WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

Yahoo! This was so fun. I love giving stuff away. Is that weird? I think it's exciting. ANYWAY.
(virtual drum roll pleeeeeeease)

Jessica Youngsma come on down! You win you win! I'll be emailing you in a flashy! 

I used random.org to pick the winner. I was going to literally write all your names down and pick out of a hat but guess what? This bitch is lazy. Oh, and I'm actually gonna blog about food tonight. 

Tweet Tweet!

top row: brand spankin' new sequiny sweatshirt, kissin' curtis, sweet fake tan 

2nd row: mutant double kiwi, the reason I want to have a baby girl, my love/hate relationship with LA

3rd row: blonder than ever, National Margarita Day (it's real!), goggles-Jude

Last row: my BFFS (ladies, Jared is single!), Bodhi hiding in my hair, the beach in January

Helloooo new followers! Thanks for stoppin' by. I wanted to invite you to follow me via Twitter as well (you know, only if you wanna). I must warn you: I'm an over-tweeter, I rant, I post far too many pictures (see examples above) and I more than likely lose multiple followers on the daily for things I say. I am "protected" however I'll totes approve ya! (I just don't like work-related people to have access to my ENTIRE life, I'd like one part of my internetz for me) www.twitter.com/sarahmahaira

The bright side? I'm basically offering up free ammo to make fun of me. See below:

sarahmahaira Sarah Elizabeth 

It looks like a murder scene on my desk for unsuccessfully peeling a blood orange. oops.

sarahmahaira Sarah Elizabeth 

My phone just corrected "i lurve booze" to "i lurve boobs" my phone wants me to be a lesbian, not an alcoholic.

sarahmahaira Sarah Elizabeth 

So... I'm allowed to start drinking now right?
(note: it was 11am) 

sarahmahaira Sarah Elizabeth 

That just killed my lady boner, now I only have a semi

Roasting Garlic 101.

I effing love garlic. Seriously. If a recipe doesn't ask for garlic I'll put it in there anyway. And onions. I love those too. Basically anything to make me 100% un-kissable. Whateva. Roasting garlic is actually not as simple as throwing cloves in a roasting pan, putting the oven to 400 degrees and leaving it for 45 minutes. No sir. I learned the hard way. If you leave it alone too long, it will burn. If you have the temp up too high, it will cook too fast resulting it to...well...burn. SO this is how I do it:

Grab 2-3 garlic heads and take out each clove. Cut off either end of clove so garlic is exposed. Now. You can either leave the skins on and then pop the garlic out after its roasted OR peel them. I had always peeled them prior to roasting which is amazingly time consuming. This time I peeled half, and left half the skins on to see what happens.

Leave all cloves whole, unless you get a big fat mama clove like this one, cut it in half. Otherwise it won't roast at the same pace.

Heat your oven to no hotter than 350 degrees. Toss the cloves in olive oil or else they will dry out. Roast them in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. REMEMBER to toss the cookie sheet every 15 minutes or so. Unless you like burnt garlic, that is. Garlic should be golden brown in color once it's finished.

You can serve it on top of your protein at dinner, use in a salad or with other vegetables. OR do what I did, make garlic bread! I used:

a multi-grain baguette

butter

parmesean cheese

Slice your baguette, spread a thin layer of butter then place 2-3 cloves on each piece. Top with cheese and stick in your broiler for about 5 minutes. YUM.





Don't forget, darlings....enter the giveaway! (In the post below.)





Farm Box LA and a Giveaway, Oh My!

Last week on Gilt City they had a deal for Farm Box LA. I. Was. Pumped. A huge amount of organic AND local produce DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR!? Yes. I got my first delivery and it was one of the best days of my life. Here's some of the treats I got:

• Kale
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Avocados
• Garlic
• Parsley
• Colorful Carrots (THEY ARE GORG)

• Crazy big kiwis
• Apples
• Potatoes
• Tangerines
• Onions
• Yams

The ONLY thing I'm confused about is this root veg. I'm stumped! It looks like lots of mini garlic cloves, but it isn't. Anyone have any ideas?

I am SO many plans for these puppies. Chicken pot pie, stuffed skirt steak. Yum yum yum. I have a feeling I'll be ordering these more often. If I become a member I get a pretty eco-friendly box to store everything in! Weee! I have realized in this process that I'm a lot easier to please than I thought. It's the simple things, really.

And guess the f what?! I'm gonna give some stuff away! I was shopping at Anthropologie not too long ago and was chatting with my friend about how I love all their kitchen gadgets that I've collected while building my little kitchen and there's some things I just can't seem to live without. So, looks like there's a lucky duck that's going to get three of my favorite Anthro kitchen tools!

1. Measuring spoons. I would be a terrible liar if I said I had these exact same ones. I don't. Mine are a bit different, but I couldn't find the ones I have...so you'll just have to settle with these ones. They're so stinkin cute, and you can even hang them from a cabinet knob to show 'em off.
2. 55 minute timer with a magnet. I keep mine on my fridge so it's impossible to lose. I used to have a cute rooster but I would lose it al the time because my cat would decide it was his toy and knock it off the counter. Take that, Curtis!
3. Kitchen Essentials: sticky notes, labels, recipe cards...you name it. So helpful! Mark your favorite recipes in cookbooks/magazines. Label things after you try them out, make notes, etc. I am obsessed. If you're a busy bee like me it's uber helpful.

SO, how to enter? You have to be following No Thank You Bite via Blog Lovin' or Google and leave your email as a comment! If you want an additional entry, tweet about it with a link back to the blog. Be sure to add the link to your tweet in the comments as well so I can keep track. I'll draw the winner on Monday the 28th. Good luck!



