FOOD MATTERS
No, it's not fall but Texas apples arrive in markets
Local dairy wins national cheese awards, flip-flop rice treats, fundraisers
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Get your pick of all the apples that abound during summer in Texas
The seasonal association for fresh-picked apples is fall. But not in Texas. Our apple harvest starts in summer, July even, and is said to be the earliest in the country. That's why you see boxes and baskets of crisp Galas showing up at our farmers' markets, as well as some fresh-squeezed cider. Bat Creek Farm of Bertram, which sells at the Wednesday and Saturday Austin Farmers' Markets, says Molly Delicious apples will be coming in the next few weeks and Pink Lady in October. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, most of the state's apples are grown in the South Plains around Lubbock and also along the border of Texas and New Mexico.
Area food fundraisers have peaches, ice cream
If you have not had your fill this season, the Northwest Kiwanis Club peach sale will bring in a truckload of gift-quality fruit Friday and Saturday. Generally, this annual fundraiser features Texas peaches, but weather harmed its growers so much that the club had to go to Colorado for this year's sale. While most of the boxes go to customers who have pre-ordered, about 200 boxes will be for sale. A 22-pound box of the freestone peaches is $32 and can be purchased from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Chuck E. Cheese's, 8038 Burnet Road. ... In another food fundraiser, you can check out Austin's Ice Cream Festival from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Waterloo Park. Admission is free, and the fest will feature ice cream from Amy's, Coldstone Creamery, Ben & Jerry's and Stonyfield Farm. There will be music, games, activities ($1 tickets) and a drawing for an iPhone. Sponsors are Amplify Federal Credit Union and Whole Foods Market, with a portion of proceeds going to La Leche League, Habibi's Hutch and the Austin Children's Shelter. ...Share Our Strength hosts its annual Taste of the Nation from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Four Seasons Hotel. More than two dozen of Austin and San Antonio's top chefs will serve tastes of their specialties from individual stations. Tickets — advance (448-2801) or at the door — are $75, with proceeds benefiting the nonprofit childhood hunger program in Central Texas and the U.S.
Dripping Springs dairy's goat cheese takes prizes
Pure Luck Grade A Goat Dairy has returned from the American Cheese Society's annual competition with three more national awards. It won blue ribbons for its Del Cielo, a soft ripened Camembert-style cheese, and for its basket-molded red pepper-coated chèvre. It tied for third with its Hopelessly Bleu (veined) goat cheese, which won the blue ribbon last year. In the past 10 years, this small Dripping Springs dairy, founded by Denny and the late Sara Bolton, has won more than 30 medals and ribbons for its cheeses. Their daughter Amelia Sweethardt is the cheese maker, and the products are sold at Boggy Creek Farm, Wheatsville Co-Op, Central Market, Whole Foods Market, Timpone's and the Arnosky Family Farm Stand.
Tuscan-style eatery arrives in Driftwood
Trattoria Lisina, Damian Mandola's latest restaurant, was set to open to the public Tuesday night. The Tuscan-style eatery is at the Mandola Estate Winery and Vineyard, 13308 FM 150 in Driftwood (about two miles away from the Salt Lick restaurant). A large place, it seats 120 inside and 80 outside on the misted patio. Inside Trattoria Lisina, guests can watch chefs in the long open kitchen prepare everything from sausage and red pepper-topped pizza to cannelloni Lisini, from braised oxtail to Italian doughnuts. Outside, they have a view of the vineyards. Mandola, a former Houston powerhouse restaurateur, is the founder of Mandola's Italian Market in Austin. His wife, Trina, is a partner in the restaurant, as are Stan and Lisa Duchman of Houston. Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. No reservations. Directions available at mandolawines.com.
