Eating Locally and Seasonally

Thinking Locally Financially

2011-01-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

With all of our focus on thinking locally, we recently came across a way to act locally with our finances. The Website Move Your Money (http://moveyourmoneyproject.org/) is a national movement to take our money our of the big banks, where it does little to help our economy, local communities, or individuals, and put it into credit unions or community banks, where it can directly help local communities and individuals. We can across it after our bank informed us that would be imposing fees in February.

The good news is that we found that many credit unions are now offering business accounts. In addition to our personal accounts, we have moved our business accounts over to the credit union.

Credit Unions are non-profit. When you open an account you become a member. When they make a profit, they return it to their members in terms of higher interest on savings and lower interest on loans. They are run by volunteer boards of directors who are elected by their members. Your accounts are guaranteed and protected, just like a bank. Since they did not participate in the Wall Street games, there are more stable financially than the big banks. And just just about every service you can get a bank, you can get at a Credit Union.

Think about taking your money and putting where it can do the most good for your community and you, a local community bank or credit union. In other words, we can complain about Wall Street and the big banks, or we can do something about it. Stop feeding the beast and feed ourselves and our communities.

Why We Do What Do

2010-08-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Ever so often, we get reminded about why we do what we do. The other day we were out on our tours and we saw another group going into a stop that we had just gone into. They took over the shop and contributed nothing to the shop's viability. The guests got an incredibly small amount of food and the artisan lost income as result of their visit, as other customers were prevented from coming into the artisans shop to purchase food.

It was obvious that they were trying to copy one of our stops. What made their visit so lacking to their guests was their lack of commitment to the neighborhood. To them, it was just a way to make money for themselves.

While our tours include everything, whenever we go into a stop, we are committed that what we do is a benefit to the neighborhood and the community. That means we treat our stops with a commitment to their viability. We pay enough money to the artisans that our guests not only get to try a wide variety of food, but the artisan has benefited economically from our visit.

In areas of our cities across the country and around the world, we have seen local artisans forced out of business by companies who take over their shops and do not contribute to the artisans viability.

This may be why we are welcomed by everyplace we visit. It may be why our guests feel like they are really visiting a neighborhood and experiencing the neighborhood from a local's point of view.

When we travel, it is important that we all share this commitment. Whether it is by supporting local artisans, ensuring the products we purchase support our communities and our planet, our everyday choices will determine the future of our communities and our planet. The tourism industry should be leaders in this. We are committed to this. It is a shame that far too few others in the tourism industry are.

New Foods on our San Francisco Tours

2010-04-13T08:20:00.001-07:00

We're always looking for new food to add to our San Francisco Tours. Every season bring new food on our San Francisco Food Tours.

Springtime on our San Francisco Tours

2010-04-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we're getting into springtime. Springtime is a time of renewal on our San Francisco Food Tours. With renewal comes new ideas. As a community, we're starting to see new ideas and new ways to support the neighborhoods on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

From Chinatown to North Beach\Little Italy, our commitment on our San Francisco Tours is to our local community. Everything on our San Francisco Food Tours is strictly local. Local commitment, such as we have our San Francisco Culinary tours, should be everyone's resolution.

Today, I saw an advertisement on touting low prices. If that low price comes from goods that do not support local communities, such as Chinatown or North Beach\Little Italy, they are nothing more than a way that hurts everyone. Local manufacturing, local sales, and local reinvestment are all lost when products are not local.

Supporting local communities, like we do on our San Francisco Tours, should not be a new idea, however for many it is. It means that we know where the food we enjoy on our San Francisco Food tours comes from. Even the clothing I wear on our San Francisco Culinary Tours is from is sweatshop free. In other words, no child labor and the people producing made enough money to take care our their families.

In your local community, you can do the same. Just like on our San Francisco Tours, their are local merchants close to you. There are local foods, like we try on San Francisco Food Tours. Your clothing can be sweatshop free, just like I wear on our San Francisco Culinary Tours. It is a choice we can all made.

Resources for Own San Francisco Tours

2010-02-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we only taste food made locally. Eating locally and seasonally is a great way to support your local community. We've now added resources to eat locally and seasonally on our Facebook page. It's definitely a way to enjoy some of the highlights of our San Francisco Tours at home.

The Power of Individuals

2010-01-17T21:26:00.001-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we know the power of people. Right now, we have a unique opportunity to demonstrate that. Whether it is the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, donating money and time to Haiti disaster relief is way to show that individuals can make a huge difference our community and our planet.

Finds on our San Francisco Tours

2010-01-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

We found some great pastries today on our San Francisco Tours.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day on our San Francisco Tours

2010-01-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

We're on the last day of our Holiday Tours on our San Francisco Tours. Very soon, we'll be getting ready for our Valentine's Day Tours.

Surprises on our San Francisco Tours

2010-01-02T09:18:00.001-08:00

It's 2010 and new year on our San Francisco Tours. Being incurable romantics, we're working on adding some more surprises.

Farmers Markets on our San Francisco Tours Pages

2009-12-31T08:56:00.001-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours pages, we're hoping to include contacts for farmers markets for as many countries as possible.

Updated Resources Page for our San Francisco Tours

2009-12-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

In the coming year, we're planning to update our resources page for our San Francisco Tours to support everyone to eat locally & seasonally.

It's Still Holiday Time on our San Francisco Tours

2009-12-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

We're out and about on our San Francisco Tours again, relaxed and ready after the holiday.

Blueberry Pie on our San Francisco Tours

2009-12-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours, it's time for the holidays. We're found a blueberry pie today. Yummy!

Our San Francisco Tours Are on Facebook

2009-12-22T08:37:00.000-08:00

In addition to this blog, we're now on Facebook. We hope we can use it to encourage everyone to eat locally and seasonally.

Holiday and Confort Foods on our San Francisco Tours

2009-12-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we're in the comfort food mode. For us, that means Arancini (Sicilian rice balls) and gingerbread cookies. On the home front, it's time for chicken and dumplings. I really like the flavor of free range and organic chicken. We use the same concept on our San Francisco Food Tours. Fresh rice has great natural flavor and fresh ginger makes all the difference. It's the reason getting food grown close by is so important.

Holiday Time on our San Francisco Tours

2009-12-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

We always look forward to the holidays on our San Francisco Tours. It's a time when we get to take advantage of the all of the holiday food in the City. From Panetonne to Gingerbread Cookies, we get to find all kinds of foods to try.

When we go our on our San Francisco Tours, we never know what we'll find this of year. And we mean that in a good way. The time of year, we get lots of squash and lots of apples in, however we're still seeing some grapes in the farmers market. We're also still seeing Brussels Sprouts. I like buying them on the stalk, they're much fresher. If you can't use them right away, put the stalk in water and they'll stay fresh. Just keep the buds out of the water, otherwise they'll get mushy.

Sustainability on our San Francisco Tours

2009-11-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

One of the most things we keenly aware on our San Francisco Tours is sustainability. Sustainability is whether a practice can be sustained over a long period of time. On our San Francisco Food tours, everyone of our stops is sustainable. In other words, they sustain the community and the community sustains them. From the perspective of our San Francisco Culinary Tours, that's essential.

We seem to be having that a discussion at the national level that should be asking the same question. From the perspective of our San Francisco Tours, it seems to a shame that we not asking the question about sustainability. For example, when the question comes to health care, from our San Francisco Food Tours, we ask the question, is the current system sustainable? In other words, will it hold up in the long run. To many of us, the answer is no. It is similar to treading water in the ocean and saying that it is okay because you haven't gone under yet. Eventually, your arms tire out and you drown. From the perspective of our San Francisco Culinary Tours, that is not sustainable.

