Guava Rose

Sacramento Library Vintage Cooking Challenge

Lori — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 22:20:51 +0000

The Sacramento Public Library has a Vintage Cooking Challenge going on this summer. Here’s a glimpse on the info on their Facebook page. They’ve chosen a dozen recipes from vintage Sacramento cookbooks from the years 1890 to 1970. If you make a recipe, take a picture, write a little review and send it in to them, they’ll upload it to their facebook page so everyone can see all the results. This is all in line with the library’s summer reading program, “Reading is so Delicious!” which runs from June 1 to August 30, and has lots of fun activities and prizes for kids, teens and adults. I decided to try this Corn Tamale recipe from the Eastern Star of Sacramento members, published in 1930. The Eastern Star is a large 6000 square foot ballroom in midtown Sacramento, that is now registered as a historic building. I had to research Grandma’s Spanish Pepper. According to my google search, it stopped being produced in 2009. Grandma’s Spanish Seasoning was trademarked by Grandma’s Spanish Pepper Company in 1940, in Sacramento, CA. The trademark lists the ingredients as “Containing Ground Chili Peppers, Cumin Seed, Oregano and Garlic,” so I substituted 1 tsp. of ground [...]

Mini Donut Cookies & The Coffee and Donut Lei

Lori — Mon, 27 May 2013 13:05:43 +0000

We’ve been a little fixated on donuts around here lately. Because I bake pretty frequently, I usually only get the family donuts once a year. For some reason, I’ve gotten donuts twice in the past few weeks, just recently from Doughbot Donuts. I’ve been thinking about a tiny donut cookie. I’d never seen one before, but a quick check on Pinterest showed a bunch of them already. I went ahead with my version and used my standard shortbread cookie recipe, but added a couple of dashes of nutmeg, for that “cake donut-y” flavor. Scoop just a tablespoon of dough at a time, and hand roll it out to a (3-1/2″ to 4″) rope. Coil it into a ring shape. Pat the ends together to join. Try to make them as small as possible, with a diameter of 1-3/4″ to 2″ wide. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 325 degrees, until they are lightly browned. Cool, spoon on icing, and top with sprinkles. Coffee candy and Mini Donut Cookies scream “Wake up and celebrate!” Don’t you think? Oh, looky what we have here…..it’s a Coffee and Donut Lei! To make one of these, just follow the directions for my standard candy lei, [...]

A Visit to Doughbot Donuts

Lori — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:30 +0000

I finally was able to stop by Doughbot Donuts in midtown the other day. They are rumored to have won a Donut Showdown competition, like our American Cupcake Wars, on the Food Network Channel in Canada late last year. Robot sitting at the front window I read that the owners are a couple who are obsessed with donuts and robots, so they combined the two. Wow, robots and robot artwork galore! Strangely mesmerizing, but definitely fun. And I do love quirky. You’ll probably want to sit on the vintage sofa right under this display and absorb it all. More robot themed books, toys and stuff to peruse They sell out pretty quickly. Here’s the display case at 10:00 am. I was lucky they had a few more s’mores coming out. Some of the donut descriptions are written on the glass wall to the left of the display case, where you can see some of the prep work being done. Here I was able to catch a glimpse of the house made marshmallows being cut. They’re later placed on the s’more donuts and torched to go. Counter clockwise from the bottom: Bacon Maple- bacon studded yeast raised donut topped with maple [...]

Candy Lei: Mango Lassi and Strawberry Smoothie

Lori — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:30:44 +0000

Mango Hi-Chew + Yogurt Candy = Mango Lassi Strawberry Hi-Chew + Yogurt Candy = Strawberry Smoothie Hi-Chews are chewy Japanese candies that are just like Starburst candies. They’re so popular now that I found a 100 piece multiflavor (mango, strawberry, grape, and green apple) bag at Costco. Here in town, Oto’s Marketplace has a great section of all kinds of candies and treats from Japan. In addition to Hi-Chews, you can also find this Chelsea Yogurt Scotch candy, which tastes remarkably like tart, soft serve yogurt. Most Asian stores will carry at least the Hi-Chews, but the yogurt candy may be harder to find. Amazon is probably the best place to order online if you can’t find any locally, since the shipping seems to be the lowest. Yogurt covered pretzels are pretty easy to find, and can be used in place of the yogurt candy. Follow my previous directions for Candy Lei, alternating the candies. You can even tie on a Jamba Juice gift card so your recipient can get a real smoothie later. I punched a hole in the gift card and tied it to one of the ribbons. Just be careful not to punch a hole in the [...]

Candy Lei: Lemon Meringue and Strawberry Shortcake

Lori — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:10:06 +0000

Here are a couple of lei that are more heat stable than the Kukui Nut Candy Lei that I showed you last week. They’d hold up much better than the chocolate truffles at a graduation ceremony, or outdoors. These are just a couple of playful ideas– when it comes to candy lei, any combination of candies, ribbons, and colors goes. Lemon Candy + Meringue Cookies = Lemon Meringue Lei Although the chewy lemon slices are pretty, these organic lemon drops taste so good. Even better, they have no artificial colors or flavors–especially good for those with allergies. You may think I’m a bit inconsistent in my use of products with artificial colors and flavors, but like everything in life, I have to pick and choose where I’m okay with it. In something like a candy lei, which is usually for a special event and does not occur often, I think it’s okay if you can’t find other options. Given the choice of similar products with or without the additives, of course I’d choose the one without additives, but in some cases like my Guava Cream Custard Rolls, Guava Rose Mochi Tarts, and Ice Cream Slushies, I have to use [...]

