November 4th, they are bringing local & intriguing flavors of cuisine, served tapas style, to sample.

Free and open to the public, RSVP requested > promotions@bushnellgardens.com
______________________________

Persimmons & Honey
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Bushnell Gardens Nursery
10:00 am – 2:00 pm

5255 Douglas Blvd ¨ Granite Bay, California 95746 ¨ (916) 791-4199
RSVP requested to promotions@bushnellgardens.com
http://www.bushnellgardens.com

Disclosure: written by Kristian Olsen, marketing and promotions staff at Bushnell Gardens Nursery and Bushnell Landscape Creations in Granite Bay, California.

DIY butchering with Taylor's Danny Johnson

2010-08-30T05:56:43Z

Slicing off the side of a 28-pound halibut is just another day at the office for Danny Johnson, co-owner and butcher at Taylor's Market in Land Park. It’s a skill he was happy to share with a dozen Sacramentans on Saturday for one of several Butchering 101 workshops his store has held since January.

The class members bombarded Johnson with their seafood, poultry and butchering questions. He didn't let them down.

"Everything I tell you, it's how it works (at Taylor's)," Johnson told the class.

They started with poultry.

Johnson explained where dark spots on chickens and turkeys come from, the current controversies with organic labeling, and good handling and knifing technique.

He showed turkey from Woodland, duck from Stockton and chicken from Cache Creek. Taylor's sources their products locally, whenever possible.

"You want to know where this stuff comes from," he said. "Some of the stuff from China and large warehouses — buyer beware."

Johnson then demonstrated the many different steps and methods to butchering a whole chicken: boning thighs, halving, removing the keel bone, etc.

He mostly used just two knives: a 10-inch scimitar and a 6-inch boning knife. He uses the same knives at Taylor's and at home. He said that's all anyone really needs to butcher well.

As he chatted with the class, he would flash his blade across his steel to realign the edge of his knife. He admits he does this more often than is necessary.

"It's a nervous habit," he said.

This was the smallest class he's had since they started, but Johnson liked that. Being able to interact with the guests on a more personal level made things more fun and engaging for everyone, he said. Seafood is something that Johnson is particularly fascinated with, so the opportunity to explore the subject in more detail was welcomed.

Johnson prefaced his seafood demonstrations with a talk about sustainability. He does a lot of his own research on making sure the market’s seafood purchases aren't adversely affecting fish populations somewhere else in the world. It's not scientific, he said, but he talks with all of his suppliers and researches the vulnerability of the species they want sell. If the fish they want is suspect, or if the suppliers can't account for where everything came from, they don't buy it.

Throughout the discussion he shucked oysters from the East and West coasts and passed them out to whoever wanted a taste.

One class member wondered how clean it is to prepare different foods on the same surface.

"Ninety-seven percent of food-borne illnesses are because of bad hygiene, not the food," Johnson said.

The finale of the class was Johnson butchering a California king slmon and the halibut, both weighing over 20 lbs. each.

He showed the class how to collar, fillet, cut steaks and salvage the residual meat surrounding the spine for salmon sausage.

You can view a video of Johnson butchering the halibut here.

Nathan Grisham is new to the Sacramento area and loves to cook in his own home. He's interested in anything that has to do with food.

"It’s interesting to be in the presence of anyone with real-world experience, and to be able to glean from them any knowledge you can," he said.

He said Johnson showed some techniques he had never seen and was excited to bring the methods home.

"I've never purchased a whole salmon, so that's probably what I'll try doing, especially for a party or something," he said. "Or even just to buy one and cook it for a week’s worth of dinners."

Kris Backus is a regular Taylor's customer, but this was the first class she attended. She was impressed with the chicken demonstration.

"I'd never seen a chicken with the bones mostly cut out and then put into a cone shape that you could actually do something with, like stuff it," she said.

The market has received national press for their classes earlier this year. Johnson isn't sure why the classes he and his wife offer are so popular. But he's grateful they are.

"People are getting back to their roots," he said. "There's a certain amount of the population that's never going to change, but there's a certain amount that are opening their eyes and are saying, 'Hey, we need to know where this stuff comes from.'"

