A Day at the Food Bank

I count myself lucky to have an employer that provides one paid day a year to do volunteer work. I used that day today and volunteered for the Food Bank, located on upper Hollister in Goleta.

A little background on the Food Bank. It is a non-profit organization distributing food and educational resources to over 200 agencies throughout the county. The agencies can come into the warehouse and buy food at a very low price, or get other food donations for free. The agencies then are the distribution centers to families and individuals. The food bank is effectively a mini-Costco, for bulk food acquisition, and the goods look as nice as buying it a regular retail store.

While some volunteers collected and distributed frozen turkeys, a co-worker and I opted to sort and package food donations in the warehouse. We were pleased to see the mountains of donations coming in from throughout the city.

But we were also surprised by the amount of food brought in that was not suitable for distribution. This year, the food bank has provided paper bags that list the items they are looking for.

Peanut Butter

Canned Fruit

Canned Vegetables

Canned Stew & Chili

Canned Meats

Fruit Juice

Coffee/Tea

Rice/Beans

Cereal

Pasta

Jelly

Soups

Flour/Sugar

What the paper bag does not list are some additional guidelines, including items they cannot distribute and this is an important list.

They cannot accept home canned products.

They cannot distribute baby food.

They cannot distribute cans without labels.

They cannot distribute opened products.

Please donate retail sized items.

Foods must be in original packaging.

Please read the guidelines! It was heartbreaking to see stacks of lovely organic baby food removed from the bins of suitable food. In fact, it appears that Lazy Acres is putting together pre-packaged donation bags and half the contents are baby food. The heart is in the right place, but please spend that money on the recommended list instead. Workers at the food bank said the peanut butter and canned tuna were especially desirable.

There are a few other items that you might think are good donations, but that the bank cannot distribute. These included dented cans and packaging with any signs of rust. They also cannot distribute food already distributed in food programs by the USDA. Sadly, those must also be thrown away. If you have generic looking food, check for the USDA label, such as pictured below on the left.




And now, the food hall of shame. There are some items in the donation bins that...I don't know, maybe the quest to do good prevailed over common sense. These items went straight into the toss box. I am slightly embarrassed to list the items, but we collected a few boxes of them, so perhaps the word needs to go out that some food items, although they might be on the recommended list, are not suitable. These include opened and partially eaten containers, food that has long past the sell by date, food infested with bugs, and food not meant for human consumption (like dog food).



On the left is an opened and half used jar of lemon pepper, really old cans and boxes (for a time reference, Luckys ceased as a brand in 1998), and a loose piece of pizza. On the right is an old bag of rice, the plastic is deteriorating and is soft and tacky to the touch, plus the packaging is faded and stained.

A good question to ask yourself if you're going through your cupboard for donations: would you eat it? And would you buy it in this condition?

Overall, the food we sorted and packed was of great quality and in perfect condition. For the two boxes we discarded, my co-worker and I packed up 60 boxes - or about 2500 pounds - to the brim with wonderful donations. And we felt like we'd hardly made a dent in all the bins and pallets of food still waiting to be sorted. Good job, Santa Barbara, your generosity sure tired out my feet today.

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Dinner Menu: There is nothing on the dinner menu today, I can hardly look at food right now, and I am still full from the generous sandwich I purchased at lunchtime from the International Market and Deli, located on upper Hollister, near Modoc. It took a while for the deli to prepare the sandwich, but it was worth the wait. I picked the fillings from their diverse selection of deli meats, including more salamis than I could count, and cheeses. Two meats and a cheese, plus assorted fillings (including sundried tomatoes!) cost between $7-$7.50 depending on weight.

And that's probably it for me. John should be back to his regular blogger self by tomorrow. Ciao!

Weekend food delights

It's pure coincidence that I get to blog away on John's website over the same period of time that I have bay area friends visiting. Visiting friends from NorCal means eating out.

It was a good opportunity to try places and meals I hadn't experienced before. Friday evening we dined at Bucatini on lower State Street at Haley. There was a birthday to celebrate, so champagne and a bottle of pinot grigio was in order. Assorted pastas and salads arrived at the table, but the dishes to note were the steak and lamb main courses. The t-bone was tender, cooked just how my friend wanted it, and very generously portioned. There were strong flavors of rosemary throughout.
The views from the patio impressed the out-of-towners. We saw people pulled over for BUI (biking under the influence), drunks stumbling out of the bars, cars going through red lights, cars dangerously speeding, and one car even turning the wrong way onto Haley. The latter car corrected by doing a u-turn over the curb. Gotta love downtown Santa Barbara on a weekend night.

