Emerald Forest Trees in San Francisco offers premium quality Christmas trees that can be flocked in the color of your choice, as well as other holiday accessories.

“People still want to buy a Christmas tree, I guess they want to cheer themselves up,” Hackett says when asked how business was running during this recession. There aren’t many discounts offered on the trees unless it’s Christmas Eve, where Hackett exclaims that people will get a discount “for sure.” The trees sold at Emerald Forest are mainly Douglas Firs, Noble Firs and Silver Tips. Hackett mentions that very few Christmas tree companies carry Silver Tips, and they’re proud to sell them. The trees that don’t make the cut – that is they aren’t sold – are sent to the chipper and turned into mulch.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 35 percent of U.S. household plan to purchase real trees in 2009, while nine percent plan to purchase fake trees.

“No fake trees here,” Hackett says, “no way.”

Although their prices are competitive with other companies, Hackett assures that they only sell top quality, premium grade trees that they’re “very proud of.” Some of the services that they offer include custom color flocking – where trees are sprayed to give it that snowy appearance – yet instead of traditional white, customers can choose from any color of their choice. Certified flame retarding is also offered as well as home deliveries. Besides being a Christmas tree nursery, in October Emerald Forest is also a pumpkin patch, yet during the off-season nothing goes on for their business.

]]> http://danmit.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/its-christmas-trees-in-the-city/feed/ 0 danmit Flocked Christmas Trees Christmas Tree Pie Chart http://danmit.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/this-devils-food-cake-can-be-your-little-slice-of-heaven/ http://danmit.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/this-devils-food-cake-can-be-your-little-slice-of-heaven/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:54:28 +0000 danmit http://danmit.wordpress.com/?p=83 ]]> Who doesn’t love a good piece of cake? It’s practically blasphemous to anybody with a diehard sweet tooth like mine. And one cake in particular really satisfies my ‘consume all things sweet’ craving like red velvet cake. I don’t know if it’s the cake, the heavenly cream cheese frosting or the beautiful deep rich red that appeals to me, but the total package makes red velvet cake one of my favorites. Red velvet cake is considered a Devil’s Food Cake because it’s so rich and delicious it just has to be sinful. Although the origins of luscious cake are somewhat hazy, it’s no secret that red velvet cake is at least worth a try!

It’s relatively easy to make, but with any baked goods, the preparation will always cut your time down and make life easier!

What you’ll need:
*Preheated 350 degree oven
*Greased/floured pans (9×1 inch) 2-5 pans depending on however many layers you want your cake to have
*2 1/2 cups of flour
*teaspoon of salt
*1 1/2 cups of sugar
*1 cup of buttermilk at room temperature
*2 large eggs at room temperature
*1 teaspoon of baking soda
*1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
*1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
*2 tablespoons of red food coloring
*1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp or 1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil
*1-2 teaspoons of cocoa powder

In one bowl, sift together dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients – oil (or butter), buttermilk, extract, vinegar, food coloring and eggs. Using a hand or an electric mixer, slowly add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet mixture until a smooth batter is formed. Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared pans and place in the preheated oven evenly spaced apart. Bake for 25-30 minutes. You can rotate the pans in the oven halfway through baking for a more even bake, but make sure that the cake pulls away from the pan somewhat when baking is done, and your toothpick is clean when you pull it out of the center when testing.

Once baking is done, remove from the oven and run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the sides. Let the cakes set for about an hour or at least until cool before you frost.

To make the cream cheese frosting:
*1 pound of softened cream cheese
*4 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar
*1 cups (2 sticks) of unsalted butter (or 1 – 8 ounce tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temp – optional)
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

With a hand mixer, or food processor, mix together sugar, butter and cream cheese on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high until the mixture is light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the vanilla extract, then increase speed to high again for a final incorporation of all ingredients. You can let the frosting sit for about an hour in the refrigerator to let it set.

Next, assemble your cake! Remove cakes from the pans once they’re cooled and layer them on top of one another with frosting in between each layer. But make sure there’s enough frosting to top your cake! You can garnish your final cake with coconut shavings, pecans, whipped cream, any nuts in general, or enjoy your creation just as it is.

