July 2010

Blackberry Lemon Chess Pie w/ Honey Jumbleberry Sauce. How I won the SF Food Wars – Pie or Die Competition!

July 28, 2010

Oh man. I’m on a HIGH! And no, it’s not a sugar high – though that would totally be a good guess. It’s more because for the past two or three weeks I’ve been stressed and freaked out about entering the SF Food Wars Pie or Die competition. They put out a call for entries about a month ago, and as I had mentioned in the past, I’m pretty bad at trying to “figure out” what I’m going to bake in advance. But I rallied, pulled out my new favorite not a cookbook cookbook The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dorenburg, cross referenced a few ingredients and came up with this description of my entry: Check(mate) Please! Blackberry Lemon Chess Pie – Backyard home-grown lemons and local blackberries update this Southern classic chess pie with a California twist. Almond scented crust adds a contemporary touch, while a drizzle of berry sauce made with a touch of San Francisco honey adds homey complexity. And they accepted it to compete! Of course, I didn’t have all the logistics figured out on how I was going to pull it off, but I figured it out as I went along, AND on top of that I won – oh did I win! But more on that later…

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Hawaii Inspired POM (Pineapple, Orange and Mango) not POG Muffins with Macadamia Nut Crumb Topping. Also how I fell in love with a tropical island.

July 20, 2010

I’ve put off writing this blog entry. Mostly because I’ve been in denial since arriving back from my vacation in Hawaii that I’m still not on vacation. I arrived back home a couple of Sundays ago and let me tell you I was a GRUMP at work the next day (more than my usual pre-caffeine grump – my coworker even emailed me to ask me “hey. you ok?” in which I had to reply back “Fine. Just uncomfortable wearing shoes not flip flops.”) I think writing this blog entry would sort of finalize the deal-o that I’m back home to my (some what) normal life. Luckily, while on vacation I made some made crazy moist tropical island inspired Pineapple-Mango Muffins with Macadamia Nut Crumb Topping in the condo we were renting on Kauai and now I know that I can make them at home I will instantly transport myself back to Hawaii and this trip, except without the sand and the mosquitos. Well sort of. OK, it’s a sad conciliation prize, but I’ll take what I can get right?

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Summer Jumbleberry Pie or How San Francisco Summer Tastes to Me

July 14, 2010

I adore summer in San Francisco. Every year I tell myself that I am going to take full advantage of the summer by running around to all the free events, festivals, street fairs. AJ is off from teaching so he’s less stressed out from work (and lately taking photo classes) and he’s traveling to visit friends in LA or back to the Midwest to visit family. We always have grandiose plans to do SO MUCH during the summer. Host small dinner parties, host big dessert parties, get together with friends for picnics and BBQs, see movies in the park, go to the free concerts at Stern Grove Park and watch Shakespeare in the Park. And of course, I want to bake tons and tons of fruit desserts, like my Summer Jumbleberry Pie!

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How me finishing the sentence "Cooking became easier, and more enjoyable when I learned…" became a post about Shrimp Risotto.

July 7, 2010

Don’t we all love Shauna over at Gluten Free Girl? If you don’t know her, check out her site and see how she’s not only the sweetest and the coolest but she also has a way of asking thought provoking questions that make us all want to think about things (think in a good way, [...]

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