Another Finest Foodies Friday, already? I really feel like I just did one! That must mean this week is going by really fast and I can’t complain because that means it is Friday and the weekend is here! I hope you all enjoy yours.

For those of you not familiar with FFF it is a weekly event, where we showcase favorite blogs from The Foodie Blogroll. It is a way to share and discover all the wealth of food information we have at our fingertips with The Foodie Blogroll, the fastest growing blogroll for food bloggers. The only requirement to be featured here is to be a member of The Foodie Blogroll and that you are displaying The Foodie Blogroll icon on your page.

If you are not yet a member, but you have a food blog and would like to join, please click here.
If you have a favorite foodblog on The Foodie Blogroll, that you would like to be featured here, please join us over on The Forum, and post your favorite foodblogs here.

A word to the wise, if you are listed on The Foodie Blogroll as being a member, but I come to your page to feature you on FFF and the code is not there, I will not be able to feature you in FFF. The point of participating in The Foodie Blogroll and thereby displaying the code, is to help promote each others blogs, if you aren’t doing your part, it makes it hard for us to do ours. There are a few bloggers out there who I had planned to feature, but could not, because you are not displaying the code anymore…you know who you are!

This week I decided that I wanted to learn about some blogs that I am not too familiar with (and some that I am) by featuring some of the nominated blogs from the forum thread. I guess we could call these The Readers Choice Blogs.

First I am going to talk about Jerry, over at Cooking By The Seat of My Pants
I know Jerry from way back - we were novice food bloggers together back in the day, but it has been a while since I have been over to visit him (Sorry, Dude, you know how it is…) but many of you on the forum reminded me about the great blog he has over there, where he talks about his special way of cooking. What is that special way? You guessed it, by the seat of his pants. Jerry says that he never follows recipes and when he tries, he never ends up getting through it! His style of cooking besides winging it is Southern Comfort with a little Asian and Italian thrown in.

Our next suggestion is for Terilynn of The Daily Raw Cafe
She is a mother of five who features raw cuisine on her blog. I have been learning a lot about raw foods since I became a food blogger. There are many blogs out there devoted to this cuisine. Although it is not a diet that fits in with my lifestyle, what I like about it, is there are some really yummy recipe ideas. I have enjoyed the challenge of adding some raw food recipes to our diet. Terilynn’s blog outlines her own discovery of this type of diet after she and her husband were tired of eating two different ways. They wanted a new way of eating that they could both feel good about and this blog is the story of their journey.

Another one of my favorites, as well as a nominee, is Cara from Cara’s Cravings
What I love about Cara’s blog is she is always upping the ante for herself. She is always striving to improve on her cooking and baking skills by trying new things. Her recipes are always unique, usually comforting and dare I say it, cute, just like Cara herself! Her blog is also very personable, by reading her posts, you always get a feel for the woman behind the apron!

Next is Home Gourmets - Suzana’s blog that hails from Lisboa, Portugal. Suzana is such a creative cook - her dishes always have that wow factor. Whether that is because she has her creative juices really going, or because her photography really captures the yumminess of the dish or sometimes just because the food looks so fresh and healthy you just want to stick a fork into the screen.

Let’s end with another of my favorites, Catherine of The Dish
Be prepared to laugh when you get there. Catherine just has a way about her that makes you chuckle. The first post I read on her blog was about a gay deer that she shot. Yep, you read that right. Don’t ask questions, just get over there! Catherine is so down to earth, even though she could have an inflated ego, because she has been on The Food Network and wins like every cooking contest that exists!

Recently I was sent another great product to review. I was contacted by Hazel over at Freida’s Inc. about a new, fresh garlic product that is now on the market. Hazel told me that the product is made using all natural ingredients and no preservatives: fresh USA-grown garlic, canola oil, lemon juice and salt — that’s it. It sounded too good to be true, a dream come true product review. Something that sounded great and totally fell into pace with my Mediterranean eating habits. So of course I agreed to sample it.

The package from Frieda’s arrived overnight in a cooler with ice. I recieved the original Freida’s Garlic Delight as well as the chipotle flavor - imagine my delight. Immediately I checked out the ingredients and it was just as Hazel had said - all natural and no preservatives! Each tub is 7 oz. and so my head was just swimming with ideas of what to do with these tubs of garlicky goodness.

