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Childhood is filled with memories of discovering our favorite foods. Whether it’s grilled cheese, favorite finger food, mac’ and cheese or one of mom’s home cooked meals, our childhood favorites will always be a big part of what we remember growing up as a kid.

Now that I’m an adult, I hardly eat the kid friendly dishes that I enjoyed as a child. Grilled cheese and chicken nuggets have been pushed aside for more grown up tastes like sushi and guacamole (How many of you ate avocados or guacamole as a kid?)

Our grownup tastes often demand something more complex and more nutritious. Quality ingredients are also much more of a priority in this day of age. With that said, there’s still a Peter Pan in all of us that refuses to grow up. So I figured why not try and resurrect our juvenile favorites by finding grownup versions of our favorite childhood meals. 

Grilled Cheese with Mozarella, Kale and Prosciutto

I remember the first time I had a grilled cheese sandwich. I was in 1^st grade when I used to go over the school lunch menu and decide between a sack lunch or a hot meal. I always went with the familiar and shied away from the unknown. Hotdogs, burgers and pizza were safe but something like Salisbury steak was too risky of a proposal at that age. I was still getting over the shock that school lunches didn’t come with rice.

One day, a change in the menu meant grilled cheese for lunch. I panicked. What the heck was a grilled cheese and was I going to like it? Or was I going to be grossed out and end up crying in the cafeteria? I had no choice but to try the grilled cheese. My first bite of that buttery grilled bread and warm melted cheese and I was hooked.

I then remember going home and telling my dad about my grilled cheese experience. My dad then told me something that my 1^st grade self thought was unbelievable and completely out of this world, that he can make a grilled cheese right there at home. Before that day, I never knew that a grilled cheese existed and I thought there was no way my dad could ever make one in our own kitchen.

My dad whipped out some bread, butter, cheese and a frying pan. With wide eyes, I watched my dad spread butter on bread, place a piece of Kraft cheese between the slices and grilled it over the frying pan. He then placed the perfect golden-crusted buttery grilled cheese on a plate and I took a bite. It was better than the one I had at lunch and I was happy as any 1^st grader can be. I knew from that point on that grilled cheese would be a go-to-meal for a long time to come. 

To appeal to my more grownup tastes, I found this grilled cheese recipe from Angela Murray’s food blog, Last Call for Corn. Angela was lucky enough to obtain a free copy of the cookbook Grilled Cheese, Please! It’s a 148 pages committed to our favorite sandwich growing up. Click on the picture below for the recipe.

Macaroni and Cheese

While we’re on the subject of cheese, let’s now turn to another cheesy childhood favorite, Macoroni and Cheese.

My brother, sister and I had the blessing of having our grandparents live with our family while growing up. My grandparents were instrumental in helping my parents raise three children, thus allowing them to work full time without the need for daycare. Every morning, my grandparents helped us get ready for school and were also there to greet us when we got home. 

My grandparents and my mom are from the province of Pampanga, a region known for their great cuisine. (In case anybody is wondering, my dad is from Manila) Naturally, Filipino cooking was a common occurrence in our household. But kids born and raised here in the United States can’t live on Filipino food alone. Our American upbringing demands American food and my grandparents’ interpretation of Western meals was often quite questionable. Probably the last time I saw my grandparents healthy. May they both rest in peace.

For whatever reason, my grandma made macaroni and cheese with about 8 times the amount of milk called for in the recipe. The result was one soupy bowl of mac and cheese that had to be eaten with a spoon and finished with a long slurp. Although my grandma’s mac and cheese was completely off, it’s what made it hers. And oddly enough, it’s not her chicken adobo, fried rice or pancit I remember most, it’s her soupy bowls of macaroni and cheese.

My taste for macaroni and cheese evolved as soon as I found out that it wasn’t supposed to be a bowl of soup. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way; you can imagine my embarrassment when she served a bowl of her mac and cheese to some friends I had over after school one day.

If you’ve weaned yourself off of macaroni and cheese over the last few years then Meagan’s recipe from A Zesty Bite will kick you off the wagon. Bacon, onion and garlic contribute to its addictive properties warranting its well-deserved name, Crack-N-Cheese. Click on the photo below to get hooked all over again.

Chicken Nuggets

Finger food. We all love it for its tasty convenience. It’s fun, youthful and yet another food that we can relate to during our younger years.

My grandparents, who normally lived with us during the school year, would often spend the summer months up in Montreal with my cousins. I remember my parents hiring a cousin or a neighbor to baby-sit during those months that they were gone.

But one year, my parents finally thought I was old enough to baby-sit my siblings (who are 6 and 8 years younger than me). I don’t recall my exact age when I was asked to do this, but that’s probably for the better because I’m really not sure if I was legally able to do so.

Besides one minor flood in the kitchen, nothing disastrous came from us fending for ourselves. To make things easier for us, my mom bought us foods that were easy to prepare or that I can simply just put in the oven. Out of all these foods, the one that comes to mind were frozen chicken nuggets. I think my siblings and I spent an entire summer eating chicken nuggets for lunch.

Whether it’s McDonalds Chicken McNuggets, chicken strips, or the frozen Tyson brand chicken nuggets, boneless morsels of chicken are a food that most of us have enjoyed during our youth. Mardi, the author of  the food blog, Eat, Live, Travel, Write shares a Jamie Oliver recipe for chicken nuggets.

If you want to feel a little younger but still cater to your more mature and grownup tastes, give one of these recipes a try.

Photo by Abbie DavidBako brings food from cosmopolitan Hong Kong right here to Capitol Hill’s north end of Broadway. From food, to drinks and décor, owner, Keeman Wong successfully melds traditional elements with a contemporary feel at his newly opened Chinese restaurant.

This is not your regular hole in the wall International District Chinese restaurant delivering cartons of soggy Chinese food. It’s clean, modern and hip yet embraces vintage values and ideas. It fits in here on Capitol Hill joining independent restaurants like Poppie, Olivar, and Altura in proclaiming the North end of Broadway as a popular foodie destination.

Bako’s menu features modern Cantonese cooking using locally sourced ingredients. “Fortunately the tradition is very much in line with modern values. Local sourcing. Doing the minimum to the food you have to do to bring out the flavors. A better balance of meat and vegetables,” Wong said during an interview with CHS Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

They say you eat with your eyes first, but that’s not always true. Here at Bako, you definitely eat with your nose first as the smell of Chinese aromatics pleasantly permeate the restaurant. During a short wait at the bar while waiting for a table to open, I watched cooks prepare and dish out food as it came out of the kitchen. I grew hungrier and more excited with every plate that came out.

Abbie and I, along with our out of town visitors, Rion and Brinn were seated at the long granite community table that divided the dining area. Seeing how good each dish looked coming out of the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bako’s menu items ranged between 8-15 dollars.

Craving small bites to share amongst the four of us, we ordered shrimp chive potstickers and pearls - seasoned pork studded with pearl rice and a sesame soy dipping sauce. The pot stickers were juicy morsels of pureed shrimp. My only complaint about them is that I wish we had two orders. A plate of 5 dumplings for 4 people is kind of a teaser with only having one bite of something that’s this good.

On the other hand, the pearls were visually intriguing, but I felt like the “seasoned” pork lacked seasoning and flavor. It was a juicy bite of pork and rice, but the supposed seasoning along with the blandness of the rice did nothing to bring out the sweetness that we all love from steamed ground pork. I’ll pass on these next time I come, but perhaps a tweek or two of the recipe (some sesame oil, ginger and salt perhaps) will make this dish stunning. I love the concept, but it’s just not there quite yet. The people at my party also agreed.

