The Blog: Interesting food finds, personal projects and other cool stuff!

It's that time of year, Girl Scouts on every corner peddling cookies. We bought a box of Samoas, whch is hands down, the best Girl Scout cookie out there. One of my daughters decided she'd like to try and recreate a Samoa at home, so we embarked on a cookie adventure! It is quite a… Continue reading Homemade Girl Scout Cookies

Our orange tree went nuts this year. Not that this has been a problem! We've been having fun dropping bags of oranges at the neighbor's houses and leaving a free box out front. We've also been using them in some fun ways. Dehydrated orange slices are actually AMAZING. They turn crisp and flavorful, less sweet,… Continue reading Oranges!

Recently, a friend asked if I would be interested in designing some sci-fi themed cocktails for an event. Now, that sounds like fun! I started by brainstorming some ideas about what "effects" these cocktails might have or do (see the brainstorm list below). What ingredients would cause these effects? What would be interesting to see… Continue reading Designing Cocktails!

This year, I inherited a family tradition: Building a giant gingerbread structure and hosting a decorating party. I've never attempted a baking project this large at home. Luckily, my sister-in -law, the originator of this concept, came over to help me bake and cut. The house was to be 3 ft long by 2.5 ft… Continue reading Epic Gingerbread

What would happen if you dehydrated vegan cheese and yogurt? Well, I found out. I took the homemade sliceable vegan "brie" and some store bought Forager Cashewgurt and dehydrated them overnight. The result: The cheese was really interesting. It got a much tougher, chewier texture, similar to harder cheeses like cheddar. The flavor was more… Continue reading Dehydrated Vegan Cheese?

Last week, I went to Portland, Oregon to attend a class on ice cream technology! The class was put on by the Food Innovation Center, part of Oregon State University. There is a lot of complexity involved with making ice cream. Ice Cream is the only food that is intended to be eaten frozen. Keeping… Continue reading Ice Cream Technology Class

I first heard about tonka beans while watching the Great British Baking Show. One of the contestents used them to flavor a steamed pudding. I immediately had to google it and see what the heck tonka beans were and of course, order some to find out what they taste like! Tonka beans are seeds found… Continue reading Tonka Beans!

The second fermenation experiment compares two different brines used to ferment cucumbers. Both methods use the Easy Fermenter lid system and contained garlic, dill and spices for flavor. In the first method, a standard brine is used containing 5.3% sea salt and water. The second method, uses the same concentration of salt and has several… Continue reading Fermentation Experiment #2

Recently, I've been testing out some different methods for fermenting veggies. Experiment #1: Sauerkraut made with two types different fermenting gadgets. One jar (right side in pictures) used the Pickl-It Fermenting jar and airlock. This system has three components: a special jar with an opening at the top, a weight and the airlock which fits… Continue reading Fermentation Experiments

This past weekend my friend, Eva, and I embarked on a day of making vegan cheeses. I began dabbling with vegan cheese making in 2002, when began studying and experimenting with the raw, vegan food culture. Since that time, there have been tremendous innovations in vegan cheese and there has been an explosion of brands… Continue reading Vegan Cheese Making!