This package could not have come at a better time. It arrived the same week that Roberto’s mom arrived here from Rome. So I thought it would be great to get everyone’s opinion of the product. The first thing we did with the original flavor was to make garlic bread - what better, simple way to showcase the flavor of this product? Good garlic bread’s merit is based on the subtle, yet earthy flavor of garlic. When I opened the tub, I was immediately hit with a lovely, sweet and nutty garlic aroma - similar to the smell of roasted garlic. As I dipped my spreader into the container the spread was light and fluffy. All good signs.

Some of us got adventurous and decided to put a piece of prized Iberian Acorn Ham, a lovely gift from Nuria, on top.

I must say I am very pleased with this product. The garlic bread was so good that we decided to try the spread with several other recipes: we put it in hummus, in a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, as well as the Koftas and Buffalo Wings we made for Movie Night. Everything turned out great.

With the Chipotle flavor we used it as a sauce for a spicy shrimp pasta that we served when my mom was here this weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day. We included her in Movie Night and enjoyed this delicious pasta dish, while watching Into The Wild, a movie that stays with you long after the watching. Similar to garlic, that stays with you long after the tasting.

The chipotle garlic spread was a perfect smoky heat with a great garlic punch. I think it would be delicious as a sauce for fish tacos, in cole slaw, or slathered on hot, fresh corn on the cob!

Each tub comes with a recipe and there are two other great flavors, Sun Dried Tomato and Green Olive, both of which sound wonderful! You can also get other recipe ideas on the Frieda’s Inc. website. I honestly thought when I received this product that it was a great idea, but that I would never really use it myself - I have fresh garlic cloves that I use in nearly everything I cook and I don’t get products that overlap. But after sampling this, I changed my mind. The texture and taste is so good, and it is just so convenient, that I told Roberto I might need to be buying this soon.

If you would like to learn more about the various products that Freida’s Inc. offers, including organic, tropical and latin produce, as well as gift ideas and gourmet foods, please check out their webpage. If you would like to know where you can purchase Frieda’s Inc. products near you, please click here or check the produce section at your grocery store or market.

I am all about tradition. Even as a young child, I always enjoyed re-occuring events based on a date, an event, or time. I don’t know what it is about me that just loves a good ritualistic event. Maybe it’s the food. Most likely…Now that I am an adult and getting older and recently married, I have started thinking more about traditions, what they mean to me and what kinds of traditions I want to start for my own family.

When we lived in Vermont, we used to have Roberto’s girls with us every other weekend, and I loved cooking special things when they were there. Especially in anticipation of Movie Night. We would rent a movie and then make fun food, perfect for watching and eating at the same time. Recently Roberto and I decided that we really need to bring back Movie Night – even if only for us. A time to get our jammies on and eat fun foods. We have done this three times so far and it seems to be sticking. We have prepared some really fun finger foods and menus that I want to share in case anyone else has Movie Night and is looking for recipes, or wants to start a Movie Night tradition of their own.

So for our first official movie night, a few months ago, we watched Simply Irresistible. I made Lisa’s Olive Stuffed Cheese Ballsand Curried Deviled Eggs. We also mixed Greek Yogurt with Sumac, Za’atar, Sesame Seeds and Olive Oil and scooped it all up with warm whole wheat pita bread. For dessert we had leftover Key lime pie with strawberries that my mom had sent home with us after a visit. It was a great time. The movie, Simply Irresistible is with Sarah Michelle Gellar. A cooking movie where the emotions she puts in her food while she is cooking, affects those who eat it! Really cute film, especially if you are a die-hard Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan like we are, and therefore are bound to watch anything that has any of the stars from that show in it for all eternity.

The next movie night we had was kind of themed without meaning to be. I had Lentil Koftas with cucumber salad on the menu with a side of Greek style green beans. As we were frying the koftas, I was looking for a plate to put them on, so they would stay warm. Our good friend, Tony had given us a Tagine for a wedding present that he and his partner, Jonathan had carried back with them from a recent trip to Morocco. It had a lid and looked nice, so I decided to use it as a serving platter. Plus I have really been dying to use the Tagine! Don’t worry, I just made Chicken Tagine this weekend - so you will be seeing it in its primary use in a little while!

We ended up getting The Kite Runner as a movie and the theme of the movie really fit well with our menu. The koftas were really great, and I plan on making them again.