Looking down our community table, the Singapore Noodles was a very popular dish, and for good reason. These noodles with wild American white prawns, honey roasted pork, bean sprouts, curry and rice noodles were a favorite amongst our party, and other guests at our community table were more than satisfied with their order. The curry really propels this dish to excellence adding just enough heat, spice and sweetness to the lovely noodles, shrimp and pork.

I ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Noodle, a crispy nest of noodles with monterry squid, diver scallops, seasonal vegetables and a sweet-hot chilli sauce. This dish is probably the most visually stunning plate that I saw all night and many people throughout the restaurant had it in front of them. I enjoyed the meal very much, but I must warn you, this dish packs a lot of heat, something my waiter failed to mention. Good thing I like spicy food.

The star of the evening’s dinner was Abbie’s oxtail man tou buns. These sliders are bursting with Asian flavor. The salad of apples and fennel that comes with this dish is a perfect contrast against the rich savory flavor of the meat and crisped clam shell shaped buns. If When I come back here again, this is what I’m ordering, either as an appetizer or two orders as a main dish! If you’re looking for brilliance in a bun, make sure you order some. Photo by Abbie David

Bako also separates themselves from other Chinese restaurants by having an excellent list of cocktails. We Capitol Hill dwellers are spoiled to have places to drink such as Tavern Law, Knee High Stocking Company, and Sun Liquor. It’s almost shocking that a Chinese restaurant would offer drinks of the same caliber. That’s part of what will make Bako so special.

Owner Keeman Wong sat and talked with our table for a few minutes. Along with the food and drinks, we all complimented his restaurant about the great décor, which fits his vision of traditional elements and contemporary feel. We debated whether Seattle loves or hates community tables (I think we love it as evidenced by community tables at Bravehorse Tavern, Serious Pie, Volunteer Park Café, etc.) and how his granite community fits the room perfectly and is conducive to a interactive dining experience.

A modern image of an attractive leafy pattern is projected against a white wall while vintage wallpaper inspired from the movie In the Mood for Love decorates the southern wall. A sexy vintage portrait of a Chinese man and woman marks the Men’s and Ladie’s room. White curtains drape down as a division between the bar and dining room area. Wong even says that chandeliers have yet to be installed. It all comes together very nicely adding to a fantastic dining experience.

I was glad to have eaten at Bako and even happier to meet owner Keeman Wong. He’s the type of person you meet and immediately want to patronize his business based on how nice of a guy he is. Keeman’s execution of his vision here at Bako is making the north end of Broadway quite a delicious and hip place to eat.

For those of you who do end up at Bako, let me know what you think! 

Bako

606 Broadway E.

Seattle, Wa 98102

(206) 829-8958 

The street food of the Philippines consists of small eateries called “turo turo”, which has an exact literal translation of “point point”. They’re appropriately called this because all you have to do is point out the food that you want from the wide selection in front of you. I should also add that it’s not only street food, but also popular while shopping, for the Philippines’ gigantic shopping malls and food courts are also littered with countless turo turo eateries.

Seattle’s Pike Place Market has our very own turo turo eatery in the form of the Oriental Mart and Kitchenette. Across from the big clock in the corner market building, you’ll meet the Apostol family who has been running the Oriental Mart and Kitchenette for almost 40 years.

Shop owner and founder, Mila Apastol sat and chatted with us about her shop. In 1974, Mila and her late husband, Manny started the Oriental Mart and has been catering to tourists, locals, and Pike Place Market shopkeepers and employees. Leila Rosas, one of Mila’s daughters, opened the kitchenette portion of the Oriental Shop where she serves her famous Filipino cuisine.

Everyday options include pancit (noodles), chicken or pork adobo (meat stewed in soy sauce, garlic and vinegar), and fish sinigang (sour soup with salmon). There are also several daily specials. One dish that you shouldn’t miss is the longaniza, a sweet red sausage that my mom’s native province of Pampanga is known for. In true Filipino turo turo fashion, the available meals are layed out right in front of you. While sitting on one of many stools surrounding the kitchen, point out what you want to Leila and she’ll scoop it right up for you. Every meal comes generously over a side of rice and pancit.

