Winter Fancy Food Show

 I'm just back from my first day of the Winter Fancy Food show that goes on for three days this week in San Francisco at Moscone Center.

My main goals in attending the shore are to get a sense of food trends and to find products that are sold locally or that I can request that my local Whole Foods or other stores carry.

My general observations are that GMO FREE has surpassed GLUTEN FREE as the current "desirable" feature of many foods. Of course, many vendors proudly display signs that their food is both.

Lots of snack foods are featured this year, mostly chips of all sorts and popcorns, both sweet and savory.

As always, there are many more cheeses from around the world than any human could possibly taste in a month, much less three days.

What several cheese makers are now doing are expanding their product lines with yogurts and ice creams.  

My favorite yogurt from a cheese maker was Tillamook's, coffee yogurt. I'm a big fan of coffee yogurt and have a very hard time finding any brand of this flavor. This one is delicious. Tillamook yogurts are available at Safeway.

Roth Cheeeses was making Reuben sandwiches with their Raclette cheese…what a clever and DELCIOUS idea!

Continuing on the subject of cheeses, I saw many cheeses with spices and added flavors in them. One vendor told me that they take their basic cheese and, with seasonings, wind up with several different products, for many more tastes.

Delallo Italian Foods never disappoints with it array of antipasta, all available for tasting.

I tasted bottled drinks of all sorts. Some have "healthy" additives, others just different flavors. 

Republic of Tea is even introducing a line of High Caffeine Teas!!!

A wine that intrigued me is Stack Wines. I didn't taste the wine, but was Wowed by the packaging: 4 single-serviing plastic cups of wine stacked on top of one another. One Stack is a bottle of wine in a break-proof package, great for taking to a picnic or other event.

I think the entire world is hummuses out. I saw very few hummus companies. While I do enjoy hummus, it's time to move on to some other dip.

But, I did discover several granolas and really liked Gypsy Crunch's granolas, which just so happen to be Gluten and GMO free.

A new ice cream that I'm going to be looking for in stores is Agave Dream, which is sweetened with agave syrup instead of sugar. Agave syrup has a lower glycemic index that sugar so is a better alternative for those wishing to consume less sugar.  In contrast to sugar substitutes, agave has all the desirable sweetness qualities as sugar. I use agave often instead of sugar.

There were many chocolate vendors displaying very very good chocolates from milk chocolate to wonderful dark chocolates.

Of course, Jelly Belly never fails to have a large exhibit and always a new flavor or two to introduce. It is their Draft Beer Jelly Belly that is one of the new flavors of the year…right in time for Super Bowl snacking.

And, the Jelly Belly exhibit would not be complete without a Jelly Belly work of art.

Hockney at the DeYoung closes Monday, January 20!

DAVID HOCKNEY: A BIGGER EXHIBITION has been in San Francisco at the DeYoung since October 26.

I was busy with holidays and travel before Christmas and stayed away from the museum before New Years, thinking that, with kids out of school and lots of visitors to the Bay Area, the exhibit would be packed with viewers.

This exhibit is the first comprehensive survey of British artist David Hockney's 21st-century work. Just about all the works belong to the artist. Hockney has been amazingly prolific throughout his career and worked for about 25 years from Southern California. (His swimming pool paintings are what usually come to my mind.) Currently, at 76 years old, he is doing incredible works on his iPhone and iPad and using a variety of digital media to display his work…his "Cubist" videos are a bit hard to focus on, but certainly impressive. He is now back working in his native Britain and this past year went back to his beginnings, so to speak, with a series charcoal drawings…of course, he didn't just leave them as drawn; he then enlarged them on his inkjet printer!! The charcoal drawings are being shown at the DeYoung for the first time.

Today was my day to go!

At least at noon, the exhibit was not sold out, but the museum certainly was packed.  I had about a 45 minute wait until my entrance time to the exhibit (they let groups in every 15 minutes), which was perfect for me to have time to dash through a few other DeYoung galleries and the gift shop. When I left the museum a few hours later, there we still long lines for the exhibit.

Most of the people waiting in line with me were seeing it for the first time, but, I expect, as the week goes on, many will come back for a last viewing.

It's crowded, but, if you haven't seen this unique David Hockney exhibit, it's worth the visit.

Also, the DeYoung has extended it's hours through January 20, when the exhibit closes. January 17 -19 (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) it will be open 9:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (last exhibit entry at 6 p.m.). On Monday, January 20, when the museum is usually closed, it will be open 9:30 a.m. until 5:15 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online, for a given time slot. If you don't reserve in advance, I suggest arriving at the museum early in the day.

