Farmer's Market Finds

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Last weekend I visited yet another Farmer's Market, this time at the Great Park in Irvine, Ca. If you live locally, this is a fantastic Market to visit. It has a much more 'country' feel than other local markets I've been to because it is literally in the middle of a field of Eucalyptus trees. There is live music and 5-6 food trucks present every Sunday. And on the first Sunday of each month, there is an adjacent antique market to peruse through. I love supporting local and small businesses, so I was extremely pleased to find some of the most fantastic products I've seen in a while at this Farmer's Market. I will be back again and again for the following items:This Coconut Honeybush tea from One Love Tea is probably one of the best things I have ever tasted! It is a highly fragrant, slightly sweet tea that tastes so much like coconut, it's crazy. I've enjoyed it hot and cold and can't decide which I like better. Either way you choose, a little goes a long way and it brews in a super quick 1-3 minutes. If you can't get this unique tea close to you, order it online!
The Chile Boys from New Mexico make this AMAZING salsa verde using chiles grown on their grandfather's farm. This salsa is about medium in heat and is incredibly fresh tasting, due to the flecks of cilantro and lime pulp throughout. I used it on grilled veggie tacos and with tortilla chips, soooo good!
How can you not want to just spoon this out of the jar? I adore honey, but there's something so special about honeycomb. I mean, bees made it. From nectar and wax...what??! I will be happily using this on everything from toast to cheese boards to who knows what else I'll come up with.
These organic, pesticide free blueberries were incredible! They were plump, juicy and just the right amount of sweet. I had planned on using them in some yummy baked good, but as you can tell from the past tense, they were already eaten by the handful.
Another fantastic fruit I found was this Flavoroso Pluot. A pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot and the result is a super fresh, slightly tart flavor close to that of a plum combined with the creamy, soft texture of an apricot. These were so juicy i had to eat them over the sink! I can't wait to go back and get more.
I love buying all natural, handmade soap and these lovely bars came from Camlon Farm in Perris, Ca. They had photos of their goats at their stand. How could I say no? Plus, they had lovely mixtures that I haven't seen elsewhere, like the Rosemary with Coffee Grounds. The grounds act as an exfoliant and give off a slight scent, but you mostly pick up the fresh rosemary. The top bar is Rose Jasmine, which I am a sucker for. I bought a few of these to place around my house and so far, I'm in love!

I hope these finds inspire you to go find some things you like at your local market. Get outside and support your community by helping these kinds of businesses.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet S'more Brownies

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Let me explain myself.  I did not make this recipe up. Well I did, or at least I thought I did until I googled the words "S'mores Brownies". Turns out putting a graham cracker crust and charred marshmallows on brownies is a pretty popular thing to do. This, however, does not lessen the fact that these incredibly gooey, and over the top sweet treats are a must try.

You've heard me talk about Red Velvet and my love for it before, but let me tell you, the marshmallows and graham only make it better. So grab a glass of milk and a another glass of milk, cuz you'll need to drink both for this one, and get baking.

Red Velvet S'mores Brownies
From How Sweet It Is

For the brownie recipe, click here.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 package graham crackers (about 9 crackers), processed into crumbs
6 T unsalted butter, melted

Topping
1 C marshmallow fluff (or enough to cover the top of the brownies)
about 1/2 bag mini or jumbo marshmallows

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs and press into the bottom of an 8x8 dish or pan that has been greased on the sides.

Make the brownie batter from the recipe link above. Pour the batter over the graham cracker crust, being careful not to spread the crumbs too much.

Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on your oven, my brownies are pretty thick and tend to take longer. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Once baked, remove from the oven and top with the marshmallow fluff and marshmallows. Place under a preheated broiler to create that campfire crunch. I like mine pretty dark, but you can choose to take them out sooner if you'd like. You could also use a mini torch instead to control exactly where the browning shows up.

Let the brownies cool for about an hour or two before cutting (if you can wait that long). They are VERY gooey, so either wet or spray a knife with cooking spray to help slice through them.

Enjoy!

Stocking Stuffers

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Christmas is just days away and I'm still not done shopping! The last items on my list are always the small things...the little add-ons to the big gifts I've already purchased. Here are a few of my favorite last minute stocking stuffers.




Beauty

For the fashion savvy ladies out there, one of my must have nail polishes comes from Deborah Lippmann. Her polish is beautifully pigmented, high quality and super quick drying. You can buy them at department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales, or you can purchase them online from www.lippmanncollection.com. I recently bought this gorgeous blue/green glitter shade named Across the Universe, and also adore the gold version called Boom Boom Pow. It helps that the names of each color are super fun!


Tech

If the guy in your life is anything like mine, his phone is constantly running low on battery. I saw these handy and handsome chargers in the J.Crew Men's Shop last weekend and thought what a great stocking stuffer they would make. They do come in a variety of colors, but are not currently available online. Check out your local mall to pick one up, or for a plainer but no less useful version, check out the ultimate smart charger on Kitson.com
Kitchen

One of my favorite little kitchen tools is my fresh nutmeg grater. I got mine at Crate & Barrel years ago, but this one is from Bed, Bath & Beyond.com. This is such a handy item and you could certainly use it to grate small amounts of zest from lemons and limes. The bottom (black) portion catches everything you grate for easy pouring into recipes.



