By Kathryn Reed

This is the second day in a row I will be in food heaven. That’s because I know what’s in the fridge – three salads made mostly with ingredients from Tuesday’s farmers’ market.

The added bonus is I was disinvited from a lunch today that would have meant less than good mass produced casino food or something I wouldn’t eat. Things have a way of working out.

Immediately after getting home from yesterday’s market in South Tahoe I started unloading my canvas reusable bag that I know how to wash if it gets dirty.

I started the green beans boiling. Then the lettuce started to be torn into bite size pieces. Fresh lettuce — oh my. It’s so tender and flavorful. It’s like the nutrients ooze out with each bite.

I chop up carrots, cucumbers and a tomato to go on top. I go out back to my pathetic barrel of herbs to get some spearmint. Yes, chopped mint on a salad is yummy. (It works well on vanilla ice cream and some chocolate sauce too.)

This first salad gets covered and goes into the fridge.

Beans are done, so they go into the colander to cool.

Next up is the tomato salad. (Recipe below.) It had been a while since I have taken the recipe card out. I usually just toss some things in and call it good. What I had forgotten is that it calls for onion and garlic salt. Because I use fresh minced garlic and don’t use much salt in my diet I skipped both of these and instead used some coarse salt with the fresh garlic.

The recipe also calls for basil and oregano – dried. I tend to forget the oregano, but think I’ll start remembering it. I’ll always try to use fresh basil.

I had also been using balsamic vinegar instead of wine vinegar. The latter changes the flavor. I think I will go back to it. The balsamic has the salad tasting more like bruschetta.

The recipe, from my Mom’s longtime friend Bev Adams, says to quarter the tomatoes. Even though I buy small ones, I cut them into bite size wedges, which is sometimes more than quarters.

Toscano and Sons tomatoes at Tuesday's South Tahoe farmers' market. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Adams doesn’t give measurements for the ingredients. It really depends on how many tomatoes you use. It’s best if you can make this a couple hours before serving so all the flavors meld. It’s a hit at summer barbecues. I only make it with farmers’ market tomatoes – none of those waxy things from the grocery store.

A little tip – if your knife doesn’t easily cut the skin of the tomato, it needs sharpening.

The third salad is spicy green beans. I toss some rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, hot chili oil and toasted sesame seeds together. When I have slivered almonds, I add those to the green been mixture.

Tomato Salad – by Bev Adams

Fresh tomatoes, quartered

Wine vinegar

Olive oil

Sweet basil

Oregano

Onion salt

Garlic salt

Add all ingredients. Let chill a couple hours.

Toast the end of the summer season during the 22nd Annual Alpen Wine Festival at The Village at Squaw Valley on Sept. 5. Wine aficionados will sip fine vintages while taking in the mountain scenery and listening to live music, all to help raise money for Can Do Multiple Sclerosis.

The Village at Squaw teams up with Uncorked Wine Bar to host an event where the aroma of the wines is accompanied by the perfume of the pines. For a $40 donation to Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, guests will sip vintages served in a crystal souvenir wine glass from 2 to 5pm.

Event attendees can enjoy a variety of flavors from more than 40 wineries such as Napa Valley winemaking pioneers Venge Vineyards, Canihan Family Cellars, known for their award-winning Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc crafted on their certified organic estate vineyards in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, and Flowers, which grows and produces cool-climate wines that authentically express the unique character of the coolest areas of the rugged Sonoma Coast. The Alpen Wine Festival also will feature wines from Hall, Three Families, Vinum Cellars, Pine Ridge, Dierberg, Twisted Rivers, Merriam Winery, Praxis Cellars and many more.

Tickets will be available starting at 1pm on Sunday in The Village. The majority of wines served at the event also can be purchased at Uncorked.

The Alpen Wine Festival also will feature a silent auction room and raffle, which will help provide additional support for Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, formerly known as The Heuga Center. Festival attendees can bid on more than 50 items, including artwork, dinners at restaurants, magnums signed by winemakers, mixed cases of wine and more.

