Daily Fuel

I try to start each and every day with a green smoothie of some sort. They look terrible and taste delicious. Actually, I like the green color. There are some that I make that are so good for you but look like mud, I like to put those in containers I can't see through.

I realized when I went to the grocery store the other day how many bananas I go though. I told the cashier I had a chimp at home when she commented. I just use one per day but there is something satisfying about having a dozen all frozen and ready to go when I need them. Today was peel and freeze day.

If you are a fruit smoothie drinker, I highly recommend adding some spinach or kale to the mix for some added nutrient dense veggies. How about a carrot for some added fiber? I think you will be surprised that with certain combinations you can't even taste the veggies.

Today's smoothie was made of:

:: 1 Frozen banana (today it was fresh)

:: 1/2 Cup Frozen Mango

:: 1/2 Cup Frozen Peach slices

:: 2/3 Cup Frozen Pineapple

:: 1/2 Cup Frozen Kale (or 4 fresh kale leaves)

:: 1 1/2 Cups of Water* - a citrus juice is probably good for your first try if you really want to mask the flavor of your greens.

*You can make this with Almond Milk, Soy Milk, Milk, Juice or whatever liquid you like.

This is not a meal replacement - I generally have some oatmeal as well because what is morning without something that will stick with you, right?

Have Not

I have not had gluten in almost 6 weeks unless it was creeping in something (like soy sauce - oops!). Today we had a party at work and these lovely empanadas were just sitting there, in three flavors glistening with butter, and filled with other things I can't eat. They smelled good and I walked away. Vegan Gluten Free is no joke!

Oops I Did It Again

Had to make another one of these breakfast braids, after all, it was another holiday weekend and we needed something special for breakfast on Saturday. I have to admit, I didn't take as much care with the braiding this time and was a little quick since I put it together late Friday night and was tired.

This time I swapped the lemon curd for raspberry jam and it was incredible!

No joke, I had one slice, Tim ate the rest of it and LOVED it.

Lemon Braided Bread

If you love baking bread and sweet lemony goodness like I do; you must try this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I made it for Christmas breakfast and we can't stop ooooing and ahhhing over it. Wish you could smell how fragrant this is while it bakes, it is amazing. I can't wait to make it again with the same filling minus the lemon curd add raspberry jam! Yaozaa!

Dinner Rolls

I made these dinner rolls today to go with the pea soup I had cooking in my crock pot and they did not disappoint. I tweaked the recipe a bit and used almond milk* (we are not milk people) and they were terrific! These rolls take a while with the two rises, but are so worth it. My house smelled of fresh baked bread and once I split one open I was in heaven. The rich yeasty scent and fluffy insides lapped up butter like a kitten to milk.

I love that we had these rolls with the soup and for dessert with jam. I cut the recipe in half because having 30 of these around our house would not be good for anyone. I highly recommend these and would make them again in a second. Maybe next time the full recipe with half used for cinnamon rolls. Gulp.

* Did you know you can replace regular milk with soy or almond without and issue? Rice milk is a different story though, been there, done that, won't do it again.

Thanksgiving Long Weekend Recap

It all began with baking…isn’t that how every good time starts?

I made a pumpkin spice cake (recipe here) on Tuesday night along with 4 pastry crusts for pies so everything was ready for when my Mom and Dad arrived as my Mom is the pie master. We picked them up at the airport on Wednesday late morning and had a nice lunch and moved the party to my house where the baking continued. My Mom made a pumpkin, a pecan and an apple pie while I prepped the insides of the pies, she rolled out the crusts and put them together. When the pies were done we headed downtown to check them in to their hotel and off to dinner at Villa Romano for one of the best pizzas in town.

