Mushroom Camp, Fancy Food Show, Then Life

Even though I wrote right here on my blog that I was going to bring my camera to mushroom camp, I managed to forget it. It's probably a good thing that I did because there was so much work to do that I would not likely have had time to use it. My friend Ellen snapped the one photo that I wanted of me with Saul and Moon Planits (aliases), featured here. It's not everyday that you meet people with such unusual names, but SOMA mushroom camp is that kind of place. If I'd had more time out of the kitchen, it's likely that I would have discovered other interesting people.

I actually managed to get out to a class taught by Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac. on how to make medicinal mushroom tinctures but it was just then that I realized that we had to count bowls which would hold all the darned condiments for our outrageously complicated-to-prepare-and-cook Asian street food meal, put together by Mycochef Patrick Hamilton, pictured with me below, in a pretty unflattering but "real" photo. So, sitting in a class didn't really work for me and I didn't make it out of the kitchen much but the meal got rave reviews.

We had an incredible team of volunteers, too many to mention so forgive me if I haven't included your name (you know that I adore all the volunteer "kitchen slaves"), who worked their butts off. Below is Andy ("The Toolman") Still and his wife Gayle. Andy brought his industrial strength Robot Coupe with more blades than I ever knew existed. That machine saved us from kitchen failure and melt down although we know now that those blades are very, very sharp. Nothing further shall be mentioned regarding this or any other things that needed nursing.

Included here is also a kind of dark photo of me with my dear friend Dee, who does incredible hand reading, and is a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen. All photos by my "right hand woman" Ellen. I know that I ought to have some food photos but those will hopefully show up somewhere else, like on the SOMA Mushrooms website but nothing yet (or I've just been too busy to check).

Sunday night I left Mushroom Camp in a heavy downpour (both myself and the weather), ready for my bed at home, and the next day working on writing assignments at The Fancy Food Show at Moscone in San Francisco.

I had hoped to see, and stay with, my friend Sonnie but the weather (still raining) and my mood (both a bit wet and bedraggled) didn't allow that. I walked the show floor all day, missing a number of interesting items as I was focused on my story leads about beverages and cheese (of all things). And, once again, I forgot my camera. I ought to have it somehow surgically implanted so that it goes with me everywhere.

I managed to test out the chocolates, grains, gluten-free products (in abundance), agave (how many kinds can there really be? At least 2, I found out - white and blue.) and popcorn. It looks like popcorn is the latest, greatest "new" snack food. At the end of the day, I was ready to head back home for a fairly quiet week of work.

And I got that for a few days until Thursday afternoon when my 16-year old son called to tell me that he needed a ride home and that he likely needed to go straight to the hospital to have his appendix out. So, I picked him up, took him to Kaiser Permanente and we spent 6 hours in the emergency room, minus a short time in radiology for a CAT scan to determine that, yes, he did need his appendix removed, an hour in surgery pre-op, an hour post-op and at about 3 am we made it to a patient room, where my uncomfortable son tossed and turned in a hospital bed while his exhausted mother slept in a most uncomfortable chair for a few hours. When I awoke, I drove home to rest for a while and gather my thoughts.

Son is resting uncomfortably at home now, and I had a most remarkable deep sleep last night. I guess that somehow hard work pays off and you never know what the reward will be. I am grateful for the little things -- health, sleep, air, a roof over my head, the sunshine, rainbows, and so much more. May your next week be less eventful.

Nuts over Nuts and Trail Mix

People who know me don't hesitate to call me nuts. In fact, my father lovingly called me a "nut job", one of the last things he said on my last visit before he passed away. So I take the term as one of endearment.

I'll admit that I can be a bit nutty and over exuberant about things, especially if they involve "real" food.

I had the immense pleasure of receiving some Braga Farms raw trail mix, roasted, salted pistachios and roasted salted almonds with garlic, all of which are certified organic and come from a small, family farm in California.

The good thing is that I love nuts, and eat them almost every day. The other good thing is that gift or not, I am likely to tell you what I really think because I am a bit of a "nut job."

