Cheddar Scallion Pecan Quick Bread #FRD2013

We´re joining forces today within the French Fridays with Dorie group, to participate in a day I particularly find very inspiring. Jamie Oliver started the idea, and this is the culmination, with so many of us around the world cooking and sharing. This group is sponsored by Mardi, the amazing blogger behind Eat.Live.Travel.Write, and is part of our usual Friday programming.

“Food Revolution Day is a chance for people all over the world to come together and stand up for good food and essential cooking skills. It’s a chance for people to come together in homes, schools, workplaces and communities to cook and share their kitchen skills, food knowledge and resources. Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to raise awareness about the importance of good food and better food education for everyone.

The theme for this year’s Food Revolution Day is “Cook it. Share it.” – something all of us here at French Fridays with Dorie are passionate about already!” 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream

`Decide what you want,

 decide what you are willing to exchange for it,

 establish your priorities and go to work.´ 

      H.L.Hunt

Words I stumbled across at a moment of confusion and upheaval in my life some weeks ago, but not too many. The exchange part was the hardest to decide, but I´m almost down to the end of my listing the priorities while starting to work on it. Let´s see how it goes.

In the meantime, I have some sensational ice cream for you. Chocolate chip cookie ice cream.

My food blog is no doubt a priority because food is my passion, will always be, and this is the perfect way to express myself. So I´m working on it too, establishing priorities within the priorities.

A few days ago I got a message on facebook from the oldest daughter of two of my best friends (they are married to each other), asking me if I had anything to do with the blog Vintage Kitchen. Huh? Is this a trick question? I was suspicious, similar to the time my door bell rang in january and there was a man with a package I had never ordered. So I answered yes, of course, I am the blog.

Vintage Mondays - Pastel Azteca

Sometimes I open my fridge and freezer and am surprised at the amount of food I hoard without even realizing. If you didn´t know me better, and most don´t really, you´d think I was preparing to give birth to very hungry eighteen year old triplets. Or quadruplets, all boys.
Well now you do know that´s not happening, at all. For the record, I live alone and eat most of my meals by myself, with the exception of my weekly brunch and dinner with friends or the times when my on/off boyfriend of the last five years happens to be around.  So how on earth do I buy so much stuff in the first place?

This pastel azteca is a result of said moments, when I found 8 or 9 frozen vegetable packets. Do I add a few each time I go to the supermarket without realizing? I´m baffled at my own habits. 
And I wonder, does that apply to other aspects of my life? I have a creepy feeling it does. Let´s not find out though. I´m not in the mood for some soul cleaning right now.

A new vintage Monday and some new, and hopefully interesting, finds to share with you. 

Since food always comes first in this blog, here are some very interesting recipes that I would want to tackle asap:

Peach Doughnuts from The Ginger Bread Lad 

Chocolate Crusted Banana Blondies from Cake Duchess

Coconut Baklava from Diethood

Blackberry Farm Griddle Cakes (gluten free) from Bon Appetit

Carnitas from Smitten Kitchen with Homemade Tortillas from Juanita´s Cocina (my first time making both)

Guacamole Rice from Foxes Love Lemons

Esquites (Mexican Corn Salad) from Kimchi Mom

Stuffed Buttenut Squash from Elizabeth´s Kitchen (it´s pumpkin season here!)

Fresh Fig and Walnut Pie #SundaySupper

For the scant year and a half that I´ve had this blog, it´s my third time celebrating mother´s day and it will be four before the year is over. Since it´s always celebrated in the spring, no matter what part of the equator you live on, we take our moms out to party in september, or october, I´m not quite sure now.
I made her a dark chocolate mousse last year and a fresh fig and walnut pie today. Why? She´s crazy mad about figs which makes this pie the perfect gift for her.
She´s more mad about figs than me. Dried, fresh, in syrup, whatever way, she likes them.

We´re having a celebration with the Sunday Supper group, hosted by my friend Heather of Hezzi-D´s Books and Cooks, and we made many fantastic recipes for you to share with whomever raised you and helped you be the person you are today.

My mom worked with me for two years at the Café I once had. There were times where it´s very fair to say she worked more than me. We were both equally exhausted. But like only a mother can, she never lost her temper with me the way I did with her. Actually, I lost my temper with most persons at some point, a very unpleasant streak of the gastronomy business. 

Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake #ChocolateParty

This is my first time baking something vegan on purpose. I wanted to see what it was like in comparison to my usual chocolate cakes, whether flourless or not.

Whatever name you give to this chocolate strawberry mousse cake, one thing is for sure, it´s really delicious and you don´t have to be vegan to make it again. It´s not one of those cakes that you eat because you can´t have the real thing. Even then, it´s an awesome choice.

By real thing I mean a traditional cake with butter,eggs and milk. This has none of that.

Raspberry Wine Chocolate Bundt Cake + Homemade Raspberry Liqueur #BundtaMonth

After almost two days without internet connection, again, this post is a bit late, but the raspberry wine bundt cake is just as good. And it´s made with homemade raspberry liqueur, one of many I started working on two months ago.

I can say these two days my energies were channeled towards cleaning my entire house, again, as I have for the past month. Not that I don´t normally clean it, but I´m still trying to bring it to normalcy after the flood. Which will never happen really. And it´s not a bad thing. But I already told you that, I´m getting repetitive, sorry. Collateral damage I believe.

Pear Pecan Upside Down Cake

The seasons are usually nice to me , strawberries and blueberries most of the year, asparagus and fresh peas in the fall, or the evasive fig popping up unexpectedly.
But no rhubarb, not even during the right season. Or kale for that matter. Though I know I´ve seen them occasionally in the last years, they´re not a staple here, probably never will be, so I doubt anyone will take the trouble to grow them so that I can have them for my posts. The nerve.

Red Chile Jam + Tequila Chicken Quesadilla #SundaySupper

I´ve been meaning to share this red chile jam recipe with you for a long time. 

And it seems fitting today, being that Jen of Juanita´s Cocina with her spicy humor and love of chiles, is hosting this party. It´s 5 de Mayo, time to grab that bottle of mezcal, worm and all, and celebrate in style!

The tequila chicken quesadilla was an afterthought. The fact that this day was fast approaching and I was nowhere near of getting to the bottom of my stack of flour tortillas, made me whip this up at the last moment. 

Creamy Mushrooms with (free-form) Poached Eggs

Sometimes you have to work with what you´ve got and there is little room for mistakes.
In theory, there is always margin for clumsiness when it comes to my recipes, but not being one who likes to post about a failed poached egg on toast, today´s recipe for creamy mushrooms and eggs for our french Fridays with Dorie group was a bit of a challenge.

And if an egg on toast is considered a challenge, given that I didn´t even make the bread, or brioche in this case, there is a second when I talk myself out of having a food blog.

Cinnamon Sugar Challah #TwelveLoaves

When you have your own business your home tends to, at some point, end up invaded by things/stuff/junk related to said business. Unless you´re very, very organized, have a lot of extra space or are so disciplined that you manage to separate both worlds even when working next room from where you sleep, there is a huge chance you will eventually exchange much needed personal space for work related spaces all over your house.

In other words, your home will be overtaken by you business junk.

The tricky thing is to realize this before it takes over your life and you feel like you´re living in a warehouse. The former will hardly happen unless you´re very disciplined or organized, in which case you won´t be writing a post like this one in the first place.

But one aspect that is always pretty organized both in my house and in my mind are cookbooks and food related magazines. I know my recipes; you´d be amazed how I remember where a certain recipe was, even if it´s from a magazine, and I have hundreds. Well, most of the time anyway.