Thursday morning I rose early so I could make some cream cheese brownies and the frosting for the pumpkin spice cake. Once everything was done it was time to get ready and head down to Robin and Kenny’s for Thanksgiving Dinner and what a nice dinner it was. Two kinds of turkey (one roasted, one smoked), a ham and ALL the sides you could ever ask for. There were about 15 of us and we all sat down to eat together which was really nice and is really hard to pull off, so bravo to the Garrison’s as I know it was a lot of hard work. After the meal, there was football to be watched, dishes to be rinsed and desserts to be prepped. Kenny went all out and made a cheesecake that not only had a toffee bottom, but had pecan pralines and chocolate ganache on top! We carefully laid out the desserts under the watchful eyes of all the kids and dug right in. This was one of the best Thanksgivings I have had in California. Both the food and the fellowship were top notch.

Friday morning, I had an appointment to get my haircut so we took it kind of slow in the morning. After my haircut we went and picked up Mom and Dad at their hotel and hung out in my neighborhood. We had lunch at Liberty Café (great turkey cobb salad) and then went to my house to watch the Red Wings and Bruins game we recorded from earlier in the day. We all walked down to Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack for dinner, which was delicious as always.

Saturday (Tim’s Birthday!) we got an early start and drove up to Sterling Winery in the very north of the Napa Valley and rode the gondola through the trees up to the winery. The view was exceptional, the fall colors on the floor of the valley were like an autumnal patchwork quilt full of burnt red, deep mustard and everything in between. After the wine tasting we went to St. Helena to walk the shops and have lunch at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. We made a stop at the Bike Shop after lunch and our friend Brain was working so it was a nice surprise to see him and in his element (surrounded by bikes). After fighting the traffic during the long ride home I was wiped out so we called it a day.

Sunday I needed to rest a bit. I got my nails done in the morning and ran errands in the afternoon. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. We had Tim’s Birthday Dinner at Wayfare Tavern (Tyler Florence’s restaurant). It was amazing to say the least. We are so lucky to live in the Bay Area, a food mecca. I swear every time my parents come to visit, we have a list of places we have to go and eat. This meal was one of the best I have had in a long time, from the hot popovers once we were seated and the handcrafted cocktails to the sweet ending to the meal. Top notch.

Mom and Dad flew home on Monday morning and I went back to work, ready to start another week. It was a such a nice visit and a great Thanksgiving. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend as well.

German Flag Cake

I made this cake for my dear friend Erika and her husband David. David is in the military and they are moving to Germany as part of his service. We will miss them terribly. Since we met they have been in California, Guam, Italy, back to California and now Germany. They are globe trotters for sure and we wish them all the best in the world and really hope to visit them in Germany while they are there.
Let me preface these photos by saying...these are not stylized shots and they aint pretty. What I do love about them is the patiently waiting childrens hands in the photo before the cake was cut. Simple cake to make, you just have to be patient making three seperate layers of cake (unless you use a mix, which I did not) - I made a layer of each; basic yellow cake, red velvet and chocolate fudge. The yellow didn't rise to the occasion like the other layers, but it is home made and imperfections make it all the better if you ask me.
The chocolate frosting was the best I have ever made, simple and so delicious!
Here is the recipe...

• 1.5 (3/4 Cup) sticks of Butter (softened)


• 10 Tbls Evaporated Milk


• 2 Tbls Vanilla


• 1 Cup Unsweetend Cocoa Powder


• 6 Cups Powdered Sugar

Sift sugar and cocoa together and set aside.
Beat sugar until fluffy and slowly add dry mixture alternating with milk until well blended. Add vanilla and beat together one more time.

Taste of Greece

The food fest weekend continued today with the Taste of Greece festival at the Annunciation Cathedral on Valencia Street. The Greeks are a lot like the Maltese, they love to eat and dance and today was full of both. Our friend the sun actually came out as well, which lead us to stay outside at the festival for almost 4 hours. The great part was...there was plenty of tables and chairs set up inside and outside for everyone who wanted to sit and enjoy the music and dancing.

The food was incredible, I didn't expect anything less. I had spanakopita, dolmades and roasted potatoes with ice cold Mythos. Tim had pastitsio and souvlaki.

