tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-302514482024-03-14T06:29:21.058-07:00Everything But The...My journey into the world of all things culinary.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-45179538833878199522011-02-02T14:54:00.000-08:002011-02-02T14:54:11.593-08:00THE BLOG HAS MOVED!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HELLO WORLD!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>We decided it was time for a little facelift, </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>so we've moved over to Wordpress. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Check us out there from now on!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b>http://everythingbutthe.wordpress.com/</b></span></div></div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-24982134507749885052011-02-02T13:39:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:39:22.254-08:00The Best Lasagna You've Never Eaten<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have discovered the ultimate improvement in classic comfort food - healthy lasagna! That's right, sans all the fat, but with all the taste...but a very different taste.<br />
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I found this recipe on <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/best-healthy-casseroles/recipe-chard-mushroom-lasagna-with-butternut-bchamel-best-healthy-casseroles-contest-137482">The Kitchn</a> and it sounded like such a great spin on the original (though totally different) I had to try it.<br />
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Instead of a heavy, fattening bechemel, you puree cooked butternut squash with a little cheese and milk. I took mine an extra step toward healthy by trading out 3/4 of the cheese with tofu and a little fat free sour cream and honey. Honestly, there are endless various for this "bechemel" - all possibly in your handy dandy food processor. You could do tofu and herbs and make this dish completely vegan. <br />
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I didn't have mushrooms to sautee with the card, so I just added some tofu cubes for texture - talk about veggie and protein packed lasagna!<br />
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Delicious, not exactly easy (so many pots and pans!), but damn good and eating it provided none of that yucky full feeling of eating traditional lasagna that you know you shouldn't have had three servings of...yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Don't think I didn't see you...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjVB9dU9yu4dGzDIuYApHvmS9rVyt5YNGohiUANILZS9acvG50wK4E4s99aGz-FzYved6FcZc26ExB7_TVg3mPImwOTaZC4EXPq7Rj5toXiJowU_TvDRmPATFsie8iSzeBnyx/s1600/P1010354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjVB9dU9yu4dGzDIuYApHvmS9rVyt5YNGohiUANILZS9acvG50wK4E4s99aGz-FzYved6FcZc26ExB7_TVg3mPImwOTaZC4EXPq7Rj5toXiJowU_TvDRmPATFsie8iSzeBnyx/s400/P1010354.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
</div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-23515023348616132702011-01-31T16:59:00.000-08:002011-01-31T16:59:27.782-08:00Let's go to the grocery store!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I'm a self-admitted grocery store junkie. Hitting up 2-3 markets on a given shopping day isn't outside my comfort zone and I can endlessly trail the aisles at interesting or new stores for hours. Why? I think it's my inquisitive nature, born out of my desire to learn about the cultural implications of modern food purchasing. NOT! It's because I love delicious food in pretty packaging!<br />
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So when my friend Fritz (yes, that's his name, amazing right?) recommended I visit Super King Market in the far outer reaches of Los Angeles (I think they call it Burbank?), I just had to try it. Was I in for a show!<br />
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The best thing about non-traditional supermarkets that cater to ethnic populations is just how much of their traditional cultures are inflected into the stores. Crazy old Korean ladies bumping into you constantly as you grab their prized head of cabbage. Stubborn Armenian women that just dare you to move their cart out of the already-congested produce section. I could go on. I could also show you the bruises on my elbows. <br />
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Super King was other-worldly in its representation of ethnic cultures doing what they do best - picking, haggling and hoarding their favorite foods. The buzz of people in the produce section was incredible; you could barely move your cart, let alone alone walk through some of the sections. People were grabbing the sale fruits and vegetables like the megaquake is on the calendar and this was their last shot at filling the pantry!<br />
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Needless to say, very fun experience. I eventually abandoned my cart in an empty section and proceeded to make runs back and forth with my goods...always with an eye on my stuff...Yeah, I see you little old Persian lady with the kerchief. Keep your hands off my eggplant! <br />
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The store had a great selection of produce you don't see at traditional markets (hello, garbanzo beans in their shell, where have you been all my life! <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/2011/01/chickpea-casserole.html">Good for fueling my obsession</a>!) and some great fetas from Greece and France, as well as my new favorite discovery: Menaesh. <br />
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<b>Menaesh </b>is a flat bread covered in a paste of thyme, oregano, vegetable oil, sesame seeds and lemon juice (though the lemon juice wasn't listed on the package, you could definitely taste it). I am at a loss in finding anything more about it online but this is how it was spelled on the package, fresh from the bakery.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbf3YnnjWsztR4VwmNu06xo-Z6CLghDvF42Wr1GVgoM30VuDwq4Wi_S66uLe-inRpqJy-37A5duGykHtCuMD5hhMQp2h74tQyZCbuVr7h1NHeyTnSTZ3wshY37-uHGwlzeA0W/s1600/SAM_1277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbf3YnnjWsztR4VwmNu06xo-Z6CLghDvF42Wr1GVgoM30VuDwq4Wi_S66uLe-inRpqJy-37A5duGykHtCuMD5hhMQp2h74tQyZCbuVr7h1NHeyTnSTZ3wshY37-uHGwlzeA0W/s400/SAM_1277.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
From the little information I could find online (and comparing it to what I tasted) I'm pretty sure the topping is actually Za'atar (zaatar), a mixture of sumac, sesame seed and herbs frequently used in the Middle East and Mediterranean areas. It was delicious! </div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-46591400196142307672011-01-28T15:59:00.000-08:002011-01-28T15:59:29.543-08:00Baking Day!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Yesterday was quite the marathon baking day! Three loaves, all with similar bases and different fruit/vegetable add-ins. At Cherryvale Farms, we have a commitment to delivering delicious, easy to make mixes that are also healthy, hence your addition of a fresh fruit or vegetable.<br />
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In the case of our "Everything But The...Zucchini / Apple Cinnamon / Carrot Raisin" bread mixes, the main add-in is the fresh ingredients you yourself supply. No gummy, rubberized, dried-out fruit or veggie bits in our mixes! No! You're in charge of making the mixes wholesome for your family - we just provide the vehicle to do that. To learn more about what I'm talking about, check out this <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/food/2011/01/27/2011-01-27_fake_blueberries_pervade_cereals_muffins_bagels_blueberries_are_actually_oils_dy.html">link</a> for a NY Daily News story on fake blueberries in processed foods. Those little blueberries you thought you were eating in your breakfast cereal or muffin may not be blueberries at all! They might be oil, dyes and gums made to look like blueberries. Ew! I don't know about you, but that grosses me out. <br />
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Here's a look at my "Everything But The" Carrot Raisin Bread, Apple Cinnamon Bread and Zucchini Bread (from left to right). Some more fine-tuning and we'll be well on our way to packaging. YAY.<br />
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</div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-55075233447520010762011-01-27T11:32:00.000-08:002011-01-27T11:32:00.103-08:00Chickpea Casserole<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have an unearthly love of chickpeas. I think it emerged from my love for my childhood cat, Garbanzo. Love the cat, love the thing it's named after, right? I also briefly had a cat named Cucumber.* And my sister has a cat named Cookie. I now have a dog named Walnut. Do we see a trend here?<br />
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Anyway, whenever I come across a chickpea recipe, I just have to try it. Earlier this week I came across a <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/main-dish/recipe-chickpea-casserole-with-lemon-herbs-shallots-cookbook-recipe-137473">Chickpea Casserole with Lemon and Herbs</a>. Added bonus: only mixing and baking involved, no extra pre-casserole steps like sauteing or sweating. Hands on time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 45 minutes. Me loves an easy (and healthy!) vegetarian dish. <br />
