Richmond Summer Food Festivals 2012

Every year, I've posted a list of some our city's greatest summer food festivals.  This year, I wasn't going to do it because they are pretty much around the same time every year.  Well, I've changed my mind.  Of course, a handful of the festivals have already passed, but we still have much more to come.  Check them out and tell me how it goes!

Shockoe Bottom Jazz Festival

http://shockoejazzfest.com/

May 27 - 11AM

35th Annual Greek Food Festival 

http://www.greekfestival.com/

Thurs May 31 - 11 AM to 9:30 PM

Friday June 1 - 11AM - 10PM

Saturday June 2 - 11A - 10PM

Sunday June 3 - 12 PM - 7PM

Stone Soul Music and Food Festival

http://events.richmond.com/richmond_va/events/show/252204344-stone-soul-music-food-festival

June 2 2PM

Broad Appetit

http://broadappetit.com/

June 3, 2012

10th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival

http://www.veggiefest.org/

June 23 - 12PM - 6PM

Richmond Watermelon Festival

http://www.carytownrva.org/watermelon.php

Sunday Aug 5, 2012

7th Annual Filipino Food Festival  (funds go toward establishing Lakeside Free Clinic and various existing local charities)

http://www.filipinofestival.org/

Aug 10-11

Carib Culture Unity Festival 

http://islandventurerichmondva.com/

aug 25, 2012

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Here are some of the things that I love to keep around to add a little extra punch to my food or to serve as the basis for a quick, easy-to-prepare meal.

1. Jowl Bacon
The sweetness of this particular bacon is delightful against the saltiness typical of bacon.  The crunch and sweet saltiness give great depth and textural variety to a number of dishes from pastas to rices to chicken dishes, veggies, and of course breakfast foods.  Although I'm not at all one to sit down to a breakfast plate and eat a whole slice of bacon on its own, it's nice to use a slice or two of chopped jowl bacon to flavor a dish.

2. Coconut Milk 
Creamy coconut adds an unrivaled delightful velvety richness to both sweet and savory dishes.  My favorite dishes to add coconut milk to are rice dishes, stews, and desserts.  Coconut milk works especially well with rice and beans and SE Asian or West Indian braised and stewed meats.

For savory rice dishes, a TB or two of powdered coconut milk works just as well as the fresh stuff and is much more convenient.  Otherwise, using fresh coconut milk for 1/4-1/2 of the liquid in a rice dish lends great depth and deliciousness.  For sweet rice dishes, fresh coconut milk adds a wonderful richness to make sweet flavors pop and to give them more dimension.

3. Jasmine Rice
Fragrant jasmine rice has a wonderfully soothing scent and a mildly sweet flavor.  It is my preferred rice to steam plain and serve on the side of a meal and my favorite rice for mixed meat and rice dishes such as Haitian rice and beans and Dominican locrio (a dish of meat and rice cooked together).  Of all of the medium to long grain rice, jasmine is my favorite for sweet rice dishes such as rice pudding or arroz con leche as well.

Another great thing about keeping rice around in general is that you can have a delicious and nutritious meal ready in just 30 minutes by adding in canned or frozen veggies and meat along with your seasoned rice.  Also, you can also use raw rice as a thickening agent.  Just soak a palmful rice in enough water to cover it while you prepare a soup; put the soaked rice and water in the blender, strain it, and you've got some old school thickener.  Works much like corn starch would.

4. Canned Tomato Products (tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes)
Canned tomato products are great to keep around for throwing together quick dishes, making speedy sauces, and for adding extra zing to savory rice dishes.  I actually have an entire shelf in my cabinet that is nothing but tomato products.  I keep whole tomatoes, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes around for making marinara or other pasta sauces and I also use 1-2TB of tomato paste in rice dishes (per 1c of raw dish).  I love to keep diced tomatoes around for soups or to mix into rice or pasta.  I also keep whole tomatoes around to slice up for braised meats or other dishes since store-bought fresh tomatoes have become both pricey and lacking in flavor.

