Hands to the Kitchen

This is the first of three posts I’m publishing referencing the 2016 International Food Blogger Conference (IFBC). I received a discounted registration rate in exchange for sharing my experiences at the conference. All opinions expressed are my own.

The IFBC came to Sacramento last month, and boy did my city represent! The overarching theme of the conference was an exploration of California’s farming and agricultural industry and the rapid growth of the farm-to-fork movement. One of the highlights of the 4-day conference was the “Taste of Sacramento” culinary fair where 300+ food bloggers, many of them first-time visitors, were treated to an incredible array of bites from some of the area’s best restaurants and food producers. From spicy lamb street tacos to artisan chocolates, from crispy pork belly and fig preserve sliders to olallieberry pie macarons, there was no shortage of amazing food prepared with local ingredients. There were lovely displays of California peaches, pears, endive, figs, olives, walnuts and pistachios, and one of my personal snack faves – almonds – courtesy of Blue Diamond Almonds, which is based on Sacramento and whose almond growers produce over 80% of the world’s almond supply. I sampled their Sriracha and Toasted Coconut flavored almonds and while both were really tasty (especially the Sriracha!), at heart I guess I’m just a plain almond type of girl.

I always have raw natural almonds in the freezer for baking and snacking. In fact, my lifelong affection for almonds began years ago, when I shamelessly used them as date bait. Yep, you read that right. I was a young, single secretary at an industrial R&D facility where my days were spent typing documents for a building full of engineers, mostly men, and most of them much older than me. And God yes, it was as boring and tedious as it sounds. But … there was a small contingent of college graduates, guys my age who would stop by my desk throughout the day to drop off their latest equation-filled report for me to type up for them. I had my eye on one in particular. He was nice looking and funny and I liked him a lot.

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