Monthly Archives: October 2013

A Cake That Spans Two Seasons

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A little bit of both summer and autumn in one cake.

A little bit of both summer and autumn in one cake.

 

I am in deep denial.

That it’s October.

That somehow more than three-quarters of the year is now gone — whoosh — just like that.

Fortunately, though, I can turn to cake to make that transition from summer to autumn a little easier to swallow. Cake makes everything better, doesn’t it?

Especially one that combines the flavor of summer peaches with fall apples.

This simple cake is from “One Bowl Baking” (Running Press), of which I received a review copy. The new cookbook is by Yvonne Ruperti, a former recipe developer and writer for Cook’s Illustrated magazine. As the name implies, the book is filled with recipes for cakes, cookies, tarts, and biscuits that take only one bowl to whip up.

The original name of this particular cake is: “Super Moist Applesauce Quick Bread.” But I changed it to: “Super Moist Apple-Peach Sauce Cake” with the quick swap out of regular applesauce for Santa Cruz Organic Apple Peach Sauce, of which I also recently received a sample.

A blend of organic apples, peaches and apple juice concentrate, it comes in a six-pack of individual 4-ounce cups for about $4.99. It’s naturally fat-free with no additional sugar added. One container (one serving) has 70 calories.

Santa Cruz Organic Apple Peach Sauce.

Santa Cruz Organic Apple Peach Sauce.

The flavor is a nice change of pace from just standard apple because of the tang and complexity that the peach adds. The consistency is runny, almost slurp-able, actually. In fact, you could almost drizzle a little on a plate with the cake for a ready-made coulis.

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The Food Gal in Conversation with Joyce Goldstein, Gott’s Roadside Opens in Palo Alto and More

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Chef Joyce Goldstein. (Photo courtesy of the IACP and Goldstein)

Chef Joyce Goldstein. (Photo courtesy of the IACP and Goldstein)

Join the Food Gal and Joyce Goldstein For a Berkeley Event

I couldn’t be more honored to have been asked to help host an upcoming event with legendary cookbook author and chef, Joyce Goldstein.

Join us for a conversation, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17, at the Marsh Arts Center in Berkeley. It’s all part of Litquake, San Francisco’s Literary Festival.

I’ll be talking to Goldstein about her insightful new book, “Inside the California Food Revolution: Thirty Years that Changed Our Culinary Consciousness” (University of California Press).

InsideCaliforniaFoodRevolution

Sure, the food scene in the Bay Area is incomparable. But imagine a time when there wasn’t arugula available everywhere, where almost all fine-dining restaurants served only continental cuisine, and when farmers markets didn’t exist. That was California in the 1960s. Learn about the factors that went into transforming this region into a culinary mecca.

The event is free, but a $10 donation is suggested. Hope to see you all there!

Palo Alto Welcomes Gott’s Roadside

Lucky Palo Alto last week welcomed the fourth Gott’s Roadside in the Bay Area.

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The Perfect Sip For Fall — From Randall Grahm

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Randall Grahm's latest endeavor sparkles.

Randall Grahm’s latest endeavor sparkles.

 

Randall Grahm, the visionary behind Santa Cruz’s Bonny Doon Vineyard has always followed his own path.

When Chardonnay dominated, he fostered a thirst for lesser-known Rhone varietals.

When he opened his tasting room, it wasn’t in the faux Mediterranean style so en vogue, but a most quirky spot adorned with spaceships.

Now, leave it to him to think outside the box again by veering into the realm of hard-cider making.

His Bonny Doon ¿Querry?, which I had a chance to sample, is not your usual sparkling alcoholic apple cider.

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Gluten-Free Pizza and More Noshes at Pizza Antica Santana Row

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A gluten-free pizza at Pizza Antica at Santana Row.

A gluten-free pizza at Pizza Antica at Santana Row.

 

After hosting a cooking demo in August at Santana Row in San Jose with Chef Bradley Cenyowa of Pizza Antica, he had me intrigued.

Responding to customers’ needs, Pizza Antica — which has four locations — had begun to offer a gluten-free pizza crust.

It can quite challenging to get the texture just right in gluten-free bread and other baked goods. But Cenyowa is such a fan of the gluten-free crust at the restaurant that he eats it, himself, even though he does not suffer from celiac disease.

He invited me in as a guest of the restaurant to try it for, myself.

If you’re gluten-intolerant, the server will hand you a separate gluten-free menu to peruse — a nice touch. My husband and I — neither of us have issues with gluten — got both menus just to check them out.

The always busy restaurant.

The always busy restaurant.

We started off with the bacon, lettuce, tomato chopped salad ($10.25), which the kitchen thoughtfully split onto two plates for us. The salad is a tumble of textures in every fork-full. You get crunchy romaine, crisp bacon and fluffy bits of hard-cooked egg. There’s just enough Dijon dressing to coat everything, but not drown it.

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Gourmet Crackers and A Food Gal Giveaway

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New Milton's crackers (front to back): Blueberry Multi-Grain, Honey & Corn, and Chocolate Multi-Grain.

New Milton’s crackers (front to back): Blueberry Multi-Grain, Honey & Corn, and Chocolate Multi-Grain.

 

Chocolate in a cracker? Blueberries in a cracker? Say, what?

Milton’s Craft Bakers has created just that and more with its new line of baked snack crackers that are made from organic wheat, corn, oats and honey. They’re also kosher.

Recently, I had a chance to try samples of the five new flavors: Original Multi-Grain. Honey & Corn, Chocolate Multi-Grain, Blueberry Multi-Grain, and Honey Multi-Grain.

The sturdy crackers have good crunch and can stand up to being dunked into the thickest dips.

The chocolate crackers are not cookie-tasting in the least. They have little sweetness and a faint dusty, cocoa taste. They’d be quite nice with a glass of red wine and cheese.

The blueberry crackers have specks of wild, organic blueberries in them. The berry note is subtle but present.

My favorite of the bunch was the Honey & Corn variety. It does taste a bit like buttered corn with a restrained drizzle of honey.

The crackers have about 110 to 130 calories per serving (6 crackers), depending on the variety. A 6.5-ounce box is $3.99. The crackers are available at Whole Foods, Alberton’s and Sam’s Club.

Five new varieties (three shown here).

Five new varieties (three shown here).

CONTEST: One Food Gal reader will get to try samples of all five flavors of the Milton’s crackers. Entries, limited to those in the continental United States, will be accepted through midnight PST Oct. 5. Winner will be announced Oct. 7.

How to win?

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