Slow Food Nation: Civic Center

Slow Food Nation is a an indoor and outdoor affair with high ticket fundraisers and plenty of free events and activities. If you want to enjoy it on the cheap, head over to Civic Center and take a walk through the inspiring Victory Garden. In the garden swing by the "Soapbox", where a series of speakers and artists get to have their say. The garden is ringed by booths called "the Marketplace" which is kind of like a national farmer's market with growers and producers from all over and plenty of free samples and tastes of fresh fruit, cheeses, nuts, milk and more. Even if you're on a budget, stay for a snack or a meal. There are all kinds of offerings from Slow on the Go, including local favorites and regional specialities. My pick? A scrumptious muffaletta made from Heritage Foods company Salumi of Seattle! And if you can't make it to San Francisco, I hope you'll enjoy the slide show....

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Slow Food Nation: Re-Localizing Food

How do you enjoy Slow Food? There isn't one sanctioned way. What began as a protest against fast food has become the symbol of a new consciousness about food. While the organization is somewhat controversial, the goals are admirable--to promote a return to the way people used to eat. What that looks like these days is up for debate. That very discussion was part of the Re-Localizing Food panel discussion today at Slow Food Nation , the community event organized by Slow Food USA, part of the international Slow Food movement. The panel featured author and journalist Michael Pollan, chef Dan Barber, Gary Nabhan, founder of Renewing America's Food Traditions Alliance, RAFT and Winona LaDuke, a Native American activist. It was moderated by James Oseland, editor of Saveur . Michael Pollan explained that the current state of our food systems was a product of interstate highways, supermarket chains, refrigerator trucks and cheap fossil fuel. But the days of cheap fossil fuel ma......

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Meet the Cardens

Matthew and Jennifer Carden are smart, fun and just amazingly talented. I've gotten to know both of them through the San Francisco Professional Food Society . Jennifer is a cook and wrote the book The Toddler Cafe which has inventive recipes that even toddler-less me wants to make! There is a great version of salsa made with fruit and balsamic vinegar, panko and parmesan crusted chicken strips and mint and pea popsicles. Of course Matthew did all the photography, and all the recipes have way cool names. For you moms, be sure to check out Jennifer's blog in addition to the book. Matthew has helped out quite a bit doing event photography for the Food Society and does wonderful food photography as well as homes and gardens. But it's his " we are what we eat " series that puts a smile on my face. He's created a world that seems like The Borrowers have infiltrated the garden... the cheese shop.... the bakery... and the kitchen... Head to hi......

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Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes Recipe

I like food in miniature. I like dim sum, mezze, tapas and appetizers of all sorts. Working on the latest recipe development project has been an exploration of many things in miniature. One recipe that sadly will not work for my client was a terrific success when it came to ease and taste. It does not work particularly well for vacuum sealing but that's ok. It means I can share it with you here and now. Rhubarb makes one of my favorite pies and now, my favorite galette, which is pretty much a pie for lazy people. Rhubarb requires some tender loving care to coax out the perfect balance of sweetness and especially texture. While mushy rhubarb isn't terrible, firm, sweet yet tangy rhubarb is fabulous! I like the method of macerating it with sugar. The trick to this recipe is to not let the rhubarb macerate too long. I think you could make it with just rhubarb but a little bit of strawberry really complements it. I also don't cook the filling! You don't need to, it cooks......

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