It’s June. It’s raining. I’m stuck indoors dreaming of warm weather, popsicles, stripey umbrellas and sundresses. Instead, I’m reading books, making shopping lists, drinking tea and looking at the little corners of my home with my camera while the boy sleeps. Sun? Please come soon. Please.
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A food related photo everyday until 2012. Here’s Week 21:
155/365 House salad with beets, croutons, goat cheese & walnuts @ Hillstone.
Guess who’s on a salad kick?? That’s right. This girl! I’m making June the month of salads. I will eat more of them…at least one per day. I will love them, and I’ll get rid of this double chin I see staring back at me in my cellphone when I’m typing a text message. What is with that?! Salad will become my new best friend. A best friend that gets rid of my double chin. A best friend that I can eat.
If you’ve been around here for awhile, you already know how much I love citrus and how awesome I think asparagus is. But it wasn’t until now that I married the two and fell in love. This salad was unexpectedly delightful! Crunchy vibrant green asparagus, juicy orange segments, smoky sesame seed heaven…the aftertaste is truly awesome. It’s Asian and then it’s not! This salad is destined for warm afternoon barbecues or fancy Tupperware picnics on the beach. Hello summer. Goodbye double chin!
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On Sunday I took the Jam Making 101 class at Blue Chair Fruit Company in Oakland! I had a delicious time learning from Rachel Saunders, the woman behind Blue Chair Fruit Company! I’ve had her cookbook for awhile and I’ve wanted to make my own jam, but I lacked the confidence & drive to get going. This class definitely gave me the jump start I needed. I can’t wait to go to the farmer’s market this weekend to pick up some fruit. Also, I should note that I completed another item from my 31 comes before 32 list ! #16. Learn how to do canning!
The goal of the class was not to just follow a recipe and make jam, but to understand the elements of jam, how to test for balance prior to cooking and how to preserve a fruit’s flavor integrity while making a jam. In the class, we made 4 different variations of a Strawberry Raspberry Jam. Two of the jams were original recipes and the other two were based on what we, as a class wanted in a jam. I can’t wait to taste the final results (which should show up in my mailbox soon!).
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Hey! This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast over at Homefries, Joy & I discuss:
You won’t want to miss it! Come check it out!
Also! We want to hear from you! If you want to ask us a question, Email us!
I have a problem reading recipes. When I look at a recipe, I pay close attention to the ingredients and instructions. If there’s a total execution time, well that’s cool too, but I never really pay close attention to the serving size, unless I need to make enough for a crowd. For some reason my brain assumes that most recipes serve enough for 4 which means Casey and I might have leftovers. I know, it’s stupid.
So when I made this Chickpea & Raisin Salad and went to rinse 3 cans of chickpeas, I got a little nervous. Let me spell this out for you- this recipe serves not just two, but EIGHT people.
Throughout the week, I ate this salad and mixed it up in several different ways and am happy to report that it didn’t bore me one bit. It’s perfect on its own, but tastes wonderful with feta, spinach, cucumbers, and Italian parsley. Throw it in a wrap! Add some to your salad! It would be great with couscous and grilled chicken and I’d even try throwing some carrot shreds in. Basically, it’s extremely versatile, so incredibly simple and can be eaten at any temperature! I think you’ll love the subtle hint of cumin mixed with the sweet juicy raisins. Just remember that this recipe makes a lot and if you want to brighten it up, add more vinegar.
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We ventured up north to Calistoga to hang out with Casey’s family this Memorial Day weekend. There was some rain, sunshine & a whole lot of eating and drinking (what else is new?). Cooper got to play with his cousins and we all got to hang out in my sister-in-law’s parent’s gorgeous home. I took a few pictures with my cellphone because my digital SLR proved too heavy to carry when I had a drink in my hand.
Here’s what we saw:
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