The Discovered Palate

My fiance and I are always having little discussions about our palate. He claims that
I have gotten my palate used to certain foods and my standards for food are much higher. He doesn't taste the difference between tomatoes from Fred Myer and tomatoes from the market. It took me a whole month to convince him that
heirloom tomatoes taste different than Roma tomatoes and that they are worth 5.99 a pound. The other day at Whole foods, he actually bought some for dinner. I could not believe my eyes(yes, on sale) but still he agreed to pay 4.29 a pound for tomatoes.
I decided to think back and make a list of a few new vegetables or fruits that I discovered in the last while.
1. Heirloom Tomatoes
2. Fiddlehead Ferns
3. Donut Peaches
4. Wild Ramps
5. Squash Blossoms
6. Meyer Lemons
7. Elephant Garlic
8. Truffles
9. Kobacha Squash

What are your discoveries?

Padma's Cellulite

Emily from the last season of "Top Chef" lets her big mouth loose. Her claim that Padma has cellulite reminds me of why women are so jealous and why women should only have men friends. Women can be so nasty! Brace yourself girl, you wish you had one precent of Padma's beauty. Listen for more complaints.... that's all she does!


Listen here

Pink Cake

Check out this cake.
Can you guess what it is?

The Amateur Gourmet - Book Review

Practically every food blogger is aware of the Amateur Gourmet. He is the one that puts ridiculous songs on his blog, never hesitates to post his mistakes and has become a blogger celebrity in the last few weeks. Oh and I am sure that his blog is nothing short of one the most popular food blogs around.
I have been looking for his book for a while and I finally got my hands on the little thing.
The book is a simple story of someone who teaches himself how to cook. A lot of the things will get you saying things like "oh, I did this" or hey "I never noticed this". When I went into a store to ask for it, the lady said " I don't need this, I already know how to cook". The truth is this is not a book to teach you how to cook, there aren't many recipes and all of them are borrowed from other books. This is going to remind you how much fun cooking is and how many mistakes we tend to make, how important it is to discover food and how blogging is the single best way to never forget these experiences. This is a blog that you can cuddle with in bed without feeling the heat of your laptop and imagining the damages it is doing to your body, perched on your stomach. A quick, easily read, antidote to an otherwise boring day!

To get the book

Food Network Star in Seattle

Do you think you cook like a star? If you missed the Food Network auditions today then you still might have a chance.
Send an email to:nextfoodnetworkstar4@gmail.com.

Read my other blog , for details.

Austin Cantina

Saturday, I finally got to try out the new restaurant, Austin Cantina. The place is
super casual with cactus paintings and a miniature cactus on each table. The atmosphere is laid back and despite the fact that the tables were full, the chef
greeted people at the door with a smile. It reminded me of a diner but Mexican style. It was doing well for it's one week Anniversary.

I ordered the nachos with homemade guacamole and salsa. I tasted cherry in something but I couldn't figure out what it was. Was it in the salsa or in the guacamole? I asked the waitress and she explained that they roasted the tomatillos in the guacamole which gives it a unique taste. It tasted perfect! I ordered grilled northwest chicken with a sweet chipotle glaze. It came with black beans and rice. The chicken was extremely moist which is pleasantly surprising because a lot of the time chicken in restaurants is dry. The food tasted great. I regretted not ordering the plantain empanadas. I am trying not to eat too much fried food. I think the table next to me noticed me staring at their empanadas. I should at least try not to drool next time.


The total came out to 19.60= chips and salsa 5.50+ coke 2.50( not even real coke but R.C Cola)+ polla la plancha 10.50 + tax. This was the only downfall, a tad bit pricy.
I would definitely go back, seems like the type of place where everyone knows your name.
Cheers!

New Teas by Chao Dao

Do you have trouble deciding if you want coffee or tea? If so, there is an answer for you, Yin Yang.
Yin Yang is a blend of fresh black tea and coffee.
I picked this up at Whole Foods this week. The only problem is that I am not a big fan of coffee. Once in a while, I have a craving for ice coffee so I figured this
would be a good choice. I am probably not the best judge since I don't drink a lot of coffee but this one tastes pretty good. The bitterness of the coffee is balanced by the taste of tea. It is also very sweet, kind of like a really strong iced tea with a dose of coffee in it. It's the kind of thing to drink on a really hot day when you don't want the heaviness of a coffee with milk.
Calories: 60 for the whole entire bottle(16 oz)
Antioxident flavonoids: 132 mgs


The second drink I tried is the Jasmine tea with lemon which is absolutely wonderful. The mix of Jasmine tea and lemon is a perfect combination and it is totally refreshing and sweet.
Calories: 80 for the whole entire bottle(16 oz)
Antioxident Flavonoids 320 mgs

For more information about Chao Dao beverages, click here