Sacramento Beekeeping

What a wonderful place. I love knowing where my food comes from and how it got to my table. This store has all of the supplies to keep your favorite beekeeper going and also a great supply of honey for the non-beekeepers. I usually have 4 or 5 honey types in my kitchen at all times to make sure I have the best compliment for my recipes. They also have coconut oil and candle making supplies. I will be getting most of my stocking suffers there this year. If you love food and haven't been there yet, you are missing out.
http://www.sacramentobeekeeping.com/

Dad's Deux

We tried Dad's again. We cant resist the allure of supporting a local establishment. It has a great feel there and it is warm. I was wanting a burger and Fords sounded cold. I always order burgers medium when I dont know how well the chef knows how to cook. It was a good idea here since my burger just came out rare on one side and just a smidge past rare on the other side. Since I normally prefer medium rare I could do it, but if I was truly a medium eater than all of the pink would have been a turn off. The fries were also the hardest crispest fries I have ever had. As if they were kept warm till they crunched like a bread stick. My dining partner had a Panini. The flavors were all outstanding but the bread was so hard that it was uncomfortable to chew. The service however this time was great. Our server was much better than last time. All of the servers who were on staff that day worked well together. it was a packed house and they seemed to be working as a team bouncing assistance off of each other. I think I am going to sum them up as having great ideas with their heart in a really good place but are currently lacking experience to keep their quality consistent. The head chef has a good menu in place he(or she) needs to just make sure that the chefs on board know how to duplicate the preparations and not just the flavors. I will most likely go back again to see if they grow into their new restaurant.

Tower Cafe

Sacramento institution. Eclectic menu and atmosphere. One of the great places to get beer with breakfast and not feel guilty because half of midtown go there for hangover relief with their wonderful eggie french toast. However why do all of my dinner dishes always come cold? If I only have to send my meal back once to be reheated, it is a good night at tower. Will I keep going there despite the predictable cold food? Yep. It's hart to beat the people watching and knowing what you are getting into for a late night nosh.

How is your cholesterol?

This is a humorous read and a pretty good cookbook for old caloric recipes.

Good reads to encourage eating locally

This is a great read told from the perspective of a husband and wife. Reading about what they had to go through to eat locally in the Great Northwest makes me appreciate even more the bounty we have in California.

Dad's on Freeport Blvd. Sacto

I had heard a lot about this restaurant as of late for being a second home for locals. The food wasn't terrible. I had a better meal than my guest. The Mac & Cheese was nice. The service and waitstaff however has room for improvement. Left to our own devices comes to mind. Sure some people were being treated like regulars, but if it is my first time there I cant be a regular and if you want me to become one, don't treat me like an outsider. I shouldn't have to beg to see if there are desserts after my meal. I shouldn't have to ask for toppings if I am served a dry burger and I shouldn't have to chase down a server to get my bill when I have been spending 45 minutes perfecting my 'I am bored and done with my food please let me leave' face.
I do like how Dad's is getting involved with the community. I had first tried some of their food at a benefit night for muscular dystrophy. Dad's had fried garbanzo beans as a snack and they were delightful. I was surprised to find they weren't an option as an appetizer, only as a extra on a salad. If you make something people love and they would snack on, why not offer it up on it's own? I would like to go back again to see if it was a one time awkward night, but my dinner partner isn't too sure. What were your experiences?

Chickens within the village

I live in a town that has a ban on chickens. I can understand how within a city roosters wouldn't be the most welcome at times (mostly at dawn) but chickens! 3 pigs are allowed within the city, so long as you register them as a dog. Bunnies are allowed according to the city animal control but nowhere in city code are they mentioned. Why are pigs and rabbits allowed and not chickens!?! Prop 2 passed in California which had pros and cons to it as all measures do. It was a measure that meant well and had a good heart behind it but we might loose locally raised chickens in California. I think it is a bit silly to have to import eggs from another country. Think of the gas wasted to import an egg! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have a chicken or 2 in the back yard eating all of the bad bugs and giving back eggs and organic fertilizer in return?
Oh and on that note: Vegetarian chickens are not natural. I don't like the commercial mega corporation farms that feed their chicken ground up other old sick chickens but in a happy environment they should be able to eat bugs and worms. Cattle and chickens were not made to survive on grains alone. What happens to your tummy (and waistline) when you only eat carbs?
Sorry about the soapbox but this is our food! lets all realize it does not originate out of a cardboard box!

I shall call it yummy

There are a lot of great mushrooms showing up at the farmers market these days. Nothing against zucchini, but it can get a bit tiresome. What you see here is filo pastry wrapped around a fillet with sauteed mushrooms and garden fresh shallots with a red wine reduction with fresh thyme, a pinch of tarragon and rosemary. The drink is a brandy infused with rosemary. I thought it was rather yummy. I cooked most of the ingredients in the same pan so they were able to merge their flavors some prior to cooking. I constructed this one as a little purse but also did one as an envelope. If you like crunchy filo, this one is for you. If you are like me and like your pastry a bit more moist, then fold it like a square package with the folded layers under the contents. It was surprisingly easy and really blended the flavors well. I think I am going to experiment with other contents.
The carrots are also local. They were a bit bitter so I cooked them with 2 tbl butter (unsalted local butter only) some coconut oil (it is good for you!) a pinch of some Iranian turmeric and some of the darkest local honey I have ever seen. It looked and smelled as a serious contender for molasses and had a nice touch with the carrots.