Foodzie...and the Tangible Things of Life

I try not to get too sentimentally attached to material things, but sometimes I don't catch myself until it's too late. Case in point: Trevor. Or how 'bout the Nalgene I've had since high school that's traveled across the Atlantic and Pacific with me? It has been the subject of at least four art projects.



Then there's my purse from Oxford's weekly market. My mom has been begging me to pack it away for at least a year now, referring to it as more of a rag than a bag. I left it in a suitcase at her place after Thanksgiving and have been missing it the whole while. (It has also inspired art projects.)



So I think I've sufficiently proven that I am in fact quite attached to some fleeting, materialistic things. But I really do like to think that when the time comes that they're no longer around, I'll remember the sweetness of their beauty in my life and the memories they hold that have brought me to this day and be able to smile and move on.

The purpose behind this post just led me through the above thoughts because as I sit here and type and think of how much time I have spent on this laptop in the past week, I realize another device is being written into a brief bit of my story too. It will always be remembered as the computer proceeding the one I fried with water at six in the morning. Surely, it carries remnants between its keys of most every recipe I've read offline in the last year. (Don't read that part, Kris.) But most importantly, it has been the focus of innumerable hours of my time.

Between my studies, iTunes playlists, communication beyond this town, and going to Google for the answers to all my curiosities, there's no escape. What's more, exciting things have been happening in my life that only find me getting closer to this scratched-up, paint-smudged laptop and its loosely hinged screen.

That said, I'm hanging onto this trusty ol' thing and sending thanks heavenward for the internship that I get to do through it. That's right. I said internship!

I finally come to the point of this post and am excited to share that I've been invited on board temporarily with an amazing company. Seeing that this company is in San Francisco, California, and I'm in Texas (so close to finishing my fifth and final year of undergrad that I finally decided to stop transferring) everything is being worked out so that I can intern online.

The wonderful people I am working with turn the wheels behind the company Foodzie. Sound good already? I knew you'd think so. I mean, it does have the word "food" in it.


But more than just being about food, Foodzie was founded out of a passion for seeing artisan producers and growers find a market as well as helping consumers who care about quality and uniqueness find what they're looking for.

For example, this week I was working with the content for "stores" that sell fragrant loose leaf tea, make gourmet chocolate and nut butter cups of the most enticing combinations, and honor the savory palette with aromatic, organic herb rubs. And these are mostly things to come! Go ahead and take a look at what is already on the shelves!

Foodzie's blog is also a fun way to learn about the products featured on their site and offers videos and recipes from their interactions with contributing producers. Two recent posts I have enjoyed include a recipe for Dungeness Crab Cakes with Meyer Lemon-Saffron Aioli and a feature on Sunchowder's Emporia and their fantastic sounding Ginger Zucchini Jam.

Starter and Chocolate

Light and fluffy and subtly spiced, this chocolate cake was a perfect alternate recipe for my sourdough starter that needed some feeding and nurturing last week.



The sun had gone down by the time I inverted it out of its pan, so I don't have a shot of the chocolate ganache I poured on top. It was a gorgeous cake, though, if I do say so myself. Rather, the oohs and aahs of friends said it better.

My main comment would be that I was expecting some sort of sour-ish flavor underlying everything in the batter, and it wasn't there. Maybe that's a good thing, but I was curious what it would taste like nonetheless. If the idea of sourdough in your chocolate dessert sounds unappealing, then you'll still enjoy this recipe, because its taste or smell are not present at all. Just a nice lively fluff.

The lovely Molly posted this recipe a while back:
Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Sixth Folder, Sixth Photo

This week has flown by, and I am a couple days behind on my promise to respond to Tori's "Sixth Folder, Sixth Photo" tag.

I love the diverse concept of community and the many ways it can be found. I hardly expected to find one when I began blogging, but even the world wide web has fallen prey. No one wants to be alone (at least not entirely, always). And while it's different from anything face-to-face, the online community has its own value, and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for people like Tori and Wendy who frequent my blog (as I do theirs) and others like Molly and Shauna who let us into their beautiful worlds.

