Giovanina Bucci: musical goddess and wildly photogenic

Charlotte and I are still hanging on the left coast for another day, so until I can be reunited with my camera cord and show you some pictures and videos of our trip, I'll reunite you with an old friend...

New Music Website!

 www.giovaninabucci.com

 

Guest Post with Giovanina

Sarah is on vacay this week.  So you're stuck with me (on the left). 

Well long time no see fellow blog followers!  Scarlet Lily has invited me to do a couple of guest posts this week while she's out of town (and fleeing the cold weather) with her darling husband, B!  I can't believe it's been 5 months since I posted my very last Home Grown Tomatoes recipe, where the hell does the time go?

Since we last 'spoke', I've welcomed 2011 with open arms.  Huge.  Open.  Arms.  I was happy to bid farewell to 2010 - it was one of those years that kind of sucked, but inevitably taught me a ton of lessons about both myself and life.  A growing-pains kind of year, maybe that's a good way to put it.  But alas, here I am, grabbing 2011 by the... steering wheel?  It's possible I'm being a bit dramatic because there were some end-of-the-year highlights that were totally awesome:

* Ma and Pa Booch popped in for a Flagstaff visit.  Holy shizam, we had a blast!  Seriously, my parents are two of the coolest people I know.

* I turned 27.  I like it.  The number itself feels better than 26.  My birthday party, thanks to my kick ass roommate, was like a scene out of a movie.  I was surrounded by stellar people, there was an overflow of food, and at one point everyone was gathered in the living room while a couple of friends busted into a Velvet Underground cover because yes, there was an entire stage set up, amps, drums and all.  Music all night.  I've pretty much never felt cooler.  Did I mention that there were party dresses involved?  Awesome.

* Spent Thanksgiving in New Orleans with my cousin and best friend.  Cousin Jonathan and I cooked a huge meal for the two of us, we drank mimosas, listened to music and feasted.  It was fabulous.  The three of us spent the rest of the trip together laughing our asses off.  I mean what more do you need?

* Went home for Christmas for the first time in five years.  Five Years!  And it was everything I had hoped for.  Enough said.

* Completed my first Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies.  Began a second Certificate in Interdisciplinary Health Policy.  Awaiting verdict on the two Master's programs I applied for here at NAU...I'm thinking that I can prolong being an adult as long as I'm in school...that's logical, right?

* Fell deeper in love with Flagstaff.  Fell more out of love with the state of Arizona and its politics.  Don't even get me started.

* And I've been dancing a lot more.  I mean not in an organized class kind of way...like in a hit-the-town and cut-a-rug kind of way.  It's become a valuable form of exercise.

Phew.  So anyway, life is really good.  I'm happy.  And I'm enjoying being 27 in the year 2011.  I also have really awesome friends, did I mention that?  Well I do, and I'm thankful for that.  In other news relating to food, recipes, and my ever-unsatiated appetite...  I've recently discovered a few things:

I'm obsessed with lemon garlic aioli.  No joke.  Seriously, I've considered jarring and selling it.  It's really that good (or it's just me).  I've recently fallen in love with vegetables all over again.  I love cooking for dinner parties.  I love being in the kitchen alone, cooking, and listening to music (while enjoying a glass of red wine).  It's pretty freaking awesome.  Hummus has become even more of a staple in my diet as of late.  How was that even possible?  Good gravy.  I've started taking vitamins.  I'm not going to lie, I haven't been doing a ton of cooking because I'm too damn busy, so I tend to go for the simple, no hassle meals.  But I did spend this past Sunday chopping, sautéing, boiling, stirring, tasting and smelling in the confines of my incredibly small, adorable kitchen.  And thus I share with you...

As you know, if you were a Home Grown Tomatoes reader, I'm not into measuring, so these are more like food and ingredient ideas rather than recipes.  Be prepared to experiment because I have no idea how the hell much of what goes into what  :)


Split Pea Soup...is genius.
I don't have a picture because quite frankly, split pea soup in picture form does not make you want to launch through your computer screen and dive in.  It's kind of weird looking.

In a large pot, saute a diced yellow onion, carrots, and red potatoes in some Earth Balance butter and Bragg's Liquid Aminos until nice and tender.

Add 8 cups of water and one bag of split peas and let the soup simmer on low for a long time.  I think I had it on the stove for a couple of hours.

Add in some garlic powder, celery seed, nutritional yeast and black pepper.  YUM!  This, of course, is the vegan version, you can definitely do that whole ham bone thing, but this recipe is a no-brainer.  And you don't have to wrestle with any bones.

Sweet Potato Gratin

Boil sweet potatoes until tender.  Let the potatoes cool, peel the skins (optional), and slice into quarter-inch thick rounds.  At this point, I made a mixture of spices that included cumin, curry powder, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast.  In a baking dish I layered the sweet potatoes, some spice mixture, a couple dabs of Tofutti cream cheese, and Daiya mozzarella cheese (dairy free and soy free cheese that is freaking good).  Layer.  Repeat.  Layer.  Repeat.  Top with one last layer of cheese and bake for about a half an hour.  Yes, please.

Green Beans Tossed in Spinach Artichoke Dip, Baked with Almonds and Butter

I had some left over spinach artichoke dip that I purchased at the local health food store here and I wasn't sure what to do with it.  Ah ha.  I had a heap of green beans that needed to get used, so I steamed them and then baked them with a bit of butter, spinach artichoke dip and almonds.  Easy.  Tasty.  Yum.  Their recipe for the dip called for Veganaise, spinach, artichokes, cashews, and some spices.  Since I went to a little Super Bowl gathering, I decided to create my own version of the dip (sans the cashews because I didn't have any).

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach
Whole Artichoke Hearts (not marinated)
Veganaise
Tofutti Sour Cream
Tofutti Cream Cheese
Garlic Powder
Nutritional Yeast

I've made this dip before, but this time I used the Magic Bullet to really go wild and get it nice and creamy.  Creamy it was.  And also incredibly green.  It was very pretty if I don't say so myself.  And I served it cold with chips.  I'm definitely going to try the cashews next time, I'm quite certain they'd help thicken up the consistency.  Taste wise, good shiz.

Well peeps, I feel like I've typed your ear off.  That makes no sense, but you know what I mean.  Anyway, I'm hoping to have one more guest post for you this week with a bunch of random things for you to check out  :)

Thank you, Scarlet, for having me back!
Until next time...

Enjoy!
Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: And the Winner Is...

Patiently Waiting...
 

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci.

Well here we are, 53 Home Grown Tomato posts later.  One year has passed; I'm more in debt, busier, one year older, slightly wiser, my hair's a couple inches longer, my ass is a little bigger, best friends have become better friends, new friends have become great friends, I've painted canvases, taken a lot of pictures, traveled, watched dear friends get married, have had a handful of visitor's, fallen more in love with Flagstaff, cooked a lot, baked more, experimented with new ingredients, played music, enjoyed bon fires, listened to music really loudly, danced to Lady Gaga, drank great red wine, rode my bike all over town, learned more about life and love...still learning actually, walked to the Farmer's Market a number of Sunday mornings, recorded some music, laughed...A LOT, cried, joined the gym, shaken my rear at Zumba, hip-hopped with a bunch of kids who still have 18 year old metabolisms, fallen in love with collard greens, sat on my front stoop until wee hours of the morning with great company, saw the Grand Canyon for the first time, welcomed new babies into the world (other people's babies, that is), played a lot of scrabble and dominoes, enjoyed a two-week addiction to Julie and Julia, purchased new bedding, asked loads of questions in graduate classes...or in general, saw Toots & the Maytals, spent time with my rockstar of a family, and written this blog every single week.  

I've thoroughly enjoyed this journey of cooking, creating, and writing about it.  I've figured out how I like to write about and discuss food.  I've learned that I'm not a measurer.  I'm all about happy (somewhat informed) accidents in the kitchen.  I love stumbling upon a totally successful creative cooking process.  A little of this, a pinch of that, a taste here, a smell there.  That's the way I like to cook.  And I adore entertaining others (with food and wit :-D).  I'm pretty convinced that I'll never be someone rollin' in the dough, but enough cash to be able to have friends over at least once of week for a great spread of hors d'oeuvres, a nice dinner, or a killer dessert and a smooth cocktail to accompany.  I'm okay with that.  I can spend about an hour at the mall before I lose my shit.  But the grocery store?  I love me some grocery store.  I can spend ridiculous amounts of time in the aisles reading labels.  Putting items in my cart, taking them out, putting them in...you get the idea.

Before I get to the real reason you're here...the contest winner...I also want to thank you.  Thank you for coming to visit every week.  Thank you for leaving comments.  Thank you for your continuous support.  Thank you for sharing your love of all things food-snack-dinner-lunch-beverage-breakfast related.  And an endless thank you to Scarlet Lily for coming up with this idea.  For editing the post each week.  For brainstorming with me.  For sending me hilarious pieces of love and gossip.  And for being a wonderful cousin, for having a fabulous husband and an absolutely perfect child, and most importantly, for being my touchstone.  I heart you big time, mama! 

Ok, ok, ok...here we go!  Thanks to those of you for submitting your recipe ideas, pictures, etc.!  It was super fun to read them all.  I have to say, I was torn by the end and I've decided to be totally crazy and announce a grand prize winner and a runner-up!

 The Grand Prize Winner is...

Erin Wahl

Autumn Pumpkin Soup and Biscuits

Erin's submission:

My goal in creating these recipes was to make a complete pumpkin-inspired brunch fit for a lovely autumn day. A second goal was to make everything as easy as possible since I feel like many people think that brunch is something that needs to be complicated. Not so! Although I prefer to use real pumpkin for soups, I substituted canned pumpkin in an attempt to speed up the process for anyone who might want to make it. Obviously this would taste even better if you took the time to use real pumpkin.

My taste testers were my rugged Alaskan boyfriend Jake and our friend, fellow Midwesterner and history grad student Adam. Both Jake and Adam are taste testing experts, being boys and therefore able to eat large quantities of food. Jake and Adam were very involved with the process, frequently having spoons of pumpkin-y goodness shoved into their mouths and asked to comment upon taste.


The biscuit recipe works well as a biscuit recipe or as a muffin recipe. I’ve made it both ways, adapting it from an old Betty Crocker bread recipe and adjusting the amount of flour to make them easier to “drop” onto a cookie sheet. It is a heavy biscuit and goes very well with the suggested almond butter or apple butter, or dipped in the soup. The addition of chai gives the biscuits the perfect spicy flavor that goes well with autumn. These are not light airy biscuits, they carry the weight of autumn in their spicy pumpkin depths.


The pumpkin soup was entirely of my own creation and modeled after a jasmine pumpkin soup I used to eat when I lived in China. I worked with it for a long time to give it the correct balance of sweet and earthy. The addition of the jasmine green tea keeps this from merely being something like pumpkin pie in a bowl by giving the soup an earthy, raw aftertaste that goes really well with the pumpkin biscuits.


In the end I have emerged triumphant with a rather impressive and easy pumpkin brunch. I recommend serving this with a cup of deliciously sinful dark coffee or perhaps a lovely light white wine, champagne, or a delicious recipe for an Apple Drink with Absolut Vanilla that got from the New Scandinavian Cooking show (sadly cannot take credit for this, you can find the recipe here) if you want to go fancy and alcoholic.

Erin’s Autumn Pumpkin Biscuits



Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 tablespoons applesauce
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup Tazo Organic Chai Mix
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves


1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease 1-2 cookie sheets or muffin tins (works in both). Set aside.


2. Stir together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, chai mix and applesauce in a large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. (If you’re going to make these as big biscuits then add in extra flour till the mixture is thick enough to drop like biscuits.) Poor into muffin tins or put large oblong dollops onto the cookie sheet.


3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.


Serve with apple butter or almond butter and the soup below.

Congratulations, Erin!  You can chose from the following prizes and email me (giovaninabucci@yahoo.com) with your pick!  (You can also catch Erin's other tasty recipes over on her blog.)


1 16x20 painting inspired by any food, garden, or kitchen item of your choice. I have tons of pictures to choose from or you can send me one of your own or


3 8x10 vegetable paintings based on your choice of veggies or color scheme or

5 framed and matted 8x10 food pictures of your choice selected from my collection of photographs. (I will send you a link and you can choose whichever ones you'd like)

The Runner Up is...

Nicole Walker
 

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Nicole's Submission:

Erin told me about your recipe contest and I had to enter because first, pumpkin bars happen to by my 'signature recipe', ya know the one everyone requests and talks about for weeks following the sampling. Case in point, last year at the Flagstaff Olive Garden we had a visiting manager from one of the Phoenix restaurants. I asked the visting manager, Jim, if he knew my favorite manager from the Tempe Olive Garden, Bill, and small-world-style, he said yes. I asked Jim to tell Bill hi for me, and when I said my name he replied "As in the Niki who makes pumpkin bars?". Jim didn't really remember me, but he well remembered the pumpkin bars I made for Bill during the holidays. My second reasoning for entering is that I am desperate for some of your art. I have already mentally decorated my future kitchen and the imagined versions of your 8x10 vegetable paintings are the perfect additions to an aesthetic symphony of yellow and green. Third and finally, I've been talking with Erin about eliminating meat and animal products from my diet and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try out a switch-a-roo.



Seriously these things are *good*. Moist and pumpkin-y, and the spice combination perfectly compliments the pumpkin and apple flavors. I did happen to see a close version of my recipe on the Martha Stewart website about a year ago, and I think that fact that I am being plagiarized by the queen of all things homey and home-made, says something about how good these are. I haven't been able to find the Tofutti's cream cheese substitute, so unfortunately I can't vouch for the vegan version of the frosting; however, the non-vegan version is so good my friend Tyler swears that it contains actual love and crack as key ingredients. Also, if you're a choco-lover like me, feel free to add some chocolate chips to the bars; it only makes them better. Hope you like!


With love (and crack),
Nicole


“Martha Stewart Stole My Recipe” Pumpkin Bars – Vegan Style


2 c flour
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter OR Earth Balance
1 ¼ c sugar
¼ c applesauce
2 tsp vanilla
1 small can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of 9x13” baking dish with foil (this helps the bars cook more evenly and they lift right out of the pan for super-easy cutting and then you don't have to wash the dish. yes, yes, yes!). In medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients; set aside.


With mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in applesauce and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined (don't overmix or you'll get flat bars and will be quite sad).

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away and inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean (about 35 to 40 minutes). Allow to cool completely. Frost and cut into bars.




“Made with Crack and Love” Cream Cheese Frosting


8 oz Cream Cheese OR Tofutti’s Better Than Cream Cheese
1 c powdered sugar
¼ c butter OR Earth Balance
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 c powdered sugar


Combine first four ingredients. Mix in remaining powdered sugar until desired consistency. Spread over cooled pumpkin bars.

Congratulations, Nicole!  I wasn't planning on a runner-up, but you convinced me :)  You can chose between the following prizes and email me (giovaninabucci@yahoo.com) your pick!

1 8x10 vegetable paintings based on your choice of veggies or color scheme or

3 framed and matted 8x10 food pictures of your choice selected from my collection of photographs. (I will send you a link and you can choose whichever ones you'd like)


Again, thank you to everyone for submitting such awesome recipes! 

With much love, and until next time,

  ~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: Munch 'n' Brunch

A Whole Lot of Beige

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

I realized after posting these pictures that this food is practically all the same color.  Jeesh.  I feel like I'm looking at an edible version of the Gap, khaki's and white t-shirts - and the bits of green are like a cardigan.  Or something.  I digress...

Well first and foremost, do not forget about the contest we're holding here on Home Grown Tomatoes!  I'm desperately awaiting all of your awesome ideas to flood my email account (giovaninabucci@yahoo.com).  Any day now, right?  RIGHT?  Great, that's what I thought:)  Because we want lots of you to enter, and because the prizes are super fun (if I don't say so myself), please don't feel like you have to invent a recipe in order to enter - it's all about your creativity, tweaking, searching and most importantly, it's supposed to be fun!  So start sharing - whether it's your own vegan/vegetarian creation or a recipe that you've tried and loved!  And don't forget that I need all entries by Friday.

This past weekend was the first in a long time that I didn't go anywhere or have anything to do, per se.  I've spent the last few weekends travelling, playing gigs, throwing birthday parties, and quite frankly I'm tuckered.  Last Friday night I got to babysit.  You have no idea how much I loved this.  Some of you might even be thinking to yourself, damn, I wish she lived next door!  It's true, you should wish that, because I'd make you go on dates all of the time so that I could hang out with you kids, play games, color, and squeeze them with lots of love and kisses.  Honestly, babysitting is this perfect dose of children and I think it helps smack my intermittent child wanting hormones right back into reality.  I leave at the end of a tough shift of reading books about butterflies and singing "You Are My Sunshine", and I'm reminded of my total adoration of children while simultaneously knowing that I can go and have a few cocktails and I only have to worry about getting my own ass home.  Plus having grown up in this ginormous Italian family that I've talked about, I crave the chaos.  My first niece was born when I was 3.  Yes.  Three.  So I've been Aunt GG for almost 24 years at this point.  And being away from family is challenging in and of itself, but especially when there are lots of little ones being born and growing up SO fast - part of you feels like you're missing out.  So babysitting, on this whole other level, satisfies the missing out. 

I don't think parents have any idea what they're actually doing for my soul when they ask me to watch their children.  On the other hand, I worry that this big long spiel may potentially scare them... My children fill your soul?  Yup.  She's officially nuts and we're not leaving our precious babies with this self-proclaimed Aunt GG woman:)  But you should.  Really.  Because I heart them.

While relishing in my "I don't have to do anything but read excessive amounts of shit for school" weekend, I made a big brunch on Sunday for some of my fellow peeps.  The feast included:

Tofu Scramble

Fried Potato Patties

Fresh Artichoke Leaves

Pizza

Sauteed Baby Turnips

Fried Plantains

Fresh Mango and Raspberries

I ventured to the Farmer's Market earlier that morning to snag any fresh ingredients that I could.  I was able to grab the potatoes, cilantro, a giant red pepper, and the baby turnips.  Total success.

Fried potato patties are a nice change to the home fries that are traditionally served with breakfast.  (Don't get me wrong, I love me some home fries.)  To make these patties, use your go-to mashed potato recipe.  For vegan mashed potatoes I use:

Potatoes

Almond Milk

Earth Balance

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Nutritional Yeast

And for this batch, TONS of fresh cilantro!

Ideally, you want your texture to be thick and starchy so that the patties hold together while you're frying them.  Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan, make your patties and then let the oil work its magic!  The potatoes take about 6 or 7 minutes on medium high heat in order to achieve this golden crispy texture on the outside... 

Add a healthy amount of cilantro to your mashed potatoes before frying and you'll be so happy that you did!

Plantains are SO fun to make, they're sweet and salty and they have a fabulous texture!  Simply peel the plantains and slice them into 1" thick pieces.  Fry them on both sides for a couple of minutes, adding a bit of salt to each side.  Once the plantains have begun to brown, remove them and flatten with the bottom of a glass. 

Throw your, now flattened, plantains back into the frying pan and allow a few more minutes on each side to get them really crispy on the outside.  Once they're done, add a tinge more salt and they're ready for your taste buds! 

Finally, for these baby turnips...oh. my. gosh.  Peel, slice and throw them in a hot saute pan of butter, a dash of Bragg's, some sriracha, add some garlic powder, parsley, red pepper flakes, and nutritional yeast.  Let these babies get really caramelized, stirring frequently.  They make an awesome spicy little side!

 

Now, get crackin' on your pumpkin recipes for the contest!  And I'll meet you here next week, same place, same time, with a final send-off post which will include announcing the winner of the contest!

Enjoy!

~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: It's Game Time!

We're Wheelin' and Dealin'!

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

Put on your game faces my friends, it's Home Grown Tomatoes CONTEST time!  I've included some photos to help make the directions nice and clear...or purely for your entertainment :)

 

Now listen closely...

The deadline for entry is Friday, October 8, 2010.
Home Grown Tomatoes will be going out with a bang on October 12, 2010 with their last post and the contest winner will be announced! 
What the hell is the contest you ask?

Put your thinking caps on...

With Halloween approaching and pumpkins starting to overflow those bins outside of the grocery stores - Home Grown Tomatoes wants your most favorite, most original, most flavorful, most creative Vegan/Vegetarian pumpkin recipe!  

It can be anything from breads to soups, desserts to something I haven't thought of (even better!).  If you have a picture of both yourself and your pumpkin recipe that would be wonderful (although not required).  The criteria being used to judge your recipe will be based on the following:

Originality

Creativity

Feasibility

Presentation

Virtual Taste

In other words, we obviously won't be able to taste your treats, so it will be up to you to provide detailed descriptions of the flavors, textures, aromas, AND specific recipes and directions, etc.  Provided the time, I'm hoping to be able to test some, if not all of the recipes out - or maybe I can recruit Scarlet Lily to help me out on this one :)  So don't try and pull our legs!

So when the light bulb goes off...

Please send all entries including recipes and pictures to giovaninabucci@yahoo.com.  Please label the subject line "Pumpkin Recipe Contest".  Also, feel free to send an email beforehand if you have questions about anything!

And what's in it for you?

Well, there are a couple of choices, my friends, because that's just how we roll here at

Home Grown Tomatoes!

You can choose from the following prizes:

1 16x20 painting inspired by any food, garden, or kitchen item of your choice.  I have tons of pictures to choose from or you can send me one of your own or

3 8x10 vegetable paintings based on your choice of veggies or color scheme or

5 framed and matted 8x10 food pictures of your choice selected from my collection of photographs.  (I will send you a link and you can choose whichever ones you'd like - they're great for decorating!)

 And if you win...

I'm hoping you'll give us a big cheer like brother Marco:)

And I also hope that...

You'll celebrate your awesome win with a big glass 'o' somethin':)

And this is my family...

 and we'll be SO freaking excited for you!!!!!!!!!

So get crackin' my friends.  I can't wait to read and see all of your awesome ideas!

~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: Libations

Cold Cocktails

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

The picture above was taken in St. John, US Virgin Islands - and I would do anything to do be there right now.  But instead I'm on school book number two (of three) of the week.  Honestly, I can almost taste the frozen goodness on my lips.  We used to stop at this little outside bar that was located in the center of town after a day of hiking and beaching and enjoy either a pomegranate or passion fruit margarita.  Freaking YUM is all I'm sayin' :)  

In other news, Ma and Pa Booch are officially coming to visit in October!  I couldn't be more excited.  It's so fun to have people come visit your little town because it forces you to go out and do all of those awesome touristy things that you don't normally pay any mind to.  I've raved about their awesome-ness to all of my peeps here in Flag, so there is just general excitement all around for their arrival.  WOOT WOOT.  I feel like introducing your parents to your friends helps make everything come full circle.  Like, "Oh, that's why Giovanina is crazy, or fun, or laid back, or sooo beautiful..."  Joking.  Anyway, I love having something to look forward to!

OK, onto libations.  (Love that word).  I do realize that a post all about booze makes me run the risk of looking like a lush... I'm too busy getting my smart on these days, so the cocktails are few and further between, my friends!  I don't have the exact recipe for the pomegranate margarita I mentioned, but I did find this pretty awesome recipe from the Food and Wine website.  I think the most important component is the fresh pomegranates - which are exquisite for just about anything, not just cocktails.       

I love me some beer, too.  Especially the darker ones.  Below is picture of some beers from Beaver Street Brewery here in Flagstaff.  They have a great food menu and a pretty good (although steep in alcohol content) beer selection.  Pictured here is the Bramble Berry Brew and the R & R Oatmeal Stout - you can read their descriptions here.  They're both delicious, but they're especially tasty when you order the half and half!  I tend to enjoy Porters, Stouts, Nut Browns, Ambers and occasionally some IPA's (although sometimes they're a bit too hoppy for me).  

I think I drank enough Keystone and Budlight in college playing beer pong - that the lighter beers have really lost their appeal for me.  I find that darker beers tend to be a great combination of rich and smooth.  I stumbled upon this here blog with lots of information regarding all different kinds of beers (and desserts), I mean what more does a girl need?!  Dark beers are also awesome to use for battering and frying veggies and tofu!

And finally, onto one my most favorite drinks, because it makes me feel all warm and cozy is Sake.  Trust me, it was not love at first sight, but rather an acquired taste.  I love it served extra, extra hot.  It makes me want to be sitting in front of a fire with some outrageously cozy socks on.  Ah, bliss.  Plain and hot is my most favorite way to enjoy sake, but there are certainly plenty of other ways to have it!  Below is a Saketini from another local restaurant called, Karma.  Unfortunately, they don't have their drink menu listed on their website, but I did find a simple recipe for a Sake Martini at Epicurious.  I've also had this type of mixed sake cocktail with cucumber and ginger and, trust me, it's as refreshing as it looks!

I know that Summer is quickly leaving many of us, but it certainly can be fun to treat yourself to a fancy spritzer if you're out on the town.  Or if you're having a party, to find a really neat and different drink that you can serve - whereby you can make a big batch ahead of time (like Sangria).  Your guests are likely to be pleased with idea of enjoying something a little out of the ordinary!

Enjoy!

~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: Hussel the Brussels

Shout Out to Brussels Sprout

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci.

First, let me apologize for writing you like a two second post two weeks ago and COMPLETELY forgetting to write last week.  Labor Day got a hold of my sense of time and quite frankly, ruined it.  Life has quickly turned upside down and there's no going back.  I bet you're thinking to yourself, and all she could think to welcome us back with... was Brussels Sprout?!  Yes.  But I love them.  By the way, I've been putting the "s" on Sprout and not on Brussel for about 25 years now - who freaking knew?  Anyway, to briefly catch you up on both what's been happening in the land 'o' Giovanina and what's going to be on the plate (that pun was an accident) for the month of September... let me debrief.  As I mentioned, school has started, my friends.  So I'm working full time and taking three Grad classes, plus my hip-hop class two nights a week - which, I'm unwilling to give up.  I don't give a hoot how tired I am...you can bet your ass that this ass will be moving to some solid beats on Monday and Wednesday nights for the next 15 weeks.  Hollar.

I went to the Grand Canyon this past weekend for a bit of a girls' getaway.  It was my first time there and it was probably one of the most beautiful days of the year!  I drank Oak Creek Nut Brown on the edge - and it was amazing :)  We drove back to Sedona and spent the evening laughing and talking over wine, reminiscing and making new memories.  Perfect.

Next up on the list, I'm once again going to try and kick the shiz out of the GRE's, which are coming up ever so fast and feverishly.  Dammit!  Then October is rolling around with a visit from my parental units and I'm ending the month with a bang: a trip to Las Vegas to see Widespread Panic.  Yes.  You heard me correctly.  LAS VEGAS FOR WIDESPREAD.  I'm equally as excited to see my parents, although I didn't take the time to capitalize :)  November is too far away to discuss...

And the news I've been waiting to tell you.  Are you sitting down?  I hope so, you're at a computer.  Home Grown Tomatoes will officially be coming to an end in the next couple of weeks.  I was going to finish up on the 50th post, but I'm going to really plan my next couple posts and finish on the 52nd post - so I can go out with a bang and stop leaving you with pictures of Brussels Sprout.

I feel like writing this blog has been such an eye opening experience, and I'll most certainly get into the mushy gushy before I leave.  I'm not going far, trust me, and it's not that I don't love you. It's just...ugh...I'll say it. Time. You've probably been able to tell over the last month or so that some of the posts have not been my best effort. I'm out of time. Not ideas, though, and this is why some sort of project will continue on - and I'll tell you all about it when I figure it out :)  But I will...mark my words...continue this adventure of cooking and eating and sharing.

Scarlet Lily, can we pretend that you're (a much cuter) Conan O'Brien and I'm like one of your favorite guests and you have me back every six months or something?  Great.  I'll plan on it!

I don't even have a great Brussels plan to leave you with...just some thoughts and ideas about how to turn these often hated little buggers into something you can love and appreciate.  Below is a picture before they were steamed, sitting in the colander preparing to get their socks rocked off.  Or mine.

My most favorite way to eat these is simply steamed and served with a side of aioli.  Great texture, great tang, great taste.  Steam the Brussels on medium heat (covered) for about 12 - 18 minutes.  I tend to enjoy mine a bit more al dente, but cooked enough to be able to pierce a fork through them.  I think I've raved about the aioli a million times on this blog, but I can't help it.

Garlic Aioli

Veganaise - 1/2 C.

Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 Tbs. or so

Red Pepper Flakes - to satisfy your spicy index

Fresh or Powdered Garlic - A. Lot. :)

Lemon Pepper (dash)

Another yummy way to enjoy Brussels Sprout is to steam them until just barely tender and then chop them up and throw them in a frying pan on medium low heat with fresh garlic, some whole grain mustard, apple cider vinegar and whatever other seasonings you enjoy.  Then serve with dried cranberries or raisins and some walnuts or pecans and you've got yourself a nice tangy and hearty, slaw type of side dish.

They're also really tasty if you serve them roasted with some fresh cheese and nuts or seeds.  I searched this veggie on Tastespotting and found 6 pages of recipes!  So undoubtedly, there is a little something out there for everyone!  I urge you to go and try to restore your faith.  It's become a staple of mine and honestly, I think it was the name that scared me more than anything when I was little munchkin.  So maybe, those of you with children, should come up with a really clever name - like a Harry Potter reference and call them Beauxbatons or something and let them live under an illusion until they can bear to hear the truth.  Is that wrong?  I'm not a parent, maybe I should shush up :)   

Now it's your turn.  Go.  And I'll also leave with a little shout out to my daddy, Happy Birthday!  You are top notch Big Papa and we're so lucky to have you!!!! Xoxoxo:)

Enjoy!

~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: Inspired and Coloring

Art Inspired by Food, Flowers, and Cocktails

Home Grown Tomatoes is weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

It's the first week of classes this week, so we're going light on the recipe, as in so light there's isn't one, and heavy on the art.  But if you're a foodie like me, art and food are actually pretty close in your mind, so enjoy! 

Oh, and if anyone, ya know, asks you, yes, the paintings are for sale, and yes, I do commissioned pieces.  Ask anyone in my family, I pretty much come running at their houses, paintbrush in hand, daring them to stop me from attacking that blank wall in the corner.  Hey, gotta build that portfolio somehow, right?

Home Grown Tomatoes: Collard Greens and More Collard Greens

Collard Green (Tempeh) BLTA Wrap

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

I love the Farmer's Market.  Love.  It.  That's where I picked up this awesome bunch of flowers and for only $5!  I purchased one bunch and she threw in two more for free!  Whoa.  Made my day.

 

I think fresh flowers should be required.  Everywhere.  All over the place.  Particularly in my house.  They make me happy.

I absolutely cannot wrap my head around the fact that school starts in one week.  I just ordered all of my books from Amazon.  Ouch.  That's all I'm sayin' about that.  Thankfully, my Fall semester as far as work goes is a bit more tolerable than the hecticness of the Spring semester.  Nonetheless, I'm sure it will prove to be a busy few months, not only with work and school, but with all of the other things that keep popping up! 

