One of my favorite things to do when I travel is explore local markets. Vietnam was a great place to do that, with every street corner turning into an impromptu street market as vendors carried their stores on their shoulders in baskets….setting them up anywhere there was free space! Here are some of my favorite market pictures from Vietnam.
Rambutan fruit at the market in Saigon....tastes similar to a lychee.
Outdoor street market in Saigon. I love the variety of fruits!
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Just got back from an amazing trip to Vietnam and was blown away by the kaleidescope of colors, new flavors and amazing variety of Vietnamese food on every street corner. It was truly a foodie paradise. In fact, I couldn’t stop talking about it or snapping pictures. Here’s a few to share.
Peppers at the market in Sapa in the mountains near the China-Vietnam border
Stuffed banana leaves in Saigon
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This is the final installation in my ‘blog series’ about the rise of organic and biodynamic practices in the world of wine. Want to learn more? Join me for my upcoming Yoga & Wine retreats to Napa & Italy which feature visits to some of the wineries that I discuss here in person.
From Sky to Earth
Many winemakers, both in the US and abroad, are taking organic one step further and embracing biodynamics, the viticulture system based on the teachings of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner in the early 1920’s. The methods, like burying cow horns filled with dung in the vineyard and planting based on the cycle of the moon, have certainly raised eyebrows. While proponents of biodynamics swear by the results, critics call the heavy reliance on astrology and the odd methods pseudoscience, voodoo or simply a hoax. (more…)
This is part two in a 3 part ‘blog series’ about the rise of organic and biodynamic practices in the world of wine in honor of Earth Day! Check in later in the week for more about this growing trend. Want to check out some of these wineries for yourself? Join me for my upcoming Yoga & Wine retreats to Napa & Italy which feature visits to some of the wineries that I discuss here in person.
Daydream Believer
Farming organically was not a marketing decision for self-described “daydream believer” Robert Sinskey, owner of Robert Sinskey Vineyards in the Napa Valley. More natural techniques just seemed to fit with his dream of making beautiful wines in a place where his children could play in the vineyards without exposure to pesticides. “We began farming organically as a reaction to the phylloxera blight of the 1980s.” says Sinskey. “We looked at our naked, compacted soils and decided conventional farming was flawed on many levels. We felt it was just plain irresponsible to work with toxic materials when homes are so close to vineyards. I live in the vineyards with my family and I did not want to fear for the health of my children.” (more…)
This is part one in a 3 part ‘blog series’ about the rise of organic and biodynamic practices in the world of wine in honor of Earth Day! Check in next week for more about this growing trend. Want to check out some of these wineries for yourself? Join me for my upcoming Yoga & Wine retreats to Napa & Italy which feature visits to some of the wineries that I discuss here in person.
Bottled Poetry
It’s a crisp morning in early spring at the northern end of the Napa Valley. The vineyard floors form a steep amphitheater, blanketed with yellow mustard, and the air is cold enough that I can see my breath. Jerry Seps, the down to earth proprietor of Storybook Mountain Vineyard, is dressed in jeans and a cowboy hat and standing in front of me at the edge of a row of still dormant vines. As he talks about the vines the pride in his land is evident on his face. (more…)
“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” -Ernest Hemingway -’A Moveable Feast’
One of my favorite stops when I am in the Bay Area is the Hog Island Oyster Company for a dozen of their plump, sweet oysters. They have two oyster bars, one at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and a newer location at the Oxbow Market in Napa, as well as a picnic location at Tomales Bay where they are harvested. They offer oysters grilled, baked and fried as well as clam chowder and oyster po’boys but I prefer them plain and on the half shell. Not even a squeeze of lemon to get in the way of their briny deliciousness. (more…)
Early spring day in St. Helena.
It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain
I think that every wine lover has secretly dreamed of owning a little vineyard somewhere. Every now and again I find myself day dreaming about tending rows of vines at sunrise and lovingly picking grapes by hand at harvest. While the fantasy is a lovely one, the reality of vineyard work tends to be much less bucolic. In fact, growing grapes is back-breaking work that demands a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge. On a recent trip to Napa I got to experience a taste of this for myself as I took part in a hands-on pruning demonstration at the historic To Kalon vineyard with Matt Ashby, director of vineyard operations at Robert Mondavi Winery. (more…)
The food memories that tend to stay with us are often the most elemental, like the smell of fresh baked bread or the taste of raspberries still warm from the sun. What makes these tastes and smells so elemental is how close they are to the source. The meal that I had with my family today was as close to the source as you can get. On the recommendation of a friend we headed to Barra de Potosi, a mostly undeveloped beach about 45 minutes from Zihuatanejo. Like most good adventures, this one involved a bit of getting lost, a few dirt roads and a bumpy ride. All of which made our first view of the 22 kilometer long white sand beach that much more amazing. (more…)
My family and I have just arrived in Zihuatanejo on the Pacific Coast of Mexico to celebrate my dad’s retirement and enjoy a family vacation. After 35 years of working as a chef in his restaurant, he is ready to let someone else do the cooking for a change. Which is exactly what brings us to Restaurante Mexicano ‘Any’ in the historic center of Zihuatenejo. I have to say that my family, having lived most of our lives in the restaurant, is an adventurous bunch with high expectations for good food. Our first taste of pozole did not disappoint. An enormous platter with a giant bowl of soup in the middle was served surrounded by all of the pozole ‘toppings’. The traditional toppings are lime, ground oregano, jalapenos, finely chopped onions, avocado, radishes, sliced cabbage, chicharrones (fried pork skin) and chiles but this can vary from region to region. (more…)
