Women of Taste

On Sept. 26th, I volunteered at the Girls Inc. 18th annual Women of Taste Event held at the Oakland Museum (http://www.girlsinc-alameda.org/women-of-taste). Being claimed as one of the largest food & wine events in the East Bay, I couldn't resist. And I brought a friend along with me, because my stomach can only hold so much...

At our arrival, we were assigned to volunteer in the silent auction. The silent auction consisted of many things from gift baskets to nutrition consultations (Did you know that they're worth $250? Amazing! I should be doing 'em for some extra cash...) to game tickets to vacation getaways. We ended up helping out in labeling compost and recycle bins on-site, as this was a waste-free event! But of course, we nibbled on some amazing foods, from sweet crab chowder in a mini bread bowl to tiramisu.

Chocolate covered raspberries in a chocolate platter. These were as yum as chocolate covered strawberries. Kudos for dipping raspberries in chocolate though, as they are very delicate and can easily break. This booth also served lavender & mint lemonade, which was very refreshing! It was our favorite drink of the evening, as it just clears your palate.








Tri-tip steak with mild to spicy barbecue sauces at the T-Rex Barbecue booth. Behind the serving table, they were cooking whole steaks in two small grills. Smelled phenomenal! There was a long line waiting for this tri-tip. Besides letting you choose your sauce, they also let you choose how well done you wanted your steak. Me? Medium rare.








On the left is vanilla bean custard topped with a raspberry sauce and grapes. This custard is unique in that it uses milk in place of eggs, so it has a velvety taste. On the right are two types of thin crust pizzas. The above is a pesto, tomato and feta cheese pizza. The bottom is prosciutto and artichoke heart pizza. I was excited to try out prosciutto for the first time, because it's frequently used in Giada Laurentiis's "Everyday Italian." Prosciutto is thinly sliced dry-cured ham unique to Italian dishes. It tastes like a cross between ham and bacon!


Two types of bruschetta: enoki mushroom with goat cheese and ahi tuna with orange zest. What surprised me was that the bread wasn't fully crisp; it was crisp on the outside and doughy inside. I thought that was an interesting texture. I especially loved ahi tuna with orange zest!









Last but not least, my favorite is Zinfandel icecream from Tucker's Icecream. The flavor of the red wine was strong, but not overempowering. It was my first time trying wine-flavored icecream! We had to get seconds of this - it was a sweet frozen treat that made us blush. Just a bit of Asian glow.

This event proved to me that women really do have good taste, as I saw mostly females attended and volunteered. Just kidding! Or am I?