Canning Plum Sauce to Replace Butter and Oil in Chocolate Recipes

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Last year I received a large box of plums from a farmerfriend of mine who did not have time to can all of her plums. The plums wereseconds, so they were not suitable for canning whole, so I pureed them and cannedthem as a sauce. When I was quickly canning these time sensitive plums, I hadno idea what I was going to do with plum sauce at the time. I was simply tryingto not to waste food.
After I canned the plum sauce they sat on my shelf for a fewmonths. I would move them around trying to avoid them on my shelf because I couldnot figure out what to do with them. I am not a big fan of plums. Mygrandmother had a plum tree growing up, and I had more plum jelly than I couldstand growing up. I even contemplated giving away the plum sauce to anyone whowanted it, but I figured I would get a puzzled look as people asked me whatthey can do with plum sauce. Then, one day I was making chocolate cake, and Iwent to my refrigerator to get the butter out when I realized that I had nobutter. I thought about using applesauce in place of butter, so I went over tomy pantry to pull out a fresh jar of applesauce when I saw the jars of plum saucesitting there that I had neglected and ignored for months. I pulled out one ofthe purple jars and hoped for the best. I figure that I could easily get rid ofmy plum sauce supply if I used it in chocolate recipes.
Luckily, the plum sauce produce worked the same asapplesauce in baked goods. The plum flavor was not detectible in the chocolatecake. This was the perfect use of my plum sauce supply. Now one year later I amgetting ready to can plum sauce again for use in chocolate baked goods.


Ingredients makes about 1 quart

• 4 cups coarsely chopped plums with the skins on, pitsremoved (I used dark purple plums)

Directions
1.      Puree the plums. I used an immersion blender thepuree the plums. 2.      Boil the plum mixture stirring constantly untilthe whole mixture is heated all the way through and a deep purple color.3.      Ladle into hot sterile jars leaving ¼”headspace.4.      Remove any air bubbles from the jars using anonmetal utensil. Add more sauce if necessary.5.      Adjusttwo piece lids.6.      Process in a boiling water canner for 20minutes.
Posted on Food Renegade,Simple Lives Thursday

Chocolate Cupcakes using Plum Sauce as a Butter Substitute

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Earlier this week, I wrote a post on canning plum sauce tobe used as a butter or oil substitute in chocolate baked goods. Now I am goingto show you one recipe that I actually used the plum sauce to replace butter.I made some chocolate cupcakes using Smitten Kitchen’s everyday chocolate cakerecipe because it is a wonderful tried and true recipe that only requires onebowl and uses buttermilk. I love buttermilk in my chocolate cake. I find thatbuttermilk adds a nice complexity to chocolate cake so it is not overwhelminglysweet.
The cupcakes came out perfect. You could not taste the plum saucein the cupcakes. No one at the party noticed that there were plums in thecupcakes. In fact, several people ate multiple cupcakes while at the party, soI know they were excellent. I changed around the oven temperature settings and bakingtime to accommodate cupcakes better.

Ingredients from Smitten Kitchen (makes 13 muffins)

• ½ cup plum sauce
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions
1.      Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.2.      Grease a muffin pan or add paper baking liners. 3.      Mix plum sauce, sugar, egg, buttermilk, vanilla,flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 4.      Ladle the cupcake batter in the muffin tinfilling each compartment ¾ of the way full.5.      Bake the cupcakes for 5 minutes. 6.      Turn down the temperature of the oven to 375then bake another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of thecupcake comes out clean.7.      Allow the cupcakes to cool for 3-5 minutesbefore removing from the pan.8.      Frost the cupcakes after the cupcakes are fullycool.

If You're Unorganized Enough, You Can Do Anything

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Seriously.

I was trying to go through my 91 draft blog posts to see if there was anything fun to post and I found a card from LAST YEAR.

I'm so organized like that. It's okay to be jealous.

I like it though, so we're going to pretend I was saving it for a special occasion. Like Tuesday, August 21st.

Yeah, that.

This card was actually a sample I did for last year's Hope You Can Cling To event, which is near and dear to my heart. This year will be our third year, and I can't wait - I really hope you can join us. It's  a great cause, and the most fun you can have without getting arrested!

