Cherry Season

Today I got two boxes of cherries at the flea market for $2.00. They were harvested yesterday and they were righteous! The Nectarines were $1.00 a pound and the avocados were even cheaper.

I then went to the supermarket where corn, radishes, cucumbers, and purple lettuce were all so cheap.

I'm really looking forward to summer with all it's abundance and deliciousness.

now...what should I make with all my cherries?

White Chocolate Honey Mousse

(with raspberries on top!)

• 3 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoons honey
• 3/4 cup chilled heavy cream

1.  melt the chocolate (I like using a double boiler. Some people microwave but I always get it wrong when I microwave)
2. Stir in honey and add 1/2 cup  heavy cream. Let cool to room temperature
3. When the chocolate mixture has cooled, whip remaining cream until it forms a soft peak. Gently fold the cream into the chocolate mixture. Pour the mixture into four dessert glasses, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Garnish with raspberried if desired.

I am huge fan of white chocolate. We tried doing this last week and it didn't work because we had cheap white chocolate that melted funny. Yesterday we went all out and bought expensive white chocolate. It was worth it. I am not exaggerating, this is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted!

The original recipe can be found in this book Food As Foreplay: Recipes for Romance, Love and Lust

a fun little cookbook that is perfect for home date nights.

How to Make Homemade Yogurt

The title of this post should be "Why You Should Make Homemade Yogurt" because I want to convince you that homemade yogurt only brings good things.

Ever since we got a thermometer for liquids and ever since we started getting an obscene amount of milk from WIC Christian has transformed into a yogurt making machine. I love yogurt but I'm all like "HOW on earth are we going to eat all this yogurt?" every time I open my fridge and see container after container of plain yogurt.

Miraculously the yogurt has not gone to waste. He now started making yogurt cheese (other post, promise) which tastes like a mixture between goat cheese and cream cheese. It's sooooo good. I am also using yogurt on anything that calls for heavy cream or milk. This is not to say that we don't still have a ton of yogurt. If you live in Santa Cruz PLEASE come get some yogurt at my house.

I like eating plain yogurt but I need things to go on it. On Saturday a friend gave me a huge jar of Brazilian doce de leite. score! Yesterday I got a flat with 12 containers of organic raspberries from the Family Student Housing food pantry. What, you don't believe me?

(seeeeee!)

Today I was excited to get up (never happens) and eat a big bowl of homemade plain yogurt with organic raspberries and doce de leite, and use my pretty napkin of course, because such good food must be consumed in style.

Christian's yogurt recipe comes from the Internet. I haven't participated in the actual making process so but I've seen him do it. A few essential things, according to Christian, are: thermometer, a big cooler, and powdered milk. The powdered milk makes the yogurt really creamy. Creamier than Trader Joe's Cream Top plain yogurt. Seriously, it's that delish.

wiki-how homemade yogurt step by step
homemade yogurt
101 cookbooks homemade yogurt recipe

now that I've shared with you some homemade yogurt recipes can you share with me some ideas on what to do with all those raspberries?

Shout Out to Food Bloggers

I've been depressed all week because BlogHer'09 in Chicago is sold out. My friend Mariko and I were planning on going and now we can't because you all bought tickets before we did.

Today she informed me that there will be a blogher food conference in San Francisco, which is so convenient. Of course there's the minor detail that it's in the end of September which means that I'll have a 2 week old baby and if my labor is anything like last time I won't even be walking. Minor details that I'm sure will work itself out as the day approaches.

Feira Livre

I'm feeling an urge to blog even though I don't have any new recipes to share with you. Sorry about that but (a)I'm having major issues with my camera and (b) my life until June 12th revolves around finishing my MA thesis so I'm really pressed on time and priority.

Anyway, this picture was taken at our recent trip to Brazil. Feira Livres are street farmer's markets. Each neighborhood has one that goes up once a week. They are very popular in Brazil and here you can get fresh veggies and fruit for REALLY cheap. You also get meat, fish, cheese, clothes, cleaning supplies, a husband (just kidding). It's a riot and it's my favorite place to go whenever I'm home.