Working at the market and teaching the classes are one in the same for Johnson. He said customers can come to Taylor's Market and ask about technique and meal planning, and Johnson and his employees will do their best to help. Acknowledging that not as many people are cooking in the home, Johnson sees his market as providing a needed service.

"This is how it used to be," he said. "Every neighborhood used to have a store like this. Now Sacramento only has two: us and Corti Brothers."

He is hoping the popularity is indicative of a return to local sourcing for food, and thriving neighborhood grocery markets with professional butchers, bakers and the like.

If you missed this class and would like to attend one in the future, you can view the schedule here.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

2010-04-28T02:25:22Z

In 2006, my dad was doored while riding his bike on 15th Street. He broke his shoulder pretty bad, and ended up with all sorts of plates and screws holding him together. Life gave us lemons!!! We made lemonade though, and Practical Cycle was funded in part by the settlement from that accident.

So I took great pleasure in hand-squeezing 35 locally grown, organic lemons to make lemonade for our Grand Opening celebration, the first annual Ride for Earth. Then I loaded a cooler on the back of our old Worksman tricycle and hauled it about ten miles to Practical Cycle.

I believe that sometimes life's most difficult challenges can help us grow the most. Whenever I feel like things couldn't possibly get worse, I tell myself that this too shall pass, and perhaps even the darkest clouds do have a silver lining.

Farmers Markets Enjoy Popularity, Face Challenges

2009-10-22T22:15:11Z

Living in one of the world's most productive agricultural regions has its perks. Sacramento residents can stroll through a farmers market and buy fresh fruits and vegetables—and meet the farmer who grew them—year-round.

By all accounts, the popularity of farmers markets is on the rise, not just in Sacramento, but nationwide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are 4,800 farmers markets in operation, an increase of almost 400 markets since 2006.

California is home to about 520 certified farmers markets, featuring the produce of nearly 3,000 farmers. Sales are up, too. California’s farmers markets took in $163 million in 2007 (the latest figure available), up from $114 million in 2002.

"We’re seeing increased demand, increased participation from younger people and families. You see a lot of baby buggies at the farmers market. People are realizing that food is an important part of their lives," says Dan Best, of Certified Farmers Markets of Sacramento County.

Farmers markets are celebrated for providing foods at their peak of ripeness and flavor. Ripe produce generally does not ship well, which means that farmers who supply grocery stores must harvest the produce long before it is at its prime, or throw the best of the crop away.

Despite the increased popularity, farmers markets face a steady stream of challenges, both economic and social. One of the biggest challenges is still consumer demand. Even though sales are on the rise, farmers markets account for less than 1 percent of agricultural sales in the state.

“If we build it, sometimes people don’t come. People have to want fresh fruit and vegetables for their health and well being," says Best, who has been involved in farmers markets since 1980—first as a farmer and later one of the driving forces behind the establishment and expansion of farmers markets in Sacramento. “You can provide access in any area, but if there’s no demand, anything we do fails.”

The farmers and the markets try to reach out and educate consumers about the benefits of eating fresh, locally grown food. “People will take more time to pick out the right crème rinse than vegetables,” is how Best puts it. “We’re dealing with three or four generations of non-cooks. So we try to teach kids about eating fresh fruit and vegetables, that they’ll be better athletes, they’ll be stronger. We try to appeal to their self esteem.”

Best also credits the environmental movement with contributing to farmers markets’ popularity, noting that customers are showing more interest in locally grown and organic food. “People are looking for a sense of trust that they can get face to face. The Slow Food people, caterers, and people who revel in the taste of food, they have always gotten it. They’ve always wanted to make the connection. Senior citizens also made the connection because many came from agrarian roots and they remember what a tomato tastes like."

But it's not just the customer base that is changing. The farmers are, too. They are realizing that selling directly to consumers can be a boon to their bottom line, as opposed to selling to stores or distributors, which each take a portion of the profits.

According to Shermain Hardesty, director of the Small Farms Program at the University of California, Davis, “We may be maxing out on the capacity to generate more customers to farmers markets, but they are a great way for farmers to get started. They perform an important purpose. They provide a chance for farmers to interact with consumers and get their feedback, plus they can interact with more experienced farmers.”

