WhatIf Foods promises expanded Food and Beverage Line from Bambara Groundnuts

WhatIf Foods is expanding its brand line, focused on creating food and beverage products that are sustainable and healthy. The company has developed a range of products that are made from natural ingredients and are free from preservatives and artificial flavors. WhatIf Foods is committed to creating products that are both nutritious and delicious while also supporting regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture is a farming approach that focuses on restoring soil health and biodiversity while also reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. It involves practices such as cover crops, no-till farming, and managed grazing. These practices help to improve soil health, increase water retention, reduce erosion, and sequester carbon in the soil.

Bambara groundnut is a traditional crop that is native to Africa and is one of the main ingredients used in WhatIf Foods’ products. Bambara groundnut is high in protein, fiber, and minerals and is a great source of vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties. By using bambara groundnut in their products, WhatIf Foods is helping to support smallholder farmers in Africa, while also providing a nutritious and delicious product.

One of the products that WhatIf Foods has created to support regenerative agriculture is BamNut Milk. This milk is made from almonds and is free from dairy, gluten, and GMOs,  and is sourced from a small family farm in California. The BamNut Milk is also high in protein and calcium and is a great source of vitamin E. It has a creamy and nutty flavor that is perfect for smoothies, cereal, and baking.

Another product from WhatIf Foods that is made with regenerative agriculture is BamNut Noodles. These noodles are made from organic buckwheat and are free from wheat, gluten, and GMOs. The BamNut Noodles are high in protein and fiber and are a great source of iron. They have a nutty and earthy flavor that makes them perfect for soups, salads, and stir-frys. Both the BamNut Milk and Noodles are part of WhatIf Foods expanding line of tasty offerings. More at www.Whatif-Foods.com

These Two Olive Oils are Some of the Best from California

When you are looking for great Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to taste, use, or to gift, don’t miss Wild Groves and 43 Ranch. They have recently been named two of the best from California, the leading extra virgin olive oil producing region in the United States.

The California State Fair announced the winners of this year’s California Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition. A panel of 12 certified sensory analyst judges gathered at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds, to swirl, sniff, sip and analyze samples of olive oil from producers all over California. The annual competition celebrates the olive-growing and olive oil producing industries in California, and is open only to Extra Virgin and Flavored Olive Oils made from 100% olives which are grown, pressed and packaged in California.

This year 468 shining, new bottles of olive oil lined the cellar shelves of Cal Expo. Each of the 117 entries arrived with the hope of their producers that their care, expertise and hard work would result in a coveted Best of Show Golden Bear Trophy.

This competition honors Olive Oil producers at all production levels. The Best California Extra Virgin Olive Oil by a Large Producer (more than 5,000 gallons annually) went to Arbequina by Wild Groves of Newcastle, California. Wild Groves won several additional honors, as did Central Coast producer 43 Ranch, which included “Best of California”.

 

WILD GROVES

Dewey Lucero and family are the fourth generation of Lucero olive farmers, producers, and blenders, with over a century of tradition. Their groves in Corning, California are some of the oldest in the country, where they produce extra virgin olive oil, Certified 100% by the California Olive Oil Council (COOC).

Awards from the California Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition:

  • Wild Groves Arbequina EVOO Single Variety Delicate Arbequina Best of California Large Producer
  • Wild Groves Arbequina EVOO Single Variety Delicate Arbequina Gold
  • Wild Groves Foxy EVOO Single Variety Robust Any Other Cultivar Silver
  • Wild Groves Robust Blend EVOO Blend Medium Any Other Cultivar Silver
  • Wild Groves Ascolano EVOO Single Variety Medium Ascolano Silver

43 RANCH

43 Ranch is produced by fifth and sixth generation farmers from the southern Salinas Valley, whose terroir is similar to that of Old World olive growing regions, and where they however use state of the art equipment.

Awards from the California Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition:

  • 43 Ranch Picual EVOO Single Variety Robust Any Other Cultivar Best of California
  • 43 Ranch Miller’s Choice EVOO Single Variety Delicate Koroneiki Best of Class
  • 43 Ranch Picual EVOO Single Variety Robust Any Other Cultivar Best of Class
  • 43 Ranch Miller’s Choice EVOO Single Variety Delicate Koroneiki Gold
  • 43 Ranch Picual EVOO Single Variety Robust Any Other Cultivar Gold
  • 43 Ranch Helen’s Blend EVOO Blend Robust Any Other Cultivar Silver

 

Competition Head Judge Orietta Gianjorio

Competition Head Judge Orietta Gianjorio enlisted the talents of an exceptional group of skilled and experienced judges, some with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Gianjorio commented on the judging event, “It is always an honor to participate in the California State Fair Olive Oil Competition. All judges are incredibly talented and gifted tasters, deeply committed to the industry and high quality. The excitement in the room is palpable. After a couple of years of absence, we are all very happy to finally taste together and share our passion for California Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We are all thrilled to share our comments and taste amazing oils produced from this wonderful state of California.”

First ever Purple Sea Urchin Festival rocks West Coast Tastebuds and Saves the Environment

The United States’ first ever Purple Sea Urchin Festival* took place on the Mendocino Coast recently. Fort Bragg, the largest city on the Mendocino Coast, is one of the biggest producers of sea urchin in California, and with the overabundance of the urchins in the waters these past few years, there is no better time to celebrate this sea delicacy.

Why a focus on urchin now? And why purple urchin? The chefs, educators, and residents of this area are deeply passionate about the interwoven ecological web of the beautiful and mysterious ocean that makes up the landscape of their daily lives on the Mendocino Coast. Abalone has long been a unique part of Mendocino – with local campfire cooking, seasonal tourism boosts, and signature festivals celebrating it as a delicacy. With the collapse of the sea star population, the exponential growth of purple urchin, and the subsequent decimation of the abalone population, residents are constantly looking for eco-friendly ways to resolve these intertwined issues and reduce the impact of this invasive species.

“The current circumstances have given us an opportunity to experience uni from these less-popular but equally-tasty purples,” states Cally Dym, 5th generation owner of Little River Inn. “Fort Bragg has long been a major producer of sea urchin in the United States – but virtually all of the product has been shipped out of the area, and until recently not a single restaurant offered uni on their menu. With a growing understanding of local food sheds and local food webs, we think now is the perfect time to ‘Taste the Place’ and expand our understanding of the purple sea urchin.”

During the three-day festival, some of the most beloved and iconic local hotels and restaurants along the coast, including The Harbor House Inn, Little River Inn, Noyo Harbor Inn, Glendeven Inn & Lodge, The Inn at The Cobbler’s Walk, Elk Cove Inn, Princess Seafood Market & Deli and Izakaya Gama in Point Arena, served urchin-focused menus and specials. Select inns and hotels also offered deals on lodging and other services.

The weekend also had a strong educational component, with the Mendocino Area Parks Association, Watermen’s Alliance, Noyo Science Center and Freedive Shop providing instructional demos and hands-on experiences. Urchinomics,  a restorative seafood company, played a part in the festival by supplying select restaurant partners with purple urchin (‘uni’). Urchinomics is a company dedicated to restoring kelp forests by removing overgrazing barren sea urchins, feeding them on land, and selling them on to distributors and restaurants.

Examples of the weekend’s Urchin tasting activities include:

  • Outdoor demo and 5-course purple urchin tasting menu presented by Urchinomics and Chef Matthew Kammerer at Michelin-starred The Harbor House Inn.
  • Uni demo and educational talk at Van Damme State Beach; sample fresh uni on the beach. Josh Russo from the Waterman’s Alliance and international free dive competitor Greg Fonts of The Freedive Shop demonstrate how to open and clean urchin. Participants  learn how to harvest urchin, the impact purple urchin has on other fisheries and innovative solutions to the problem.
  • Sake Seminar at Little River Inn. Sake expert Kerry Tamura of World Sake Imports walks attendees through the best sakes from seven different Japanese prefectures, highlighting the features of the terroir in the glass. Guests also learn about urchin while sampling uni snacks.

“As a chef in today’s world, it is my job to choose more sustainable ingredients and showcase them to the public,” states Matthew Kammerer, Executive Chef at Harbor House Inn. “Chefs have more of a role in today’s food scene, where education about products, including why and how to use them can help shape the public’s dining perspective and have a positive outcome on future generations. Purple sea urchin has been on our menu since day one.  We are proud to serve all local products but this one has extra meaning for us. Not just its flavor, but to help remove some urchin numbers from the ecosystem that is on the verge of collapsing.”

Continues Dym, “Urchin is delicious and that in itself is a reason to create an urchin festival. What fascinates me is the role purple urchin plays in the ecosystem of the Northwest Pacific Ocean and telling that story to festival goers.”

We’re Loving these 3 Red Wines Right Now: Broadside, Vigna Petrussa, and Dough

Wine is intended to be enjoyed, and frankly that’s our main criteria for recommending them. If we enjoy them, then you might too.

Three red wines that we are enjoying right now are very different from each, and from very different regions, but we hope that each will give you the same reaction: Delight.

Our current picks are the Broadside 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles in California, Italy’s Vigna Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto, and Oregon’s Dough 2019 Pinot Noir.

Enjoy!

 

Broadside 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles

The Broadside 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is from Paso Robles and the sub AVA of the San Juan Creek and Margarita Ranch. It is made up of 82% Cabernet, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec. The wine was aged 18 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, and has a lot of deep jammy flavors that include dark chocolate and cinnamon.

Award-winning winemaker Adam LaZarre has created a hearty Cab, very much what you would expect from the Central Coast. It is perfect for pairing with meats and poultry, or roasted vegetables. Of course, you can pair it with nothing and just enjoy it alone. Which we can recommend.

Find it at https://broadsidewine.com/

 

Vigna Petrussa Schioppettino di Prepotto

 

This Italian wine by Vigna Petrussa gets its name from the Italian word “schioppare,” which means to burst, since their description implies that the grapes burst in your mouth when you eat them. Schioppettino is an indigenous and sometimes overlooked grape in the North-Eastern corner of Italy, from the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Fortunately, second generation winemaker Hilde Petrussa has played a key role in the rediscovery and renaissance of this rare heirloom varietal.

We were actually quite surprised by this Italian wine because sometimes we find them to be a bit overly subtle. This Vigna Petrussa vintage does continue the trend of being gentle, but it is also robust enough to really deliver real flavor and nuance, as well as presenting some delightful aromas and fruit. The wine is aged for 36 months in barrels, then for another six months in the bottle. Some reviewers rankings have it has high as 90 points, which is good news.

One interesting part of the story is that Sheila Donahue of VeroVino Craft imports this wine into the United States, and is very supportive of women owned wineries like those of Hilde Petrussa’s Vigna Petrussa. Sheila started in the wine industry as a sommelier but now searches for and imports hidden gems around the world, gaining quite a bit of positive recognition in the process.

Find it at https://www.verovinogusto.com

Dough 2019 Oregon Pinot Noir

 

The winemaker for Dough is Heidi Bridenhagen, who has fermented this 100% Pinot Noir varietal in stainless steel. Oregon of course brings a unique kind of terroir and topography to its wines, often quite different from those in California or Italy. The Dough Pinot Noir is what many would consider to be a classic wine from Oregon with cherry and red fruits, as well as a bit of chocolate. We found it to be a light and casual drinking wine, one which we believe people will quite enjoy, especially during early in the day. That time frame doesn’t mean however that you can’t have it with a nice pasta with garlic butter sauce, or to start off a lovely evening with a friend(s).

Interestingly enough, the vineyard itself proposes that you chill it, which we suppose you might want to do if it’s an extremely hot day, but otherwise, Why?

Wine enthusiast gave it 85 points, but if up to us we would give it 87.

Find it at https://doughwines.com/

 

 

The Bamboo Room adds ambiance to SoCal’s Craft Cocktail Lounge Scene

Opened in June of 2021, Bamboo Room is a cocktail lounge set in the heart of the Westlake Village community outside of Los Angeles, and has a menu that includes craft cocktails, beer, sake, wine and bottle service. Their wide range of signature cocktails are crafted with high quality and fresh ingredients, as designed by the Michelin Star chef co-founder Chef Anthony Alaimo and partnerJeffrey S. Helfer.

The lounge’s interior ambiance focuses on earth tones and not surprisingly bamboo accents. Guests are able to relax on comfortable furniture or enjoy the dimmed lighting in the Bamboo Room’s library section. They can also sit outside around modern firepits. Depending on the night, guests can also listen to live music or a wide range of visiting DJs.

Bamboo Room was inspired and created with an international perspective, incorporating various global influences from co-owners Alaimo and Helfer, who met over 10 years ago when they both resided and worked in Macau, China. Influenced by their experiences abroad, they decided to share part of their journey with the local Westlake Village community and create a space that is unique and reflective of a worldly trend and vibe.

Locals consider it an escape where they can unwind, enjoy a drink, listen to music, and mingle with friends (and potential new friends). For them it helps replace the urge to take a long drive into the City of Los Angeles for a night out. Convenient and comfortable.

Bamboo Room
www.bambooroomwlv.com

30760 Russell Ranch Road, STE C
Westlake Village, California