The Left Over Queen

Finest Foodies Friday – November 20, 2009

The Leftover Queen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:33:20 +0000

IF YOU LIKE FOOD BLOGS, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE EVERY FRIDAY!

As always here is what the FFF is all about. Finest Foodies Friday is a weekly Friday post featuring favorites from The Foodie Blogroll! We do this so we can share in the rich diversity of what The Foodie Blogroll has to offer by featuring some of our favorites and yours!

What is the Foodie Blogroll? It is the first and fastest growing free membership blogroll for food bloggers and has become a wonderful community to share ideas about all things food related. With a membership of over 5,200 food blogs, I am sure you can find much inspiration and new friends!

The only requirement to be featured here on FFF is to be a member of The Foodie Blogroll and be displaying The Foodie Blogroll widget on your blog. If you are not yet a member, but you have a food blog and would like to join us, please click here!

If you have a favorite foodblog on The Foodie Blogroll, that you would like to be featured here on FFF, please join us over on The Leftover Queen/Foodie Blogroll Forum, and post your favorite Foodie Blogroll foodblogs here.

Smash and Sniff

I love this blog, because it is co-authored by two cousins Ashley and Jiffer. They live on two different continents, Ashley in Mexico and Jiffer, in Germany, but they have a great time connecting through this funny and delightful food blog! I have a very special cousin too, who I love spending time with, and who I have spent a lot of time being goofy with (as these two seem to have, as well!). So this blog warmed my heart in one way, but also because this really exemplifies how food bloggers, no matter where we are in the world, can really share so much together through the internet – foraging bonds and relationships and sharing a meal together in unconventional ways.

La Faim (The Hunger)

This is a culinary manifesto from the Pacific Northwest. Written by Violet. She says: “I’ve been cooking since I was old enough to hold a wooden spoon and my favorite food memory is sitting in front of the television with my grandfather when I was little, watching Death Wish, and eating Spanish pickled mussels out of a can. I am a graduate of The Seattle Culinary Academy at SCCC. My cooking style is Spanish soul food.” Her blog has really nice photos and really good looking food! Enjoy!

Inspired Taste

This blog is written by Joanne and Adam. Joanne has always had a dream of writing her own cookbook, and so in lieu of that, Adam introduced her to the world of blogging. Much like my husband did for me! That inspired her to build her repertoire of recipes, and look for new inspiration, daily. Adam enjoys his perk as food tester, but more importantly he says he enjoys that they have found something they can work on together, just for fun!

Shindig411

I really like the word shindig! I also like celebrating with food. I always say that everyday is a good reason to celebrate something, and that food is always a celebratory event. Well this blogger, Elizabeth seems to feel the same way! Here is the inspiration behind her blog: “[it is a] blog dedicated to celebrating. Anytime. Anywhere. Here you will find recipes and menus for celebratory events, gift ideas, decorating tips and advice on proper gift-giving etiquette. With just a little thought, you can find a reason to celebrate every day of the year!” So go on and celebrate!

Kitchen Diary

This blog is written by Shannon in California. Her blog is full of wonderful and delicious pictures and recipes that celebrate the fresh produce of her state through her CSA membership and famers markets. Her blog is fairly new, started this past summer. She started this blog, because like all of us, she is obsessed with food, and blogging is a way for her to attempt to organize “the chaos that swims in my mind”. She also has this to say about her obsessions: “would include,but are not limited to, cooking for friends, drinking espresso (not starbucks!),butter,anything with the consistency of salsa, thinking about food way too much…”. Sounds good to me!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.

I NEED NOMINATIONS!!!!!! I know we all have our favorite blogs that we read everyday, and I would love to know about them. We have a very diverse food community, and I would love to see more of the blogs you love featured. We also have a lot of humanitarians out in the Foodie Blogosphere. If you think there is a food blogger out there that deserves a little recognition for their culinary skills, or what they are doing to help the world through the lens of food, please tell us about them!!! Please post your favorite Foodie Blogroll foodblogs here.

Also we all love to know how people came to find our blogs, so please visit all of our featured bloggers today and don’t forget to tell them that you found them via Finest Foodies Friday! They would love to have your feedback.

Little Break…

The Leftover Queen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:17:12 +0000

Just wanted to let everyone know, I am still around, just taking a little break from posting. I have a bit of a journey, Thanksgiving dinner (and out of town guests) to prepare for, I am working on several posts highlighting some delicious taste adventures that we enjoyed while in New England and working on some side projects.

To tide you over, if you haven’t seen them yet, please check out all my coverage from The Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival in San Francisco.

Also, be sure to check out last month’s Royal Foodie Joust Winners, written up by my dear friend Judy, and come join us for this month’s event!

If you still need more, please check out all the Finest Foodie Fridays!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the USA!

