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If you are looking for Luna’s Kitchen Magic and Luna Raven, please head over to http://lunaskitchenmagic.blogspot.com for all updates, recipes and happenings! I’m still with you, just updating @ Blogspot. Thanks for stopping by!
as always for information on what Luna is doing this week check out http://shows.radiodentata.com
The Sisters of So Cola
What happens when two sisters come together to make chocolate? Tradtion + youth = delectable delights. Wendy & Susan Lieu are very different, yet compliment each other so well that you can see easily how this team is a success.
Making truffles since high school, Wendy is the pastry chef and Susan is her cheerleader. Or so it seems at first. The charm of these two sisters is their passion for making the most delicious chocolates, using the best ingredients & creating new flavor profiles.
Flavors? Oh, they are where the new & old world meet: Vietnamese Ca Phe Sira is a wonderful Vietnamese Espresso with organic condensed milk. Topped with French Chicory grounds, this is a lovely coffee treat.
Give it to Me Guava, I love because the only thing better than Pate de Fruit is chocolate covered Pate de Fruit!
I adore the Burnt Baby Burnt, an awesome burnt caramel with red Hawaiian sea salt that cretaes the perfect balance in a truffle.
The Guiness Truffle is a must try! Perfect for the Guiness lover, creamy & covered in gold dust!
The Notorious H.O.G.- Black Hawaiian sea salt & Applwood smoked bacon. Truthfully, I was was wary as the last bacon chocolate I had left me wanting. So Cola has it just right. Balanced, funky and oh so cool…
Wandering the Farmer’s Market is always fun, and you can always count on finding good deals and treasures.
Today’s treasure was in the form of sorbet!
Lemon Sage, Blueberry Pomegrante, Strawberry-Rhubarb, Saffron Almond, Sweet Potato Pie and Chocolate Mint were all taste tested and throughly enjoyed.
Erin walked away with the Blueberry Pom & Lemon Sage, while I got the Lemon Sage & Sweet Potato Pie. As a sweet potato newbie, I was swooning over the lucious flavor, though I am throughly convinced that its was the coconut milk inside that put it over the top. The Lemon Sage was wonderfully refreshing and perfect even on a drizzly day!
Go immediately to the website to check it out. You won’t be sorry!!
Tammy Hunt, the amazing woman behind Hunt Talent Agency, was kind enough to feature me on her blog, so check it out! Right Here Right Now Hollywood
Philippe from Edible Love makes gorgeous truffles. By gorgeous, I mean that the heavy cream, butter and organic chocolate he uses to create his masterpieces slide across the tongue creating sensations of joy!
The truffles are made from Fair Trade, Organic chocolate made by Sweet Earth, and the flavors are truly only limited by your imagination! Absinthe, Rose, Maple, Orange, Grand Marnier, Peppermint & Cayenne, Hazelnut, Raspberry, Marzipan and even Damiana!
Philippe can make the truffles in any flavor you can think of, and all you have to do to order is to email him and wait. Patiently. For the creamy, heavenly goodness that will come right to your door.
You can learn to make truffles by setting up Classes, find Philippe around town, and make sure that you take the time to meet this amazing self taught chocolatier and all around delightful conversationalist!
Listen to the interview to see what I mean 
It will be airing April 25th & 26th @ 7 p.m. EST!
I am going to just jump right in and say yes. My theory is that, yes, indeed it can. Being exposed to more than one set of cultural food choices can make for a more open palate.
Growing up biracial, I never enjoyed soul food, and realize now that my food choices where strongly influenced by my mom’s German and Irish heritage. Meat, potatoes and vegetables were at every meal we had. Every night we had a salad and sat around the table together.
As a teen I discovered that many of friends simply ordered out and often had pizza or boxed chicken for dinner. This to me was crazy as my mom cooked every night, and rarely ever ordered out.
My question to you is: do you feel that your ethinicity has any influence on the way you eat? Or is location a greater influence? I want you to think about that, as later this week I will be posting a survey with questions that will allow me to research this theory and get vital info.
I bought a chocolate lip balm and it was alright. Then I got my hands on a Coco Zen lip balm and discovered what I had been missing!
In so many fabulous flavors, Chocolate Chai, Chocolate Coconut, Chococlate Cappucino, Chcoolate Mint, Chocolate Orange Blossom and Chocolate Strawberry, my lips were feeling pretty good. Then I tried it: the ultimate lip scrub…cause its edible!! Oh yeah, I kid you not! And my lips have never been softer, sweeter or tastier 
The best thing to do is order this: A lovely Lip Duo as it will allow you to get a great deal on the scrub and your favorite balm. Here is something else really cool: it is safe for your kids, too!
How good is this stuff really? My friend Chris was complaining about having dry lips. I, being the always prepared Aunt type, whipped my Chai Lip Balm from my pocket and presented it to him. He rubbed some on his finger, sniffed & rubbed it on his lips. This was followed by a happy smile.
