Favorite Finds: San Franola

Happy Tuesday! This week's Favorite Finds post highlights a company I am very excited to share with you.

Recently, I have started reducing my sugar intake. As someone who loves dessert, it is quite hard! I am trying to stay away not only from dessert, but also from sugary breakfast foods.

Granola is one of my favorite breakfast foods (I love it with Greek yogurt and fruit!), but it is typically loaded with sugar. Luckily, San Franola granola is a crunchy, delicious snack that is incredibly low in sugar. It means I can enjoy my morning parfaits without a sugar high!

I met one of the founders of San Franola, Matt Teichmann, earlier this year. I was so inspired by his desire to create a healthy and nutritious product! San Franola's granola is low in sugar, but high in protein and fiber. I cannot wait to see what they do next!

Right now, San Franola is offering granola in five flavors: California Raisin, Cinnamon Almond, Gingersnap, Lemon Zest, and Toasted Chia. You can get your hands on some San Franola at Whole Foods, Bi-Rite, and Safeway!

Image via San Franola

Favorite Finds: Cherry Bombe Magazine

Last week, I ventured into Omnivore Books as I was exploring Noe Valley (which is such an adorable section of SF), and walked out with a copy of Cherry Bombe Magazine.

Cherry Bombe is a magazine dedicated to all things woman and food--the pages are filled with profiles on amazing women who grow, cook, serve, and style food. While the magazine is about food (imagine profiles on culinary greats like Dorie Greenspan and Ruth Reichl scattered with amazing recipes like Pecorino Romano cake with candied tomatoes), the magazine has a strong bent towards style (see their amazing spread of custom candy created to look like bejeweled necklaces, bracelets, and rings).

I loved that the magazine had a strong food bent, but managed to work in topics like skincare, health, and handbags. Cherry Bombe also has an impressive amount of patisserie-related articles.

After just a few pages in, I immediately wanted to devour the whole magazine. The writing is smart, witty, and incredibly authentic. The design feels very feminine, but also clean and simple. I felt as if the writers were my best friends, and we were chatting over a cup of coffee.

I cannot wait for the next issue. Cherry Bombe is only a biannual magazine, so I will be waiting for the next Fall/Winter 2014 release. At $20 an issue, it certainly isn't cheap, but there are NO advertisements whatsoever!

You can subscribe here!

Images via Cherry Bombe Magazine

Weekend Reading

Happy Friday! Life has been truly crazy this week--I am in full-fledged

 job interview mode, plus Z and I just got keys to our new apartment! I am so excited (and I'll admit, a bit nervous) for this next set of adventures, but I cannot wait to start making our condo a home. Our weekend will be filled with Ikea and Target runs, but I hope your weekend includes lots of ice cream, stone fruit, and tomatoes as you relish this last weekend of summer. 

Between the moving and the job interviews, my cooking has been lacking lately. However, I am bringing you lots of great reads to keep you entertained until your Friday night date.

73 questions for Anna Wintour...{link}

Where to find the Nutella truck this weekend {link}

The original artisan toast {link}

Vote for your local favorite in Food & Wine's Best New Bar poll {link}

Would you buy yogurt wrapped in edible packaging? {link}

Linguistics + restaurant menus {link}

Bon Appetit's Grub Crawl is coming to San Francisco {link}

Image via 

Favorite Finds: Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches

I am trying this new thing called "not eating dessert every day." It's pretty horrible. I eat relatively healthy day in and day out, but I always ALWAYS eat dessert. So, in an effort to just improve my overall healthy, I am ditching the dessert Monday through Thursday. 

All this means is that on the weekend, I am making my desserts count on the weekend. I am not wasting my time and calories on a mediocre cookie. 

Last Saturday, one week in to successfully avoiding dessert, Zach and I stopped by Haight Street Market. In the frozen section, we spied some delicious looking ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus and knew we had to try them.

We sampled a Mintimalism sandwich--double chocolate chip cookies with a delicious mint chip ice cream in the middle. Besides being perfectly chocolatey cookies, the sandwich was made even more perfect by the mint ice cream. The mint ice cream tasted refreshingly herbal, with a strong fresh mint flavor. Despite being a delectable treat, the mint ice cream lightened up the sandwich.

Inspired by both real estate and design, Coolhaus creates unique and delicious ice cream--typically focusing on sweet-meets-savory combinations (peking duck ice cream, anyone?). You can find their trucks in LA, Austin, NYC, and Dallas. For those of us living in other areas, here's where you can find them in grocery stores near you!

Cream of Celery Soup

As the weather begins to change, soup becomes a bigger and bigger part of my diet. Warm, comforting, and easy to make--soups should become a staple in your dinner rotation!

