Christopher Elbow

As I was talking about in my last post, Kansas City really has quite a few highly respected foods/restaurants.

Do you know about Christopher Elbow?  He's a humble chocolatier downtown that’s made quite a mark on the world....he's been talked about in Oprah's magazine as well as in Food & Wine (who ranked his chocolates NUMBER ONE), Fine Cooking Magazine, and InStyle  His work has also been featured on food network, and rightfully so... Christopher Elbows chocolates are not only amazingly beautiful but they are so silky, melt in your mouth perfect.

A friend and I went searching for his chocolate shop/factory a few years back, and almost missed it, as we joked it was in the empty hazmat tragedy of a warehouse across the street.....His store is on a mundane downtown street, with its little square logo of an "E" as it's signage....nothing screaming "STOP HERE, CHOCOLATE"....but the minute you walk into the store, it feels completely different....every detail has been carefully chosen.  The store is chic, modern, slightly cold looking, but very high end, and very appealing....the chocolate counter is almost like the tie counter at a high end clothing store, you look down, into the glass top at hundreds of little squares that are so pretty you almost wouldn't guess them to be edible...but don't make that mistake, you'd be missing out.

On the side of the counter top is a small understated sign with 20+ different types of drinking chocolates, served with one or two large homemade marshmallows.

I'll admit, when I first went there, even though I loved the place, I thought they would never succeed, with such expensive chocolates so far away from normal foot traffic...but according to the lady behind the counter, most of his sales are online, and he's actually made a huge splash in the chocolate world.

Yet another example of a person who has taken a simple object and amped it up to perfection. If you haven't tried his chocolate yet, you need to.  Here's his website: http://www.elbowchocolates.com/

Best of the Best

I’m a little food-centric, I’ll admit that….but some of the things I love seem to be greater than just good by opinion…. And lately I’ve been discovering I’m right.  Kansas City has quite a few award winning/highly respected restaurants and foods.

For example, I remember the day Shatto milk hit the shelves.  Shatto is a milk farm that was on the brink of foreclosure. The owner went to a local library and spoke with the librarian about needing help.  She directed him to a marketing company that advised him to rebrand his milk, to stop selling it to the big guys like Highland.  By cutting out the big company, the milk would hit the shelves quicker, meaning it would be fresher.  They advised that he shold put it in glass bottles, so it lasts longer, and is free from that sour taste the plastic bottles leach into milk, and really sell the point that he's a local farmer, with no additives in his milk.

His milk is expensive (about twice the price as the generic stuff), but first day I tried it I was hooked…. It tasted soooo good I actually wanted to drink milk...though shortly after I feel in love with Shatto I did the rational thing and switched back to the generic cheaper brands.

A few years later, now working at a job that affords me a little bit more spending cash, I stumbled upon Shatto milk again….everything tastes better when you use Shatto milk, and I noticed a difference in my health, as well as with my cycle (sorry for sharing)… but as I discovered in hindsight, generic milk brands pump their cows full of hormones to produce more milk…well apparently as a female those hormones effected me too…which I think is a much better excuse to buy the good stuff.

I love Shatto milk so much that I’m actually a fan of theirs on facebook.  (I’m dying to go on the farm tour.)  But as a facebook fan, I was there when they announced that they just won SECOND best white milk in the WORLD. (They also won fist and second place with their flavored milks – Root beer, which sounds gross but it really is amazing, and their strawberry milk)

In other words, they aren’t just good, they’re amazing…which makes me revel just a little bit, because when I tried their milk I wasn’t in search of the worlds best, or second best milk...and in no way would I have ever expected to notice “really good milk,” but man, its obvious…which just serves as a reminder, absolutely anything can be done to the level of fine art.

Here's their website if you wanna cyberstalk: http://shattomilk.com/

Why is it so addicting?

Have you noticed all the new yogurt shops?  My personal favorite is Yogurtini (in the same parking lot as the plaza library).  My roommate met the owners months before the place opened, so we cyber stalked them and giddily held our breath waiting for the opening event.  On a Friday evening, months after we first discovered the concept of Yogurtini, our day had finally come.... free yogurt from 4-8.

