October is Eat Local Challenge month around the nation. Over at the Eat Local Challenge blog, we are excited to have over two hundred people who have committed to eating locally in their area for the entire month. We choose to eat locally because it supports the local economy, because it supports local farms and farmers, because it's lighter on the earth, and because it supports responsible development.

Since its meager beginnings in 2005, the Eat Local Challenge has grown to a movement that is beyond any of our dreams. This is evidenced by the cooperation of many organizations in San Francisco that are bringing you a myriad of eat local events throughout the month of October.

Even if you don't commit to eating locally for the entire month (though we'd love if you sign up and participate!), there are lots of ways that you can support eating locally in October in the Bay Area. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Support restaurants in the Bay Area that make a habit of buying from local farms. Just a few ideas include Delfina, A16, SPQR, Flea Street Cafe, Coi, Piccino, Pizzetta 211, Serpentine, Hog Island Oyster Company, Pauline's Pizza, NOPA, and so many others.

2. Support restaurants in San Francisco that are committing to buying locally in October. Eat Local SF is a local organization that has worked with restaurants to provide special Eat Local menus during October. Those restaurants can be found via Open Table.

3. Learn more about eating locally by attending a lecture. The Commonwealth Club is hosting a four week series about eating locally. I will be attending several of the events. I sat in on some of the planning sessions for these events, and am excited about the panelists at each. Events include:
October 1. Local Food, Local Pride: Policies for Sustainable Economies
October 8. The Water Connection: State Policies and the Impact on Local Food Systems
October 15. From Farm to Feast: How chefs, farmers and artisans strenghten our community
October 22. Food as Medicine: Health and Food Safety

4. Attend tastings of local wines and food at 18 Reasons each Thursday night in October. 18 Reasons is a great art + food gallery in the Mission, and I am excited to check out these celebrations of local wine.

5. Use the Buy Fresh Buy Local database to find local food in your area, and support those purveyors in October.

6. Attend a farmers market each week in October. Use the Chronicle website to find your local market.

7. Ask your supermarket manager where your meat, produce and dairy is coming from. Remember that market managers are trained to realize that for each person actually asking the question, at least 7 people want to know the same answer. Make a difference!

However you decide to support local eating in October, be sure to let us know what you're doing and how it goes.

KQED's October issue of The Guide has a little piece about the new Jacques Pépin show, More Fast Food My Way, premiering this Saturday. I must to admit to snorting when I saw that the article's timeline of a day in the life of the show started at 10:30 a.m., because the back kitchen was there between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., and Jacques himself was in not too much later.

We'd all be prepping, and he'd come in for his coffee blanched with Straus cream. After a few sips, he'd quietly look around at what we were doing and that's when we knew it was our time. Laura Pauli (Cucina Testa Rossa around these and other parts) told me that every morning working on this show -- she's worked on past shows with him -- was nothing less than a private cooking lesson with Jacques Pépin. She could not have been more right. Except, they weren't just cooking lessons, they were lifelong memories.

Going down the line, Jacques would answer any questions we had about the recipes and explain in detail -- often demonstrating or watching and correcting -- exactly how he wanted the fish portioned or how much of the broccoli he wanted trimmed. Because Jacques is the eternal teacher, he wanted to demonstrate his prepping and cooking techniques as much as possible on the show. He didn't want everything done for him, all neat and tidy and magic-of-television perfect. So, if he had a special way of drumming out pomegranate seeds that hadn't been filmed yet, he wanted to be able to do that.

Sometimes things would change mid-stream and the prep we had done in the morning was tossed. For instance, maybe the recipe called for 1 cup leeks, diced. Well, 1 cup leeks, perfectly diced went out to the set. But maybe while going over the episode's blocking, it was decided that we had enough time for Jacques to show how to clean and dice leeks. As food runner (the other half of my duties), it was my job to dash back to the kitchen and grab or holler out for undiced leeks, make sure the ends were trimmed just enough (not all the way, but tidied up the way Jacques liked them), and run them back to the set.

A few episodes later, I finally learned that the way to keep me from constantly running hither and yon was to have all ingredients in every possible form at the ready. If the recipe called for 1 cup leeks, diced, I had 1 cup leeks, diced. I also had whole leeks and even a few whole leeks with some -- but not all -- diced. Options.

Working on the show was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, made even better by Jacques' patience and professionalism. But Jacques has a professionalism that isn't cold or diva-ish. He's professional in that it was almost unheard of him not to get the episode on the first take. Not just the segment, mind you, the entire episode. He also doesn't need a script; it's just all right there on the tip of his tongue and the front of his brain.