We sat and basked in the warmth of the sunshine and enjoyed every bite. The live music was great as well as the dancing, there were troops of all ages, but I liked the kids the best. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered when the kids started dancing.

Here is a sneak peak...

After the dancing and people watching, it was time for dessert (Galaktoboureko, Baklava and Anise Biscotti) and coffee all followed by a bus ride home.

Eat Real

Yesterday late in the afternoon Tim and I went over to Oakland's Jack London Square for the Eat Real Festival. Get more info on Eat Real here. It is an amazing event bringing together local food trucks, local food artisans and lots of food related anything you can think of. There is a DIY stage where you can learn all kinds of culinary tasks from making your own mozzarella to butchering your own beast. Despite the thousands of people and my dislike for large gatherings of people with no room to breathe let alone walk down the sidewalk, it was very fun! We went to the VIP reception (since I work for one of the main sponsors) and got to spend time off the clock with some of my coworkers, which was cool.

Here is a list of the foods we enjoyed - not all of them were photographed as I had to hold my beer in one hand and eat with the other! Please keep in mind, this is a lot of food but not really full size servings as everything was under $5 each!

:: Senor Sisig Truck - Chicken Tacos (his) and Tofu Tostada (hers)

:: Vesta Flat Bread Truck - Mezze side: carrot hazelnut pate, fresh beet salad, labne with sumac & zatar, flatbread triangles (his & hers)

:: Whole Foods Market Truck - Hodo Soy Yuba Kung Pao (hers) and Corn Dog Bites (his)

:: Local Grass Fed Beef Cheeseburger (his)

:: Vegan Corn Dog with locally made mustard (hers)

:: Little Green Cyclo Truck - Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich (his)

:: Beer - can't remember all of them that we tried

My recommendation if you plan on checking this event out in the future, go in the late afternoon or at dinner time. The crowds seem to dissipate leaving more room to actually walk.

Making Pie

I think my favorite thing to bake is pie, I mean I love a good cake and you can't deny the smell of homemade bread but there is something very comforting and reminiscent of home about a pie. My Mom used to bake pies for our neighbors restaurant, how cool is that? So I guess its in my blood.

This weekend I made a cherry pie in a new pie dish I got from my friend Amy for my birthday which made it even more fun. There is something so therapeutic about making the crust, rolling it out and piecing the hand-cut top together. The smell of pastry and fruit in the oven is divine - if I could bottle that smell I'd be a millionaire for sure.

Here she is...sorry no scratch and sniff technology yet...

Tell me, what is your favorite thing to bake?

Tomato Crazy

I have been buried in tomatoes this past week thanks to my CSA box so I thought I'd share what I have been doing with them besides making a sauce, which was my go in the past.

I super love tomatoes on sprouted wheat bagels or sprouted protein bread with tofutti cream cheese, this is stand by this time of year for breakfast at my house and its so delicious (add red onion slices if you have them for even more flavor).

I have been making pizza at least once a week since the tomatoes have been so abundant and I love roasting/drying them and using them instead of sauce on my pizzas.

Here's how:

:: Preheat oven to 250.

:: Prepare cooling racks (spray them with cooking spray so the tomatoes don't stick or brush them with olive oil). Place racks over baking sheets lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper (easy clean up).

:: Slice tomatoes and place on cooking racks, sprinkle with salt (you are trying to draw the moisture out). I also topped mine with a dash of oregano and very light drizzle of olive oil.

:: Place in oven on center racks and bake for 30 minutes, switch shelves and bake for 30-45

more minutes depending on the thickness of your slices and the variety of your tomatoes (some take longer than others).

:: Remove from the oven when tomatoes are a bit shriveled and dried.

:: Use immediately or place in an airtight container to use within a couple days.

Looking for a good pizza crust? I have been using the following and love it!

