Sun starts to shine again, flowers open up and smiles are getting back in streets! It’s spring time and it’s good time to discover new flavors. My previous recipe was a autumn one, this one is a mix of cold and warm ingredients, definitely a spring one!

Ingredients:

Mixed greens, 2 tomatoes, 3 fresh mushrooms, 6 asparagus spears, smoked duck magret, bacon  bits, goat cheese, toasted baguettes, mustard, honey, oil, wine vinegar, and of course salt & pepper.

Directions:

Place mixed greens in a bowl, slice tomatoes on top greens, add smoked duck magret sliced, slice mushrooms and asparagus onto salad, sprinkle on bacon bits. Place 3 toasted baguettes on a tray (they have several flavour on www.pierregourmet.com (I advise the natural flavor otherwise it overshape the rest of the salad flavors), slice goat cheese onto baguettes and place in oven until cheese begins to melt (even slightly burned is good). Flavor with mustard, honey, oil, wine vinegar, salt & pepper.

This isn’t the fastest spring meal to make but is worth it. It is actually really easy to eat and goes well along with a liquorous white wine (really sweet) like a Jurancon, Coteaux du Layon or a 100% Chardonnay (should be at least 3 years old).

Enjoy!

Laurent

Hot off the press....for all the times Mom cooked for you. If you wish to surprise her with a Mother's Day dinner delivered, you're at the right price. For brunch or dinner, this 3 course delight will thank Mom for all the times she cooked for you. Plus shipping is free and 4 complimentary gifts are included. Read on & enjoy.

GourmetStation, Provider Of Upscale Gourmet Dinners Delivered Announces New Mother’s Day Menu. GourmetStation, the leading national merchant for gourmet dinners, upscale prepared meals and fine gourmet food gifts delivered nationally, announced the introduction of Mother’s Day Brunch 2007.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, GourmetStation announced they are accepting reservations for their Mother’s Day gourmet brunch for two. The menu has been designed to treat Mom “for all the times she cooked for you”. With about thirty minutes preparation time any lucky Mom can enjoy a 3 course gourmet brunch for two at the most comfortable place on earth – home. To sweeten the Mother’s Day gift, GourmetStation is offering free shipping in addition to four complimentary gifts.

The Mother's Day menu was designed with variety and richness giving Mom a sampling of many different flavors from around the world. Appetizers include quiche Lorraine & mushroom tarts, entrees include Chicken Montrachet and Baked Salmon with lemon herb sauce and brunch is concluded with almonds atop a creamy cheesecake & Euro blend coffee. Four complimentary gifts top off the offer; a white rose floating candle, a Mother’s Day poem, organic tea & gourmet cookies. The menu for two with complimentary gifts is priced at $79.99 plus free shipping.

“Planning our Mother’s Day menu is one of our most exciting events of the year” says Donna Lynes-Miller, founder and President of GourmetStation, “Our goal is to provide a food gift for Mom that will thank her for all the times she cooked for us.”  Lynes-Miller went on to comment, “With only 30 minutes prep time we believe we’ve created an experience that Mom will never forget.”

About GourmetStation
GourmetStation delivers a delicious in-home dining experience complete with the flavor of travel to an exciting cultural destination. The online retailer offers the unique opportunity to give or receive a unique gourmet food gift to mark a life-cycle occasion or just to take a night off from cooking. GourmetStation offers multiple regional menu options including Parisian, Tuscan, Cajun, Fusion, Americana as well a Romance menu and seasonal menus like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine dinner delivered. The wide variety of destination themed food gifts is designed to spark the imagination of both the giver and receiver. Each chef-inspired dinner is intended to provide a dining experience similar to that of its regional inspiration.

Internationally themed three and four course gourmet meals are delivered anywhere in the United States. Deep-chilled gourmet dinners require only 30 minutes preparation include European blend coffee or organic tea, after-dinner candy, floating candle and matches. Prices for multi-course dinners for two range from $69.99 to $89.99. Gourmet gift certificates, including Dinner of the Month certificates, are ideal for birthdays and anniversaries. For more information, visit www.GourmetStation.com or call 1-888-944-9794.

Contact Information:
Donna Lynes-Miller
Founder & President

www.GourmetStation.com

GILROY, Calif., April 16, 2007 — For thousands of years, garlic has held near mythical status.  Egyptians worshipped garlic and folklore has touted garlic’s power in warding off vampires.  And even today, garlic’s nutritional properties, from fighting colds to preventing cancer, coupled with the herb’s unique flavor, are helping to keep garlic in popular demand among home chefs everywhere.  With all of these benefits packed into one single clove of the infamously-coined “stinking rose,” there’s even more of a reason to crack open a bulb of flavorful California-grown garlic on April 19th in celebration of National Garlic Day.