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Main components of the dish are chickpeas, brown rice, yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as the protein from 2 eggs. I halved my recipe since I have no need to feed 6-8 people at this point in my life (give me 5 years?), and the recipe still turned out fantastic.<br />
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If you've got a can of chickpeas lying around, I highly recommend making this delicious homage to my childhood cat Garbanzo. <br />
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*(I also have a cat named Rosy, alas she did not fit the food names trifecta.)<br />
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</div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-35289130419599353992011-01-25T17:02:00.000-08:002011-01-25T17:02:03.832-08:00Sugar / Candy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've been thinking a lot about sugar today, which brought me to candy. Oh! Glorious candy! <br />
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Personally, I've always been a fan of sour candies and dark chocolate and not much in between. My sister on the other hand, as a child, would devour anything with a hint of sugar in it. As an adult, I try to limit my candy intake, for fear of that dreaded, evil sugar lurking in the shadows ready to gobble up my toned (ha!) waistline. <br />
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As I've been researching different sugars (Stevia, Splenda, etc.) I took a moment to reflect on sweetness and why we humans desire it so frantically. It's in our genes, for sure, and in today's processed world it's that much easier for food producers to put traces of sugar in so many products, often without our knowing. We're drawn to sweet. We crave it. <br />
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In this research, I learned that products like Stevia (which is derived from a green plant, like sugar is derived from sugar cane) is about 400 times sweeter than sugar, and has less environmental impact. Next I found another great product yet to hit the market: Fruit Sweetness. Also naturally derived, Fruit Sweetness has the same incredible sweetness exponential as Stevia, but it's derived from the flesh of monk fruit rather than leaves. I don't know about you, but I find all of this incredibly interesting. <br />
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Anyway, I wanted to share that little tid bit of knowledge today in hoping that, when I devour a nice piece of candy in a few years, it will lack any processed (fake) sugars and instead be sweetened only by the natural sweetness inherent in plants and fruits (as it should be).<br />
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Here's a photo I took at Dylan's Candy Bar when I was in New York last summer. Like a kid in a candy store...<br />
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</div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-839956068748962682011-01-24T17:38:00.000-08:002011-01-24T17:38:59.154-08:00Banana Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So I'm baking again these days. Lots of baking. Baking for the good of mankind! Well, maybe not <i>all</i> of mankind. Maybe just me, my boyfriend and his co-workers. Regardless, I'm making a difference in the world, one baked good at a time!<br />
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I'm still experimenting with Banana Bread, this time non-vegan for the more traditional mass market. At Cherryvale Farms we believe in organic, wholesome living. That means better quality foods and reducing our intake or refined sugars and flours. Notice I say <i>reducing</i>. We don't believe you have to remove traditional ingredients for the sake of health. Sometimes you just need to know where to pick and choose.<br />
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My eagerness to build a healthier banana bread is, in many ways, dedicated to Moms like my friend Catherine. She has a 13-month old baby and is concerned about the amount of sugar in kids foods. I too feel strongly about the amount of sugar we put into our family's bodies. <br />
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I have been researching a lot about the sugar substitute Stevia and I'm at a loss to figure out why the heck we didn't start using this sooner! South American cultures have been using the Stevia plant as a natural sweetener for over 400 years and yet we're just getting on the band wagon! Stevia has all the sweetness we look for in our processed goods without any calories and limited impact on the environment. I honestly had no idea. Consider me converted. <br />
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Using 2/3 white flour and 1/3 whole wheat flour, my version also ensures your family will get more whole grains. Take a look at the final results.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhUt7pcyk9KzKxUEaLOfIoNZMIE7yCFORAxyB50AiS1LuYNmZpa8tYniH31m8V-aVGRtXPKolzDyEAjExDj2IY2b7ImCHsFcDRsE2lrctymHmzydAMfHXdlR5eIyD1Nyjo5I7/s1600/SAM_1248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhUt7pcyk9KzKxUEaLOfIoNZMIE7yCFORAxyB50AiS1LuYNmZpa8tYniH31m8V-aVGRtXPKolzDyEAjExDj2IY2b7ImCHsFcDRsE2lrctymHmzydAMfHXdlR5eIyD1Nyjo5I7/s400/SAM_1248.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Low-Sugar / Semi-Whole Wheat Banana Bread </b><br />
<i>(i.e. pretty darn good for you Banana Bread)</i> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>Email me if you'd like the recipe. </b></div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-82537052143653608172011-01-20T15:07:00.000-08:002011-01-20T15:07:35.902-08:00Cupcakes!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sometimes you just need a cupcake. Or rather, when you're boyfriend is working until 2 am one night, <i>he</i> needs a cupcake. <br />
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Last night turned out to be a late one for Daniel, so I thought I'd perk up his office-mates with some late night chocolate goodness. <br />
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I pulled the recipe from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, and a real piece of Americana, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Considered the status quo cookbook for all things classically American, it really is a fullproof volume of traditional dishes. Plus the recipes have great names, like this one: Little Light Chocolate Cakes.<br />
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<b>Little Light Chocolate Cakes </b><br />
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1/4 cup shortening<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa<br />
1/2 cup boiling water<br />
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 egg, slightly beaten<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
1/2 cup sour cream <br />
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan or spray with non-stick coating. <br />
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Combine the shortening, sugar and cocoa in a mixing bowl; pour over the boiling water and beat until smooth.<br />
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In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Slowly pour the dry mixture into the wet; beat until well blended.<br />
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Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream to the batter until smooth and creamy. Spoon into the individual muffin tins until about 3/4 full. Baking for about 20 minutes. Let cool before frosting. <br />
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<b>Chocolate Frosting</b><br />
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4 tablespoons butter at room temperature<br />
1 egg yolk<br />
1 cup powdered sugar<br />
4 oz. semisweet chocolate<br />
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Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring regularly so it doesn't burn. (If you want tips on how best to do this, check out my earlier <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/2010/12/bacon-pretzels.html">post</a>)<br />
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In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy. Stir in the egg yolk and continue to beat, adding the sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. Slowly add in the melted chocolate. Beat until all the chocolate is incorporated and the frosting is fluffy. Allow the frosting to cool to room temperature before applying to your cupcakes.<br />
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</div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-57708792601441935842011-01-19T16:05:00.000-08:002011-01-19T16:05:50.567-08:00Macaroni and CheeseOh yes. This is a good post. A very yummy post. A very <i>fatty</i> post. Honestly, who doesn't love Macaroni and Cheese? Anyone that says yes is a liar and should not be trusted. <br />
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We at Cherryvale Farms are interested in the Macaroni and Cheese market. Who are the players? Where are they getting their ingredients? Can a Macaroni and Cheese be organic, sustainably sourced and have environmentally-friendly packaging? Hmmm...so many questions!<br />