On our San Francisco Tours, we see how local businesses can sustain a community, by keeping jobs and services in the community. When local businesses go away, the connections to the local businesses go away, as well as the jobs. Again, just like treading water in the ocean. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, not sustainable. And many question whether the local businesses on our San Francisco Culinary Tours are important.

When each of us gets caught us in own personal problems. it is easy for forces that do have our best interests in mind to skew the political argument so many argue against their own best interests. On our San Francisco Tours, we see how communities can come together and by looking out for each other, everyone gets taken care of.

A Local Perspective from our San Francisco Tours

2009-10-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

One of our guests on one of our San Francisco Tours asked about a sign advertising the San Francisco Health Plan. They were guests one of our San Francisco Food Tours in North Beach\Little Italy. San Francisco has it's version of public health care option, run by the city. We're very used to that now, so seeing an advertisement on our San Francisco Culinary Tours is no surprise.

What is surprising to us, from the perspective of our San Francisco Tours, is that find what we did is not surprising. Our city, as a community, decided to do about something about health care, and provide universal health care for our citizens. Just like we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, we used the power of community to address a local problem. Many local problems, regardless of their complexity can be solved by neighbors coming together, just like we see in the neighborhoods we visit on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Regardless of one's opinion of our health plan, it is an example of what can be accomplished when people act a a community. On our San Francisco Tours, we can see how when people decide to shop local merchants, it develops businesses concerned about the neighborhood that are located in. For the businesses on our San Francisco Food Tours, the people in our neighborhoods are not listings on a balance sheet, they are people that they see everyday. The result is that our businesses and neighbors that we see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours end up seeing beyond the bottom line for the current quarter.

One of our San Francisco Tours, we look at how we can get people to look beyond the current fiscal quarter. The biggest challenge for of us is to see beyond the immediate situation. Faced with an immediate crisis, we can lose touch with the long term perspective, whereby we save money on the short-term, but it costs us more in the long-term. On our San Francisco Food Tours, many of our guest are surprised by how many local stores that we have in San Francisco. For that to continue, people here have to make the choice to support local stores. It it same perspective that allowed us to address health care. On our San Francisco Culinary Tours, we visit many of our friends who now benefit from this. In the short-term, we had to invest in our health care system. In the long-term, it is now saving us money. However, it took people here demanding that our elected officials respond to the community, not outside interests. If we are to see changes on a national level, it will require the same demands. When our elected officials realize that they have no choice other than to respond our own citizens, we will have policies which address the needs of our citizens.

We vs I on our San Francisco Tours

2009-08-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we often see the effect of a we mentality. A mentality that says that we care about others around us, not just ourselves. The I mentality puts ourselves above others, as if the rest of the people around us doesn't matter or doesn't exists. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we believe in the we mentality. We believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that we improve and contribute to our community. The focus of our San Francisco Culinary Tours is that we mentality.

As the debate goes on nationally, the I mentality is disturbing. On the way home from one of the San Francisco Tours, I stopped by a local market. In the market, there was a flyer from a family attempting to raise for treatment for cancer. That poster really struck me. Only a I mentality would not be disturbed that a family would have to raise money for cancer treatment. It would be like walking past someone bleeding from an automobile accident and not even bothering to call 911. On San Francisco Food Tours, we see what happens when neighborhoods come together to help each other. Everyone in the community benefits. We see this in the neighborhoods we visit on San Francisco Culinary Tours.

The I mentality results in everyone losing out. It is like being on a ship that is sinking and being happy because you drown ten seconds later than everyone else. You may have survived for ten seconds later, but the reality is that you still drowned. If for nothing that one's own preservation, caring about only oneself is a path for self-destruction.

Networking on our San Francisco Tours

2009-06-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

A major reason we started our San Francisco Tours was to encourage people to eat locally and seasonally. We realized that our San Francisco Food Tours were a way for people to get to know the neighborhoods of the city. We also wanted our San Francisco Culinary Tours to encourage people to get in touch with the communities where they lived.

This weekend, we learned about an amazing example of much one person can impact the communities around them. We were up a winery in Sonoma seeing friends of of ours. In the tasting room of the winery, we met someone who heard about some who need a heart transplant. They never the met the person, but they were touched by the person's dilemma. Rather than do nothing, they sent out a request on Twitter to ask for donations to cover the cost. They raised enough money in a matter of days to cover the cost. I was amazed by what one person had achieved.

If they was ever an example about why we believe what we do on our San Francisco Tours, that is it. We believe that by shopping at the same kind of places they we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours, people can preserve the local artisans they have back home. Many places have the same kind of places we visit on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, the question is whether people will value them.

One person connecting with another can achieve amazing things. On our San Francisco Tours, we see that is what makes up a neighborhood. It is a series of people who decide that their local community is important. It is also realizing that the collective knowledge of people can achieve incredible things. For example, we started talking about working to preserve some open space in Sonoma County. I've previously done work in that area so I was able to pass along some ideas. Just like on San Francisco Food Tours, everyone specializes in different areas. One person on our San Francisco Culinary Tours specializes in coffee, another specializes in chocolate, another specializes in bread, and so on.

Collective knowledge can make major changes. For example, on our San Francisco Tours, we see how neighborhoods are a combination of people working toward the same goal. When the person who enlisted others to help another who needed a heart transplant, he created a neighborhood. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how those neighborhoods, can be a group of people who decide to think beyond their own narrow interests. As we see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, we people working together they can achieve amazing things. Like getting someone a heart transplant.

Community Health on our San Francisco Tours

2009-05-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we think that the health of all us starts at the community level. In other words, the neighborhoods that we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours are the basis of the health of us. It is where we get out footing everyday. Everyday when we see people we know, we feel like have a place where we belong. Each of us needs that sense of belonging. It is why the type of neighborhoods that we visit on our San Francisco Culinary Tours are so important.

On our San Francisco Tours, the neighborhoods we explore are filled with local artisans and store, the type where people go into the store and be recognized. And yet, these are the neighborhoods most endangered during any economic downturn. It seems easy to go to the places that have the "cheapest" prices. Maybe it is the chain store down the street. At this very time, it important that we support our local stores. Otherwise, when the economy recovers, we won't have those kind of stores. Many communities have the kind of stores we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours. The question is whether we support when they need us most. The kind of places we visit on our San Francisco Culinary Tours need our support more than ever.

Eating seasonally and locally, as we do on our San Francisco Tours is an important step in supporting local stores. Local foods support local stores, local farmers, and local employees. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, every dollar spent in local communities stays in local communities. Every dollar spent elsewhere does little to support local communities. Many areas have neighborhoods similar to the one we visit on our San Francisco Culinary Tours. The questions is will they be able to survive the current economic downturn.

The health of communities affects our health. If we lose these communities now, they won't come back later.

Spring Fever on our San Francisco Tours

2009-04-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

Spring Fever has arrived on our San Francisco Tours! Springtime is a great time to be in San Francisco for our San Francisco Food Tours. From asparagus to artichokes, all of us on our San Francisco Culinary Tours are enjoying the great food in the area.

Eating seasonally, as we do on our San Francisco Tours, is something we really enjoy. With all of the spring foods coming in, it almost calls out for ways to enjoy them. I'm a big fan of ravioli and risotto. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we're seeing the new harvest of olives and with that olive oil. And we'll be enjoying that olive oil on on our San Francisco Culinary tours, as it comes into the farmers markets.