However, he's warm and appreciative. He's kind. He's generous. There would be a wine on the set that he particularly liked and after shooting the episode, he'd bring it to the back kitchen because he was so intent on all of us experiencing it. He was interested in talking to people about them, not about himself. He spent a long time at our wrap party talking to my husband about his career as a mathematician. He spent a dinner out asking me every detail about how I got involved with food and what I want to do next.

Later, I'd realize that he spent so many early morning hours with us in the hot, cramped kitchen because that's where he really wanted to be, in the thick of it, teaching.

Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way premieres Saturday, October 4, at 10:30 a.m. on KQED TV.

The website launches October 2 and you will be able to watch video episodes online, download recipes from the show, view a behind-the-scenes slideshow of the production process and get program information.

Go to kqed.org/morefastfoodmyway

When the rain that was roiling menacingly in the bloated clouds over Minneapolis finally let loose and spattered down just as we arrived at the St. Paul Farmers' Market, I was worried. Did I just ask my friends to meet me out in inclement weather? Did we have enough umbrellas? Did we have extra layers, sweaters, or jackets? Would they Camille home, nursing sore throats, coughs, and eventually succumb to an effectively romantic wasting disease complete with lace hankerchiefs?

But when I stepped out into the grey sunlight from the darkness of the minivan, I remembered: summer rain in Minnesota does not mean frigidity! Summer rain in Minnesota means wet warmth! Getting gently spattered, I left my coat and umbrella in the car and set out to enjoy the covered St. Paul Farmers' Market to its fullest.

Nestled among architecturally stunning buildings of downtown St. Paul and a few blocks away from the Mississippi, the Saturday farmers' market was decidedly populated with shoppers without being crowded by wheeled suitcases. In one small area you could get coffee, juice, bagels, and pastries to nourish you while shopping; you could also chose to sit down with your breakfast goodies on benches or at tables.

This bright and springy lettuce was the first thing I saw after walking into the farmers' market. I was not only entranced by the pristinely washed sheaves of green, but also by the adorable red basket.

Almost all the farmers had these awesome retro-looking trucks pulled up to their table of wares. I have a particular love for Big Woods and Nerstrand, MN, since they produce my favorite blue cheese in the country.

Just looking at this corn manages to make me both wistful and happy. In color and in kernel rowing, this maize (or "Indian Corn") is riotously irregular and ready to be twined on someone's lamppost.

Peter Piper picked a peck of peppered pickles. I never had such a canning urge as I did looking at these bushels of green and pimpled cucumbers.

A beautiful reminder that cider and apple-picking season is just around the corner in Minnesota. These sublime specimens have perfect handles for apple ducking.

Never in my five years of living in California have I seen this kind of cherry tomato. They were called Black Russians, and their maroon cheeks were streaked with purple striations. My father, who professes to hate cherry tomatoes, gulped down the gazpacho I squeezed out with these Black Russians and some heavily rooted sweet basil.

I was completely wowed by the herbs from this farmer. I've never seen such ecstatically hearty roots on herbs before.

For two-tone luck.

When I first saw this sign I thought, "Oh, Minnesotans and their FISHING!" but then I realized that wasn't the point of the sign and I admired, "Oh, Minnesotans and their CRAFTINESS!" What a delicious way to get around the illegal cheese issue.

All in all, I was besotted and beguiled by the St. Paul Farmers' Market. The farmers were friendly and sometimes German accented, the patrons were polite and smiling, and the produce was prodigious and irreproachable. Even the typical musical talent that you frequently find at farmers' markets -- a banjo and guitar crew, togged out like the Baudelaire orphans -- distinguished themselves by cracking Sarah Palin jokes as they sawed and sung to their semi-circle of admirers.

It's that time of year again...when the leaves start to turn, a chill wind blows through the air...

Wait. No. Not here. It's still summer (or at least it feels like it)! But even though we live in a warm little bubble here in the Bay Area at this time of year, technically autumn has arrived. And with it, an event that I always look forward to: WhiskyFest!

This year, just in time for my birthday and my husband's birthday (ahem, good planning!), Malt Advocate magazine is putting on their second annual celebration of all things whisky. I first checked it out last year, and was very impressed. Where else are you going to have the opportunity to try the entire fleet of Highland Park whiskies, from their delicious 12-year-old to the more elusive 30-year-old, along with hundreds of other whiskies from all over the world.

Tickets are going fast, and I believe the event often sells out. It's not cheap, but when you think about it, how often are you going to be able to try all those whiskies side by side? I tried no less than 30 whiskies last year (emphasis on tried, I did not go with the intention of getting schnockered).

