I always say that when we lived in Brazil if I’d known what I know now, I would have written a cookbook. I walked away from that 3 years with so many interesting food experiences, and thanks to friends there, a greater knowledge of how to prepare some of our favorite foods.
Other than the jumbo cookbook in Portuguese that I brought back with me, I rarely come across books in English that highlight Brazilian cuisine. So when those rare occasions arise, I jump on the opportunity to get a copy.
I’m backtracking just a few days to share my four favorites post for March. I had every intention of publising this post up last week. I have it written all over my calendar to prove it. But life got in the way. And by life, I mean our new house! I haven’t said much about it so far, but we’ve finally purchased a home in California. Things aren’t quite as crazy as they could be, but we are still juggling a few projects like working with painters and having some new flooring installed. It has me way off schedule with new posts. Just a few more weeks and hopefully we’ll be back to smooth sailing.
Fortunately all that has been going on hasn’t kept me from exploring some new foods, books and blogs in March. I have a lot of good stuff to share so read on!
Every time we move to a new place it opens me up to a new world of ingredients. It’s probably obvious how that would happen with a move to Brazil. But I even felt this way when we moved back to a more rural area of Kentucky. Then, of course, there was the Bay Area.
This time around that new world of ingredients belongs to Mexican cuisine. I’ve barely scratched the surface on what is available to me. I’m also learning that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did about these ingredients.
I discover something new every time I go to the market.
I try to stay aware of my environment. It’s something that I find easier to do after living in several places across the country. I realize that my food seasons and local selection aren’t always the same as yours. So I try to highlight what is so great about living in California without causing you to say, “Great, thanks for another post about a rare citrus I can’t get.”
I may not show it here often enough, but I still remember the days I couldn’t get good strawberries in early March or 10 varieties of greens in January.
I also want to keep you from thinking things like, “There’s another grilling recipe in the dead of winter.” Or in early spring, for that matter. I mean, did you see the snow in Colorado this week. My goodness. It made me well aware that you might not be able to dig out your grill as easily as I can.
So I like to make sure I throw in a standard in-the-kitchen recipe that everyone can make.
These steaks are it.
While walking the farmers market last weekend, the cutest little heads of cauliflower caught my attention. What is it about mini vegetables that is irresistible?
I’d seen these before and inquired if they were a specific variety. To my surprise, the vendor told me no. They are simply heads of cauliflower harvested early.
Since this was the case, I knew they wouldn’t be around for long so this time I didn’t pass up the opportunity to grab a few. Three to be exact. I asked if they had more small heads and the three I grabbed were the last. Clearly other people have a thing for mini veggies, too.
I think we have discussed overnight oatmeal before. Despite it becoming trendy around here, it really isn’t anything new. It’s basically muesli and that’s been around a very long time in other parts of the world.
But while our muesli may not be new, it is definitely delicious. People have come up with some seriously tasty combinations.
I’m back with my monthly Four Favorites posts! February was full of fun stuff including a great plant-based Mexican cookbook and nutritious power smoothies sent to me for review, a design blog I can’t get enough of and a beautiful trip to the Channel Islands!
Way back last July, I introduced my monthly post series Four Favorites where I share my four favorite B’s for the month — a book, blog, brand and break.
Guess how many posts are currently in that series. Yep, one. I introduced it in July and that was the last time I did a monthly recap despite everyone telling me how they liked the idea.
I have no valid excuses for why I didn’t follow through. The end of the month would come and I’d forget to do a recap. It certainly hasn’t been because I’ve had a shortage of the four Bs.
I’m constantly discovering great books, amazing blogs, fun brands and our travel gives us plenty of exciting breaks to share. So I’m recommitting myself to the four favorites. Fortunately, this month I had an extra day to squeeze in the post!
After 8 years of blogging, I’m taking a look back at how Fake Food Free has evolved and the current state of the food blog landscape around me. I’m revealing those changes that I’m not so happy about and returning my focus to why this blog came to be.
When I first started Fake Food Free in 2008, in my corner of the world, the ideas of knowing the sources of your food and reducing processed foods were just beginning. I’d always eaten whole grains, fruits and vegetables, but the idea of making more foods from scratch, closely watching sugar intake and buying local eggs were efforts that were just beginning.
I loved what Fake Food Free represented in my life – an effort to eat fewer processed, more local foods, while embracing international food culture.
Then I woke up one day and all of a sudden it wasn’t enough. Despite having no food allergies or intolerances, I could no longer define healthy as simply reducing processed foods.
When winter rolls around and citrus season becomes evident across most of the state, I’m reintroduced to my fondness for Cara Cara oranges.
I’ve lost count of the foods I’ve discovered since moving to California. Most have quickly moved to the top of my favorites list, and these oranges are no exception. Considering the positive feedback I get when mentioning them, it seems they have made their way across the country. But I had no idea they existed until 3 years ago.