Notes from Phoenix/Scottsdale

I've just spent four days in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area visiting with friends, eating in wonderful restaurants, and doing a bit of shopping and touring. I spent an entire day at the Musical Instrument Museum, a unique, educational, and delightful museum.

I traveled on Halloween and, as always, the Southwest Airlines gates in Oakland were wildly decorated. At 5 a.m., this is what greeted me as I descended, blurry-eyed, to my gate. It certainly jolted me awake.


I've spent many a Halloween with Lois and Jim in Phoenix and it has become something of a tradition for us.

Lois and I started our visit with a pilgrimage to Last Chance, the legendary Nordstrom discount store for it's returned, overstocked, and sometimes damaged items. After a solid three hours of foraging through Last Chance (see the "fruits" of our shopping at the beginning of this blog), we were famished.

We chose Pizzeria Bianco in the nearby Town and Country shopping center for our lunch. This location is the newest of James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Bianco's Phoenix restaurants. Chef Bianco got his start in 1988, in the back corner of a neighborhood grocery store. He is known for being a driving force in the slow food and artisinal pizza fronts.  I've just recently heard of the Bianco restaurants and Lois knew of them, but has stayed away because of waits of as long at two hours at his restaurants.  For our late lunch on a Thursday afternoon, there was no wait; we were seated immediately.

Our choice was the "Wiseguy" pizza, made with Wood-Roasted Onion, Smoked Mozzarella, Fennel, and Sausage.  I liked the combination of toppings and the thin, crispy crust. Lois, had assumed that the pizza would have tomato sauce on it and was a bit disappointed.  Our consensus on Pizzeria Bianco is that we enjoyed and appreciated the fresh and creative combination of ingredients and the friendly service, but, if we had had to wait two hours to get a table, we would have gone to another of the many excellent pizzerias in the area.

That night for dinner, we headed to Downtown Scottsdale to Barrio Queen, another restaurant whose chef has a large following. Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza's popularity came from her several Scottsdale cafés. Barrio Queen is the first of her full-service restaurants. Her authentic Mexican dishes are made with unique combinations of market-fresh ingredients.

On Halloween night, the restaurant was packed.

The extensive menu features a large selection of tacos and small plates, Chef Silvana's versions of Mexican "Street Food,"  as well as a tempting variety of entrees.

Lois made her meal of six different tacos. Her selections included Carnitas (slow cooked pork); Cochinita Pibil (marinated pork); Suadero Azteca (brisket); Carne Asada (marinated beef), Huitlacoche y Champinon (grilled beef with huitlachoce ((a fungus that grows on corn; considered a delicacy like a truffle)) and mushrooms); Barrio Pollo (chicken); and Camaron (beer-battered shrimp). Each taco was unique, with a complexity of seasonings.

Jim chose the Enchiladas Suizas, Chef Silvano's take on a traditional dish..the chicken was rubbed with spices and the toppings included a spicy serrano tomatillo sauce.

I had the Cochinita Pibil, one of Chef Silvano's signature dishes. It is pork, marinated in sour orange and achiote paste, wrapped in a banana leaf and slow cooked all night long. This dish is topped with pickled onions and pico de gallo. It is served with chipotle mashed potatoes and calacacitas (squash, corn, and peppers).

We were all happy with our meals and Lois and Jim think Barrio Queen's Margaritas, which we all drank, are the best anywhere. Prices are very reasonable with about all entrées priced under $20. The tacos are $3.50 each or 3 for $10.

Other dining adventures included a lunch with Hallie, my cooking teacher from Provence. Hallie suggested Phoenix City Grille as a good place to linger and visit, while enjoying tasty food.

Hallie had the Grilled Salmon Skewer. Lois and I had Sandwiches; Crispy Eggplant for me and the Spiced Chicken Breast for Lois.  

We met friends Marcia and Charlie for Sunday brunch at Timo, another of Hallie's recommendations. None of us was familiar with Timo, but we all agree that it is so good and so pleasant, we can't wait to return. The restaurant has a beautiful outdoor patio as well as an indoor dining room. We ate indoors but felt like we were outdoors on this warm Sunday because the garage door front windows were rolled up and we had full exposure to the outdoors.  I suspect that Timo's building was once a gas station.

Several of us had the 3 Eggs on Toast. Other choices included the Crab Cake Benedict and a Green Salad with fresh berries, pecans, pancetta, and feta cheese. 

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Our day at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) was memorable. The MIM is the world's only global musical instrument museum.  Other such museums, including those in France and Belgium, only include musical instruments of their countries.