Today's recipe, coming from Bon Appétit Magazine is great because it is easy, delicious, and relies on kitchen staples like celery, potatoes, and onions.

As soon as I had a sip of this soup, I immediately wanted to devour it. Though the cream and the butter in this recipe means it is not the healthiest, it does make for fantastic soup. This creamy soup would make a greater starter for a fall dinner party as well.

Enjoy!

Cream of Celery Soup

from Bon Appétit Magazine

1 head celery, stalks chopped, leaves reserved
1 large waxy potato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stick butter
Kosher salt
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh dill
1/2 cup heavy cream

Combine celery, potato, onion, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add broth, and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Purée in a blender with the dill. Strain, then stir in cream. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and celery leaves/dill.

Thank you Tacolicious!

After this past weekend, I am even more smitten with SF favorite, Tacolicious. 

On Friday, I won a Twitter contest to attend the Tacolicious cookbook signing event at Williams-Sonoma in Union Square, and then the Tacolicious team invited Zach and I to attend the afterparty (complete with margaritas)! The Tacolicious team seemed like a true family, and they were so welcoming to Zach and me. 

Tacolicious, a Mexican-inspired restaurant, was started by the husband and wife team of Sara Deseran and Joe Hargrave as a farmer's market stand serving braised tacos. Eventually, they ended up creating a storefront location, bringing chef Telmo Faria and drink master Mike Barrow on board. Now, Tacolicious has expanded to four restaurants and they recently opened Chino, an Asian-inspired restaurant. Their food is California cuisine meets Mexican food, in a casual yet elegant environment.

Given their success and amazing food, it was about time for a cookbook. Sara actually is a food writer and the editor-at-large of San Francisco Magazine, so it made perfect sense for her to lead the cookbook. At first glance, the recipes seem simple enough for the at-home chef to master, plus the photography is absolutely stunning. My favorite part of the cookbook though are the stories accompanying each recipe--tales of how the Tacolicious team developed the recipes. I cannot wait to continue pouring over the cookbook and make some of my Tacolicious favorites at home!

In case you don't feel like cooking at home, you can pick up some Tacolicious favorites like braising sauces and salsas at Williams-Sonoma. Tacolicious donates all the proceeds from these products to a The Tacoliocious School Project, their initiative to support nearby public schools. Or eat at any of the Tacolicious restaurants on a Monday, and 15% of your proceeds will go to a public school. 

Weekend Reading

Hello you glorious people. Hope you have spectacular weekend plans ahead for le weekend. My Saturday will be filled with college friends, mimosas, and football as Stanford takes on U$C! Who knows what Sunday will hold, but I hope it includes some tennis in the sunshine and a great donut or two.

Here are a few things to get you through Friday to happy hour...

Spend your Friday nights at this new foodie event on Market street {link}

Another reason to bring back Ness...Yelp can legally change reviews  {link}

A four-year-old's take on the French Laundry {link}

Brunch + graphs {link}

Save the SF Flower Mart {link}

Here's your chance to get yelled at by Gordon Ramsay {link}

Another food hall coming to the Mid-Market area {link}

Science behind your perfect chocolate chip cookie {link}

Everything you need to know about soy sauce {link}

New restaurants to look out for in New York {link}

Restaurant trends to look out for {link}

Image via 

Lighter Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my all-time favorite diner meals--piled on top of toasted bread with avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. I wanted to bring a lighter version of this chicken salad home, a version that could easily become part of your weekly routine, without breaking the (calorie) bank!

This version swaps out mayo for tangy Greek yogurt, but remains classic with tarragon, shallots, lemon juice, and parsley. There are tons of additions you could go for here--Sriracha, hot sauce, curry powder, sliced almonds, grapes, za'tar--the options are endless!

I used rotisserie chicken for this recipe--about 2 cups of chopped chicken. I am also including the Cook's Illustrated recipe for preparing chicken for chicken salad in case you don't have any rotisserie chicken in the fridge.

Lighter Chicken Salad

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

4 (6- to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, no more than 1 in thick

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 celery ribs, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon

Salt and pepper

Dissolve 2 tablespoons salt in 6 cups of cold water in a Dutch oven. Submerge chicken in water. Heat pot over medium heat until water registers 170 degrees. Turn off heat, cover pot, and let stand until chicken registers 165 degrees.

Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined tray. Refrigerate until chicken is cool, about 30 minutes. While chicken cools, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, mustard, and pepper (approximately 1/4 teaspoon) together in a large bowl.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer chicken to bowl with yogurt mixture. Add celery, shallot, parsley, and tarragon; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!