Recently we heard news from my hometown of Williamsport, PA from our friend Karl Fisher (Owner & Roaster of Alabaster Coffee Roaster) that their Sabra espresso roast had been selected to compete at Coffee Fest NYC on March 8-10 in the America’s Best Espresso Championship East! Wow! What an honor!

Alabaster will be competing in a a single elimination bracket style tournament that is featuring 24 roasters on the east coast, from Florida to Eastern Canada. Good luck Karl & the Alabaster team!

So being a coffee lover….I just had to give this taste! …After all it is in the running for America’s best espresso!

I plan on trying this awesome roast a few ways. My availability to a true espresso machine is currently limited, so Karl suggested I try it in a Chemex (My preferred method) and also via my press. First up is the Sabra espresso roast freshly ground in my Hario grinder and brewed via my Chemex.

Wow, it was awesome! Below are brewing instructions and tasting notes.

Special Delivery: Alabaster Coffee : Sabra Espresso Roast

Brewing method: Chemex
Brew time: 5:00
Final Brew: 20oz
Instructions:
-40 g. beans / med. – med. course grind
-204 deg. water temp. (-30 secs off boil)
-600 g. filtered water
Brew:
-50 g. water pre-infusion @ 1 min.
-Remaining 550 g. water over next 4 mins. – 70 g. water per 30 secs.
Steady, circular, center pour. Avoid sides.
–Enjoy!

Tasting notes

Tasting notes:
Coffee disclaimer: I am not a coffee expert. I’m just an average Joe that enjoys an exceptional cup of Joe. Tasting notes are my own based on my palette. Stay calm & enjoy good coffee.

Flavor Complexity:
-Fruity sweetness (very nice!)
-Toffee/syrupy mid-body (Mmmm)
-Floral hints
Mouth feel / Appeal
-Very pleasant
-light & enjoyable
-smooth on pallete
After taste
-Pleasant & vibrant
-Not over powering (just right)
-Subtle chocolaty finish
Overall: A very pleasant coffee experience. I enjoyed immensely and I can’t wait till my next brew.

40 g. beans / Med – Med. course grind

V. 5 is a blend of coffees from Central America, South America and Africa.
Varietals: Typical, Caturra, Bourbon, Ethiopia Heirloom
Process: Washed

50 g. filtered water to bloom for 1 min.

550 g. water circular pour over next 4 mins.

Alabaster Coffee Sabra Espresso Roast Brewed via Chemex – Enjoy!

It was definitely Bloggin’ Good! If you would like to try you can order on the Alabaster website.
Be sure to connect with them on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram
Best of luck in the espresso competition gents!
-Adam @BlogginGoodFood

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We’ve tried different fruit and veggie blends…but they all have one thing in common…they lack the calories she needs to keep up her weight. (She has not problem in the height dept.)

So one day it just dawned on us after much prayer….Quinoa! We love it and being Gluten & Dairy-free it’s our go-to protein source. (next to lean red meats) Quinoa has an amazing number of calories, grams of protein and has all the essential amino acids. Even calorie substitutes don’t come close to what Quinoa is packing.

And….our sweet pea LOVES quinoa! Below is a sample recipe we whiped up but you can add it to any baby food recipes…Fruit, veg or beyond. Use your imagination…but consult your guides to see when your little one can have what.

Our baby has intolerance’s to a large variety of foods like we do (gluten/wheat, daily, soy, corn, eggs, pork…and more) But Quinoa is delicious and the amount of recipes it can be used in are endless.

Depending on your baby’s age you may need to vary the time you blend the mix. Evangeline likes a little texture so we blend a little less.

We used the Baby Bullet & highly recommend it for anyone making homemade baby food. It’s a must own! You may also want to consider the steamer for carrots, broccoli, etc.

DIRECTIONS:
Chop, slice and dice:
1 Apple, 1 Banana, 3 slices of frozen peaches, 1 frozen strawberry, 1/2 cup Quinoa
Blend until you get the consistency you are looking for. (add some filtered water if it’s too thick)

Chop // Chop
Freeze in the baby bullet freezer containers to thaw and serve later or serve now.

Obviously this is a quinoa and fruit recipe….you can add quinoa to any homemade baby food recipe.
…Tomorrow I think we will try sweet potatoes, broccoli and quinoa.

To cook a batch of quinoa we do 1 cup of dry quinoa to 2 cups water (no seasoning for baby)
Bring to boil, string occasionally – Then cover and simmer for 20 mins – fluff with a fork.