Stamps: From the Heart (retired)Paper: Whisper White, Silver GlimmerInk: Memento Tuxedo BlackAccessories: ShinHan Touch Markers: RP196, RP17, SU Oval dies, SU dotted ribbon

This weekend I also did a little project with some of my leftover paper from my fun CitraSolv experiment.

You can see the results on this post on Project Reanimate.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm Angry... At a Candle

To contact us Click HERE
Well, not really. I'm really mad at my camera. Or maybe my eye. I don't know. I'm just angry.

I challenge you to make today's project and then go outside to try to photograph it and just SEE if you can get your SLR to focus in the right place!

I couldn't do manual focus because I actually hold my projects to take photos of them. I don't have a little outdoor photobooth set up and I really do prefer natural light.

So 300 blurry photos later, I finally got ONE pic I could use. *Growls*

I was on YNN again last week, doing handmade fall projects. We painted a pumpkin like a candy corn, did fall tealights, a little bat that held a Hershey nugget and this candle.

Now if you haven't gotten the new Stampin' Up! two stage heat gun, this project is a great reason to do so. We've all made disastrous, lumpy decorated candles by over-melting them when we were attaching the tissue paper, but the new gun has a lower heat setting that makes this MUCH easier.

To make the leaf, I just folded up tissue paper so that I was making about 8 leaves at once, and I cut them with my Autumn Accents die. These are all the shapes it cuts


It matches this stamp set:



I didn't use the stamps this time - I used Direct to Paper with More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie ink pads randomly all over the leaves.

Then just hold it on your candle and gently heat until you see the wax melt through the tissue paper and you're all done! I move my heat gun around a lot so I don't melt it too much in any one spot.

I thought about adding more leaves, but I ended up liking how clean and bright this looked, so I think I'll leaf it alone. Heh.


Can you be-leaf how simple and quick that is? It took much longer just to type about it!

Are you ready for fall? Our first cool temperatures have snuck in while I wasn't looking and it's a nice break!

Makes me less angry when I run outside to curse at a candle!

Loveyameanitbye.

You're The Bee's Knees!

To contact us Click HERE
You may have heard about Small Business Saturday in between your pie and your Cyber Monday.

This past Saturday was a day where you were encouraged to shop at the very heart of American business - the sole proprietors, the mom and pop shops - the people who took big risks to try to to make it on their own instead of slaving away in a cubicle.

I'm lucky enough to call one such small business owner a good friend - Korin Sutherland.

I never get tired of the stories of people who started a business literally in their living rooms. Korin did just that when she started Sweet 'n Sassy stamps five years ago and she's been a huge success.

As much time as I spend BUYING and PLAYING with stamps, I honestly don't know how she has the energy to DESIGN and MAKE stamps, but she does, and I'm so thankful that because she does, I have a sweet friend.

Korin and I met through Splitcoast, when she became a member company, and I just love her to death. She is sweet, and she is sassy :), so her marketing skills are obviously on point!

Anyway, today we're having a little birthday party for Korin and Sweet 'n Sassy, so I really hope you'll hop around and see all the cards her friends have designed for her birthday party. Here's mine, for a girl I think really is the bee's knees.




Stamps: Bee Happy Rhubarb Paper: Crumb Cake, Polka Dot Party, Chevron treat bagAccessories: Sizzix Westminster Hexagon Dies (2")
So happy birthday, friend! Thank you for making the world sweeter and sassier! Y'all hop along now!

Canning Nectarine Pie Filling and Nectarine, Oatmeal, and Almond Crisp

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Nectarine Pie Filling

This is a sponsored post from Sweet Preservation. Sweet Preservationis a community of cherry and soft fruit growers located in Washington statethat are out to promote home preservation of stone fruit grown in theNorthwestern United States. Sweet Preservation’s web site has canning recipes,canning jar labels, and health information on home preserving. As a canner, Iwas really excited when Sweet Preservation offered to send me a box of stonefruit for canning since stone fruits were very scarce this year. I was elatedwhen I opened up the box and saw nectarines because I did not can any nectarinesthis year due to price. I really wanted to make some nectarine pie filling, andnow I got my opportunity to make one of my favorite pie fillings.
In my opinion nectarine pie filling is best with no extraspices. The beautiful orange summery fruit is best enjoyed without anyconflicting flavors. One large nectarine equaled 1 cup of sliced nectarines whichmade scaling up this pie filling very easy.

