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Foodie Friday: A Q&A with Jason Quinn of The Lime Truck
My favorite green machine
Gone are the days of the “roach coach” stigma when it comes to food trucks. From LA to NY, the gourmet food truck craze is in full swing and, from the look of things, they’re here to stay.
The popular food trucks driving around Southern California are serving up fresh, healthy, and down-right delicious gourmet fare. One of my favorite food trucks is Orange County’s The Lime Truck…and I’m apparently not the only one. With stellar reviews on yelp, a loyal fan-base, and a recent award for Best Food Truck in OC, The Lime Truck has quickly become an OC foodie favorite.
Jason Quinn and Daniel Shemtob are the co-founders and owners of the Lime Truck. Executive Chef Jason recently chatted with me about about life in the food truck and, as our Q&A can attest, the food truck biz is both fun and very challenging.
Aimee: How many cooks are in the Lime Truck kitchen and who comes up with the recipes?
Jason: In all honesty, we all help out. The Lime Truck team consists of me, Daniel, and Alex. Daniel helps to prep when necessary and so does Alex. When we are actually mid-service Alex works the grill and I expedite and assemble. As far as the recipes, id say they’re about 95% me.
A: Who (or what) inspires you the most when it comes to the type of food you cook?
J: I like to think that my food is very ingredient driven, when we find something really cool to work with we like to let it shine on its own.
A: What is the one ingredient you can’t live without?
J: BACON!!! (continues…)
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Foodie Friday: The New OC Whole Foods Preview and Gift Card Giveaway!
(A note to my readers – this is a review of an Orange County, CA based Whole Foods and the give-away included is only open to residents of Southern California, Hawaii, Arizona, and Nevada. My apologies in advance if you are not eligible for this give-away.)
I’ve been a fan of Whole Foods grocery stores for many years so, needless to say, I was thrilled when I was invited to preview the 300th Whole Foods store that just opened in Huntington Beach, CA. Two days before the grand opening on Wednesday, October 13th, I joined up with other bloggers and media outlets for a fun tour that showcased everything the new Whole Foods has to offer its new community.
In addition to many of the natural and organic items that you find in Whole Foods stores across the country, the new Huntington Beach location will offer unique regional products and cuisine from more than 50 local vendors, including Gringo Bandito Hot Sauce, Mary’s Free Range Organic Chickens, Honey Pacifica, Carlsbad Aquafarm, Yasutomi Farms, California Baby, and Xan Chocolates, to name a few. Many of the local vendors were at the preview and I happily sampled their goods. I was introduced to quite a few products I’ve never tried before and saw even more that I know and love. I’ve been a fan of Mary’s Chickens for years (my delicious Thanksgiving turkey last year was from Mary’s farm!), and it was a pleasure to actually meet her in person. It was also a treat to discover other local vendors. I especially loved the Xan chocolates, the sage and eucalyptus honey from Honey Pacifica, the shrimp from Carlsbad Aquafarm, and the hot sauce from Gringo Bandito (a Tapatio loyalist for years, I have to admit that this incredible hot sauce won me over). (continues…)
01
Foodie Friday: The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora!
I headed to the Disney Studios yesterday in beautiful downtown Burbank to help celebrate the launch of The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora!
As a huge fan of Swedish Chefs and Iron Chefs, I was thrilled with the invite and opportunity. The Muppets Kitchen is a wonderful new online video series starring celebrity chef Cat Cora and Muppet Chef Angelo (who, with his thick Italian accent, is clearly not Swedish). However, Chef Angelo is a close friend and apprentice to the Swedish Chef and, as I quickly learned, is just as entertaining and lovable. His cooking skills, however, are questionable.
The online videos, which are featured on Disney’s Family.com and Disney.go.com websites, are not only entertaining to watch but are filled with helpful cooking tips and ideas for little eaters. As a mom herself, Cat Cora has a ton of ideas for healthy and delicious food that even the pickiest eater will enjoy. There are no surprises and sneaky methods with her recipes. Cat believes that educating your children about what’s in their food and where it’s from is the best way to go. As she explained to the audience, knowing the ingredients of her food and trying everything at least once has not only expanded her own palate but helped her become the incredible chef she is today.
Watching Cat Cora, Chef Angelo, and Pepe explain how to make trail mix popcorn
Cat and Angelo demonstrated how to make a delicious snack called Trail Mix Popcorn. You can make the popcorn with the nuts and dried fruit on their own or add the melted sugar, corn syrup, and butter for an extra treat. Either way, it’s going to taste great! It’s a Moms and Muppets approved snack. Check it out! (continues…)
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Foodie Friday: Homemade Tomato Soup and Gourmet Grilled Cheese
My kinda comfort food
Now that Fall has officially arrived (except here in SoCal where it’s 90 degrees!), it’s time to start cooking for cooler weather. And nothing is more comforting than a steaming bowl of homemade soup and a hot sandwich. I think I represent many Americans when I say that my ultimate comfort food is the classic tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. You really can’t go wrong with this beloved combination, but I want to explain how I like to make it even better.
There is no need to dump a can of condensed tomato soup in a pot when making homemade tomato soup yourself is so easy. And as for the basic grilled cheese sandwich? Well, let’s just say that you can forget about the white bread and processed cheese singles. I prepare my grilled cheese with good egg bread or crusty sourdough. And, as for cheese, I like it with good Gruyere and Swiss. I’m telling you, this ain’t yo mama’s grilled cheese sandwich. (continues…)
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Foodie Friday: Vroom-Vroom Juice
Put a little *vroom* in your juice
For my two year old Monkey, everything that makes a loud whirring sound is called a *vroom-vroom*. Which explains why whenever I break out the blender to make a smoothie, my toddler says it’s time for *vroom-vroom juice*.
There are a ton of different ways to make a smoothie and it seems like I’ve tried a hundred different varieties without nailing the perfect consistency. The smoothie either turns out too sweet, too bitter, too grainy, or has too many seeds. This one, however, is my favorite smoothie recipe. And the Monkey loves it, too:
The Monkey’s Vroom-Vroom Juice
- 2 cups organic Acai juice (I prefer Acai with pomegranate juice)
- 1/2 cup of non-fat organic vanilla or plain yogurt
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 small package of frozen organic strawberries
- 1 frozen mango
Optional:
1 tablespoon of flaxseed
When you’re preparing to *vroom-vroom*, make sure to add the ingredients in the order I listed in order to help blend more smoothly and evenly. If the blender doesn’t seem to be working, you may have an air pocket. Safely and carefully, lift the lid and use a spoon to stir up the mixture before proceeding to blend again. You may have to blend for about 2-3 minutes before you get the right consistency.
For toddlers, the best cup I have found for smoothies is the Munchkin Mighty Grip Flip Straw Cups. They’re not the easiest sippy cup to clean and assemble, but toddlers find them very easy and fun to use.
The *vroom-vroom juice* smoothies also make great frozen fruit bars! My favorite mold is the Tovolo Shooting Stars.
Cheers!