Drool-Worthy Vanilla Bean Fondue.

Happy Presidents Day, kids! Here's the recipe for the vanilla bean fondue that I continue to dream about ever since eating it. Don't stop reading this JUST because you don't have a fondue pot. You could use your stove top! I am the queen of improvising/not doing things by the recipe....so live a little! Read on:

You'll need:

8oz Mascarpone


1/2 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons cornstarch

vanilla bean or extract.

dash of cinnamon.
 
In a fondue pot (or any other heating apparatus!) heat heavy whipping cream.
 

Once it bubbles just a little teeny tiny bit. Add the marscapone. (FUN FACT: Can't find marscapone? That's ok! Use 8oz cream cheese!). Once cheese is melted, it should look similar to this:



Mix cornstarch and maple syrup in a seperate bowl. Set aside.

 

Mix vanilla and cinnamon into fondue. RIGHT before you're ready to serve it, mix in. If you do it too soon everything will be RUINED! That's a lie, I don't know if it will be ruined, but I would assume it wouldn't be as delicious.

 

And there we have it! A fancy dessert that's easy peasy. Seriously. Impress your friends. Or a hot date. Or a hot date AND your friends.

 

OH...be on the look out this week...I'm going to be doing my first giveaway EVER.. Wahoo!

Fancy Lookin' Fondue Compliments.

LOOK AT ME! Bloggin' 2 nights in a row! TWO! You know you're ever so proud of me. So last week Lauren and I (she's no stranger to this blog...we're basically the same person...she works in fashion and shares the same undying/fat kid love for food that I have) cooked up a storm. With how amazingly busy I've been it's hard for me to get quality time in with my friends but when I do we go hard. And by go hard I mean we seriously cook.

We made vanilla bean fondue for dessert, and to not overwhelm you little kitties, I have decided to break it up into two posts. I am going ass-backwards right now and am posting the dipping food prior to the fondue recipe (mostly because I still have to get the recipe of the fondue from Lauren...stop judging). ANYWAY.

We got some gorgeous organic strawberries and peaches:

And we made some cute little no-fry *not no-bake like it said earlier...thanks for pointing it out, Steff!** churros. These are the easiest things in the world to make. Unless you wanna get fancy and make your own dough which we SO didn't do. We're not THAT ambitious. Get yourself a sheet or 2 of puff pastry, although you'll probably just need one. It tends to go a long way. Roll it out on a cutting board and cover it in an unhealthy amount of cinnamon and sugar. (Am I the only one that has to look up the spelling of cinnamon EVERY TIME I spell it? Yes? Ok :/)

Cut dough into 1/2" wide pieces.

Twist 'em! If you don't do this, they'll look boring and wont dip well. Just sayin'.

Set your oven to 350 and bake them for no more than 20 minutes. They'll puff up quite nicely and get perfectly cripsy.

Heck, you don't even need to make fondue to go with these. They're delicious by themselves (I would know, I ate at least 10). Or melt carmel down for dipping. YUM!!!  Tomorrow I'll come to you with the fondue recipe.

Ooh! And here we are, cookin' and stuff. Wanna know what I'm wearing? I haven't done this in a while so why not!

Boots: Doc Martens

Socks: Target

Jeans: AG

Striped Top: Urban Outfitters

Crop Top: Urban Outfitters

Bracelets: M. Cohen



Oh! And I'd love to do some guest posts/have some of you post your favorite recipes on here. Lemme know if you're interested! <3







Farmers Market Biatches.

Okay. Hi. I realize I've (yet again) neglected my little internet corner recently. What? Sundance, The Grammys, my days off are few and far between currently so you can't get mad at me, k? K! I mean, how could you get mad at this face? I'm sure a lot of people, because it's probably the worst picture I will ever post of myself on the world wide web. HOWEVER. Don't I look tan? Because I was. My boss forced me (read: asked me if I wanted to and I said yes) to get a spray tan at one of the booths at the Grammys. I would also like to point out my feather extension. I know what you're thinking. I'm turning into some sorta hippie. While that might be true, I'm still shaving my legs. I just realized I have to take it out on Saturday because I'm getting my hair done and I am VERY upset. But not upset as everyones eyes would be if they had to see me one more week with unkept locks. But I digress..

Saturday morning Lauren and I ventured to the Silverlake Farmers Market. It was GORG outside. I even wore shorts. SHORTS! More so because I wanted to show off my sweet tan. It's gone now, in case any of you were wondering.

I picked out some fruits and veggies. Even some goat cheese and some of the prettiest bread I've ever laid my baby blues on. You know the kinda bread that looks fake? Yeah, that kind. But, my friends, it was not fake. It was like carb-heaven.

MY TASTE BUDS WERE DANCING THE MINUTE I PUT ONE OF THOSE BLOOD ORANGES INTO MY MOUTH. So much so, that I felt compelled to use all caps when typing that sentence. If I wasn't scared I'd get chased down by angry hipsters, I would have bolted with that entire tupperware full of them to have all to myself. (This is coming from the girl with a feather extension in her hair....I'M SORRY).

Things you have to look forward to:

Vanilla bean fondue recipe

French potato au gratin recipe

Roasted chicken recipe

Olive tapenade recipe

YES all of them have actually been cooked AND photographed so I promise will do my best to get them up in a timely manner.

For now, please don't stop following me, k? I promise I'll post more than once every two weeks. LURVE YOU! xo