I have made the green beans for ages and they were a perfect accompaniment. Recipes to follow. The movie was excellent. It is one of those films that you can’t shrug off for several days. I had read the book and felt the adaptation was perfect.

For our third movie night we really wanted to try Elle’s Mango Buffalo Wings from last month’s Royal Foodie Joust.
I love the spicy and vinegar combination of buffalo wings, but I have never made them at home. When Elle entered the contest last month with a mango buffalo wing, I knew I would love it, so I got the ingredients to make them. They were wonderful, the perfect combination of spice and sweet that I adore with that vinegar hot sauce note. However, the movie, I Am Legend was not a big hit. There is a very bad scene in the movie involving an animal and I just couldn’t take it…I am a big wuss when it comes to these kinds of movies.

However, this one bad movie has not deterred us from continuing the tradition of movie night! Join us for movie night and let us know your best creations!

Read more…

It has been a while since our last installment of The Finest Foodies Friday. But now that I am back from all the hub bub and settling in to what qualifies as a “normal” life here in the Leftover Queen household, it is time to get back to our regularly scheduled programs here on The Leftover Queen.

For those of you not familiar with the Finest Foodies Friday, we have it every Friday (Duh!), and it is where we showcase favorite blogs from
The Foodie Blogroll. It is a way to share and discover all the wealth of food information we have at our fingertips with The Foodie Blogroll, the fastest growing blogroll for food bloggers. The only requirement to be featured in an installment of FFF is to be a member of The Foodie Blogroll. If you are not yet a member, but you have a food blog and would like to join, please click here, to join in on the fun.If you have a favorite foodblog on The Foodie Blogroll, that you would like to be featured here, please join us over on The Forum, and post your favorite Foodie Blogroll foodblogs here.
Many weeks we pick from the list, and other weeks we just wing it!

This week I would like to showcase some new and some old favorites of mine.

First some of my old favorites:

Let’s start with Katie from Thyme For Cooking
I always love Katie’s blog because she has a great sense of humor. She lives in the South of France, but has also lived in Spain, and she has some great stories to tell about her various adopted homelands. I always learn something new when I visit Katie’s blog and I always leave with a smile on my face. She also has a tantalizing weekly menu plan, often featuring items from her vast garden, that is sure to give you some great ideas for your week!

Then there is Pixie from You Say Tomato…I Say Tomato
Pixie is a very spunky chica who is also a big fan of food of the Mediterranean. She loves exploring new dishes (lots of time other bloggers’ recipes) and trying them out in her kitchen in the UK. Her family is from Malta and she often shares some delicious Maltese dishes, like her family’s Maltese Pizza where she tells a lovely story about her aunt and a day at the beach, one of my favorite posts.

Next is Courtney from CoCo Cooks
Her blog is so interesting, because you never know what kind of food to expect on any given day - she gets inspired by different ingredients or a dish and then goes into her kitchen and makes something based on that inspiration. You can also see her cooking up new dishes based on what she gets from her weekly vegetable box, like those yummy looking Mashed Turnips with Feta! Did someone say Feta???

Looking for great Lebanese food? I always am. If you are too, then you’ve got to check out Mag’s Blog Hommus & Tabbouli.
All of her dishes are totally authentic and she takes the mystery out of all your favorites like falafel, hummus and stuffed grape leaves. I made the Stuffed Grape Leaves from her blog and they were amazing! I could eat everything on her blog, everyday. This is some of the best food in the world!

Now for the two newbies. Like I’ve said in the past, I get tons of new requests to join The Foodie Blogroll everyday, and I have the pleasure of checking them all out. I love this job because I get to see all the great new blogs and get inspired all over again!

A few weeks before my big break, Aaron from Xocoatl Express joined The Foodie Blogroll and I fell in love with his blog right away. Aaron is chocolate obsessed and enjoys making and eating chocolate, like these delicious truffles that he created for The Royal Foodie Joust. For me, I have always described myself as a “vanilla girl” because most of the chocolate that is readily available is honestly crap and not really chocolate at all. Aaron gets this, and his blog is all about real chocolate and how to pair it with the right wines…and cheese! What’s not to love in that equation? There are also non-chocolate related recipes as well.

