I’m not a fool… I know there’s no such thing as a healthy doughnut… But there are things you can do to make it better for you…

Tuesday night I was at an EcoMom Alliance event where the host served Dee’s Mini Organic Doughnuts… Dee’s are fresh hand dipped organic doughnuts made just North of San Francisco… The ingredients are certified organic and free of preservatives, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, colorings and artificial flavors.

Maybe I drank the Flavor-Aid, but they really were a better tasting doughnut… But how bad can a doughnut be?

I would rank them among the best doughnut’s I’ve ever had… Who makes the best doughnuts you’ve ever had?

Leave the name of your favorite doughnut in the comments section… And I’ll do my best to check them all out…

Title: Wine, Chocolate and BBQ
Location: Lodi, California
Link out: Click here
Description: Our wonderful Lodi Wineries will be offering tastes of their delicious Lodi wines paired with various chocolate treats. Enjoy winery activities, including barrel tasting, new releases, wine and food pairings, special events and live music throughout the weekend.
Start Date: 2009-02-14
Start Time: 11:00
End Date: 2009-02-15
End Time: 16:00

The folks at Men’s Health magazine have put out their list of the 20 worst foods in the supermarket… They go into some detail about what makes these particular foods so awful for you, but from reading the list it’s pretty clear.

Here is the list and the reason or reasons the foods stand out…

Gardetto’s Special Request Roasted Garlic Rye Chips / trans fats

Pillsbury Big Deluxe Classics White Chunk Macadamia Nut / trans fats

Stonyfield Farm Whole Milk Chocolate Underground / to much sugar

Twix / bad mix of fats

Eggo Original Syrup / huge amounts of sugar

Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter / huge amounts of fat

AriZona Kiwi Strawberry / 82 grams of sugar per can

Pop-Tarts Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon / sugar & oil

Healthy Choice Complete Selections Sweet & Sour Chicken / to much sugar & salt

Quaker 100% Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Raisins / sugar

Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo / same amount of salt as 4 orders of McDonald’s fries

Otis Spunkmeyer Banana Nut Muffins / sugar & fat

Toll House Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwich / sugar & fat

Hostess Chocolate Pudding Pie / Saturated fat of 2 McDonald’s 1/4 Pounders

Oscar Mayer Maxed Out Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Combo Lunchables / all bad

Bertolli Grilled Chicken Alfredo & Fettuccine Complete Skillet Meal for Two / Saturated fat equivalent: 22 strips of bacon

Jimmy Dean Pancake and Sausage Links Breakfast Bowls / calories & fat

DiGiorno for One Garlic Bread Crust Supreme Pizza / caloris & fat

Hungry-Man Classic Fried Chicken / Calorie of 5 Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnuts

Marie Callender’s Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie / fat equal to 23 strips of bacon

Well I am back on the road, and cannot tell you how much I miss
Marin County! During the 40 day stay home the boys and I did quit a bite of sight seeing around Marin and the Bay Area! Out in West Marin well Bolinas to be exact Curtis Jr fell in love with this road side organic vegetable stand it is open 24/7. 24 hours a day 7 days a week! The produce varies from season to season; last week there were the most wonderful Spanish, kale, and lettuces, butter, green leaf, red ruffled leaf, plus Bibb lettuce. There was Swiss chard, green, white, and stripped. One could also find kohlrabi (are you wondering what this vegetable is?) Keep coming back to Recipes for Living you will learn about the kohlrabi and other bulb type vegetables. Speaking of bulb or should I say round vegetable the little stand had the most outstanding potatoes I have had! These potatoes were ugly but o-so tasty! I made mashed, baked and boil spuds and the kids loved them all!

As the saying goes the show must go on! Or to make a living I must go on the road! This morning it is 20 degrees in my Hometown of Conyers Georgia, making it hard to get out of bed when I woke at 5 a.m.! However now around 8 a.m. the sun is shinning bright and the temperature is up to about 30! How I wish I were in Novato on my way to Indian Valley to play golf or off to hike up Mt Burdell! Instead yours truly will be out and about around the East Atlanta Metro area and off to South Georgia searching for foods that scream fresh. One Farm I will be visiting is Hound River; you may have read about them in the New York Times. Hound River Farms is said to raise some of the tastiest lamb in the country! I’ll let you know after I have a taste!