:: 1 paket of instant yeast

:: 2 tsp sugar

:: 1 Cup warm water

:: 1/4 Cup vegetable shortening (I use Earth Balance)

- mix the 4 above ingredients together with whisk attachment of mixer, once incorporated (note, the shortening doesn't really mix in well, sort of breaks up, this is normal), change to dough hook and add the following:

:: 3 Cups Flour

:: 2 tsp Salt

- mix with dough hook for a few minutes until dough curls itself around the hook clinging on

for dear life and cleaning the sides of the mixing bowl.

- remove from hook and add to an oiled bowl, turning over once so the top has been oiled.

- cover with plastic wrap and a towel and forget about it for an hour. I let my rise on the stove top, it seems to work well there.

- after one hour, dough should be doubled, punch it down, kneed about 5-10 times on a board and let rest for 15 minutes while you prepare your toppings.

- preheat oven to 500 degrees - screamin' hot

- brush your pan with olive oil

- toss dough to fit your pan and lay it down

- cover with toppings

- bake 10 minutes then rotate in oven, bake 5-10 more until done to your liking. I like a crispy

bottom so I check the bottom with a pancake turner (usually bake about 20 minutes total for a toasty golden bottom, but ovens vary so please keep checking as no one wants a burnt pizza).

- remove from oven, let cool about 5-7 minutes, slice and enjoy - preferably with an ice cold Peroni.

Easy Summer Dinner

I decided to make an effortless dinner tonight with all local produce, cheese and bread and it was simple and delicious.

I made a Greek salad with red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, fresh chopped oregano and olive oil (salt and pepper to taste). So easy to make and bursting with farm fresh flavors.

To accompany the salad I made some toasted bread with fresh local mozzarella. I sliced the bread, drizzled with olive oil, topped with a slice of the cheese and some pepper and baked at 450 for about 8 minutes and then put under the boiler for about 2 minutes until the cheese bubbled and browned on top.

I would make this again in a heartbeat, of course we ate it with a side of olives!

Food Tour SF

Friday I got a chance to go on a food tour of San Francisco. I love working for a company that encourages people to get out there and check out local popular food places.

Here are some highlights:

:: Waiting in line at Tartine to get one of the best pan au chocolates I have ever had in my life, it was worth the wait.

:: Cakes at Tartine are incredible looking, I love the abnormal shape (first photo, left side) the lemon meringue cake is on my wish list. Can you see that toasty brown goodness?

:: Savory pastry selection is incredible, my coworker got the tomato and ham quiche (first photo, right side)

:: BiRite Market, squeezing down the narrow aisles full of lovely olive oils, pasta and cheese. I actually went back today for fresh mozzarella, oregano, olive oil and bread for some bruschetta later this evening.

:: DeLessio Market and Bakery; the Tres Leches Cake and Rabanada looked incredible.

:: Cheese Plus, my friend Ray owns this store so its always nice to see a friendly face. Cool indy ice cream from Ohio and lots of gourmet stuff that is very tempting.

We went made a couple more (not very impressive) stops and then had lunch at Liberty Cafe in my neighborhood, followed by a walk to Sandbox Bakery to get some macarons for dessert.

It was a great day out and about. Thanks Amy for picking me up and driving around the city, I love when work stuff can also feel like fun! It was nice to get out, since I have been cooped up lately.

Stay tuned for Part 2 sometime in the future.

Juicing Machine

I have been going through some personal health stuff lately, and when this happens, I turn to juicing before anything else. I think that juicing lots of root vegetables helps to keep me grounded during times that could cause anxiety, stress, etc. I believe you can heal yourself with food; the more I read, the more I believe that. I just wish more doctors were on board.

So...lots of meditating and lots and lots of fresh juice each day.

This is my favorite mix:

:: one granny smith apple

:: 2 beets

:: 3 lbs. carrots

:: one thumb size piece of ginger

All organic produce of course and to mix things up, sometimes I add a Valencia orange to the above mixture, if I don't eat it before I juice it that is (seems like once I cut it, I just want to eat it as is).

While juicing yesterday, I had to take these photos - it looks psychedelic.