"In the early days," says Best, "some farmers came to the markets out of desperation, to avoid going under. A lot of the farmers are coming now because they’re smart, they know they need to add in a direct marketing percentage as a safety net. Some still sell to wholesalers, but there is a risk because unsold produce can be sent back or destroyed. Some of the farmers do only direct marketing, and skip the wholesaler."

Another challenge faced by the farming community is cost. Small farmers’ profits are eroded by the increasing costs of farm equipment, labor, land and gas prices and transporting their produce to the market. Farmers often drive hundreds of miles to participate in the markets, coming from Fresno, Monterey, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties. At the same time, the cost of food has not kept pace. In fact, consumers are spending less than ever on food, about 10 percent of household spending compared to 18 percent in 1966.

One indicator of the stress on farmers is the loss of farmland acreage. According to the USDA’s Census of Agriculture, California had 27.6 million acres of farmland in 2002. That number dropped to 25.4 million acres in 2007.

“It’s still a challenge to save family farmers, small farms that have to compete in an economic system that’s based on large-scale farming operations,” says Best.

Best’s sentiments are echoed by Hardesty. “California has lost farms on the urban edge, in places like Rocklin and Elk Grove. It’s hard to compete with larger operations on a price basis.” But, she adds, “Sacramento has done a great job of offering reasonable prices to consumers. A lot of people say you pay more at a farmers market, but I would challenge that statement. You get more mature, more flavorful food, particularly tree fruits. Once you taste a tree-ripened peach, you're not going to want to go back and buy the rock hard ones at the grocery store."

Sacramento's farmers markets not only compete with local grocery stores for customer’s dollars, they also compete with Bay Area farmers markets for what is essentially the same pool of farmers. The farmers can sell produce at significantly higher prices at those markets.

“The only way we can compete is to bring in a lot of customers to sustain the market,” says Best. "We are here to sustain farmers, not to provide a food exhibit. The farmers actually have to make money."

There’s the issue of convenience, also. According to Hardesty, going to a farmers market means consumers may have to make more than one trip to do their shopping. The challenge, she notes, is “How can we get more local food to consumers while dealing with the fact they're time-pressed and need convenience?”

To increase traffic and exposure, three of Sacramento’s seasonal weekday markets (Cesar Chavez Plaza, Roosevelt Park, and Downtown Plaza) are operated jointly with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership brings in vendors who sell hot foods, and the markets are intended to attract nearby residents and office workers who can walk over to a market during their lunch breaks.

“Farmers markets are a great opportunity. We love them,” says Lisa Martinez, Director of Marketing and Outreach for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.

“We are trying to activate the public spaces that are sometimes under-utilized. Farmers markets are a meaningful way for people to interact, and they offer a unique experience.” She adds that the downtown farmers markets can draw up to 3,000 people during the peak season.

Although Best prefers a more "purist" approach to the markets, he acknowledges that the hot food vendors draw the pedestrian traffic. "Hopefully, every dollar that passes through that marketplace will end up in the farmer's pocket. We’re not here to be a party, we're here to be a farmers market. We're trying to do a serious program to maintain the viability of our local, California farmers and provide tree-ripened, vine-ripened food to a customer who appreciates the person who raised them."

He adds, "We're also here to create that connection between urban and agrarian, to start reacquainting people with the concept that food doesn’t come on a grocery store shelf; people have to make a living growing and providing food.”
One of the advantages of making that urban-agrarian link, according to Best, is that it can create a sense of respect for farmers and farm workers.

"It’s a good job to be a farmer and a farm worker. It’s not a low-esteem position. You're providing food for people to live and at a price they can afford. It takes skill to do a good job, professionally and safely. It’s a hard job. Every customer should walk in a farmer’s shoes for at least a week. They get up at 3 a.m., they pack, they drive to the market and set up. They deal with the public all day, and sometimes people insult them. Then they have to break everything down, pack up and drive home, and they still have to farm. Then the next day, they start the process all over again.”

When asked what the future holds for farmers markets in Sacramento, Best says, “Our philosophy is to save farmland and family farmers, and to promote the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among children. That’s our future, not only our customer base but the future of our society."

For locations and schedules of Sacramento's certified farmers markets go to http://www.california-grown.com/Market-times.html.

All photographs by Jonathan Mendick. Photograph 1: Dan Best with his daughter, Danielle, at the Downtown Plaza Farmers Market.