Check out the nutritional facts and benefits of quinoa….It’s Bloggin’ Good Food!

Thanks to prayer and nutritionally packed Quinoa we have one happy baby that’s back to gaining weight nicely. She has lots of energy to play, her poo looks great, don’t really smell and are super digested and she’s been sleeping through the night. She’s happy & We’re happy!

Brat Haus is located in Old Town Scottsdale, AZ and has a perfect layout of brew house, butcher shop and beer garden. We opted to eat outside….no worries…they have heaters.

We ordered the kale & pear salad, the German potato salad and a charcuterie (sampler) of local goat cheese, Moroccan lamb sausage, rabbit & hops sausage and Duck & dates sausage. Everything was amazing! I also savored an amazing on tap special stout. It had wonderful creamy chocolate & berry notes with a smooth finish….I took my time on this bad boy.

If you are in Old Town Scottsdale check them out….they are Bloggin’ Good Food!

We picked up a nice selection of fresh organic vegetables, fresh flowers, iced coffee and fresh, local cranberry horseradish.

One thing we pick up which we absolutely loved was Red baby carrots from McClendon’s Select. I knew these would be excellent to roast.

Into the oven they went with Red Onions & Golden Beets

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400° F.
2. Place whole carrots, sliced red onions & sliced golden beets in a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper & garlic powder.
3. Roast in oven for about 30-40 minutes. (We covered with more foil to have it more moist…but if you would like your veg more crispy…cook uncovered.

We served this along side of some grilled med-rare prime tenderloin beef steaks and a fresh mixed green salad with sliced apples and feta. We made a dressing from olive oil, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
It was Bloggin’ Good Food!

Enjoy!

-Adam & Wendy

A Lodge Cast Iron cook set! A must have for the pro and home cook a like.  We got ours on sale at Amazon. Cast Iron is amazing to cook in, cooks even, holds heat and if properly cared for will last 100 years.

We made haste and put our new Cast Iron Dutch Oven to good use and made a Cabernet Sauvignon beef roast.

From Bloggin’ Good Food to you and yours we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mixed greens, strawberry, feta, bacon, poppy seed dressing

Mixed greens, tomato, feta, bacon, Grandpa’s German Salad dressing (1tbs sugar, 1 tbs water, 1 tbs, apple cider vinegar, 1 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper to taste)

Spinach, strawberry, feta, bacon, poppy seed dressing w/ Grilled

Mixed Greens, bacon, peaches, Poppy Seed dressing w/ Gluten-Free Pizza

Mixed greens, bacon, tomato, feta w/ grandpa’s german salad dressing + Gluten-Free Pizza

Mixed greens, tomato & grandpa’s warm German salad dressing + brown sugar BBQ grilled whole chicken.

What’s your favorite salad?

Tweet us a photo @BlogginGoodFood

Evangeline enjoying story time at the library

After a wonderful Saturday morning we headed out to the local Phoenix library – Mesquite branch to grab some free culture passes. While at the library we stopped in to story time with baby Evangeline. Today was T for Trains! Choo Choo!

After leaving the library our plan was to head downtown to grab a bite to eat at the Phoenix Market, check out a farmers market or something else we happened upon. Saturday’s are more often than not our exploration days. Phoenix is so vast I feel like there is always something new and wonderful to discover.

So as we started driving south on the 51 but we didn’t make it far. Wendy shouted out BETHANY HOME! (road that is) She remembered that Luci’s a few blocks down has the most amazing Gluten-Free muffins there and she obviously had a craving. When you have a wife that’s feeding a baby every 2-3 hours….you happily oblige those cravings.

I promptly took the exit and the photo’s below show the gluten-free goodness we found.

luci’s healthy marketplace – GF Chocolate Cupcakes. $5 but worth the splurge.

THE WILD SALMON Pan-seared salmon drizzled with basil pesto, served atop chopped spinach, red onion and red pepper. $10.99

We ordered the Wild Salmon on Gluten-Free Bread and shared the sandwich. The GF muffin filled up Wendy and The Wild Salmon was more than enough to share. Sharing also helps save on the budget while still being able to grub on some good eats.

Next time you are driving on the 51 near Bethany Home drive a few blocks down and stop into Luci’s. You will thank us. In addition to yummy eats they have a full coffee bar and a healthy market (of course) chock full of Gluten-free goodies.

What is your favorite simple breakfast?

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