So, as I said, this post is about a fun little tag I got from my fellow aspiring artist Tori. And this is how it goes: "Open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same."



This is my picture. It has a little "onehungrysoul" stamp on it from way back when I was worried enough about my pictures being taken and misused that I wanted to mark them. (I still care what people do with them, I just prefer to trust that most people won't cheat me. Oh, and it's a bother to stamp every single one.)

But the more important part of this picture is the subject, of course, which is a mug of frothy, bitter matcha tea goodness, still in motion from being swirled by the whisk standing on its end in the upper right corner.

I took this some time last year while drinking tea (and probably mochi and sweet red beans) with my roommate. This roommate of mine is a dear, sweet friend who I have had the opportunity to live with for two and a half (going on three) years. She has been to my home in Washington, and I have been to hers in Japan.

I am so grateful for Meiko's friendship, for everything I've learned from her, for the food we've enjoyed together, and the laughter we've doubled over trying to contain. Just as her mother (a.k.a. okaasan) considers me her American daughter, I've come to think of Meiko as my Japanese sister.

So, as is customary, I am tagging: Kelly, Michelle, Wendy, Anna, Sherri, and Brenna.

Family Time

With my family spread around the country (and some around the globe), it's always special when I get to spend time with relatives.

It just so happens that the family I have in Texas is incredibly photogenic, outdoorsy, and entertaining...







And that's just my little cousins.

My aunt and uncle have a wonderful laid back hospitality and appreciation of good food. Evidence of our delicious meals is lacking here, but gyros, an apple German pancake, and sourdough waffles were all on the menu. Not to mention the delicious home-brewed beer that went with our Saturday night homemade pizza dinner.

Besides the mandatory bread-making time my uncle and I spent together, we also got to bottle some delicious raspberry mead and taste-test a prickly pear variety he had been storing in his bedroom closet until we got the acidly just right.

Here are the bottles after a sanitizing bath of their own.

Squares and Circles

I did it. Tonight I made my first ever bid on Ebay. And I won.

Now I am the giddy owner (well, almost) of a polaroid camera. No more drooling over polaroid blogs or flickr albums for me; I get to join in the beauty of it all. Muted colors, fuzzy edges, oh joy.

In the meantime, I have narrowed my collection of photos through my zoom lens down to four that I'm going to turn in for my photography class. They're cropped in a square format (like polaroids, ironically) but are working with the circle within the frame.

The Swing of (New) Things

Three days without blogging daily, and I feel like this discipline of mine could easily slip through my fingers. It's crazy how that happens sometimes.

Something compelled me to sit down and make the time for this post tonight, though, and so hopefully I'll adjust back into the swing of things.

This "something" was surely a combination of the desire to share an account of my weekend as well as follow through on my promise. That said, this weekend was wonderful. It was an escape away to a place that felt eerily like home at one moment (while wandering through Denton's small local natural food store, Cupboard) and uniquely Lauren in all other areas. She's a dear friend, and I'm always happy to frequent Mr. Chopsticks with her, sit down for a warm drink at Jupiter House, and take a long walk when we and our group of girl friends gather together in her hometown. It's what we do. And it makes me happy.



I don't want to go on and on about my happiness tonight though. Especially if it's of no benefit to you. Perhaps this will be a fair exchange:

I have two tried-and-true recipes for you.

Dinner tonight involved Swiss Chard with Raisins and Almonds and Niçoise Crêpes. It may sound fancy, but don't be fooled. The whole affair was quick and easy. And delicious.

One more thing before I say good night. I have a new blog! Its current purpose is to document a photography project I have started that I am very excited about.

It may not be much to look at right now, but some very interesting stuff is on its way. I'd love it if you stopped by! Here's the link: