Romy Raves

If you asked the foodie in me, what my favorite category of food was, I would enthusiastically say seafood! Seafood is light, bright, briny and reminds me of the ocean, the place that brings me peace and calm. I adore gorgeous, fresh, perfectly prepared seafood and I definitely have a refined enough palate that allows me to discern good and bad seafood. However, even though I take my fish seriously, I had never really given much thought to the idea of sustainable seafood and the difference it can make in the quality and flavor of your fish. However, that all changed when I was recently invited to The Sustainable Seafood Summit hosted by Bluewater Grill in Redondo Beach, California. 

First, we were educated about exactly what sustainable seafood is: “Sustainable Seafood is seafood from either fished or farmed sources that can maintain or increase production in the future without jeopardizing the ecosystems from which it was acquired.” We learned that the sustainable seafood movement has recently gained momentum as more people become aware about both overfishing and environmentally-destructive fishing methods.

As we learned more, it became obvious to me that Bluewater Grill is a truly pioneer in the sustainable seafood movement because they are making a conscious effort to offer the most sustainable and gorgeous seafood currently available. According to the wonderfully passionate co-founder of Bluewater Grill, Jim Ulcickas, “Currently Bluewater Grill’s menu is 85% certified sustainable, by Aquarium of the Pacific or the Monterey Aquarium, but we won’t be satisfied until we reach 100%.” To further support this commitment, David Anderson, a leading sustainability expert, was also invited to speak with us and he was pleased to let us know that ”Bluewater Grill is the only restaurant that offers full sourcing disclosure on its extensive selection of fish and is committed toward solutions for our oceans.”

We continued to learn about the importance of sustainability through the eyes and palate of Bluewater Grill’s executive chef, Brian Hirsty, pictured below with some of the gorgeous fish we sampled at the Summit

Brian shared some very useful tips for buying, selecting and cooking your seafood that I am delighted to share with you:

• Know Where Your Fish Comes From: Make sure you buy your fish from a trustworthy source. “It all comes back to traceability. Where is your fish coming from?”
• Fresh Fish Should Glisten: “Fresh fish should have a translucent sheen and should bounce back when you touch it.” Signs of age are when your fish is black or gray.  
• Fresh Fish Should NOT Smell Fishy! If your fish smells fishy, it is not as fresh as it should be.
• The Secret to Perfectly Cooked Fish is: An internal temperature of 130-135 degrees when measured with a food thermomater. I was truly in awe of how flawlessly cooked each and every piece of fish we ate was, it totally maximized flavor and showcased the freshness of the fish.

After our minds were filled with important information about sustainability, it was time to fill our bellies. Look at this gorgeous side-by-side salmon tasting that I had the pleasure of becoming intimately acquainted with at the Summit:

Our salmon sampler from left to right included: Wild Sockeye, Wild King, Farmed BC Atlantic and Farmed BC king salmon. And yes it tasted as good as it looks! It was so insanely fresh tasting and perfectly cooked, I couldn’t believe it! And it was quite a treat to compare the different varieties next to each other. Honestly, there was something absolutely transcendent about eating this sustainable fish, like someone had put their heart and soul into selecting some of the best fish I have ever tasted. It was truly SUBLIME!

In addition to the salmon tasting, we also sampled a variety of fresh oysters, cajun swordfish, and Chilean Seabass that was equally delicious. We were also treated to some lovely wine pairings to compliment our seafood, and I chose to sip bubbly with all of my tastings because it truly complimented all the fish nicely. We ended our culinary adventure with the debut of Bluewater Grill’s Build-Your-Own Blue Ice Bloody Mary Bar. This fun inspiration gives customers a chance to create their own customized version of the famous all-day cocktail from among 25 unique ingredients and hot sauces from around the world. Yummy! 

This was such an enlightening experience that I highly recommend trying out this type of experience yourself by attending one of Bluewater Grill’s Monthly Seafood Tastings and Wine Pairing Events which are offered the second Monday of every month in Redondo Beach and the second Tuesday in Newport, Tustin and Phoenix. 

Disclosure: Bluewater Grill provided car service, sustainability education, seafood tastings, and wine pairings, but little did I know that my perception of seafood and where it is sourced from would forever be changed. 

Last month, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of dozen food and lifestyle bloggers to attend the first ever Dole Salad Summit in Monterey, California. What an amazing, enlightening, profound experience it was! We were invited to the headquarters of Dole Fresh Vegetables to spend a few days getting an up close look into the world of Dole salads and fresh-cut vegetables. We were given insider access to the growing fields and produce growers, the salad processing plant, the product development experts, the marketing team and even some intimate face time with the down to earth President of Dole Fresh Vegetables, Ray De Riggi. Plus we were also going to be wined and dined and have the opportunity to explore the beautiful sights of the Monterey Peninsula. I was excited to have such a unique opportunity, but little did I know that this trip would dramatically alter my perspective on lettuce, bagged salads and how vegetables are grown, harvested and processed. 

We were flown up to gorgeous Monterey and hosted at The Clement Monterey, a luxurious Intercontinental Hotel property right on the water. This was the view from my room, so I knew I was off to an amazing start

And I just had to sneak in a beachfront walk too, just look at these spectacular picturesque views, like paintings in nature

After settling into my room, I joined a handful of other amazing influential bloggers along with the Dole team for a cocktail reception on the waterfront. These bloggers included a mix of some of the most talented and intriguing bloggers in the food and lifestyle space. Here is a glimpse of these phenomenal women who are hugely passionate about food and definitely worth following 

From the left: Me, Cheryl of Tidy Mom, Kristen of Dine & Dish, Maggy of Three Many Cooks, Debra of Smith Bites and Shanna of My Favorite Everything

After sipping our cocktails and getting to know one another, we walked over to the Sardine Factory (a classic Monterey restaurant) for the first of many memorable meals and experiences. I ended up sitting across from Gil Oetzel, the Director of New Product Development for Dole Fresh Vegetables. It was incredible to hear him speak with such enthusiasm and passion about lettuce, creating new products and Dole’s commitment to growing fabulous vegetables. Three memorable things that I learned from Gil that evening were: that Salinas/Monterey is known as the ’Salad Bowl’ of the US and that the majority of all of our fresh lettuce is grown there; second, Dole’s salad bags have been developed with different porosity’s because different types of lettuce breathe differently; and last, the Dole Salad processing plant has such amazing state-fo-the-art washing equipment to clean their lettuce and that we (consumers) are far more likely to introduce bacteria onto our lettuce by washing it at home.  

And after being served this insanely picturesque, vibrant and ridiculously fresh tasty salad with Candied Garlic Dressing (totally addictive!) at the Sardine Factory (I don’t think you can tell by the picture but this salad was wrapped in a thin slice of cucumber to hold it all together), it was becoming rather obvious to me that they take their lettuce rather seriously in this part of the country.

The next morning began this colorful and tasty trio called the Dole Power Vegetable Breakfast which included a Berry Stuffed French Toast Panini, Field Greens & Mushroom Breakfast Frittata, Dole Broccoli Slaw & Garlic Quiche and Mimi’s Green Energizing Drink. It was tasty and a great way for foodies to start the day.

Next, it was off to the headquarters of Dole Fresh Vegetables to meet with Ray and his key executives and learn all about their latest products and healthy lifestyle initiatives. Dole has recently embarked on a company wide commitment to increase the nutritional health of Americans  by utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and partnering with food enthusiasts to help spread about the benefits of eating healthier. I loved the passion that came from Ray and his team, I enjoyed our roundtable sharing about the latest food and nutrition trends bloggers are seeing and it was great to learn about how Dole creates their products in order to make healthy eating simple and inspiring to consumers. It was also fun to sample some of Dole’s newest salad kits like Spinach Cherry Almond Bleu and Endless Summer.

Next, it was off to one of the most transcendent lunches I have ever had at La Bicyclette in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Behold, the vibrantly gorgeous La Bicyclette Spring Salad with the Dole Spring Mix blend with baby beets, mandarin oranges from San Jose and goat cheese from Palo Colorado National Forest, each delectable flavor did a dance in my mouth

The salad was followed by Risotto Giovanni, a Nantes Carrot Risotto with Truffle Marinated Artichoke. The vibrant orange color, the truffled chokes and real carrot flavor made this dish a Hall-of-Fame-Makes-Me-Weepy-It’s-That-Good kind of a dish

Here is a picture right in front of La Bicyclette with the majority of all of the amazing bloggers on this trip

Top Left: Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen, Kathy of The Lunchbox Bunch,  Me, Shanna, Kristen, Debra and Jaden of Steamy Kitchen. Bottom Left: Dana of Fit Celeb, Cheryl and Maggy.

After this divine lunch, we went out to the Dole Growing Fields to meet the growers and farm workers. It was amazing to see how passionate and proud these growers were, how genuinely happy the farm workers were, how much pride they all took in their work and how Dole takes it’s farming practices very seriously and uses minimal pesticides to grow their produce. I think these pictures truly capture how it felt to be out in the fields

Our last stop of the day was at the Dole Processing Plant, where we got to see the amazing equipment and systems that Dole has developed for processing vegetables to ensure it arrives at the stores fresh, fast and contaminant free, very impressive (no pics allowed!) We ended our visit in the product development lab with Gil and participated in a fun little Lettuce 101 course to see how many lettuce types we could identify correctly out of about 30 varieties, not an easy task!

But at the end of the day, I am happy to say that I was a proud graduate of Dole Salad University Lettuce 101

However, most importantly of all, I was delighted to learn that Dole is a company with heart, passion and a commitment to making clean, fresh and healthy salads for us to enjoy. I will never look at a bag of lettuce the same way again because now I know all that goes into making it fresh, tasty & healthy!

To stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest from Dole Fresh Vegetables you can follow them on Twitter @DoleSaladGuide and on Facebook Dole Salad Guide

Disclosure: Dole Fresh Vegetables invited me to Monterey to visit their headquarters, fields and processing plant. They provided all of my transportation, two nights of accommodations and meals. All of my opinions and thoughts are my own.

Greetings My Beauties! Sorry I have be remiss in writing regular posts lately, but as you know I have been traveling for most of the summer, plus I have the little guy home for an extra week (Thank You LAUSD Budget Cuts!) which definitely makes it hard to stay focused and write. In addition, tonight is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and I have been busy cooking and prepping for our yummy dinner. I thought you might enjoy sampling a couple of new tasty holiday recipes, whether you celebrate or not. Below are some new holiday recipes that I am testing out, let me know what you think.

Honey Cake This is a warm brown colored cake sweetened with honey and the perfect hint of spice. It’s yummy, warm and comforting. It is often eaten as dessert during the New Year festivities. FYI-I made this cake this AM and even though I sprayed generously it stuck to my fancy Star of David pan, and my wonderful hubby and son decided to make another one before I got home so I wouldn’t be upset (isn’t that sweet of them ), but low and behold, it stuck again! Well now, we have TWO, not so pretty but super yummy honey cakes, guess its gonna be an extra sweet, but not perfect New Year? 

1   Box Yellow Cake Mix

1/2   Cup Honey

1   Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2   Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/4   Teaspoon Ginger

2   Tablespoons Oil

3   Eggs

1   Cup Coffee

Mix all of the above ingredients together thoroughly, pour into a bundt pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Yummy Apple Noodle Kugel I describe kugel as a the Jewish comfort food akin to the all American Mac ‘n Cheese. A kugel is typically a casserole of noodles, eggs and sometimes sweet and other times savory additions. Below is a recipe for a sweet kugel, that is super easy, tasty and the perfect representation of apples and honey for a sweet new year. Kids love this one. Word of warning: kugels are yummy but dense and filling, so beware

1   Package of Wide Egg Noodles

4   Eggs, beaten

1   Cup Sugar

3/4   Stick Butter, melted/softened

1   Can Comstock Apple Pie Filling, diced into small pieces

1  Tablespoon Cinnamon

2  Teaspoons Vanilla

Raisins, if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Boil noodles per package. Combine drained noodles with the rest of the ingredients and pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

Eat and Enjoy!

And to those of you that celebrate, Here’s to a Sweet, Spectacular, Healthy and Properous New Year!