Museday #6 {Recipe for a Perfect Saturday}

1. Find a local market (I'm a big fan of Smorgasburg, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

 2. Engage with local vendors (Brown Butter Brooklyn, Kumquat Cupcakery, Salvator Brooklyn, are among a few of my many favorites at Smorgasburg) and learn new things (like Market Share, a soon-to-be shared kitchen space, or Wellness In The Schools, an educational stand about a program that helps promote healthy food in schools in NYC).

 3. Eat super well (duh).

Fresh Squeezed OJ + Almond Croissant at Almondine

Almond Croissant at Almondine

Mini pies (that's a keylime-tequila pie with a corn chip crust in the back) from Brown Butter Brooklyn

Mini cupcakes from Kumquat Cupcakery--the Maple Pecan Bacon ones are delicious

4. Lay in the sun while you digest your meal. Possibly while reading a food-related publication.


5. If you can, take in a skyline...

(Belated) Muesday

I know, I know, "Muesday Wednesday" doesn't work nearly as well as Muesday Tuesday. What can I say? I got a little busy. It happens to us all sometimes. That's why today's inspiration is this: restful cupcakes in the park. Or, the closest version of a park you can find.

These are photos of cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. If you live in NYC, or visit here anytime soon, check these out, the frosting is fantastic. 

Confession? I didn't share these. I ate three, by myself while sitting on a bench in Union Square. Because it's good to slow down and enjoy the scenery once and a while. And because there has never been anything bad about a cupcake. 

Plus, these are mini cupcakes. See? 

As I'm sure you know, a girl can eat at least four of these mini cupcakes and its just like eating one. Of course, eating multiple mini cupcakes in a row can be a slippery slope. Don't say I didn't warn you.

My point is, cooking is fantastic. I love it. If you're reading this blog, you probably love it too (or you love me and you're just being supportive). Cooking is a stress release for me and a good way to unwind. But every once in a while, eating mini cupcakes in a park...well, that's pretty great too. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Museday #4

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I am wildly inspired after a day spent running errands (and eating not nearly enough) in New York City. I'm back for the summer and looking forward to simple lunches on the go and dinners at hole-in-the-wall but mind-blowingly-delicious favorites. I'll write about particularly exciting finds occasionally. 

(Union Square Greenmarket, Summer 2010)

I'm also excited to re-ignite my love affair with the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays. There's nothing better than fresh produce and a glimpse of the empire state building. So very, very inspiring. Happy summer everybody!

Museday #3

I can't help but be inspired by all things light and summery this week. How about you?

Strawberry Summer Cake from Smitten Kitchen. This looks divine, and it has me craving (and making) things like blueberries with maple cream and cinnamon, strawberry pie and banana pudding (you'll see those recipes this summer). If it involves fruit, I'm making it for dessert. 

Muscovado Semifreddo, roasted rhubarb, shortbread crumbles from Not Without Salt. Is there anything about this dish that doesn't scream summer?! I'm excited about trying this recipe, and other rhubarb inventions.

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Raspberries, people. They're delicious and I'm going to do all sorts of cooking with them this week and next. You'll see a raspberry & blackberry clafouti coming up soon on flavorfull.

Muesday

Hello readers! It is that time again. Here's a little selection of what is inspiring me today. Not to worry, now that summer is in full swing, I'll be sure to post something other than inspiration! Look for at least one decidedly summer-themed recipe coming your way later this week. Now, without further ado...

I'm always amazed by the deliciousness found on Not Without Salt. These are gluten-free chocolate biscotti. Way back when, I helped coordinate catering for weddings, and one day a mother-of-the-bride brought the wedding guests (and service staff) some cinnamon sugar chocolate chip biscotti. It was the first time I ever liked biscotti and I've been dying to experiment with it since. 

If you know me at all, you know I cure a bad day with crack pie from Momofuku Milk Bar. Of course, since moving to Wisconsin, I've been going through David Chang-withdrawals. Now, at the very least, I'll have the recipe for his ooey-gooey (there is literally no better way to describe it), buttery, oat-y,  crack pie, thanks to Peas Love Carrots.

People. I'm not going to lie to you. So far, I've failed at making good granola twice.  My first attempt was sickeningly sweet. My second attempt tasted like...really nothing. But I am damn-determined to make some delicious, inexpensive granola and put it in beautiful ball jars by the end of this summer. Bitchin' Camero has re inspired me with her granola recipe, adapted from one she found in the New York Times.

This is the top, #1, main inspiration in my life right now. And it is so funny I ran across this because for weeks now, all I've thought about is upside down cakes (and yes, I did spend most of this week and last  week writing my Masters thesis proposal. Unfortunately, they won't give me a Masters degree in Journalism for researching upside down cakes. Wouldn't that be the life?) I digress. Look at this gorgeous apple upside down biscuit cake situation from The Pioneer Woman. Just goes to show you that summer + upside down cakes go hand in hand. And that the The Pioneer Woman is amazing. 

Museday

Hello dear readers. This is the first of a new series of posts, named...wait for it...Muse-day. Yes, I know, I'm cheesy. These Tuesday posts will point to several sources of inspiration I've found in the past week, from fellow food bloggers and other sources as well. Inspired by The Pioneer Woman's "Web Deliciousness" and Cupcakes and Cashmere's Five Things posts, I hope that these collections of muses will inspire you all as well.

Spiced Coconut Spinach recipe from 101 cookbooks. I'm looking forward to trying the Spinach and Coconut combo!

Quinoa. You may have noticed the beginning of my recent obsession with Quinoa, here. Now, the obsession is growing. I'm looking forward to trying the Quinoa Primavera recipe from Whole Foods.

Since the beginning of summer for students means sleeping in, I can think of no better source of inspiration than luxurious breakfasts. These Lemon Blueberry Pancakes from The Pioneer Woman would be a great reward for a semester completed. Totally drool-worthy.

I can barely wait to try these Cocoa Brownies with Salted Peanut Butter Frosting. The title says it all, and how beautiful is Not Without Salt?

10 Good Reads For the Food Obsessed

Top 6 Foodie Novels

Kathleen Flinn writes passionately about her experience as a student at Le Cordon Blue in 

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry. If you've ever dreamed of attending culinary school, you will relish this story of a woman following her lifelong dream. 

Ruth Reichl is a reknowned food writer. Although most recently she hailed as Editor in Chief of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine, she gained serious foodie fame during her time as the New York Times food critic. Garlic and Sapphires is about her time in that post--it details everything from the disguises she wore to avoid recognition, to nights spent awake in bed, panicking that she'd written about rosemary in a dish that had none. Reichl is one of my main inspirations for getting involved in the world of food media.

In Heat, Bill Buford goes from writer and amateur gourmet to a full-on kitchen slave, at Babbo no less. If you are, yourself, an amateur gourmet, then you'll certainly connect with the daily fate of an amateur chef working in Babbo's Kitchen. 

A Year in Provence tells the story of a married couple who decided to move to Provence for a year. It is as much an account of food (and the food culture in France) as of the european country lifestyle. Though there is no engrossing mystery in the book, it still manages to be a page turner, if only because everything in it is simply so pleasant. 

Although based in a somewhat morbid context, My Last Supper profiles 50 culinary greats and begs the question: what would you have for your final meal? The answers are intriguing and the photographs are beautiful. 

4 Cookbooks I Can't Put Down

I read this at the gym. Big. Mistake. Although the recipes in the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook are beyond incredible (just like the food at the restaurant--I actually dream about their pancakes), this is so much more than a cookbook. From cover to cover, the recipes and photographs are accompanied by compelling stories about the restaurant and the couple that runs it. 

This book is a veritable encyclopedia of flavor combinations. Here's how it works: think of a food or flavor. Halibut, you say? The Flavor Bible can help! Simply look up halibut and see a list of proven flavor combinations from a variety of culinary backgrounds. This is an amazing way to start making your own recipes, once you are confident in your recipe technique. I got it as a Christmas present, after putting it on my wish list. 

This cookbook is a necessity. Mark Bittman published How to Cook Everything years ago, and the simplicity is stunning. If you're a novice in the kitchen, this book will give you clear instructions on every basic recipe you can think of. If you're a more accomplished cook, you'll enjoy the variation ideas and techniques Bittman includes at the end of most of the basic recipes. This book has allowed me to develop recipes on my own, since once I learned the basic recipes and the variations, I began to understand how the variations worked. 

This is the first cookbook from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, who also authored Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented (that's where that to-die-for double chocolate loaf with peanut butter cream cheese spread came from). The recipes are daring and any book that calls a photograph of a brownie "seductive" well, that is a cookbook I can get on board with. 

*As a side note, I was not encouraged to write a post about any of these books or compensated for mentioning them in any way. I just love them all, and hope you'll get the same enjoyment from them that I do.