SF Food Bloggers Bake sale is TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Come out and see us! I will be at Kiehl's on Fillmore from 3-4pm I would love to see you there! Ok short post must get back to making these yummy Vegan Blueberry muffins!!!

Hope to see you there,

Tiffany

Bake Sale this weekend!

I am so excited about SF food bloggers bake sale this Saturday. Now at 2 that's right 2 locations!! First location is 18 Reasons in the Mission from 10-4 and Second location is Kiehl's on Fillmore from 12-4!! Please come out and support a great cause and get some very yummy baked goods!

Can I just say how awesome this is that all these people putting this together and participating are amazing and I am so lucky to get to be a part of something so awesome!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to see you there!!!

Tiffany

Chile Verde Smothered Burritos

Wow doesn't that look good? Let me tell you it was so delicious!! This was one of those dishes that really intimidated me, but was really easy.

Last week I knew I was going to have company but going to be gone the entire day they were coming over for dinner. So I had to find something that would impress and could be made in the slow cooker. The one thing about cooking in the slow cooker is you really need to be careful of how much liquid you add.

To give the Chile Verde a great flavor I definitely recommend roasting the tomatillos, garlic, and peppers. The roasting process can get messy so I used a jelly- roll pan and lined it with foil (you can also use parchment paper). After roasting I placed a towel on top of the jelly roll pan to "steam" the tomatillos and peppers. The steaming process makes it easier to peel off the skins.

For the pork don't think I'm crazy but I used the country style ribs (boneless). I actually used it because that was all I had but it turned out perfect.

Chile Verde in a slow cooker


Serves 6-8



Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork country style rib (boneless)

• 1 lb. tomatillos husks removed

• 4 Anaheim chilies

• 3 Jalapenos

• ½ green bell pepper

• 1 yellow bell pepper

• 1 onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• ¼ of a bunch of cilantro (remove stems)

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• 2-3 cups chicken broth

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Oil for searing meat

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Remove husks from tomatillos, clean tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers. Place all tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers on the foil lined jelly roll pan. Roast in pre heated oven until tops turn brown and they soften. Take out of the oven place a clean towel on top to make peeling the skins off easier. Let cool for 20-30 minutes once cool start peeling off skins being careful to keep juices and to not burn yourself.

2. After removing all the skin off the tomatillos, chilies, jalapenos and bell peppers place in a food processor. Process for about 3 minutes or until it is very smooth. I have found that less than 3 minutes it still has small chunks and it will throw off the taste.

3. Cut the ribs into 2 inch chunks. Pat dry then season with a little salt and pepper. Heat up a heavy bottom sauce pan and place 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Once hot place rib chunks into the pan. Sear on top and bottom for about 2 minutes. Then place into slow cooker.

4. Place processed chilies into slow cooker. Cut onion into quarters place in food processor along with garlic and cilantro. Process until smooth around 1-2 minutes. When finished place in slow cooker.

5. Season with cumin and add 2 cups of chicken broth. Turn on High for 4 hours. Once finished stir and season with salt and pepper. At this point you may want to add more broth or to thicken up turn on high without lid for 30 minutes.

You can also make this recipe on the stovetop by adding more chicken broth.
 
Enjoy,
Tiffany

Happy Earth Day

What Earth Day really means to me.....

I will admit until about 5 years ago I did things here and there but wasn't as "Earth Conscious" as I could be. So I made some changes.

• Composting- this is one of the biggest changes and I will admit one of the hardest. Since I usually cook almost every meal for my family of 4 composting was going to be important to reducing our trash. I have been composting consistently for almost 3 years now and it has been very fulfilling. I won't lie it isn't the most glamorous thing to do but is great for our environment. One thing about composting is you will have to find what works for you and your family. I went through 3 composting pails and buckets before settling on my current form. I didn't like having to wash the buckets, I'll just say it wasn't pretty. What I use now is the bags the loaf of bread comes in and produce bags that I had to put my produce in. This way I am reusing things that would generally just get thrown out. The only downfall is those can't go into the compost bin so we just empty it into the compost bin and throw the bag out. This works for me and my family but, they do make compostable bags so if you are willing or wanting to get those it would make it a little easier. All in all I have to say I love composting!