Nectarine, Oatmeal, Almond Crisp

I could not wait until winter time to eat my first jar ofnectarine pie filling, so I made a nectarine, oatmeal, and almond crisp. Thiscrisp is delicious and comes together very quickly using canned pie filling. Thecombination of oats and almonds makes for a nice crunchy top paired with sweetnectarine filling makes the perfect dessert at a BBQ.

Ingredients for nectarine piefilling (makes 1 quart jar)modified from Creating Nirvana

1 cup sugar
¼ cup + 1 tbsp Clear Jel (not Sure Jel)
¾ cup water
¼ cup bottled lemon juice4 cups nectarines, sliced and peeled

Directions

1. Add the Clear Jel, sugar, water, and lemon juice to a large sauce pot. Bringthe mixture to a boil while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon

2. Add the nectarines to the boiling mixture. Gently stir constantly. Once thejel comes back to a simmer the nectarine pie filling will thicken. Continue tocook the nectarine pie filling until it is thick and gooey.

3. Ladle the hot pie filling into a quart jar. Leave 1 inch headspace. Processin a boiling water canner for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Nectarine, Oatmeal,and Almond Crisp
1 quart jar of nectarine pie filling(see recipe above)½ cup old fashioned oats¼ cup roasted almonds, chipped1 tbsp whole wheat flour1 tbsp brown sugar1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
Directions
1.    Preheatthe oven to 350 degrees F. 
2.    Placethe pie filling in an ungreased pie pan or 8 in x 8 in glass pan. Set aside. 
3.    Mixoats, almonds, flour, sugar, and oil in a small bowl until all the ingredientsare coated with the oil.
4.    Sprinklethe oat mixture on top of the nectarine filling.
5.    Bakethe crisp for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the pie fillingis bubbly.
Posted on Full Plate Thursday

If You're Unorganized Enough, You Can Do Anything

To contact us Click HERE
Seriously.

I was trying to go through my 91 draft blog posts to see if there was anything fun to post and I found a card from LAST YEAR.

I'm so organized like that. It's okay to be jealous.

I like it though, so we're going to pretend I was saving it for a special occasion. Like Tuesday, August 21st.

Yeah, that.

This card was actually a sample I did for last year's Hope You Can Cling To event, which is near and dear to my heart. This year will be our third year, and I can't wait - I really hope you can join us. It's  a great cause, and the most fun you can have without getting arrested!

Stamps: From the Heart (retired)Paper: Whisper White, Silver GlimmerInk: Memento Tuxedo BlackAccessories: ShinHan Touch Markers: RP196, RP17, SU Oval dies, SU dotted ribbon

This weekend I also did a little project with some of my leftover paper from my fun CitraSolv experiment.

You can see the results on this post on Project Reanimate.

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm Angry... At a Candle

To contact us Click HERE
Well, not really. I'm really mad at my camera. Or maybe my eye. I don't know. I'm just angry.

I challenge you to make today's project and then go outside to try to photograph it and just SEE if you can get your SLR to focus in the right place!

I couldn't do manual focus because I actually hold my projects to take photos of them. I don't have a little outdoor photobooth set up and I really do prefer natural light.

So 300 blurry photos later, I finally got ONE pic I could use. *Growls*

I was on YNN again last week, doing handmade fall projects. We painted a pumpkin like a candy corn, did fall tealights, a little bat that held a Hershey nugget and this candle.

Now if you haven't gotten the new Stampin' Up! two stage heat gun, this project is a great reason to do so. We've all made disastrous, lumpy decorated candles by over-melting them when we were attaching the tissue paper, but the new gun has a lower heat setting that makes this MUCH easier.

To make the leaf, I just folded up tissue paper so that I was making about 8 leaves at once, and I cut them with my Autumn Accents die. These are all the shapes it cuts


It matches this stamp set:



I didn't use the stamps this time - I used Direct to Paper with More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie ink pads randomly all over the leaves.

Then just hold it on your candle and gently heat until you see the wax melt through the tissue paper and you're all done! I move my heat gun around a lot so I don't melt it too much in any one spot.

I thought about adding more leaves, but I ended up liking how clean and bright this looked, so I think I'll leaf it alone. Heh.


Can you be-leaf how simple and quick that is? It took much longer just to type about it!

Are you ready for fall? Our first cool temperatures have snuck in while I wasn't looking and it's a nice break!

Makes me less angry when I run outside to curse at a candle!