Last but not least is the lovely Kari from Anticiplate.
Kari is a ballerina who has a love for cooking gourmet foods. She finds many similarities between dancing and cooking from artistry, to technical aspects to plating and performance. I really love how sophisticated, yet simply elegant her foods are. One of my recent favorites is her twist on Caprese salad. Her husband does not like tomatoes so she substituted the tomatoes for sweet, juicy mangoes! What do you say Roberto? You game? (Roberto on the other hand is a lover of tomatoes, and not a lover of mangoes…)!!!
Also, she has the cutest profile pic of her stuffed in a large stock pot - no joke, get over there and check it out!

I really want to also give a special shout out this week to Ivy, Valli
and Judy for awarding me with such honors as these. Things like this really do make my day and keep me going. I thank you all for all your support and keep blogging! Consider all of you tagged for these awards, because you all make my day and give this blog purpose

Well here I am guys, trying to get back in the swing of regular, full-time food blogging. I am pretty caught up with emails from all you lovely folks out there - thank you for all your well-wishes, they are much appreciated. I have been hanging out and catching up with my peeps on the forum - we have this month’s Royal Foodie Joust underway. The voting has started, and as always, it is our biggest competition yet. You have one more day to cast the vote for your favorite.
Some lucky winner will not only get their personalized apron, but also some Tupperware prizes from Ben at What’s Cooking,
who is not only sponsoring the Joust this month, but also hosting it in my stead. So big props to Ben. *woohoo*

Now on to the food, because that is why we are all here isn’t it? For the food? Well I am going to start at the end - the honeymoon and work my way back to the wedding food and the week before the wedding. I am still waiting on pictures from the wedding, so it kind of defeats the purpose to discuss lovely food without proper documentation. So alas, we start at the end of this adventure into marriage.

Read more…

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for all your kind words, thoughts and well-wishes for our wedding day! We have not gotten our professional pictures yet, but here is a candid taken by my cousin, Patrick.

I am happy to report that Roberto and I are now husband and wife. I must say it turned out beautifully. There were a few minor snafus as there always are, but it was a perfect day in every other way. We spent a lot of lovely time with family and friends and of course we ate well from the day Roberto’s mom arrived from Rome all the way through the honeymoon! (as if eating well is a change in our normal routine)…

Currently I am sorting through loads of emails, making my way over to the Forum and slowly starting to make my presence online again. So bear with me, as I am still on Jamaica Time.

If you have emailed me directly about anything to do with The Foodie Blogroll, I may not get back to you personally - our first order of business after we get settled is to implement the latest features and all will be notified about the next steps and what you need to do. Until then, hang tight.

But in the meantime, you can look forward to food stories about foods we enjoyed with our family leading up to the wedding, as well as the wedding day food, cake and some new favorite foods from Jamaica. So stay tuned!

Last week, my good buddy Dharm hosted the April edition of The Royal Foodie Joust. His post about itwas the funniest thing I have read in a long time, and I thought it would be fun to emulate his style of writing, but a little different genre. But after re-reading this post I just wrote, I should have just asked Dharm to write it for me! Anyway…

Can you see me waving the Queen’s wave to all of you?

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye! It is decreed that the The Queen of Leftovers is officially beginning her Royal Tour of the provinces. She will be stopping first in the Southern Coast provinces of San Augustino, where she will marry the beloved Lord Roberto, Duke of Technical Support. They will be attended by her retinue of their family and friends on the white sandy beaches where their joining will bring much food, libation, merriment and technical where withal to the land. After a few days of rest and enjoying the salty ocean breezes they will leave and head on to the Land of the Turquoise Waters, The Caribbean Island of Jamaica, for their Moon of Honey (or should we say, their Moon of Pina Colada)”.

Sadly it will not last a moon, just a quarter moon, but any moon is a good moon in my book!

I promise to bring back delicious tales of food and adventure!

As an appropriate farewell for now, I will share something with you that we do every Spring Solstice (which was a few weeks ago). We plant a little garden. This time due to the fact that we have very little outdoor space we planted a little herb garden. Spring is a time of renewal and birth. It is when the earth wakes up and life starts to rise up all around us. It is the perfect time to reflect on the things you want to be born out of your own life during the next year. So with a wedding coming up, it was especially focused this year. So with every seed we plant, we make a wish on it - like:
“this seed is for a beautiful wedding day”, “this seed is for a happy marriage”, “this seed is for many more wonderful meals”, “this seed is for lots of love and kisses”, “this seed is for continuing down the right path”, “this seed is for the health and happiness of our loved ones”, you get the picture. It is a great way to plant your seeds for the future both figuratively and in reality! If you wish it, is will be so.