Malt Advocate magazine's 2nd annual WhiskyFest
October 10, 2008
San Francisco Marriott
6:30 to 10 p.m.
Map
Tickets available online or by calling 1-800-610-MALT.

Before we left for Scotland, we heard many warnings about the horrors of Scottish and British food. People seem very keen on laughing at haggis and detailing horrible meals they’ve had or heard about in the UK (Spotted Dick anyone?). Well, I'm here to tell you that Scotland has some truly wonderful food. But, like anywhere else, it' usually found in restaurants and inns that are run by discerning folk who like to purchase quality ingredients, often locally.

Although restaurants that offer well-prepared dishes from organic and/or local ingredients can be difficult to find once you leave your home turf, there are a few wonderful online sites that will do some of the groundwork for you. I spent some time on both TripAdvisor and Chowhound before we left town, and it paid off. The reviews on TripAdvisor led me to some great country inns with fantastic food, and Chowhound helped me find a restaurant or two in Edinburgh that we really loved. We also had the benefit of getting some sound advice from friends in the know -- which is always the best option if you have it.

So here are some of the excellent places we found with the help of our fellow posters at TripAdvisor and Chowhound, as well as our beloved friends. We were even lucky enough to stumble upon one by ourselves. These culinary gems are definitely worth looking up if you’re traveling to Scotland. I would also love to hear about other sites people use to find great restaurants or inns while traveling.

The Barley Bree Restaurant with Rooms, just outside Crieff and about an hour north of Edinburgh. (Found using TripAdvisor) -- This lovely inn has comfortable beds and a very nice host, Fabrice, who also happens to be a French chef. Fabrice makes everything from scratch, including the bread, and seeks out fresh local produce and meats. For dinner, he served one of the loveliest butternut squash soups I have ever had. It was velvety and creamy without being overly so. He also added slivers of some pickled ginger, which added a bit of spiciness. It was truly great.

This inn also offered the finest breakfast we had in Scotland. It was a sort of Scottish Breakfast/French petit dejeuner that started with yogurts, homemade stewed prunes, grapefruit slices, nuts and porridge, and finished with eggs, homemade sausage, back bacon, haggis (a lovely version created specially for the inn by a local butcher), roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. If you’re going to The Trossachs, this is definitely a great place to stay.

Heatherfield House, in Oban on the western coast about an hour outside Glasgow. (Found using TripAdvisor) -- Heatherfield House is run by Gary and Sue, a very nice British couple. One of the reasons I chose Heatherfield is because they have their own chickens and use their eggs for their complimentary breakfasts. So, after a fantastic night’s sleep in the extremely comfortable beds and a shower in the nicest bathroom we saw in Scotland, we sat down to a full Scottish breakfast. We started with berries, yogurts, muesli, and English and Scottish cheeses, before digging into the main portion of the eggy meal. I cannot stress enough how perfect the eggs are at Heatherfield. They are laid either the morning they are served, or the morning before, and the freshness of flavor and texture prove it. The homemade sausage (made at the inn) and back bacon were also fantastic. The dish was also served with blood pudding, and from what I can tell, it was a great version of this dish. I, for one, found that I am not a blood pudding fan, however. No matter how nicely it was made and seasoned, in the end, I can barely suck on a cut finger, let alone eat something that was essentially blood and suet in a casing. After breakfast, my daughters frolicked in the garden while the chickens pecked at worms in the wet dirt. Gary and his wife were very gracious hosts. It was really a perfect place to stay.

The George Hotel, in Inveraray about 30 minutes outside Glasgow. (Found using TripAdvisor) -- A small hotel run by the same family for the last couple of hundred years, this inn is nicely updated and has the quintessential Scottish pub on the main floor. The dining room is also nice, but as kids weren’t allowed inside for dinner we ate in the pub. This was just fine with me; the pub kitchen offered the best fish and chips we had on our entire trip. The full Scottish breakfast the next morning, which is included with a night's stay, wasn’t nearly in the same league as Barley Bree or Heatherfield House, but I think at that point we were spoiled. Our room, however, was beautiful -- complete with a whirlpool bathtub and view of Loch Awe.

Oink, in Edinburgh. (Discovered on a fluke while walking by) -- Oink is a new restaurant on Victoria Street in Edinburgh’s Old Town district. Each morning the folks at Oink present an entire roasted pig in their front window, and by the end of the day, that pig is stripped clean. Oink offers sandwiches of pulled pork on white buns with crackling or without. I got one with the crackling, but wouldn’t do so again: it was so hard I thought it would crack my teeth. The pork, however, was beautifully cooked and very tasty, but I must admit that I was craving a vinegar and tomato-based Southern-BBQ sauce to go with it. When I asked if they had one, or at least some vinegar, they said that many Americans ask for it, but they instead had a “chili sauce.” Excited at the prospect of something resembling a Vietnamese or Thai chili paste, I instead found that their chili sauce was the equivalent of a jar of Picante salsa. Oh, well. The pork was still mighty fine.