The Duck Rescuers!

Lori — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:07 +0000

I spent two hours this afternoon with this mama duck on my street. She was quacking up a storm and pacing back and forth, followed dutifully by her four little ducklings. She kept walking around and around this storm grate, and back and forth across the street. When I took a look, I heard a lot of chirping coming from inside the grate — some of her babies had fallen in, and she wouldn’t desert them! It was heartbreaking to watch her crying, pacing round and round, back and forth. Everytime she would pause near the grate, the little ducklings would sit and wait for her to start moving again. To make matters worse, a neighborhood cat was intermittently chasing her and the ducklings. While my neighbor kept an eye on mama and her chicks, so they wouldn’t get run over by any cars, or attacked by the cat again, I ran into my house to call the City to see if they could send someone to open up the drain and get the chicks out. The city operator sent a dispatch to their storm drain guys, and was also required to call animal control. So I went back outside [...]

Kukui Nut Candy Lei

Lori — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:30:29 +0000

Kukui Nut Candy Lei It’s that graduation time of year. So many celebrations…preschool, kindergarten, middle school, high school, college. Giving lei is the quintessential Hawaiian way to celebrate any and all occasions. It’s a custom I’ve seen become more and more popular outside of Hawaii over the years. At graduation time in Hawaii, it’s so nice to be greeted by family and friends, and sometimes end up with 20 or more leis around your neck. The commotion, the heady fragrance of flowers, and walking around under the weight of lei (those double carnation ones are the heaviest) while peering over the top of your stack of lei, are memories a lot of graduates and folks in Hawaii share. Here on the mainland, the easiest fresh flower lei to get is the orchid lei, though there’s always a flower shortage, and you never know for sure whether you’ll be able to actually get the lei when you need it. Shipping fresh flower lei from Hawaii is very expensive, so candy lei are usually the answer. All kids seem to love getting candy lei, even the perennial old time favorite made of packs of gum and rolls of lifesaver candies in netting. [...]

The Chefs Olive Mix Store and Premium Olive Oil Giveaway

Lori — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:16:25 +0000

Have you ever been to an olive oil tasting room? I first stumbled upon the Chefs Olive Mix last year in Old Sacramento and was delightfully surprised! Their oils and vinegars are so good I’ve been back several times since to get more. Rows upon rows of gleaming pots hold ultra premium oils and balsamic vinegars. A multitude of extra virgin olive oils from around the world, plain and infused with flavors like basil, chipotle, wild mushroom sage, and blood orange line the counters. According to owner Lisa Paskaly, their ultra premium oils exceed international standards for olive oil by anywhere from 37-70% . For instance, the international standard for hours from harvest to crush time is 24 hours, her oils have a 2-4 hour harvest to crush time. The maximum international temperature standard for olive oil production is 89 degrees, whereas Chef’s Olive Mix oils only allow their oils to reach a maximum of 69 degrees. Peroxide and free fatty acid content are among other areas she looks at. To guarantee the freshness of the oils, stock is pulled regularly, as the oils really only have a 14 month shelf life from the time of harvest. I’m told that [...]

Boys’ Day Treats from Osaka-Ya

Lori — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:30:52 +0000

Boys’ Day (Tango no Sekku) is coming up on May 5th. It’s an originally Japanese holiday, now celebrated over much of Asia. In more recent years, Girls’ Day and Boy’s Day have been combined into one Children’s Day celebrated on May 5th. Our local Japanese confectionary shop, Osaka-ya, has been busy preparing the traditional treats to celebrate Boy’s Day. Kashiwa Mochi is pounded sweet rice flour filled with smooth red beans, and wrapped in an oak leaf. The oak leaves are used to symbolize the strength and celebration of continuing generations, as old oak leaves do not fall off the tree until new shoots are growing. Uiro is a firm mochi filled with sweet lima beans. These are decorated as spring peony flowers. The green leaf is cut out of yokan, a sweet thick gelatin made with smooth white beans. Uiro mochi (front) and Kashiwa mochi (back) Light lima beans, or dark red beans…which do you prefer? (Left) Kurumi manju- a sweet baked bread covered lightly with an egg glaze, surrounding sweet whole red beans (Tsubu-an), topped with a walnut (Right) Chofu- sweet mochi wrapped in a light fluffy pancake (there’s also one filled with crunchy peanut butter in addition [...]

A Cheery Afternoon Coffee

Lori — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:20:11 +0000

Seasonal allergies have been crazy bad for so many people this year. I’ve pretty much been medicated and keeping indoors as much as possible to cope with all the pollen in the air. All this sneezing, sniffling and congestion is pretty miserable stuff, so I thought I’d cheer myself up with some afternoon coffee– Paris style! A couple of years ago when I was in Paris with my friend Gigi, we ate a the cutest little restaurant called what else but Le Souffle. I haven’t perfected my souffle making yet, but I can serve coffee (well, their coffee is what we consider espresso) like they do– with sugar and bon bons. What a pretty sight! Rough cut sugar cubes nestled among dazzling pieces of licorice and various bon bons. Presentation is everything, n’est-ce pas? I am officially cheered up now! =) What do you do to cheer yourself up?