In each part of our country and around the world, spring brings great foods into local communities. Just like on our San Francisco Tours, local demand has an incredible effect on whether they show up in your local markets. Local markets carry what local consumers demand. That local demand allows local farmers to exist. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we only enjoy local foods. That local demand supports local farmers in our area. Local farmers requires the same kind of demand that we support on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Not everyone agrees with the principles that we believe in on our San Francisco Tours. To many, they may seem lofty. We don't see it that way. The more we connect with the local artisans, farmers, and our neighborhoods, the more we lift our communities. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how our neighborhoods support everyone they touch. The more we support they type of artisans we see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, the more we support each other.

Mother Day's on our San Francisco Tours

2009-04-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

We'll be coming up to Mother's Day soon on our San Francisco Tours. Many of us spend lost of time trying to think about something unique to do every year. On our San Francisco Food Tours we try to think about how to celebrate Mother's Day in San Francisco with more meaning. On the other hand, we're always trying to get below the surface on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Getting below the surface includes looking where our food on San Francisco Tours is from. That includes ensuring all of food is fair trade. Fair trade means that the people growing make enough income to take care of their family. That is was grown in environmentally sensitive means. Whether it's for our Mother's Day Tours or our everyday San Francisco Food Tours, we want to feel good about all of the food we enjoy. That why we make sure that all of the food on our San Francisco Culinary Tours is local.

Finding where local foods are available maybe one of the best presents that you can give to a loved one. In other words, knowing where they have a great coffee drink means that they really can really savor it. The local roaster is our San Francisco Tours is excellent place, however there are local roaster in many areas. Check out slowfood.com for some places near you.

Eating Locally Perspective from our San Francisco Tours

2009-04-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

I just purchased a new jacket for our San Francisco Tours. At first, it was a real dilemma, on our San Francisco Food Tours, we really believe in buying locally and seasonally, and as much as I would like it, there aren't many local clothing manufactures in San Francisco. Also, I really dislike wearing clothing that is not sweatshop free. In other words, sweatshop free clothing means that it was produced in factories where child or slave labor is not used, workers are paid adequate wages, and that they are working under safe and humane conditions. Just like on our San Francisco Culinary tours, I try to make sure that everything we try contributes the the community.

On one hand, just like on our San Francisco Tours, I like to support local stores, however the local stores only had clothing that they could not certify as sweatshop free. When I searched the Internet, I was able to find clothing that was sweatshop free, however they are by mail order only. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we not eat only produced food, we also support local merchants at the same time. I felt like I had a choice, buy sweatshop free clothes and not support local merchants or support local merchants and buy clothing that was not sweatshop free. On our San Francisco Culinary Tours, we don't have to make that choice.

Fortunately, there was a solution. After searching for clothing manufactures that were sweatshop free, I approached some local shops and suggested that they carry them. Just like our San Francisco Tours our merchants benefit when they highlight how they carry local foods, I gave some local clothing stores names of clothing manufactures where they could get sweatshop free clothing. The interesting thing was that the clothing was not only not more expensive, in many cases it was less expensive. Also, the stores saw the additional advantage of attracting new customers by carrying clothing that people could feel good about wearing. The result of this is that just like the places we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours, I'll be able to purchase sweatshop free clothing from local merchants. I felt like I was to continue the philosophy we have on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

For many people, this may seem frivolous, after all why go to all that trouble, when they can just go down to the local store and buy anything, as long it looks good. My response is to ask if one really wants wear clothing that a child was forced to make. On our San Francisco Tours, we feel good about everything that we are eating. So we can feel good about what is inside of our bodies. Isn't it just as important to feel good about what is on the outside? Additionally, when working conditions deteriorate for workers anywhere, eventually conditions deteriorate close to home, as we have a race to the bottom as workers are forced to compete to keep their jobs. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how people making good choices raises up everyone, as multinational companies cannot force one worker to be a wedge against another. We also see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours how when everyone gets a fair wage, entire communities get lifted up.

When I buy sweatshop free clothing it is usually either the same price or less than other clothing, so it is definitely not a money issue. There are sweatshop free clothing manufactures left in many countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and others. In other countries, it is a little harder to make sure that is sweatshop free, but it is well worth it. We end supporting each other at the same time. Local merchants can benefit, as customers can see a benefit for shopping from them, as the clothing they carry is ethically made.

If we look toward the multinational companies to look out for us, just like with the banks, we will find out that they only look out for themselves. The only ones who look out for us is is.

Economic Perspective from our San Francisco Tours

2009-03-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

Whenever we start to see hot-crossed buns on our San Francisco Tours, we know that spring is coming up soon. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we can taste the difference between local bakeries and other bakeries. The flavor of a fresh hot-crossed buns jumps out at us on on San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Beyond the tastes, we can see the other benefits from local shops on our San Francisco Tours. We see how these shops benefit the community around them by helping to form neighborhoods. On on San Francisco Food Tours, we only visit locally owned shops. Just like we only enjoy local foods on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Whenever the economy has challenges, each of us faces challenges. We can answer those challenges by doing what seem to be convenient or we can choose to do what helps not only our neighborhoods, but other neighborhoods, as well. Simple acts, such as making the effort to purchase clothing that is made sweat-shop free. Just like on our San Francisco Tours, we find that purchasing products that minimize exploitation of others doesn't cost anything more, it just means going a couple more blocks to go to a local store or ordering clothing from firms that are sweat-shop free. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we know everyone is benefiting from what we are doing. Just like when support exploitation of others we support our own exploitation, when we make the effort to support others in our community, as we do on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, they support us.

The choices we make now will determine what remains when the economy recovers. On our San Francisco Tours, we try to make the choices that will result in local shops surviving in the long run. Just like on our San Francisco Food Tours, all of us can make those choices. Some may think that the efforts that we make on our San Francisco Culinary Tours are a drop in the ocean. However if enough of us make those drops, the rising tide will lift all of us.

Long-Term Views from our San Francisco Tours

2009-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

When there is a downturn in the economy, many of us look more short-term, how to get past the current crisis. From our San Francisco Tours, we often ask what will remain in the long-term. In other words, many of us look at the immediate short-term costs, rather than the long-term costs. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we are keenly aware of the real costs of what is around us. In the short-term, we look at the immediate or most obvious costs, the cost of the price on the item. As we can see from our San Francisco Culinary tours, the long-term cost of that outlook is a loss of local farmers, merchants, and communities.

From the point-of-view from our San Francisco Tours, the short-term outlook is part of reason we reached the point that we have economically. The view that short-term gain is the most important, rather than the long-term effect on our local communities and our world as a whole. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we can see that when we look long-term, we decide that when we emerge from a economic downturn, we want local farmers, suppliers and the type of merchants that we see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

On our San Francisco Tours, we see how each of us can make an incredible difference. We can shop locally and make sure that everything we purchase is fair trade, as we do on our San Francisco Food Tours. Fair trade means that the people producing our food make enough income to support their families and our communities, as we do on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

As we see on our San Francisco Tours, that also means that we are shopping local merchants. On our San Francisco Food Tours, every place we visit is family owned. The places that we go to on our San Francisco Culinary Tours also support our local communities.

Each of our can make an incredible difference by deciding that we are going to support our local communities, so that the control of our local communities stays we us. If we see things in the short-term we may see a draining of local merchants as they are undercut by others outside of our local communities. If we see things in the long-term, our local communities can not only lead us out of the downturn, they can help to minimize downturns in the future by encouraging control of our communities to stay with us.