I mentioned before in another post about running a 5K...well kind of running and falling a few times, is this ringing a bell?  Anyway, the next feat on my life list is to run a 10K and I just found out that they are having one here in Flagstaff at the end of September.  Do you think I can pull it off?  I'm going to try.  I think.  In the last 6 weeks or so, I've become addicted to the gym.  Roomie and I go every morning at 5:45am, I'm not even shitting you.  It's all kinds of early, but it's about the best way in the world to start your day.  I promise.  It's so awesome to watch your body actually changing - I mean, trust me, it's a slow process.  But it's super satisfying to watch the muffin top (yup, that link would be the Wikipedia definition) deplete, the jiggly "teacher writing on the chalkboard" arms tighten up, and having that whole epiphany where you think to yourself, "Sweet!  My thighs don't rub together nearly as much as they used to!"  I'll be damned if I'm anything but a hot mama for my 27th birthday...which is a few months away:)

Speaking of addictions.  I've got two words for you.  Collard.  Greens.  I've been eating our adorable, neighborhood grocery store out of these things.  I buy two huge bunches at a time.  And I eat them just about every day.  They're AMAZING!  

I simply cut along each side of the stem of the collard green and overlap 4 halves to create the wrap.  I spread veganaise and sriracha to help adhere everything.  Then I layer with tempeh bacon, tomato, avocado and wrap everything up like a burrito and that's it!

Using the greens definitely helps replace some of those dirty little lies otherwise known as carbs.  The greens are also really hearty and they hold together well.  It's not like trying to wrap something up in a piece of iceberg lettuce.

Green burrito.  Full of goodness.

There are lots of great textures in this wrap, and the smooth, creamy avocado helps bring everything right on home!

Another wrap idea that I've been equally as addicted to is the combination of tahini, salsa and avocado.  I make two small wraps in the morning and eat them for breakfast or snack on them throughout the day.  Also, if you can find it, a little dab of red miso works really well with this combo of ingredients.

Give it a whirl.  And then you can decide if you actually trust me.

Enjoy!

~Giovanina

Home Grown Tomatoes: Red Wine All Around

Poached Red Wine Pears with Mascarpone

Home Grown Tomatoes is a weekly Vegan/Vegetarian column written by Giovanina Bucci

First off, I can't take credit for this recipe, but I can completely vouch for its absolutely mouth watering tastes and textures.  But before I get into the nitty gritty, allow me to briefly tell you about kick ass Santa Fe, New Mexico.  My roommate, Renee, and I decided that it was the perfect time for a road trip.  School begins again in two weeks...TWO WEEKS.  And before our lives get trampled on by papers, textbooks, and class discussions, we figured what better a time to head East and enjoy a fast weekend away from Flagstaff, submerged in the awesome art scene of Santa Fe, with fabulous company.  Dan and Margarete, dear friends from St. Thomas, hosted us for the weekend.  And host they did! 

We arrived Friday evening, caught up over Thai food and called it an early night - it had been a long day for all of us.  Saturday was complete with a full day of exploring the city; an old bookstore, a historical church, lounging in the park, people watching, market galloping, art gallery perusing, and a quick stop at a local brewery. 

Margarete is an incredibly talented artist and she and Dan own Golden Dawn Gallery.  She's part of a three-generation artist powerhouse and the gallery showcases the works of her grandmother, her mother and herself.  I mean, I'm talkin', people collect their work.  Go see for yourself.  It's overwhelming to watch two people, like Dan and Margarete, be so immersed and passionate about their work.  It helped remind me of the fact that we can, with tons of dedication, turn our passions into realities. 

Saturday night, we enjoyed a dinner party with a group of friends and this is where these little pear numbers made their appearance, kudos to Dan.  The evening was full of laughter, great company, good conversation, perfect music, and outrageously full bellies.  I don't have Dan's exact recipe, but I did find a Food Network link that will at least help get you in the ball park.  Dan's recipe was kept a bit simpler, which clearly paid off!

Dan poached the pears in red wine, and only red wine...lots of it.  They were then left to cool and the remaining red wine, with a hint of clove and cinnamon, was left on the heat to reduce into this splendid molasses type consistency.  Finally, the pears were cored and filled with fresh mascarpone cheese (not mine, of course) and then lightly dusted with confectioner's sugar.  For a good 10 minutes, oohhh's and aaahhh's were about the only sounds being made at the table.  We were speechless.  I was speechless.    

The red wine reduction acts as a holder for the pear - making it both taste and look decadent.

And this is the final product!

Do you see what I mean by molasses type consistency?

This is Renee, enjoying her very last bite :)

Don't expect to go home without purple teeth - but don't you worry, every bite is damn well worth it!

Enjoy!

~Giovanina