Junk Food

This odd little illustration by Jared Stumpenhorst, originally dreamed up as a t-shirt design for Woot, caught my eye mostly because of the interesting selection of snacks. I've seen the burger/fries combo on t-shirts, the cupcakes and candy combo, even a family of fruits with faces--but I'd yet to come across such a fine sampling of junk food. 

The nervous smiles on their faces make me wonder, are they self-conscious about the way some might look down on them? Or are they about to get eaten by someone more like me?

Let's face it, these snacks may not be the best for your diet, but there are some benefits to cooking them in your own kitchen. Healthy recipes and fresh ingredients can take out a lot of the yuck-factor from these usually mass-produced treats. Alternatively, making a conscious decision to buy all-natural alternatives to your old favorites can help satisfy a craving without doing any real damage. Everything in moderation, right? Ahh, junk food..

Clockwise from top left:
Really simple homemade pizza from (one of my favorites!) Smitten Kitchen 
Copycat Oreo cookie recipe by Cupcake Project 
Soft pretzel recipe from Cooking Light via My Recipes 
Healthy microwave potato chips from Fat Free Vegan 
100% natural GuS (Grown-up soda) available in a variety of flavors
Fried chicken photo from Sweet Tea with Lemon , recipe by Alton Brown 
Homemade peanut butter cups from Genesis of a Cook 
Glazed donut holes recipe by Diana's Desserts 
Greek lamb burgers with spinach, red onion and Feta from Bon Appétit
Fresh fruit roll-ups recipe by Sugarlaws 

Earthy Apps

This image above features a logo, color palette and imagery style for Bella Sicilia's new brand identity, by Denis Olenik. I saw it floating around on FFFFOUND! and it definitely caught my eye! The palette suits this company well, as the earthy tones reflect their commitment to high quality foods made from natural ingredients.

The olives and the mushrooms got my gears a-turnin' and I set out on a hunt for some simple (and tasty!) apps that complement our palette, above. Really makes me want to set some time aside this weekend to try a few of these recipes.

Miniature napoleons with eggplant creme from Vegan YumYum

Spanakopita photo from DarbCU on Flickr , recipe from Epicurious

Green and black olive tapenade via Top Appetizer Recipes

Italian-style steamed mussels from My Gourmet Connection

Honey and chili glazed nuts recipe by Walnut Grove

Coconut shrimp recipe from My Recipes

Garlic stuffed mushrooms on My Recipes

Bacon wrapped dates on yumsugar

Luscious spinach artichoke dip on bfeedme

Mini Asian crab cakes from Martha Stewart

Lemongrass meatballs by Eat Local Northwest

Dessert Buffet: Chocolate & Cream

Dessert and candy buffets are all the rage at weddings and events this year. Photos of stylized buffets, like this one above from a Martha Weddings magazine spread, are almost unavoidable when doing party planning research. As someone who likes to bake and decorate, I've yet to come across a buffet of treats that seems difficult to replicate.

This blue, brown and wintery white tablescape is no exception. The linens are simple, the cake stands are plain, candies are in clear glass vases and the display pedastals for bite-sized goodies are clean and modest. This modern style uses enough basic pieces to allow even those with a tight budget to find a perfect match.

Below are some easy recipes for elegant-looking desserts that you can whip up in your own kitchen. For a smaller crowd, downsize your table and swap out some of the tiered cakes shown above for tiered platters with cupcakes or petit fours.

Clockwise from top left:

Whoopie pies from Gourmet magazine via Epicurious 

Chocolate marbled meringue recipe from BBC GoodFood 

Chocolate-dipped pretzels, photo by Schakolad, recipe from Robin Miller via Food Network

Chocolate ganache truffles by Culinate 

Foolproof chocolate fudge recipe on Hubpages  

Mini vanilla cupcakes by Mary Bakes 

Jordan almonds with a bronze candy coating from Patchi 

"Hot" chocolate cake spiced with cinnamon and cayenne pepper by Country Living 

Hazelnut chocolate linzer cookies from the LA Times 

English buttermints and brown sugar licorice from Fiona's Sweetshoppe 

Boston cream pie recipe from Country Living 

Homemade marshmallows with toasted coconut by recipe by Ina Garten  

DIY: Jam Cookies

I have a thing for packaging, and these vintage Polish jam labels from pan tu nie stal (via Made In England) caught my eye.  The bold colors and cute, simple graphics on were likely a fitting match for their original contents.