If you fall in love with Leila’s chicken or pork adobo, the recipe is posted on the wall and on post cards that Leila will gladly hand out. Fortunately, the front of the shop is a small grocery store and market, and Joy Mori, another daughter of Mila’s, can help find all the ingredients you need.

80+ years and still going strong, Mila along with daughters Joy and Leila will greet you with the friendly hospitality that Filipinos are known for. If you’re looking for adventurous yet approachable cuisine, you gotta hop over to the Oriental Market and give Filipino food a try.  

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Filipinos boast the 4^th highest foreign-born population in the Seattle area but oddly few Filipino restaurants exist.

That’s probably why Hershell Taghap, line cook at Tom Douglas’ Cuoco, threw a one night only Thrilla in Manila Pop Up Dinner. It showcased Filipino classics such as Kare-kare (Peanut butter and oxtail stew), Sinigang na hipon (sour soup with whole shrimp), Lumpia (Filipino eggrolls), Pancit canton (noodles), a whole roasted pig and much more. The food was served "cotillion style" out of foil containers that we all helped ourselves to.

Not only did Hershell cook, host and organize the one night event, he was also the DJ, storyteller and entertainer. He was a hospitable host who seemed to be everywhere at once, whether it was in the kitchen, at the DJ stand, or mingling and talking with people in the dining room. He told stories and gave credit to the family and friends behind each dish such as “dad’s secret everything sauce” or “Uncle June’s Ordonez Family Fried Rice”. Hershell was even a bit of stand up comedian joking how he never had a girlfriend because he was always working at his family’s Filipino grocery store while growing up.

There's a joke on how all Filipinos know each other and in this case, it's true. It turns out that Hershell and I went to college together back at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois! 

Click on Hershell's photo to find his blogs and twitter information

As for me, I ate two full plates of Hershell’s outstanding Filipino meal while mingling with people at my community table. I was the only Filipino seated around me and I spent a lot of time happily answering questions about Filipino cuisine.  I even showed a couple how to rip the heads off of the shrimp and suck all the flavorful juices down. I was quite proud of the couple, for they were brave and mirrored my eagerness to suck out that shrimp head goodness.

I also shared some of my eating experiences while traveling the Philippines. As people pigged out on their platefuls of sisig (crispy bits of pig head, red bell pepper, lime, and sugar cane vinegar) I explained how sisig is a very popular ‘pulutan’ or bar food that Filipinos often eat while drinking San Miguel beer.

From someone who doesn’t eat and cook nearly as much Filipino food as I should, I’m glad I was able to buy tickets to this great event. Over the last few years, I’ve favored French, Italian, and Vietnamese cooking while more or less abandoning my Filipino foodie upbringing. Wednesday night’s dinner was just what I needed to jump start my appetite for Filipino cooking. You can take that as a hint for things to come.

Maraming Salamat, Hershell! 

Read more about Thrilla in Manila Pop up Dinner at the Tom Douglas Blog and Newsletter.  

Hershell himself wrote about the great event from his perspective. 

And Lilian of Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs also wrote a blog entry on Hershell's great event. 

I have an embarrassing confession: As a self-proclaimed foodie of Filipino decent, I can’t cook a good rice dish to save my life.

Allow me to clarify. Along with 2 billion other people, steamed rice has been and always will be the staple starch in my life.  I can steam rice with my eyes closed. Using a little trick that my dad showed me, I use nothing but my finger as a measuring tool and a cheap little rice cooker to make perfectly steamed white rice. I’m perfectly happy using steamed rice to mop up and accompany all the flavors of the meat and vegetables that come out of my kitchen.