5. Homemade chicken stock
Sometimes when I'm having a lazy day I just end up buying a roasted chicken from the grocery store (preferably Sam's Club, yum!).  Once I've eaten the chicken, I put the carcas in the crockpot with onions, garlic, veggies, herbs, and other seasonings until the bones become soft, about 8 hours or so on low.  Just let it do its thing while you're asleep or at work.  Once it's ready, you just strain the broth and enjoy.  I love to freeze the leftover stock in freezer bags in 1 or 2 cup portions.  Then I just pull out the stock to make soups or to use as the liquid for rices. It's so convenient and tastes so much better than store bought stock or broth.

This Summer's Festival Line-Up!!

Any good Richmonder knows that the best part of living in this city has to be the amazing variety of festivals we have, especially in the summer.  Richmond's festivals are a great chance to explore new cuisines, learn about different cultures, buy some cool handicrafts, and enjoy some great music and dance performances.  Although it's been a while since I've lived full-time in Richmond, I always get super excited about filling up my calendar with festival dates!

I've checked out a couple, but I definitely have a lot more to see.  Somehow I always end up missing the Filipino Festival, but this year, I am going to make absolutely sure that I make it there.  Who can say know to lechon and halo halo?  Not me!  Lechon is one of my favorite foods, so I just have to try it Filipino-style.

So here's the rest of this year's amazing line-up!

Church Hill Irish Festival - tomorrow (Mar 25th) and Sunday, rain or shine! http://www.churchhillirishfestival.com/

French Food Festival - Apr 30
http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/

Lebanese Food Festival - May 13-15
http://stanthonymaronitechurch.org/festival/index.htm

Greek Food Festival - May 20-22
http://greekfoodfest.com/

Broad Appetit - June 5th
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76385860964

St. Joseph's Italian Festival - June 11th
http://events.richmond.com/richmond-va/venues/show/3326565-saint-joseph-italian-festival

Filipino Festival - August 12th and 13th http://filipinofestival.org/  Last year, they even had a drive-thru!

Festival of India - no date set this year; normally in Sept
http://thefestivalofindia.org/home.asp

Que Pasa Festival - Oct 1
http://www.vahcc.com/?page=quepasa

Imagine Festival - Oct 8
http://www.richmondgov.com/

St. Benedict Oktoberfest - Oct 16-18
http://www.stbenedictoktoberfest.com/

Richmond Oktoberfest - October 21-22
http://www.richmondoktoberfestinc.com/


Festivals Nearby
DC National BBQ Battle - June 25-26
DC Caribbean Carnival - June 25-26 (admission $10)

Dominican Seafood and Dumplings in Coconut Sauce

As far as Dominican food goes, it's easy to believe that such a small island has a homogeneous national cuisine.  In fact, to think that actually is partially correct. There is a basic sazon (seasoning) that is used all over the country and a huge shared repertoire of braised meats, casseroles, soups, and stews.  However, if you take a closer look, there are some important regional variations.

The Cibao Valley region is known for its heavy use of plantains.  In the Southwest, near the border, there is more Haitian influence, so food tends to be somewhat spicy, whereas traditional Dominican food is anything but spicy.  In the capital, there are many more immigrants, so beloved dishes such as quipe (the Dominican version of kibbeh), and tipili (Tabbouleh) from Lebanese immigrants, as well as chofan (chow fan) from the Chinese immigrants first entered the Dominican kitchen there and are now enjoyed all over the nation.

Finally, in the East, where there is the highest concentration of sugar plantations, there is much more West Indian influence from the cocolos (West Indian immigrants) who came to cut sugar cane before the cane cutting labor force became primarily Haitian in the mid 1900s.  There is also more Haitian influence for the same reason.  As a result, there is a greater use of flour preparations, such as dumplings being added into sancocho (as they are in similar Haitian dishes) and full dumpling-based dishes (such as domplines ahogados) as well as johnny cakes, or yaniqueques from the West Indian influence.

