Eat with the Seasons: Summer Squash
WRITTEN BY CLAIRE CUDAHY
Zucchini, pattypan, cousa, zephyr, eight ball — these are just some of the delectable (and oddly named) summer squash you have to play around with in the kitchen this season.
This month, I caught up with three regional chefs to see how they are cooking up summer squash in their restaurants.
There are many varieties of summer squash to choose from at the farmers’ market.
Swap starch-heavy mashed potatoes for a lighter, caramelized zucchini purée, courtesy of chef Nicholas Hagman from Graeagle Meadows Restaurant. Try a bright and balanced pasta dish studded with squash, pecorino, and mint thanks to Calafuria’s chef Tim Magee. Or go full-on Southern with Homegrown Gastropub’s chef Sean P. Studds’ recipe for Fried Chicken Corn Bread Salad with Roasted Summer Squash.
Agrihoods: Your Farm to Your Table
PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features an event that has already passed.
COURTESY OF NEVADA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
Will community gardens supplant the clubhouse? Will fairway views fade into farmscapes, and the fast-rolling greens of the golf course become rows of kale, cabbage, and spinach?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, new housing in Northern Nevada almost required that there be a golf course winding amid the homes.
But in recent years, many millennials, baby boomers, and retirees are seeking out neighborhoods that have more direct relationships to the land and to local food as urban landscapes turn into fresh-food deserts. An increasingly popular subdivision design called an agrihood is helping to fulfill this desire to connect more closely with community, nature, and our food supply.
The Fourth Annual Nevada Economic Development Conference set for Aug. 20-22, 2018 at the Atlantis Casino & Resort in Reno, and edible Reno-Tahoe magazine is a media sponsor for the event. This year’s conference will feature a presentation entitled Agrihoods 2.0 as part of its popular Agribusiness sessions. It will highlight the Corley Ranch in Douglas County as well as other agrihood developments that have sprung up around the United States.
Truckee Thursday Celebrates a Decade of Summer
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUZIE DUNDAS
It’s well known that Truckee and the North Lake Tahoe area can get pretty crowded on a Friday or Saturday night — which may be why so many locals decide to celebrate summer midweek at Truckee Thursdays, held every week until August 23.
Starting around noon in Truckee every Thursday, the downtown area on Donner Pass Road closes to traffic. Barricades and tents go up, a stage is assembled, and food trucks start rolling in by mid-afternoon. The community event is open to the public from 5 to 8:30 p.m. every evening and offers live music, a large beer garden and food truck area, and plenty of local vendors and artisans sharing their crafts in the pedestrian-friendly area in front of Downtown Truckee’s Merchant’s Row.
Food-and-drink options are plentiful at Truckee Thursdays
Sierra Scoop
WRITTEN BY SUZIE DUNDAS
Warm, sunny days are back in Tahoe, and that means it’s the magical time of year when restaurants open their patios, decks, and outdoor bars, and when afternoons call for passing the time with a view of the lake and a cold drink in hand. Plenty of restaurants have rolled out exciting new summer cocktail menus. The creative team at West Shore Café, under the direction of executive chef Rob Wyss, recently rolled out their new summer-inspired drink menu. It includes light offerings perfect for slow sipping, such as the Cool Runnings, made with Flor de Caña Rum, cucumber-basil syrup, and lime. On the Nevada side, Lone Eagle Grille has introduced a new lakefront cocktail menu, with summer-appropriate and cleverly named drinks like the Keep Tahoe Brew, made with cold-brew coffee and agave nectar.
West Shore Café
5160 W. Lake Blvd, Homewood • Westshorecafe.com,
Lone Eagle Grille
111 Country Club Drive, Incline Village • LoneEagleGrille.com
Cool Runnings. Photo courtesy of West Shore Café
A fantastic meal
PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features an event that has already passed. Visit Artown’s website for future events.
Artown’s At The Illusionist’s Table features illusionist Scott Silven and culinary delights from Mark Estee.
WRITTEN BY KYLE YOUNG
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ARTOWN
July is just around the corner, and with it comes Artown, the month-long summer arts festival in Reno. This year, about 500 events by more than 100 organizations at nearly 100 locations citywide will be part of the festivities. Most events are free or inexpensive to attend. One event not to be missed is At The Illusionist’s Table, where food and magic will come alive at Liberty Food & Wine Exchange.
