Like a Bridal Registry…but NOT

I rang in my 29th birthday this past weekend.  It was definitely jammed pack with good stuff – picnic/wine tasting @ Napa, delicious 6 course seasonal tasting @ Michael Mina, drinks @ Swig, brunch….and my favorite part was opening gifts!  Which leads me to, of course, showcasing (bragging ) about the goodies I got this year.

Villaware belgian waffle maker

Curtis Stone's chopping board

Shun classic 7" santoku

Thanks to Jess and Mr. Y2K!  Now, time to add more to my wishlist hahahaa

5AM

WOW, I woke up at 5AM this morning to finish up my croissant endeavor.  This better be worth it…

Chuckle

www.foodnetworkhumor.com made me chuckle today, especially this post:

http://foodnetworkhumor.com/2010/01/celebrity-chef-look-alikes/#more-4040

If you’re in the mood for a chance to win some kitchen goodies, check out what Saveur is giving out:

http://www.saveur.com/foodiegiveaway/

Good luck!

New Year Resolutions???

With the New Year, I’m sure people have made or thought about their resolutions for 2010.   Here are some interesting facts I found online about New Year resolutions:

• About 40 to 45% of American adults make one or more New Year’s resolutions each year.
• Most popular resolutions include promises of weight loss, exercise and quitting smoking.
• Also common are resolutions dealing with better money management / debt reduction.
• The following statistics reveal how many of these resolutions are maintained as time goes on:
  • Past the first week: 75%
  • Past 2 weeks: 71%
  • After one month: 64%
  • After 6 months: 46%
  • About 67% of people make three or more resolutions.

http://www.newyearfestival.com/new-year-resolutions.html

Sadly, I haven’t really thought about my own resolutions until now.  My mom says that it should be to find a husband, but I will conveniently dismiss that one…she thinks she’s SOOO funny.

Since this is a food blog that I intend on updating frequently in 2010, I thought I’d make some food related resolutions.  As mentioned in the statistics, one of the most popular resolution is weight loss.  That’s definitely always on my mind, but in order to help achieve that I will attempt to maintain a clean eating diet.  Actually, scratch that…it’s not really a diet.  According to cleaneatingmag.com:

Clean eating?  It’s simple, really.  Consuming food in its most natural state – or as close as possible to it — is the soul of clean eating.  It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to health, well-being and a lean look.

I attempted to do this several times since I’ve moved back to San Jose, but the baking/food experimentation has steered me away from it.  I’m hoping to utilize this blog and keep myself in check by posting some clean eating recipes.

BUT…

I still intend on baking and occasionally eating the not-so-clean foods like…pork belly…mmmmmm…

Anyways, I’m curious to hear about your resolutions.  Please comment…the comment box is looking a bit lonely and bare!  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Cookie Photoshoot

HUGE/HUMONGOUS thanks to Bryant for taking these pictures for me.  Please visit his website @ www.bryantography.com!

I was so excited and couldn’t wait to post these pictures.  My staging definitely needs work, but not too shabby for the first try.

Wrapped up

Unwrapped

All 8 cookies in this shot

First plate staged

Action shot!

Pfeffernussen

You can see the rest of the pictures on my picasa web album.

I knew that the photos that I posted were bad, but my goodness…these pictures made my photos look even worse!  I may have to think about doing a photo setup w/ the white sheets and multiple lamps.