If you’re not lucky enough to live along one of the many coasts in the world,  but still long for the taste of fresh oysters you’re in luck.

I’m going to ignore those of you looking to remind me they sell oysters at the grocery store… and instead suggest Taylor Shellfish Farms just outside of Seattle.

They offer several different options all of them better than anything you’ll find at your local megamart and all available via their website.

And for those of you in San Francisco, a reminder that some of the best oysters in the world can be found right here, courtesy of the Hog Island Oyster Company.  Also available for ordering online.

And lets not forget oysters are good for you…

“Oysters are high in zinc, potassium, and vitamins A, B-12, C, and D. Oysters are also a great source of cholesterol-reducing omega-3 fatty acids. A 3 1/2 - ounce serving (about 3 small oysters) contains 69 calories, 2.5 milligrams of fat, and .44 milligrams of omega-3s.”
Jairemarie Pomo, The Hog Island Oyster Lover’s Cookbook

I’ve never been much for cold Winter mornings, afternoons or evenings for that matter, but when I read  there are now 11 farmers’ markets open year round in Vermont I was impressed folks were willing to get up and brave the cold.

So what can you expect to find in the winter months at one of the Vermont farmers markets, according to North East Organic Farming Association of Vermont, potatoes, turnips, squash and more.

If you interested in reading more from the Associated Press, click here...

If you’re looking for Winter farmers markets in Vermont, click here….

I was at the farmers market Sunday when it struck me as odd that you can get so many fresh foods these days way out of their season.

There were at least a half dozen vendors still selling strawberries and tomatoes. I grant you the tomatoes weren’t looking the best, but are the strawberries really supposed to be at the market this late in the year?

I asked the seller and was told that it’s still pretty warm where he grows and many varieties that grew longer into the year.

So I looked up some information on California Strawberries.

According to the California Strawberry Commission, Strawberry season runs from nearly year round, depending on where you are.

Here in San Francisco you can reasonably expect to find fresh berries from April through November, the Commission said.

Let us know if you’re finding the same with fresh produce at your farmers market. Are you seeing more and more foods for sale long past what you remember being the selling season for that food?

For years I’ve had a fear of butter. I’m sure it has something to do with growing up during the age of no fat and low fat foods(remember snack wells cookies). Even today I fear the small yellow stick just as much as I did then.

I have over the years looked for butter alternatives, trying everything from applesauce to the glass jar filled with brown sludge in the baking section labeled butter substitute. The color has kept me from opening it.

But after reading the NY Times today I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I will learn to accept butter, for life is short.

Are there others of you who fear butter?

Butter Holds the Secret to Cookies That Sing

New York Times

When home bakers get out the mixer and the decorating sugar at this time of year, visions of perfect-edged cookies and shapely cakes dance in their heads. But too often, the reality — both for the cookie and the baker — is ragged, fallen, and fraying around the edges.

“I’ve cried many times at 2 a.m., when the cookies fall apart after all that work,” said Susan Abbott, a lawyer in Dallas who tries every Christmas to reproduce her mother’s flower-shaped lemon cookies, though she rarely bakes during the rest of the year.

“It seems that home bakers don’t always follow instructions precisely,” said Amy Scherber, the owner of Amy’s Bread stores in Manhattan (where she also makes cakes and cookies, including orange butter cookies). “And then it’s so disappointing when things don’t turn out.”

The most common mistakes made by home bakers, professionals say, have to do with the care and handling of one ingredient: butter. Creaming butter correctly, keeping butter doughs cold, and starting with fresh, good-tasting butter are vital details that professionals take for granted, and home bakers often miss.

Butter is basically an emulsion of water in fat, with some dairy solids that help hold them together. But food scientists, chefs and dairy professionals stress butter’s unique and sensitive nature the way helicopter parents dote on a gifted child.

“Butter has that razor melting point,” said Shirley O. Corriher, a food scientist and author of the recently published “BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking” (Scribner).

click here for the complete story…

If you’re still looking for the end of the year write-off…. The folks at Gourmet Magazine want to remind everyone there is still time to bid on your favorite custom-designed lunchbox by Mario Batali, Beastie Boys, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Chang, Tom Colicchio, Salman Rushdie, Cameron Diaz, the cast of “Gossip Girl,” Rachael Ray, Eva Mendes, Mike Myers, Ellen Page, Michael Stipe, Liv Tyler, Diane Von Furstenberg and many others — plus, Gourmet’s Ruth Reichl and Sara Moulton.

The Lunchbox Auction, which benefits the hunger relief organizations Food Bank For New York City and The Lunchbox Fund of South Africa. The online auction features one-of-a-kind lunchboxes designed by celebrities from film, television, fashion, art, music, and the culinary world.

Bidding ends December 18 at noon EST.

click here to bid or see all the lunchboxes

Welcome to Screaming Fresh from Jeff Brooks on Vimeo.

Screamingfresh.com is all about fresh food, and it appears the restaurant industry is taking notice of the our passion for produce as well…

Mintel Menu, a company that tracks food trends, recently predicted that restaurant menus in 2009 will include:

1. More fresh food on the menu
2. More cocktails
3. Comfort food re-invented
4. Mediterranean food surges
5. More explanations of the benefits of their foods

With our focus on fresh foods, we are thrilled Mintel says there has been a 22% increase since 2006 in restaurant menus that label foods as fresh and to expect even more emphasis on fresh foods and artisan ingredients in the year ahead.

If you’ve recently given up cable for economic reasons or not never had it, I completely understand… Having gone cable free for the past three months has meant a life free of the Food Network… But I recently learned the Food Network now makes available full episodes of their shows online for free… All the shows aren’t available, but I’ll take what I can get…The videos can be tough to find, so just click on this sentence….

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Technorati Profile