The Cost of Cheap Food

From the latest issue of Time magazine ... yet another reminder about the dangers of our current food system. Read the story here.

On a related note, check out the Eat Real Festival if you have time this weekend! Admission is free, although you'll need separate tickets for the Beer Shed (yay)!

"Founded in 2008, Eat Real Festival is a social venture created to inspire eaters to choose tasty, healthy, good food. Through a vibrant, local festival in Oakland, CA, and a focus on delicious and sustainable “street food,” Eat Real puts eaters in contact with the real people -- the farmers, chefs, and producers -- who make our food. Eat Real Festival will donate a percentage of its profit to several California organizations promoting access to healthy and affordable food, entrepreneurship and economic development."

A Cupcake Per Day...

Until recently, I've never had a "gourmet" cupcake. I actually thought the idea was kind of silly ... why would you want to pay three bucks for something that you could mass produce at home in your own oven? And plenty of my friends have the interest and patience to bake cupcakes, so I'm used to just mooching off of them.

But ever since I've had Kara's Cupcakes, I've been yearning to go back. The cupcakes were delightfully moist and fluffy, and prettily decorated. The mini ones were so adorable that I had to resist buying them all! My favorite from our batch was the organic strawberry cream cupcake, which was simply out of this world.

Kara's also makes a commitment to use locally-grown, sustainable ingredients, so you can feel extra good about eating a cupcake with a reduced carbon footprint. (Cupcake footprints just sound weird, no?)

For my birthday, my friends also got me a set of goodies from Sprinkles Cupcakes, which originated in Beverly Hills. Their cupcake batter was not as good as Kara's, and their frosting was so sweet that even I, with my insatiable sweet tooth, was a bit overwhelmed. But their flavors are definitely more fun, e.g., red velvet, chocolate marshmallow, chai latte...

So a cupcake per day ... keeps the cravings at bay? 'Till next time!

Kara's Cupcakes
www.karascupcakes.com

Sprinkles Cupcakes
www.sprinkles.com

Julie & Julia

Got a chance to catch this film over the weekend. It jumps back and forth in time to follow the true life stories of Julia Child, the famous chef known for introducing French cooking to mainstream America, and Julie Powell, a modern-day young woman whose similar passion for food and cooking provides an escape from her job as a cubicle bureaucrat. Julie decides to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook in 365 days, blogging along the way. The results? Great food, hilarious mishaps, and a little self-discovery.

Julie Powell's book of the same title was the basis for the film. This movie is a must-see if you appreciate food, cooking, France, or blogging ... or if you need a burst of inspiration to inject new energy into your life, even if it's as small a task as resolving to make a pear tart.

Official movie website - http://www.julieandjulia.com
The Julie/Julia Project blog - http://blogs.salon.com/0001399

SF Chefs. Food. Wine.

Pure torture for a foodie? Working right across the street from Union Square while the "SF Chefs. Food. Wine" culinary event is going on. I spent quite some time today staring wistfully out my office window at the big white tent below, imagining what delectable food and wine was being served. Maybe next year I should sign up to volunteer and see if I can befriend some local chefs!