New Beginnings and our San Francisco Tour

2009-01-31T23:08:00.000-08:00

Like many others, we're joining the country in celebrating new beginnings for all of us. On our San Francisco Tours, we're hoping this signals an openness to new ideas. On our San Francisco Food Tours, this is an issue very close to us. From our perspective on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, what we do on a local level affects not only our local community, but also the nation and the world.

As we see on our San Francisco Tours, when we eat locally and seasonally, not only does the income stay in our local community, it is also reinvested in our local community. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, we also lift others by not pitting one group against another. In words, the threat of cheap labor and poor working conditions in other areas, pulling down our income, does not work if each neighborhood is buying locally and seasonally. As we see on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, if each community is not engaged in a race to the bottom, we all get lifted up.

On our San Francisco Tours, we see the diversity of our neighborhoods. That diversity makes up all stronger. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see the commitment we have in San Francisco to support that diversity. All of us are some kind of minority. As we see on San Francisco Culinary Tours, the "majority" has to make commitment to support the "minority". Otherwise, all of us end getting thrown to the wolves.

This new beginning we hope we see from our San Francisco Tours, is a desire to lift all of us up. Eating locally and seasonally requires that we see the longer picture. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, that means that we understand that when we support our local community, everyone gets lifted up. That fact that we understand that when we are all a "minority", we are all responsible for supporting each other. On our San Francisco Culinary Tours, we see how our neighborhoods are stronger and our individual lives are enhanced when we support each other.

January on our San Francisco Tours

2009-01-04T23:57:00.001-08:00

It's January on our San Francisco Tours and we're enjoying new olive oil harvest. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we're enjoying the new flavors of the season. The olive oil is little peppery this time of year, which goes wonderfully with the clams from Point Reyes. Just saute some onions and garlic, brown some chicken and basil sausage, pour in about a cup of white wine, add some herbs and the clams and it is delicious. By comparing the various olive on our San Francisco Culinary tours, we're able to find which one we like best.

Tasting the difference between olive oil different times of year on our San Francisco Tour is a great example of the food we enjoy on our San Francisco Food Tours. We always enjoy looking forward to different seasons on our San Francisco Culinary Tours.

Regardless of where you live, you can eat the same way we do on our San Francisco Tours. A great place to start is your local farmers market. The same method that we enjoy eating on our San Francisco Food Tours is the best way to eat where you are. Local food has the best flavor and when it is fresh, you barely need to do much to it. As we enjoy on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, each season brings new food that not only taste good, but are also good for you.

The method of eating that we enjoy on our San Francisco Tours also supports your community. From local farmers to local stores, when you not only eating locally, your local community suffers from a lack of support. The places we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours support our local community and local farmers. The same kind of places we visit on San Francisco Culinary Tours exist in your community. During an economic downturn, they need your support even more. These are your neighbors and your friends. Your choices today will make the difference about whether they are there later.

The economy on our San Francisco Tours

2008-12-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we are affected by the economy just like most of us. The question for us is how we react on our San Francisco Food Tours. Do we turn to what appears to be the lowest cost suppliers or do we take a more realistic views of what is really the lowest cost on our San Francisco Culinary Tours?

The question confronting us on our San Francisco Tours is confronting all of us. When we engage in a race to the bottom for costs, we end up pushing others in our communities lower and set up the path for us to follow. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, when we force to compete with others making less than a living wage, our incomes as go down, as all of us end competing with other making less than a living wage. As we see on on our San Francisco Culinary Tours, when we advocate to lift up others, we are all lifted up.

On our San Francisco Tours, the coffee we enjoy is fair trade coffee. That means on our San Francisco Food Tours, we can enjoy the coffee, but also feel good about it, knowing that the people growing are making enough income to support their families. Or, we know that the bread from the bakeries on our San Francisco Culinary Tours supports our communities.

Buying Locally on our San Francisco Tours

2008-12-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco tours, we realize the importance for buying locally. In a slow economy, this becomes even more important. Buying locally supports our neighbors in a time when they need our help the most. As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how shopping in our communities lifts us all up. These local merchants can adjust to our local needs. It can be tempting to forget this in difficult times. As we see on our San Francisco culinary tours, we need to look beyond the short terms and shop in a way that supports our communities in the short and term.

Time to Celebrate the Holiday on our San Francisco Tours

2008-11-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we really enjoy the holiday season. It's a great time to taste some of the special foods of the season on our San Francisco Food Tours.

Each neighborhood on our San Francisco Tours has special foods for the holiday season, from Chinatown to North Beach\Little Italy. And on our San Francisco Food Tours, we enjoy adding on special foods for the holidays.

Our Holiday Tours are a great example of eating locally and seasonally. These San Francisco Tours highlight the best of the season.

Perspective from our San Francisco Tours

2008-11-02T16:16:00.000-08:00

On our San Francisco Tours. we focus on local food, We also believe that individuals can change their communities. Communities can be changed for the better or for the worse. In a few days, those of in the US have a choice, between those who would lift us up and those who would tell us that the only way forward is to do so on the backs of others. In listening to all of arguments, I'd suggest you ask yourself which arguments lift us up.

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we believe the communities progress when they move together and whenever everyone is lifted up. When we shop locally and eat seasonally, we lift up the entire community. From the shop owner who sells the food to the farmer who grows the food. When we look at our communities, there is no isolated part of our community and another isolated part of the community. We are all part of the same community. It is only when we lift up the entire community that all of us are lifted.

Holiday Foods on our San Francisco Tours

2008-10-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

As I have found our San Francisco Culinary Tours, everybody has similar ideas about what are holiday foods. For me, apples remind me of the holidays. One of the best ways to enjoy apples is Apple Crisp. Just slice up some apples, toss in some cinnamon and all spice, cover with a combination of oatmeal, flour, and shortening, bake and you've got apple crisp. In my case, I like to use vegetarian shortening. Find out what is in season near you, just like we do on our San Francisco Food Tours and go from there.

Economies and our San Francisco Tours

2008-09-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

As we listen to the news about the economy, many of us wonder how we can gain more control of our lives. On our San Francisco Tours, we focus on local neighborhoods. Whether it is our Chinatown Tour or our North Beach\Little Italy tour, we focus on local artisans and communities. We all heard it said that the ultimate power is at the grassroots level. The neighborhoods we visit on our San Francisco Food Tours are a great example of how we can exercise that power.

Neighborhoods are the best example of the power of local thinking. Shopping in you local neighborhood keeps money in your community, and lets you decide where your money should be spent. On our San Francisco Culinary Tours, we can see how spending locally provides us with the ability to know where our food is from and how it is made.

Perspective from our San Francisco Tours

2008-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

As I listened to speakers from both party conventions, I realized that I had a perspective from our San Francisco Tours. Ultimately, as we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, the choices we make on a daily basis affect us not only years from now, but also affect on a daily basis. At the same time, our short-term may cost us more in the long run.

Every time we make a purchase that is not local, we help to eliminate that product locally. In other words, every time we purchase food from overseas, it has a number of effects. Local producers go under, so that product is not produced. More often than not, the product is being produced by cheap labor, so we help to encourage exploitation of labor in other countries. And local jobs go away. Even though the product may have been less expensive at the store, the real cost has been way higher.

As we see on our San Francisco Tours, neighborhoods are created by people making choices. Left to their choices, larger chain stores would take over the local artisans that we see on our San Francisco Food Tours and shut them down.