More importantly, coming across these labels reminded me that I had a couple of jars of jam in my kitchen just waiting to be eaten! What better way to use up different flavors of jam than to bake these guys? Definitely one of my favorite types of cookies, especially when you don't skimp on the fruity preserves.

I followed this Jam Thumbprint Cookie recipe by Ina Garten, and it was surprisingly easy! I  do bake often, but this was an exceptionally successful batch of cookies. Delicious, too!


Ingredients

• 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I did 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut
• Raspberry and/or apricot jam (I did both, plus strawberry)

1. Toss all of that decadent butter into your mixer! Cream together with one cup of sugar until light and fluffy.




2. Measure out your extracts! I incorporated a bit of almond extract because I just can't get enough of it in my baking. Add these into your butter and sugar.



3. Add flour and salt slowly but surely, at a low speed. No need to create flour clouds in your kitchen.



4. Mix until a moist dough forms. This happened pretty quickly for me, and the dough was a perfect consistency. Wonder if it was those 3 sticks of butter...?



5.  Shape your dough into a nice flat disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.



6.  In the meantime, beat together one egg with one tablespoon water to create an egg wash. Spread some of the coconut out on a plate for easy rolling access.



7. Once the dough is chilled, unwrap and begin rolling into 1 1/4" balls. I was able to get 30 cookies out of my dough--not too shabby!



8. Dip the dough balls into your egg wash, then roll on plate to lightly coat with coconut. I found that one bag of coconut was just enough to cover them all.

9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees



9. Use your thumb or the back of a spoon to make indentations in your cookies. You could make them shallow or deep--I preferred to make them a bit deep to hold more jam.



10. Step back and admire your work. Place your cookie sheets in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until coconut begins to turn golden brown.  After 25 minutes, my coconut still wasn't completely toasted, but I didn't want to risk overcooking them.  I removed them and they turned out just fine.



Ta-da!



Strawberry, raspberry and apricot jam in amazing little buttery cookies. I'm really glad this recipe yields just over 2 dozen. Plenty to share and plenty to eat all by myself!

Dia de Los Muertos

When I saw this print from super-cool illustrator, Andrew Bannecker, I was immediately inspired.  One of his recent blog posts offers a peek into his studio, and it's definitely worth checking out. This design, along with several other of his works, appear throughout the space with other eclectic pieces that any artist could admire.

The above print reminded me of a colorful Mexican fiesta. With El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) coming up on November 1st, I thought it was the perfect time to share some ideas for hosting your own party. Perfect excuse for sugar skulls and Mexican food with friends. Don't forget the guac ! 

Clockwise from top left:
Turquoise papel picado banners from Casa Bonampak ($12.50 for 18 ft)
Black floral oilcloth from Denver Fabrics ($6.45/yard)
Seafoam dot oilcloth from Denver Fabrics ($6.45/yard)
Orange Icelandic poppies featured on Brides.com 
Metal wire votive holders from Target ($4.98)
Poblano risotto with garlic shrimp by What's Cooking  
Roasted pork taco with Mole, recipe from FoodNetwork , photo by What's Cooking 
Orange Vinyl Lace Placemat from Dream in Plastic ($1.49)
Laminated fabric trays from Simrin's Surya collection 
Surya printed glassware in Ocean from Simrin  
Capri blue candle in a jar from Anthropologie ($25)
Lace strewn knob in sky blue from Anthropologie ($10)
Ceramic melon knob with antique brass from Anthropologie ($8)
Blackberry sugar skulls handpainted and sold by ArtofSkulls 

Sunny Morning

There are only a few things I enjoy about waking up early in the morning.  Quiet streets and the warm golden light of a sunrise, as captured here by Grouillote on DeviantArt, are two of my favs. Having some extra time to prepare the most important meal of the day can't hurt either. 