In Samana, West Indian-influenced favorites include ginger beer and conconete (sweet spiced coconut bread rounds) in addition to yaniqueques.   Samana (in the east), because it hasan abundance of coconut trees, and I believe the highest concentration of coconut trees in the world, is famous for dishes using coconut milk.  Among these dishes is  their famous pescado con coco or fish in coconut sauce (see past post), which has become beloved all over the nation.

So, as I was looking up information about the Southwest, I came across a recipe from the region. The recipe was for something I'd never had before, domplines sancristobaleros (San Cristobal style dumplings) or Domplin de PicaPica (picapica is the name for sardines sold in a spicy tomato sauce). These dumplings are in finger-like oblong shapes and are added to a stew of shrimp, sardines in tomato sauce, corn, coconut milk, and Dominican sazon.  Dominican sazon consists of about a 1:2 ratio of parsley to cilantro, along with onion, garlic, cubanelle pepper, oregano, tomato paste, and sometimes celery and/or celery leaf.

End result--a rich, lightly creamy, flavorful broth with tender seafood and dumplings.

This recipe was adapted from:
http://es-es.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=137750072935213 (you can find a photo here as well)

Domplines de PicaPica

Ingredients for Stew:
1 smoked pork chop, cubed
4 cans of sardines in tomato sauce (I prefer without bones, if possible, otherwise, you can opt to leave the bones or carefully remove by hand)
1 lb of shrimp
1/4 cup or just over of diced onion
1/3 cup or so of finely diced cubanelle pepper

half a habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (Since pica pica is not easily found in the US, we have to make it spicy ourselves)

3 or 4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp chopped parlsey

1/2 to 3/4 can of corn (or get the half size can), drained

1 can of coconut milk

2/3 - 3/4 cup of water
1 TB fresh lime juice
a pinch of oregano (less than 1/8 tsp)

salt 

pepper

Dumplings
1 Cup of flour
warm water (or you could use milk, but that's not the traditional way) to form dumplilng dough
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional--traditionally, Dominican dumplings are harder than American, but I prefer more tender ones and baking powder helps with this)
salt
oil (butter would likely make them even more tender, but oil is traditional)

Water for Boiling Dumplings
2-3 cloves of garlic, slice in half or smashed
5 sprigs of cilantro
salt
oil

Directions:
Bring to a boil a pot of water with cilantro, garlic, salt, and oil.  Meanwhile, mix 1 cup of flour with water, oil, salt, and baking powder.  Drop the dumplings into the seasoned boiling water, stirring occasionally.  Let boil until they rise to the surface.  Remove from the water and set aside.

Sautee the onions and peppers, salted, over medium low heat until translucent.  Add in the garlic and herbs and sautee for about 20-30 seconds.  Sometimes I like to add 2/3 of the herbs in now and add the rest just before adding the coconut milk.

Add in the cubed smoked pork chop and sautee a bit for it to pick up the flavor of the sazon.  Add in the corn and lime and sautee until it has a chance to absorb the flavors.  Add in the water and the shrimp and sautee until almost cooked.

Add in the habanero pepper, four cans of sardines, with the tomato sauce they are canned in.  Remove some of ingredients from the stew (preferably the shrimp so they don't overcook) to make room for the coconut milk to be distributed.  Add in the coconut milk and gently blend it in.

Add in the reserved dumplings and let the dish sautee a bit so that the flavors blend.

Taste for salt and pepper and enjoy!  Serve with tostones (twice fried green plantains--if you are clueless on this, comment and I'll help) and a slice of lime to squeeze over the top.

*Maps are the property of lonelyplanet.com

What You Probably Didn't Know about Food

Have you ever met someone who trusts in everything and everyone, even when they haven't earned their trust? What about the person who trusts even when their trust has been blatantly disrespected and taken for granted time and time again? Ugh, you can't stand people like that, right? But wait, are you that person when it comes to what you put into your body every day? I want to talk about a few commonly-ignored realities about everyday foods and I'll let you decide for yourself if maybe you're a lot more like that person I talked about than you realized.

Ok, so I am a huge cereal lover! When I say huge, I mean it! I sometimes have cereal for breakfast, snacks, and dinner and I have been known to eat it anywhere from 2 to as many as 6 times a day. Well, if I'm eating cereals that are high in whole grains and lower in sugar and I eat them with fresh fruit such as bananas and strawberries, that's good, right? Well, I would say so.

What if I told you that I don't drink soda, I almost never eat chips, and I buy chips for my house even less often than that? Well, I am avoiding a lot of unncessary intake of sugar and HF corn syrup since I don't drink soda and cutting out a lot of fat and sodium by avoiding chips. If you said that, you'd be only partially correct.

The fact about pre-packaged food is that it often has a fairly high sodium content, regardless of whether they taste salty or not. Sodium is used to extend shelf life but, as we know, certain health conditions, such as hypertension require a close watch on sodium intake. What would you say if I told you that the cereal I have in my cabinet right now, Kellogg's Roasted Nut and Honey Crunchy Nut Cereal (mmm, yummy! It's new:) has just as much sodium as the Tostitos Scoops I also have? Well, it's true. They both have 120 mg of sodium and those Scoops are dang salty, too much so for me, in fact. What would you say if I told you that my favorite cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios, has even more sodium than that at 160 mg per serving? Again, although a bit counterintuitive since you don't taste saltiness in your Cheerios, it's true.

I hear you already "DF, you're crazy! You chose all of the cereals with nuts. Of course they have more sodium." Nope, what about the fact that corn pops have 110 mg of sodium, Honey Bunches of Oats have 150 mg and HoneyComb has 215, yes 215 mg of sodium? This is just the way it is. If you don't read the labels on your food, you will never know. The labels are there for a reason.

So what am I trying to say here, that you should never ever eat cereal again? That I should also give up cereal (fat chance!) since I gave up chips and they have the same amount of sodium? Not at all. The point here is, don't allow yourself to be passive about what you put into your body. Read the labels and be informed. That doesn't mean that once you find out all of the stuff in your food that you should freak out, become a farmer, and never eat anything from a store again. Be smart and pick your battles. Balance your diet and don't eat anything in excess. I chose to give up chips, but I eat as much cereal as I please. I'm okay with that. You have to figure out what works best for you.

I started off with the cereal example because it is something that is a very commonly-ignored and somewhat counterintuitive example. However, there are many many more examples, and I'd like to point out a few of the main culprits.

One of the trendy diet changes for the health conscious is the incorporation of milk substitutes such as almond and soy milk. I went through my stages with both of these for health reasons and, I must admit, almond milk is actually pretty tasty. However, both of these are fairly high in sodium. Below are some stats for you to take a look at.

Silk Almond Milk - 150 mg of sodium

Unsweetended Blue Diamond Almond Milk - 180 mg of sodium

Silk Chocolate Soy Milk - 140 mg of sodium

Silk Vanilla Soy Milk - 95 mg of sodium

"Okay, DF, but I really don't care because I don't follow food trends, so I don't eat that crap anyway." I hear you... Well, now let's talk about some things that I bet you do eat. You know that Campbell's cream of blah blah blah that your mom or grandma puts in everything? How about the store-bought chicken broth she adds to everything else? Guess what? If it doesn't specifically say "no msg," there is above a 90% chance that it contains msg. I can tell you for a fact that when Campbell's says "lower in sodium" or "reduced sodium" it's often because everything else has msg. The same is true of shelf-ready chicken broth (can or carton). Swanson, however, is one commonly-sold brand that does not contain msg.

Continuing on the msg road, most spice blends contain msg if they do not say "no msg." So what that means is that your Asian spice blends, your Latin spice blends, and even your American stuff, such as accent often contain msg unless otherwise specified. In fact, I found a bottle of Accent in my mom's cabinet once and the sole ingredient was MSG :/. However, spice blends such as Goya's Adobo as well as most, if not all Lobo brand Asian seasoning do NOT contain MSG.

What about Chinese restaurants? Those who know about msg know that Chinese restaurants are famous for using it. So what do you do? You ask for them to prepare yours without msg, right? Wrong! Although they may mean well and say "ok, we can do that," cooks and restaurateurs at not only Chinese, but also other East Asian and SE Asian restaurants (THAI! You Thai-food-loving Richmonder, you!) cannot always have full control over this. Many commonly-used sauces such as soy sauce and oyster sauce often contain msg. If your local restaurant is using a brand that contains msg, which is a high possibility, guess what, your food still has msg. So, just be cognizant of this when you are making dietary decisions. Again, always read your labels (when they are there...occasionally some imports, especially some SE Asian ones, do not have them).

So who cares if my seasoning has MSG, right? Well, MSG is a man-made form of sodium that can affect different bodies in different ways. It is known to cause sudden and substantial spikes in blood pressure, mild headaches, and migraines. I can speak for myself that it gives me headaches and even migraines and who knows what is going on to cause that. The bottom line here is, be aware of what contains msg and avoid it when you can. If you occasionally use some spice blends or sauces that contain it, don't freak out, just use them in moderation.

Here's another one. Do you use soy sauce? Be careful because the last time I went to buy a bottle of soy sauce, I realized that some brands do NOT even contain soy : /. Not to mention, for those with gluten allergies, soy sauces almost always contain gluten.  Read the labels when you buy your soy sauce and make sure that soy is actually in the ingredients list. Otherwise...gross!!!

Lastly, this is especially for all of the vegetarians and vegans. If you love yogurt like I do, here's something you should know. Most American brands of yogurt, unfortunately, contain gelatin (as well as yucky-tasting artificial sweeteners). Gelatin comes from animals...I won't get into how or where, but if you can't eat meat, you can't eat gelatin. Just let it suffice to say that. A nice alternative is Indian yogurt, or dahi, which you can find at your local Indian supermarket. It is delicious, creamier, less sour, and contains neither gelatin nor artificial sweeteners, so it's a win win.

The point of all of this is that you cannot rely solely on the FDA. Do not expect the FDA to be some superhero defender of your well-being. Those people have their own interests, some wholesome and sincere, others more self-interested. At the end of the day, you are the one who puts the food in your mouth, not the FDA, so it is your responsibility to know what you are ingesting and how it affects your own body.

I know this may have been a bit much to take in, but I hope you found at least some of it useful. Let me know your thoughts :).

Hugs,

DF

Check out my reviews on yelp!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to invite you to check out my reviews on yelp. I have some for Richmond, N. VA, DC/Silver Springs, NYC, and, of course, Miami. Check me out at HKristen.yelp.com.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with yelp, it's pretty much a foodie's paradise! People reviews restaurants they've been to, so it's great if you need help finding a new place to try or finding somewhere to eat before going out-of-town. It's great because there are nice features like a Talk forum (which can be found on the top bar) and many features that make it a hybrid that combines social networking in the mix as well. That means that people create profiles (nothing long or cheesy, just a few basics and a couple quirky questions), add friends, and send private messages. I say it kills facebook any day! Plus...they have EVENTS! Awesome! I hear they are amazing! I'll post if i get to go to the one I RSVPd for in Brickell Key in Miami. We shall see what happens!

Richmond Summer Food Festivals!!

