Baked Freekeh Meatballs & Freekehlicious Grains & Cookbook GIVEAWAY

2014 began with a fun and healthy project. This has been in the works a couple of months now. I helped develop this Freekeh Meatballs recipe (shown above) for my client, Freekehlicious, and photographed it. I was super delighted to see Freekehlicious debut on Dr. Oz this past Monday serving these high in protein and fiber and low in glycemic index Freekeh Meatballs. You can catch the Monday "Toxic Acid Takedown: Fighting inflammation" episode featuring freekeh as one of the foods for detoxing for the new year on Dr. Oz's site. Find the baked and super delicious Freekeh Meatballs recipe and my photograph on Freekehlicioius' site here. The recipe also appears on Dr. Oz's site here. Many congrats to the ladies at Freekehlicious for making this super grain a 2014 detox and healthy living must.

DC Eats & Food: My Lunches With Jeanne: Mini Food Crawl: Boqueria, Astro, GBD, Etc.

Jeanne and I arrived in DC around 11am. Way too early for my taste to have lunch but the idea of fried chicken and doughnuts really appealed to Jeanne. Did I mention she is a skinny momma?! As I mentioned before, Jeanne loves everything pork too. I wonder why I chose her as my food wandering companion?! Go figure. She might have altogether chosen me for all I know, and here I thought I held the reins. Speaking of which, she is the one steering the wheel. Navigating DC like a pro, even after a decade long absence, living in San Diego.

Bagels - The Beginning: A Perfect Crust, Chiffon Crumb

Bagel making seemed daunting to me at first, but it is simpler than I imagined. I dedicated half my Saturday to the project and got into the groove. A two step process of boiling and then baking is very similar to pretzel making. From time to time, I burst into self satisfied high pitched giggles or witchy shrieks as they must have sounded like to my guys here. The touch and feel of the dough in its different stages was sensational. I was happy doing my own thing. Hypnotized. Entranced.