Finest Foodies Friday – November 13, 2009

The Leftover Queen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:02:12 +0000

IF YOU LIKE FOOD BLOGS, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE EVERY FRIDAY!

Sidewalk Shoes

I have been reading Pam’s blog for a long time! Again, another blog I could have sworn I had already featured! Another testament to the fact that I need help by being reminded of all the great blogs you read regularly! Anyway, Pam is always delighting her readers with beautiful photos – either of food, her handicraft or her beautiful garden. She is always up to something creative and I love to see what is going on every week. She is also an avid reader, and often cooks up treats that go well with a nice pot of tea and a good book.

Lowbrow Foodie

This is a fairly new blog to both The Foodie Blogroll and the blogosphere in general, starting back in June of this year. But already the author, Ruthy, has a real style to her blog! Her writing is fun to read, and enthusiastic and her food looks great! She says: “I have no formal training, nor an extensive amount of skill in the kitchen, but I really enjoy mixing a bunch of ingredients together and seeing what happens. So this is for those of us who love good food, wish we had wallets to match our sophisticated palates, enjoy cooking, eating out and occasionally use the microwave (I know…oh, the horror!) Bon Appetite!”

Blog Appetit

Cooking local. Eating Global. This blogger has been writing since 2005! What is their blog about? : “Am I a home cook with higher aspirations or a foodie who also appreciates that sometimes simpler is better? I don’t know, but I do know I like to share what I cook and what I know. I’ve been a writer, journalist, public relations professional and marketing consultant. I like to travel and I ALWAYS have an opinion or at least a point of view.” After attending the BlogHer conference in SF, FJK is going to be making some changes: “Look for more narrative and story telling posts as I work to find a voice and blog post format that reflects that. I also hope to refine and define my photographs visual style to help tell that story.” We look forward to the evolving!

Recipe Addict

Carla is a fairly recent member of The Foodie Blogroll. She had some questions for me recently, and that is how I came to re-discover her blog! She says on her blog that she has a vast collection of cookbooks (very old and new) and never passes up a magazine dedicated to cooking and recipes.She says she will try any recipe at least once and if it is a hit, it will be added to her repertoire of “make again” recipes. Her husband Michael is also good in the kitchen, and cooks “off the cuff” from whatever is in their pantry, freezer and fridge, but never writes down the recipe to replicate! Sounds a lot like how I am in the kitchen!

A Love For New Recipes

Another Pam! This Pam really enjoys living a healthy lifestyle. I like going to her blog, because she is always featuring a good and healthy product – many of which I would really like to try! Everything from green smoothies, to larabars and nuts. She also enjoys baking up healthy treats for her and her husband. Her very first post was about the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day, one of my favorites. Pam always has a kind word to say!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.

1st Annual Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival – San Francisco, CA (Saturday Afternoon and Evening, Part 3)

The Leftover Queen — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:12:39 +0000

Saturday afternoon, after the Farmers Market we enjoyed the afternoon’s main event – The Tasting Pavilion at the Metreon. We enjoyed talking to Jerry from Cooking By The Seat of My Pants on the way over to the Metreon. Growing up in California, he told us a lot about different California grown foods, like rice, wine and cheese. In fact we talked quite a bit about cheese (and which is better, CA or VT – of course you can guess that I am all about the VT cheeses). Oh…and cowboy hats. I have known Jerry for a long time through blogging and he is just as much of a character in person as his blog would have you believe!

At the Tasting Pavilion, we tasted food and drink by many local CA producers as well as Artisan food producers from all over the country. It was an amazing experience and so inspiring to see so many people passionate about food! It was a great opportunity to network with food producers, and hopefully we will work together with many of them in upcoming Foodie Blogroll Giveaways!

Some of our favorite tastes were all the delicious dishes inspired by Bertolli sauces that Food Bloggers at the festival created. It was really fun to watch them prepare their winning dishes in the Bertolli Sauce Kitchen! I got to catch most of Chrystal and Amir’s aka The Duo Dishes , presentation (that is them in the collage above) and they did an awesome job! The best part was getting to taste all the food coming out of the sauce kitchen! Well done everyone! I wish I could have seen all the presentations…but there was just too much to see!

We also enjoyed talking about beer with the guys from Magnolia GastroPub located in San Francisco and Rogue Ales . If we had stayed a few days extra I would definitely have stopped by Magnolia. They brew their own historic and traditional beers, and create gourmet gastropub food sourcing local ingredients!

One of our favorite eats of the afternoon was a seafood ceviche from Fuego At The Maya. Executive Chef Jesse Perez made an awesome version of the Latin dish, including Mexican shrimp and tender juicy scallops, broiled calamari and sweet potato. Check out Jerry’s post – he has a lot of great photos about the things I discussed!