Yogurtini is a self serve yogurt shop with 10-16 flavors of yogurt on tap, and 70+ toppings (ranging from fresh fruit, to several varieties of cereal, all the way down to endless chocolate choices, Andy’s mints, dark chocolate, milk chocolate....amazing-ness).

As one might suspect there was quite a line (with a good 50% of the population being under 4.5 feet tall)...but the line moved quickly, everyone was cheerful, and the ice cream (I mean yogurt) was to die for!  Low in sugar, high in protein, really no more dangerous than a cup of non-frozen yogurt, until you add the toppings.  Since it was free, I really loaded up....Irish Mint, Ultimate Chocolate, Red Velvet, and Cappuccino yogurt...topped with strawberries, fresh crumbled brownies, sprinkles, dark chocolate chips, shaved Andy’s mints, crushed girl scout cookies, chocolate syrup....and I'm sure a few more.

At this point you might be thinking "that sounds like an awful lot"....yeah, it was.  Maybe a little too much, but it was wonderful....and now when I go in I know exactly what I want, and am able to get a cup for about $2.50 (they charge by the pound).

Only problem is, this place is addicting.....I'm constantly trying to maneuver social events towards Yogurtini.  Whenever I go to diner with a friend, we contemplate topping off the meal with Yogrtini....and I will admit, I've gone a few times by myself.  That’s really the definition of addiction, just like with alcohol, if you find yourself eating yogurt (or drinking alcohol) all by yourself, for no apparent reason, you've got a problem.

Though I'm not quite ready to hop on the abstinence train, its fall, and pumpkin spiced yogurt is bound to show up any day now, I just know it.....oh and after that is Christmas time... I can't quit then, that’s peppermint season.  See my problem?

Teacup Wonders

I am in love with tea, and have an endless amount of stories I can share on the subject…but to ensure this does not become a blog solely about tea, I decided once a week I would share a photo of one of my fantastic teacups, and a random tea tale to go with it.

The “teacup of the week” was from my brothers wife a few years back.  Its one of 8 teacups and saucers in the set.  I must admit I was not happy to receive these teacups as a gift, but as life is always complicate, I think they are one of the prettiest versions that I own. 

Shortly before my brother’s wife gave me these teacups I inherited my grandmother’s mismatched teacups and saucers.  I am in love with each and every one of them, but the thought of storage was slightly intimidating.  And on my birthday, when I received that giant box filled with even more teacups and saucers, my heart sank a little bit with fear that this will become the new “thing” that everyone is going to start buying me… teacups will fill my home.  As gorgeous as they are, I must admit, teacups are not even slightly practical.  They monopolize space, you can’t stack them, and they hold such a small amount of fluid that you almost want a personal kettle to keep refilling your teacup every 5 minutes…but isn’t that the prettiest teacup you’ve ever seen?  It’s like trying to fend away a puppy, you just can’t, it’s too cute.

French Macaroons

I read an article in the paper that boasted French Macaroons as the new "it" dessert.  In their bold claims they stated that the French macaroon is going to replace the cupcake craze.

Of course what this article was really saying was I MUST have a French macaroon (not to be mistaken with the American coconut macaroon).

The article suggested two places to find these new wonders:
1.  Natasha's Mulberry and Motts http://natashasmulberryandmott.com/
2.  Bloom Bakery http://blogs.pitch.com/fatcity/2010/05/bloom_is_thriving_at_the_city.php

Natasha's is off in a strange corner of Kansas City, far way from my daily path, though I am quite fond of them.  Bloom was much closer, but I heard rumors that they were an organic bakery which made me suspicious.... I want my first experience of the new "it" dessert to be the best of the best, no matter if it call for eggs, bacon fat, or any other baking evil.

So I called Natasha's as soon as I had a day off of work only to be informed that they had sold out of most everything in their bakery already!  (I have a tendency to sleep in late, so I'm not that lucky early bird who's catching the worm)....second attempt by the time I arrived they only had one left on the platter - a lemon macaroon.  I will admit, I wasn't thrilled by the idea of lemon, but after driving thirty minutes with the mission to have macaroons I bought that last little cookie...and it blew me away.  It's kind of like a whoopee pie dipped in a soft shelled icing...It was so fresh, colorful, and full of delicate flavor....