Usually reserved for weekends, some of these big breakfast dishes look so scrumptious that I'm tempted to adjust my alarm clock to allow for a mid-week treat. Rise and shine!

Clockwise from top left:

Turkey breakfast sausage from Cooking with Michele

Pepper avocado omelette by Debbie Shore featured in The Seattle Times

Pumpkin-ginger waffles from Country Living magazine

Oven-baked crispy bacon (the ONLY way to cook bacon) by SafeToEat

Banana, honey and pecan stuffed French toast by Jamie Oliver

Mulled cider with cinnamon and cloves by The Dish on Delish

Lemon crumb muffin recipe from Taste of Home

Brioche cinnamon rolls by What Geeks Eat

Fall Fruits

This wooden block set from notNeutral may be listed as a kids toy, but I could definitely imagine it having a place on my desk. Each side of the 12 blocks is printed with something to love: letters and numbers in classic and contemporary fonts, two-tone flora and fauna graphics (think leaves, bird, flowers, butterfly, etc.), a tree puzzle and the apple puzzle featured above.


When I saw this photo in If it's Hip it's Here's feature on designer blocks, my mind drifted to apples and Fall. One of my favorite parts of Fall is being able to (comfortably) bake again in my small kitchen. Another would definitely have to be the delicious fruits that come into season as the Summer comes to an end. What better way to combine these two things than to bake some wonderfully fruity desserts? I'm drawing a blank. If you are too, why not try some of the recipes below?

Clockwise from top left:
Baked apples with walnut raisin filling by Meghan Telpner
Fried apple pies on The Prepared Pantry
Vanilla pomegranate pot-de-creme from Sass & Veracity
Anise-scented fig and date swirls from Gourmet.com's favorite cookies list
Clementine cake adapted from Nigella Lawson by Smitten Kitchen
Upside-down pear tartlets on Country Living
Honey rosemary ice cream recipe from Pastry Studio
Pumpkin cranberry oatmeal cookies on Sugarcrafter
Ginger and pink grapefruit cheesecake from Bon Appetit on Epicurious
Oven-baked apple cider donuts by Diana's Desserts

Tea Time

So, is it a normal reaction to see this photo from SFGirlByBay and think FOOD? Maybe, maybe not, but all of the cute little english country teapots, cups, saucers and creamers on these shelves made my imagination immediately float off to tea party land.  I'll have to admit, I don't host or partake in tea parties often, but I probably should.  Fresh, light foods + tea + assorted desserts = inevitable good times with girlfriends (or boyfriends, for that matter).

Rather than share prices and resources for various items, this food post features links to tempting recipes that are now on my "to cook" list.  Some of them are easier (cucumber and watercress tea sandwiches) than others (homemade apricot preserves), and others may be a bit complicated for an everyday project (matcha green tea macarons), but I hope that you'll find something to try!

Clockwise from top-left:

Marinated Heirloom tomato salad on MyRecipes

Blue Brie with pears and honey from coffeeandvanilla.com

Lime-ginger lemonade by The Sassy Foodie

Flowering Jasmine Arch tea from JingTea.com (£6.90)

Cucumber and Watercress sandwiches (along with other tea sandwich recipes!) at The Loving Spoonful

Orange-glazed blueberry scones by Tyler Florence on Food Network

Matcha (green tea) macarons with chocolate ganache by Five Spice Duck

Glazed lemon cookies from Café Johnsonia

Curried chicken salad recipe from Gourmet Magazine on Epicurious

Spinach, red pepper and Feta quiche also from Gourmet Magazine on Epicurious

Homemade apricot preserves by Just Hungry