As we see on our San Francisco Tours, we that it is that variety that gives a vibrancy to neighborhoods. The people in the neighborhoods we see on our San Francisco Food Tours cover the spectrum. What they have in common is that we see each other on a daily basis. They know the other people are just people and their differences enhance their lives.

When I heard anyone talking about who and what to fear, it reminded about how people in the neighborhoods on our San Francisco Tours have made the choice to enjoy our differences. Just like the people in these areas have made the choices to buy locally.

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how our lives can enhanced by our choices. It is the choice to understand the idea that every time we allow others to exploited, we end up opening ourselves to be exploited.

Museum Exhibits Near our San Francisco Tours

2008-08-23T22:05:00.000-07:00

When we're not on our San Francisco Tours, we like to take advantage our local amenities in San Francisco. We've managed to see several museum exhibits recently. During our San Francisco Food Tours, we get below the surface and see how the food is made. One of the ones we recently saw was an exhibit on French Impressionist Women.

I actually saw a number of analogies to our San Francisco Tours. Most of us go through life dealing with the problems of daily life. Sometimes they seem overwhelming. Think back to the last day that was going great and then something kicked you right into the stomach. And the thing the hit you seemed to take over everything else. Our San Francisco Food Tours may seem to have nothing to with that.

French Impressionist painters had an incredible ability to look at something and seemed beyond the obvious. Our San Francisco Tours do the same. For example, most of look at coffee and think we know how coffee is supposed to taste. After one has tasted how coffee is supposed to taste, that is it supposed to have complexity, as we do on our San Francisco Food Tours, we see beyond that.

French Impressionist painters had the ability to take us out of day to day problems. The are subtle parts of our life that get covered up by that everyday kick in the stomach. Our our San Francisco Tours, we try to appreciate those every day things, such how bread is supposed to feel and taste. Or tasting the subtle flavors of antibiotic-free, hormone-free, and organic meats on our San Francisco Food Tours.

Sometimes, just after you feel like you've gotten the hardest kick in the stomach, try to sit back and notice the subtleties around you. It may not eliminate the kick, however, it may help you put things in context. That kick in the stomach may have not have been as hard as you thought.

Fresh Food on our San Francisco Tours

2008-07-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

A few of us took a day off from our San Francisco Tours and went up to Sonoma enjoy a hike and dinner at a local winery. As we talk about on our San Francisco Food Tours, I think tastings wine comes very much down to what do you like. What does help is learning about the food. I like California wines, however they have different characteristics than wines from other regions. For example, we just opened a Merlot that is about eight years old. I'm not usually a Merlot fan, however, after eight years the tannins in the wines have smoothed and it is like drinking silk. The winemaker had a great description of the wine, when he talked about how if you drink a California Merlot that is only three or four years, it's drinkable, however if you lay it down six to eight years, it is something really special.

On our San Francisco Tours, we try to do the same thing. For example, one of my favorite coffee drinks is known as a macchiato. When it is good, it is wonderful, when is not, it like drinking nails. When we try coffee drinks on our San Francisco Food Tours, we learn how is roasted, that way you know how find good coffee back home. As that winemaker told me today, learning a few things about the food can be the difference between okay food and really delicious food.

Talking to the winemaker reminded me about the importance about knowing where you food is from. The wine we tasted not only tasted good, it was grown organically. Which meant that it was not good for the environment, it was good for me. As we talk about on our San Francisco Tours, when something is not grown locally, you can only hope the growing methods were good.

Many people on our San Francisco Food Tours comment how those of us in San Francisco are lucky to live in an area with the amazing variety of food we have here and how we can easily meet the people who grow our food. The good news is that you can do that, as well. It is your local farmers market. That is where you meet the food producers and learn how the food is produced. We try to give all of guests on San Francisco Tours guests a resource list with websites that list farmers markets all over the US and around the world.

Just like the winemaker at the winery today, a farmers market is where you learn the best to enjoy the food. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we meet the people who know their food best, the local coffee rosters, chocolate makers, bakers, and more. They know how to best enjoy their food. Think of your local farmers market as your local winemaker, guiding you to how enjoy your food in the best way.

Olive Oils on our San Francisco Tours

2008-07-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Last time I was in Paris, I intentionally tried to taste wines that I could not get back home. On our San Francisco Tours, we try to taste foods that you can only get here. It's not that other areas don't have great foods, but why have foods that you can get back home. On our North Beach\Little Italy (on of our San Francisco Food Tours), we taste a variety of olive oils. The olive oils that we taste on our San Francisco Tours are all local California olive oils. By trying different olive oils, I believe you'll learn how to find good olive oils back home.

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we emphasize local foods because if you want to have local foods, you need to support local producers. Fresh olive oil tastes wonderful. If I was in Italy, I would be trying Italian olive oils. Since, we are in San Francisco, we taste local olive oil from here. One reason we have some many local olive oils is that we are a big wine-growing region. Olive trees love the same climate as vineyards.

As you'll find on our San Francisco Tours, olive oil tasting is a great deal like tasting wine. In other words, what do you like. By trying different olive oils , you'll find that some you will like, some you will not. Also, you'll start to see that different olive oils go with different foods, just like wines.

There is another reason to try local olive oils. On San Francisco Food Tours, we make a point to include local merchants who support family farms and who support local agriculture. That way, we know the each of vendors on our San Francisco Tours is helping to ensure that the farmers growing the food are making enough income to take care of their families and communities.

Just as important, we know that the foods on our San Francisco Food Tours, are hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and healthy. Whether it is olive oil or bread or whatever, anything that goes into the food goes into you. If the olive trees which produce the olive oil are grown in an area that lots of pesticides, those pesticides are probably going into you. By knowing where our olive oil is coming from, we know what is in the food. Otherwise, you have to trust a multi-national company to look out for your best interests. You can decide whether you want to do that. Personally, I would rather not.

New Addition on our San Francisco Tours

2008-07-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

We've added a new stop on our San Francisco Tours. If you've joined us on our San Francisco Food Tours, you know how important we believe local foods are. La Spiaggia Deli is a new stop on our North Beach\Little Italy tour, on of our San Francisco Tours. La Spiaggia specializes in local meats and cheeses, which are hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and free range. Additionally, they make a special effort to support family farms. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we think it is incredibly important to support local business, and those business that support sustainable agriculture. Family farms are an important component of sustainable agriculture. With the pressures from corporate farmers, support from local communities is incredibly important.

In addition having delicious meats and cheeses, their reliance on organic meats makes them a great addition to our San Francisco Tours. If you've been on one of San Francisco Food Tours, you know the importance we place in organic foods. In addition to tasting great, organic foods don't fill your bodies with antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. So when could add a deli that emphasizes organic meats onto our San Francisco Tours, it was a perfect way to allow our guests to taste how different organic meats are. The reaction to our new addition to our North Beach|Little Italy tour has been excellent, The taste really comes through. So whether you are joining us on of our San Francisco Food Tours, or at home, try to search for a deli like this. I think that you will be amazed how much better the food tastes . And the added bonus is that is better for you.