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Today we began testing commercial instant mac and cheese mixes to see what the potential competition holds. Wow, were we shocked at just home many mac and cheese mixes are on the shelves! At Target, we counted no less than 40 different kinds. At Whole Foods, no less than 20. That's a lot of mac and cheese! Americans must really like it. Oh, right, they do! Well then why not bring another player into the mix?!<br />
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We have an amazing (and top secret) idea on how to revolutionize mac and cheese here at Cherryvale Farms. Though we're not ready to share it just yet, we have a big ace up our sleeve and we think the forecast looks, well, sun-shiny. Stay tuned.<br />
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Today we tested an Archer Farms Five Cheese Macaroni Entree from Target. Serving 5 people, the box was less than $3. All you add is butter and milk. The interesting thing about this deluxe mix is that you bake it after you mix the cheese and sauce - an attempt to recreate the homestyle version.<br />
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Took about 35 minutes to make (so, not super busy mom-friendly) but it had a lot more "real" feeling as we went through the steps. I mean, who really feels like making a roux when you have screaming kids running around? Hence, insta-mac-and-cheese!<br />
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We followed the directions and, shockingly!, it wasn't that bad. Definitely not restaurant-quality-oh-my-god-I-will-regret-this delicious, but pretty darn good. We could actually eat it. And then we ate some more. And them we got a tummy ache. <br />
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Anyway, here's how it turned out. Don't you just love when you make something and looks like the picture?! I love that. It makes me feel special. Mostly because I am the worst at following directions. And following orders. Ha. <br />
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Did you know Kraft's version was invented in 1937? Isn't that crazy?<br />
Time for an update! A la Cherryvale Farms.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-37679705347283823372011-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:002011-01-18T18:20:31.673-08:00Fancy Food Show Winter 2011What a week! The Cherryvale Farms team hit up the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this week to take in the trends, see new products coming to market and, of course, eat. And did we eat! And then we ate a little more. And then we got tummy aches. But all in the name of research!<br />
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Thousands of new products were on display this week: everything from the mundane to the magical. We tried some black water by a company called BLK - normal water that appears jet black from the presence of a volcanic material. We devoured salsas, olives, meats and cheeses from the best in the business to small start-ups trying to make a name for themselves.<br />
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We loved seeing the novel new ideas like hot chocolate on a stick. Literally a block of chocolate, sugar and flavorings at the end of a wooden stick you stir into hot milk. Freeze-dried fruit and vegetables seemed to big a big trend and we were surprised by the lack of bacon products. We only came across three processed bacon products at the show, including Skillet Gourmet's Bacon Jam (a personal favorite) and a Bacon Lollipop and Bacon Salt. The mind wanders when you think of how they possibly imagined bacon flavored salt. <br />
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The show gave us a million ideas as we continue planning for Cherryvale Farms introductory product line. What we didn't see a lot of at the show was pudding. Tell me - how do you feel about pudding? <br />
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We also want to know - do you ever use meat spice mixes and rubs? Do you like the convenience of knowing half the seasoning work is done for you when you're grilling or cooking up a steak?<br />
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And when's the last time you ate some dip? Is it your go-to Monday night football staple?<br />
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We want to hear from you! Your feedback provides valuable research to us at Cherryvale Farms. Leave a <b>COMMENT </b>below. We'll reward you with free samples when they are ready! :) Promise. <br />
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Let us leave you with a giant "painting" of the Mona Lisa, in jelly beans, from the show. Enjoy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZcp5bm0L1Lrox5g5aTChNuQDs65aPmIy8hJCpEsev_eK7lFXs10a93G5ZmUcG7X5NhPekiGFF6sa7sQDZPXtK1FbVRzdRotPOxwjKhi-0m-asfPUJGLDe2f0b8-lSt0AvYY8/s1600/jelly+bean+mona+lisa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMZcp5bm0L1Lrox5g5aTChNuQDs65aPmIy8hJCpEsev_eK7lFXs10a93G5ZmUcG7X5NhPekiGFF6sa7sQDZPXtK1FbVRzdRotPOxwjKhi-0m-asfPUJGLDe2f0b8-lSt0AvYY8/s400/jelly+bean+mona+lisa.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-57585853116541223032011-01-13T17:00:00.000-08:002011-01-13T17:00:09.612-08:00The Dinner PartySo the dinner party was a success! Our friends brought over their lovely little puppy Gable so it was more of a doggie play date / dinner party, but thoroughly our kind of vibe.<br />
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For the starter, I made a mixed green salad with grapefruit segments, goat cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries with a balsamic and chive vinaigrette. For the entree I made a mushroom tart with tofu, parsley and chives, accompanied by a steamed artichoke with a caper and garlic aioli. Our friends are vegetarians, hence the veg main course. <br />
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For dessert, I went out on a limb to try a recipe I found from the Golden Door Spa. It's a flourless chocolate cake without the guilt, i.e. without fat or sugar. <br />
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I didn't take many pictures (thoroughly distracted by puppy playtime) but here's a look at the dinner table in action and our dessert. I topped the flourless chocolate cake with a blackberry coulis I made by blending fresh blackberries with some frozen raspberries, a little honey and lemon juice. <br />
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Here's the recipe for the <a href="http://www.oprah.com/own-cristinas-big-bowl-of-love/Warm-Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-Recipe">flourless chocolate cake</a>. Cooked yam and banana replace the typically "guilty" fat and sugar in the original recipe and, I must say, this was a surprisingly light dessert. The recipe for the mushroom tart came from a vegetarian cook book I have, but here's a <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wild-Mushroom-Tart-230762">similar recipe</a> you can try.<br />
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Now that the holidays are over, are you planning any dinner parties? I want to hear all about it! Leave a comment below or email me.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-61090996738840962782011-01-12T13:25:00.000-08:002011-01-12T13:25:58.271-08:00Let Me Entertain You!My passion in the kitchen extends beyond the stove...to the kitchen table! I love having parties and putting together a pretty table for my friends to enjoy my cooking. Tonight, we're having some good friends over and I wanted to put together a gorgeous early Spring table for our guests. Hey, it may be a blizzard back east but here in La La Land it's about 70 degrees and sunny. I say, embrace it!<br />
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The runner is actually a folded tablecloth; a family heirloom that my mother gave me. The little glasses filled with flours are all part of my growing glassware collection, including a few 100-year-old hand cut glass wine glasses (they've even purpled with age!), some 1950's well glasses rimmed with silver (just like the ones Don Draper sips in Mad Men) and some etched scotch glasses. The flowers I "borrowed" from my neighbors while on a walk with the dog. <br />
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All in all, I feel it's a pretty lovely table for our dinner tonight. We'll be sipping champagne to toast my trip up to SF tomorrow for the Fancy Food Show! We're so excited to get Cherryvale Farms off the ground and this weekend will mark a nice big step forward. Wish us luck. <br />
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More posts coming later this week from our rounds at the Fancy Food Show. We're sure to be packed to the gills with amazing edibles and we want to share every last bite with you!Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-35409264713583318662011-01-11T14:35:00.000-08:002011-01-11T14:35:18.802-08:00Banana BreadOh that traditional baked goodie you devoured as a child at the breakfast table! So sweet and delicious and made the whole house smell like sunshine. Where did those days go? Why isn't anyone baking <i>me</i> delicious sunshiny goodies on a Sunday morn? I feel so neglected. Pout. <br />
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One of my favorite Banana Bread recipes is actually not traditional at all: it's vegan. Why vegan, you ask? I have no idea. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm vegan. And covered in tattoos. And can ride a motorcycle. Because all those things seem to go together.<br />