Homemade Lunch

I had the best lunch today, I have to share.

I love being able to take time and make myself a somewhat healthy lunch.

Today was delicious.

Toasted sprouted whole grain bread rubbed with a clove of garlic, topped with sliced heirloom tomato, drizzle with olive oil, put a slice of cheese on top and dust with salt and pepper.

Holy Moley it is good!

Birthday Cake

It is so nice to have a friend that has a birthday so close to your own, that way not only can you celebrate together, you can take turns making the cake each year. Last year Robin made a wonderfully delicious Hummingbird Cake, this year I decided to take a stab at this Blueberry Lemon Cake. I baked the cake and made the frosting at home and assembled it at Robin and Kenny's house with the help of Robin's niece Isabella (8) who asked so sweetly if she could help, so I let her decorate the entire thing and it was beautiful. She did an excellent job!

This cake is fabulous, fruity and dense because it has buttermilk in it, make it, you will like it!

Summer Produce

After sleeping in until about 10 AM (luxurious), I got bit by the baking bug and decided to use the beautiful zucchini I got this week in some zucchini bread. I found a great recipe on smitten kitchen that called for olive or vegetable oil so I decided to try it with the olive. I was a bit apprehensive as the last time I baked a sweet bread with olive oil it was terrible, but Angela makes a cake with it, so I thought I would give it a try since my last attempt was years ago. The bread turned out amazing, I added cranberries and left the nuts out. The mister has already had a half a loaf (good thing I made two). I had plans to make a crisp out of my white nectarines, but after eating one just the way nature intended, there was no way I could adulterate them. They are incredible just the way they are; just as sweet as the sunny spot that glides across my kitchen floor each afternoon.

Italian Baked Eggs

Super easy and great meal for dinner tonight.

We got our CSA box tonight and it was full of tomatoes, onions and basil (amongst other things) so I decided to use them right away and make baked eggs.

You will need:

• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1 clove of garlic (chopped)
• 2 medium heirloom tomatoes (diced)
• 6 basil leaves (chopped finely)
• 4 organic eggs
• 2 Tbls. Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 2 small pie plates or small baking dishes - if don't have this, you can bake it all in one dish or break into 4 ramekins or custard cups, just use what you have.
• Butter or olive oil (Earth Balance)

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease baking containers with butter, oil or Earth Balance.

Saute onions in a small fry pan until translucent, add garlic and tomatoes and let simmer for about 10 minutes to get some moisture out.

To each baking dish, with a slotted spoon, add half of the onion and tomato mixture and top with finely chopped basil and crack 2 eggs on top of all of that. Try not to break the yolk, I wasn't so lucky with one of mine.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until egg is opaque.

Remove from oven and top with salt, pepper and half of the cheese.

Serve with toasted crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Trail Mix Cookies

This was posted a while back, but they were so good, I thought I would repost! I must make these soon, I can taste them right now!

Trail Mix Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cut parchment for cookie sheets, set aside.

In mixing bowl cream together:
:: 1 C. Butter, Shortening or Margarine
:: 1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
:: 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar

ADD
:: 1 tsp. Almond extract (pure, not imitation)
:: 2 Eggs, Eggbeaters or Egg Replacer

In a separate bowl sift together:
:: 1 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
:: 1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
:: 1 tsp. Baking Soda
:: 1/2 tsp Salt

Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture with mixer on low so you don't get flour poofing all over your counter and yourself for that matter.

Once it is all incorporated and smooth add the following:
:: 3 Cups Rolled Oats (old fashioned, not quick) - mix on medium

Then, add (while mixing on low - I pulse my mixer as not to crush any of the good stuff):
:: 1 Large Dark Chocolate Bar (chopped)
:: 1/3 C. Sliced Almonds
:: 1/2 C. Chopped Pecans
:: 1/2 C. Dried Cranberries (or cherries)
:: 1/2 C. Raisins

Drop by tablespoons full onto parchment covered cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Move to cooling rack and enjoy!