Attention Sweet Tooths : An Ojai cookbook writer promotes an alternative to sugar.
There is sugar sweet, and then there is stevia sweet. The latter has become a favorite topic of Rita DePuydt, a cookbook author and botanist who will present “Baking with Stevia” on May 19 at City Bakery in Ventura.
First, some background: Stevia is a leafy shrub native to South America that is being hailed as a noncaloric herbal sweetener. Its leaves contain several sweetening compounds--including stevioside, which is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.
Although stevia’s use is new to these shores, for centuries native South Americans have incorporated it into their healing and dietary practices. DePuydt’s class will offer instruction on how to use both the herbal form of stevia, as well as its extracts in beverages, cookies, muffins, cakes, frozen desserts and more.
“Stevia is a useful way to cut back on regular sweeteners,” DePuydt said. “It can be useful to anyone concerned about too much sweetener in their diet.”
A Michigan native now living in Ojai, DePuydt first became interested in stevia as a way of reducing her own consumption of sugars.
“I looked around to see if there were any stevia cookbooks and couldn’t find any,” she said.
DePuydt set out to fill that void in the fall of 1996. After much trial and error in her test kitchen, DePuydt’s cookbook “Baking With Stevia--Recipes For The Sweet Leaf” was published in June 1997. Her second recipe book followed last November.
Stevia has been widely used in South America and Japan, DePuydt said, but its commercial growth in the United States has been held in check by regulatory bureaucracy. The Federal Drug Administration restricts stevia’s use as a dietary supplement and it cannot be sold as a tabletop sweetener--but proponents of stevia in the United States steadfastly claim no health issues concerning the sweetener have ever been raised. Liquid and powdered stevia extracts are available at health-food stores.
City Bakery owner-chef Rose Burtchby said she will soon offer baked goods sweetened with stevia.
“I want to bake some things that diabetics can have and for people on sugar restricted diets,” Burtchby said. “I was using NutraSweet and Sweet ‘n Lo and those things that I baked turned out horrible.”
While DePuydt champions the herb’s healthful qualities, she stresses that her cookbooks were not written specifically for medicinal purposes. Rather, she writes in “Baking With Stevia II,” that her books rely on “stevia’s property as a flavor enhancer--it sweetens and brings out the flavors of other foods.”
DETAILS
Cookbook author Rita DePuydt will present the cooking class “Baking with Stevia” May 19 at City Bakery in Ventura. Hours: 6:30-9:30 p.m. $35. Space is limited. Send check to: Sun Coast Enterprises, P.O. Box 262, Oak View, CA 93022. For more information, call 640-1962 or 643-0861.
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The wares of Duck Pond Cellars, of Dundee, Ore., will be featured at a May 16 winemaker dinner hosted by the Ventura County Chapter of W.I.N.O.
The dinner will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Oxnard.
Duck Pond’s Scott Jenkins will be on hand to discuss the selections poured during the gourmet meal, which will be served in the banquet room.
The courses: Seared sesame scallops, served with baby greens and a 1997 chardonnay; penne pasta with cream asparagus and basil sauce and a 1997 Pinot Gris; medallions of pork loin with raspberry sauce and a 1997 Pinot Noir; veal shanks with mashed potatoes and tomato onion au jus, and a 1997 merlot and 1997 cabernet sauvignon. The meal will finish with an “apricot surprise” and a Semillon ice wine.
The local chapter of the nonprofit W.I.N.O.--Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles--holds about 10 winemaker dinners a year. Membership consists mostly of Ventura County residents and the public is welcome to attend functions.
DETAILS
The Ventura County Chapter of W.I.N.O. will host another installment of its winemaker dinner series 5:30 p.m. May 16 at the Radisson Hotel, 600 Esplanade Drive, Oxnard. Members, $39; nonmembers and guests, $42. Send checks payable to W.I.N.O. before May 12 to: 1358 Saddleback Trail, Camarillo, CA 93012. No refunds after that date unless space can be filled from a waiting list. For more information, call 484-4196.
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The American Heart Assn. hopes to tempt your appetite and your benevolence at its “Hearts & Roses” fund-raiser May 14. The second annual food and wine tasting event will be at the Radisson Hotel in Simi Valley and will include live and silent auctions. Bidders can ante up for artworks, a diamond ring, vacations, sports memorabilia and more.
Several Simi Valley and Moorpark restaurants, including the Radisson’s Vistas Restaurant, Dakota’s and Don Cuco’s, will dish up food samples. Trader Joe’s will also staff a booth and prepare various food products. Wine sellers will pour selections to accompany the food.
Proceeds from the event will help support heart disease programs.
DETAILS
The American Heart Assn. will present its second annual fund-raiser “Hearts & Roses” May 14 at the Radisson Hotel, 999 Enchanted Way, Simi Valley. Hours: 7-11 p.m. Reservations can be made by May 12. If still available, remaining tickets will be sold at the door. $35. For more information or to make a reservation, call 445-7050.
Rodney Bosch writes about the restaurant scene in Ventura County and outlying points. He can be reached at 653-7572, fax 653-7576 or by e-mail at: rodney.bosch@latimes.com.