Scott Silven, world-renowned Scottish mentalist, has partnered with chef and restaurateur Mark Estee to deliver an evening full of illusion, mentalism, storytelling, a gourmet three-course meal, as well as a wine and scotch pairing.
A meal prepared by Chef Mark Estee is sure to please
From Favorite Recipes to Family Miracles
PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features an event that has already passed.
How Yelp’s Home Away from Home comfort-food block party supports guests of the Reno Ronald McDonald House.
WRITTEN BY RACHEL GATTUSO AND CAMIE YOKOTE
Rhondda Saunders’ first priority was her daughter, Ajia. The Bishop, Calif., teenager was involved in a car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury, requiring her to stay in the Renown Children’s Hospital ICU.
Rhondda didn’t have time to process the details of where she would stay and what she would eat and how the bills would get sorted. In what felt like minutes, she found herself in Reno with her critically injured daughter. Rhondda and Ajia’s story is a common one at Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada: a family with a medical tragedy who just needs a place to stay in order to tend to a child.
These stories are the reason behind Yelp’s Home Away from Home, a foodie block party at Toll Brothers Regency at Damonte Ranch on June 27 that features culinary treasures for attendees to discover while they make their way through the luxury model home park. Now in its second year, event organizers expect to welcome even more attendees than in 2017, thanks to a robust field of culinary partners and libation purveyors. Proceeds from the event support the charity’s work to keep families close during their children’s hospitalizations. But the best part is that the generosity of those involved makes this 21-and-older event free to attend. Organizers simply encourage a $20 donation be made at the door to help families who need the Reno Ronald McDonald House.
Tim Meevasin prepares paella at the Reno Ronald McDonald House for families
Eat with the Seasons: Peas
WRITTEN BY CLAIRE CUDAHY
Growing season is in full swing in Northern Nevada, and there is nothing quite like the connection you feel to your home state when you cook a meal made with fresh, seasonal produce pulled right from its dirt.
It’s June, which means beautiful plump peas are in season, so skip the freezer aisle and head straight for your neighborhood farmers’ market to find the good stuff.
Spring and early summer in Northern Nevada is when you’ll find delicious fresh peas at the market
Stella’s Taste and Listen dinner brings global tastes and sounds to the Sierra
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUZIE DUNDAS
To say that attending a pop-up dinner at Stella is “going to a restaurant” is a bit like saying “Lake Tahoe has nice views.” It’s not incorrect, but it hardly paints a full picture of the experience. And while it’s true you certainly won’t leave hungry (in fact, you’ll probably leave exceptionally full), attending a pop-up event is more than just going out to dinner. It’s socializing, tasting, and learning … and listening, when that dinner involves live music paired with each course, as it did at Stella’s recent Taste and Listen pop-up dinner to benefit Tahoe Trails & Vistas.
Guests mingle before dinner begins
5 Ways You Can Benefit From the Healing Power of Forest Bathing
PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features an event that has already passed. Visit Granlibakken’s website for future events.
WRITTEN BY ANNORA McGARRY
PHOTOS BY ANNORA McGARRY AND SJ MARKETING
At the Restorative Arts and Yoga Festival at Granlibakken Tahoe, Ashley Aarti Cooper will be leading a forest-bathing, or shinrin-yoku, hike through the abundant forests that surround Granlibakken Tahoe in North Lake Tahoe.
When you walk into the forest, do you see a city of trees? Or do you see an ecosystem teeming with life both observable and microscopic? What you might not recognize immediately is the healing power of the forest — as a place to foster deeper connections with your sense of self, the world at large, and Mother Earth to arrive at a harmonious state of physical and mental well-being.
10 Spots to Brunch on Mother’s Day in Reno-Tahoe
PLEASE NOTE: This blog post features events that have already passed.
WRITTEN BY CLAIRE CUDAHY
Roundabout Grill inside the Whitney Peak Hotel hosts a four-course brunch on Mother’s Day with creative menu items such as the Hawaiian French toast.
She gave birth to you, raised you, fed and clothed you … the least you can do is take Mom to brunch this Mother’s Day. Fortunately, these 10 Reno-Tahoe spots are serving up something special just for the occasion: