BAHAHAHAAA!! I just recalled this beloved Asimo footage and had to post it, for old times’ sake. FF to 0:55 to skip the anticipation…

My most favorite project I’m currently knee-deep in is SF Food Wars, hands-down. You can check out the results from the most recent one, the Mini Cupcake Clashhere.

The upcoming Holiday Fixins-Off has now gotten me super pumped up because the tickets sold out in 5 minutes! First 20 hours, then 1 hour, then 5 minutes! Insanity.

I’m so glad I started this project in SF because it really helps me feel like I have a place here. I always reminisce about New York and I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing it, but putting on these events have made my life here a lot more exciting! The collaborations that are soon to come of this new venture of mine are incredible and I can’t wait for the many new events to come…

I’m super pumped about all the competitors submissions rolling in for the next SF Food Wars event: Mini Cupcake Clash! I also had lots of fun with the quick little illustration of one cupcake eating another. Anyhoo, some of the entries involve unexpected ingredients like brie, horchata, and sriracha, which makes my head spin and stomach grumble. I. Cannot. Wait!

excuse #1: I started a super cool fun yummy wooftastic eco-friendly barkworthy delicious local dog treat company a couple months ago called Josie’s Bake Sale! Each treat is made with love and the best local, organic, and natural ingredients!

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excuse #2: I launched a new SF-centric food-off series that begins on August 23rd with the inaugural event, Mac Battle Royale w/ Cheese! The SF Food Wars series benefits the SF Food Bank and offers the local foodie community something extremely fun to do 4 to 5 times a year.

So that’s what I’ve been doing and both of these projects each have their own blogs so the likelihood of me blogging on here any time soon is shamefully slim. The sad thing is I have been cooking delicious food and taking some nice pics but laziness/tiredness is so powerful! Youknowwhatimean? So I’m sincerely sorry to the 2 people who read this blog and I promise to write some kind of cooking or photog-related post “soon.”

Oh Anna the Red. You are so talented and diligent. Creative and precise. And I’m going to copy you. This Totoro Sandwich defines edible art to me and I can’t wait to post my attempt! You should also check out her countless other bento creations that she makes for her bf’s lunch every day!

Peppery Artichoke Soup

Artichokes are a breath of fresh soup when you’re not in the mood for broccoli, mushroom, or tomato. A healthy dose of spicy cracked black pepper is an appropriate punch-in-the-face compliment to the bright and acidic artichoke hearts. And if you don’t like lots of pepper, then you’ll have yourself some still very delicious, yet not-so-peppery, artichoke soup.

Here’s my recipe:

Peppery Artichoke Soup

serves 4-6

2 Vidalia onions (or yellow if they don’t have sweet), diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup olive oil (or butter if you like it extra rich)

1 bay leaf

1 quart chicken or veggie stock

1+ cups water

1 cup milk/cream (optional)

2 15 oz. cans artichoke hearts, with juices

1/4 cup finely grated parmesan

salt and freshly cracked pepper

This is really easy. Situate your dutch oven or favorite soup pot over medium-high heat. Wide and somewhat shallow is best. Start by sauteeing the onions and bay leaf in the olive oil until soft, about 8 mins. Keep the stuff moving. Add the garlic and sautee another minute or so. If you scorch anything you have to start over or your soup will taste weird.

Add artichoke hearts and their juices and bring up to a boil. Add stock and water and bring back to a boil. Add a little more water if you find the broth too rich. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 45 mins.

Now blend the hell out of the soup with an immersion blender. I like my soup really smooth and creamy, but I’ve also made it somewhat chunky and that’s tasty too. Whatever mood you’re in…go for it. Now stir in milk or cream if you want. Taste the broth for saltiness and salt as needed. Stir in parmesan until it dissolves.

Now you can add the finishing touch with a generous sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper! P.S. This is a really really good soup to dip bread in.

These are sooo freaking adorable–my head is going to explode. At times when I feel like giving up on creative baking, stuff like this shoves me back on the wagon. Smiley’s Sweets has a real dream job in my book.

This metapizza pretty much blows my mind and has inspired me to come up with some kind of homage…so I’ll post as soon as I come up with something.

My people. They know what’s up.

hooray for vegetables