Summer festivals that have already passed:

Asian-American Festival April 27

A Taste of India (tasteofindiahr.org)

25th Annual Lebanese Food Festival
Location: St. Anthony Maronite Church
4611 Sadler Road
Glen Allen, VA 23060
When: May 15-17 10a-10p
More info: http://www.stanthonymaronitechurch.org/
What?: Lots of great home-made Lebanese food (shwarma's, stuffed grape leaves, meat pies, and more!), Lebanese treats, cook books, products from Lebanon for sale, cultural performances
Cost: free entry, parking, and performances, buy food from vendors

33rd Annual Greek Festival
What: cultural performances, Greek jewelry, rugs, and knick-knacks for sale,
cathedral tours, and huge menu of Greek food (more than just souvlaki,
spanakopita, and dolmades)with drive-thru from 11a to dusk daily.

When: May 28-31
Thursday May 28: 11:00am - 9:30pm
Friday May 29: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Saturday May 30: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Sunday May 31: 12:00pm - 7:00p
Where:30 Malvern Ave
Cost: free and purchase food
Payment methods accepted: cash, checks, master, and visa
More info: http://www.greekfestival.com/33/

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival
What: and I quote: It's a full day, as they say, of "beer sippin', bourbon tastin', music listenin', cigar smokin' and barbeque eatin.'"
When: Saturday May 31 noon to 6p
cost: starting at $25, 12 and under free
Where: Richmond Raceway Complex
More info: 800-830-3976

Stone Soul Music and Food Festival
Location: Brown's Island
Performers: Gospel and R&B artists such as God's Image, SOS Band, James Fortune, Case, Trey Songz, Eric Benet, Twista, Joe, and many more!
Food: Soul Food!!
Food Vendors: None other than Hawk's BBQ and Croaker's Spot, my friends, among others
Cost: $20 in advance ***Corrections on ticket locations***(buy at DTLR, BK music, or Praise 104.7 radio station
More info: http://rope.wpzz-fm.fimc.net/StoneSoul/HOME.html

Broad Appetit Festival
When: June 7
What: sample food from 25 of Richmond's hottest chefs! Great food, culinary artists, and traditional art
Where: Broad St between Monroe and Adams streets
Cost: free admission, purchase food
Vendors: Savor, Strawberry St Cafe, 1 North Belmont, and more!
More info: broadappetit.com

Saint Joseph Italian Festival
Saturday and Sunday June 13th and 14th
Location: 828 Buford Road, 23235
When: 11a - 8p
What: food, history, music, and cultural performances
Cost: free entry, purchase food
More info: http://www.wegoplaces.com/Event_155388.aspx

Richmond Vegetarian Festival
what: food, music, local businesses, and fun for whole family
When: Saturday June 21 noon to 6p
Rain date July 11
Where: Azalea gardens at Bryan Park
Cost: free entry, buy food
More info:veggiefest.org

4th Annual Filipino Festival
August 8, 2009 10a- 8p with drive-thru from 11a to 6p
Location: Our Lady of Lourdes Church
8200 Woodman Road, 23228
What: food and cultural performances!
Food: lechon (roast pig), lumpia (eggrolls), and more!
More info: http://filipinofestival.org/

Carytown Watermelon Festival
When: Sunday August 9th, 2009 10a - 6p
Where: Carytown in Richmond, VA
Estimated Attendance: 100,000 +
cost: free (i am pretty sure)and purchase food from vendors

Bonus suggestion:

Safeway 17th Annual BBQ Battle in DC
What: National BBQ championship
When: June 27 11a-9p, June 28 11a-7:30p
Where: Pennsylvania Ave in DC
Admission: $10, $5 kids 6-12, under 5 free
Why?: Tons of BBQ! Battle to be National Pork BBQ Champion
More Info: http://bbqdc.com/learnmore.htm

DC Caribbean Carnival
What: tons of concerts from famous performers, huge Caribbean parade, lots of food and dancing, tons of parties the whole weekend all over the DC and Maryland area
When: June 27 and 28
Where: Washington, DC
Admission: $10
More info: http://www.dccaribbeancarnival.org/default2.html