• Reusing-  So I must say I have about one hundred reusable bags, ok not really but I'm sure it's closer to 40. Anyways I have a lot! I try really I do to always remember to bring my bags with me when shopping I hate when I forget them. Right now I have tons of plastic bags but I also reuse those I use them for my trash and the paper for my recycling. I don't buy plastic garbage bags. But all that aside I think the biggest thing I have done is purchase the reusable water bottles. I found some really cute ones and we take them everywhere. I honestly can't remember the last time I bought a bottled water. Not only am I doing something for the Earth but also saving my family money at the same time! Now it is second nature for us to grab our water before leaving the house.

• Reducing- One of the biggest way we have reduced is by buying less packaged foods and junk ( I know the good stuff). Also we only have one car, of course one car will not work for everyone. Since we live in the City and I stay at home we don't need two cars. I love to walk so I tend to walk to the store but, my biggest downfall is I get way more than I need. So I have been slowly cutting down and trying to use everything I buy. Sometimes I fail but I am determined to not waste food which in turn equals money.

I know there are many other things you can do celebrate Earth Day everyday! These are just a few of the things me and my family do, I would love to hear feedback about what you do to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

For more information on Earth Day and things you can do go to http://www.earthday.org/

Happy Earth Day,
Tiffany

Lemon Bars

What can I say about these delicious lemon bars but woweee! I love lemon bars but for some reason I have never made them before. I am thinking these would be great for the bake sale too!

I have realized lately that I have many foods that I love but have never made them. I seem to keep the same rotation of foods going not daring to make something new. So for now on I am not going to be afraid to make something new even if I fail! So here I go.....

So about these lemon bars. I halved the recipe because I wasn't sure how well they would be (well also so I don't eat an entire 9x11 pan full of them, which by the way I almost did!). The one thing I would change is to make more filling not quite double but maybe one and a half times the original recipe. I like more filling. I also changed the crust of the original recipe by adding almond flavoring. This is an excellent recipe I really recommend you try it

Here's the recipe.......

Lemon Bars

Makes 24 bars



Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 ¾ cups unbleached flour

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar plus extra for dusting

• ¼ cup cornstarch

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

Lemon filling

• 4 large eggs, beaten lightly

• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons unbleached flour

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

• 2/3 cup lemon juice

• 1/3 cup whole milk

• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9×13-inch baking pan and line with one sheet parchment paper.

2. Put flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and mix until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal. Place the mixture into the lined pan and press firmly with fingers into an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

3. While the crust is baking; whisk the eggs, sugar and flour in a medium bowl, then stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, milk and salt to blend well.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir the filling mixture just before pouring into warm crust. Bake until the filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 30 mins, dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar and cut into bars.



(Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated and Brown Eyed Baker )

Enjoy,
Tiffany

Baked Kale Chips



I have been hearing about Kale chips for awhile now and wanted to try them. I was a little skeptical about making them because well I mean it's kale how good could it possibly be.......Well boy was I wrong they are so good! This is definitely one thing I would say don't knock it until you try it you will be pleasantly surprised. Besides the yummy flavor they are much better for you than regular potato chips, and it really satisfied our craving for something crunchy and salty. 

I used 2 bunches of Organic Kale (the curly one). I would recommend starting off with one bunch first to make sure you like it. I actually had to go to 3 different stores to find Kale which I was surprised, I assumed you would be able to find it at most stores. I also found it at the farmer's market.

Here's the recipe:

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Kale

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Wash and dry Kale, remove stems and middle rib. Place dry kale, olive oil, and salt in a bowl. Mix well.

3. Line a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet with parchment paper. Lay out kale so that it is a single layer over the parchment.

4. Place in oven bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Enjoy,

Tiffany

San Francisco's food blogger bake sale

Come join us and support a great cause Saturday May 14, 2011 @ 18 Reasons 3674 18th Street San Francisco.

I am really excited to be participating in this event! This will actually be my first bake sale and I can't wait to see what it's like and meet all the other great people involved and all the awesome supporters that will come out.

Hope to see you there!

Tiffany