We met up again for Sunday lunch, and knowing there was one pescatarian in the group inspired me to suggest Palapa on upper State Street. I like their reasonably priced seafood dishes, particularly the ceviche tostadas. Today, I suggested the seafood combination platter. The menu offers the combination for 2 ($40) or 4 ($70). I asked the waiter if they could compromise and do a platter for the 3 of us, and the response was that the platter for 2 would be more than enough.



He wasn't kidding. BTW, if you click on the picture, you will be redirected to the photo server, Flickr.com, and I've added notes to the image to point out what is what on the platter. Basically what you see here is a generous amount of shrimp, ceviche, abalone, octopus, fish fillets, whole fish and crisp-tender cooked vegetables.

A friendly woman worked out on the patio making fresh hot corn tortillas for our meal. We even got a few quesadillas as an appetizer along with the standard chips and salsa. Throw in a couple beers, and this meal came to less than $50, not including the tip.

And if you want this for breakfast, lunch or dinner, no problem. They can cook it up anytime, our waiter told us. The only times really confined to a strict mealtime is the generic breakfast items, like pancakes.
I should also mention here that views consist of highway onramps, a motel on one side and an adult video store on the other side. I'm not saying these are good or bad things, they're just not views of the mountains or ocean.

It comes as no surprise that my out-of-town guests were impressed by the meal. They are now on their way back north with the word "Palapa" on their tongues.

macaroons

I'm feeling creatively dead at the moment, so no ginormous tome today.

But I can say that someone recently recommended the macaroons at the Italian Bakery on Hollister, near Patterson, and yesterday I had the opportunity to try one.
It was generously sized, sweet, coconutty, baked to golden brown and delicious perfection and it cost a mere $1.00.
The same friend claimed it went very well with coffee, but I ate it before I could reach the cup.

Market and Meals

I went exploring at the downtown farmers market on Tuesday, looking for some items I thought were particularly neat, and took a few photos.


Green Family Farms, often identified by their stacks of large artichokes and bunches of asparagus, has a nifty stirfry mix that's the perfect size for 1-2 people, or one generous family meal. Each bag, selling for $5, contains a little bit of asparagus, spring onions, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli florets, nasturtium flowers (colorful and peppery-tasting), napa cabbage, bok choy and yu choy.


John B. from Yankee Farm, sells bagged lettuces that are different from the rest. His are sold as baby heads, and they stay fresh and crisp longer than loose leaf bags. The four lettuce varieties seen here are:

Buttercrunch

Four Seasons

Galactic

Green Salad Bowl
The bags sell for $2 each, and don't be misled by the abundance of bags in the photo. When I walked by a few minutes later, he was down to just a handful remaining.


Beautiful cucumbers, thanks to the technology of Fast Hydroponics from Oxnard. Much like Lebanese cucumbers, these do not need peeling. Chop them up, put them in a salad (or maybe put a slice in a glass of Pimms? We've got the weather for it right now). They were sold by the basket for $2, smiles were included for free.


I would not have thought there would be squash blossoms available this time of year, but here they are, selling for $2 a bunch. Sadly, this farm did not have a name, so good luck finding them. You can eat the flowers raw in salads, or stuff them with ricotto cheese or queso fresco and lightly batter and fry them. Or you can look at them from afar, then order them already prepared at the Stateside. Your choice.


The most unassuming item here is, imho, the most unique. These are bags of dried sweet potato, selling for $5. They are firm and chewy, and also sweet but not cloyingly so. KNC Gardens sells them, and I have never seen them anywhere else, ever. One friend describes them as eating fluffy clouds. Another thought they were too tough to bite and had to tear them into smaller pieces to eat. I encourage you to judge for yourself.

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Mealtime!
On the dinner menu was baguette (Our Daily Bread) with two kinds of cheese, Salvo Cremosco and Bucherondin (C'est Cheese), and pâté (International Market). Thoughts of the Port tasting at Wine Country inspired me to also have a sip of Amaretto and a little bit of Côte d’Or chocolate.

My lunch, let me show it to you.

Rice balls with pickled things, deviled egg and a miniature pear, SPAM musubi (who saw the article about it in the LA Times recently? It was my muse), and cucumber salad made with the cukes from the market.

Wine-centric

In an odd twist of fate that involved a friend moving to New York and the transfer of some hand-me-downs through her sister, I had the recent opportunity to sit down to lunch with EM, a Four Seasons Biltmore server extraordinaire of nine years and passionate food-lover.
We ate at Del Pueblo Cafe in the Magnolia Shopping Center. EM ordered a burrito, and I got the mole enchiladas, one chicken and one beef. All delicious. Over lunch, she provided me with some tidbits of goings-on at the Biltmore.

