Another Friday Five

I was so impressed with how many of you commented with your Five Favorite Ingredients. I took a look at the list, and overall you guys really love fresh (preferably “right off the vine”) produce. Oh yeah, a whole lot of you like Butter and Sugar. But actually, and it’s really no big surprise, the overall favorite ingredient is Chocolate, with many votes for Dark Chocolate. There was that one random vote for Red Vines, but that’s probably not even a food, nutritionally speaking, so we’ll skip it. Thanks for commenting, I’m looking forwardto hearing more…..

…. Because, I’ve decided to ask you to list your Top Five Again. This time, I want to know your Top Five Dishes. Not just an ingredient, but any old dish you love. Think hard and have a great weekend!

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Top Chef…

Are you watching Top Chef – DC this season? Does anyone still watch Top Chef? What is this? Season 6 or 7, maybe 8? I’m not sure what it is, but the show just hasn’t grabbed me. Has it grabbed you? Any chefs you really like? Should I even keep watching?

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Easy Farmer’s Market Recipe

Diced local potatoes, trimmed local green beans and roughly chopped local tomatoes. Smothered in olive oil, salt and crushed red pepper. Roasted in a hot oven. The prefect summer side dish.

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Cocoa & Fig

The first time I had a cupcake from Cocoa & Fig I was standing on Nicollet Mall with my friend Lisa. I was in heaven. And not just because Lisa is awesome company, but the Cupcake. Was. Amazing. At the time C&F only had a booth at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market. Now they have a store on the skyway level of the Mall. And that’s spectacular. It means I can get a cupcake nearly every day. I don’t have to wait around for a Thursday. In the summer. And since my birthday unfortunately fell on a Monday this year, I could still get a birthday cupcake. I chose the “Chocolate Chocolate Buttermilk” because, frankly, anything with chocolate in it’s name twice has to be chosen. It was delicious. All four bites of it.

BTW, my friend Chandler did the beautiful illustrations on the Minnesapolis Farmer’s Market website. You can see more of her work here.

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Perfect

Husband gave me this chocolate bar for my birthday. Can you say perfect? He also gave me this new camera that I took this shot with. Again, say perfect. He knows me too well. I have a thick manual to read and much to learn, but I’m having fun. And looking forward to better photos of food, aren’t you?

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Your Top 5

In honor of my 5oo posts, I have a question for you? What are your five favorite foods? And I don’t mean favorite dishes or recipes, but your five favorite foods as in Ingredients. Husband and I thought about this during our Sushi Date last week, but we were trying to list top 10 ingredients. I think top five is easier, and in this case more appropriate.

My top five are, in no particular order:

1. Strawberries

2. Shashimi-grade Ahi Tuna

3. Butter

4. Dark Chocolate

5. Avocado

So, have at it. Leave a comment and tell me your top five.

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What To Do With All Those Tomatoes…

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/grilled-salmon-with-melted-tomatoes

It’s getting to be that season again. Yep, Tomato Season! You can can them, freeze them, make super yummy soup  or an easy sauce with them or you could lose your self control and eat them all right now. Or, you could make this killer Salmon Recipe with “Melted” Tomatoes. The Tomates are sauteed until they’re mush, the Salmon is simply grilled and then topped with fried jalapeno slices. Perfect. We served it with rice and a few extra jalapeno slices. Delicious. And a great use for the crop of tomatoes that are rapidly growing in my garden!

NOTE: I’m not able to find the recipe at FoodandWine.com just yet. If you want to recipe leave a recipe and I’ll email it to you. Thanks!

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512 Posts

I just realized that is is my 512thPost. Really? Isn’t that insane? How did that happen? I know I’ve been doing this little thing for over 3 years, but that’s a lot of me just writing about little stuff. It also reminds me of why I started this little blog. I was going to be graduating with a degree in Creative Writing and was worried that I’d never write again. That I wouldn’t find make the time and I’d lose inspiration. Well, now I know I haven’t lost inspiration. In fact, having this little blog has actually lead me to more inspiration than I could have imagined! The blogging world is a busy one, full of amazing women (and a few men) that have more ideas and talent than I could every hope for.

Thank you to all of you amazing crafters, artists, bloggers and writers for keeping me inspired. Happy 512th Post to Me!

(The cupcake is from Bewiched. It’s Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting and a Homemade Pretzel on top. The perfect way to celebrate.)

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Craving Sushi

Husband and I were craving Sushi last week during our Stay-cation. Actually, we’re rarely NOT craving Sushi, but not usually able to chose a restaurant in the middle of the day in the middle of the week and go there. Without Daughter. But last week we were relaxing and eating and generally enjoying ourselves, so we headed over to Crave in Edina for a light lunch. We started with the beautiful platter pictured above. It’s the Yellowtail Jalapeno Sashimi and the blend of spicy, tart, sweet was really amazing. I could have eaten the whole platter myself, but Husband probably would have killed me. We also enjoyed the Mexican roll (Tuna, Jalapeno, Avocado, Spicy Mayo) and the Chipotle Ocean (Soft-shell Crab, Yellowtail and Chipotle Mayo). Along with a glass of Torrentes, it made for a delightful summer lunch. Just the two of us, some wine, some Sushi. Yum. Wish we could do that every week day.

Today at paper&clouds: Jumbo Crayons

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Tomatoes!

I picked my first three red tomatoes this weekend. Aren’t they darling? And finally, every tomato plant is loaded with green tomatoes. I was worried about planting a garden this summer. With a baby/toddler to take care of and a day job, would I have time to weed and water and prune and talk to the plants? Honestly, I haven’t, but Mother Nature has come through and the weather has been great for growing. It’s been warm and sunny and every few days we get a good soaking. I’ve only had to water a couple times. And the weeding? Well, I’ve only weeded a couple times. (Easier to pull when they’re larger, right?)

Anyway, I’m excited, here come the tomatoes!

Today at paper&clouds: Simple Six-Pocket Bag!

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