Santa Barbara’s Farmers Market is one of my happy places.  The variety of sights, smells, colors, people, dogs just feels like Santa Barbara.  The abundance of fruits and veggies, fresh herbs, nuts, oils, jams, breads, pasta, pies, cheese, meats, and eggs is a food lovers paradise.

A series of events occurred this afternoon that led to me standing on State Street, realizing I was never going to make it to the gym on time and that the best thing I could do in a situation like this would be to stroll through the market.

And stroll I did.  I visited a few booths, sampled assorted fruits and even some jalapeno jam, for a change of pace. I visited the date guy and watched chefs from local restaurants buy crates and crates of food.  I watched tourists walk through and saw a local get feisty over the price of avocados.  I listened to musicians play music on the sidewalk.  There was one especially good group that had a couple of violins.  Wish I knew their name; if they played a show, I’d go.  I picked up a few different types of tomatoes to take to work tomorrow (it’s nacho Wednesday – you should be jealous).  All in all, it was a perfect afternoon.

One of my favorite moments in Santa Barbara happened at the Farmers Market a few months back.  I had just gotten back from LA where my best friend and I had spent time shopping, eating, drinking, just enjoying the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.  Walking around downtown, enjoying the slower pace of Santa Barbara, I couldn’t help but think, it felt good to be home.  Then as I walked along Farmers Market I overheard a women (probably in yoga pants, but to be fair I can’t remember) exclaim with utter excitement, “Look honey, they now offer wheat-grass shots for dogs!”  And then I thought (during my crash back to reality), oh right, that right there, that’s Santa Barbara.  It’s not just the picturesque town with a lovely farmers market.  It’s where people get excited over wheat-grass shots for dogs.

But that’s ok, it can still be my happy place.

]]> http://tastethisblog.com/2013/03/santa-barbaras-farmers-market/feed/ 0 http://tastethisblog.com/2013/03/baked-black-bean-tacos/ http://tastethisblog.com/2013/03/baked-black-bean-tacos/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:03:00 +0000 denise http://tastethisblog.com/?p=2494

Some days are awesome.  Some days you sleep in, then get coffee with a friend, take a walk on the beach, go to the gym, and still get home with plenty of time to make the most elaborate of dinners.

Annnd some days you go to work, run errands of your lunch hour, leave work to go to the DMV (always a good time), followed by a trip to the gym and by the time you get home all you can think about is taking a hot shower and crawling into bed.  If only it weren’t for the one minor issue: you’re starving.  This meal is perfect for those days, but it’s also delicious enough to make just because.

These tacos have about 5 minutes of active work time and spend roughly 20 minutes in the oven.  Start to finish this meal is ready in under 30 minutes.  Rachael Ray would be so proud.  With sides, this could easily serve 3 or 4 and without sides this would more likely serve two.  But making a double batch (or more) would only require a couple more minutes of “work.”

Baked Black Bean Tacos (makes 8 tacos)

Ingredients:

• I can seasoned black beans (I love Trader Joe’s Cuban Style Black Beans)
• 1/2 cup shredded mild cheese, shredded (I use whatever I have on hand.  Swiss, jack, whatever.)
• 8 Corn tortillas
• Oil (I use my oil sprayer, but you could use Pam, or just brush some oil on)
• Optional toppings: Avocado, cilantro, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, whatever floats your boat

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the black beans then add to a food processor.  Pulse 5 to 10 times.  Set aside.

Working with a damp paper towel, add two tortillas to the paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds.  Carefully remove the tortillas (they will be hot and steamy!) from the microwave.  Spread a couple tablespoons of beans onto half of each tortilla.  Top with a pinch of cheese, fold the tortilla over, and place on a baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Once all the tacos have been assembled spray (or brush) all the tacos with the oil, flip and spray again.

Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes, top with whatever sounds good to you, and eat!

BTW - The first time I made these I put cheese in to act as a “glue” for the tacos.  I’ve since decided it’s really not necessary, but cheese is super tasty so…  When in doubt, I always err on the side of cheese.  But, if you were hoping to veganize these tacos, they would still be fantastic!

On to the scones… I will argue that white chocolate is not chocolate any day of the year.  It’s not.  It’s also really not my thing.  I like extra dark, super bitter chocolate.  But for some reason, unbeknownst to me, I love white chocolate in scones.  It seems to go really well with fruit, and because there is only a little bit here and there it doesn’t taste overly sweet.  That’s a bunch of rambling nonsense to get to this point:  Dark chocolate + white chocolate + fruit + scone= Delicious.