Then the fun begins. . . cut yourself a slice, grab yourself a fork and enjoy your slice of heaven! Who ever said you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too?

Lake Merritt is located near downtown Oakland and provides food, fun and recreation along with a great view.

The beautiful Lake Merritt is somewhat of a hidden treasure located near downtown Oakland. The 3.4 mile lake provides great exercise with a great view. People can enjoy the many restaurants on Grand Ave. and also dinner, lunch or brunch at the Lake Chalet.  Food, fun and recreation can all be found around Lake Merritt.

Photo Slide Show

However, since I was on the subject of the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market in my last post, I thought I would mention the tea court located inside. The Imperial Tea Court offers so many different flavors of tea, accessories, education, information, and inspiration for the average tea lover. The ambiance that the court is simple, elegant and relaxing – just like a good cup of tea!! I learn something new every time I go and seriously fight the urge not to buy a new accessory for my tea collection. They have tea for whatever mood you’re in. From white tea to black tea and all the tea in between, it’s impossible not to learn a new flavor or a the history behind the tea leaves. The staff is always willing to help you decide on a flavor to put you in a comfortable mood.

If you’re not a big tea drinker, you can still come for the education and sound smart at your next tea or dinner party! I’m just saying, if you love tea like I do, then The Imperial Tea Court in the Ferry Building is worth a try!

The Ferry Building, located along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, is host to a large farmer's market every Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Ok, so there’s a lot that I don’t know about this beautiful city I live in. San Francisco never ceases to surprise me and deliver with fun and outlandish events practically everyday if you look in the right places. I love learning about a new restaurant or a fun little hole-in-the-wall place to eat. I also love farmer’s markets! They’re so active and each one is unique and special. Although they’re a little too crowded for my liking – and people are always completely oblivious in crowded areas – it’s still fun to go and check out the local farmer’s market. And which one has caught my attention this week, you ask? Why none other than the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market located along the Embarcadero at the foot of Market street.

This farmer’s market, held on Tuesdays and Saturdays, supplies a very wide variety of produce, food, entertainment and a beautiful scenery of the Bay Bridge. I always go to the Saturday market and am bombarded with people and food. There’s so much to choose from that it can be a little overwhelming, so if you’re indecisive like me, then it might take you a little bit of time to make a decision on what you want to buy and try. I usually walk around two or three times and then make a decision on what sounds good, or better yet, what looks good. There’s meat, cheese, bread, wine, seafood, chocolate, coffee, tea, flowers, and desserts to make you sadly break that diet weekly. The vendors are always willing to explain how to use their produce to make delicious and healthy meals if you’re unsure at reasonable prices.

This past weekend I decided to once again eat at The Slanted Door. Now I’ve eaten at this restaurant many times before and I enjoy it every time. This modern Vietnamese restaurant uses fresh produce found at the market and around the Bay Area, and leaves you satisfied without overindulging too much. Things that I’ve gotten in the past: the grilled chicken breast over rice noodles with imperial rolls, cucumber and mint – which is really light if you’re not too hungry; the shrimp and pork wonton soup and the pho bo Vietnamese beef noodle soup – which are hearty, tasty and satisfying especially on a cold day; and the rice noodle stir-fry with chicken, shitake mushrooms, broccoli, bean sprouts and eggs – which is also very satisfying in my opinion because I love noodles. This is  obviously only a small portion of the foods served there. For dessert, I usually walk back to the farmer’s market and enjoy an irresistible pastry or ice cream.

So if you’re bored one Saturday or Tuesday morning, go and check out the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market and get your grub on!

Photo Slideshow:

Who said you need some fancy machinery to make ice cream? Now chances are high that your makeshift ice cream isn’t going to be as great as the results from that fancy machinery (hence the fanciness about it), but I’ve actually made it this way and it’s come out pretty decent! You can add different fruits and extracts for flavor and go crazy without having to spend too much since most of the ingredients are probably in your kitchen already.

The ending result is your own little masterpiece! It’s not as creamy as Italian gelato or a pleasantly presented as it would be in a restaurant, but it’s ice cream! And when you’ve got that craving, this satisfies it quite well (I would know!) Beggars can’t be choosers… especially broke and lazy ones! So enjoy!