Hormone and Antibiotics Free Meats on our San Francisco Tours

2008-06-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we try different types of local meats on our North Beach\Little Italy tour. What makes these meats excellent, in addition that they taste good, is that they are hormone and antibiotic free. As learn on our San Francisco Food Tours, good food should nourish your body. When meats are not antibiotic free, those chemicals go into your body. The result is that people are losing the ability for antibiotics to do any good for them, because they are consuming so many in their food. When meats are not hormone free, those hormones go into your body, as well. On our San Francisco Tours, we focus on local foods. When it comes to meats, that is incredibly important. When meats are not local, it becomes much harder to know what goes into your meats. As we learn on our San Francisco Food Tours, a local delicatessen and butcher are the best way to buy local meats, A local butcher can tell you where the meat is from and usually knows the suppliers. On our San Francisco Tours, the local delicatessen makes a special effort to carry meats that not only taste good, but are also hormone and antibiotic free. Just like the place where we try dim sum on San Francisco Food Tours in Chinatown only serves dim sum that they would feel comfortable giving to their own children, In the same ways, the delicatessen that we go on our San Francisco Tours, would never sell anything they would not give their own children. When food is produced and sold by local merchants, such as the merchants we have on our San Francisco Food Tours, the producers and the merchants have a connection with the community. That connection is only fostered when the community supports them. Consider that the next time you so go shopping.

Weather on our San Francisco Tours

2008-06-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

We've had a unusually hot time on our San Francisco Tours. Admittedly, when we are on our San Francisco Food Tours, we think the 70's is a heat wave. The good news is that the cold eclairs that we have on our San Francisco Tours in North Beach is just the thing on a cold day. On the other hand, it never stays hot for long in San Francisco. The hotter the inside the interior of California gets, the colder we get. It just pulls the fog right off the ocean. On our San Francisco Food Tours in North Beach, we start we great coffee drinks, Just the thing on a cool San Francisco day, On our San Francisco Tours, the temperature is usually is the 60's. As we talk about on our San Francisco Food Tours, just about everything we eat here is grown within a short distance from San Francisco. Thirty miles from San Francisco, can be 30 degrees hotter. So just about every climate can be found in Northern California. On our San Francisco Tours in Chinatown, we try different teas. That tea can also be just the thing during the summers. On the hand, being a chocoholic, the truffles on our San Francisco Food Tours are good anytime.

Wine Tasting Results

2008-06-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

We took a break from our San Francisco Tours and went up to one our favorite places for wine tasting, Healdsburg. As our guests on our San Francisco Food Tours frequently hear, my theory on wine tasting is that I think that best way to find good wine is to taste it and see what you like. Just like when we taste olive oils on our San Francisco Tours, I think that the same idea applies to wine tasting. in fact, some of the best wines that I have found come from small independent wines. As we talk about on our San Francisco Food Tours, food that is produced using sustainable methods tastes good. What is interesting is the same seems to be true for wines. As we talk about on our San Francisco Tours, organic food food allows you to really taste the food. Organic wine falls into the same category. I'm running across more winemakers who have found that producing wines organically produces better wine.

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we occasionally talk about how higher priced food isn't always better. In fact, food out of season frequently costs more. One of our tricks for finding great wines is stop in wines we don't recognize. On our San Francisco Tours, we only taste local foods. Just like on our San Francisco Food Tours, local wines are the same. The not only taste good, they frequently cost less. It is great bargain, organic wine, sustainable agriculture, great taste, and it costs less.

Corn Season on our San Francisco Tours

2008-06-08T21:12:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we talk about eating locally. The good news is that on our latest trip to to farmer market, we found that corn is in season. As we mention on our San Francisco food tours, fresh food, in season has great flavor. The good news is that corn is starting to show up at the farmers market. As we talk about on our San Francisco tours, fresh corn in incredibly sweet. I'm not usually a fan of microwaves, however it is really an easy way to cook corn. Just take the corn in the husk, put it into the microwave for three minutes, give a quarter turn, go for another three minutes, give a quarter turn, then cook for a final three minutes. On our San Francisco food tours, we talk about cooking food simply. Fresh food doesn't need much to have it taste good. Fresh corn is like that. I like to eat it within a day or so of after I get from the farmers market. As we talk about on San Francisco tours, fresh produce has lots of natural sugar. The older the produce is the more the sugar breaks down and turn to starch. As we mention on our San Francisco food tours, the best place to get fresh foods is the farmer markets, so it is very fresh and really sweet. Some people like to boil corn, however I find that the water absorbs alot of the corn's flavors. On our San Francisco tours, we find the good foods is complex and has great natural flavors. As we find on our San Francisco food tours, good food has those great flavors. It doesn't need much more added to it.

Blueberry Season

2008-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we love explore what is in season. Much to my delight, when I went down to farmers market, I was delighted to find that the blueberries from the Sierra Nevada foothills are coming into season. For the past couple of weeks, blueberries were coming from the San Francisco delta. The ones from the delta are good, however the ones from the Sierra Nevada foothills are even better. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we talk about pairing foods. Admittedly, the blueberries are great with other foods, however they are so delicious, you can eat them by themselves. When we try coffee drinks on our San Francisco Tours, we tastes the complexity of the flavors of the coffee and how great coffee doesn't need to be covered up with tons of sugar and cream. As we find on our San Francisco Food Tours, the flavors of the coffee can get lost when you cover them up. When blueberries are in season, they don't need anything. They are great just as they are. The same way that the truffles we try on our San Francisco tours have just enough sugar to bring out the flavor, but not enough to cover up the taste. Many people are used to bland berries, and assume that is norm, so therefore one has to cover them us. As we find on our San Francisco food tours, many people confuse old food with bad food. On our San Francisco tours, we emphasize the importance of eating locally seasonally and locally. However, eating locally and seasonally is not only good for environmental and economic reasons. As we find on our San Francisco food tours, it is also important because it tastes really good.

Natural Disaster and Eating Locally

2008-05-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we talk about the effects of eating locally and seasonally. When we watch world affairs, we see how natural disasters affect communities around the world. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we see how local artisans balance a neighborhood. That is having local bakers, coffee shops, butchers, and so on. As we see on our San Francisco Tours, these local artisans help a community come together we things go wrong. When a community is out of balance, whether it be a lack of local artisans, or a lack of local food producers, communities are not able participate in their own recovery. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we focus on these artisans, Every community has similar artisans. As we see on our San Francisco tours, it is the support of people in the area that allows them to survive, As we see on our San Francisco Food Tours, on of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to shop in one's neighborhood. As we see on our San Francisco tours, while local San Franciscans enjoy shopping that way, that very act allows them to be there for us when we need. them. When an economy is out of balance, local artisans have been replaced by interests only concerned about maximizing income. The essential food producers have been replaced by whatever best serves those corporate interests. And we end up with a continual race to the bottom. For the sake of saving a few minutes, communities end up without local hardware stores. For the sake of "saving" a few dollars, we lose local food producers. As we see when we visit local artisans on our San Francisco Food Tours, the cost of saving a few dollars means that when communities lose artisans, shops, and food producers, they lose local vibrancy and the ability to support themselves. While one of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to support the kind of local artisans and food artisans that we see on our San Francisco Tours. That same point of view allows us to be a community and support ourselves in times of distress.

Cherries are in

2008-05-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we talk a lot about eating locally and seasonally. The good news is that we are in cherry season. On our San Francisco Tours, we talk about how different foods have different tastes and subsequently should be paired with other foods. For example, on our San Francisco Food Tours we try different olive oils and compare the flavors. When cheeries first come into season, we first get the sour cherry, which are great for pies but not too good for eating. A couple weeks we get the bing and rainier cherries, which are perfect for eating. On our San Francisco Tours, we always talk about the importance of trusting your what you like. That's a good reason to go down to the farmers market and see what you like. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we learn how foods should be complex, rather than one-dimensional. For example,when we have coffee on our San Francisco Tours, we taste how the coffee has complexity. Fresh foods have more complexity, because the natural sugars are still there.