Another declaration is that this month’s Royal Foodie Joust has begun. Michelle from Thursday Night Smackdown won this past challenge with her Coconut-Yellowtail Lollipops with a Trio of Spicy Lime Dipping Sauces. Her choice of ingredients for this month’s Joust are Mango, Brown Sugar and Cardamom. You can join in on the fun here! This month’s Joust, in the Queen’s absence, will be overseen by Ben the Brave from What’s Cooking? Ben will also be sponsoring the Joust this month by giving away prizes to the first, second and third place winners this month from his Tupperware business, in addition to the personalized apron for the first place winner! So go check out the forum to get more details!

Thank you Ben!

See you soon!

Summer is definitely closing in on the heels of spring here in the Sunshine State of Florida. We finally had to succumb to putting the AC on yesterday. The humidity here is getting out of control - so we use the AC to take the moisture out of the air. This always portends the coming of summer in this climate. Since by the time we get back from the wedding, summer will be in full swing here, I thought this week I would feature blogs that make me think of summer for various reasons. That way, if you are still in the beginning of spring where you are, you can use ideas from this blog to get your summer on!

First off, we must talk about Cynthia’s Blog Tastes Like Home
She lives in Barbados, but is originally from Guyana and talks about Guyanese food (as well as other Caribbean cuisine). Everyone in the food blogosphere knows Cynthia - her blog is very popular and she has many loyal readers. I think it is because the way she writes about food and her food photography makes it feel like you are sitting at her table, sharing her food with her, while she talks to you about it. I imagine visiting Cynthia, would be much the same as reading her blog. Cynthia was one of the first people to welcome me to the foodie blogosphere and her passion for the foods of the Caribbean is what keeps all the visitors coming back!

Next we have my good friend Ben, from What’s Cooking?
Ben grew up around food in his parents’ restaurant in Mexico. So his love and understanding of food goes way back to his childhood. Mexican food is so ubiquitous these days - with restaurants dedicated to that food in nearly every town in the US. Ben focuses on real, authentic Mexican food - which is actually very hard to find, despite all the restaurants that claim to serve it. I love reading his posts because I usually learn something - whether it be an ingredient, or a way of preparing a dish I have eaten, but never really knew how to make it. His blog is fresh and delicious!

Then we have Sylvia of La Vida en Buenos Aires y afines…
Sylvia’s blog impresses me each and every time I visit it. Her dishes are always innovative and beautiful. The composition of her dishes is clearly a work of art and she has a very fine touch - very aesthetic and I am sure delicious as well. I always knew there were a lot of Italians in Argentina, because I had a few Argentinian friends in high school. There is a fusion to Argentinian cooking - it is a mix of Latin and Italian flavors. A taste of Europe in South America. Fusion cultures always fascinate me. I love to see how the native foods of a country change after its people emigrate elsewhere. Although Sylvia is originally from Brazil (another wonderful food country), her husband is Italian, so she is often making Italian food - in ways that are slightly different than their Americanized counterparts. She also makes a lot of beautiful dishes native to South America and the grilling culture there. Always intersting.

Next is Nikki from Canary Girl
Nikki and her family live in the Canary Islands, Spain. Her food is so good! She has a good time in the kitchen, often experimenting and just enjoying time with her kids. Her blog gives off this fun-loving feel. Again, her food just always looks so fresh and delicious - like it is just jumping off the plate at you and you just want to bite right into it!

Another Caribbean blog I love is Sarina’s Trini Gourmet
The goal of her blog for her is to bring the cuisine of Trinidad to a larger global market. It really is an impressive blog, full of great pictures and step by step instructions for some fabulous recipes. I tell you, there is a whole world of food out there that I really don’t know much about, but it sure gets my taste buds working when I look at those beautiful dishes.

So here is my tribute to summer coming on!

If you would like to nominate your favorite blog from The Foodie Blogroll, please click here

If you would like to JOIN The Foodie Blogroll, for your chance to have your blog featured here, please click here