Double Chocolate Mango Pineapple Scones (makes 8 big or 16 mini scones)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the eggs, cream, and vanilla.  Whisk until well blended.  Add the melted butter and mix again.  Next, add the mango, pineapple, and chocolate chips to the egg mix.  Add dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir just until the dough comes together.  Don’t over mix!

Turn the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat.  Turn out half the dough to make mini scones or all the dough for full size scones.  Either way, pat the dough into a circle, 1 inch thick.  Using a spatula, cut the scones into eight equal pieces.  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown around the edges.

Immediately after removing from the oven, run the spatula down through the cuts made before they went into the oven to make sure they don’t stick once they have cooled.  When cool enough to handle, move to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling.

If you want to drizzle some chocolate over the top, add about 1/4 cup of dark or white chocolate to a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after every 30 seconds until all melted.  If your microwave is super powerful, you might want to turn the power level down a bit so you don’t burn the chocolate.  Once melted add to a piping bag or Ziplock bag with the tip snipped off.  Drizzle back and forth over the scones and allow time to harden.  Repeat with other chocolate, if using both.

These scones are delicious (you know that’s right!), but more importantly, if Henry Spencer doesn’t make it you can expect some angry tweets from me to the Psych writers!  That’ll show ‘em!

Ethiopian cuisine is being served for lunch of Saturdays and Sundays out of Le Petit Valentien in La Arcada.  In addition to being fantastic, it’s also a nice deviation from the Santa Barbara staples: Italian, Mexican, and French.

FYI, I didn’t think to take pictures today– I was way too excited, but we had the carrots and green beans with turmeric, spicy green lentils, and the spicy chicken.  And of course, plenty of injera.  It was all insanely delicious.

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins (makes 6)

• 2 oz cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract

• 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened, fresh or canned)
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Cream the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add whole egg, egg white, sugars, and vanilla.  Beat on low for about 30 seconds, or until mixed.  Add the pumpkin puree and the oil.  Mix on low for another 30-60 seconds.  Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix only until combined, shouldn’t take more than a minute.

Divide the batter into 6 muffin liners.  Get the cream cheese mixture from the refrigerator.  Make six evenly sized balls.  I didn’t measure, but they looked like there were about 1 tablespoon each.  Place one in the middle of each muffin and gently press it down a bit so the whole thing isn’t just sitting on top of the muffin.

Guys, if I could just take a moment to talk about how in love with these muffin/cupcake liners I am.  I. Love. Them.  First of all, they are adorable, right?  Second of all, you don’t have to use a cupcake pan which has to be one of my least favorite dishes to wash ever.  Third, they make it so easy to make just a few muffins.  There’s only two of us here, it’s not like we always need to make a dozen muffins.  I’m officially obsessed.  And even though I have 19 more in the pantry, I have every intention of going out today and buying more.  I might have a problem…

Back to the muffins.

Place the muffins in the oven.  Check to see if the muffins are done after 20 minutes.  If not, keep checking every couple minutes until a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out clean.

Enjoy!

I was thinking the other day about how I had decided to take the summer off from blogging… No, I’m totally lying.  I never made any such decision.  I just got lazy.  And then it got hot.  That just added to the laziness.  But then something magical happened.  After weeks of (relatively) high temperatures, I woke up to cool, crisp air.  I was so excited.  I was able to order hot coffee!  It’s the small things in life.

Seventy degree weather also meant I was willing to stand over the stove to cook dinner.  So I made these Chili Lime Chicken Burgers from Iowa Girl Eats.  I just discovered her blog, but I think I love it.

I changed nothing about her recipe.  And let me tell you, aside from being super easy, these burgers are ridiculously delicious.

Do yourself a favor and check out her blog and make these burgers!

I made this salad a few weeks ago and never got around to blogging it.  Partly because ever since I updated my computer I can seem to transfer pictures from my camera to my computer without my computer crashing.  But that’s really not interesting to anyone but me.

Luckily I took this picture with my phone.  It definitely falls into the “less than great but better than nothing” category.  Once I get my husband to fix my camera to computer problem I’ll update the picture.  This picture just doesn’t do this salad justice. 

Grapefruit Salad (serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side)

• 1 head of radicchio
• 1 red grapefruit, segments cut out*
• 2 apricots, sliced into about 6-8 pieces
• 2 peaches, also sliced into about 6-8 pieces
• 1/2 pound shrimp (and 1 or 2 tablespoons of the spice mix of your choice**)
• 1/4 orange, juiced
• 1 and 2 Tablespoon olive oil, separated
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint

*This is optional.  You can slice the grapefruit anyway you’d like, but prefer the look of the segments and the taste.  If you’ve never done this go to YouTube and search for how to peel and segment a grapefruit.

**I used a jerk blend that I keep on hand.  It’s slightly sweet and slightly spicy blend worked really well with this salad.