The day my sister got married our car got totally lost on the way to the reception. We ended up parking far from the restaurant and having to go through a Feira Livre to find our way. Here's a short clip of a Feira and my little sister on the phone with our brother-in-law telling him that we were lost by the fish stand. I took advantage of the the tour and bought some bananas (not in the video). I arrived at the reception with a bag full of bananas. My grandma was totally proud. My sister, the one who got married, couldn't have been more embarrassed. Good times!

Favorite Kitchen

I have 2 favorite kitchens, actually. They each belong to my grandmas. They are spacious, clean, and colorful. The appliances are simple, a tiny stove and a very small fridge but oh my gosh are they decorated. This is my Grandma Maria's kitchen which is full of bright plastic flowers and bowls and cans decorated with flowers. Heck, she is even decked out in flowers when she cooks.

(hands down cutest cook ever)

On one wall she has a huge painting of The Last Supper right above her trusty radio.

(I know I inherited my obsession with listening to the radio while I cook from her)

She says that when she eats she likes to sit down look up at Jesus breaking the bread and listen to socialist talk shows. You gotta love the woman.

When you come to Brazil with me I promise to take you there because her food is just as fabulous as she is. But before that happens I am curious to know where your favorite Kitchen is.

Perks of Being a Mom

I was spoiled once again with cinnamon rolls,banana cream pie and a pair of earrings and a necklace all hand made by Christian. You're all sick of me saying how much he rocks but he does rock and some other folks rock too who sent me an unexpected present in the mail.

Last Thursday was National Mom's Nite Out. I was jealous to see so many tweets and blogs about all the fun things you ladies did. I Spent my Mom's Nite Out teaching my classes until 9:00pm and then came home and crashed because earlier that day I had just gotten in from Brazil.

However, I got a really fun box in the mail from Unilever with a bunch of food and a cook book that has SUPER easy recipes. SCORE! The box was actually meant for Christian and Enzo to enjoy while I should of been out celebrating Mom's Nite but in the end we all enjoyed it together.

For those of you who blog and who are moms I really recommend joining MomSelect. It's free and there is no obligation to review any of the products they send you. I've gotten many different products from them and am always impressed by the quality of products they sent me.

Being a mom is fun. I'm so thankful that I have Enzo to mother and another munchkin on the way.

I hope you felt celebrated yesterday (and today, and tomorrow, and..)

Happy (late) Mother's Day!

Italian Food (in Brazil)

I just came back from a very quick trip to Brazil. My sister got married and it was fabulous to be there celebrating with her and with the rest of my extended family. Even though the trip was way too short I was really looking forward to eat out as much as I could because if you didn't know Sao Paulo has amazing restaurants. If you ever go to Sao Paulo you must go to Vila Madalena. It's a very trendy neighborhood with very cool stores, street markets, and amazing restaurants on every corner. My sister's wedding party was held in a lovely Italian place called Spadaccino where the food was very, very, very, delicious.

The waiters kept on bringing out antipastos such as deep fried mini artichokes, toast with mushrooms and cheese, eggplant salad, and a variety of breads

For the main dish I had ravioli stuffed with goat cheese. The sauce was fresh table cream with pieces of fresh figs. I loved how the sweet taste of the figs blended with the goat cheese.

and of course like any good Brazilian wedding for dessert we had Bem Casados.

I'll post some more Brazilian food pics soon...

Apple Yogurt Pie

I haven't seen my other half for almost 2 weeks and I'm missing him and his baked goods so much. The weekend before I left he made yogurt and it was totally decadent and creamy. We ate as much yogurt as we could and when we finally said no more he made this amazing Apple Yogurt Pie from the Moosewood. I {heart} Moosewood and {heart} Mollie Katzen's website even more. So many great recipes, a fun blog, and great tips.