Can Do MS, formerly The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, is an innovative provider of lifestyle empowerment programs for people with MS and their support partners. A national nonprofit organization, they empower people to move beyond their MS by giving them the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, actively co-manage their disease and live their best lives.

For more information, visit www.Squaw.com or call (530) 584.6266.

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shan Li, Los Angeles Times

In May, days after a group of high school students in the Bay Area nibbled on custard-filled pastries at a catered prom dinner, several of them started to complain about aching stomachs. Around the same time, some college students celebrating their graduation used the same catering company — and also fell ill.

Soon after, more than 350 miles to the south, diners at seven restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties headed into their doctor’s offices with bad bouts of diarrhea.

On June 18, nearly 2,000 miles to the east, in Kenosha, Wis., Tanja Dzinovic finished up a Cobb salad at her favorite restaurant — and less than two days later, she was running a high fever and severely dehydrated from diarrhea. At least 20 other people who ate there also grew ill with salmonella enteritidis.

Local, state and federal epidemiologists tracing back each of these cases — from the fork to the farm — saw one name pop up: Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Sampling the Sierra is something I like to do on a regular basis. With the various farmers’ markets in the region and the abundance of regional wine, there really is no reason not to eat locally.

It can even be done in the winter. This takes a little more work, especially if canning is involved. I remember my parents used to can tomatoes that Mom would then use in sauces and other dishes later in the year; cucumbers that became dill pickles; peaches that have prohibited me from ever buying a can at the grocery store. I have wonderful memories of picking produce with Mom from farms in Brentwood – where some of the veggies for the Tuesday South Tahoe market come from.

Although I have never canned anything, I have cooked tomatoes down in a crock pot and then frozen them to use later. I often whip up batches of pesto to pull out of the freezer all winter. And frozen fruit is great for smoothies.

Right now, though, it’s all about eating summer’s bounty while it is fresh. One of my favorite summer dinners is barbecued veggies, rice pilaf (from scratch) and a bottle of white wine (shared, of course).

I seldom create the same marinade twice because I don’t usually follow a recipe. Below is a concoction I came up with last weekend. One key is to make sure the vegetables (same goes for meat and fish) are able to absorb the sauce for several hours. This makes the end product all that much more tasty.

I usually chop veggies into bite size pieces or smaller, put them in a glass 9×13 dish, then pour the marinade over the veggies and let chill for the better part of the day. We use a grate that goes on the grill. It’s like stir frying on the barbie.

Something to pay attention to, especially when cooking for others, is the color of the food. In other words, don’t use all green vegetables. Presentation is the first step to appetizing food.

Then think about how long each vegetable takes to cook. Carrots are rather hard and will take longer. You might want to parboil them before tossing them with the rest of the veggies in the marinade.

There is no wrong combination of vegetables. It’s all a matter of what you like.

Being a vegetarian, I think this works as an entrée. Many of you may find the veggies a great side dish. Leftovers, if there are any, work great heated up, used in a bean concoction for nachos, wrapped in tortillas, and mixed in with scrambled eggs. The marinade you choose will play a role in how to use the veggies for leftovers.

If you don’t want to cook for yourself, consider going to Sample the Sierra on Aug. 21 on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Our early Sample the Sierra at home last Sunday included veggies from Tuesday’s South Lake Tahoe farmers’ market, plus mushrooms that were in the fridge; a bottle of Sierra Vista Viognier we had bought at the winery the weekend before; and a peach (more farmers’ market) and blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Not a bad way to refuel after a 12-mile hike.

Marinade

1 bunch basil, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

¼ C olive oil

1/8 C dark balsamic vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T hot chili oil

Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour over 9×13 dish filled half full with chopped veggies. Coat all vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Stir occasionally (if you are home). Cook over medium heat on grill.

Janill Gilbert of South Lake Tahoe is headed to Sample the Sierra on Aug. 21.

She won Lake Tahoe News’ contest to define what Sample the Sierra means. This is her winning haiku:

Wine, Herb, Cheese Sublime.

Ski Run Culture Tastes Divine

Sated Appetite

Janill Gilbert will be at Sample the Sierra on Aug. 21.

The inaugural Sample the Sierra is a cooperative effort to increase awareness of the region’s bounty, heritage, culture and activities through a market-to-table event featuring tastings from Sierra Nevada chefs and restaurants — all created with local produce, and paired with local wineries. Food and wine tasting will be from 1–4pm. The festival starts at noon and ends at 5pm.

All of the fun is on Ski Run Boulevard in South Lake Tahoe.

Featured restaurants and chefs include Bistro Danielle, Latin Soul, Blue Angel Café, 4 Seasons Soup and Salad, Black Bear Inn, Heavenly and Kids Inc Pies. Restaurants will prepare tasting with fresh products from featured growers including, Sacred Paths, Z & B Ranch, Beal’s Orchard, Perez Produce, Rainbow Orchard, Harris Tree Farm and Storm Valley Ranch.

Featured wineries include Wofford Acres Vineyards, Lava Cap Winery, Madrona Vineyards, Perry Creek Winery, Picchetti Winery, Latcham Vineyards, Chevalier Winery and Jodar Winery.

The event marketplace will showcase regional products such as honey, jams and soaps. A juried, original art show will feature pottery, painting, photography and handmade crafts by regional artists and artisans. Live entertainment, including local bands Late for Dinner and Left of Cool, storytellers, acoustic musicians and activities will round out the program.

Festival admission is free. Food and wine tasting is $20, food only tasting $10 and tasting for children is $5. For more information, visit www.samplethesierra.com or call (775) 588.1728.

By Kathryn Reed

Molasses cookie recipes have not changed much in the last 55 years. And that’s a tasty thing.

The latest batch I whipped up came out of the “Our Favorite Recipes!” cookbook put out by the South Lake Tahoe Yacht Club. The 161-page book was published earlier this year as a way to collate the members’ favorite recipes as well as raise money for the local Boys & Girls Club, CASA and South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center.

Unlike most cookbooks, this one has a celebrity chef entry. This alone is reason to purchase the book. Where else can you find recipes from well-known South Lake Tahoe eateries like Evan’s, Nepheles, Tep’s Villa Roma, and The Cantina?

Photographs representative of yachting on Lake Tahoe are sprinkled throughout the cookbook.

The table of contents proves several full meals can be made with the cookbook. Appetizers, salads-sauces-soups, entrees-casseroles, vegetables, fish-seafood, beverages, desserts-baked goodies, and holiday favorites are the categories.

What was different about the cookie recipe from the Yacht Club is that it says to top them with butter cream frosting. While I’m a huge fan of frosting, I found this combo made the cookies too sweet. Sue, with the sweet tooth, said they were perfect with the frosting. Oliver would skip the frosting too, though, he had no problem licking the beater.

Veronica, my niece and Oliver’s sister sent an email from China Aug. 13 saying, “The frosting held up and they taste delicious! My co-workers and roommates love them as well!” She got a boxful for her birthday.

I compared the Yacht Club recipe to the one Mom gave me years ago as well as to the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. The latter was a wedding gift to my parents – 55 years ago today.

Some of the differences are Mom’s recipe calls for brown sugar; the old cookbook has coffee, twice as much flour and two eggs. With Mom’s recipe, after the cookies are dipped in the sugar they are topped with a drop or two of water to make them Molasses Crinkles. No need to do that if you are using frosting.

Below is the Yacht Club recipe that was submitted by Wendy Oleson. It says, “This recipe won first place at the Santa Clara County Fair and was handed down through our family from Chuck’s grandma.”

Another thing Mom taught me is if there is leftover frosting, put it between graham crackers, freeze and pull out as a treat when you need something sweet. It made for great snacks in my school lunches.

The recipe has high altitude instructions. I didn’t use them. I have never changed my cookie recipes from sea level to the Sierra.

Click here for more info on the Yacht Club cookbook.