Roberto and I also attended a Merlot wine seminar hosted by Alder from the popular wine blog, Vinography. This was an extremely interesting seminar about the stories behind the wines – about the producers, and the history of where the grapes are grown. It was a new and intimate way to learn about wines, something that Alder is amazing at doing. There was also much talk about wines in general, which was very informative. Our favorite was the Paloma 2006 Merlot, from Spring Mountain in Napa. All of the Merlots we tasted were from California and were between $25-65 a bottle. Definitely your upper end, and very different from what most people think of, when they think Merlot.

After the afternoon’s events, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the Saturday Night Dinner. This was a big night for me, because I had the extreme honor of being asked by Foodbuzz to co-host the Food Blogger Awards with Managing Editor of Foodbuzz, Ryan Stern. Coming into the weekend I was a bit nervous, but after meeting nearly everyone who was going to be in the audience I felt much better about it. Plus Ryan is a great person, so I knew I would feel comfortable up there with her!

(Roberto and I on the bus to dinner, Me and Mari from Secrets of a Kitchen Wizard, Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul and Joan from FOODalogue, the gang at dinner).

The dinner and awards ceremony was held at Greenleaf Produce Warehouse which was the perfect place for a dinner brought to us by Outstanding in the Field . It was a bit too chilly to hold an outdoor dinner, so this really was the next best thing!

(Photos courtesy of Peter Georgakopoulos)

Very rustic and the perfect environment to enjoy a menu of farm fresh products. Our menu was created by Chef Dennis Lee of Namu. All of the food was local, organic and sustainable and the meats were all pasture-raised. It was really nice to enjoy a guilt free meal of the highest quality!

(Photos courtesy of Peter Georgakopoulos)

Winemaker Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon , selected wines to accompany each part of the meal. It was fun learning more about Outstanding in the Field, and chatting with Greg from Sippity Sup about being nominated for several awards, and about fashion!

(Photos courtesy of Peter Georgakopoulos): Me and Catherine of Munchie Musings, Christey of FotoCuisine, Joan of FOODalogue, and Val of More Than Burnt Toast

We had a truly wonderful and memorable dinner, in really great company. We had the honor of sitting with longtime blogger friends: Peter of Souvlaki For The Soul, who came all the way from Australia to be at the festival, Peter and Christey of FotoCuisine , Val and Giz of BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine , and Joan of FOODalogue . I also got to meet Angela of Spinach Tiger , another of my favorite blogs. In fact, Angela was the first blogger I saw in San Francisco – we checked into the hotel at the same time! The best thing, is everyone we met in person is even better in person! It was a fun night talking about blogging, food and everything else. I really enjoyed spending time with these people, and know I have life-long friends! I can’t wait for them all to come and visit! Thanks to Peter G for many of the great photos in this post. Your photos are truly magazine quality, Peter! You should totally be famous!

(Val, Roberto, Me, Joan and Mary (aka Giz)

After dinner many headed over to the Americano at Hotel Vitale for a nightcap. There I got to spend some time chatting with the Foodbuzz staff and my blogging and Twitter buddy, Esi from Dishing Up Delights ! It was great finally getting to meet you! And of course we were trying to get in as much time with everyone as possible. We knew we probably weren’t going to make it to the Brunch the next day, so this was our last hurrah so to speak. It was wonderful getting to see everyone and making that personal connection. I didn’t want to leave…or more realistically, I wanted to pack everyone up in my bag and take them home with me.

If you have never been to a blogging event, I highly recommend it. If there aren’t any in your area, start one! There is nothing like meeting bloggers in person! Thanks so much to Foodbuzz for putting on this wonderful weekend, and I am very much looking forward to next year’s festivities!!!

1st Annual Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival – San Francisco, CA ( Saturday Morning – Part 2)

The Leftover Queen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:40:46 +0000

DISCLAIMER: Our camera battery died on Friday night and so the photos in this post are snapshots pulled off our video camera – which is essentially why they suck! But I wanted to be sure to give some viuals.

The next morning, everyone met up at the Ferry Building, to enjoy the morning at San Francisco’s incredible Farmer’s Market. We started off up stairs drinking coffee, eating pastries and meeting up with bloggers. We had a fun and lively conversation with Nichelle, from Cupcakes Take the Cake and got to meet another one of my foodie friends, who had evaded me the night before, Joan of FOODalogue . After chatting, we wanted something savory for breakfast. So on several recommendations from Foodbuzz staff, Roberto and I (as well as many other bloggers) enjoyed breakfast sandwiches from the Golden Gate Meat Co. We decided to enjoy the sandwiches al fresco so we could enjoy a view of the San Francisco Bay. Once back inside, we couldn’t pass up a “meat cone” from Boccalone which was a mix of several of their different cured pork products. The mortadella with pistachios was my surprising favorite (usually my favorite is salami). I wish we had gotten video of this, but we were hanging out chatting with Kristi of Austin Farm to Table. But I know she talked about it on her blog, so go check it out!