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I love that this recipe features no refined sugars and almost no fat. Very healthy. Sort of. If you want to up the nutrition value of this bread even more, sub half the white flour for whole wheat flour. Add an extra tablespoon or two of applesauce to compensate for the denseness whole wheat flour usually adds. <br />
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<b>Vegan Banana Bread</b><br />
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2 ripe bananas (the browner, the better!)<br />
2 tablespoons vegetable oil<br />
1/2 cup sweetener - maple syrup or honey <br />
1/2 cup applesauce<br />
2 cups flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) <br />
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Set oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bread loaf pan with vegetable oil. <br />
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Sift your dry ingredients, set aside. <br />
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Blend your wet ingredients in a large bowl. If you want a really fine banana bread (no banana chunks) you can blend in a food processor.<br />
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Slowly blend in your dry to wet. Fold in 1/2 cup of nuts of your choice if you like. Pour mixture into pan and place in oven.<br />
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Bake for 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Though you and I both know that never happens. <br />
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I made a loaf of this bread the other night and decided to up the wow factor by "frying" pieces in a mixture of fresh squeezed orange juice and honey in a pan. The sugar from the honey crisps up the edges of the bread and adds a bit more sweetness. Top with fresh berries or whip cream and some toasted nuts. Yum.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-70672356576709217912011-01-10T15:38:00.000-08:002011-01-10T15:38:46.254-08:00Citrus MarmaladeWinter is my favorite season for many reasons. Sweaters being one. Tea and warm drinks being another. And yet a third is citrus! I think mother nature knew how tough she was being on us earth dwellers when she created winter and thought "well, I should give them <i>something</i> to perk them up amongst all that snow and cold!" And thus, we have winter citrus!<br />
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To make the most of the vast quantities of grapefruits, lemons and oranges I've been keeping around the house this month, I decided to do a little winter canning. Luckily, Food in Jars (one of my favorite foodie blogs) happened to have a post on a delightful <a href="http://www.foodinjars.com/2010/02/three-citrus-marmalade-recipe/">Three Citrus Marmalade</a>. <br />
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Recipe in hand, I went about painstakingly peeling the zest from the fruit, then removing the piths, then supreming each piece of fruit. Not easy, let me tell you.<br />
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Everything was going according to plan until I reached, um, the first step. My zest was not steeping properly! Trying to be patient, I gave it some more time in the pot and my liquid, instead of remaining at 6 cups (since I added 6 cups of water to the zest) actually only resulted in 4 cups. How exactly I went negative at this point alluded me. Then I realized I probably cut the zest too thick - I included too much pith which actually <i>absorbed</i> the liquid rather than just flavor it! Step 1 = FAIL. <br />
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Well, this put me on a foul course for the rest of my canning session. Rather than the recommended 30-40 minute reducing period, I needed to leave my final marmalade mixture on the heat for over an hour and still didn't meet the "sticky test requirements" the recipe provides. Alas, this was the night of friends coming over for <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/2011/01/couscous-and-importance-of-mis-en-place.html">Couscous</a> so I ran out of time when they arrived and just said the hell with it and put it in jars.<br />
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My marmalade is definitely not as thick as it should be, but I think with a few months on the shelf it will firm up quite a bit. Alas, a canning disaster. But it looks pretty, right? Sometimes pretty is more than enough. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvT2ZsyHD-Wj9xlWAhG5nDptQX5Y9Tgxp2YZR3KPVRXNB0fe04W-OPhnAyoFVUkKdJbL7AjqBqUEUp1mgnFmrs2C_wn_sFlSmsCrJZEECzxr6iNfYTlZSiyoqOeEEBn8Jsls_/s1600/SAM_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvT2ZsyHD-Wj9xlWAhG5nDptQX5Y9Tgxp2YZR3KPVRXNB0fe04W-OPhnAyoFVUkKdJbL7AjqBqUEUp1mgnFmrs2C_wn_sFlSmsCrJZEECzxr6iNfYTlZSiyoqOeEEBn8Jsls_/s400/SAM_1203.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-86717157663228157732011-01-07T16:50:00.000-08:002011-01-07T16:50:40.576-08:00Couscous and the Importance of Mis en placeI'm big on organization. Huge in fact. My closet is color coordinated, my books are arranged by size and color, the bills in my wallet always face the same direction. So, naturally, my cooking methods are very organized. I rely on this organization to keep me on task when I'm cooking. Something is bound to distract me when I'm in the kitchen so having my mis en place prepared (French for "everything in place") ensures I don't forget anything for a recipe. <br />
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In praise of the mis en place, I prepared and photographed my fixings for a couscous dinner the other night. A riff off a traditional Moroccan tagine, I sauteed zucchini with diced green olives, dried apricots, dried cranberries and preserved lemon and added the mixture to my prepared couscous.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS87GsC7Ob1wnsSXrfNNVdPSuMj8TV8POcWpBlFlLOcKrBZEyWsRa_2n72RDQc0Zu5C2Jq5caT5ohFAB0XU-M8NMZm9udaw1noMcFEf2HFQqvuyD5GtSNexdAUnltDRalv_wJx/s1600/SAM_1196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS87GsC7Ob1wnsSXrfNNVdPSuMj8TV8POcWpBlFlLOcKrBZEyWsRa_2n72RDQc0Zu5C2Jq5caT5ohFAB0XU-M8NMZm9udaw1noMcFEf2HFQqvuyD5GtSNexdAUnltDRalv_wJx/s400/SAM_1196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Couscous basically cooks itself so the zucchini sizzled in the pan while it steamed in a pot, once combined it made for a yummy middle eastern style meal.<br />
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Oh, and those preserved lemons? Made them myself. Uh huh, yes I did. And it was incredibly simple. You could easily pay $12 for a jar at a <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/la-vigne-moroccan-preserved-lemons-C1249?r=fr">specialty store</a> or just do it yourself by investing in a $1 mason jar and lid, a few lemons and some salt. Here's a simple <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_preserved_lemons/">recipe</a> you can make at home. If you get your mis en place all ready before you can your lemons, you're well on your way to becoming an organized home chef as well.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-42040193146322187352011-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:002011-01-06T17:42:49.396-08:00PantryToday I did a little grocery shopping. Fun grocery shopping. Costco grocery shopping!<br />
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Who doesn't like 10 lbs of potatoes for a few pennies? A crate of blackberries in the middle of January? Oh, the power of modernity! And all the while Russia and India are experiencing insane food shortages. I am counting my blessings. <br />
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So in the spirit of bulk buying, I wanted to share my list to create a perfectly stocked kitchen pantry. These staples will get you through a visit from impromptu dinner guests or a weekend where the rain leaves you no desire to leave the house. Admit it, you've done it.<br />
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Keeping the below items on hand will ensure you can always whip up a fantastic dish with limited notice and even limited fresh ingredients. I'm only including true pantry staples, that is they do not need refrigeration and have a very long shelf life. I'll do another post soon on veggie, freezer and beverage stapes. <br />
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In my ultimate kitchen fantasy, my pantry would look just like this. A girl can dream, can't she?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxX0zx2eOyhgmpvva9A3nlRArkhQnD7JV197-TFpmPKyZZkTUKthcNDI0ZmZNfwy0nyCKwQCJOQO7c7JtA-dOYOY8oAAnnzuMapvwSQfbl790kw5jCmnkmImrwGopuLzzrS0x/s1600/pantry2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxX0zx2eOyhgmpvva9A3nlRArkhQnD7JV197-TFpmPKyZZkTUKthcNDI0ZmZNfwy0nyCKwQCJOQO7c7JtA-dOYOY8oAAnnzuMapvwSQfbl790kw5jCmnkmImrwGopuLzzrS0x/s400/pantry2.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><b>PANTRY STAPLES (a la Lindsey) </b><br />
<ul><li><b>Beans (canned or dried):</b></li>
<ul><li> <b>Garbanzo</b> - I always keep several cans on hand for use in making homemade hummus or adding to a Moroccan style dish </li>
<li><b>Black - </b>always perfect for Latin dishes</li>
<li><b>Cannellini - </b>good for soups or pureed into a dip </li>
<li><b>Kidney Beans - </b>I love these added into a salad or vegetable and pasta dish</li>
</ul></ul><ul><li><b>Rice:</b></li>
<ul><li><b>White</b> - basic short grain or sushi rice</li>
<li><b>Basmati - </b>when you're short on time, basmatic only takes 15 minutes!</li>