So I looked up salads from different restaurants and fast food chains. . . who ever said that they only serve artery-clogging foods? Yet, if you like the gold produced from a deep fry vat then fear not, now salad eaters can have their cake and eat it too. Consumers can order their rabbit food salads and kick it up a notch by adding crispy chicken!! Nice, right? But how many calories are customers taking in when they decide to let someone else prepare their salads?

Here are the results from a few places.

Some aren’t too bad while others are crazy! Sure adding that crispy chicken may have seemed like a good idea at the time, my fellow dietiers, yet it really defeats the purpose of a salad!! Some advice from someone guilty of consuming a fried chicken salad. . . just make your own. It’s definitely easier to count your calories if you make your own food. Yet if it doesn’t matter to you one way or another because you’re starving, then enjoy those extra calories for all those who are struggling to burn a few extra ones off. Don’t be fooled though! Even salads these days can be deceptive.

Now I’ve never had pupusas but they look like something I’d like to try. Pupusas are like corn tortillas only thicker and stuffed with all kinds of awesomeness. They originate out of El Salvador and look good and simple to make. They’re usually made with masa harina (a flour used to make tortillas, tamales and other Mexican dishes), warm water and the filling of your choice. The different fillings can be cheese, refried beans, rice, pork, beef or whichever meat you’d like. And the ending result after following the instructions carefully. . .

Is heavenly corn pancakes on your plate!!

I don’t know why these look so good to me, but I’ll let you know if they taste just as awesome as they look!

Seeing as how much I love that drink and how I’m always in the mood for it, it’s natural that I’m going to want a cup while I’m at school. Now I’m at school everyday, damn near all day, so yeah, if I’m hungry or something then I’ll get something warm to drink before I buy some food (I hardly buy food at school – don’t ask why). And as usual I always look for  how much my favorite drink is and am heartbroken that it’s more expensive then most of the other drinks. Really?! What’s up with that? There’s no point in naming all the food kiosks that disappoint me, because it’s the same situation everywhere on campus.

A cup of tea can range from a dollar to a $1.50, a cup of coffee can range from a dollar to, I don’t know, maybe $3.00 if that much, and how much is my little cup of hot chocolate you may ask. Always in the $2.00 – 2.45 range! Seriously? I’ll never understand that. Perhaps I just don’t understand the intensive labor of pouring powder into a cup, adding hot water and topping it off with with store-bought whipped cream. I mean if these kiosks were importing this particular type of chocolate from a certain part of the world – high up in the mountains, or it takes 12 hours to get the chocolate or the whipped cream to the perfect consistency, then yeah, I’ll pay my money with pleasure but that’s not the case.

Call me cheap, but I really feel like I’m boycotting the drink because I think it should be cheaper. All the drinks should for that matter, but I understand that my school is a business not a charity. Maybe I’m so outraged because that’s the drink I want the most. Don’t get me wrong, I have paid for the drink in the past, but since my tuition went up (twice over the summer), I kind of feel like my school should do a little bit more to help out the students, and it’s the small things that count.

People never seem to understand why I enjoy that particular drink so much since it’s just powdered sugar that adds on calories that I desperately don’t need. But hey, everyone has their obsession.

It starts off by opening a can of beer and the reporter, Annie Feidt, talks about the booming business of craft canned beer in Anchorage, Alaska. The natural sound includes the factory where the beer is produced and the machinery used to can the beers. Although it’s said that canned beer is cheap beer, John Burket, a beer distributor in Anchorage believes that canned beer tastes better because the “cans protect the ingredients from sunlight and oxygen, which degrade the flavor over time.” Business wasn’t always great in the beginning when distributors couldn’t sell their product because of the lack of belief that canned beer could be craft beer.

I’ve never personally had a grudge or dislike for canned beer, I find it easier to open and transport then bottled, however it’s all about enjoying the flavor of the beer and the after effects it can have. Oh and of course, cashing in on all those cans and bottles that accumulate when you recycle – that can fund the process all over again!!