Back from Foodbuzz

It's been a whirlwind few days in San Francisco finally getting to meeting blogging buddies and just taking in the whole flavour of Foodbuzz's first annual festival. I have about 400 pictures to go through but wanted to just let you know that my expectations of this festival were exceeded. Kudos to the entire Foodbuzz Team for an exceptional job!!! There's so much to show and tell but for today and maybe even tomorrow a rest is in order.

Here's just a couple of the "you think you have problems" things we caught along the way.





Is San Francisco a city with a great sense of humour or serious issues??? Let's go with the sense of humour.

Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

Oh the pressure! I'm in charge while Giz is in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.


I, on the other hand, am stuck in Ottawa in what "feels like" -5 Celcius, at home with a cold (because going to work with a cold might get me excommunicated in times of H1N1 panic) with next to nothing in my cupboards (I shouldn't complain about this last one, since that was the goal). Ok...pity party over.

Now, I'm just trying to use up whatever is left in my cupboards. So, here we go with another apple post.

This time I made Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin muffins with a recipe on Cooks.com.


Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. raisins
1 apple, chopped
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. oatmeal

Beat egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


I was pretty skeptical about this recipe once I started it. Everything in me said "don't just beat the egg and then add everything else in". So, I separated the dry ingrediants from the wet ones. In the end, it turned out decently. Maybe a bit on the mushy side because of the apples (doesn't seem to have lingered once cooled). It tastes like a healthy muffin, which is code for "it's not very sweet". But with only 1/3 a cup of sugar, that's to be expected. In hindsight, I should have gone with Hopie's recipe for apple muffins.

Zabar's Brunch

Did I tell you that hell froze over last month? Yeah...Actorboy (my brother) made a meal for the family by his own initiative. Granted, Actorboy does cook for himself -- some concoctions strangers than others. But, he's never said, "Hey - how about I make brunch? I'll get the groceries and prepare the whole thing". I think this new gf has a positive, unhuman-like, influence on him.

Not only did they make brunch, during Giz's birthday weekend....they brought in food from New York for the occasion. We were all still "recovering" from the big meal the night before. But, it was such a treat to have a selection of foods from Zabar's, a place Giz had raved about.

Without a doubt, these are the best rugelach I have ever eaten. You can read about them on the Zabar's website here. It does not suprise me that they are an all-time best seller.

Apparently, the coffee was quite strong (I'm not a coffee drinker) -- but it may have just been how it was made.


We had a mix of NY-style and Montreal-style bagels, some brought from NY and some bought locally at a Pusateris store.


Bagels, lox and cream cheese....I'm in heaven.

Actorboy even prepared personally-tailored omlettes:

It was a delicious brunch all around!