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January 25th, 2012
Starlight Custom Cakes founder/owner/lead baker/sugar artist Patricia Moroz tends to create quite a stir around Camden, Maine. That would be the sweetest of stirs. Her gingerbread houses grace the windows of the Camden Opera House during the winter holidays (ever wanted to visit Santa’s workshop – that would be Trish’s basement in mid-November) and the local garden club’s annual holiday fundraiser. People in the Midcoast get pretty darn serious about that fundraiser standing in line outside regardless of temps for an hour or two in advance of the doors opening (or so I’ve heard). My response to Trish’s creations is it’s so beautiful and so REAL looking I don’t want to eat it I just want to look at it. Then, eventually the sugar craving would step in and I’d have a bite. So moist, and the frosting sweet but not too sugary. Anyway, I’ll let the following photos of Trish’s work stand for themselves and PLEASE spread the word BAKED Pop-Up to benefit Good Shepherd Food Bank at Rheal Day Spa in Rockland this Saturday between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Trish is donating a lot of cupcakes (some with the Muppets on them per my request). xo
Tea Cups
1955 Chevy Pickup
Bailey
Chef
Pumpkin
Posted in Baked Goods, Do Good, Epicurean Events, Midcoast Maine | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012
Want a loaf of Elizabeth’s homemade Caramelized Onion & Spinach Olive Oil Quick Bread? Come by the BAKED Pop-Up to benefit Good Shepherd Food Bank this Saturday, January 28 between 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Rheal Day Spa. DON’T MISS THIS DELICIOUS EVENT!!!!!!
Photo by Dara Michalski.
Posted in Baked Goods, Do Good, Friends, Midcoast Maine | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012
I was in the mood for something simple that would use up some of those ingredients hanging out in my fridge wondering when they will ever be let out. Do you have unused food guilt? It’s always exciting to me when I can make something solely from the ingredients in my kitchen. Generally, it’s the vegetable drawer that is my worst offense. Some onion or as I am writing this now grapefruit (must remember to eat the delicious grapefruit with lunch) and a few leftover sage or parsley leaves that were left to linger a bit too long after this dish or that was made. The solution…the omelet. A simple recipe requiring eggs, butter, milk (I use Rice Milk, simply because that’s what I’ve got on hand most of the time), some salt and freshly ground pepper. All ingredients you probably have in your kitchen, right? An omelet allows you to be creative – some of my favorites: spinach and parmesan, tomatoes and goat cheese, whatever herbs need using up and mushrooms or onion. I am participating in a Shrimp CSF so some of those might well end up in an omelet the next few days.
How to make an omelet:
Place 2 Tbsp butter in a skillet (preferably non-stick) on medium-high (or high to get started and then turn down as soon as it starts to get hot). When the butter melts swirl it around (moving the pan a bit vs. a spatula seems to work better for me). Pour in the egg mixture (2-3 eggs, 1 Tbsp milk). Let sit undisturbed for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer preferred ingredients (i.e. spinach and parmesan – the latter I grate directly onto the eggs in pan) across one side of the egg mixture just before it is done. Fold the other side over and place on plate. Serve hot. Yield: 1 serving (so you can make custom omelets for friends and family).
Image from Pinterest.
Posted in Recipes | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012
As I am prepping for the BAKED Pop-Ups on January 28 in Rockland and February 4 in Portland to raise money and awareness for Good Shepherd Food Bank I wanted to share with you a taste of what is to come for those who attend! Annie Mahle’s Lemon Curd Cheesecake anyone!?! This will be on sale at the Rockland event THIS Saturday between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Rheal Day Spa.
I’ve yet to decide what I’ll be baking for each event, but one thing I can guarantee is there will be some hurry-up and get there goodies – meaning some of the most skilled bakers in Maine (can you say Annie Mahle, Scratch Baking Co. and Atlantic Baking Co.) are supporting these events. I’m hoping to see lots and lots of people at the events, so please spread the word!!!
