Resort at Squaw Creek is hosting three Farm to Tahoe dinners starting May 24 at 7pm.

Each dinner will be served community-style in Six Peaks Grille. Guests will be treated to a variety of dishes from the culinary team at Resort at Squaw Creek, with menu items sourced direct from local farms, as well as by Tahoe Food Hub, Produce Plus, and other local purveyors of regional produce. Each course also will be paired with a 2 ounce wine tasting from a Northern California winery presented by the winemaker.

Additional dinners are July 5 and Aug. 30.

A different menu will be featured each evening. Each dinner is $80/person or $215/person for all three. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 530.583.6300.

Resort at Squaw Creek’s Farm to Tahoe series is part of the Study of the Seasons culinary initiative by Destination Hotels & Resorts.

By Michael Roppolo, CBS News

A report by a consumer watchdog group says a shocking amount of sugar is packed into children’s breakfast cereals. Eating a bowl of kids’ cereal every day would add up to consuming the equivalent of 10 pounds of sugar a year, according to the report by the Environmental Working Group.

“Breakfast cereals are the single greatest source of added sugars in the diets of children under the age of eight,” said nutritionist and EWG consultant Dawn Undurraga, co-author of the report which looked at 181 cereals marketed for children.

Recent research has shown that there has been some progress in reducing obesity rates in young children, but for all other age groups there has been little sign of improvement. One of the reasons for the lack of progress may be due to the high amounts of sugar that Americans consume — far more than the commonly recommended amount of 10 to 15 percent of total calorie intake. In March, the World Health Organization lowered sugar intake recommendations to less than 5 percent.

Read the whole story

By Sarah Klein, Huffington Post

Although long considered a veritable silver bullet when it comes to preventing health problems, a new study calls into question the superpowers of the antioxidant resveratrol.

According to the recent research, diets high in the compound — found in red wine, grapes and chocolate — showed no significant decrease in heart disease, cancer or death.

To examine the long-term impact of resveratrol, researchers looked to the longitudinal “Aging in the Chianti Region” study. They examined the compound’s presence in urine samples from 783 healthy men and women, 65 years old or older, living in two Italian villages within the Chianti region. The researchers were confident that their measure would accurately reflect resveratrol from food and drink sources, since supplement use is unusual in this region, while regular red wine consumption is common.

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Rocks & Rhones Wine and Food Weekend is May 24-25.

Five Pleasant Valley wineries in El Dorado County will explain the area’s unique soils and winemaking techniques.

There will be food pairings, barrel tasting, wine specials and vineyard tours. Pleasant Valley is located just south of Placerville, halfway between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe.

Participating wineries are: Auriga, Holly’s Hill, Miraflores, Narrow Gate and Sierra Vista.

Tickets may be bought online for $35 through May 23; $40 at the door; $20 designated driver. Includes logo glass. The event is 11am-4pm each day.

By Rachael Myrow, KQED-TV

Once again, the warm, dry winter threw cherry trees off their game all over the state. California usually delivers the nation’s early season cherries, but with yields down around a third of what they usually are you can expect to pay a whole lot more at the market.

The California Cherry Advisory Board has estimated the crop will be 25-50 percent smaller. That’s serious news for the state’s agriculture industry. Cherries bring in $200 million dollars a year in California.

Jeff Columbini of Lodi Farming is in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, so his cherry crop is only down about 50 percent.

Read the whole story

By Carey Gillam, Reuters

U.S.-grown apples are widely coated with a pesticide that has been newly banned in the European Union amid health concerns, and the United States is at least a year behind in a required scientific assessment of the pesticide, an environmental group said last month.

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit health and environmental advocacy group, sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asking for the agency to halt the use of diphenylamine, also called DPA, until a new analysis shows DPA levels on food are safe, the group said.

DPA, which is sprayed on apples after they are harvested to help prevent browning, was first registered as a pesticide in the United States in 1947, according to the EPA.

But recent concerns about the pesticide’s potential links to cancer led the European Union to ban fruits containing more than 0.1 part per million of DPA. That regulation took effect in March.

Read the whole story

By Kathryn Reed

Most dips seem to be so full of calories that it doesn’t matter that you are dipping veggies in it – the end result is more bad than good.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The creamy dip below uses nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise. Feel free to use the more fattening alternatives!

Yes, the “better for you” ingredients do make this a bit sweeter and tangier than the fat-laden options. But I like the flavor, as did the group I served it to based on it almost being gone.

I like this version because I can keep dipping without guilt.

Fresh dill could be used. You will find beau monde in the spice aisle.

If you have any left, I could see this being good as a salad dressing.

Healthy Creamy Vegetable Dip

2/3 C nonfat Greek yogurt

2/3 C Vegenaise

1 green onion, rough chop

1 T parsley

1 tsp dill weed

1 tsp beau monde

Mix all ingredients in blender. Refrigerate overnight.

Sample the Sierra, now in its fifth year, is moving to a larger location.

The Aug. 31 event will be at Bijou Community Park in South Lake Tahoe from noon to 5pm. The tasting ends at 4pm.

Tickets are $30 until July 4. After that they are $40. They may be purchased online.

Sample the Sierra showcases locally grown and cultivated food paired with wine. It includes live music, the annual Sierra Chefs Challenge, and local artisans.