Directions:

Add shrimp, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and a couple tablespoons of spices to a bowl and toss to coat.  Cook in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes per side or until cooked through.  Set aside.

Thinly slice the radicchio and spread out over your serving dish.  Top with sliced fruit.  Add the shrimp, they should be mostly cooled by now.  Drizzle the orange juice, olive oil, and honey over the salad.  Sprinkle with the chopped mint and your done!

To be honest, sometimes the afternoon looks like this too.  When and if the fog will burn off is a fun game you can play everyday, all month long.

As a California girl who really loves sunshine I surprise myself by how much I don’t mind June Gloom.  I think it has to do with my deep seated love of cardigans and baked goods.

A definite advantage to the slight chill in the air that comes with June gloom is being able to turn your oven on and not turn your house into a hot box.  Which leads me to the raspberry muffins.

These muffins are muffins you can eat and not feel too bad about.  Yes they have a streusel topping, but other than that, these muffins are made with fresh raspberries, Greek yogurt, and no butter in the batter.  The recipe is adapted from a recipe found here.

My version calls for fresh, instead of frozen, raspberries and vanilla flavor from vanilla beans and extract.  The small amounts of added sugar means these muffins are a little tart, but in a delicious kind of way.  The lack of butter in the batter also makes it hard to peel the paper wrapper away from the muffin when they first come out of the oven.  I’d recommend not using them if you have a non-stick pan or, if you wait for them to cool completely (which is very difficult for me to do) the paper comes of much easier.

Raspberry and Vanilla Muffins (makes 12)

• 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 3 Tablespoons oil, canola or vegetable (melted coconut would probably also work, although I haven’t tried it)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (make sure you get the lemon peel off the lemon before you cut it and juice it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites
• The seeds from one vanilla bean
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

For the streusel topping:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl add yogurt, oil, lemon juice, vanilla extract, egg whites, and the seeds from a vanilla bean.  Mix thoroughly and set aside.

In another bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt.  Mix.  Add the raspberries to the bowl and gently mix them into the other ingredients.

Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir only until it’s mixed.  Do not over work the batter.  Set aside.

In a small bowl add the ingredients for the streusel topping.  Working with your fingers break up the butter and mix it into the sugar and flour until it is crumbly.

Line your muffin pan or spray if you are skipping the liners, and evenly distribute the batter among the 12 cups.

Top with the streusel topping.  Place in the oven and bake for 16-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Allow to cool before serving.

I hope you enjoy the muffins as much as we did over here.  And as long as I keep waking up to cool, grey mornings, you can bet there’s going to be more baked goods appearing on this here blog.

But I digress, these cookies have some of my absolute favorite things in them.  Peanut butter, check.  Chocolate, check.  Reese’s Pieces, check check.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies (makes 2 dozen)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup of Reese’s Pieces
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I like the mini’s)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl cream together the butter and sugars.  Next add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and egg to the bowl.  Stir to combine.

In a separate bowl add the flour, baking soda, and and salt.  Mix.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring just until incorporated.  It may look like too much dry and not enough wet, but it will come together.  Once thoroughly mixed add the oats, Reese’s Pieces, and chocolate chips.  Stir until evenly distributed.

Spoon a large tablespoon of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, or my preference, lined with a Silpat, leaving a couple inches on each side to give the cookie room to spread.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges of the cookies.

]]> http://tastethisblog.com/2012/05/pb-chocolate-chip-and-oatmeal-cookies/feed/ 2 http://tastethisblog.com/2012/03/taste-this-ahi-tartare/ http://tastethisblog.com/2012/03/taste-this-ahi-tartare/#comments Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:36:28 +0000 denise http://tastethisblog.com/?p=2276

My husband and I are planning a scuba diving trip which means I need to be bikini ready much sooner than anticipated.

Though the crash dieting won’t actually start for a few days, if ever, this is one of my favorite tastes-super-indulgent-but-isn’t-meals.

Ahi Tartare (serves 4)

• 1 lb sashimi grade Ahi
• 1-2 mangos, diced
• 1-2 avocados, diced
• 1/2 cup short grained rice
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 sesame oil
• sesame seeds for garnish

Add water to a pot and bring to a boil.  When the water boils, stir in the rice, cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

While the rice cooks, slice the ahi into 1 inch, or so, cubes and place in a bowl.  To the bowl add the soy sauce, sriracha, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.  Toss and set aside.

Place a 3-inch ring on a plate, add a scoop of rice to the ring and press flat and even.  Repeat with the avocado, mango, then fish.  Gently pull the ring straight up and repeat 3 more times.

Garnish with sesame seeds.