Here is a recipe I have been having fun with lately, feel free to change the ingredient to suit your taste, you can use red onion, or broccoli add celery or pear how about cheese? When I get it right although it taste good now, this will be the recipe I demo in Louisville Kentucky April 20, 2009

Pasta and Produce Salad
1 pound cooked pasta (cork screw)
1 bunch Spanish (washed and torn into bite size)
1 sweet onion diced
1 carrot peeled and diced
1 fugi apple cored and diced
1 / 2 cup raisins
1 / 2 cup toasted nuts

Dressing
1/ 3 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil!
1 orange
1 / 2 fresh berries
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Method
In large salad blown combine first 7 ingredients set aside
To another bowel combine dressing ingredient blend well
Add to pasta toss and serve
I f you want to see pictures of the Organic stand in Bolinas go to www.screamingfresh.com and to get a head start on the lamb visit http://www.houndriverfarm.com/ Peace

Title: Tee Mamou-Iota Mardi Gras Folklife Festival
Location: Iota, Louisiana
Link out: Click here
Description: Throughout the day, Cajun and Zydeco bands play on the main stage featuring the only raised dance floor in the area. Another stage features the area\’s finest young musicians playing Cajun music. The festival also offers the most delicious Cajun foods and a variety of Cajun crafts.

The highlight of the day is the arrival of the Tee Mamou Courir de Mardi Gras riding through town in the Mardi Gras wagon. The brightly colored costumes are topped off with screen masks and capuchons which hide each persons identity. The courir will then gather on the main stage along with the capitaine, Todd Fruge, to sing their traditional European chant in French that is dated back 400+ years. Once the song is completed, the Mardi Gras descend onto the street like a colorful wave, dancing with any available ladies and begging for loose change.
Start Time: 8:30
Date: 2009-02-05
End Time: 17:00

Title: South Beach Wine & Food Festival
Location: South Beach, Florida
Link out: Click here
Description: The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is a national, star-studded, four-day destination event showcasing the talents of the world\’s most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs and culinary personalities.
Start Date: 2009-02-19
End Date: 2009-02-22

Today is without question my favorite day of the week for news… The majority of the papers in America publish their food section on Wednesday. The New York Times in no exception…

The eye catching headline l’m referring today is …

“Saving a Squirrel by Eating One.”

The story does have a serious side, it goes into great detail about protecting the beloved red squirrel which is having issues with the British gray squirrel…

Here what the NY Times had to say…

Rare roast beef splashed with meaty jus, pork enrobed in luscious crackling fat, perhaps a juicy, plump chicken … these are feasts that come to mind when one thinks of quintessential British food. Lately, however, a new meat is gracing the British table: squirrel.

Though squirrel has appeared occasionally in British cookery, history doesn’t deem it a dining favorite. Even during World War II and the period of austerity that followed, the Ministry of Food valiantly promoted the joys of squirrel soup and pie. British carnivores replied, “No, thank you.”

These days, however, in farmers’ markets, butcher shops, village pubs and elegant restaurants, squirrel is selling as fast as gamekeepers and hunters can bring it in.

“Part of the interest is curiosity and novelty,” said Barry Shaw of Shaw Meats, who sells squirrel meat at the Wirral Farmers Market near Liverpool. “It’s a great conversation starter for dinner parties.”

While some have difficulty with the cuteness versus deliciousness ratio — that adorable little face, those itty-bitty claws — many feel that eating squirrel is a way to do something good for the environment while enjoying a unique gastronomical experience.

Click here for the complete story…

Title: 4th Annual Tucson Slow Food & Film Festival
Location: Tuscan, Arizona
Link out: Click here
Description: A weekend festival of new & classic food films, culinary events,
cultural discussions and silent auction
Start Date: 2009-01-08
Start Time: 18:00
End Date: 2009-01-11