We spent the rest of the morning perusing the market. I was especially impressed by one of the indoor shops that was exclusively mushrooms. I saw the most beautiful and delicious looking mushrooms – colorful chantarelles, lobster mushrooms and the biggest FRESH porcini. My heart sank a little because I knew I could not take any home. Outside, we spent time marveling at the fresh produce booths. We tasted Asian pears, yogurt, persimmons, honey and much more. I also bought 4 lbs of beans and grains from Rancho Gordo on a recommendation from Kat and Matt of A Good Appetite .

At 11:00 we joined Peter and Christey from FotoCuisine , Joan of FOODalogue and Catherine from Munchie Musings at the Farm to Table Discussion led by Executive Chef of the Americano – the restaurant at the Hotel Vitale, Paul Arenstam and the general manager of the Hearst Ranch (sorry, no picture of these guys…). Hearst Ranch supplies their grassfed beef to the Americano for their burgers and so the discussion centered on the differences between grassfed and conventional beef (something I talk a lot about ), how farms and restaurants can work together to get quality and local meats to consumers, how food producers can work with food bloggers to get unbiased and genuine word out about their products, and how to build a farm to table model that works, and can be copied by local farms and the restaurants around them.

Some facts about grassfed vs. conventional beef:

Conventional beef depends on fossil fuels and government subsidized feed (like corn and soybeans) to feed their cattle. Conventional cattle are weaned at 6 months and spend the rest of their life, eating subsidized grain, living in close quarters (with other cows, and their own excrement) and in 13 months become 1300 lbs of meat.

Grassfed beef remains free ranging and pasture fed their entire life. They depend on sunlight and photosynthesis to eat. They experience low stress, and little handling from humans, making their meat tender and lean. In an 18 month period they will become 1100 pounds of meat. Grassfed cattle, through well managed grazing, are part of a natural cycle which actually aids in the conservation of grasslands.

During the question and answer period, Catherine, from Munchie Musings asked about what kind of a discount food bloggers could get on Heart’s new program where consumers can buy a share of a grassfed cow directly from Hearst. He was quick on the draw and responded that food bloggers can get a 30% discount and free shipping, if they use the coupon “foodbuzz”. Now that is a great deal! If I lived in CA I would totally go for it – but I am looking forward to supporting my local meat producers. If that fails – I am going for Hearst – they are a company that I can support without reservation.

I really enjoyed the morning – it was nice to see lots of farm fresh products at the market and then learn more about how local businesses and farmers can work together to get local foods out to the consumers. It was inspiring in so many ways. If you live in California, and have not been to the Americano, you should try it out. Their menu sounds delicious, and I got to sample Chef Paul’s Hearst Meatballs at the Tasting Pavilion later that afternoon (more about that in a follow up post) and they were really fantastic. I would also encourage you to check out Hearst Ranch and their Cattle Share program.

1st Annual Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival – San Francisco, CA ( Friday - Part 1)

The Leftover Queen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:22:49 +0000

Roberto and I were fortunate enough to spend the last weekend with 250 other food bloggers at the Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival in San Francisco, CA. This was our first trip to California, so we were very excited to visit San Francisco and for all the events of the weekend! Needless to say we had a great time, in great company. I have been blogging since 2006, and in that time have had a few opportunities to spend time with other bloggers. Putting faces to the names we see and hear so much through blogging and getting to meet in person people we have “known” for years in the blogosphere is a really awesome experience. These last few weeks, I have had a chance to meet many bloggers, both through the conference, and also through our travels in New England. I will try to do my best to re-live those experiences through words.

This weekend was a real meeting of the minds of food bloggers. I will attest again, for the record, that food bloggers really are the nicest people in the world.

Hanging out with food bloggers has a certain comfort level to it, because you already know up front that you have a common ground (and a high level of obsession)! So having the privilege to get to know the people behind the blogs you love, and learn more about them and their lives, beyond the food blogging aspects, is an enriching and wonderful experience. I am very thankful to everyone at Foodbuzz for the great job they did putting this together for us. Giving us the opportunity to meet other bloggers, and feeding us amazing food along the way!

(Me with a delicious Autumn Apple Martini, with Mari from Secrets of a Kitchen Wizard, with Vanessa from Italy in SF and with Kat from A Good Appetite).

The weekend was kicked off on the rooftop of the Hotel Vitale with a meet and greet happy hour. We enjoyed cocktails from Skyy Spirits, sparkling wines, beers and sparkling juices, including a special and delicious Autumn Apple Martini which was inspired by Melissa York of Cheese Wine and Cheddar. This gave us all the opportunity to meet and greet everyone.