Fair Trade and Local Neighboorhoods

2008-05-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we emphasize the importance of fair trade products, Fair Trade products are grown in environmentally sensitive methods and the people who grow them make enough to actually feed themselves and their families. On our San Francisco Food Tours, many guests comment how wonderful the neighborhoods are in San Francisco, How people look out for each other, they care about other. On our San Francisco tours, our guests enjoy meeting local artisans. Neighborhoods like these do not happen, unless one starts from the assumption that it does matter what happens to some else. On our San Francisco Food tours, many of our guests comment how that this no longer exists back home. The more one insists on fair trade products, the more neighborhoods get created, as many people in a community take responsibility for each other. On our San Francisco tours, we can see the result, people shop locally, so we have local butchers and bakers. On our San Francisco Food tours, the local food artisans may not be "cheaper" than a major grocery chain. However, the result of cheap food is that you lose local artisans. And eventually, the good income that you get from your job is less, because some else is cheaper than you are. Maybe not down the street, or across town, but maybe in a different state or country.

On our San Francisco tours, everyone we deal with benefits from what we do. On our San Francisco Food tours, that philosophy helps to build local neighborhoods. The neighbors we visit on our San Francisco tours do not have to be some thing you only visit on our San Francisco tours. By buying trade foods, shopping local artisans, you can start to create the same kinds of neighborhoods we visit on our San Francisco Food tours.

Start of Cherry Season

2008-05-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Tours, we love to keep on what is in season. The good news is that cherries are starting to come into the market. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we talk about pairing foods. Since the cherries coming into the market are sour cherries, they are great in pies, however if you have ever eaten a sour cherry, they are little too tart to eat raw. On our San Francisco Tours, we try different kinds of food to see how different food have different flavors. Our San Francisco Food Tours, you'll find how it is really a case of what do you personally like. Our San Francisco Tours try to emphasize how important it is to trust yourself. So, as you'll find on our San Francisco Food Tours, if you like to eat sour cherries raw, that's great. You are the best judge of what you like.

Outside San Francisco Food Tours

2008-04-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

In addition to our San Francisco Food Tours, be sure to check our Food Tours in other areas. Just like or San Francisco Foods Tours, Foods of NY is great way to enjoy New York. For example, just like our San Francisco Tours, their tour gets into local New York City food. I really enjoy food tours that focus on foods from that area. I always figure, why go somewhere else to try foods that I can get back home? On our San Francisco Food Tours, we only have food from the San Francisco area. For example, when I was traveling in France, I intentionally tried only wines that I could not get back here. It wasn't that the wines were not good, but I figured why try things I could get at home. On our San Francisco Food Tours, we have a resource for finding foods close to you.

Fresh Oranges

2008-04-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco food tours, we talk about how fresh foods taste. Yesterday, we were at the Alemany Farmers Market and picked up a bag of fresh oranges. They are so sweet that it's hard to only have one at a time. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco is enjoy fresh citrus fruit. On our San Francisco tours, we emphasize local foods. Local foods are sweet and delicious. On our San Francisco Food Tours, the fresh flavor of the foods are sweet and delicious. Just like we do on our San Francisco tours, try local foods near you. The flavor is wonderful.

Fennel Season

2008-04-13T23:20:00.001-07:00

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we're really big on seasonal foods. Right now, fennel is in season. Many people don't know much about fennel. It has a really great licorice flavor that is really nice in soups. It's also great grilled, with olive oil and parmesan cheese That's when it's fresh. When it's not fresh, it loses much of it's flavor. On our San Francisco tours, we spend time talking about how to pair foods. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to try new foods at the Farmers Market. The advantage is that the farmers usually know some great ways to prepare their foods. The idea about grilling fennel came from one the vendors at the Farmers Market. On our San Francisco food tours, we're always finding new foods to try,

Getting What You Are Paying For

2008-04-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco Food Tours, we try a variety of local speciality meats. Many of our guests comment how they think it would be hard to find these types of meats back home. It may not be as hard as most people think. On our San Francisco tours, we visit a variety of local artisans, who specialize into one type of food. Check out the local artisans, from bakeries to delicatessens in your own backyard. They are a great way find local foods. On of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to wander around the neighborhoods and try creations at the local bakers or delis. On our San Francisco food tours, we're always finding new foods to try. Try the same thing at home. You might be surprised what you find.

Creating Local Demand

2008-03-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco tours, we go behind the scenes at local artisans. We often hear our guests comment how lucky we are to have these local artisans. I'm of the belief that demand creates supply. In other words, the more people demand local butcher shops, the more local butcher shops will open. One the fun things to do in San Francisco is to try foods at local artisans. On our San Francisco Food tours, you'll experience meeting local artisans. Try it in your own backyard. The result may be that more local artisans are available where you live.

Fair Trade and Eating Locally

2008-03-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

On our San Francisco tours we emphasize foods that are seasonal and local. Some foods are not grown here, like coffee. There is currently an excess of coffee in the world. The result is that the coffee growers are being pressured to lower their prices. The other result is that coffee growers may not be able to make enough money to feed themselves. On the fun things to do in San Francisco is to enjoy coffee. We find that we enjoy coffee even more when it is fair trade coffee. Fair trade coffee is coffee that the grower makes enough money to feed themselves. On our San Francisco tours, we are dedicated to ensuring that everyone we deal with benefits from what we do. Fair trade coffee ensures the people growing your coffee benefits, as well.

Sustainability

2008-03-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

One of the important things on our San Francisco Tours is sustainability. On our San Francisco Foods tours, we focus on local foods, produced using sustainable methods. One the fun things to do in San Francisco is to enjoy salmon in the summer. This summer, we may not have any. For a number of years, there have been water diversions in a number of rivers in Northern California. The assumption is that the environment can simply adjust. The reality is that it can not. On our San Francisco tours we learn how food is made that not only tastes great, but is produced using sustainable methods. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco and elsewhere to enjoy those kinds of food. They not only nourish you, they nourish the environment.

Asparagus Season

2008-03-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

If you've joined us on one of our San Francisco Tours, you probably know that we get really excited about eating seasonally. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to take advantage of asparagus season. When the asparagus comes in from the delta, it is amazingly sweet. A great way to enjoy asparagus is to grill it, then serve it with parmesan cheese and olive oil. On our San Francisco tours, we try several types of local olive oils, which are delicious with the asparagus.

Almost End of Crab Season

2008-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

It's almost end of Dungeness Crab Season, but fortunately, not yet. A number of wineries are having their annual crab feasts. We'll take a quick jaunt from our San Francisco Food Tours to head up Healdsburg and Sonoma and fill up on crab. On the fun things to do in San Francisco is to pair some regional wines with local crab. On our San Francisco tours, we'll be trying some local oils, which goes great with the crab. I like olive oil with crab way more than butter.

Given that at the last crab feast, the winery finished dinner with a nice port wine, we'll be bring truffles from San Francisco tours to pair with the port wine.

Chinese New Year

2008-02-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

One of the interesting concepts of Chinese New Year is the significance of oranges. The seeds help spread good luck for the coming year. On our San Francisco tours, that same concept is very important. I hope that by "spreading seeds", our guests will take the seeds from our tours and search local out artisans. On the the fun things to do in San Francisco and everywhere it to search our local artisans back home. A great resource is www.slowfood.com

Valentine's Day

2008-01-30T22:23:00.000-08:00

We're getting ready for some special San Francisco Tours. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco is to celebrate Valentine's Day for most of February. On our San Francisco Tours, we've got some special surprises in North Beach\Little Italy during the day and also at night. Just in time, we've found some special foods, just in time for Valentine's Day.

