9.22.2010

Martha would be proud!

Want picture perfect cupcakes?
(Me too!)
Try this little tip.....
Shameless buy yourself a canned frosting, but avoid the "whipped" variety.  If you live in a different decade than me, and own a microwave, zap it for about 15 seconds.  Otherwise, put the good stuff in a pan, and melt slowly, stirring often.  Once you have a melted "sauce", dip cooled cupcakes in the frosting and turn over quickly to dry.  They will cool and shape themselves into a polished, picture worthy little cake.

Progress....

This little guy should make it just in time...
Thankfully I went with the mini variety!

9.13.2010

Definiting BOUNTY

 

boun·ty 

noun \ˈban-tē\

1
: something that is given generously
2
: liberality in giving : generosity
3
: yield especially of a crop 


9.11.2010

Do Your Part!

These are a few of my favorite wartime posters, urging Americans to be consious about their consumption.  Although the messages were timely, I find them to be timeless as well.
 In 1917, Charles Pack organized the National War Garden Commission and launched the war garden campaign. During WWI food production had fallen dramatically, especially in Europe, where agricultural labor had been recruited into military service and remaining farms devastated by the conflict.
World War I and II put a strain on the American food system, so the government strongly advocated growing your own.  The movement also helped empower the masses, and bring the efforts into the home of all Americans.
Amid regular rationing of canned food in Britain, a poster campaign ("Plant more in '44!") encouraged the planting of victory gardens by nearly 20 million Americans. These gardens produced up to 40 percent of all the vegetable produce being consumed nationally.
Since the turn of the century there has existed a growing interest in victory gardens. A grassroots campaign promoting such gardens has recently sprung up in the form of new victory gardens in public spaces, victory garden websites and blogs, as well as petitions to both renew a national campaign for the victory garden and to encourage the re-establishment of a victory garden on the White House lawn. In 2009, Michelle Obama planted an 1,100 sq. foot "Kitchen Garden" on the White House lawn, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt's, to raise awareness about healthy food...bless her heart!

Shameless.

My mother's voice pulls me through again....
"Everything in moderation, and you'll be fine!"
Cheers mom, really.

So, with a light vegetarian breakfast, I can move onto a more glutonous dinner.  (My favorite sin, of course!)
Yes, that is a jar of bacon fat...fresh from my refridgerator.  Although I stand by oil olive, using bacon fat now and then adds a certain something.....Something besides fat.  There is a smokey element that is really nice when added to vegetables, or the base of a soup.  Even eggs cooked with with bacon fat get a rounded flavor without breaking out a big breakfast spread.

Don't worry, mom said it will all be okay.

9.08.2010

Peppers a'plenty!

Bumper crop of peppers?
Me too.
I suppose I could make 100 batches of salsa, etc....
OR
Just ziploc & freeze!
Hello!

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. "
~John Gunther

Now That the Weather is Cooler....

It's cooling....summer is fading into the back ground.
The benefit, you ask?
.....new crops!
I have swiss chard and lettuce now, and it's doing well.  Although they both require full sun, the summer sun is too harsh.  Fall is the perfect time to grow, into winter and spring.
Both are easy to grow, and easy to find use for in the kitchen.  The lettuce makes it into my sandwiches, and of course salads.  Swiss chard can be cooked down for a nice side dish, or used in a great version of a taco!

9.02.2010

Juno Much?

Now you can talk on your own hamburger phone too, thanks to Fred Flare!
Pony up the $26.
You won't be sorry...!

Need I say more?

End of summer...........?

It will continue to be hot, but the summer is coming to an end.  School buses are all around, and the produce is starting to change at the farmers market.
Enjoy this weekend.

In Long Beach?
The Greek Fest will be bumpin' all weekend.
There will be live music, dancing, good food, and of course beer!
$3 donation is do-able too.....oh, but parking can be a b*tch.

Orange County?
Haven't been before?  Bring lotsa cash, and an appetite.  There are food booth with grub from all over the world....and of course beer.  If you go in daytime, there are craft vendors, and families.  It's lovely.  In the p.m.?   The smell of beer on asphalt, lots of drunk people that are younger than you, and major crowds....but it's fun!  I even know someone who makes a special trip down from Oakland every year just for it.


OMG.

I was rushing in the market, and this made me stop in my tracks!
I was too shocked to even turn the package over and check the ingredients.
...I'm guessing sugar.