After happy hour we headed over to the Ferry Building and were treated to an amazing Street Food extravaganza featuring the best of the best of San Francisco ’s street food fare. I did my best to try at least a bite of everything.

I think the unanimous favorite of the evening was the Porchetta Sandwich with greens and caramelized onions from Roli Roti . Porchetta is a Roman specialty, and my resident Roman claims it is the best he ever had. So you can imagine how good it was.

I also really enjoyed the Potato and Chorizo tacos from Tacolicious. Their sauces are to die for – if you can take the heat! If not, their Green Goddess herbal sauce, will cool things off. The tacos were so good, I had to go back for seconds!

I also admit to going back for seconds at Straus Family Creamery, the booth right next to Mission Mini’s Cupcakes (this one is the Pumpkin with Dulce de Leche icing!) They served us organic coffee and vanilla bean ice cream. It was creamy and delicious! Just the way ice cream should be.

Another delicious treat was the vegan, raw cheesecake from Alive! . Honestly the best cheesecake I have ever had - see my face! The expression says it all!

But this was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the offerings. We also really enjoyed fresh shucked oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co. To wash it all down, beer from Thirsty Bear and cocktails from Skyy Vodka- my favorite was called the Blood & Sand – equal parts of The Glenrothes Select Reserve (Speyside single malt Scotch), fresh orange juice, Cinzano sweet vermouth and cherry liquer. The drink was garnished with delicious cherries from Italy. There were also fresh chichharones (spicy pork rinds) that were perfect with the wheat beer from Thirsty Bear.

Also in the offerings were - wood fired pizzas, meat pies, roasted beet salads and more. It was a fantastic way to experience some classic San Francisco treats and meet all the wonderful vendors who create this delicious food and feed the people of San Francisco!

That night we really enjoyed hanging out and getting to know the folks from Foodbuzz, meeting my buddy Kat from A Good Appetite, Val and Giz of BloggerAid Changing the Face of Famine , Vanessa from Italy in SF , Mari from Secrets of a Kitchen Wizard , Jen from FoodBat and Donna from Cooking with Donna (anyone have her blog URL?).

It was also great spending time with our Florida friends, Peter and Christey from FotoCuisine.

Please stay tuned for more pictures and stories from the weekend!

Finest Foodies Friday - November 6, 2009

The Leftover Queen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:18:00 +0000

IF YOU LIKE FOOD BLOGS, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE EVERY FRIDAY!

Two Peas and Their Pod

This blog is by “The Cooking Couple” Maria and Josh. They like tasty and delicious food, are not fans of fast food or chain restaurants. They believe if you can make it better at home, why eat out? I have to agree with that. Maria says: “We are a great team in the kitchen. We love trying new recipes, techniques, and flavors. We try to keep it healthy, but of course we have to splurge once in awhile.” Don’t we all?! Maria is also a really good Twitter buddy of mine, so be sure to check out their blog to find out how you can follow them on Twitter, too.

Burp! Where Food Happens

I really love Lo and Peef’s blog! They has a great sense of humor, and their food is always really yummy. Burp! Is the name of their imaginary restaurant that they came up with one night, and this dream became the inspiration for their blog. This is how they describe their food philosophy: “We’re two hopeless food geeks who harbor a genuine love for delicious (sustainable) edibles. We’re not fancy, or fussy. But, we do love to create new and wonderful things in the kitchen. We keep the dream of BURP! alive through daily experimentation, and we share our successes (and failures) with you.”

The Feast Within

This blog is written by Gabi who comes from a long line of cooks! At the tender age 14, after years of experience making mud pies and easy bake oven treats, she began her real cooking career. She devoured her mom’s Larousse Gastronomique French Encyclopedia of Cooking looking for recipes. After baking some croissants and making Coq Au Vin and she was hooked! She says: “I’m sure I now own well over 300 cookbooks -(including one of my family’s recipes that my mom put together about 20 years ago and all its various reformations.) I never get enough- I devour them like novels.” She blogs because of how much inspiration she has received from the blogging community, and hopes to give a little back! Isn’t that a great inspiration?

Cafe Nilson

Raquel who writes Cafe Nilson is all over the place! She is a regular Jouster in The Royal Foodie Joust and has been featured on Foodbuzz’s 24,24,24 several times. Her blog is her online cookbook. It contains her collection of recipes from places they have lived in and visited, shared by friends and family and fellow foodies on the internet. So she invites you to grab your favorite table and enjoy a cup of coffee in her online cafe!