Flavoring Up Dishes

Today, Americans consume more than 250 million pounds of garlic annually to add flavor to many meat, poultry and seafood dishes.  Consumers are also calling for more of the herb at their favorite restaurants across the United States, as evidenced by Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2006 survey, where 21 percent of respondents indicated that they’d like to see more garlic dishes on the menu. In fact, garlic was the second most requested ingredient/menu choice after “healthy” items.  Garlic even stands alone as the primary ingredient in new “adventurous” food items including garlic ice cream and garlic jellybeans.

Keeping You Healthy

It addition to garlic’s flavor, research has shown that it can help keep you healthy.  According to Tufts University, researchers in Italy found that both onion and garlic were linked to significant reductions in certain cancers.  Those consuming the most garlic showed a 25 to 88 percent reduced risk, depending on the type of cancer, compared to those eating less.  Studies have also found that daily garlic consumption can reduce the risk of catching a cold by half.  And garlic has been found to be effective in treating the "superbug," a germ that usual antibiotics won't kill.

Heading to the Garlic Mecca 

For those of you wanting to celebrate “National Garlic Day” all year round, head to Gilroy, Calif., the garlic capital of the world and home to one of the largest garlic growers, Christopher Ranch.  While there, make sure to stop by Garlic World, where you’ll find a large selection of signature foods and novelties from garlicky olives to garlic pistachios: http://www.garlicworld.com/.  And, make sure to mark your calendars for the 29^th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, July 27-29: http://www.gilroygarlicfestival.com/.  More than three million have made the pilgrimage to Gilroy to attend the world-famous event, co-founded by Christopher Ranch.  With, on average, more than two tons of fresh California-grown garlic — courtesy of  Christopher Ranch — used each year to prepare beef, pasta and seafood dishes, not to mention 750,000 garlic fries, this three-day event is bound to appease every garlic connoisseur’s palate.

Recipe For Garlic Artichoke Dip

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts – drained, finely chopped

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1 small can chopped green chile peppers

4 cloves of fresh California-grown garlic – crushed

Mix all ingredients in bowl, spoon into baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350°.  Serve warm or cold on crackers or bread.

For other flavorful and fresh California-grown garlic recipes, please visit http://www.christopherranch.com/recipes.htm.

About Christopher Ranch

Established in 1956, Christopher Ranch grows, packs and ships more than 60 million pounds of fresh California-grown garlic each year for retailers and foodservice while continuously improving farming, food safety and good agricultural practices.  The Ranch, owned and run by the Christopher Family for more than 50 years, has grown into a major international agribusiness with 600 employees year-round and a seasonal harvesting crew of 1,200 working its 4,000 plus acres of fresh garlic, bell peppers, shallots, Bing cherries, and sweet corn.  Christopher Ranch is co-founder of the world famous Gilroy Garlic Festival that takes place July 27 through July 29, 2007. To learn more, please visit our Web site at http://www.christopherranch.com/.

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The bottled water industry is one I've enjoyed observing over the years. When I was growing up there was tap water and then if we were lucky to drive to the country on the weekend, crystal clear well water.

The International Bottled Water Association is a great source for information on all kinds of water. Sales of water are now regulated by the FDA and just in case you're interested, here are the five major water categories. I think I'll have a juice!

SPRING: Must be collected from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the earth's surface and must retain its original composition and quality.

SPARKLING: (My Favorite) Contains natural carbonation from carbon dioxide and must be sold with the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had as it emerged from the source.

MINERAL: Must contain not less than 250 parts per million total of dissolved solids, minerals and trace elements that are present at the source.

PURIFIED: Produced through a water treatment process such as distillation, deionization or reverse osmosis. The main source for purified water is municipal water.

ARTESIAN: Comes from an underground confirmed aquifer that is under pressure.

As time has gone by, I have become a fair weather skier. Now mind you, I have been skiing since age 15 and turn 53 this month. After seeing Olympic skier Stein Erickson a few years back in Deer Valley, Utah, I am inspired to keep going, as he has  done…..and for the record Stein is in his 80’s and still going quite strong.  And I hope to still tackle the slopes when I am his age…..

But, there is cold weather skiing and then there is spring skiing, accented with brilliant sunshine, long days and late afternoons spent on the sun deck drinking a favorite libation. And I have become a fair weather skier by choice.

Well this spring’s ski trip turned up a wonderful lodging spot in south Lake Tahoe, The Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort. I hooked up with my friend Ed and his family and hosted them at a timeshare exchange right on the lake.  I got there first and was greeted with 67 degrees in South Lake Tahoe, hardly putting one in the mood for skiing, so I spent the afternoon sunning and walking along the shores of lake.

It has been a number of years since I had been to a ski resort in the area…and was taken by all the large Ponderosa Pines and the brilliant blue of the lake surrounded with snow capped peaks and remembered how I felt when I first experienced the scenery there. It really is a magical place.

While the snow conditions were not optimal this year, it was still more than adequate for our group and we had a great time skiing a more family oriented resort, Sierra, about a 20 minute drive from our lodge. Once we got everyone in to ski equipment, off they went to lessons or to the top of the mountain, where a great 2.5 mile trail makes it easy for even beginners to work their way down the mountain.

