food fight!

I need to come up with a really classy/creative/descriptive/fun/funny name for a food blog/business name/etc. I'd appreciate any suggestions. Ideally, I would like to use food fight, as it was the plan for a make up line I will (eventually, sometime down the road) be creating. It’s very fun, playful, and descriptive for a majority of the things I want to do.

So, I've been in school for 7 days now. Not too long at all! We've been doing a lot of technical things - "serve safe" classes, knife skills, broths, and today - sauces. I'm not going to be sharing many recipes yet (as I'm not creating a ton of things that you can't figure out yourself), but I am going to share some photos - because who doesn't love looking at photos of gorgeous food?!?

After creating homemade stocks in class -  we were allowed to take home mirepoix from our knife skills class. I decided to make a homemade broth that night, and utilize it in my first EVER risotto. It was a scallion, lime, and basil risotto - rich, creamy, and sweet! It was a Monday, the night Hell's Kitchen is on, so it was only fitting.  (By the way, Chef Gordon Ramsay is coming to Austin THIS WEEK to film an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. I emailed for reservations over 2 weeks ago, unfortunately, I was never contacted. I would have been so beyond stoked to get a chance to say hi to him or try something he had a hand in making.)

Today, we made sauces. Pesto is considered a "contemporary" sauce, and that's what I made this evening. I sauteed eggplant in a pan every so slightly coated with oil and bits of garlic, then garnished with a pesto made of purple basil, arugula, olive oil, salt, pepper, and CASHEWS. It turned out very nicely - not what you would expect of a common pesto, that's for sure. I served it with an arugula salad with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and agave nectar dressing. It was still very yummy though.

 

Tomorrow, we start talking about dry & wet cooking methods. I'll have to work after school, so I won't get to experiment 'til the weekend. Bummer city! I'll be holding dinner parties soon with the very FEW friends I have in Austin, so expect more photos & foodie updates. (Funny enough, most of the friends we're making here are from Indiana. It's just easier.)

Food News

I wish I could eat Sugar Mama's cupcakes every single day.

Light, delicate, full of flavor!

I've been posting some food-related things on my food-related blog. You can read that over at ieatfood.wordpress.com! Tell me what you think!

One more piece of "food news", if you find yourself in Austin, don't visit Guero's Taco Bar. I did a completely honest review of a meal we had there on yelp, and received a very rude and childish response from the owner. It's bad form to negatively respond to an honest review of your business. Perhaps, instead, you should be concerned as to why so many customers are saying the same things over & over about your food.

my new favorite (healthy) food

I like food, that's no secret. I like food even more when it tastes good going down & is beneficial to my health! Enter Hidden Pond Farm's KimChi.  Delicious & locally made, the raw fermented kimchi offers a nice dose of probiotics.

"Kimchi contains the bacterium called lactobacillus kimchii as well as other lactic acid bacteria that are beneficial to our gastrointestinal as well as immune systems. A typical kimchi made with Chinese cabbage, carrot, garlic, ginger, onion and pepper is also high in vitamin A, C, B1, B2, beta-carotene, calcium and iron. Animal studies also suggested that kimchi may be effective against the avian flu virus." excerpt from theconciouslife.com

Because of the presence of probiotics, kimchi is known to help reduce indigestion and gas and helps you feel less hunger. Some studies have shown that kimchi can actually shorten the duration of a cold. Other studies have shown that kimchi can help clear up yeast infections and urinary tract infections. (A healthy digestive tract and immune system function are closely linked.) The chili peppers and garlic are believed to help lower blood cholesterol and aid in blood-clotting.

So, next time your feeling a cold coming on or are craving something spicy & delicious to eat, try some KimChi!

nom nom nom!

On Friday, Mamus & I finally utilized our studio at the Murphy Arts Center for First Friday. Our "show" was called "nom nom nom!" and essentially consisted of food related items.

I don't think I've mentioned here before, but I was way into photography much of my younger life. I took 2 years of photography in high school, and then proceeded to start at Herron School of Art & Design immediately after graduating. That didn't last long as I didn't agree with the way Herron was run.  After quitting school, photography fell to the side. I've continued to enjoy it as a part-time hobby, but VERY part-time. I'm a bit old-school in thinking that photography consists of a camera & film - not a digital apparatus & computer. 

So when I heard about a show that Renaissance Fine Art & Design in Carmel was having, I couldn't help but giggle. "Harry Sandler's Allusions of Reality features images from his frequent travels to various parts of the world. All the images are captured and processed using the IPhone 4 and the various applications available for the same." excerpt carmelchamberofcommerce.com

Don't get me wrong, I love all the applications available for smart phone photography. I think it's great to take a quick snapshot you weren't expecting and being able to give it a vintage feel, brighten it's colors, or catch action. But downloading a few applications doesn't necessarily call for a gallery show.


Anyways, I couldn't help but poke fun at it. I shot all photos with my HTC Droid Incredible phone.

 

 I made delicious vegan chocolate cups to sell - which were fantastic & well received.

Mamus created these awesome food sculptures.

All in all, it was pretty fun. I drank some sweet wine, knit in public, talked to new people.

If you're interested in any of these pieces (sculptures or photos) let me know. All items are available! (Well, the baked potato sculpture may be called for)

twenty-second

On December 27th, we finally made our Christmas Dinner!

It was too bad we didn't have any gifts left-over to unwrap after such a wonderful meal.

I couldn't find a field roast to cook, so I opted for a quorn turk'y roast. I've always had good experience with other quorn products, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet.

& I figured right. James said something to the effect that the quorn roast was the closest to the "real thing" that he has ever had.



Unfortunately, I didn't read the directions very well, and failed to notice I should get a roast bag so I could get all the delicious flavors in there. So, instead I just mixed up herbs & olive oil and poured it over top, after poking lots and lots of holes in the outer wrapping. It didn't turn out half bad!



We baked sweet potatoes!




& the best part: apple-cranberry-"sausage" stuffing & vegetarian gravy! The gravy even started getting that little film over top of it like the real stuff!




Easy 4-Ingredient Vegetarian Gravy (from vegweb.com)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp flour
1 cup homemade (if possible) vegetable stock
whole herbs- sprigs of thyme, bay leaves, rosemary

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium high heat. Sift in your flour evenly and stir. Cook the flour until a light tan color.
2. When your roux is a nice tan color, add your broth and spices. Cook, stirring constantly for 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
3. Remove your spices and season with salt and pepper.






Apple, Cranberry, Sausage Stuffing


Ingredients

3 cups cubed sourdough bread
10 ounces ground fake sausage (or, you can use real sausage?)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp chopped onion
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp chopped celery
Fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme (enough for your liking)
1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup vegetable stock
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples & dried cranberries.
4. Pack dressing loosely in buttered baking dish. Drizzle with stock & melted butter. Bake for 40 minutes.
5. Take stuffing out and drizzle with a little more butter. Cook about 20 minutes more, until top is is crisp & golden.


Food is awesome!

cupcake tour

new york: burgers and cupcakes



boston/cambridge: sweets





indianapolis: the flying cupcake




sweets wins, so far. tour continues for the rest of my LIFE!