BAKED

 














So it all started innocently enough with a trip to Ikea in Red Hook Brooklyn. My friend Sonya and I went to Ikea via the free shuttle bus from downtown Brooklyn. Of course I was hungry when I got to Ikea as I am always hungry but I also really get a kick out of the cafe at Ikea. I chose wisely by ordering the salmon and a salad. So I was satisfied but I still wanted something sweet and then it hit me that the bakery Baked was in Red Hook. Right then and there, I decided (Sonya was game) we were going to take a side trip to Baked. Me being the "asker" (Sonya's nickname for me because I ask for directions all the time), I went right up to an Ikea employee and asked them for directions to Baked. Thank goodness it was only a few short blocks away. Now I have to back up a bit and tell you that I have tried a few things from Baked before but only at a bakery named Royale which was near my office. I thought that if the few items I had tried already were good then the fresher items would be great.

Once we were inside Baked the fun began because they had so many amazing things on display, picking one choice was very difficult. We decided to share to minimize the damage, and we chose the malted milk ball cake which was truly fabulous. It had the right mix of moist and sweet without being overly sweet. This place was definitely worth the calories.

After the cake, we had enough energy to go back to Ikea and shop. I highly recommend visiting Baked if you are going to Ikea. 

Fancy Food Show Day 1

The Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center is one of the most exciting events in the food world. Most people who know me know that I am a big foodie as well as being a dietitian. I come from 2 cultures that are into food and eating, my moms side is Italian and my dads side is Russian & Austrian. My Italian grandmother always made enough food for a small army and my Italian grandfathers family owned a ravioli and specialty grocery store in Greenwich Village. My Austrian grandfather worked as a waiter in a NYC restaurant. For us as a family, food was always around but at least we had balance and I knew enough that you don't get to eat cake for breakfast.

The Fancy Food Show is in its 56th year and it is bigger than ever. My first time attending the show, I was in grad school at NYU and I saw a flyer for a company called FOODTEMPS. This company basically paid me about $10 per hour to sit at a booth and hand out samples of coffee. My first experience was with First Colony Coffee who was so nice to me, they let me trade their product at the end of the show with other food companies to get their products. I went home with so much loot it was rediculous. After that I worked for a few different companies and a few different summers in a row. I once went to the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco but it paled in comparison to the one in NYC at The Javits Center which is huge and now has the show on 2 levels.

Today was the first day of the show and I decided to take my boyfriend George who says he is not so into food. The show runs from 10-5 and I told George that we should really try to go all day because it is so huge that you need a lot of time. He said there is no way that we will need so much time. We took our time getting there today and actually got started at 1:00. After the first few bites George said to me this is such a great idea and he was having a great time. I am going to highlight the foods that made a lasting impression on me since we got lost in the tastes. The show has food from all over the world but the few things that you see over and over again are cheese, chocolates, jams, spreads and wine.

The first thing I really enjoyed was sweet potato butter by a company called Low Country Produce http://www.lowcountryproduce.com/ it tasted just like thanksgiving on a spoon. I said very loudly to one of the people at the booth how great it is and that it should win an award before I actually saw the silver award the butter earned. The man thought that I was saying that I liked it just because I saw the award

but I told him I really did not see the award until after I made my happy statement. 

Another amazing taste I had was actually many tastes of the same thing but different flavors was a homemade marshmallow from a company in Canada called Butter Baked Goods http://www.butterbakedgoods.com/ I tried Lemon, Coffee, Green Tea and eggnog. See my video to see just how good it really is.

Of course there was plenty to choose from in the area of beverages. If I had to pick the one thing that really stood out and made me excited I would have to say it was Savida http://www.savidasangria.com/ brand Sangria which came in both white and red. Of course there were not floating pieces of fruit in the bottle but the wine was infused with fruit flavors. Contrary to popular belief, Dietitians get together and enjoy good wine and food. Every year the Greater New York Dietetic Association gathers to network with each other. This year they were looking for sponsors and since I thought this sangria was so good and had wholesome ingredients I suggested that they should ask Savida to provide the sangria and I am happy to report that they agreed.

After the 1st day I was exhausted but took time off from work to attend all 3 days so I was looking forward to the next 2 days with a big appetite.