For those unfamiliar with the market chain Trader Joes (I’m not sure how far the chain reaches), they’re a sort of funky, cheap place to get lots of semi-gourmet stuff that other markets don’t carry. They send out a monthly pamphlet called the “Fearless Flyer”, a small newsprint thing filled with blurbs about various products they’ve added recently, or are featuring. The writing is snappy and it’s filled with 20’s clip art- It’s a pretty fun little read.

However, I was taken aback by something I read in the latest installment, in a blurb about frozen blackberries. It reads: “If you’re unfamiliar with blackberries, they’re akin to raspberries, but a bit more tart and etc etc etc“. Unfamiliar with BLACKBERRIES?!?! Who isn’t familiar with blackberries? That’s like saying “If you’re not familiar with apples, they’re a crisp, thin-skinned fruit that fits handily into a number of popular applications, like pie, cobbler, and throwing at the homeless.”

However, the crazy thing is, somebody in marketing at TJ’s must have told somebody in advertising, “Now, Jasper, not everyone out there is privy to our advanced berry knowledge. Wouldn’t want to alienate the public- fill them in a bit.”

Well, if you really are unfamiliar with blackberries, they go a ‘lil something like this…

…anyhow, the point of this post isn’t to rail on folks that don’t know their rubus fruticosus from a hole in the ground- if they don’t, it’s not their fault. It’s more of a call-to-arms for folks to get out there and take some food risks. (more…)

Filed under: Philosophy
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I am a fan of cupcakes and I always have been. Ask any of my former roommates who I have subjected to countless batches, including one who witnessed me calling the police department when an entire batch went missing from my kitchen. (Yes, I’m serious. No, the cupcakes were never found and the SFPD fondly refers to the incident as the great cupcake caper.)

But who doesn’t love cupcakes? They’re cute and little, they taste good and they’re all about YOU!

It’s a cake just for you. A miniature marvel of sugary goodness reserved for your taste buds only. Want to lick all the frosting off? No one’s going to stop you. Want to dig your finger straight into the middle? No one will balk at the thought of getting your germs into THEIR SLICE because the whole cupcakes is YOURS YOURS YOURS.

Perhaps this is why I love them so much. Now that I’m older and have developed a taste for higher quality food, I feel my cupcakes should follow suit. Luckily, in the past couple of years cupcakes have gained popularity among foodies and trendsetters. They’ve made their way over from New York to the bakeries of San Francisco. And while we are blessed here in the city by the bay with lovely establishments such as Citizen Cupcake, Kara’s Cupcakes and American Cupcake, this is a blog all about DIY food. Bringing the bakery to your kitchen. (And personally, I always find homemade cupcakes to taste better than the store variety, with the exception of Sibby’s Cupcakery where the cream cheese frosting has reached a level of perfection I can only dream of one day matching.)

In honor of the desserts I love so very much, I’m dedicating my first Feeding Fashionistas post to cupcakes.

My coworker noticed how much I love cupcakes and let me borrow a book called (appropriately) Cupcakes.

It is full of almost fifty recipes for different types of cupcakes. Our arrangement was that I would keep the book as long as I wanted, providing I brought her samples of each batch I tried out. Fair enough. So far I have found all of the recipes to be relatively fool-proof and easy. They produce great tasting batches with minimal ingredients and a meagerly outfitted kitchen. If I can make cupcakes from scratch… YOU can make cupcakes from scratch.
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Filed under: Recipes, Firstposts
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