Photo by Capt Jon Finger.
Posted in Baked Goods, Do Good, Epicurean Events, Friends, Midcoast Maine, Portland Maine | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012
In the current issue of my university alumni magazine there is an article on Sid Lerner, advertising executive turned fitness enthusiast. This is the man who in the early 2000s helped create the “Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” campaign – brilliant. In 2003, after developing heart disease, he learned the typical American consumes 15% more meat than recommended by the FDA and USDA and shortly thereafter created the Healthy Mondays campaign. This is what we have come to know as Meatless Mondays. The idea? Mondays are like Januarys, the perfect time for a fresh start…with “52 chances a year to live a longer, healthier (more sustainable) life!”
Nationwide public school systems, restaurants, health advocates, and mainstream media outlets are espousing the benefits of Meatless Mondays. The Huffington Post even has a Meatless Mondays column. More than the positive impact on your waistline, is the eco-impact. *It takes 40 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce 1 calorie of beef,” according to the Meatless Monday website.
This movement goes way beyond “food elitists” in Manhattan and Los Angeles. This is about lengthening your life, and the quality of it, and trying to do less damage to the environment. This is about moderation, something few of us could not learn a lot more of. As Huffington Post Meatless Mondays columnist Ellen Kanner wrote to me in an email, “Sid Lerner is the man.” Yes, Ellen he most definitely is!
A few delicious meatless options from the Lunch Box Bunch.
Photo from Pinterest.
Posted in Do Good, Healthy Eats | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012
In my effort to eat healthier I am researching what I am putting in my mouth.
The other day I went to see Steven Soderbergh’s excellent new action film HAYWIRE. It might not be a TRAFFIC, but it’s entertaining from start to finish with sure to be new action starlet/retired mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano kicking the crap out of everyone (Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas…seriously no match). I had a bag of dried berries in my bag, but after a great workout at the gym I was hungry and with the quickly dropping temps (it would be near single-digits by the time I exited the theatre) I thought I would treat myself to a small popcorn no butter and a small root beer (my sugar intake for the day). What could it hurt? It tasted good…maybe a wee bit salty, but with 90 + minutes of fast-paced action sequences I was feeling like I was getting a workout all over again so the slight sugar high from the root beer (the one plus, no caffeine) was evening it all out.
When I got home, I thought why not check out what I just ate…see how bad/not bad it was. Folks, it’s bad!
I just checked calorieking.com and a SMALL movie popcorn with no added butter has 400 calories and 27 grams of fat. (A McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger? 440 calories and 23 grams of fat. A whole package of Raisinets 185 calories and 7.2 grams of fat.)
Moral of the story? Know what you are committing to and for me, if I am think I am going to be hungry at the movies …pack more healthy snacks.
Posted in Films, Healthy Eats | 1 Comment »
January 20th, 2012
Breathe easy folks, it has been 10 days since I ate a cookie, donut, chocolate bar, or frozen yogurt. Rather than be a New Year’s resolution, giving up about 95% of the refined sugar (so not maple syrup or honey) in my life is the beginning of a journey I have known needed to happen for some time. This also might not seem like that great a feat to some of you, but believe me trying to not listen to those 9:00 PM cravings has not been easy (thank everything for sugarless gum and Harley & Sons Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea (Black Tea with Cinnamon, Orange, and Sweet Cloves). Then there was the incredibly frustrating day (my fourth without sugar) my brain felt cloudy and I couldn’t process anything near quick enough. That day I thought is this it, without my normal intake of sugar will I ever be as creative again? This was sugar not some hard drug we were talking about my brain, body, and I.
To make a longer story shorter, I have begun to feel so much better – my hair is softer, my complexion clearer, and when I pulled a pair of pants on yesterday they had a wee bit more room to move in (the way they used to feel when I was way more physically active). I have more energy (at least most days) at the gym and while I am not as hyper as I used to be, I am able to participate in creative conversations (a necessity for me when it comes to my work).
This does not mean I will never eat another of Annie’s famous Congo Bars, but when I do it will be one not two or three a serving. It really will be a much appreciated treat, as opposed to an expectation.
Soon, I’ll be sharing healthful tips from cookbooks like those my friend Ellen is sending me and extolling the virtues of products like Mesquite Powder (excellent in oatmeal and smoothies). There will still be comfort food, but it will come in the way of pasta dishes and hearty soups.
Jessica’s Oatmeal: Banana, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 Tbsp flaxseed oil, 2 Tbsp Mesquite Powder by Navitas, and optional: salt to taste.
Florida Grapefruit (1/2 quartered in the morning, other 1/2 at night)
Posted in Baked Goods, Friends, Healthy Eats | No Comments »
January 20th, 2012
It’s
feeling
every
bit
like
winter
here.
Snow,
ice,
wind,
single-
digit
temps,
digging
out
and
on
occasion
bright
sun.
Loving
my
red
barn
draped
in
it!
Posted in My Maine Home | No Comments »
January 15th, 2012
Over the weekend I enjoyed a frozen pond in Midcoast Maine with a friend. Original plan was to go ice-skating, but that got nixed when we realized we’d be dealing with either bumpy ice or (as we found it) snow covered-ice. It was chilly, but the sun was shining so we took advantage of the snow and space and made snow angels. Winter fun in Maine, you gotta do it. Next up ice climbing or sledding (old school). How are you enjoying winter? (p.s. I was wearing 3 tops under a sweater, long johns, fleece pants, and my snowboarding pants. Talk about being insulated.)
Posted in Friends, Midcoast Maine | No Comments »
January 9th, 2012
I haven’t been able to sleep recently, and if ever there is a place to spend time at any hour it is Manhattan. A friend and I drove down this past weekend. I needed cultural stimulation, to walk the Manhattan streets, and give a damn about something. Someone told me recently people only want to read the pretty side of life in blogs. I guess that’s true, but I also think perfectly beautiful lives tend to look the same and take a lot of work just to look that way. It’s our imperfections that make us stand out, the stressful days and nights for months on end spent thinking about next steps in life, not so grand moments when we realize way more sweating needs to be done in the gym, the what’s it all for relationship that makes you throw your hands up and look inside for a while, seeing yourself for who you are, and the no I’m not crazy just super excited about this and that so my reaction may not be “right” (calm) and surely not proper. What, you might be thinking does any of this imperfect living or sleepless nights have to do with a trip to Manhattan? It’s this – sometimes I need to let go to figure things out and the taste of a bit of urban freedom can do that for me. I love Maine, but at times it’s hard to get the answers I used to find in my fast paced urban living. There are stars to wish upon, but sometimes it takes going to a place where you cannot see the stars above to figure out just what it is you wish for and get inspired about how to do it. I’m figuring it out, digging in, owning not being anywhere near perfect, and thinking maybe I’ll get some sleep tonight – after all that was done in Manhattan I’m a bit exhausted.
Momofuku Milk Bar cake (this trip not only did I revisit the Milk Bar – conveniently located in a new hotel I was trying out – but also finally had some David Chang food and it was good! I fell in love with Hog Island oysters there.)
My friend “J” had never been to Rockefeller Center, so we went by to check out the ice skating rink.
Afterwards, we walked around the Plaza (loved this pic of Jackie O.).
 
Next day we drank a lot of coffee, enjoyed the gorgeous weather (61 and sunny!!), walked the High Line, experienced Carsten Holler at the New Museum, went to Brooklyn for materials (I’m making an apron), found a picture of my football hero/crush outside Porsena – where we had an amazing meal with a good friend (thanks Sara for the bubbly and dessert!!!).
Posted in Shop, Thoughts, Travel | No Comments »
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