The MIM was founded by Robert J. Ulrich, former CEO of Target Corporation, a collector of African art and museum enthusiast. He was inspired to create the Phoenix MIM after a visit to the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels, Belgium.

Having been to some of the European musical instruments museums, I can say that the experience of this MIM far exceeds anything I've experienced. Being a new museum, it takes advantage of the latest technology and combines displays of instruments from about 200 countries with wireless audio that streams music and sounds of instruments along with videos of the instruments being played in their context in their countries.

The museum is so extensive that, in a full day, Lois and I were only able to cover the Africa and Middle East and Asia and Oceania galleries. We never got to the Europe, Latin America, or United States/Canada galleries. We also didn't have time for the Mechanical Music Gallery.

These photos are from the galleries we visited.

After a lovely lunch in their restaurant, Café Allegro, whose menu features local ingredients in creative preparations,

we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Special Exhibition, "Women Who Rock," an exhibit created by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.  

It includes the costumes, instruments, and artifacts of more than 70 women from the Foremothers of Rock, such as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Ma Rainey, up to the rockers of the New Millennium, including Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and Janelle Monae.

"Women Who Rock" will be at the MIM through April 20, 2014. Here are some highlights of the original outfits of some of the women. What I can't include here is the sound track that fills the gallery with music by the artists featured.

Cher

The Supremes

Tina Turner

Admission to the MIM is $18 for all over age 19. "Women Who Rock" costs an extra $7 with museum admission and $10 for this exhibit only. The price is definitely worth the experience; just allow a day for your visit.

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A final note on Sky Harbor Airport: The Southwest Terminal, Terminal 4, is the nicest airport terminal that I've been in, and it gets more interesting each time I am here.

It's central pre-security screening area has restaurants, shops, and art exhibits that are local to the area. I usually buy my dinner at the Paradise Bakery in this area, but lately have noticed that at the post-security gates in Terminal 4, there are even more tempting restaurants. My favorites at Gate D, include La Grande Orange and Barrio Café (the Barrio Queen restaurant group). Humble Pie, Pei Wei, and Olive & Ivy are just some of the local restaurants at Gate A. Look for La Madeleine, Focaccia Florentina, El Bravo, and Cowboy Ciao at Gate B. And, there's a second Paradise Bakery at Gate C.

Swim-A-Mile for Women with Cancer, 2013

Well, I did it again...for the 16th year!

I did the annual Swim-A-Mile for Women with Cancer, a fundraiser for the Women's Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) in Oakland, California. This year it was on October 5 & 6.

Harriet & Janet shared a lane with me. This is Harriet's 7th Swim-A-Mile and Janet's first. Janet is a cancer survivor who is going strong...for the past 5 swims she's cheered Harriet and me on. But this year, she took the plunge and swam with us.



Janet and I even wore matching glittery swim suits.

This year, 586 people (women, men, children can all do the swim) swam in the course of two days. The event is at Mills College in their beautiful pool.

I swam in Honor of 32 people and in Memory of 26 people, all of whom have a special connection to those who sponsored me in the swim.  We swimmers post their names on a big bulletin board by the pool.



I'm proud to say that I have raised, so far, nearly $3900 for WCRC.  My part of swimming 72 lengths of the pool (1800 yards) is nothing compared to the generosity of friends, family, and colleagues who continue to sponsor my swim.  I truly appreciate it and am gratified that we are able to help WCRC continue to provide the FREE services that it continues to offer to women with cancer.

Collectively, WCRC has raised more than $350,000 to date from the swim.

WCRC Development Manager, Christine Sinnott, and Executive Director , Peggy McGuire, continued to smile and provide inspiration to we swimmers throughout the weekend.

Both Harriet and Janet finished their swim proud and smiling!

And, when I arrived, friends Pat and Judi were already celebrating the end of Pat's swim.

The pool remained filled with swimmers all day long. More than 140 volunteers made the weekend a success.

After we swam, it was time for lunch.  There is always tasty food for all throughout the day.

Since the weather was exceptionally warm and clear, we relaxed on the lawn while enjoying our lunch and just taking it all in.

And, yes, we did go back for seconds!!!

Harriet and Janet certainly looked like pinup girls, for those of you who remember pinup girls!!!

WCRC is accepting donations for the Swim-A-Mile until the end of November.  If you wish to sponsor me, you can do so on the WCRC website.  Just type in my name and it will lead you to my Profile page.

Looking forward to Swim-A-Mile 2014! The dates are October 4 & 5, 2014.