<li><b>Brown</b> - sometimes I cheat and buy the pre-cooked brown rice in a package</li>
</ul></ul><ul><li><b>Pasta:</b></li>
<ul><li> <b>Penne</b></li>
<li><b>Rotini</b> - or similar corkscrew style pasta</li>
<li><b>Linguini</b>, <b>Spaghetti</b> or similar long noodles </li>
</ul></ul><ul><li><b>Alternative Pastas: </b></li>
<ul><li><b>Brown rice pasta </b>is a great, gluten-free pasta alternative; Trader Joe's makes an excellent and inexpensive version. Check out a full review <a href="http://www.glutenfreeportland.org/2009/06/22/product-review-trader-joes-gluten-free-organic-brown-rice-pasta/">here</a>.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://www.shiratakinoodles.net/what-are-shirataki-noodles.html">Shirataki noodles</a></b> - these light noodles are made of tofu instead of wheat and have virtually no calories. Though the texture is entirely different than traditional pastas, the calories you save are totally worth it when you remove the guilt of dousing it with a heavy or cheesy sauce. </li>
<li><b>Soba or Udon noodles</b> - pick up a package of these fresh noodles at your local Asian grocer. Since they're fresh they take only a minute to cook and make any Asian noodle dish taste like your favorite take-out. They do need to stay refrigerated but their fridge life is so long, I consider them a pantry staple. </li>
</ul></ul><ul><li><b>Grains, Flours, Baking Items: </b></li>
<ul><li><b>Quinoa </b>- my favorite thing on earth! This ancient grain is packed with protein. Check out my delicious <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/2010/12/quinoa-ratatouille.html">Quinoa Ratatouille</a> recipe from an earlier post.</li>
<li><b>Couscous </b>- buy in bulk. <b><br />
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<li><b>Lentils - </b>I find green are the easiest to cook. Buy in bulk to save some $$$. </li>
<li><b>Regular white, all-purpose flour</b></li>
<li><b>Whole wheat flour</b> - though never substitute for white flour in recipes, believe me, you can't inject health into buttery shortbread...</li>
<li><b>Oats</b> - quick cooking oats are the best for either oatmeal or oatmeal cookies. If you're craving oatmeal for breakfast, oats from scratch will always taste better than the pre-packaged, flavored kinds filled that harbor yucky preservatives and sugars. </li>
<li><b>Rice flour</b> - if you made my fabulous<a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/search/label/scallions"> Scallion Pancakes</a>, you'd have an excellent way to use this flour. </li>
<li><b>Corn Meal </b></li>
<li><b>Corn Starch</b> </li>
<li><b>Baking Soda</b></li>
<li><b>Baking Powder </b></li>
<li><b>White Sugar</b></li>
<li><b>Brown Sugar </b></li>
<li><b>Honey</b></li>
<li><b>Molasses - </b>I promise you're going to come across a cookie recipe that asks for this and since the shelf life is a million years, it's good to just keep around. <b></b> </li>
</ul></ul><ul><li><b>Canned Vegetables & Condiments: </b></li>
<ul><li> <b>Canned tomatoes</b> - whole, diced and/or paste; never get the seasoned kind and always check the dates on the cans before buying. </li>
<li><b>Olives</b> - black, green or kalamata.</li>
<li><b>Canned Salsa Verde </b>- I love this stuff in sauces, on rice or any Mexican-themed dished I'm making. It's easy to use and adds a great spice. If you don't feel like buying it, you can make it from scratch, <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/search/label/jalapeno">like I did</a>. </li>
<li><b>Canned Artichokes</b> - makes a great addition to salads, pastas.</li>
<li><b>Canned Hearts of Palm </b>- I am obsessed with these. I recently went to a restaurant with a salad bar (classy, I know) and I basically filled half my salad plate with hearts of palm. Don't you just feel cool knowing you're eating the <i>heart of a palm tree</i>?</li>
<li><b>Canned fruits, veggies and jams</b> from Mom and Grandma - I have the luxury of coming from a family that cans, so I usually have several jars laying around. Here's what's currently in stock from La Casa Rosenberg:</li>
<ul><li>Plum Jam</li>
<li>Apricot Jam </li>
<li> Strawberry Jam</li>
<li>Tomato Jam (of my own devising, it's deadly good) </li>
<li>Dilly beans (pickled green beans)</li>
</ul><ul><li>Corn Salsa (sweet and sour corn kernels with bells pepper and onions) </li>
<li>Citrus Marmalade (which I made yesterday and it didn't turn out, so not sure I'll be posting on it, sadly) </li>
<li>Chow Chow - classic American picked veggies </li>
</ul></ul></ul><ul><li><b> Misc. </b></li>
<ul><li><b>Nuts</b> - always keep a bag or two of your favorites. I generally keep almonds, walnuts and pistachios for use in baking, or as a crunchy topper for salads and mains. </li>
<li><b>Dark Chocolate</b> <b>Bars</b> - a few bars of good quality chocolate go a long way in baking a quick dessert or cookies when you don't have chocolate chips on hand. Go for milk chocolate if you have no tastebuds :) </li>
<li><b>Crackers</b> - a nice mixed box of appetizer crackers are all you need when the randoms show up. </li>
<li><b>Canned Tuna </b>- the only canned meat I will ever recommend buying. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch app is the best around, so I go by it's logic. Look for canned Albacore or Skipjack Tuna that says "Troll" or "Pole-and-line" on the packaging. To learn more, visit their <a href="http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=53">site</a> to look at all of their seafood reviews. </li>
</ul></ul><br />
I hope this list will guide you in building the perfect pantry. If you have any additional suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment below,Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-90156472221399222642011-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:002011-01-05T12:54:46.659-08:00Bread - from scratch!Bread. We eat it pretty much every day but yet few of us will ever attempt to make it ourselves. As such a staple to our diet, why rely on the grocery store or bakery to provide this earthen goodness? Make it yourself! <br />
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I'm going to show you an amazingly simple recipe for bread. It will change your life. Like holy-in-the-water change your life. Not only will the result be delicious but you'll forever be able to brag to your friends that you are a "baker." <br />
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The bread recipe below is the "No Knead" method popularized by Mark Bittman, which he adapted from Jim Lahey at Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. This was back in 2006. Being a little slow to the scene, I just starting baking this recipe last year. But I'll never go back. Maybe 20 minutes of active time and a dutch oven (enamel pot with a lid) is all you need and you'll have delicious, crusty bread right from your oven.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhu1JN4ikjfYR7ImhYd0mnWn8lA-SIIrkZpDDTBnV5qSZ1A-Aom3UL58PLQwN_qmYM3AohKEudLLWW66xGPuif4awSCx2Bd_nt4Wm3q0xAgwX4C1LNQS3-skVJ8tTZMYfwUEh/s1600/SAM_1187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhu1JN4ikjfYR7ImhYd0mnWn8lA-SIIrkZpDDTBnV5qSZ1A-Aom3UL58PLQwN_qmYM3AohKEudLLWW66xGPuif4awSCx2Bd_nt4Wm3q0xAgwX4C1LNQS3-skVJ8tTZMYfwUEh/s400/SAM_1187.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the par-baked stage </td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFLUi22zOYFr54l7g2_LDkOLw-7wGVWAIx44POxXXKJ0cACXhwY0S4yUY8ynoppdVzU_-GjotOSv-agiApVEjjZ5Jj5p2ZZ2fk2qS0Gz9xduy56c4nHM7_Ak4o44Pj-lwvrto/s1600/SAM_1190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFLUi22zOYFr54l7g2_LDkOLw-7wGVWAIx44POxXXKJ0cACXhwY0S4yUY8ynoppdVzU_-GjotOSv-agiApVEjjZ5Jj5p2ZZ2fk2qS0Gz9xduy56c4nHM7_Ak4o44Pj-lwvrto/s400/SAM_1190.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Try the basic method first and then dive into all of the glorious variations. There are even versions that don't require a dutch oven. <br />
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ref=dining">The Original Recipe</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/baked-good/noknead-bread-recipe-multigrain-peasant-bread-107657">Multi-Grain Bread</a> <br />
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<a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/tips-techniques/noknead-bread-hack-how-to-make-a-sandwich-loaf-instead-105248">Make it a Sandwich Loaf!</a><br />
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No Dutch Oven? <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/cookware-tools/noknead-bread-alternative-to-dutch-ovens-042145">Try these alternatives</a><br />
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Now go to the store, buy some bread flour and, shortly thereafter, you'll have amazing bread you're friends will swear came from La Brea Bakery. You'll glow with doughy astonishment. :)Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-2832599961137074012011-01-04T17:04:00.000-08:002011-01-04T17:04:06.103-08:00Chai TeaThere are some things you just never think of making from scratch. Things you'd rather just buy at the store and save some valuable time. Chai tea is one of those things. Why on earth would you try to make it at home when your friendly neighborhood barista can brew some up for a thrifty few dollars?<br />