Ma’s Molasses Cookies – by Wendy Oleson

1 C sugar

¾ C shortening

¼ C molasses

1 egg

2 C flour

2 tsp soda

1 tsp each ginger and cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

1 T water

Combine sugar and shortening until smooth. Add molasses and beat in egg. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Add to sugar mixture. Add water. Mix together and chill two hours. Roll into small balls about 1 inch and roll in sugar. On greased cookie sheet, bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. When cookies are cool, frost with butter cream frosting. Store in covered container. Makes 4 dozen.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 lb. box powdered sugar

¼ tsp salt

¼ C milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 C (2/3 stick) softened butter

Beat all ingredients listed above with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. If too stiff to spread easily, beat in a few drops of milk.

High altitude adjustment (above, 4,500 feet):

Increase flour by 2T, decrease sugar to just less than 1 cup. Increase oven temp to 375 degrees and decrease cooking time to 8 minutes.

Four distinguished wineries – Chalk Hill Estate, Kuleto Estate, Three Rivers and Sebastiani – are on board for the Shaw Family Farm’s Feast in the Field dinner, slated for Aug. 21 in Truckee.

A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to support Slow Food Lake Tahoe, a grassroots movement that links the pleasure of food with the commitment to community and the environment.

Three of the wineries are Northern California natives and one comes from an up and coming Washington wine region.

“Winery representatives will be present at the event to share the passions and inspirations behind the varietals selected,” explained event organizer Scott Corridan, adding that wine will be available for purchase, as well as wine club memberships.

The evening commences with a 4pm wine reception and tour of the Shaw Family Farm in Glenshire. Guests will then proceed to a dinner featuring a selection of seasonal and farm grown specialties, prepared by Barbara Mills of Back of the House Catering, which will be paired with selections from the above four wineries.

Tickets are $150 per person and include a four-course dinner served in the Pine Meadows followed by dessert and dancing.

Feast in the Field takes place at the Shaw Family Farm located in Glenshire at 12654 Samuel Drive, Truckee. For more menu details or to purchase tickets, call (530) 550.2252.

Nearly 30 restaurants are participating in the inaugural Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week, and most have posted their three-course prix-fixe menus here.

Menus are offered during the weeklong celebration, Sept. 5-12.

There are no passes, tickets or coupons needed to take part in Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week. Instead, guests simply visit the eatery, all of which are offering 3-course, prix-fixe menus for $20, $30 and $40 per person (tax and gratuity not included). Reservations are recommended.

What does the phrase “Sample the Sierra” mean to you?

Write a poem, a short essay, a story, a memory – something honest conveying what those three words symbolize to you. Send it to info@LakeTahoeNews.net, along with a photo to illustrate the words or a photo of yourself. In the document, put your full name and phone number. Your number will not be published.

Lake Tahoe News will publish some of the articles. The winning entry will receive two tickets to the Aug. 21 Sample the Sierra event on Ski Run Boulevard.

Submissions must be received by Aug. 13 at 5pm.

South Shore’s best bartenders have been charged with creating a unique, wintry concoction using Ketel One Vodka as the main ingredient. These chilly drinks will be served up during the inaugural Signature Cocktail Contest on Sept. 8 from 6-8pm at the Riva Grill in South lake Tahoe.

Bartenders will present their creations to a panel of judges and attendee, who can cast a vote for “most congenial” bartender, decided by tips from the evening’s event. A panel of judges will decide which cocktail will be served at the Barton Foundation’s 19th annual Gala on Dec. 4.

Tickets are $20, if purchased by Sept. 5, or $25 at the door. Admission includes one sample serving of every drink and appetizer. For more information or tickets, call (530) 543.5909.

The Cocktail Contest is the kickoff event to the Festival of Trees and Lights. The festival is a three-day event, Dec. 3-5, at MontBleu. Proceeds from this year’s Festival of Trees and Lights will help fund an $800,000 expansion of the Barton Community Clinic. The expansion will allow for a larger waiting room, more patient exam rooms, and allow us to meet the growing needs of our community.