I have to tell you though, one of the reasons Lake Tahoe was picked over Park City this year, is that Ed, a retired dentist attended Emory dental school with an old friend, Dick, who still works his practice on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and Ed thought it would be great to get to visit with them as well as ski.

So, after a few days at the ski resort, we drove up the east side of Lake Tahoe to meet Dick and his wife Sandy at a restaurant they recommended, called The Soule Domain. What a treat. The marketing brochure positions the restaurant as featuring “Creative American Cuisine in an elegant Log Cabin” and that is exactly what they deliver. The chef/proprietor is Charles Edward Soule IV and all of our dishes were wonderfully presented and artfully done with excellent flavor profiles. (The Soule Domain: Can be reached at 530 546 7529  and sits ½ block up Stateline Road across from the Tahoe Biltmore Casino Crystal Bay in North Lake Tahoe….or check out their website http://www.souledomain.com)

The dinner conversation was lively and one of the points brought up that night at dinner by Sandy and Ed was how life was for Dick.

I had heard Ed mention this fact before, but it was confirmed that night by Sandy in how life for Dick just seems well….perfect.

No matter what the issue in the world, what natural disasters were happening …. “It was always a wonderful day in Dick’s world.” Well two nights later we were invited to Dick and Sandy’s house sitting on Lake Tahoe and I go to see first hand how such a statement came to be.

Dick and Sandy have lived in Lake Tahoe for quite a few years and have worked hard to establish the life that they have. Dick has his dental practice in a building that overlooks Lake Tahoe. His commute to work is a 15 minute or less kayak ride down the shoreline from his home. He did confess to me that if the lake level rises he can’t paddle under some of the docks and has to go around them, adding 3 minutes to the paddle commute. All the while admiring the scenery, snow capped peaks in winter and gorgeous weather and pines in the summer.

Sandy is equally athletic, tanned and quite accomplished as well. Their young adult kids were off in Argentina exploring and dinner at their house that night was relaxing. It was fun to see how life had turned out for Dick and Sandy. Wonderful life together, smart and attractive children, beautiful home, world class scenery and long term established friendships.

So as you can see, it really is a wonderful day in Dick’s world….and I thank them for sharing. And I thank Ed for allowing me the privilege of meeting Dick and Sandy.  Now we all can’t live on Lake Tahoe, but I would like to think that just perhaps, if we all step back and look at the positives in our own lives, a little bit of Dick’s world just my rub off……and I hope it’s a wonderful day in your life too!

Mark Stine

For me, one of the best things about spring is the fresh produce at the market, baby vegetables, sweet peas, fresh lettuces, asparagus and don’t forget halibut is now in season and wild salmon is coming soon. I visited King Estate Winery southwest of Eugene, Oregon recently and I think their wines are the perfect match for a spring meal. And if your traveling in Oregon this Spring or Summer, make King Estate one of your stops.

The Visitor Center is open seven days a week from 11:00 am to 8:00pm. It houses the tasting room and restaurant.  Wine Tastings and Winery Tours are complimentary and lunch and dinner is served in the restaurant which features a menu of local organic produce. Much of the product comes from the Estate gardens. The Marketplace is open every weekend during the produce season. Organic vegetable plants and flower plants are available as are local cheeses, freshly baked breads, sandwiches and fresh salads.

But let’s not forget the wine here are some of my favorites:

King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2005
Pale straw color with the aroma of tropical fruit, pear, melon and honeysuckle. Silky and elegant with balanced flavors of lemon, tropical, spice and a touch of mineral ending with a long clean finish. Sustainably grown and 100% Organic from estate vineyards.

King Estate Signature Collection Oregon Pinot Noir 2005
Bright garnet with a ruby tint. Blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, currant, dried floral and dark chocolate on the nose. Round, rich, and silky. Dark cherry, blackberry, spice and cocoa bean flavors with balanced acidity, bright velvety tannins and a long silky finish.

King Estate Domaine Vin Glace – Pinot Gris 2005
Exceptional dessert wine. Golden straw color. Aromas of honey, peach, apricot, nectarine and pear. Honey like with flavors of ripe peach, apricot nectar, golden pineapple, orange, passionfruit and honeysuckle finishing with a little nutmeg spice. Vin Glacé, also known as Ice Wine, is a style of wine made from ripe frozen grapes.  Pressing the frozen grapes produces a sweet juice, while leaving the frozen water crystals and grape skins behind.  The resulting juice is very concentrated in aromas and flavors and demonstrates intense varietal character.

Interesting to note, Pinot Gris is a mutation of the Pinot Noir grape. Pinot Gris grapes are between greyish blue and brownish pink born on vines that otherwise appear identical to Pinot Noir and at one time, Pinot Gris habitually grew in among the Pinot Noir of many Burgundian vineyards adding softness and sometimes acidity to the Pinot Noir. Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are considered to be Oregon’s most successful grapes.

Susan Anderson