But rice dishes like risotto, fried rice, and pilaf have mostly been beyond my repertoire. In fact, other starches such as potatoes are mysteriously absent from my kitchen. We always have store bought bread around but I never make it myself. And somewhere deep within my kitchen cabinets lurks a box of pasta that is occasionally boiled up. Other “exotic” starches such as cous-cous might as well come from a different planet.

The consequence of using mostly steamed rice at home is that it has seriously hindered my versatility in the kitchen. Main dish proteins and vegetables are my strength while potatoes, pasta, and other rice dishes continue to be an Achilles heel.

In my journey to becoming a better eater, it is paramount that I overcome my past failures, laziness, and content in regards to cooking carbs. It’s human nature to focus on what we’re good at, but improvement and growth demands to focus on some of the things we suck at.

Studying for my Nursing Certification Licensure Exam (NCLEX) kicked my ass into focusing on what I was bad at in order to succeed. There is no way I would of passed if I kept studying what I loved in adult, cardiac and psych nursing and avoided what I had little interest in with mother-baby and pediatrics. But I did what I had to do to ace the damn test and cardiac nursing is still my bread and butter. Meanwhile, I’m fine with leaving kids and moms to Abbie.

My first stop on my journey towards improvement brings us to my favorite Vietnamese Cookbook. There I discovered Chicken and Vegetable Clay Pot Rice. Traditionally cooked in a clay pot, this recipe is usually cooked in a Dutch oven. Studded with chicken and colorful vegetables this dish eats like Asian fried rice. Instead of day old cooked rice, raw rice is heated in oil and nearly boiling broth is then thrown into the rice to be gradually absorbed. This cooks and tenderizes the rice.

Meanwhile, marinated chicken along with the vegetables is cooked separately before placing on top of the cooking rice. The rice, chicken, and vegetables eventually mix and mingle resulting in quite possibly the best rice dish I’ve ever made.

I think it’s a pretty damn good start to expanding my horizons.

Chicken and Vegetable Clay Pot Rice

Adapted from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen by Andrea Nguyen

1/2 teaspoon salt                  

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoon light (regular) soy sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

3/ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

5 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

2/3 cup chopped celery (pea-sized pieces)

2/3 cup chopped carrot (pea-sized pieces)

5 or 6 dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted, trimmed, and chopped into pea-sized pieces (I used fresh shitake)

1/2 cup frozen peas, preferably petite peas, thawed

2 cups long-grain rice

2 2/3 cup chicken stock (infuse it with a little ginger)

In a bowl stir together the salt, white pepper, sugar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Add the chicken and use chopsticks to mix well. Set aside

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the celery, carrot, and mushrooms and continue to sauté for about 3 minutes, or until half cooked. Add the chicken and sauté gently for 3 to 4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the heat, stir in the peas and set the pan aside.

Rinse the rice and let it drain for 10 minutes in a sieve positioned over a bowl. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a near simmer in a small saucepan and then cover to keep it hot.

In a heavy-bottomed 5 quart dutch oven or similar pot, heat the remaining tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Firmly shake the sieve holding the rice to expel any hidden water, and then add the rice to the pot. Stir constantly with a large spoon for almost 3 minutes, or until the grains are opaque and feel light. Add the stock and expect dramatic boiling. Immediately give the rice and stock a big stir, then lower the heat to medium so that the contents simmer and cover the pot.

During the next 5 minutes, encourage the grains to absorb the stock and cook evenly. To do this, periodically remove the lid give the rice a big, quick stir, and then replace the lid. I typically stir the rice 3 times. When you stir the rice the third time, the rice should stick to a bit to the pan and most of the stock will have been absorbed. (If it has not yet reached this point, continue cooking for a minute or so and check again). At this point, level the rice and turn the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Uncover and add the vegetables and chicken and any juices from the skillet, distributing them evenly over the rice. Replace the lid and continue cooking for 10 minutes longer. Uncover and stir the contents, scraping the bottom to combine all the ingredients. Replace the lid from the heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork and then spoon it into 1 or 2 servings bowls or platters. If a little curst has formed on the bottom of the pot, scoop it out and serve the shards separately for anyone who enjoys their crisp, nutty taste.