So, here is my critique of Braga farms organic raw trail mix. It may be one of the best trail mix blends that I've ever had, not mucked up with lots of seeds (like those, too but often they compose the bulk of the mix because they are less expensive) and containing large firm, fresh nuts. It tastes clean, containing walnuts, almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries and large plump raisins (which I believe may be coated with sunflower oil because it's listed on the label but I'm not sure). This stuff is so much better than any other trail mix that I've had which says a lot. It's also a lot more expensive at $8.86 per 8 ounce bag, but in my case, that's a good thing because even when not on the trail, I don't seem to have a limit to how much I can, and do, eat of this stuff. Rating: 5 out of 5 for freshness, taste and overall palatability.

The salted pistachios are good, as good as any that I buy but discernibly better than my usual organic purchases. I am sure, though, that buying the already shelled organic ones is a treat because it makes it easy to add them to dishes, such as my Quinoa with Currants and Pistachios. For just eating, though, I'll stick to those in-the-shell as it slows me down so I don't eat the whole darned bag. Fresh and flavorful but not likely to make the switch to these, mostly due to price. Rating: 4 out of 5. $7.86 per 8 ounces

I hesitated to try the salted garlic almonds, thinking that they'd be very garlicky or have some "fake" taste. But I was wrong. They are addictively delicious, and once again incredibly fresh. When buying nuts, freshness really counts, which is why supporting small farms makes a huge difference. Heck, I ought to know since I live in California, known for its nuts (and kooks). The garlic almonds are lightly flavored and oh-so tasty.

Rating: 5 out of 5. $8.86 per 8 ounces. I've not had flavored almonds with such real flavor.

These products, and much more, are all available from Gourmet Shopping Network .


If I didn't live in such a nutty place and wanted to be sure that I had great products, I would order often from Braga Farms, supporting a small organic farm that has high standards. If you are in the market for great tasting nuts and some dried fruit, check them out.

Back to Blogging -- The Fancy Food Show and More

After 2 days of standing on my feet and managing the kitchen at SOMA mushroom camp where we served an all-out mushroom meal to 240 happy people, I attended the Fancy Food Show, where I walked the floor of Moscone Center for many more hours.

Luckily at Moscone, I was buoyed by chocolate. I mean lots of chocolate. One of the first booths that I arrived at was Newtree chocolate. They have a functional and nutritional line (right!) that contains roasted flax and rice crisps which are made to resemble a bar made by Nestle. This is quite unlike the bars from my youth as they are made with Belgian chocolate, high quality ingredients and each bar likely retails for around $5. But they score high on the tasty scale, and if you're going to eat something decadent such as chocolate, you really want the good stuff, which for me, is at least 65% cacao content. (They were included in my story on the new chocolates that I wrote for Natural Food Network magazine last year.)


After starting off with chocolate, I was on my quest for new beverages and found 2 very new ones at O.N.E., a company now known for its coconut water. Their newest products are Coffee berry which is just what it says, with the caffeine content of green tea, and cashew fruit. They are unlike any other fruity beverage and worth trying if you are looking for fruit juice. (I don't drink much fruit juice.)

Next I encountered old-fashioned sodas called Fentimans. I generally don't drink soda but had to try this because they had one with dandelion and burdock root, both of which are good for your liver. (They don't make any claims about their drinks.) It was tasty, as were all their products, most of which are ginger-based. If you're going to drink a sweetened carbonated beverage this might be a good choice.

Aloe drinks were prevalent. And I also saw a drink made from with hibiscus, and another with rose juice.

I could go on and on about what I saw but will now just write a short round-up. Be on the lookout for more gluten-free products, tea of all types, especially in biodegradeable bags and packaging, more chocolate than you'd ever want to eat (and I mean ever), exotic fruit in lots of different items and the next great thing. It just could be roasted flax from Flax USA in North Dakota (which I will be giving away in March for National Nutrition Month).

And if you want to get an amazing tea maker, to go with all that tea be on the lookout for the Analon one that has 6 different settings for your type of tea. But you better start saving your pennies now for later, as it comes with the hefty price tag of $350.

The one thing that I did get while there was an amazing grinder called The Spice Ratchet which I will be selling along with my new herb and spice blends which are in the works.

I am still sorting through all my Fancy Food show information so expect to hear more, hopefully before you see it on store shelves.