Category Archives: Food

Food Trend: Geode Cakes

If you’re like me, you find appreciation and beauty in the things that you are unable to create yourself. I am a fairly crafty person who would prefer to make something with my hands if possible but one thing I just cannot pull off is bake. When I stumbled upon these gorgeous Geode cakes, I was in awe. This is a trend that is taking off and it is entirely edible!

geode 1(This is my favorite color scheme I have seen- A Squad Bake Shop)

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(Is this real life? Cake by Sainte G Cake Company)

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(Who doesn’t appreciate a beautiful amethyst? Cake by- Intricate Icings Cake Design)

geode.png(A beautiful emerald color for the perfect Summer or Fall cake, just gorgeous! Cake by- Kake by Darci)

geode 5.jpg     (I love the gold foil detail on this one. Cake by- Carrie’s Cakes, Photo by- Emilie Ann)

Well, I am off to learn how to make rock candy now! Honestly, these should be in a museum- they are like pieces of art. I wonder how they taste…probably just as amazing as they look!

Baked Red Velvet Donuts.

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I have an extreme love for donuts even though they make me feel bad after I eat too many, they are just so delicious.  A good friend of mine was moving and gave me a bunch of his baking goods from his kitchen.  One giveaway was a donut pan and a boxed mix (shocker, I’m a sucker for box mixes) and I’d say these turned out pretty good.  They tasted more like cake circles since they weren’t deep fried but there’s nothing wrong with that 🙂

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The box mix was from Stonewall.  Be warned, this red dye is extremely strong.  I’ve been a huge advocate of natural lately so I feel like this goes against my grain but since they tasted pretty good, I thought I’d pass along the info.

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Ready for the oven.

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Perfect cake donuts!

Best Boxed Mix Pumpkin Bread.

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I love to bake but if I’m being honest, I don’t always have the time to whip something up from scratch so I will frequent box baking from time to time :).  I picked up the Pumpkin bread mix from Andronico’s over the weekend and made one of the best box mix pumpkin bread I’ve had (aside from pumpkin bread from scratch, my mom makes the best!).  You have to add real pumpkin puree and of course I modified to ad some dark chocolate chips but it was really simple and delicious!

Pinterest Pick – Pasta Modification.

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I saw this delicious looking recipe on Pinterest and was excited to give it a try.  The three cheese thing sounds amazing but I know that as much as I love cheese, I needed to add some form of veggie in there.  I added fresh mushrooms and swapped the mozzarella for goat cheese.  The cheese swap was simply a user error as I got the wrong cheese at the store but it turned out great.  This is a good recipe to add to your must try list if you have the time!

Jackson Hole Eats.

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We had a pretty epic food tour throughout our trip and there wasn’t one bad stop.  Leaving San Francisco, you never know what kind of food you will encounter on travels because we have such a wide variety of goodness in the city.  Jackson Hole definitely had fantastic food everywhere we went thanks to Julia’s guidance on her favorite spots!

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Persephone – NOM!  The coffee and pastries were SO good.

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Gluten free options included like the above deliciousness!

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Sitting outside enjoying our coffee and treats 🙂

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Nora’s huevos rancheros!  Need I say more?

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Unreal coffee and pastries from Elevated Grounds.

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Seriously drool worthy.

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Teton Thai!  We went here after our hike and chowed down, it was SO good.  Be careful with your spice levels though, I got a 2 spice level and it still had a pretty good kick.

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Amazing local brews like this Jenny Lake Lager from Snake River Brewery!

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We had a pretty epic food tour thanks to Julia for sharing all her favorite spots with us :).  You must add these to your list when planning a trip to Jackson Hole!

Favorite Summer Snack.

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I never liked tomatoes until a few years ago and I can’t believe I never used to like them because I LOVE them now.  Caprese salads are one of my most favorite dishes.  I found this simple caprese kabob idea on Pinterest and it’s been my go-to appetizer to bring to parties hosted by other people.

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The ingredients are this simple: toothpicks, mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil.  I like to add sea salt and some balsamic/olive oil drizzled over but you can eat them without those and they are just as tasty.