Information overload has done nothing but leave us more confused than ever on what and how we should be eating. Michael Pollan's book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual  directs our modern day society back to how our ancestors have survived for thousands of years: eating food from farms, fields and oceans rather than a factory, package or can. 

Here are my favorite 12 rules for healthier eating. 

1. Eat food that is a product of nature, not industry: Avoid highly processed concoctions designed by food scientists.

2. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they’re not: Imitation butter, AKA margarine, is a classic example. To make something like nonfat cream cheese that contains neither cream nor cheese requires an extreme degree of processing.

3. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “nonfat” in their names: Society has gotten fat on low-fat products. Eat the real thing. 

4. Avoid food products that make health claims: The healthiest food in the supermarket, the fresh produce, doesn’t boast about its healthfulness. Don't take the silence of the yams as a sign that they have nothing to say about your health

5. Food is alive and should eventually die so eat only food that will eventually rot: When a food goes bad, it means that fungi and bacteria got to our food before we did. Processing makes food less appealing to our competitors by removing nutrients that attract them and removing components that are likely to turn rancid, such as omega 3 fatty acids. 

6. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car: Food blogger Accidental Hedonist talks about how McDonalds even fucked up oatmeal; McDonalds Oatmeal has more sugar than a Sneakers bar and just 10 calories less than an Egg McMuffin and cheeseburger. 

7. Eat like an omnivore: The saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” can be applied to more than just apples. The greater amount of species you eat, the more likely you are to cover all your nutritional bases

8. Try not to eat alone: Communal meals limit consumption and we tend to eat more slowly when eating with others (maybe not in my family). 

9. Do all your eating at a table: When sitting at a desk or watching TV, we tend to not pay attention to what or how much we’re eating. 

10. Better food costs more so pay more, eat less: Americans spend less than 10% of our income on food, which is less than any other nation. Instead, we choose to spend our money on healthcare. Some people in America can’t afford good food, but most of us can. Better to pay the grocer than the doctor. 

11. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself: How often do you cut up potatoes to make French fries?

12. Treat treats as treats: There is nothing wrong with special occasion foods as long as every day is not a special occasion. 

Rule number 8 and 9. Eat all your food at a table and don't eat alone. This is a picture of our family eating a seafood meal in Boracay Beach, Philippines

Thank you all for your comments, retweets, and facebook likes on my first giveaway. It was a little nerve racking running my first contest on my blog but I must say that it was a great success. FrancisFoodie received over 30 comments, retweets, and facebook likes over the past week and I've enjoyed reading them all. Unfortunately, only 6 winners were able to win the jam. I used the website random.org to determine who gets to bring home a bottle of our homemade goodness.  

The winners were the following with their corresponding comments:

My cousin Derick: "I just want to win something." Congratulations, Kuya Derick, you just won something!

Carmen: "I love homemade jam! I've never had nectarine jam before - sounds delicious (or Num Num!)"

Jenny: "Oh these jams sound DELICIOUS!!! Vibrant, bright, yummy goodness!!!"

Sarah: "Mmmm I love pb&j and these jams sound like they'd be absolutely perfect!" Send Sarah some love by visiting Sarah's blog

Abbie's coworker Robin: "I've been hoping to do some "jamming" this summer but haven't gotten around to it. A jar of your homemade goodness would be welcome to make an appearance at our house!" 

My Coworker Tara: Thanks for the facebook like! 

More giveaways to come hopefully in the near future. Thank you all for participating and visiting francisfoodie.com

It's after midnight so it's technicaly Saturday morning. My Friday Food Photos are late because I was busy enjoying the Indian Summer that Seattle is experiencing at Golden Gardens Beach Park. We spent our afternoon and evening chilling and grilling with friends around a bonfire. I brought to the beach a tomato basil mozzarella salad from a recipe that I found off of Savory Sweet Life just this morning. Her deeply personal writing, fantastic photos, and simple and delicious recipe is why I look forward to reading more work from Alice of Savory Sweet Life.