First up, there's a Wine Maker's Dinner planned this month. The first dinner has completely sold out, and they've added a second dinner on 28 November to the events calendar. For $95 per person, diners will be treated to an evening of food paired with wines from Caymus Vineyards in Napa. There will be a reception with hors d'œuvre, followed by a four course meal including amuse-bouche, first course, entree and dessert, each complemented by a different wine.
If you're seeking an alternative evening to a tryptophan-laden Thanksgiving dinner and have the money to spend, this could be a great option. You can phone 969-2261 and ask about the Wine Maker's Dinner for more info.

Understandably, the Wine Maker's Dinner might weigh too hard on the pocketbook, so there is a more affordable route for those pulling in the reins on their spending. The Biltmore includes the Featured Wine in their normal service each month. Think of it as an opportunity to enjoy a glass from a $150 bottle without that upfront cost, and it can be ordered alongside an appetizer.

There is also a wine special on Tuesdays - buy one, get one of equal or lesser value at half price. This is available between 6 pm - 8 pm.

EM let me in on one final morsel: after 10 pm, the bar snacks change from savory cheese wafers and pistachios to chocolate covered almonds. I would like to go at 9:55 PM, during the transition, so I can have it all.

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Heading up the coast, I just found out that the Wine Country boutique in Los Olivos is having a special Port tasting this Friday, 16 November, between 5 pm - 7 pm. Here's the tasting lineup with details provided by Matt at Wine Country:

Graham's 6 Grapes: a very full-bodied, luscious wine drawn from the same vineyards as Graham's Vintage Ports. Blended from two or three years' harvests, the wine is an average of five to six years old when bottled. It follows the Graham's Vintage style very closely, although it has softened more quickly by being matured in oak casks rather than in bottle. Its extremely rich fruity style makes it a truly superb, rare and appealing Port.

Graham's 20 year: "20 Years" indicates an average age - this Aged Tawny Port is a blend of older wines - which offer complexity, and younger wines - which bring fresh fruit flavors and vibrancy. During their long maturing period in oak casks, Aged Tawnies undergo subtle color changes: the deep red hue which characterizes Port's youth gradually gives way to a paler golden amber color. Graham's is known for its rich, elegant house style. This 20 Year has an intense, nutty bouquet, the classic Graham's richness and a concentrated, lingering finish. Many consider the 20 Year to be the perfect blend of complexity and vibrant fruit when it comes to Aged Tawny.

Cossart Gordon 1995 Colheita Bual: a rich, powerful Madeira with a velvety mellowed texture. Its cask aging is reflected in the delicate nuttiness and soft nuances of fruit. It may be enjoyed with desserts or cheeses.

Dow's 1992 Colheita has a bright tawny color with an amber rim. On the nose sweet aromas of crystallized fruits combine with subtle vanilla notes from the cask aging. On the palate very fresh and lively with excellent nutty flavors and a long finish. Try serving lightly chilled in warm weather.

Smith Woodhouse Late Bottles Vintage Port 1994: sweet and vibrant with rich plum, spice and fruitcake aromas on the nose. The palate balances lush fruit, intense sweetness and good acidity. The finish is very long with good concentration.

Cost for the tasting is $12.
John, will you please add Wine Country to your database? kthnxbye!

Hello, this is lemonjelly filling in for John while he is away

OHAI!
How does one get to be a guest blogger while John is away? Go to the santabarbara.com readers lunch and meet him, that's how. It also helps to contribute feedback or information to his blog, and to talk endlessly about food.

That said, a co-worker and I were recentally chatting about food (no surprise there) and eating local. Noozhawk had posted an article on locally raised organic turkeys, and that got us thinking about whether a traditional Thanksgiving dinner can be put together using ingredients acquired within 100 miles of here.

To reference, this is the 100-mile Thanksgiving Challenge, from eatlocalchallenge.com. Can Santa Barbara do this? Please contribute if you know of any sources!
I realize that there are many interpretations of what is a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but for the sake of simplicity, I'll make the starting list and I am open to suggestions of alternatives if the original item cannot be located. I know of one item off the top of my head that is limited to a region nowhere near here. Anyway, the list:

turkey

ham

mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes

gravy

cranberries

stuffing/dressing fixings

green bean casserole

pumpkin pie

Feel free to get as granular as you want, if it's possible, such as sourcing a good baking pumpkin and flour for the pie crust. Honestly, I'm really curious to know what's available here. It's too late for me to put together a meal like this (and the local turkeys were spoken for months ago), but maybe next year? Email me at lemonjelly@santabarbara.com. I will happily post results later. Extra props if you can source ingredients within Santa Barbara county.

Dinner Menu
On the dinner menu is lobster ravioli (Trader Joe's) with truffle olive oil (a gift) with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (C'est Cheese) and a mixed green salad (farmers' market).