Laws of the Kitchen

Cakelaw writes the story of her life, through her food adventures. She is an Aussie lawyer who loves to cook. She started her blog back in 2007 to share her efforts in the kitchen with those who would like to hear them. She says: “cooking evokes fond memories of my childhood and allows me to connect with my heritage by using the same recipes that my mother and grandmother used”. There is a blog focus on baking, but other culinary treats can be found as well!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.

Beans and Rice: The Ultimate Leftover Meal

The Leftover Queen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:12:38 +0000

I got a comment recently from a new reader. She said she was enjoying my blog, but didn’t see many recipes for leftovers. That comment kind of surprised me, because most of the food I make uses some kind of leftover component. However, I don’t always specify that when writing my posts. So I want to make more of an effort to point out the leftover components I am using, and to talk about other ways that my food philosophy extends, but yet still encompasses “leftover qualities”. Things like making food from scratch using what it in your pantry or fridge, making things you eat often like bread, cheese and yogurt, or preserving seasonal vegetables and making your own condiments. This is all part of the Leftover Queen philosophy – use what you have on hand, make substitutions whenever necessary, to be able to focus on what using what is on hand, and make as much as you can from scratch using wholesome basics.

In this vein I want to talk about beans and rice. I love beans and rice, and it is certainly a meal that embraces leftovers. Beyond the basic components of beans and rice (and even within those two ingredients there are many varieties), you can throw anything you have lying around in the fridge that needs using up. As usual I always soak my rice and beans ahead of time. I generally take a day during the weekend, and do large batches of soaking - grains, flours and legumes, and then cooking til almost done, so I can just package them up and throw them in the freezer for quick yet nourishing meals later on.

The week before vacation is always a busy time, so I was happy to be greeted by beans, rice and other grains when I opened the freezer that I could throw together for a quick meal. For this particular batch of beans and rice I added some chopped up organic kielbasa and sauteed it with the rice. Then I added about 2 cups of chopped kale, some spices like New Mexico green chili powder, cumin and coriander, a few tablespoons of homemade tomato sauce (also from the freezer) and water. I let everything come to a boil, and cooked on low heat for about 25 minutes, adding more liquid as necessary.

Beans and rice is a combination dish that is eaten all over the world. It is frugal, healthy and delicious, and you can constantly change it up to suit your tastes! Make it with leftover meat, or keep it vegetarian - the choice is up to you! Top it with shredded cheese, yogurt (or sour cream), salsa or even guacamole!

So enjoy some beans and rice for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast, today!

Stay tuned for some posts about The Foodbuzz Food Bloggers Festival that I will be attending this weekend! Looking forward to meeting many of you there!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Leftover Queen — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:08:26 +0000

Halloween is my second favorite holiday, after Thanksgiving. They are the two holidays that fall in my favorite season of the year, Autumn! So I guess it makes sense. Even though I am traveling during All Hallows, Halloween, Samhain, etc. this year, I am looking forward to spending the holiday with our friends Nicki and Lisa in Vermont

I would like to re-post something from a few years back, early in my blogging career, some special treats I made a few years ago for a Halloween Party! Enjoy! Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

Spindly Spiders:

I thought I would make these guys using black licorice gumdrops and black shoestring licorice. However, according to the manger at the Publix grocery store we went to, black licorice is not popular in Florida, therefore they do not carry it, even at holiday time. Bah! So I had to come up with a different plan!

You Will Need:
Dried Plums
Blackberry Fruit Leather
Toothpicks
Red Tube Icing

METHOD:

To make the spider, roll the plums in the palms of your hands to form them into balls. Cut the fruit leather into very thin strips (using the shortest side). Using toothpick make 4 small holes on each side of the plum (spider body) and poke the fruit leather strip into the holes. Spiders have 8 fruit leather legs in total. Then using the tube of red icing, place two eyes on the top of the spider! Great for decoration and a very healthy fruit snack!

Kitty Kupcakes:

Cupcakes with character. I have a black kitty and I had to pay homage to her especially on Halloween - so she is my inspiration for these cupcakes! You could change it up and do orange kitties if you prefer.

You Will Need:
Halloween Cupcake Wrappers
Cupcake Baking Pans
Chocolate Cake Mix
Chocolate Icing
Pastry Bag
Star Tip
Dark Chocolate M&M’s or Reese’s Pieces
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Chocolate Chips
1 cup Chow Mein Noodles
1 TBS Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder
1 TBS Sugar
Red Tube Icing

METHOD:

Prepare the cupcakes according to the cake package directions. Once they have cooled put the icing in the pastry bag using a star tip. Pipe the icing on the cupcakes.

In a small bowl combine chow mein noodles, cocoa powder and sugar. Place two small pieces or blue corn tortilla chips as ears, M&Ms for eyes, chocolate chip for nose , chocolate covered chow mein noodles as whiskers and a red mouth.