The Mussel Inn, in Edinburgh’s New Town. (Found using Chowhound) -- If you like mussels, this is a great place to go. There is a constant parade of heaping pots of fresh local mussels going from the kitchen to various tables in this small restaurant. In addition to the mussels, I ordered some freshly-made pasta with mushrooms for my daughters, which was quite good, and some fresh scallops for me. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they offer the entire scallop -- not just the white meaty part Americans traditionally see, but also the roe, which is the coral-colored softer part not usually served here, despite its delicious flavor.

Urban Angel, in Edinburgh’s New Town. (Heard about from a friend) -- If I could bring any restaurant home with me, it would be this one. Urban Angel provides Fair Trade, Free Trade, organic, and local fare at a fairly affordable price. I loved the natural and organic ingredients we found in our soups, salads and sandwiches at lunch and hear they have a spectacular dinner as well. I had an incredible frisée salad with couscous, white beans, almonds, and chorizo, while my daughters stole my delicious cream of mushroom soup and homemade bread out from under my nose. I dream of a restaurant like this opening within walking distance of my house.

As a part of Out and About in Rockridge, Market Hall merchants will spill out onto College Avenue for their annual "Picnic in the Street." Enjoy food and wine tastings, cookbook signings, music, and dancing. Children's activities include cupcake decorating and pumpkin painting. There will also be a Cookbook Exchange—bring a used cookbook and exchange it for another (remaining books will go to the Rockridge Public Library).

What: Picnic in the Street

Where: North Oakland's Rockridge Market Hall, along College Avenue between Shafter and Ocean View , adjacent to the Rockridge BART Station
Map

When: Sunday, September 28th, 2008, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

How: Admission is free! Costs associated with some activities

Why: At the Chefs Stage several cookbook authors and chefs will demonstrate recipes, discuss and sign their books including:

Joey Altman:
Without Reservations, How to Make Bold, Creative Flavorful Food at Home

Janet Fletcher:
Fresh from the Farmers Market—10th Anniversary Edition

Alice Medrich:
Pure Dessert, true flavors, inspiring ingredients, and simple recipes

Steve Sando:
Heirloom Beans: Great Recipes for Dips and Spreads, Soups and Stews, Salads and Salsas, and Much More from Rancho Gordo

This recipe from the original edition of Janet Fletcher's Fresh from the Farmers' Market, Chronicle Books is perfect for Fall. Keep your eyes open for persimmons, coming into season this month and next.

Quick Persimmon "Ice Cream"

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
2 ripe hachiya persimmons, about 1 pound total, frozen hard
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk or half-and-half
Approximately 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Gingersnaps, optional

Preparation:
Quarter persimmons carefully with a heavy knife. Remove the stems and any seeds. Halve each quarter crosswise. Do not allow the persimmons to thaw even slightly.

Put the chunks in the food processor wit the sugar and process until the persimmon is broken up into small pieces. With the motor running, add the vanilla and the buttermilk or half-and-half though the feed tube. Puree until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides once or twice. Add lemon juice to taste and puree again. Spoon into balloon wineglasses or compote dishes and serve immediately, with gingersnaps, if desired.

CUESA is the organization that oversees the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. In addition to the tasks involved with market oversight, CUESA also leads educational programs, farm tours, and farm trips.

Over the years, I have visited many farms through CUESA. Just last year, I went on the Coastal Harvest Farm Tour and an Orchard Tour.

Farm tours have a couple of advantages. Farmers are extremely busy people, and it maximizes their time to be able to give a tour to twenty interested folks instead of having to give that tour many times. To me, this is the main benefit -- I'm normally too conscious of farmers' time to call them up and ask for a solo farm tour. Also, pooling resources to rent a bus, carpool, and save gas and energy is important -- especially when getting to far-reaching farms.

I've never taken a CUESA tour that I didn't think was worthwhile.

This weekend, CUESA is running a tour to a couple of our most interesting farms. Massa Organics is a local brown rice vendor. Not only is the rice delicious, but the rice growing process is fascinating and the Massas are extremely committed to sustainable processes. Ever since Massa Organics' rice started showing up at farmers markets in the past couple years, I've been very curious to see the Massa farm.

Woodleaf Farm is a local stone fruit vendor who suffered a devastating crop loss this year to a freeze. It's a perfect time to visit the farm and hear about how farmer Carl Rosato changed his farm focus for the summer and sold vegetables instead of fruit.