Tomato Basil Mozzarella Sald from a Savory Sweet LifeThe past few days have been in the upper 70's, but the weather is about to turn towards fall come Sunday. I sadly confess that I did not do enough grilling this summer so I wanted to take advantage of what might be my last chance to do so. Abbie has been asking me all week to make salmon burgers and I found the following recipe from Ezra Pound Cake.  The 3 of us that were lucky enough to have this burger tonight absolutely loved it. We all agreed that it was probably the best salmon burger we've ever had. Thank you Rebecca Crump of Ezra Pound Cake. Your recipe has been catalogued in my brain under go-to recipes that taste great and are quick and easy to make. 

Salmon Burgers from Ezra Pound Cake

Football season is here and I am fully engaged this year. My fantasy football team is off to a 2-0 start and I can't wait for our first Monday Night Football party when Da Bears play the Lions on October 10th. I've been on the hunt for good football finger food and I look forward to making these ribs I found from Heather of mmmisformommy. This month's Bon Appetit instructs to never serve something you've never cooked before. I bought a slab of ribs today and I look forward to dusting off the slow cooker and cooking these ribs tomorrow. Easy BBQ Ribs by MMM...is for Mommy

So click on their links and photos to visit these talented food bloggers. I've enjoyed (or will enjoy) their recipes and I'm sure you will too. 

Critics agree that Frabbie’s Rockin’ Red Raspberry Jam and Num Num Nectarine are the best things that have happened to the peanut butter jelly sandwich since sliced bread.

Even better still is that I’m offering you a chance to take home a bottle of our incredibly fruity homemade jam.

With local fruit purchased from our neighborhood farmers markets, Abbie and I are learning how to lock away the harvests of summer and fall to last us through the long Seattle winter. So far, we’ve successfully worked with raspberries and nectarines but look forward to expanding our horizons to the infinite opportunities of canning and preserving. Apples, pears, and the pickling of cucumbers and other vegetables are on the horizon.

I admit that I was never a peanut butter and jelly guy growing up. Now that I have bottles of homemade jam lying around my kitchen, I’ve brought home bags of bagels, English muffins, scones, and one gigantic jar of peanut butter for the sole purpose of slathering and gobbling down our homemade jam. Having jam was also a part of my inspiration to try my hand in baking with these peanut butter and jelly sandwich cookies.

With so many bottles and nowhere to put them, I am giving you a chance to take home a bottle of Frabbie’s Rockin’ Red Raspberry Jam or Num Num Nectarine. It’s the least I can do for taking time out of your busy day to read what I have here at www.francisfoodie.com 

So here’s what you have to do to be considered to take home our delicious product. You don’t have to perform all of the following, but for each item you do perform, the higher the chances you have of winning. I’ll contact the winners sometime next week.

• Find the link to this entry on the top of my wall on my francisfoodie fan page and “like” it
• Leave a comment at the bottom of this entry
• Copy and paste the following and post on your twitter account: Retweet for your chance to win a bottle of Homemade jam by @francisfoodie and @mrs_foodie http://bit.ly/qNvYvF

Photo by Rachelle Ruggle

People watching alone was worth the $11 admission, but what really made our day was Mutton Busting. Similar to bull riding, mutton busting is for kids under 6 years of age and under 60 pounds. The kids hang on to a run away sheep as long as they can. The Puyallup Fair runs from September 9-25th.

Pete's Woodfire BBQ was worth tracking down at the Puyallup Fair. 

The barns were full of barn animals and baby pigs probably stole the show. 

Photo by Abbie David

Corn on the cob is always a popular festival food. 

 And of course it isn't a fair without sweets like ice cream, caramel apples, and cotton candy.