Dark Chocolate Pretzel Wands:

Bring a little magic into Halloween with these delicious dark chocolate pretzel wands!

You Will Need:
1½ package of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
Package of Pretzel Rods
Halloween Sprinkles
Microwave Safe Mug
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet

METHOD:

In a microwave safe mug melt the chocolate chips (you want to use a mug so that when you dip the pretzel rods, the chocolate will go about 1/3 way up the stick).

Dip pretzel rods in chocolate and sprinkle them with sprinkles over parchment paper (you can also roll the sprinkles if you prefer, but you will use a lot more). Lay on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper until chocolate has hardened.

Eerie Eyeballs:

These were a HUGE hit at the party! Everyone loved the peanut butter surprise inside! Yum!

You Will Need:
Mixing Bowl
2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1½ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter (I used Organic and did not mix the oil in, that way the PB itself is harder)
3 TBS Unsalted Butter, softened
Parchment Paper
Cookie Sheet
1½ Lb. White Candy Coating (like Dolci brand for covering fruits)
24 Dark Chocolate M&M’s
1 TBS Water
¼ to ½ TSP Red Food Coloring (I had less and my icing turned out pink, so I used the leftovers of the red icing from the cupcakes).

METHOD:

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, peanut better and butter. Shape into one inch balls. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Chill for 30 mins or until firm.
In a microwave safe bowl melt white candy coating and stir until smooth. Be careful not to burn. Dip PB balls into coating and place on parchment paper. Immediately press M&M (M side DOWN) on top of each ball for a pupil. Let stand in fridge for 30 mins or until set.
In a small bowl combine water, food coloring and remaining confectioner’s sugar. Transfer into a re-sealable bag and poke a small hole into the corner of the bag. Pipe wavy lines downward from pupil creating the look of bloodshot eyes. Store in fridge until ready to serve.

Finest Foodies Friday – October 30, 2009

The Leftover Queen — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:48:58 +0000

First off, I would like to wish my mom a Happy Birthday today! She has started her own adventure in blooging fairly recently and is doing a great job! If you want to wish her a happy birthday too, go check out her blog posts on Travelcloseup.com. She has taken over my first blog, a travel blog and is making it her own! So go check it out, and don’t forget to say Happy Birthday! I am sure subscribing to her blog would make her day too!

IF YOU LIKE FOOD BLOGS, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE EVERY FRIDAY!

Milk & Honey

This blog is written by The Milkman’s Wife – a nod to her husband’s dairy farm upbringing. This blog is the food journey of a suburban girl turned “country guy’s wife”. She says: “ To me, food and life are so intertwined, they simply can’t be separated. Food brings back happy memories, keeps the spirit of those who have passed alive, and starts new traditions. Inside this blog, you’ll find the real stories behind the food I make and you’ll learn a little about me in the process.”

Sour Grapes

Michael Elliott is a classically trained chef who has worked with food since the age of 13 as an apprentice to Chef Susur Lee in Toronto. After completing his BFA in Art History and Studio Art at Concordia University in Montreal, he continued to work as a chef in some of the city’s best restaurants. In 2002 he began his career as a food stylist working on the popular French language cooking show “A la Di Stasio”. Since then, he has worked as a stylist, recipe developer, and writer in both North America and Asia. He has experience in television, film, and print media. This blog is his take on all things food – from recipes, restaurant reviews and food styling.

Italialicious

“Everything Italian Tastes Better.” This blog is all about the simple, fresh and regional cooking of Italian cuisine. Also discussed at length on the about page is Italian- American cuisine, and how it is so different that what is eaten in Italy, regionally. This is a topic I have always been interested in, since it is the cuisine of my relatives and ancestors. Immigrant food, is a wonderfully diverse topic. This blog shows you traditional Italian cuisine, where it comes from and how it changes as the people change.

Kitchen Butterfly

The butterfly is Nigerian-born, Liverpool-schooled (in part) and now an expatriate living and working in the Netherlands. This now foodie, hated food until she was 9 years old! To read about the day that changed it all, see her about page. Why Butterfly? : “I am flighty. I am constantly seeking…. content with my life but still in search of more. I am big on combinations – cross-pollinating and cross-fertilisation. I’m big on flavours and textures. I love pretty. And colour.”

I Ate That

Ben blogs so he can combine his two favorite things – food and photography. He has a wide variety of interests, but his love for food and cooking has never waned. He started taking photos of the food he and his wife would make, and these photos would make their way onto the internet, where friends would make encouraging statements of jealousy and drool; thus, I Ate That! was born!

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this week’s FFF. Remember, if you would like to see a blog featured here, who is part of the FBR please visit the forum and nominate them.

November 2009 Foodie Blogroll Giveaways!