If you have the time to participate in CUESA's full-day tour this weekend, I am sure you will find the event to be enriching and interesting.

Three Wise Farmers Tour
Sunday, September 28
8 am - 7.30 pm
$35
More information:
CUESA Events Calendar description of tour
Purchase Tickets for Tour

This 1970s commercial shows how to make a big production out of soup. Ann Miller was a much-loved dancer who was discovered before she even hit puberty right here in San Francisco at the historic and colorful Black Cat Cafe.

Eat your heart out, Ann Miller!

On the other side of the world, Campbell's soup plays a quieter role. I found this lovely reuse of a can in an alleyway in Macau. Half filled with dry rice grains, the can holds incense sticks burnt as an offering to dead ancestors. The lazily drifting smoke serves as a bridge to connect the spirit world to the homes of faithful descendants. Perhaps someone's grandmother loved creamy corn with chicken soup? Or perhaps the day-to-day tasks of honoring the dead has settled into the comfort of reusable containers?

In my print studio are two drawers of old copper and zinc cuts, from the days when metal -- not pixels -- spread words and images around the world. Mixed in with farm manual illustrations, matchbook covers for defunct restaurants, and finely etched maps of roads crisscrossing San Jose's orchards lay lots of product images for food adverts. Campbell's iconic soup can is one of my favorites. While my childhood memories involved many more bowls of chicken and stars than tomato, Andy Warhol's conflicted critique of mass production still holds my attention.

Even better, an actual can of pepper pot in my office reminds me of all the quirky, real-life, meaningful intersections between the distant past and the relevant present, our private stories and public memory.

Perhaps soup is not so humble a food after all.

Listen to Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act on KQED's Forum.
Aired on KQED 88.5FM Mon, Sep 22, 2008 -- 9:00 AM
Stream online at KQED.org/listen

Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act
We take up Proposition 2 on the November ballot which, if passed, would prohibit the confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up or fully extend their limbs. Opponents say the proposition would shut down the state's poultry industry and result in unsafe food.

Host: Michael Krasny

Guests:
Jennifer Fearing, campaign manager for Yes on 2
Julie Buckner, spokeswoman for Californians for Safe Food, No on Prop. 2

It's probably not going to surprise anyone to hear that one of the things I love about being in a foreign country is experiencing the food. But this simple pleasure became far more complicated when I started traveling with kids. I have tried to raise daughters with a sense of gastronomic adventure -- and for the most part they are willing and excited participants in our culinary outings -- but when you're in a different time zone, all bets are off as the crabby-child factor increases with each 1,000 miles you journey from home.

I know many parents who spend their first days on vacation seeking out food items that will be acceptable to -- as the Scottish would say -- their wee bairns. Even if a child eats a fairly healthy diet at home, they often recoil when plates of “exotic” foods are placed before them elsewhere. A friend of mine had to search out pinto beans and French fries on a recent Mexico vacation as her son refused to eat anything else, while another friend of mine was frustrated to find her normally food-compliant daughter would only eat chicken fingers and pasta during their summer holiday. My daughters are thankfully less demanding (which may be due to the fact that I become temporarily deaf when they try to become picky eaters). But although our girls were happy eaters during our recent trip to Scotland -- devouring haggis, local mussels, scallops, and other fine local dishes -- I think they were more willing to try new foods because we also strived to provide an equal amount of food they felt comfortable with.

So there we were, all four of us in Scotland, ready to explore castles, lochs, and the many culinary delights available, but also on the search for food that would be easy on a kid’s stomach. Thankfully, finding kid-friendly food turned out to be much easier than I could have ever dreamed as it turns out that Scotland is the land of the panini. Yes -- the panini. Although there were also plenty of toasties (the UK equivalent of the grilled cheese sandwich), Italian paninis was available wherever we went. Imagine my sense of motherly relief when I found out I could get my children’s three favorite foods -- mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil -- melted in flat bread wherever we traveled, including small towns, large cities, and airports.

Although there were some variations of the panini we failed to try, such as the haggis panini, more often than not, my daughters had some sort of melted cheese sandwich for lunch. These little bundles of toasty goodness offered them the calories they needed to march around castles, up and down long streets, and through museums and galleries, while also providing a sense of culinary calm so they could branch out and explore other dishes at dinner. As a friend of mine told me when we got home, "There's nothing like melted cheese to soothe a tired kid," which is why I will be forever thankful to the person who brought the panini to Scotland.

I’m curious to know how other parents address food issues while on vacation. Also, has anyone else out there found something unexpected, and mercifully kid-friendly, on a recent vacation?