fun food pics^_^

i recently joined the 21st cenury and got my first smartphone....trust me people, the switch has been long over due!! i've had an LG envy for the past 4 years:-p...anyhoo, amidst the many accidental calls and failing horribly at facetime, i found an app that creates these picture collages so i made a few about food^_^ hope you enjoy!!

"saturday market" i really love the color of the chard stems, i think they are so beautiful and really seem to pop against the contrasting dark green leaves^_^the many different sights, sounds, and tastes of the market is always a treat for me on saturday mornings. grabbing some coffee, walking around and tasting cheeses, fruit, cookies...mmm...cookies....ok, sorry got side tracked. but, it really is a treat, and i encourage anyone to visit their local market. you find some really great kinds of food and there are definitely a few vendors i LOVE and have to see each time i go!

"oatmeal apricot breakfast bread" i actually made this bread, from dorie #2, yesterday on my day off. i found the many ingredients truly beautiful in their blue bowls and the pop of the orange apricots in the bread to be so visually stimulating^_^ not to mention its a LOW-FAT bread, yes, i make healthy food, few and far between:-p

HAPPY TUESDAY PEOPLE!! 

a little french flavor and other yummyness

i recently ventured out with a few of my girlfriends, ashley and jen. wen went to hawthorne boulevard  in portland. talk about an eclectic area! there was food, shopping(at the boutique goodwill and other little knick-knack shops), and more FOOD!!the perfect place to scope out for new fave eateries!!

we started at chez machin, a cozy little spot filled with remnants of paris. not to mention some delicious savory crêpes^_^ i got La Fermière: an organic buckweat crêpe filled with mozzarella, mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes and topped with a pesto crème fraîche. i have never EVER had a savory crêpe, but i have to say after having this decadent little meal i will have to try more. the creamy, melty mozzarella, and the pesto added to the sweet flavors of the tomato and the creamy texture of the avocado.

mmmm coffee^_^

this was ashley's La Villageoise: organic buckwheat crêpe topped with a fried egg, filled with avocado, mozzarella, spinach, scallions, feta and pesto crème fraîche.

little touches: our petite plant at our table, but DO NOT WATER!

jen's french onion soup. this soup was delicious, the broth was amazing and not too salty with the addition of the melted swiss.

we decided to do some window shopping and ashley wanted to find some gifts for her friends back in hawaii before we went to...
THE WAFFLE WINDOW...that is all that needs to be said when stopping by this little brightly colored blue window of heaven.

our creation of guittard chocolate and peanut butter dipped waffle with vanilla ice cream and a lovely swirl of whipped cream...yes, this is the time to drool^_^ and all for $5!!! such an amazing deal! other items that caught my eye on the menu included: a bacon, cheddar and jalapeno waffle and also a bacon brie and basil waffle. but there will be other waffle days to conquer those savory delights^_^

on another day off: girls BRUNCH!! as i had mentioned before brunch and happy hour in portland are two of the busiest times to go out! that saturday morning wasn't any different. we headed to Besaw's. i had heard of this restaurant/bar before when i was looking for a great place to take some friends, don't you love YELP?! so i was ecstatic when i heard we were heading there for brunch^_^

this was my wild salmon scramble: three scrambled eggs, house-smoked wild salmon, fresh herbs, cream cheese, chives. this wonderful scramble was very reminiscent of sara's lox and bagel platter...

isn't it so visually pleasing?! i think next time around i'm going to get this lovely plate of deliciousness!!

isn't the inside of Besaw's perfectly edgey?! the wood floors, the bar stools, and the dark wood walls. it's almost like an episode of cheers minus being on the east coast and no one knew my name...

after brunch we decided to take a stroll down 23rd ave. to window shop. jen found a bright pink store full of shiny sparkley goodness and couldn't help but go in...look at all that bling!!

handcuff necklace anyone? ^_~

after our stop at the break fro bling, we stopped by two tarts cookies to grab some sweet little nibbles...mmmm...cookies!!

i always have room for cookies!!

we also stopped by an interior decor store...interesting items all around. jen wanted those fox shoes...i was trying to talk her out of it:-p

all in all, a great couple days around town with some great people!! i hope you guys get to visit any or ALL of these places...thanks portland for more sunny days and food^_^

HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!

heaven on earth does exist people!!! and its called EAT MOBILE 2011!! yes, the one event of the year i was excited to go to is FINALLY HERE!!! imagine me+30 some odd food carts=HEAVEN!! when my ticket and band arrived in the mail, you better believe i did a little dance...yes, i looked a little crazy but 30+ FOOD CARTS!! well check out the listings and you will understand!! get your tickets while they last!! 

buttermilk biscuits

i received my dorie greenspan Baking: From My Home To Yours, the other day and i couldn't wait to break the bindings and get to baking!!^_^ i was checking the mail every day for this thing!! it was actually this book that had the recipe for the tiramisu cake i recently made as a test run for my sister's wedding^_^ in my house other than brown rice we don't really eat too many carbs, minus the multi-grain bread for toast in the morning. i know, i know, hard to believe considering i make so many carbalicious treats on the regular, but, as i have mentioned before we TRY to be healthy eaters, extreme emphasis on TRY!! well, the other day, as i was fixing my usual breakfast of egg whites and toast i discovered we had no bread to make toast:-p but being the resourceful little baker that i am, i jumped up the stairs to my room to grab dorie #2!!^_^ i had some left over buttermilk from a recent cake i had made and i thought "what better than to make some buttermilk biscuits"^_^ 

Buttermilk Biscuits (courtesy of Dorie Greenspan: Baking From My Home To Yours)

Makes about 12 biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

2 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt (i would cut this down a smidge, my biscuits came out a bit too salty for my tastes)

3/4 stick (6 T.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces

3/4 cups cold buttermilk

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter (or a knife will do to cut into squares, if doing so roll the dough into a square), and line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat. 
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with the flour mixture. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between--and that's just right. 
3. Pour the milk over the dry ingredients, grab a fork and toss and gently turn the ingredients until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading--3 to 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. 
4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough with a little bit of flour and pat the dough out with your hands or with a rolling pin until its about 1/2 an inch high. Don't worry if it isn't completely even--a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.
5. Use the biscuit cutter(or knife) to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working them as little as possible, pat out a 1/2 inch thick disk and cut out as many biscuits as you can. Transfer to the baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, or until they are puffed and golden brown. EAT ASAP!

 I ate mine right away. they were delicious with some guava jelly and my eggs^_^ mmm, can't wait to eat them tomorrow morning too!!^_^ happy baking people!!

a little taste of spring

the other night as i was gabbing with one of my friends in hawaii about what has been going on in our lives and catching up and seeing as i like to multi-task all the time i was also surfing blogs and websites for recipes that just have that "WOW" factor. as i was perusing through smitten kitchen i stumbled upon this tasty looking piece of carb heaven. i had been looking for a light, kind of tangy, pastry-ish item to try since sunday was the first day of spring. so why not make something that was just as happy and delightful?! plus, its just so darn PRETTY!!!

so i set to work...

INGREDIENTS

Sponge

• 3/4 cup warm water *i used soy milk*
• 2 teaspoons sugar *i used honey*
• 1 tablespoon rapid rise or instant yeast
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Dough

• all of the sponge
• 3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt *i was a little shy of 3/4 cup, so i substituted sour cream to make up for the lack of yogurt*
• 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar *i used honey*
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• egg wash for brushing braid
• pearl sugar or sparkling white sugar for sprinkling on braid *i used sugar in the raw*

Cream cheese filling

• 2/3 cup cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• *i added about half a lemon's worth of lemon zest*
• 1/2 cup prepared lemon curd *i had to store buy since i was a little pressed for time*

Sponge

• 6 ounces warm water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Dough

• all of the sponge
• 6 ounces plain or vanilla yogurt
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 3 1/2 ounces sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor OR vanilla
• 21 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• egg wash for brushing braid
• pearl sugar or sparkling white sugar for sprinkling on braid

Cream cheese filling

• 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 ounces sugar
• 2 ounces sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 ounce King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 4 ounces prepared lemon curd

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the sponge ingredients. Stir well to combine, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.