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Because you are a true culinary explorer! A pioneer! A dare devil! You want to know where your food comes from, even down to that cup of tea. A few years ago I came across a really simple homemade chai tea recipe and have been making my own ever since. For literally pennies in spices, tea, ginger and milk, you get a warm, satisfying drink you can make by the gallon and warm up whenever you like. I've been known to brew up a pot on Sundays and put it in my coffee to-go cup for the ride to the office in the past, no one ever wiser that it was indeed chai instead of coffee inside.<br />
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So, on my recent trip to the frozen north, we came across a lovely Indian market in a random Santa Clara shopping mall. I was like a bee to honey! Any opportunity to explore a new ethnic market, please don't mind me as I disappear for a few hours.<br />
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This particular store was much larger than most I've visited so I took the time to lovingly cover every aisle and shelf. I bought a ton of fantastic spices and the prices, oy vey! Like a Beverly Hills Jew at a Loehmann's sale!<br />
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Ethnic spices are about one million times cheaper in their respective ethnic markets than in places like Whole Foods or another supermarket, so I always recommend putting together a list as you come across recipes that require them and then shop to buy. I bought a quarter of a pound of green cardamon (300+ pods) for less than $5. At a pricey spice store or even health food market, I would've expected to pay $5 for about 10 pods. No joke, I've paid that in the past. My wallet, and I, cried a little on the inside that day. <br />
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So today felt like a chai brewing day, which I whipped up using the following recipe. Took about 30 minutes and the results are lovely. I (like most people) am used to the much sweeter chai from Oregon Chai or Starbucks, so you may need to add a little more sugar. Make sure your ginger and spices are fresh and crushed nicely so you can extract all of their flavor.<br />
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<b>Chai Tea Made Easy </b><br />
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9 green cardamom seeds<br />
9 cloves<br />
4 black peppercorns<br />
2 cinnamon sticks (cut them into smaller pieces to expose more surface area) <br />
1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced<br />
4 bags darjeeling tea (or any black tea)<br />
2 cups sugar<br />
2 cups water <br />
8 teaspoons sugar<br />
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Crush all of your dry spices in a mortar and pestle or in a plastic bag and crush with a large iron pan.<br />
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Place the crushed spices, ginger, milk and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil.<br />
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Once at a full boil, remove from heat and add the teabags; let steep for 10 minutes.<br />
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Strain into a cup or pitcher and add sugar to your sweetness preference. Flip on a Bollywood movie on IFC and pretend you're not in Kansas anymore.<br />
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Click after the jump for some shortcuts and alternatives to this recipe. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>SHORTCUT: </b><br />
If you have extra cheese cloth or empty tea bags/balls lying around, place all of the dry spices and ginger into it and submerge in the liquid. This will save you the step of having to strain the tea before serving. <br />
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<b>ALTERNATIVES: </b><br />
1) Oregon Chai is made with honey, instead of sugar, and may provide more of the homey sweet flavor you're used to. Go ahead and make one glass with sugar, another with honey and see what you prefer.<br />
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2) This is also delicious with soy, almond or rice milk. Just note that if you use a vanilla flavored milk substitute, that flavor will find its way into your chai. If you use unflavored drinks, it's best to add a bit more sweetener.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-56688284541261242902011-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:002011-01-03T16:55:52.584-08:00Well Hello 2011!Well hello 2011! And hello readers! It's 2011 and Cherryvale Farms is about to kick it into high gear. 2011 is already looking great and we can't wait to share more with you as our journey continues.<br />
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I'd like recap you on the past week since I (lazily) didn't post any new updates. It was a great trip to Northern California to see friends and family and eat far more than any normal person reasonably should. <br />
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Let's start off my noting there is always an endless supply of good food at my parents house. So when we arrived on Christmas day we were greeted by a delicious plate of truffled cheese, crisp bread and chips and dip. I mean, how can you not like chips and dip? It's like classic Americana. So we proceeded to stuff our faces Christmas afternoon until we were beyond full...then we had some dinner. A gorgeous roast of beef was joined by fingerling potatoes dripping with the beef au jus, accompanied by a salad. I don't eat beef often but I had no excuse not to dig into this prime piece of caveman deliciousness.<br />
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The eating continued the next morning with bacon and pancakes for breakfast. You know, light. <br />
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A few nights later we continued the food-a-thon with fried chicken, which you <a href="http://cherryvalefarms.blogspot.com/2010/12/fried-chicken.html">already drooled over</a>. <br />
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The final night of our trip was a light vegetable pasta to bring in the New Year on a much healthier note. But, of course, we had to ruin it by our desire for a fresh banana cream pie. Marie Callendar's it was not. My mother started in on a baked pie crust while my father whipped up the banana custard and freshly (hand) whipped cream. You know, because at the end of a long day and a light meal, there's nothing better than spending an hour in the kitchen making an entire banana cream pie from scratch. <br />
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I couldn't get a picture in before everyone started hacking away, so here you go. It's not Marie Callendar's perfect but damn was it good. <br />
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All of us at Cherryvale Farms hope your New Year is off to a great start as well! May Health, Happiness and Good Luck greet you throughout 2011.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-4356542027237797822010-12-28T11:21:00.000-08:002010-12-28T11:21:18.163-08:00Fried ChickenThe holiday season brings out the best in all of us. Cheer, goodwill toward (wo)men and all those warm and fuzzy things. It also brings out the glutton in all of us. I celebrated this wonderful season by making fried chicken. Because nothing brings good cheer like a big 'ol pile of fried chicken.<br />
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The fried chicken really came out of necessity more than anything else. My father bought a whole chicken for dinner and we were all simply tired of roast chicken. There also happened to be a pot of oil on the stove from my sister's doughnut-making episode the day before. Being the green enthusiast I am, I couldn't possibly let all of that good oil go to waste. Frying was the solution!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG19Lo6vraMhmpr9MVfZs89zbnFhL-unkqmOKbaq5lsaIBUuMNDKGJs8aK0Rsgjp5Q-OfUkdlZm_tFDQyE1qMxm_oLgG4VE2Un8XFMGXKgtTtejKI8rFeicsaFFRz4Jc1brlUw/s1600/SAM_1152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG19Lo6vraMhmpr9MVfZs89zbnFhL-unkqmOKbaq5lsaIBUuMNDKGJs8aK0Rsgjp5Q-OfUkdlZm_tFDQyE1qMxm_oLgG4VE2Un8XFMGXKgtTtejKI8rFeicsaFFRz4Jc1brlUw/s320/SAM_1152.JPG" width="210" /></a>My father dutifully pieced the chicken from its whole form (which for never having done it before, did a pretty nice job) then we bathed each piece in some beaten eggs and then a coating of flour, seasoning the pieces at each step in its fried chicken journey. <br />
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You know, if I were this free-range, organic, hormone-free chicken I would feel pretty darn good that I was going to finish my existence on earth as some crunchy fried chicken. A good life, indeed. Just saying. <br />
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After dredging in the flour, we placed the pieces into a large pan of 350 degree oil and let them fry until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side depending on the piece. We had about 2 inches of oil in our pan, hence the need to turn them over.<br />
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The result was a deliciously crispy bird we all enjoyed with, what else, wing sauce! Because my family has an odd obsession with this spicy sauce, we smothered the chicken with it and served it up with the classic accompaniment celery and carrots and a homemade ranch-like dipping sauce.<br />