New Wine Finds

2008-01-20T13:32:00.000-08:00

Our day off from our San Francisco tours resulted in a couple new wine finds in the Russian River. Trying new wineries is definitely one of the fun things to do in San Francisco. In addition to finding some great new wines, we're seeing an exciting trend among wineries to grow using organic and substantial methods. If you have taken our San Francisco food tours, you might know that we always excited when we see more people embracing the idea of eating locally and seasonally. When you are out buying wines, check out labels for California wines. A number of the wineries are indicating on the labels about their enlightened growing methods.

Checking out the Wineries

2008-01-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

When were not doing our San Francisco tours, we're off checking out wineries. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco, in addition our San Francisco Food Tours, is to head off the wine country. Now days, in addition to Sonoma and Napa, check out the Santa Cruz mountains for some excellent Petite Sirrahs and the Sierra Foothills are producing some really good ZInfandels. Our trick is go into wineries we don't recognize. Those are frequently the wineries that are producing excellent wines, just not enough to sell outside the wineries. If you find a new winery find, let us know and we'll let people know about it on our San Francisco Food Tours.

New Year, New Beginnings

2007-12-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

We're about to start a new year with our San Francisco tours. One of the fun things to in San Francisco, as well as most areas is to go find new foods at the farmers market. In January, many of the wineries in our area have great events such as Winter Wineland in the Russian River in Sonoma (www.wineroad.com). We go every year. We spend the weekend finding new wineries. After finding a winery we really like, we'll ask them what is their favorite winery. We always end up with a couple great new wine finds.

Holiday Fun Things

2007-12-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

I love San Francisco during the holidays. On our San Francisco tours, we get to see all the lights and smell all of the great holiday foods. One the fun things to do in San Francisco is to go down to the waterfront and see the lights on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Seasonal Changes

2007-12-02T01:03:00.000-08:00

Here in San Francisco, fall brings crab and mushrooms. We like adding holiday foods to our San Francisco Tours, especially our North Beach\Little Italy tour. One of the fun things to do in San Francisco is wander around the markets and see what new foods show up. Check out the markets close to you and you might find some great surprises.

Fall Happenings

2007-11-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

One the fun things to do in San Francisco or anywhere, in my opinion, is to check the new produce at the Farmers Market. Golden Chanterelle mushrooms are in season here. Is there anything better than a quiche or risotto with Golden Chanterelle mushrooms? Check out the new produce where you are! You may have something just as good.

One of fun things to do in San Francisco and in your hometown

2007-10-28T22:53:00.000-07:00

Consider spending time at your local farmers market. It is one of the fun things to do in San Francisco as well as your hometown. Most farmers markets attract local musicians and performers, so in addition to supporting local sustainable agriculture, it is a lot of fun.

Local Resources

2007-10-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

A good resource for local foods in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia is www.slowfood.com. They are also the place for find out how to get involved in building sustainable agriculture and communities.

Farmers Markets in the US

2007-09-25T00:59:00.000-07:00

A good source for farmers markets in the US is the USDA website, http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/. You can look up farmers markets in your local area.

Creating Demand

2007-09-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

One thing that we here repeatedly on our tours is how unique San Francisco is, with an incredible variety of local foods. This may sounds simplistic, however there are an surprisingly number of area in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere that have or can create the same demand for local foods. The more food stores hear demands for local foods, the more they carry them. If you are willing to vote with you feet, in other words shop at the stores that carry local foods and let the other stores know that you are doing that, the more the market will be created for local foods. It's easy for a store to deal with one distributor for everything, rather the dozens of farmers and local producers. The only incentive for them to deal with local producers is that consumers will not shop at their stores if they do not.

Finding Your Local Farmers Market

2007-08-05T23:44:00.001-07:00

A good source for finding your local farmers market is the department of agriculture for your state.

Demand Creates Supply

2007-07-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

We often hear on our tours how lucky we are to have an abundance of local foods. Our guests tell how they wish they could get local foods where they live. An important factor in having local foods available is local demand. If your local grocer believes that will lose customers if they do not carry local foods they may start to carry local foods to keep customers. Make it clear to your local grocer that you will shop at grocers that carry local foods and you may end up with local foods at your local grocer.

Imported Food

2007-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

According to USA Today, only 1.3% of the food imported into the U.S. is inspected. Frozen catfish from China, beans from Belgium, jalapenos from Peru, blackberries from Guatemala, baked goods from Canada, India and the Philippines — the list of tainted food detained at the border by the Food and Drug Administration is mind boggling. How can anyone ask the question about whether you should eat imported food, regardless of the price? There is an alternative. Make it clear to your local grocer that you will not buy imported foods. It is a simply reality, if they can't sell it, they won't carry it.

Creating Demand for Local Foods

2007-07-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

One of the important thing you can do to create demand for local produce is to continually ask your local stores to carry local produce and then make it clear that you will shop at stores in your area that carry local produce. If enough people in your area ask for local produce and your local stores believe that they will get more customers as a result, that can be very powerful incentive for them.

Bread with Feeling

2007-07-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan real bread, that is bread with feeling. If you're gotten bread from most grocery stores, that might sound bizarre. I realized that a couple years ago when I had bread in a grocery store and it was bland, lifeless thing that had been "Baked" in the store. It looked like bread; it felt like bread, however when I bite into it, it was like eating a white sponge. According to the store, it had been par baked, in other words, shipped to the store frozen and the put into the ovens frozen. The result was obvious, the yeast dies and the dough gets wet from freezing. Remember what happens when you add too much water to flour, paste. In other words, if you want bread with feeling, you need to go to a local bakery.

Does Eating Close to Home Apply Only to Farmrers Market

2007-07-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

Eating close to home also means buying close to home. In other words, when you buy your food from a local store you support your local community. When you purchase from a chain store owned outside your local community, you're supporting a corporation. Even on a personal level, you're supporting yourself. When you go to local butcher, they become your assistant. If you come to let then what you want to make, they can usually suggest which meat works best. And just like a local produce, they usually know where your food is from.

Organic Needs to Close to Home

2007-07-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

In my view, the term organic only means something when it is grown locally. Organically grown produce needs to grown in an area only when ground water, land, and other environmental factors are monitored by a government organization or independent firms that can be not only be trusted by can be properly overseen. In other words, if produce is "organically" grown overseas, you can only hope that proper oversight is occurring. The only way you'll know if it is not properly overseen will be is someone turns up ill and they can trace is back. If you live in Massachusetts, you want organically produce from Massachusetts: if you're from Michigan, you want from Michigan. If that is not available, at least make sure it from the U.S., if you live in the U.S., the U.K., if you live in the U.K, etc.

If other words, "organic", without oversight, doesn't mean anything.

Additional Farmers Market Resources

2007-07-19T23:59:00.000-07:00

In case you're trying to find some local farmers market near you, an excellent resource is the department of agriculture for your state. Go to the state government website. It is usually the www.{State Abbreviation].gov, such www.ca.gov for California, then go to the state department of agriculture, then look for farmers markets. It's worth checking out. You might be amazed about the great food available close to you.

Slow Food Movement

2007-07-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

If you have taken our tour, you're probably familiar with the emphasis we have for eating locally and seasonally. An excellent resource for this is www.slowfoodusa.org.

Slow Food USA is very involved in sustainable agriculture and supporting local agriculture. They also have ways to get in touch with your local slow food organization.