Loveyameanitbye.

So I Bought This Toilet Paper....

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No really - this is actually a story worth telling.
I think that all women have at least a modest fear of running out of toilet paper. As a result, we pack it in like Army supply clerks, making sure a mental alarm goes off when we're down to our terrifying remaining 18 rolls. 
We actually have a small ledge in our garage that we affectionately call "Little Costco" because I feel the need to have toilet paper, paper towels and Ziploc bags in astonishing quantities on hand at all times.
However, because sometimes I actually do shop at big Costco, the brand selection varies. They do this to trick us. And to move Soviet style goods off their shelves and into the bathrooms of unsuspecting consumers like me.
So apparently, one day, I bought a magical, Jack and the Beanstalk style package of FREAKING ONE PLY TOILET PAPER at Costco!!
I moved it into our distribution system, unaware of my future peril, and so that meant it didn't surface in the rotation for months. 
One day, not knowing that life was about to forever change, a roll of this heinous affront to modern living worked its way onto the toilet paper roll.
This is a picture of me:
Yep.
I had no idea that since the Berlin wall came down that one ply toilet paper was even MADE! It's so Orwellian!! 
And here's the Jack in the Beanstalk part of it - IT WILL NOT GO AWAY! This toilet paper has been sneaking into the rotation for a year! I swear it's replicating somewhere. And you can't really tell when you innocently put it on the holder what evil it holds. 
That's what I've been dealing with. 
Your sympathy is appreciated. 
To console myself, I stamp. 
In particular, I stamped along with our Queen for the Day challenge on Splitcoast honoring one of my favorite stampers - Gabby, or gabalot on Splitcoast. She seems like the kind of girl smart enough to avoid buying large quantities of communist TP. She's also a great stamper. You can see her gallery here.


I love her one layer collage style so that's what I did with Snowflake Soiree, White Craft Ink, white gel pen, rhinestones and some tinsel trim. Fun and sparkly. Unlike commie TP.

Loveyameanitbye.

You're The Bee's Knees!

To contact us Click HERE
You may have heard about Small Business Saturday in between your pie and your Cyber Monday.

This past Saturday was a day where you were encouraged to shop at the very heart of American business - the sole proprietors, the mom and pop shops - the people who took big risks to try to to make it on their own instead of slaving away in a cubicle.

I'm lucky enough to call one such small business owner a good friend - Korin Sutherland.

I never get tired of the stories of people who started a business literally in their living rooms. Korin did just that when she started Sweet 'n Sassy stamps five years ago and she's been a huge success.

As much time as I spend BUYING and PLAYING with stamps, I honestly don't know how she has the energy to DESIGN and MAKE stamps, but she does, and I'm so thankful that because she does, I have a sweet friend.

Korin and I met through Splitcoast, when she became a member company, and I just love her to death. She is sweet, and she is sassy :), so her marketing skills are obviously on point!

Anyway, today we're having a little birthday party for Korin and Sweet 'n Sassy, so I really hope you'll hop around and see all the cards her friends have designed for her birthday party. Here's mine, for a girl I think really is the bee's knees.




Stamps: Bee Happy Rhubarb Paper: Crumb Cake, Polka Dot Party, Chevron treat bagAccessories: Sizzix Westminster Hexagon Dies (2")
So happy birthday, friend! Thank you for making the world sweeter and sassier! Y'all hop along now!

W is for: Windy City {Arun's, Spice House & La Fournette}

To contact us Click HERE
Just like the first part of this Chicago post, Kasey and I picked up right where we left off. Sometimes we can go weeks (or even months) without talking, but we always seem to be able to flow seamlessly into our conversations which inevitably include stories about food, traveling and life's funny moments.

After our afternoon at Big Star, it was time to get ready for our big dinner out. When arranging the few plans we made for my trip, Kasey asked if I was up for trying something a little different. I'm always game for most anything, so a 12-course Thai tasting menu sounded right up our alley. Sure, there were several places she could've picked that she knows are slam dunks, but I was excited to try something she hadn't experienced either.

That is how we ended up at Arun's for dinner on Saturday night.


Arun's is a true chef's tasting menu in that there are no menus. It's a prix fixe, 12-course meal specially designed by the chef. He will cater to individual needs, preferences and food allergies. Kasey doesn't eat gluten and I (almost embarrassingly) volunteered the fact that I hate bell peppers. Not a bell pepper in sight, and all of Kasey's plates were absent of gluten.