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The ingredients we used (from the chicken to the flour to the veggies and even the sour cream for the ranch dip) were all organic and organic fried chicken never tasted so good!Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-82196772546357005322010-12-27T11:26:00.000-08:002010-12-27T11:26:25.045-08:00Cranberry Orange BreadOne of the things I love about the holiday season is the absurd amount of baked goods that seem to circulate in my life. Cookies, cakes, breads and every variety of sweet thing imaginable. So, of course, I would be out of the loop if I didn't contribute to this flurry of baking myself! <br />
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Just before Christmas, Walnut and I had a little doggie playdate with one of my favorite puppies, Gable. What playdate would be complete without some freshly baked holiday items? No playdate of mine!<br />
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That afternoon I baked a lovely cranberry orange bread, packed with fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh (not frozen or dried) cranberries. Dusted with a little powdered sugar, it was a lovely complement to the boozy eggnog I also brought over. Yes, you're allowed to bring booze to doggie playdates. Not sure if the same rule applies to children's playdates. I figure I have a few years before I need to worry about that. <br />
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Gable and Walnut enjoyed playing (feisty little ones!) while their respective mommies sipped the whiskey-spiked eggnog and this delicious, sugar dusted cranberry orange bread. A toast to the holidays indeed!<br />
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Still in the baking mood post-Christmas? Try this<a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/CranberryOrangeBread.html"> Cranberry Orange Bread</a> recipe. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzJuCUM3B1zgUzhe9tJW374pDYSLT1EEt-YEXwXbPtqe5EFyBWdnFJ_6jlm3TRejwJxRZ1e9vjhi7b6VqpiDZzah7t73CBQDtY6yjowJsQplFWXlBOjTYHIFrgL5Rv2ThnW4K/s1600/SAM_1133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzJuCUM3B1zgUzhe9tJW374pDYSLT1EEt-YEXwXbPtqe5EFyBWdnFJ_6jlm3TRejwJxRZ1e9vjhi7b6VqpiDZzah7t73CBQDtY6yjowJsQplFWXlBOjTYHIFrgL5Rv2ThnW4K/s400/SAM_1133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-80615011064142568272010-12-23T11:46:00.000-08:002010-12-23T11:46:03.105-08:00Vegan Thumbprint CookiesConsidering that I'm about to endeavor into the frozen north, aka my parent's house, aka a place that always has a ton of delicious fatty foods around, I figured I'd bake up some low-cal cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth pre-Christmas.<br />
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I came across this recipe for <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/cookie-recipe-lifechanging-vegan-thumbprints-134691">Vegan Thumbprint Cookies</a> and it seemed utterly perfect - a little sweet, very little fat and a lot of crunch. Almonds and oats make up the most of the batter, keeping it light as well. The love that the recipe instructs you to put the oats and the almonds, respectively, into the food processor to achieve a soft, flour-like consistency; it provides a really nice consistency to the batter. And the use of maple syrup prevent these thumbprints from getting too sweet- they leave the jam for that! <br />
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I used a Plum Jam circa Summer 2009 that I had in the cupboard. My parent's have several fruit trees on their property so every summer is canning season there and this jar was straight is my mother's kitchen. Slightly chunky and a deep purple color, it's a delicious jam that I've yet to make on my own. I figured why waste my money on fruit shipped in from god knows where when I can get it straight from the tree that grew along with me as a child. Quaint, right? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOVApncBMZnlInDFJDme_I19kenvxd2GXqT1i7GgjWwVuSwcdBBpxXDInFCperxUhgnwXpTs862fLh3l9lHRmt5poHjSd4R6Ai15lpCjix4E-5Qp22IO7CkXcUlZkzFHZD6qu/s1600/SAM_1067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOVApncBMZnlInDFJDme_I19kenvxd2GXqT1i7GgjWwVuSwcdBBpxXDInFCperxUhgnwXpTs862fLh3l9lHRmt5poHjSd4R6Ai15lpCjix4E-5Qp22IO7CkXcUlZkzFHZD6qu/s400/SAM_1067.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Needless to say, the jam was perfect on these cookies and, though they took a bit longer to cook than the recipe suggested (I blame my spotty oven) they turned out really nicely, with a good crunch and just enough sweet. <br />
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If you're looking for a lighter alternative to Christmas cookies this week, give this recipe a try! <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87Wwfjw6-z1Blu65IBqj078k_orp2lzVzKFaaoYQbPsoTcx_JUiOZyj5gfqfrRHjeXvQg0t5DF0hA8h4Jm2Xg3IV0IMPNPk9Tyz-ZqhIQJsjaW4249FTXjjiIClKjon31y_vF/s1600/SAM_1101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87Wwfjw6-z1Blu65IBqj078k_orp2lzVzKFaaoYQbPsoTcx_JUiOZyj5gfqfrRHjeXvQg0t5DF0hA8h4Jm2Xg3IV0IMPNPk9Tyz-ZqhIQJsjaW4249FTXjjiIClKjon31y_vF/s400/SAM_1101.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't we like the little gnome poking his head through the bushes?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-13162222304985724572010-12-22T14:03:00.000-08:002010-12-22T14:03:27.099-08:00Crispy Toasts!As you know, I'm on a budget these days, so no more truffled cheese, blinis with caviar or full priced cocktails at over-priced LA bars for me! To deal with my utter culinary sadness (and empty belly) I've been seeking out my favorite food obsessions and figuring out how to make them at home on the cheap. <br />
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Challenge #1: <a href="http://lesleystowe.com/raincoastcrisps/about/">Raincoast Crisps</a><br />
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Oh yes, you know these little devils. Beautiful packaging, all natural and lovingly tucked into a peek-a-boo box so you can see the deliciousness inside. Let's be honest, I'm obsessed. Like box-a-week obsessed. Like no-money-in-my-pocket-for-dinner-because-all-I-want-is-crisps obsessed. At anywhere from $6 - $9 a box, this obsession ain't cheap. Luckily I found an amazing recipe to recreate them at home! <br />
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From creating this recipe, I now realize why these are so expensive. They are quite laborious and time-consuming, even if most of the time is inactive. First you make the bread mix, chop and add in nuts / fruit / herbs, bake for 30 minutes, then cool, then freeze (oh really) then slice (painful, I'll explain) then toast, turn and toast again. Geez!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle-ctOh7SG5MCRyiHi4uidRn8mpYJ5M1swe-WTbm0g0k7FmD0vY9100Ouz5PZqw1KZippto4CyAJfJqv2A-aAzkfb_O2ZGy9Wz5T02VKdrk9PbQFLB7sFI0qa7cGkNNpTGmnQ/s1600/SAM_1051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle-ctOh7SG5MCRyiHi4uidRn8mpYJ5M1swe-WTbm0g0k7FmD0vY9100Ouz5PZqw1KZippto4CyAJfJqv2A-aAzkfb_O2ZGy9Wz5T02VKdrk9PbQFLB7sFI0qa7cGkNNpTGmnQ/s400/SAM_1051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crisp Add-Ins: pecans, sesame seeds, almond meal, rosemary and homemade raisins (from my dehydrator)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9tkd3mRK3lyDmfPXg6KsBMiIaXSuBdJY05ha55aVQjSUX2GNpP6MCm4NoUa1COC5KfLIqHCmTJ9VYaNhX80pl-sdCOS8jKVFwd0v4XvVJQ-TLKuwiINoMng51-x0s2tvFDkc/s1600/SAM_1090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9tkd3mRK3lyDmfPXg6KsBMiIaXSuBdJY05ha55aVQjSUX2GNpP6MCm4NoUa1COC5KfLIqHCmTJ9VYaNhX80pl-sdCOS8jKVFwd0v4XvVJQ-TLKuwiINoMng51-x0s2tvFDkc/s400/SAM_1090.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slicing the frozen bread into crisps: not easy! The frozen bread is tough to slice through</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66gTzmHSQ-1dAYJQ5gtUFdIIsuB-0K6eUYgXY6SLC8q0-KbVLxrHAGhqoH7lvGiWH4QS_tXUfbcAiLGlFMSoU29JEzCVKqJkto7UEgshSKip0sFD_2bEZNOkRNXzXqmowK2DP/s1600/SAM_1094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66gTzmHSQ-1dAYJQ5gtUFdIIsuB-0K6eUYgXY6SLC8q0-KbVLxrHAGhqoH7lvGiWH4QS_tXUfbcAiLGlFMSoU29JEzCVKqJkto7UEgshSKip0sFD_2bEZNOkRNXzXqmowK2DP/s400/SAM_1094.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crisps laid out in rows on baking sheet, ready for the oven</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Though these were a bit of work, the results are honestly so close to the original I'm never going back. The <a href="http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/01/27/rosemary-raisin-pecan-crisps/">recipe</a> I used called for pecans, rosemary, raisins and sesame seeds and truly mimicked the real (expensive) thing. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlxmStNG7vfjWwGJTBf2fKruGA308kQtgVdS4RGtwoBAfK0XAiA70DG_PLrj2D5wuLQ2g3VB1dxGPkshWS207hsayhyphenhyphenT54mpJRuAZn4bPhbXaHt1nLgE0tKiQ_jP7PBdmQCbe/s1600/SAM_1114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlxmStNG7vfjWwGJTBf2fKruGA308kQtgVdS4RGtwoBAfK0XAiA70DG_PLrj2D5wuLQ2g3VB1dxGPkshWS207hsayhyphenhyphenT54mpJRuAZn4bPhbXaHt1nLgE0tKiQ_jP7PBdmQCbe/s400/SAM_1114.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The final product </td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you have some extra time (perhaps over the holidays when you won't have any desire to be away from the kitchen anyway) I highly recommend making these. Packed up in an airtight container they will last for weeks, if you don't eat all of them the second they come out of the oven. <br />