So there you have it, loved by a woman who didn’t know she was craving edible lip scrub and enjoyed by a young man. A true crossover product. Even funnier? Thus far, my favorite lip balm is the Cappucino! Wonders never cease! Oh yeah and Joyce & Co are committed to using Fair Trade and Organic products, as well as being local to the San Francisco Bay Area.
So go to the website: Coco-Zen and don’t forget to follow Joyce, the one and only Coco Zen Mama on Twitter!
P.s. Will update once I’ve tried the Chocolate soap
What is the perfect bread to go with a roast & potatoes? Biscuits!
I decided to pull out my copper star shaped cutters for a cute treat.
The most important thing to remember is not overknead them and to make sure your butter cut is throughly.
2 c whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter (cut into small cubes)
3/4 c 1/2 & 1/2
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp dried thyme
Place flour, baking powder and salt in bowl, cut in butter.
Mix in 1/2 & 1/2 (I use a fork) until you get a cohesive dough. Fling flour on clean counter and knead to make sure it is not to wet or dry.
Preheat overn to 425.F
Roll out (sprinkle more flour if you need to) and cut out with cookie or biscuit cutters. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes. You can also brush with egg white before baking or melted butter after, if you like a shiny biscuit.
Enjoy!
Adapted from Epicurious.
Meat is Fascinating? Why yes!
One of the many charming people I have discovered on Twitter is Carrie Oliver aka @OliverRanch. I caught a comment from her to Ruth Reichl one day about female farmers and responded.
I am so glad I did! Earlier this week, I had the chance to sit down to chat with Carrie about meat and learned some remarkable things. I know, youd think as a chef, I would have known this stuff. However, pastry is a whole nother ballgame, so really, it was fascinating!
What I learned: the quick facts are these:
*Beef is seasonal, esp if grass fed
*When deciding on a butcher, ask questions! Where is the meat from, who is the producer, what do they eat etc. If said butcher cannot answer any of these questions, run away! carrie has a list of questions avail if you contact her.
*Beef can be a dry aged or wet aged. I let you find out about that from the interview.
*Beef is like wine, and its not all about the marbling
*Aging helps tenderize
*There are a lot of varieties avail!!
Carrie has created the Oliver Ranch Company, which sources meat that fits her high standards, which you can purchase from her site www.oliverranch.com and set up an Artisan Steak tasting.
Find out more about the Beef: http://oliverranch.com/shopcontent.asp?type=OurBeef
She has also set up the Artisan Beef Institute, where you can other purveyors that are of a high, artisan quality.
Best of all she even has steak bites for the most spoiled, I mean loved (!) of pets.
I think what Carrie does is tremendous and I look forward to sitting down with her one day to do a tasting, dry aged burgers sound yum!
Check out Carries Blog! http://discoverbeef.blogspot.com
If you have the chance to try the Chocolates from Choclatique I suggest you do! These delightful chocolate makers were featured at the SF Chocolate Salon.
I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with the Founders of Choclatqiue, Ed Engoron, food consultant, chocolatier and much more, and Joan Vieweger, food marketing exec extraordinaire, who developed the look & packaging, among her many other talents. Together, they make an unbeatable team.
So why am I so crazy about Choclatique? I love the fact that these yummy treats are made with natural flavoring, no artifical anything and all hand molded and decorated. These chocolates are hand painted, and gorgeous!
They are made in Southern Calfornia, with all the flavors, coloring and packaging sourced from the here in the States. Some of the cocoa comes from Hawaii and the rest comes from the parts of the Equator with the best climate. This is exciting, as I did not realize that Cocoa was grown Hawaii!
A serious amount of love goes into these artisan chocolates, which shows! The Elephant is beautifully molded, and amazing. As Ed says ‘Don’t be a biter and a chewer!’ Take a bite of this and let it sit your mouth. You will discover the flavor profile, with no additives, that has many wonderful subtle nuances.
The Chocolate Caramel in Dark Chocolate is a rich, elegant caramel that simply made my mouth happy.
Of other awesome delight? The Cherry Creme, Strawberry Creme and Peach Creme! Each one has little bits of fruit inside a gorgeous, shiny little shell. I shall assume the Banana, Key Lime and Mint Chip were of equal awesomeness, as my SO ate them and didn’t let me taste!
With a 150 flavors, sauces & toppings coming at the end of the year and a new cookbook on the way, Ed and Joan have their hands full, yet still insist on maintaining a quality product.
They even have a line of sugar free chocolates, Sweet Deceit, which I am pleased to say contains Maltitol and are a hundred percent sugar free, and a hundred percent still tasty & beautiful. Why? Because they know that those with sugar issue want to eat pretty, yummy things to
And don’t forget to go to site, where you can check out recipes, scope out the flavors, or build a box!Oh and before I forget, they’ll throw in a free tasting kit when you buy the cook book, on how to properly taste chocolate. What are you waiting for? Go check them out!