The first course (1.) was a one bite salad of Betelnut leaf, toasted coconut, shallot, tamarind paste, peanuts, ginger, lime and Thai chili pepper. It was without a doubt our favorite "bite" of the night. We eagerly awaited the remaining eleven courses, hoping that they would be on par or possibly exceed this first bite. While everything was gorgeous and mostly really tasty, I can't say that we were doing backflips over our meal as a whole. For $85, I expected to be completely blown away like I was at Gary Danko. Sure, there was a lot of food, so in that sense, you get your money's worth. But we didn't feel like there was a solid synergy between the courses, and some of them just didn't make sense.

(2.) Fish cake of Pike with curry paste and and cucumber salad. Sort of like a Thai lettuce cup. Thumbs up.

(3.) Steamed rice dumpling filled with chicken, shrimp, jicama and served with a sweet tomato vinaigrette. This was served cold. It was OK, but something was just off with the flavors.

(4.) Deconstructed shrimp vermicelli with tofu, noodle-wrapped fried shrimp, egg and noodles dyed with beet juice. Beautiful presentation, and together I actually really liked this dish. It sort of reminded me of a deconstructed pad thai, except without the peanuts. 

(5.) Red & green Oak leave salad with shallots, tomato, chili sauce and New York strip steak. Aside from the Betelnut leaf, this was probably my second favorite of the appetizers. Love the decorative knife work on the garnishes too!

(6.) Lychee Martini...strong and sweet, as you might expect.

(7.) This was so forgettable that I forgot to take notes when it came out. It was a chicken curry with bamboo shoots and a soft boiled egg. Nothing about this dish made sense.


Then came the entrees. We were in love with two in particular, both of them seafood. (8.) First was a snapper. This wasn't actually on the menu originally for that night, but the chef made it it especially for us because of my bell pepper aversion. I'm so happy I hate bell peppers, because this was delicious. It was prepared with some sort of chile paste and we loved it.

(9.) This was a beef coconut curry served with kubota squash. I really liked the *sauce.* I think the beef was a little tough, despite being marinated for several hours.

(10.) This was the star of the entrees for us. Perfectly cooked and seasoned *gigantic* scallops. They were topped with what we could only describe as a Thai hollandaise sauce. We had our server ask the chef what was in the sauce, and we were told it was a lobster sauce with mashed up potato, squash, Chinese celery, egg and butter. It was very smooth and extremely flavorful and it went perfectly with the scallops.

(11.) This was minced chicken with Thai basil. We didn't really care for this one.

For dessert, (12.) a sweet Thai sticky rice with mango and mango purée and (13.) a lychee sorbet with ginger baked pear and topped with candied orange peel. Both were light and refreshing, but we didn't manage more than a few bites thanks to our food babies residing in our stomachs.

Overall, it was a great meal and a fun experience. Had I just had the two appetizers and two entrees and paid for them a la carte, I would've been extremely satisfied with the meal. One other weird thing...it was kind of bright in there (though nice for photos) and service was slightly awkward. Still, I think this would be perfect for a big group or family gathering as they seemed to have some separate rooms/areas.


As we were making our way towards the airport on Sunday, we made a very necessary detour to The Spice House. I seriously could've spent all day here. They import some of the highest quality spices from around the world....and guess what else?!? You can order from them online, which I will be doing almost exclusively from here on out. The owner, Tom, stopped to talk with us for a little bit, giving us a quick lesson on different types of cinnamon and even sent me home with a huge piece of cinnamon bark.

That's my basket in the bottom left corner. I ended up dropping about $50 on things like pink Himalayan sea salt, tomato *powder* (great, intense tomato taste in place of paste), pink peppercorns, maple salt, strawberry vanilla sugar (yes, it's amazing), cumin seeds, Spanish paprika, red pepper flakes, herbs de provence, za'atar, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting at the moment. So excited to bust some of these out...I'll definitely be posting some recipes on the blog using some of them in the coming weeks/months.


We finished off the weekend with some coffee from nearby La Fournette, an authentic French bakery that just opened up across from The Spice House. Kasey informed me that Chicago is seriously lacking in the bakery department, and was understandably excited about this, despite her gluten-free diet. (However, they do offer a *few* gluten-free goodies, which Kasey was pumped about). The owners are straight from France and extremely friendly.