*this is what your sponge will look like after 15 min.*

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the sponge, yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add 4 1/2 cups of flour and mix with the paddle attachment until the dough is a rough, shaggy mass. Switch to the dough hook and knead on speed 2 until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 5 to 6 minutes, adding more flour if needed to achieve the correct consistency.

If working by hand or stand mixer, place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 6 to 90 minutes, until quite puffy and nearly doubled.*i usually warm up my oven to ~170 degrees and let my doughs rise in there, since our house is always like an icicle*

While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free. Reserve the filling and lemon curd until ready to fill the braids.

Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover half with plastic wrap and set it aside as you roll out the first piece into a 10" x 15" rectangle. Rolling on parchment paper makes moving the bread to the baking sheet much, much easier. *if you didn't roll on parchment move the rolled out dough to a piece of parchment BEFORE you put the cream cheese filling on, this will keep you from having the difficult task of doing it while its already braided, which i learned the hard way:-/* Lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, to divide it into 3 equal sections. Spread half the cream cheese filling down the center section, and top with half the lemon curd, leaving 1" free on all sides of the filling.

To form the mock braid, cut 1" crosswise strips down the length of the outside sections, making sure you have the same number of strips down each side *they recommend using a bench scraper to cut the strips, but sadly that is one tool i have yet to get, so i just used my handy pizza cutter, worked just as well^_^*. Beginning on the left, lift the top dough strip and gently bring it across the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side with the top dough strip, so that the two strips crisscross each other. Continue down the entire braid, alternating strips to form the loaf

Repeat the rolling, filling, and braiding steps for the second piece of dough, using the remaining cream cheese filling and lemon curd. Set both loaves aside, lightly covered, to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, or until quite puffy

*i wanted to try this with cherries since i had an extra can of cherry pie filling in my pantry from my cream cheese tarts. i didn't add any lemon curd, but i am sure if you want to try it it would turn out just as delicious!*

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the loaves with egg wash (one lightly beaten egg, 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt), and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown *i put both loaves in on the top two thirds of my oven, cooked both for about 15 minutes then moved the one on the top to the bottom and the bottom too the top*. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Yield: 2 loaves.

*dig in^_^*

these turned out too yummy for words, the tang of the cherry mixed with the sweet dough of the bread and the creamy cheese filling. mmm, and the slight hints of the lemon zest just POP out at you to say hello!! not heavy or overbearing, but delightfully perfect carb HEAVEN!! i hope you enjoy this recipe as much as i do!!^_^

Sea of Bees 'Wizbot'

mother know's best...

one fine, ok it wasn't that fine, it was rainy and cold. but, it felt like a fine morning since i was going to eat MOTHER'S!!! my girlfriend and i decided to get some brunch from one of my favorite french toast spots. i had gone to mother's bistro & bar before sadly i had forgotten my camera. in a way it was a good thing though because it gave me the opportunity to focus all my energy on my FRENCH TOAST!!

i think the reason why i love mother's so much isn't just because of the mouth watering options on the menu but also because of the atmosphere and all the little details. like this coffee mug, a friendly reminder: call your mother...

the interior of the brunch area is painted in a warm color of cream contrasted with bold greens and warm yellows. the beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling give a warm glow on days where the weather is not ideal, and trust me, in the northwest we have a lot of those^_~ the huge windows offer an opportunity for its customers to see the hustle and bustle of the busy portland streets as they sit in plush pillowed benches and chairs. it really is like being at mom's. 

now on to the good stuff!! the FOOD! like i said i LOVE french toast!! but, mother's blew me away with their simple addition of cornflakes. yes, CRUNCHY french toast^_^ the flavor of the rich eggy challah bread mixed with the crunch of the cornflakes, slight hint of cinnamon with a smear of whipped butter and all the syrup you can handle...if that doesn't make your mouth water i don't know what will!!!!! of course i had to order a side of honey-cured bacon because i love me some bacon!!

so happy to eat!! and the cute mug!!

my friend ordered the greek fritata: an open omelet with spinach, garlic, sweet sun-dried tomatoes, paired with the tangy feta cheese and salty kalamata olives, makes you want to say "OPA!" 

we also split a fruit cup, just to be a little healthy^_~

overall, i want that french toast again and i can't wait to revisit mother's^_^