This began my new macaroon hunt.... This weekend I picked up some Key Lime Macaroons, and the last Orange Sherbert Macarron from Bloom.  They were a light icy green color... I bough several, so I could share with my friends.  But unfortunately, I went to a restaurant for lunch right after my purchase, and forgot the box of cookies on the table as I left....about 10 minutes later I discovered my error and went back to the restaurant, but it was too late, they had thrown away my pastry box..... who does that?!?  I really liked that restaurant, but I have to say, now I have my reservations about them.

1976 Betty Crocker Cookbook

It seems that all households have either "The Joy of Cooking" or "Betty Crocker's Cookbook."  My home was a Betty Crocker home, filled with stains, paper clips, and creased corners (mostly in the dessert section).

Once I grew up, and moved out of my parents home I yearned for that cookbook, despite the fact that its now held together with a rubber band.  I even offered to purchase a "newer prettier version" in exchange for my mothers old tattered version, but she refused to trade...so I was forced to find one on the internet.

To my surprise there are 10 different editions of "Betty Crocker's Cookbook," dating as far back as 1950.  And as my mom informed me when she wouldn't let me take her cookbook, the recipes have changed in each edition.  My mothers edition was the last one before microwavable recipes were included.  (I did not, and do not want the microwavable edition!)  Apparently a lot of people agree with me, because my cookbook is now a very prized item in which people are willing to pay over $100 to get there hands on.

I really wrestled with the how committed I am to my cookbook, $100+ is an awful lot.  But, in my daily debates, and online hunting I managed to find a copy on ebay that was posted in the wrong section.  To my luck I was able to purchase the book for $40, in much better condition than my mothers version.

When the book arrived it smelled like beef stew, and was bookmarked with old coupons and hand-me-down recipes that were written on scratch paper.... as a nosey nelly I took note of each coupon, and what page they had bookmarked, trying to figure out who my previous book owners were...but all of there bookmarks were for recipes I would never make, like Cheddar Cheese Pie, or Hungarian Goulash....so in my head they are an elderly couple from the southwest, named something like Ed and Doris. 

All I can say is that I am overwhelmingly grateful that they sold their cookbook rather than pitch it in the trash....I am sure I will cherish it for the rest of my cooking days.

How I Learned to Cook

My first solo explorations with cooking began with Betty Crocker's Cookbook, (the 1976 edition).  After my family went to bed I would thumb through the pages of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, and dig through the cabinets to figure out what recipes I could possibly make.  Then to ensure no one would stop my plans, I would set my alarm for 4am,  long before anyone else in the household would be awake…it would take forever for me to finish even the simplest of recipes, as I would causously stir my mother with whispered questions...

My wispered question: “What’s the difference of a teaspoon and a tablespoon?”
Sleeping mother: “The tablespoon is three times larger than the teaspoon….why?”
Me: “No reason”

What’s a stock pot, how do I sift, what’s confectioners sugar?…honestly I think most of the ‘kitchen wisdom’ I got from my mother was when she was asleep…except for when I failed at a recipe.  Example: one morning I decided to make a Tea Cake Frosting (with no clue what a tea cake was, or what the frosting on top of it was).  Unfortunately I didn’t know what a double boiler was, so I just ignored those two small words in the instructions…. Within minutes the house was filled with smoke, my frosting was a very thick black molten lava, and my groggy mother was in search of the source of fire.  Needless to say, she was not happy with my and my early morning adventures….which was only cemented by the fact that I ruined the pot I was cooking in.  I feared making frosting for 10 years after that day, but never again did I have to ask what a double boiler was.

Hello World

I'm an artist, who has always had a deep love for food, and for cooking.  I have an art blog, but to be honest, I don't really like it.  I don't have much to say on the matter....but my love for food is mch deeper.  Many have stated "Why don't you have a food blog?"  So here it is...even with this first post I can think of a thousand more posts I want to create.  So I have finally reached a point that I agree with my friends, I must blog about food, somehow, it is my destiny, and on that note I am very excited to say “Hello world, welcome to my blog.”