I got a chance to try "VIA Ready Brew" coffee last week, and perhaps you tried it too over the weekend when Starbucks was offering taste tests in their stores*. It was the best instant coffee I've ever tasted, and it was certainly the most expensive instant coffee I ever tasted, at about $1 per serving. VIA is being sold in a 12 pack for $9.95 and a 3 pack for $2.95. Starbucks doesn't want you to stop drinking their fresh brewed coffee, they want you to take VIA everywhere you can't get their fresh brewed coffee. For people who drink good coffee everyday, this might be an acceptable option when camping, traveling, or for making iced coffee in a hurry, since it dissolves in hot or cold water.

The story behind Starbucks VIA instant coffee is interesting. The late Don Valencia was a cell biologist who developed a technique for freeze-drying cells for examination under the microscope. In the early 1990's Starbucks hired him to head up research and development. His research led to creation of a coffee extract used in many products including bottled drinks and ice cream. It also led to the patent-pending process for making a new kind of instant coffee with more of the aroma, flavor and body of fresh brewed coffee.

I have a confession to make. I'm not really a coffee drinker. I drink it when I'm in Italy, otherwise, not so much. But I do love the flavor of coffee in baked goods, stews, chili, ice cream, you name it. I have a bottle of espresso powder I keep in the fridge for cooking purposes, but even I can tell that instant is not the same as fresh brewed coffee. Since I am not a regular coffee drinker, I will probably be using my samples primarily for cooking.

I have 10 each 3 packs of Columbia and Italian Roast, both are made from 100% arabica beans, ethically sourced. The Columbia is described as "rich and smooth" the Italian "big, bold and full-bodied." To win a sample, leave a comment with any thoughts you have about coffee, a recipe idea, favorite blend, how you might use it, whatever you like. I will choose 10 winners at random who will receive a 3 pack of each variety. You must have a valid email address and US mailing address since I am paying to mail these out. You can also use your sample to inspire an entry in the Starbucks VIA contest with prizes ranging from free coffee to roundtrip airline tickets or a $2,500 Williams-Sonoma gift card. Good luck!

* Today, Monday October 5th, is the last day of the taste test to try VIA for free at Starbucks stores. They will even give you a free cup of brewed coffee for your time.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED, THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS

I love the idea of 18 Reasons. It's space where people can connect with artists, food producers and learn about food. I keep eyeing butchering classes, but there are also coffee roasting classes, cheese and beer pairing classes, the lineup changes all the time with many intriguing options. If you plan on attending often, you'll want to become a member because you get a stack of gift cards to Mission favorites like Bi-Rite Creamery and Tartine Bakery in addition to discounts on everything they do.

Tonight for a mere donation of $10 (or $5 for members) you can taste McQuade's Celtic Chutney with various cheeses, paired with riesling. I always say Alison's chutney is for chutney haters because it is nothing like the glop you get at the supermarket. It's fresh chunky and always with a hit of spice and tang. Current tongue tingling varieties include Plum & Black Pepper, Fig & Ginger, Habanero, and Pineapple Red Chili.

I met Alison years ago and interviewed her for KQED's Bay Area Bites and later wrote about her killer Habanero chutney. She has a great story and her chutney is addictive.

McQuade's Celtic Chutney Tasting @ 18 Reasons
Oct 1, 2009 from 7pm � 9pm
593 Guerrero St
San Francisco

You may have eaten at Slanted Door or even at Out The Door either at the Ferry Building or at San Francisco Centre, but you're going to want to try OTD Bush in the Fillmore. In addition to many of the dishes that Chef Charles Phan is famous for such as Vietnamese Spring Rolls and the Jicama and Grapefruit Salad or the Chicken Claypot, OTD Bush offers something else entirely. Breakfast!

I love breakfast but let's face it, going out for breakfast in this town usually means American fare, dim sum or maybe Mexican food. Now there is something new, Vietnamese food. At a press preview I got tastes of a lot of deliciousness. Hats off to Pastry Chef Chucky Dugo for a whole bunch of sweet and savory treats to dig into. I was crazy about the crunchy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside Beignets, Crepes with apples, Warm Banana Sticky Rice with toasted coconut and sweet and savory style pate choux pastries. The little puff pastries were still slightly eggy on the inside, just the way I like them.

For breakfast traditionalists, there are several different egg dishes, including a Fried Egg with p�t� and baguette. The Coconut Pull Bread was a big hit with almost everyone but I found the filling a bit cloying. For a pre-opening event the food was amazingly good. I do hope guests warm up to the comforting Chicken Porridge flavored with rau ram, crispy shallots and black pepper. It's just the thing when you are feeling a bit under the weather. Prices on the breakfast menu range from $3 for steamed buns stuffed with gingery chicken, mushrooms or pork to $13 for the Poached Sun Hill Farms Eggs with braised Niman Ranch brisket and crispy potatoes. Most dishes are under $10.

