Mari-Lyn Harris, Founder Food 4 Social Change, interviewed me about why I founded Gratitude Gourmet, and you can listen to the Podcast here. Thank you very much, Mari-Lyn! Gratitude Gourmet is excited to be listed in the March 2013 Edition of On Q, the KQED Member Magazine (on page 2)! As a KQED Perks Member and/or fan, you receive Free Shipping on Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate. Order Here. Image Credit: KQED On Q March 2013 Gratitude Gourmet, your sustainable lifestyle destination, is pleased to be a Bay Area Green Business offering science and health news, and interviews and reviews of inspiring brands and entrepreneurs. We're proud to offer gourmet, California-made fair-trade Chocolate. Contact us here for special orders. Thanks for your continued support of Gratitude Gourmet!! Mary Vincent & Kesang Choedon While in Bhutan for mobile health meetings with community health workers, IT representatives, and government officials on behalf of the Global Health Research Foundation (GHRF) in July 2012, our team had the great pleasure of being invited to visit the Folk Heritage Museum and Restaurant in the capital, Thimphu. Chef Kesang Choeden, featured in the video below, is working to preserve traditional Bhutanese cuisine by reviving recipes that are becoming extinct. Kesang is partnering with Farmers to grow products that used to be grown by Bhutanese ancestors and are disappearing and no longer growing. The restaurant doesn't have a set menu because it depends on the products that are seasonal and are growing at the time. She is currently doing research on the historical foods and preparing a cookbook. Pictures below include Red Rice, Ferns, Ema Datsi, (Chili Cheese), Dumplings, and Tea. On a recent January 2013 trip, I tried Orchids and Cheese (Olachoto Datsi) - These fascinating and delicious foods are vegetarian, and spicy, which is how I like it! :) Yes, that's right! Sift Cupcakes partnered with Dogwood Cellars to create these heavenly Red Zinfandel Macaroons and Prosecco-infused Cupcakes featured at the January 31 Zinfandel Festival's (ZAP) Epicuria Evening/ Epicuria is a gourmet adventure where you can explore and sample the Zinfandel flavors and sophisticated and whimsical culinary creations from master chefs, perfectly paired with 50 top Zinfandel wines. Mingling with winemakers and culinary experts are the highlights for me as I appreciate all the creativity, patience, dedication and perseverance it takes for them to produce their products. Vegetarians with a love of gourmet will enjoy the event as there are many delicious options. Red Zinfandel has been planted in virtually all the grape growing areas of California, in the widest possible variety of soils and topography, and in climates from coldest to hottest. I've always appreciated California Bold Red Zinfandel's and I must say, almost every Red Zinfandel vegetarian-wine food pairing was superb. The Chefs and Winemakers have done an amazing job not only creating but also collaborating. Wine Spectator's Tim Fish has a nice write-up on the Event and 2011 Zinfandel's here, and here are his 'Top Players': Bedrock Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Old Vine 2011 (90 points, $24) Carlisle Zinfandel Dry Creek 2011 (90–94, $34) Ravenswood Zinfandel Napa Valley Dickerson 2011 (88–92, $35) Ridge Zinfandel Sonoma Valley Pagani Ranch 2011 (92–96, $35) Seghesio Zinfandel Alexander Valley Home Ranch 2011 (90–94, $58) Turley Zinfandel California Juvenile 2011 (88–92, $20) ZAP's Epicuria is my favorite opportunity for gourmet vegetarian-wine pairings in San Francisco, and I hope my Gratitude Gourmet readers can partake of these delights at a future ZAP event. What: A fashion, art and photography competition celebrating chocolate, confection, pastry or fragrance themes. Winning pieces will be on exhibition at the 7th Annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon on March 24th. www.SFChocolateSalon.com Prizes Include: - Publication in press releases and on the website of the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON - Feature in an Exhibition at the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON in March or May 2013. - 1 Ticket to attend the San Francisco or Seattle CHOCOLATE SALON. Registration and more information is here: http://tastetv.com/ChocoDesignContest2013.html Deadline: March 6, 2013 Finalists announced on: March 13, 2013 Gratitude Gourmet Moderates Cuisine Noir Culinary Travel Panel at Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show2/18/2013
On Sunday February 17, I moderated Cuisine Noir's Culinary Travel Panel at the Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show where I met some very accomplished and wonderful ladies to discuss 2013 Culinary, Travel and Sustainability Trends. 1. Chef Marcelle Bienvenu Marcelle Bienvenu is currently a chef/instructor at Nicholls State University in the John Folse Culinary Institute. With Emeril Lagasse, she co-authored four cookbooks. She also is a co-author of “Stir The Pot, The History Of Cajun Cuisine,” published in 2005 by Hippocrene Books. Marcelle provided the recipes for TRUE BLOOD, Eats, Drinks and Bites from Bon Temps (published in 2012), a companion cookbook to HBO’s True Blood series. 2. Maralyn Dennis Hill Maralyn is past President of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association, and from 2002 to 2006 she produced and hosted Dishing with Carolina Chefs for Time Warner Cable TV and web. 3. Wanda Hennig A native South African, Wanda was editor of the South African Sunday Tribune’s lifestyle magazine and bureau chief for Cosmopolitan in Durban, her home town, before working, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on Appellation (wine country living) and Diablo magazine (as editor), and freelancing extensively for Oakland magazine among other publications. She believes we are what (and how) we eat (and drink). Thus, she says (only a little tongue in cheek), the best way to truly understand a country, a city, a culture — and a people — is though your stomach. www.wandahennig.com The 2013 Culinary, Travel, and Sustainability Trends were shared with the audience and included Wanda's Tips for enhancing a culinary experience while traveling: * To be a culinary traveler, you