The Leftover Queen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:08:04 +0000

It is another month, which means we have another new round of great giveaways and contests to share with our Foodie Blogroll members blogs! If you have a food blog, and are not a member of The Foodie Blogroll, what are you waiting for? Please join our community of over 5500 food blogs!

This is the last time I will be posting about Foodie Blogroll Giveaways on The Leftover Queen blog, as a rule of thumb. In case you haven’t heard, after a year of listening to your feedback and developing a band new software program, we launched a new and improved Foodie Blogroll website this month!!!!

The new website is much more interactive than the old site was, and so after this month, I will be posting all the giveaway news on The Foodie Blogroll website! So if you have not been there yet, please go over and check it out!

In order to promote the new website and its interactive features, we are working with Regional Best this month. Regional Best features artisan foods. You can purchase handcrafted local foods directly from artisans, family farms and small companies. They have everything from chocolate and confections, to gluten free foods, condiments, cheeses and meats. They are giving away three (3) $25 shopping sprees a week, through the month of November, to Foodie Blogroll members located in the continental US! In order to be eligible you must go and comment on the post about the Regional Best Giveaway on the Foodie Blogroll website on our Contests and Giveaways Page. You can begin commenting on this contest entry starting next week.

You can now comment on all posts, articles, blog and member pages! Please come and check out our new features, and be sure to comment on the Regional Best contest post!

We have 2 other exciting giveaways to offer you this month directly from Foodie Blogroll members! Two cookbooks – The Adaptable Feast by Ivy Manning of Ivy’s Feast and Poor Girl Eats Well - To Go! By Kimberly Morales of Poor Girl Eats Well !

Adaptable Feast by Ivy Manning is about cooking in mixed-diet families, where there are hearty and satisfying meals for everyone at your table – vegetarians, vegans and omnivores. Inspired by her own background as an omnivore married to a vegetarian, Manning has developed a diverse and delicious collection of 90 recipes, each adaptable to yield a few vegetarian servings of a meaty dish, or a few omnivore servings of a vegetarian one. Typical entries in this beautifully illustrated cookbook include elegant Japanese Eggplant and Halibut with Miso Glaze, and a sumptuous Spaghetti Carbonara for gourmands of all persuasions. Ivy says that it is a great book for the holidays, giving you ideas of how to feed the mixed crowds of eaters that may be dropping by for festivities. To be eligible to win Ivy’s book you must have a verified active blog featured on Foodieblogroll.com.

Poor Girl Eats Well – To Go! is Kimberly Morales’ self published book about eating well on a budget. You can order her book on her website. Her very popular blog Poor Girl Eats Well, has been nominated for a Foodbuzz blog awards nominee in the category of “Blogger you’d most like to see have her own show on the Food Network”. So be sure to congratulate her on her nomination. Her blog is dedicated to those who can’t always afford the best but still expect the best. “Often imitated, never duplicated, I will show you how you can stretch your dollar while making delicious, good-for-you meals”. You can enjoy her tips, tricks and delicious recipes in her book! This 46-page mini-book features top favorites like the Caprese Omelette, Shrimp with Pineapple-Pepper Relish, and the Mushroom Asiago Quesadilla. A few of the most popular tips are featured too, with the bonus tip on how to have a successful $25 Shopping Cart trip A perfect holiday gift for anyone that loves food! To be eligible to win Kimberly’s book you must have a verified active blog featured on Foodieblogroll.com.

Thanks to all our current Foodie Blogroll members for your support and ideas over the last year. Please keep an eye out for our monthly newsletter next week with all the contest details.

Chicken Soup is Food for the Soul

The Leftover Queen — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:06:07 +0000

One of my favorite comfort foods in the fall and winter is a beautiful roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and carrots. There is just nothing better—except making chicken soup afterwards. This post is basically just a public service announcement to say, when you roast a chicken, don’t throw the bones away! Keep them and make stock or chicken soup!

I still have stock in the freezer from when I made bone broth the last time. This time I decided to leave some of the chicken on the bones, and boil it all to make chicken soup. I just love the smell of the house when I am making stock. It makes me feel like all is right in the world. It is a warm and fuzzy feeling. It speaks to my soul.

To the chicken and bones I added 6 cups of filtered water. I boiled it until the liquid had reduced by half – this took several hours over low heat and produced a very dark and rich broth. I let the pot cool and then threw in the fridge over night.

The next day I skimmed off the fat and took the meat off the bones. Then I looked around in the freezer and on the counter top to see what I had in terms of veggies. There were some frozen peas and summer squash, as well as a few lonely fingerling potatoes. So I chopped up the potatoes and added them to the broth with the chicken and other veggies. I let everything simmer for about 30-40 minutes, and then served.

This is such a simple, yet economic, hearty and extremely tasty meal! So the next time you have bones (of any kind) make soup!