Bathroom

For those bath lovers out there, check out Lush.com or your local brick&mortar Lush store for the most deliciously scented, smooth as silk and bubbly bath bars. My favorite is the Rose Jam which has an incredibly strong, sweet rose perfume and can be split in half for use in two sleep inducing baths. Bonus: you'll smell like a flower for the rest of the night!

Enjoy the rest of your shopping and remember the best gifts are always the ones that come packed with love!

Janel's Chile Verde

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Why start this post with sunflowers? My sister Janel and I picked some up at the Sunflower Market grocery store earlier this summer after kicking around at the downtown Salt Lake farmers market where we shared Sudanese food, sipped blueberry lemonade and I bought a tomato that was too expensive. And so sunflowers... time with my sister... and we arrive at... her recipe for Chile Verde.

Wait for it... wait for it... "even though..." the original recipe sounded do-able, there was one step I was like "There's no way." ... "You want me to boil it down, how many times?" ... "Really?!?" Janel has been mentioned around these parts before for making The Columbia Restaurant 1905 Salad for me after I'd had surgery. She's a nice kind of gal like that. Even though her recipe was already the cat's meow, I didn't think I could handle boiling down a roast as called for so I started thinking... "I wonder if this would work in the Crock-Pot."And then "I wonder if pork chops would work as well as a roast?" And the answer is: "Yes." I've made it twice and I think I've got the Cock Pot version down pat!
The beginning of the Crock-Pot phase below. Everybody into the pool!
And "poof" it's done!

Chile Verde1 medium size jar of chile verde salsa (verde = green)2 cans diced chiles (mild)1 yellow onionBlack pepper (fresh cracked)1-2 packages of pork chops1 can of vegetarian refried beans
Add the chile verde salsa to the Crock-Pot. Rinse the jar with about 1/4-1/2 C of water and add the water and the chiles to the Crock-Pot. Next brown the meat, crack fresh pepper on the pork chops while cooking. Cut up the onion in large chunks and add both the meat and the onion to the Crock-Pot. Deglaze the frying pan with water (about 1/4-1/2 C) and add the sauce this creates to the Crock-Pot too. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours. You'll know it's done because the meat will easily come apart with a fork. Add the can of refried beans and stir. Using two forks pull the meat apart into bite sized pieces (or smaller). Allow to cook for 15-30 minutes and serve. 
Serving Suggestions: At our house we serve the Chile Verde as single servings in a bowl, as a hot dip with corn chips. Optional: embellish with fat free grated cheddar, and fat free sour cream.
Source: Janel, my sister (Gracias señorita!), with edits from me.
P.S. A little bit of trivia here, my Crock-Pot will be turning 22 next week.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

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Recently I came across some yummy looking cookies on Pinterest; Andes Mint cookies. I couldn't find any Andes Mints at the store with the exception of Christmas peppermints, so I grabbed a box of Fernwood's Chocolate Mint Sandwiches and gave the receipe a try. 
Chocolate Mint Cookies
1 box of Devil's Food Cake mix
1/2 C oil
2 eggs

After Baking
1 package Fernwood chocolate mint sandwiches

Combine the cake mix, oil and eggs. Drop by spoonful on to cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 8 or 9 minutes. The cookies will start to crinkle a bit when they're done. Take the cookies out of the oven when done. In the meantime I cut the mints in half. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, depending on the size of the cookie, put 1 to 2 mint pieces on each and wait 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up take a spoon and spread the now-melted chocolate around.

Recipe Source: Andes Mint Cookies from Six Sisters' Stuff

Incredible Spicy Tangerine Chicken with Black Rice from The View from Great Island

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The View from Great Island shared an amazing recipe for Spicy Tangerine Chicken with Black Rice...doesn't it look incredible? The key to this recipe is the way in which they prepare the chicken using one ingredient that a lot of Asian cooks know to use to make breaded chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp as crispy as possible and that is corn starch. Frying the chicken in peanut oil adds another layer of flavor to this dish. The crispy bits of chicken are then coated in a flavorful spicy tangerine sauce. The list of ingredient tells the whole story...chili paste, Hoison sauce, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and so on...you get the idea. 

To read more and view this amazing recipe from The View from Great Island click on link: www.theviewfromthegreatisland.blogspot.com

6 Ingredient Amish Country Bread from One More Moore

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Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread? When it comes out of the oven the crust is crispy and the inside is moist and steamy. One More Moore shared this delicious recipe for Amish Country Bread. You will definitely want to make more than one loaf because this tasty homemade bread will be devoured in no time! 

To read more and view this amazing recipe from One More Moore click on link to visit their site: www.morganmoore.typepad.com