OhSpooning!

By Tiffany Young

OK, OK. It’s not officially SXSW yet, but that doesn’t mean the free food and drinks have not already begun. Thanks to the start of TechMunch and Whole Foods and Forkly hosting TANGO con VINOS ARGENTINOS at GSD&M, I’ve already had a few glasses of wine, some food and a swag bag of goodies.

First, I tried the Argento Bonarda, a red wine, which I enjoyed thoroughly. Its description is “earthy dark fruit and rustic red berry notes, hints of violet and toasted oak.” I enjoyed this with some empanadas and tapas topped with fried asparagus … yum. The weather in Austin was beautiful tonight, as I strolled along the courtyard saying hi to a few people I knew.

I hope the weather holds up, but the forecast is calling for rain the next few days.

My next glass was the Crios Torrontes, a sweet white wine. It was lovely as well, but I ended up eating some cheese alongside it and it may have been too sweet to pair with a strong cheese. There were several more wines I abstained from as well as a meat buffet that I heard was delicious.

Tomorrow I’m hoping to catch some more SXSW festivities during my lunch break. Wish me luck!

By Tiffany Young

Last weekend was the last day for Hope Farmers Market to be located at Pine Street Station. I was lucky enough to be there to see the announcement or I would have been disappointed when I showed up and no one was there.

My mom and her coworkers had come in for the cake show and wanted to visit the farmers market. They had missed the one downtown, so I brought them to Hope, forgetting that my Austin-eclectic taste might be a bit much for the Northeast Texans. (I’m from there, so I can say that!)

I’m not sure they were as impressed with the hippy-ness that I am, but they did have a great appreciation for Flour’s smart tarts that I introduced them to. The honey nutella smart tart is amazing. I’ve also had the pecan praline and loved it, too, despite not being a huge fan of pecans. My mom raved about the raspberry, saying “I didn’t even share on the ride home it was so good!”

All that to say — while Hope is no longer at Pecan Street Station, it has not closed, but relocated to Plaza Saltillo as of today, March 3! I didn’t get a chance to go check it out, but one of the vendors was telling me that it was originally made as a farmers market, was on the rail route and would no longer have to relocate during the SXSW craze.

By Tiffany Young

As promised, I took my Nikon to the Austin That Takes the Cake! show on day two. I love seeing the cakes up close and personal with my zoom lens and it’s much more reliable than my iphone for clear pics.

This year, we weren’t at the show as long as in year’s past. There was a lot of food to introduce my mom to: Hopdoddy’s and Elizabeth St. Café. Still there were numerous fine-looking cakes at the show! Here are some of my favorites!

By Tiffany Young

It was such a big weekend, I’m going to have to break this into a couple of posts! But for starters, I must congratulate my mom, Chef Bren Young, for her second place medal in the Adult multitiered novelty intermediate cake. Last year she took third in the beginner’s division. This year she moved up a division and was shocked when she found more than 20 other contestants in her division with some really spectacular cakes. I can honestly say I think she was very surprised to hear her name announced. My mom became a chef in her early 50s. Became a pastry chef instructor just a few years ago. And made her first fondant cake just last year. Recently she has begun selling her cakes for birthday parties, specializing in novelty cakes for children, such as sock monkeys and some pirate I’ve never heard of, but who is popular with the young’ens. Her years of art classes and selling crafts have been great preparation for decorating cakes and each one gets better and better! Way to go! I can’t wait to see what you come up with next year!

On Saturday evening, the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance had a party to welcome it’s newest members to the fold. We at OhSpooning have been members for the last year but this has been the first opportunity we have had to speak other bloggers and see what they are doing.

Our host for the night was the lovely and endearing Karen Aboussie. She graciously hosted the AFBA mixer at the Savory Spice Shop on West 6th Street. Karen spent over 25 years in marketing before opening the Savory Spice Shop and her demeanor is relaxing and joyous. She reminds me of my aunt – all are welcome into her home and she wants you to taste everything on the shelf. Karen has a way of making you smile while she talks to you about her passion for spice and great food. Her personality is contagious.

Karen and her staff spent the evening educating the AFBA family about the shelf life on spices. In fact, did you know that cinnamon only has a shelf life of 6 months? Also, most grounded spices are only good for about a year while whole spices may be kept for about 18 months. These simple facts are going to change the way I handle my pantry.

And if you have never tried black Korean garlic, you are missing out.

Take the time to swing by Savory Spice Shop on West 6th. Feel the warmth. Your taste-buds will thank you. We promise!

It’s official! We are definitely being included in The Austin Food Blogger Alliance Cookbook being published in April. This means our Preston Spice Cupcakes with Cardamom Frosting will be in not just one book (Jump Little Cake, Jump!), but two!

If you are looking for a great, local, Austin recipe book complete with recipes from famous and average Joe food bloggers, the AFBA cookbook is a great choice. It has a beautiful cover, which will make it perfect for me to display alongside my other gorgeous cookbooks.

It’s one of the first community cookbooks compiled just by food bloggers and I’m excited we could take part!

Here’s the list of recipes, along with whose recipes will be included!

The cookbook is being pre-sold here.

Lots of families have traditions, and one of ours has become attending the That Takes the Cake! Art Show in Austin, Texas. This year’s contest is quickly approaching (Feb. 23-24) and I’ve been thinking a lot about my entry (which I hope I don’t back out on!). Our cake will be themed “Jump Little Cake, Jump!” to go along with our cupcake book of that name. It’s going to be fun! I have never entered a cake before (or really decorated one, so it will be interesting!).

Last year, my mom entered for the first time and won third place in the beginner’s division for her Princess and the Pea cake. I was so proud of her!

Bren Young’s princess and the pea entry won third place in the beginner’s division of That Takes the Cake art show in Austin, Texas in 2012.

Close up of Princess and the Pea bed

Princess and the Pea close up

A close up of the woodwork and pea for Bren Young’s Princess and the Pea cake entry.

If you’ve never been to the show, you should check it out. Entry fee is only $20 and gets you into the show for free. Otherwise, entry is $8 for a day pass or $14 for the weekend if you purchase online in advance. There are onsite competitions, demonstrations and of course lots of beautiful cakes to admire!

Jump Little Cake, Jump! children’s book

The OhSpooners, Tiffany & Antonio, wrote a children’s book with Lindsay O’Neal. It is now available at http://jumplittlecake.bandcamp.com/merch/jump-little-cake-jump-book-cd-physical. If you love cupcakes, fun and adventure, you’ll love this story about a nerdy cupcake’s journey through the kitchen. It comes with an audio book CD with character voices and songs. Order your book now!

I just ate one of the best omelets I’ve ever had. It’s also probably the freshest I’ve ever had, which is probably no coincidence. My dear friend Mark Collins gave me some of his chickens’ eggs yesterday, along with jalapeños and bell peppers from his garden, which I used for an omelet this morning using this recipe. I subbed in what I had and left out the things I didn’t have, such as a red pepper and cilantro. I used green onion in place of a regular one, chipotle cheese instead of cheddar and used srirachi in place of Tobasco. The results were amazing! I don’t think I’ll be getting a chicken coop any time soon and my gardening skills aren’t quite up to par, but I am more determined to find locally sourced food! Thanks, Mark!