Like the other locations OTD is modern and clean. This location features cool blue green tile, warm wood, marble counters and an open kitchen that runs practically the whole length of the long and narrow space. Lunch and dinner menus look promising as well. I just hope my dyslexic brain can be convinced that the servers t-shirts don't actually proclaim them as sufferers of OCD.

OTD Bush
2232 Bush St @ Fillmore
San Francisco
415.923.9575

Last week I was one of the judges at the National Beef Cook-Off. It's one of the top culinary contests in the United States, held once every two years with $70,000 in prize money. It was interesting to see what contestants included in their recipes. Trendy ingredients and "superfoods" like walnuts and pomegranates made it into multiple recipes. There were familiar flavors like balsamic vinegar, chipotle and blue cheese, and more exotic ingredients like pistachios and quinoa.

I tasted 15 dishes culled from about 2,000 entries. In each category there was a clear winner and a very delicious dish that anyone could make at home. Should you be interested in entering a cooking competition, the most common mistakes that contestants made were:

* Under seasoning the food, some dishes really needed salt

* Not paying attention to texture, some dishes were very mushy

* Not having a satisfying balance of flavors--too rich or too little acid

* Not cooking the beef for the right amount of time

* Using too many ingredients in one dish creating muddled flavors


In the end, simplicity won with a dish in the Live Well with Fast & Convenient Grilled Beef category. Sonoma Steaks with Vegetable Bocconcini combines Summer vegetables--zucchini, bell peppers and grape tomatoes with grilled steak and mozzarella. It would be great for a pot luck or barbecue dinner. It has very few ingredients but uses some innovative techniques including doctoring the herb marinade from the bocconcini mozzarella balls and microwaving the mozzarella balls to take the chill off and soften them just slightly.

Most of my favorite dishes came from the teen category. I enjoyed the Rustic Beef Caldo which I will cook longer than the recipe indicates, and the Southeast Asian Steak Salad. I also want to try the Sicilian Beef Short Ribs but I would replace the grape juice with a dry red wine.

I was honored to be included with the other judges, Betsy Wray, editor in chief (pictured), Cooking Pleasures magazine; Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle, Jackie Plant, food and nutrition director, Woman's Day magazine; and Niesha Lofing, food and family writer, The Sacramento Bee. Past judges of the contest include Julia Child and James Beard.

To learn more about how long to marinate beef and the best cooking methods for each cut, visit Beef It's What's for DInner

More:
Michael Bauer's blog post

"Beef ambassador's" videos

There's no getting around it. If you want to eat cheap and healthy food, peanut butter is a natural choice. I know some people can't stand the stuff, but I rather like it. What I don't really like are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This year during the Hunger Challenge I didn't buy any jam, but I did splurge on some bananas at about 30� a piece. Because they are large, I only needed a half a banana to make this sandwich. I like it open face, but you could easily slap another piece of bread on it.

The good thing about eating something like this is that it's tasty, filling and nutritious, but also well under budget, allowing more money for other meals. But this like almost all my meals is starchy and while it might satiate my hunger it doesn't give me as much energy as I would like. Living on a limited budget is all about making choices. It's not terrible, but left to my own devices I might choose this sandwich no more than once a year.

Last year I took the Hunger Challenge a week before the official dates. This year I shopped for the Challenge, cooked for the Challenge but my schedule made participating for one full week really hard. Because my career involves food--especially developing recipes and writing about food, there were just too many events that got in the way. Within the space of two short weeks in addition to my regular workload, I had dinner with several clients and colleagues, I worked on seven recipes for two corporate clients, got ready for a food blog conference, made two guest appearances at writing classes, celebrated the Jewish New Year, and judged a national cook-off (more about that later). I'm not trying to make excuses, but I do realize that if I was on limited budget I would not have been able to do all those work related but fun food oriented things.

Don't get me wrong, I ate plenty of Hunger Challenge meals these past two weeks, I just wasn't able to give the Challenge my full attention. But I do hope my experiences and posts helped to raise awareness. Thanks for sticking it out with me during a couple of tough weeks.

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
1 serving, about 34�

Ingredients

1 slice whole wheat bread, 19�
1 Tablespoon peanut butter, 10�
1/2 banana, 15�

Instructions

Spread bread with peanut butter, top with thinly sliced banana.