Mann Packing Simply Singles Lettuce

It was 1939 when Cy Mann opened a fresh carrot packing operation called H.W. Mann.

Executive Chef Benjamin Brown At The Beach Club Pebble Beach Testifies About Mann Simply Singles

It was soon thereafter that Mr. Mann found his niche in the fresh vegetable industry: broccoli.

For many years Mann packing has been the world's largest shipper of fresh broccoli. Mann Packing Company is not just for Broccolini anymore. Actually they distribute over 30 vegetable specialties for retail and foodservice consumers.

In the early 1990s, Mann Packing responded to the fast pace of today's consumer lifestyles and started shipping vegetables fresh-cut, washed, preservative free-and ready to eat.

This week Mann Packing was out with Blu-Creative Marketing crew filming Chef's impressions of their Simply Singles cleaned and washed lettuce products.

Several caterers, hotels, and banquet facilities here on the central coast use the product for volume events or when labor is tight. They know that the product is always fresh, wholesome, 100 percent usable, and consistantly good quality and size.

I pointed out that I always emphasize the three "C's" when selling Mann Packing Simply Single Lettuce leaves:
1-Quality
2-Consistancy
3-Cost

15th Annual Jazz Festival

Each year the Big Sur Jade Festival brings musicians, artists, crafts people, and rockhounds together for an annual fundraiser benefiting the South Coast Community Land Trust. The event is hosted by the Pacific Valley School, which is located across Highway One from Sand Dollar Beach and adjacent to Plaskett Campground on the South Big Sur Coast about 65 miles south of Carmel and 35 miles north of Hearst Castle. For more specific directions, click here.

Cooking this year will be Big Sur Coast Foods. Dave Dildine and Scott from the Redwood Grill will be serving up Gumbo at the event. Also this year Matt from Post Ranch with his mobile kitchen will be on hand cooking up fish tacos.

Canning Stawberry Jam and Bartlett Pears

I picked up some strawberries at the Salinas Farmer's Market this Saturday.

Dropped The Berries, Sugar, And Lemon Juice In A Medium Heat Pan

The overall quality of strawberries has been okay, but there are alot of small and medium berries. While the cool weather has helped the berries the 1/4" or so of rain we got will keep harvesters out of the field for a few days. Driscolls had just started harvesting in Oxnard. Anyway so I picked up a couple baskets of these smaller berries to make some quick jam.
Quick Jam
Prepare 2 half pint canning jars by boiling 10 minutes
Meanwhile
Clean 2 pint baskets of Strawberries
1 and 1/4 Cup Fine Sugar
2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Add to medium high heat fry pan and bring to a rolling bubble

Let cook 10 minutes or so, stiring occasionally and skimming excess foam.

As the mixture becomes a jelly, test consistancy on a cold plate. At desired thickness remove from heat.

Scoop Strawberry Jam into 2 prepared canning jars to just about 1/8" below the top and screw on tops. Place in steam canner and cook 10-12 minutes.

From Fresh From The Farm Market Update: PEARS:WA Bartlett and Anjou volumes are expected to be stronger than LY while Bosc will be slightly down. Quality on all is good to very good; beware that new crop Bartletts should be stored as close to 32 degrees as possible to prevent yellowing. Labor availability in the northwest can not keep pace with growers’ needs. There is continued availability of CA Bartlett supplies with good quality.

Well there wasn't much of a supply at the Farmer's Market on Pears although there was a good selection of apples from the Central Valley. I stuck with California Bartletts from Nob Hill and kept the Canner Steaming.
I bought this steam canner after a trip to Apple Valley California with the now ex-wife. We made Applesauce and canned slice apples for a full day. Madi, my 15 year old still talks about the applesauce 10 years later. I ended up losing the canner, initially in the divorce. But she decided she would not be canning again. And, after all, the resale value at a garage sale of my golf clubs were alot better than a steam canner .

Cannery Row Hotel

Directly on the bay, and in the heart of Monterey's historic Cannery Row, The Cannery Row Hotel will offer magnificent panoramic coastal views and luxurious interior decor.

The hotel is located next to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on historic Cannery Row. The hotel will feature a boardwalk and observation pier over the Bay.

The hotel is comprised of two four-story buildings connected by an enclosed bridge over Cannery Row. Parking is provided in a separate four-level garage structure.

- 208 Guestrooms and Suites; all guestrooms and suites have central air-conditioning and heating, and typical guestrooms and suites have separate shower and bathtubs. Approximately 150 rooms will have gas-burning fireplaces.

-8,900 square feet of banquet and meeting space for groups of 10 to 250. 3,300 s.f. Grand Ballroom, 2,300 s.f. Terrace Ballroom, plus 7 break-out rooms.

- Outdoor courtyard (3,200 s.f.) with two fire pits, and 1,600 s.f. second floor terrace overlooking Monterey Bay

- 95-seat Restaurant & Lounge on the water with additional seasonal outdoor seating

- 347-space garage (valet parked)

- Outdoor swimming pool and whirlpool

- Fitness Center

- Spa

Intercontinental Hotel Cannery Row Monterey

Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts Expands Resort And West Coast Portfolio With Intercontinental The Clement Monterey
9/27/2007 3:23:12 PM
IHG [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)], the owner of the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts brand, today announced the signing of InterContinental The Clement Monterey in California. The 208-room property is owned by Cannery Row Hotel Development Venture, L.P., under a license agreement with a company in the InterContinental Hotels Group.

The hotel will be managed by Pacific Hotel Management, LLC and is currently under construction with a scheduled opening in the second quarter of 2008. Located at 750 Cannery Row, Monterey, Calif., InterContinental The Clement Monterey, the first new hotel to be built on Monterey Bay in more than twenty years, is beautifully positioned overlooking the water along the scenic Northern California Coast.

“InterContinental The Clement Monterey adds to our growing presence on the West Coast and further strengthens the brand’s resort portfolio,” said Steve Porter, president, the Americas, IHG. “Monterey is a beautiful destination and its history and charm are an attraction for leisure, group and business clientele.”

Conveniently located next to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the largest and most respected aquariums in the world, InterContinental The Clement Monterey is in the heart of the street immortalized by John Steinbeck’s 1945 novel Cannery Row. Comprised of three buildings, the hotel will maintain the architectural integrity of this spectacular coastal community through contemporary craftsman-style detailing. Guests can take advantage of the stunning views of the harbor seals and natural habitat of the bay from the courtyard, balconies and boardwalk.

The hotel will feature 8,500 square feet of indoor meeting space, approximately 5,000 square feet of outdoor event space overlooking Monterey Bay, a grand fireplace in the lobby, a signature restaurant and bar, a luxury spa and a fitness center with an outdoor lap pool.

InterContinental The Clement Monterey is the fifth hotel in the western United States, joining the landmark InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco, InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, InterContinental San Francisco (opening January 2008) and InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa Paradise Valley (opening Summer 2008). The brand continues its global expansion with the opening of its 150th hotel, InterContinental Dubai Festival City, followed by InterContinental Hanoi Westlake, the the brand’s first hotel in Vietnam, and Grand Hôtel InterContinental Stockholm joining the portfolio on January 1, 2008.