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I'm making some balsamic jelly (think gelée) to go with some goat cheese on these delightful crisps. I'll report back later on how the combo works out.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-61875708869645574922010-12-21T18:30:00.000-08:002010-12-21T18:30:25.435-08:00Roti BreadI came across a really simple recipe for one of my favorite Indian foods, Roti bread, today and thought I'd give it a try. As an "Everything But The...Oil" recipe, it went to bat in the test kitchen to see if it was easy and delicious enough to be considered for our product line.<br />
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For some reason I always thought Roti would be a difficult bread to make but the recipe has only six ingredients, almost all of which most people keep in their kitchens already.<br />
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The recipe I used called for Garam Masala as the spice addition but I didn't have it on hand, so I substituted with some curry powder. The curry powder still produced delicious results and added a nice yellow color to the dough. <br />
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The dough is a simple flour / water / oil mix and it needed a little resting time after mixing. Shaped into about 2" balls and then rolled out and oiled on each side, I tossed each one individually into an oiled pan and gently cooked them on each side for less than a minute. Easy and fast, this is a shocking realization. Someone should obviously employ me in the ways of roti making full time. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6ooA3-HiLTUOIdGvDXvu957UYRcQFDyTgyo0mlkVwj6aD1gdiNEh0gPklNKHMYQjBsiIB2ABQwTbEuSz_XPcxX47QBwpKQp1B0ph4Wlky7LnGN9XmtzvS2cmxbncJp2zwuA9/s1600/SAM_1070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6ooA3-HiLTUOIdGvDXvu957UYRcQFDyTgyo0mlkVwj6aD1gdiNEh0gPklNKHMYQjBsiIB2ABQwTbEuSz_XPcxX47QBwpKQp1B0ph4Wlky7LnGN9XmtzvS2cmxbncJp2zwuA9/s320/SAM_1070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The result was a fluffy yet crisp bread in a circle-like shape (hey, it was my first try, let's call me a roti maker in training) and it tasted nicely of curry. Check out the finished product below. I whipped up some curried yogurt dip with lemon and a little salt and pepper for dipping. Dinner is served! Maybe I'll throw in a vegetable and some protein...or maybe I'll just devour the whole plate full. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhra6lB62HkREC84Vf5wvRkyZEBylqnlXIK-fjtaNVuz0Eimv4OGnVR5E7m5QBsjgbCwg8QKxSlwr6MBmgGzgHpUCOd_-Rcgdi33jVYDobdVCAlGrTF50FQs9iTqfidg1FHWs3h/s1600/SAM_1076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhra6lB62HkREC84Vf5wvRkyZEBylqnlXIK-fjtaNVuz0Eimv4OGnVR5E7m5QBsjgbCwg8QKxSlwr6MBmgGzgHpUCOd_-Rcgdi33jVYDobdVCAlGrTF50FQs9iTqfidg1FHWs3h/s320/SAM_1076.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Want to know more about what Garam Masala really is? Read after the jump.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
The composition of garam masala differs regionally, with wide variety across India. Some common ingredients are black & white <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper" title="Black pepper">peppercorns</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove" title="Clove">cloves</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabathrum" title="Malabathrum">malabar leaves</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_pepper" title="Long pepper">long pepper</a> (also known as pippali), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunium_persicum" title="Bunium persicum">black cumin</a> (known as shahi jeera), cumin seeds, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon" title="Cinnamon">cinnamon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cardamom" title="Black cardamom">black</a>, brown, & green <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardamom" title="Cardamom">cardamom</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg" title="Nutmeg">nutmeg</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_anise" title="Star anise">star anise</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriander" title="Coriander">coriander</a> seeds. Varying combinations of these and other spices are used in regional variants of garam masala,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rau_0-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala#cite_note-rau-0"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup> none of which is considered more authentic than another.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-khana_1-0"></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-khana_1-0"></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-khana_1-0"></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-khana_1-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala#cite_note-khana-1"><span></span><span></span></a></sup><br />
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Some recipes call for spices to be blended with herbs, while others grind the spices with water, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar" title="Vinegar">vinegar</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_milk" title="Coconut milk">coconut milk</a> to make a paste. In some recipes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_%28fruit%29" title="Nut (fruit)">nuts</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onion" title="Onion">onion</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic" title="Garlic">garlic</a> or other liquids such as may be added. The flavours may be carefully blended to achieve a balanced effect, or in some cases a single flavour may be emphasized for special dishes where this is desired. Usually a masala is roasted before use to release its flavours and aromas.<br />
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Thanks <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garam_masala">Wikipedia</a>! <br />
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<b>You can pick up Garam Masala in most grocery stores but I say save yourself some $$$ and hit up an Indian ethnic market if there's one in your area. </b>Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30251448.post-34836520843007408372010-12-20T15:15:00.000-08:002010-12-20T15:15:12.898-08:00Bacon PretzelsUPDATE: We finally decided to name our new dog Walnut but Bacon came in at a very close second! So, without a Bacon to play fetch with, I needed to do some kitchen work with bacon to get my fix.<br />
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We had a holiday party Saturday night and I figured I'd dress up some plain pretzels with a little chocolate and bacon. Because, why not? I dipped salted traditional pretzels in melted chocolate, which I brought to a liquid consistency in a double boiler, and then sprinkled on some bacon bits. <br />
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I think the phrase "double boiler" makes some people nervous, but it's really very easy. You don't need any fancy equipment, just a pyrex glass bowl (which is the most common type of glass that can withstand really high temperatures) in a size that fits over the top of a pot. Fill the pot with at least two inches of water and place chocolate chips (or any bar chocolate) in the bowl. <br />
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Here are my tips for using the double boiler method to melt chocolate (which is far superior to using a microwave):<br />
<ul><li>Always keep your burner to medium or low heat, never high</li>
<li>Check the water in the pot every few minutes to make sure you have enough to keep your steam going</li>
<li>Use a spatula to constantly move the chocolate around in the pyrex bowl; if you leave it for more than a 15-20 seconds without stirring, the chocolate can burn</li>
<li>Wear an oven mit on one hand while the other hand does the stirring; the bowl will be slippery underneath from the steam and can move around easily, so it's important to be able to hold it in place</li>
<li>Prepare your foods to dip and your drying surface before you even get started with melting the chocolate; once you get started there's no going back</li>
<li>This process has a fancy named called "tempering" which basically just means melting </li>
</ul>Once all of your chocolate chunks have dissolved into creamy goodness, start dipping!<br />
To make my life easier, I only dipped one side of the pretzels, then placed them individually on sheets of parchment paper laid out on the counter. Every few pretzels I would stop to sprinkle some delicious bacon bits (store bought, I know, I'm a cheater!) over the top so they could adhere to the chocolate before it dried.<br />
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I left the pretzels about 20 minutes to make sure they were thoroughly dried before removing them from the parchment and placing them in an airtight container in advance of my party.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ceqD0NppEMw8zJtVAcwzX3JNsH5QCWEGS5rFnxdvUH9zqIBgbULgmme1NilLqzF8kKS0JiJxo8HqVBI3A4sFQ8_tIu3MmEob0DxI2KK_c5rgDSOunXrl7CLa89z9B7FiT1nb/s1600/SAM_1019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ceqD0NppEMw8zJtVAcwzX3JNsH5QCWEGS5rFnxdvUH9zqIBgbULgmme1NilLqzF8kKS0JiJxo8HqVBI3A4sFQ8_tIu3MmEob0DxI2KK_c5rgDSOunXrl7CLa89z9B7FiT1nb/s400/SAM_1019.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
You can definitely "bacon-ize" any sweet or salty snack with some chocolate and bacon. I'm sure your friends will appreciate the porky punch you are providing.Lindseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02715789297082612846noreply@blogger.com0