don’t have to eat at expensive places. Markets and where the locals eat work well for anyone on a budget * Being a culinary traveler also means you can travel the world right where you live, if it’s the San Francisco Bay Area or any other sophisticated city or region. With the wealth of restaurants reflecting a melting pot of cultures, it’s possible to go culinary traveling to a different destination any day of the week. * If you are partial to city culinary tours (which many cities within the US and internationally have now), look before you leave to see what’s available and ideally, set up something in advance. Or you can do it when you get there, which I did when I spotted a flyer for a culinary tour of Lisbon, all about heritage and traditions. The Panel agreed that eating 'Local' is a trend because many people enjoy knowing the restaurant owner, how the chef prepares the food, and where the food is sourced etc which of course includes quality and sustainably-grown ingredients. Many of us have seen that restaurant owners are placing the source of their ingredients on their menus and if it's organic, vegetarian etc. What do you think the Culinary and Sustainability Trends are? Go to our Facebook Page and let Gratitude Gourmet know. Sweeten up Your Valentines Day with delicious Gratitude Gourmet chocolates! Visit the Trendy Lime Facebook Page and answer the Trivia Question: What country consumes the most chocolate per person per year? a) Italy b) USA c) Switzerland d) France Answer the Chocolate Trivia and with a bit of luck you can pick them up at the ValenTIME's Cabaret. Gratitude Gourmet is pleased to be moderating a Culinary Stage Panel at the Bay Area Travel Adventure Show this weekend at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Gratitude Gourmet Friends: Please use the link below to order free tickets using code EXH2013. There is no limit to the number of tickets you order, but you may need to order more than once. http://bit.ly/11BiKZo Think.Eat.Save – Reduce your foodprint! Did you know there is an extended environmental impact of Food Waste? Not only does discarded food produce harmful methane emissions when stashed in landfills, but it also wastes the resources used in food production and transport. The Theme for this year's United Nations Environmental Programme World World Environment Day is Think-Eat-Save. Photo Credit: UNEP The World Environment Day celebration began in 1972 to increase worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action by empowering YOU to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development. World Environment Day is also a day for people from all walks of life to come together to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook for themselves and future generations. Everyone counts in this initiative and World Environment Day relies on you to make it happen! How are you reducing Food Waste in your businesses and your households? Let us know what you're doing on our Gratitude Gourmet Facebook Page and UNEP's Page. For History: As a United States Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Hungary, my role was to teach Business English and Focus on Environmental Awareness. In addition to helping Business Owners Green Their Businesses, I also setup an Earth Week in the local town and school. Each day had a theme, including recycling and vegetarian days. I wasn't vegetarian at that time but understood the impact meat had on the planet's water and grain resources, i.e. 2,500 gallons/pound. Newsweek once put it another way: "the water that goes into a 1,000 pound steer would float a destroyer." It also takes 10 to 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of beef. It made sense to be vegetarian 1 Day a Week, and I wasn't vegetarian. Now we've become aware that methane emissions are 23 times more powerful than carbon, and cows are a significant emitter of methane (18% Greenhouse Gas Emissions according to UN FAO). Now the UN and other countries are advocating that being vegetarian once a week has immense benefits to the planet. This is why Gratitude Gourmet was founded in May 2008: to share news on globally innovative, practical and sustainable agriculture programs and practices, and empower the individual to make changes within households, communities, and with your Vote, so we can ALL make a real difference for the Planet. Now, we've become aware about the Food Waste impact on the planet due to methane emissions which are 23 times more powerful than carbon, and UNEP is doing wonderful work bringing more awareness on this issue for this year's World Environmental Day. I look forward to hearing more about your ACTIONS on this year's World Environmental Day and * ‘like’ the post on Facebook, * and retweet with the hashtag #WED2013 across Facebook and Twitter. Thanks! Mary On February 14, 2013 Trendy Lime is hosting it's annual San Francisco Valentines Day Extravaganza, and TWO lucky attendees will win a DELICIOUS box of Gratitude Gourmet Chocolate! We're happy to partner with Trendy Lime again on a wonderful San Francisco Event!! Conde Nast just published a nice article listing the Top 5 Vegetarian Restaurants in Barcelona, and I'll have to try these the next time I'm there. They list: La Bascula, Vegetalia, Teresa Carles, Sesamo and The Dog is Hot. Some items look like they could be vegan too for some of my vegan Gratitude Gourmet readers. Have you tried these? If so, let us know your thoughts on Facebook. Join our Gratitude Gourmet Healthy Food Box Monthly Delivery Program, and Receive Free Shipping on deliveries to your home or office. As an added bonus for joining now, you will receive one delicious box of California-Made Gratitude Gourmet Vegan Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter and Jelly as our Valentines Day Gift to you. The Gratitude Gourmet Healthy Food Box Monthly Delivery Program brings you and your family convenient, healthy food items containing healthy snack, cereal, and soup product surprises for $12.99 each month with free US shipping. The Food Products alternate each month for a fresh surprise. Subscribe on our Gratitude Gourmet Home Page by Clicking HERE, and your first box with your Chocolate Valentines Day Gift will be delivered as soon as possible. Order Soon! Enjoy! |