To the delight of local foodies, wine enthusiasts and the community in general, the 10th Annual Grape Escape is scheduled for Saturday, June 2, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park in downtown Sacramento.  The popular Grape Escape celebration is the region’s premiere food and wine event that showcases varietals from 60 regional wineries and 40 local restaurants. This annual culinary event provides a rare opportunity for attendees to sip wine from the eight wine regions in the greater Sacramento area while enjoying delicious food samples from Sacramento’s top restaurants. The Grape Escape event first started in 2002 with 700 attendees and 55 participating restaurants and wineries.  This s

Get your taste buds ready!  With a focus on locally grown foods from the North Valley, the third annual California Nut Festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Each year, this popular culinary event showcases plentiful gourmet food offerings, wine and beer sampling, nut-inspired cooking demonstrations, live musical entertainment on two outdoor stages, an inspiring art show featuring talented local artists and much, much more.  Tickets go on sale March 1 for the 2012 California Nut Festival that takes place outdoors on the historic grounds of the Patrick Ranch Museum in Chico, California. Locally grown nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans and pistachios

Persimmons & Honey Saturday, November 12, 2011 10:00 am – 2:00 pm This holiday season, we’ll be sharing samples from our neighbors - Otow Orchards, Rickey Ranch and Source Tapas Otow Orchard is renowned for their Japanese art of hoshigaki -- hoshi means dried and gaki is from kaki, the Japanese word for persimmon. Each October, their persimmons are hand-peeled, strung onto a rack, and massaged every 3 to 5 days for several weeks. The result is a moist, sugary, comforting delicacy. The 165-acres off Cavitt Stallman is home to Rickey Ranch. There are acres of vineyards, fruit trees, pumpkins, gourds, a large garden, and best of all honey bees! They will be bringing their locally produced

Slicing off the side of a 28-pound halibut is just another day at the office for Danny Johnson, co-owner and butcher at Taylor's Market in Land Park. It’s a skill he was happy to share with a dozen Sacramentans on Saturday for one of several Butchering 101 workshops his store has held since January. The class members bombarded Johnson with their seafood, poultry and butchering questions. He didn't let them down. "Everything I tell you, it's how it works (at Taylor's)," Johnson told the class. They started with poultry. Johnson explained where dark spots on chickens and turkeys come from, the current controversies with organic labeling, and good handling and knifing technique. He showe

In 2006, my dad was doored while riding his bike on 15th Street. He broke his shoulder pretty bad, and ended up with all sorts of plates and screws holding him together. Life gave us lemons!!! We made lemonade though, and Practical Cycle was funded in part by the settlement from that accident. So I took great pleasure in hand-squeezing 35 locally grown, organic lemons to make lemonade for our Grand Opening celebration, the first annual Ride for Earth. Then I loaded a cooler on the back of our old Worksman tricycle and hauled it about ten miles to Practical Cycle. I believe that sometimes life's most difficult challenges can help us grow the most. Whenever I feel like things couldn't poss

Living in one of the world's most productive agricultural regions has its perks. Sacramento residents can stroll through a farmers market and buy fresh fruits and vegetables—and meet the farmer who grew them—year-round. By all accounts, the popularity of farmers markets is on the rise, not just in Sacramento, but nationwide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are 4,800 farmers markets in operation, an increase of almost 400 markets since 2006. California is home to about 520 certified farmers markets, featuring the produce of nearly 3,000 farmers. Sales are up, too. California’s farmers markets took in $163 million in 2007 (the latest figure available), up from $114 milli