As we said our goodbyes, I was sad to leave, but looking forward to our next adventures....either in San Francisco, Chicago or traveling the world! Thanks Kasey and Chicago for being such great hosts!

B is for: Broadway Oyster Bar, Pappy’s, & Taste by Niche {St. Louis}

To contact us Click HERE
I honestly don’t know how they keep doing it.

Despite falling down 0-2 to the Reds and then 3-1 to the Cardinals, the San Francisco Giants keep finding ways to win and advance. The best description I’ve heard is they are like cockroaches…they just won’t die. You might be able to kill one, but that just means that 10 more will appear out of nowhere.

Because of this never-say-die attitude, I’m currently on a whirlwind tour of Midwestern Cities, following the Giants as they tear through the MLB postseason. Our first stop was Cincinnati for the NLDS, but in the interest of keeping up with my alphabet theme, I’m waiting until we hit the “C’s” to tell you about the ‘Nati. As I type this, I sit on a flight headed to Detroit, so you can bet that D-town will follow as well. But I begin with St. Louis, where our week started off with Broadway Oyster Bar.


As you might remember from a couple months ago, covering the NLCS was not my first trip to St. Louis this year. I was honored to serve as a bridesmaid in my friend Kim’s wedding in June, and documented my food adventures here. One place I didn’t have a chance to try the first time around was Broadway Oyster Bar, one of Kim’s favorite restaurants.

B.O.B. is a no frills type of place, and they warn you to "Leave your attitude at home" upon entering the dive. They feature live music every night and a menu full of Cajun items that would stack up with New Orleans restaurants most nights of the week. We of course ordered some oysters, and my co-workers and I enjoyed everything from fried alligator (tastes like chicken) to shrimp Po'Boys and jumbalaya. The favorite of the table was probably the crawfish bisque, which was creamy and spicy and full of crawfish chunks. (Though Kim told me after the fact that the "Grinder" sandwich is universally a crowd pleaser with her friends). Everyone left feeling full and satisfied and I can see why Kim adores this place so much.


One of the drawbacks to our job, especially on the road, is that we get finished with work pretty late. And while ballpark food is OK every once in awhile, it's definitely not something you want to consume every meal. We're always on the lookout for good late-night food spots. Fortunately, our co-worker Rob pulled up an article on late night dining in St. Louis, which led us to Taste Bar.

Taste is located in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis and is part of a restaurant group known for producing top-notch food. Our server informed us that Taste was actually created for its cocktail program, so we definitely had to check out the eclectic drink menu. (Think Fiji Apple Infused Gin and Chai Infused Rum). The menu is small in size but big on flavor. It's all tapas-style, and we particularly enjoyed the cornbread fried in bacon fat (ummmm, yes please) and the Corned Beef Hash with fried brussels sprouts and topped with a fried egg (our server described it as a "sexy breakfast dish," which sold me immediately). Everything was fabulous, and we were so thankful to find a restaurant that serves food until 12:30 a.m. (closes at 1).


Another St. Louis staple is Pappy's Smokehouse, which is consistently voted the #1 BBQ spot in St. Louis. They do Memphis style BBQ and they do it well. It can get pretty busy at lunchtime, and like Oklahoma Joe's in KC, you stand in line to place your order and sit down once you get your food (which is pretty fast from the time you actually order). My co-workers got ribs and brisket and I got the large pulled pork sandwich, which was tender and juicy and provided plenty for leftovers later that night after work.

They leave bottles of extra sauce on the tables, featuring their original recipe, another called "Sweet Baby Jane," named after the owner's granddaughter (this was my fave), and the "Holly's Hot Sauce." Most plates and sandwiches come with a choice of two sides. The fried corn there is apparently one of the favorites, but I didn't care for it too much. Frying it in oil made the kernels all chewy and oily. I much prefer corn on the grill. However, the BBQ beans and the sweet potato fries were bomb, and I've heard good things about the green beans as well. Apparently Giants' reliever Sergio Romo likes BBQ as well, because he and his fam ended up sitting right next to us at lunch!


As for work, we survived a rain delay, watched an inspiring performance by Barry Zito, and headed back to San Francisco to watch the Giants complete the comeback and win the NL Pennant in 7 games. As for how those cockroaches fared in Detroit...we'll have to wait and see!