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They are simple, non-messy, and usually a big hit since they aren’t too heavy.

Enjoy!

A Taste of the Sunset.

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Over the weekend, I made it my mission to just hang around the city and relax.  I love being on the go and don’t usually rest as much as I should so I did a mini taste tour around the sunset district in San Francisco and thought I’d share my good finds.  I’ve pretty much quit coffee, I now drink tea so not a caffeine purge, but when this adorable Snowbird Coffee shop opened up I couldn’t wait to try it.

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It’s such a quaint, cute spot with hand poured coffees.

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Not to mention, cute little accents.

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There’s also a awesome recycling program they have in the back of their store.  You can bring your old bottle of shampoos/soaps/etc and they will refill it for a much lower price than if you bought in store.  Love this concept and I can’t wait to go snag some re-fills!

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I went for the almond milk latte and enjoyed it immensely.

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If you are a beer fan, the other notable stop in the sunset district is the new Sunset Reservoir Brewery.  We tried some appetizers and the beer sampler.  They have a dinner menu that I’m sure is pretty good but it seems like a better place for some beers and snacks.

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It’s a really great space with lots of great features.  We were sitting up on a balcony but there is plenty of space throughout the brewery.

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My favorite of the 5 samples was the Double IPA if you are an IPA fan.

There you have it, two new spots for great sips in the sunset district of San Francisco!  What are some of your favorite spots?

Bacon Brussel Sprouts

DSC_0710I spent my weekend in an insanely beautiful house/mansion on the lake in Tahoe. While the views were gorgeous accompanied by a hot tub and fire pit, I was in love with the industrial sized kitchen. We took the opportunity to cook a great meal and I wanted to share one of my favorite sides with you. Our friend Jeff cooked up this amazing dish so all credit goes to him!

DSC_0655(Dice up 4 cloves of garlic)

DSC_0649(Cook up a batch of bacon until it is just barely crispy)

DSC_0648(Halve a pound of fresh brussel sprouts)

DSC_0673(Add a bit of olive oil to the bacon and add the brussel sprouts and garlic. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes)

DSC_0675(Place the mixture on a baking sheet. Cook at 350 for 10 minutes or until browned if you like it crispy)

This side is super easy to make and has so much flavor! The bacon adds some saltiness so you don’t need to season it at all. Enjoy!

Sydney Fish Market.

DSC_0206Our friend, Fai, took us to the Fish Market in Sydney. There were tons of different shops to look through and we eventually grabbed some fresh sashimi and grilled prawns to snack on. There were so many different kinds of fish, big and small. There was one piece of tuna that had to be at least 3 feet wide in diameter, the fisherman was just cutting these tasty pieces from it.

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DSC_0197(Prawns for days)

DSC_0193(We didn’t end up trying the mussels, but how could you go wrong?)

DSC_0201(I loved how they stacked all of this fish, there were just so many)

DSC_0212(Lobster, nom)

DSC_0214(Blue and red crabs, I wonder which one is better)

One of my other favorite places to visit is Pike’s Place in Seattle. I love looking at all of the different fish for sale. I love seafood so it is fun to get inspired about what you would cook up!

Sushi Rollin’

This past weekend, we made sushi at home which was a lot easier than I thought it would be! We picked up some sushi grade sashimi and dried seaweed sheets from nearby Japantown and had a lot of the other essential ingredients at home already.

DSC_1825(The sushi rice takes about 8 minutes to cook; be sure to add some rice wine vinegar and a pinch of white sugar)

DSC_1835(We sliced thin pieces of avocado, cucumber, lemon, salmon, tuna, and yellowtail)

DSC_1828(We placed the cooled rice onto the seaweed sheets and decorated it with our favorite fish and veggies. We used plastic wrap to roll the sushi together, be sure to wet your fingers so they don’t stick to the plastic or seaweed)

DSC_1833(Slice the sushi with a thick bread knife)

DSC_1839(The sushi crew got really serious!)

DSC_1841Served with some gyoza, our sushi was excellent! This was one of the easiest meals to make and a quarter of the price.