By Kathryn Reed

Breakfast burritos are common in our household on weekends. But sometimes it’s time for a change.

The only drawback to the recipe below is that the tortilla ensembles have to be made one at a time, much like omelets. So, while it was fine for the two of us, this is not something I would make if we had guests because the eating would be too staggered.

Any type of cheese can be used. And the number of eggs is certainly a personal preference.

Sour cream would work instead of the yogurt, but that will make it way more fattening. The yogurt also gives it a tanginess that sour cream would not.

A common mistake with cooking eggs is having the heat too high. This leads to overcooked, firm, brown eggs.

I sprinkled paprika on top of the yogurt mixture just to make the dish look a little prettier.

Egg Tortilla

2 T plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/4 tsp cumin

Dash Kosher salt

1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

Pepper

1 tortilla

3 T Monterey Jack cheese

½ green onion, chopped

Chopped olives, optional

In a small bowl, mix the yogurt, cumin and salt.

In a 6-inch skillet, heat the olive oil. Slightly whip eggs and pepper. Cook over moderate heat without stirring, until set at the edges. Place the tortilla over the eggs, press gently and cook until the eggs are just set. Flip the eggs and tortilla. Sprinkle on half the cheese. Cook until the tortilla is golden on the bottom.

Slide the tortilla onto a plate.

Top with the remaining cheese, green onion and olives. Serve with a dollop of the cumin yogurt.

Farmers’ markets have a variety of fresh produce. Photos/Provided

By Kathryn Reed

Farmers’ market season arrived in Lake Tahoe this week, though the bulk of the markets don’t open until June.

“The thing we found out about farmers’ markets is there are many options, but you still have the opportunity to meet the farmer,” Steve Rozier told Lake Tahoe News. He runs a market in Stateline, Incline Village and Gardnerville – all of which started this week. “It’s the best bang for your buck.”

Peaches and apricots came in early this year for his farmers. Also available this time of year are a few oranges, leafy greens, strawberries, broccoli, beets, carrots and artichokes.

Instead of being at Kahle Community Center, the Stateline market is in the front parking lot of Lakeside Inn and Casino, which is where it ended last season. In June it will move over to Lakeside’s property next to Shoreline Adventure Center off Kahle Drive.

Rozier’s Gardnerville market is more of a farm to fork event in partnership with Lentine’s Italian Restaurant.

An avocado farmer from San Diego and cheese purveyor from Petaluma will be making the rounds on a part-time basis at Rozier’s markets.

He describes the Stateline market as more of grab and go, while in Incline people have a beer and listen to live music.

When the South Lake Tahoe market opens on election day it will be starting its 20th year.

Expect cherries, greens and angelcots to be in abundance the first day. Angelcots are similar to an apricot, but more refined.

“The water issue doesn’t seem to be affecting things much,” Jim Coalwell, who runs the El Dorado County Certified Farmers Market in South Tahoe, told Lake Tahoe News. “Later on we might see a difference.”

He said the wet spring has been good for farmers.

Artists, music and bounce house will be at the Ski Run market.

Not all the vendors are locked in, but Coalwell is not expecting many changes because his market sells out of booth space quickly.

The Ski Run Boulevard market in South Tahoe starts June 6. The big new vendor is homemade ice cream. A meat and egg vendor is also possible.

Blue Angel Café will return with its beer garden.

Here is a list of some of the farmers’ markets in the area:

Tuesday

• South Lake Tahoe: El Dorado County Certified Farmers Market Association

American Legion parking lot, Highway 50

June 3-Oct. 7, 8am-1pm

• Truckee: Truckee River Regional Park

10500 Brockway Road off Highway 267

June 10-Oct. 14, 8am-1pm

Wednesday

• Gardnerville: Lampe Park Farmers Market

1328 Waterloo Lane

May 21-Sept. 24, 9am-pm

• Stateline: Farmers Market at Lakeside Inn and Casino

168 Highway 50

Now-Sept. 24, 4-7pm

No market July 2

Thursday

• Incline Village: Farmers Market at Tunnel Creek

1115 Tunnel Creek Road

Now-Sept. 25, 4-7pm,

No market July 3

• Tahoe City: Commons Beach

Commons Beach Road and North Lake Boulevard

May 22-June 19; Aug 28-Sept. 25, 8am-1pm

• Tahoe City: Tahoe Lake Elementary School

375 Grove St.

June 26-Aug. 21, 8am-1pm

• Truckee: Truckee Thursdays

Historic Downtown Truckee at Donner Pass Road near the train station

June 12-Aug. 21, 5-9pm

Friday

• South Lake Tahoe: Ski Run Boulevard

Ski Run at Birch Street

June 6-Sept. 26, 3-8pm

• Crystal Bay: Farmers Market at Tahoe Biltmore

5 Highway 28

June 6-Sept. 26, 9am-1pm

No market July 4

• Gardnerville: Farm to Fork Festival

Lentine’s Italian Restaurant, 1488 Highway 395

Now-Sept. 26, 4-7pm

No market July 4

• Incline Village Farmers’ Market

770 Mays Blvd., Ste. 2

June 13-Aug. 30, 10am-2pm

Saturday

• Incline Village Farmers’ Market

770 Mays Blvd., Ste. 2

June 13-Aug. 30, 10am-2pm.