You walk into your local grocery store looking for your favorite brand of cookies made in South Hampton. Nothing will satisfy you but these cookies. For some reason only this one store carries them. They are out. You ask the clerk, through a clenched jaw

“Where are the (insert homemade sounding name) cookies? You guys usually have them right here, here on this shelf, see, but you’re out, are there some in the back?”

“Oh. They didn’t come in.”

“Do you know when you’ll get them?”

“I don’t know, we ordered them but they just haven’t come in a while.”

“Great. Thanks.” World over.

Why does this happen? It seems like if a place orders something that the item should just be there. It happens at restaurants too, they didn’t get this one special ingredient so they don’t have that absolutely must have regular dish. This happens because most of the time food doesn’t just show up from the manufacturer to the back door of the store, it has to be distributed by a company that houses the food and delivers it to the business.

Since starting my job as a specialty food broker a couple of months ago I have been working closely with these distributors. Let me tell you, there are A LOT of people working to get every single thing you see on a grocery store isle in the store and to your house. There are distribution comanies carrying the same products vying for stores’ business, scowling at eachother at trade shows, it’s all very dramatic and thrilling!

Now I don’t want to give these guys a bad rap, the sales reps are some of the most knowledgable foodie people out here, the quality control supervisors stand sifting through product in a 40 degree warehouse all day, the drivers haul 50lb bags of you name it into truck, store, store, store.

So to get to the point, I’ll return to the cookies. The cookie company in South Hampton wants to get their cookies into stores in California. There may only be a few people working for this bakehouse, it’s not very cost or time effective for someone to fly to California and bring samples to every grocery store and try to get them to carry it. Furthermore, what are they going to do, UPS boxes and boxes of cookies every week all over the state? They contact my company, local to California, to represent them. We find a distribution company to house and deliver the product, and we hit the streets along with the sales reps from the distributor to sell the cookies.

Why those cookies weren’t at the store happens for a couple of reasons. Sometimes demand is greater than supply and the bakehouse just couldn’t get enough organic flour or Colombian chocolate or whatever ingredient makes the cookies so great so they shorted the distributor. Sometimes the distributor underestimated how great a person like me would be at selling these cookies and they didn’t order enough to keep in stock. Hence, “Oh. They didn’t come in.”

This may not seem SUPER intersting but I think it’s important to know how your food gets to you. This subject also ties into some research I am doing on the carbon footprint of cross- country distribution vs. local manufacturing…some of the results may surprise you. 

-Raquel

It is a Christmas tradition in my family that we volunteer to organize our church’s Christmas “giving tree”. For those of you that do not know what a giving tree is-let me explain.

Needy children are signed up to receive clothes and toys, then their card is drawn by someone who wishes to purchase these items for them. In theory the gifts are dropped off and on Christmas Eve the children get a nice visit with Santa and clothes and toys.

However…with 208 kids signed up-some people don’t exactly follow through with getting a gift in time.

So my mom and I run to stores in order to get appropriate sized clothes and toys for all of the good girls and boys. Then we gather all of the gifts turned in at our house-we wrap the toy, and staple the gift bag closed with a huge number on it.

On Christmas Eve, we load up all of the presents in to my dad’s pickup and we haul them to the church. We then line up the presents in rows of 20. As the children come in, they are checked in and given a label with their name and number on it that they stick to their clothing.

As their number’s are called they line up to see Santa and their appropriately numbered gift is then handed to Santa to give to them.

This year I almost cried-in fact had to take a break as I saw a very thankful mother tear up as her child received what is probably the only Christmas present it will get this year.

Kind of puts some things in perspective.

So the fact that my mom pulled a muscle wrapping over 200 gifts, or my need for medication after handling my mom’s stress levels-doesn’t really matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Those kids were truly happy sitting on Santa’s lap. It was a singularly magical Christmas moment.

-Jessa

Whether you were signed up, volunteered, or decided to host, you may be wondering what you are going to make that will give the illusion of effortless culinary ability. Here are some of my faves that I’ve done in the past.

Mozzarella Toasts:

1 baguette

1 container mozzarella in water

honey

freshly ground black pepper

*This recipe is best served right out of the oven so try it if you are hosting or take the fixings to where you are going.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Slice the baguette about 3/4 in. thick

Tear apart the mozzarella and place it on each slice of bread

Drizzle some honey over the mozzarella

Crack some black pepper over each slice

Put in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to color.

Oven Roasted Tomato Pasta:

1 bag penne or rotini pasta

1 pint oven roasted tomatoes - these can be found on your olive bar at Whole Foods or if you can’t swing by there, you can use a jar of sun-dried tomatoes.

1 package burratta cheese - this is basically mozarella cheese with Italian cream on the inside, the extra moisture really helps bring the dish together.

1 package bacon

1 lemon - zested - you can zest the lemon with a microplane or the fine side of your cheese grater.

olive oil

salt and fresh ground black pepper

*This recipe can be served hot or cold and can be made ahead of time.

Cook the pasta according to the package (please don’t overcook.yuck. yeah, I’m a snob about that)

Chop up the bacon into 1” pieces and cook - I like mine crispy, I think it adds nice texture to the dish.

Roughly chop up the tomatoes

Add the bacon, tomatoes, and lemon zest to the drained pasta with a little of the olive oil and mix together.

Tear apart your burrata and add to the pasta

Now you can add salt and pepper to taste. Careful adding salt, the bacon and tomatoes are both salty.

If you like you can squeeze some lemon juice on top.

Pear or Apple Tart:

Pre-made frozen pie crust - you can make your own but this is soooo much easier and you can just say you made it.

3 apples or pears - or both!

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup sugar

1 orange - zested and juiced

a few sprigs of thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Peel and quarter cut the apples or pears. Slice them pretty thin, maybe the width of 2 nickels stacked. Throw them in a pan big enough so most of the slices are in contact with the pan. Add the butter, juice of the orange, half the sugar, and half of the thyme. Cook until they are soft but not mushy and the liquid is syrupy. Taste one of the slices and see if you want it sweeter, if you do, add some sugar and cook for a couple more minutes.

Unroll your thawed pie crust on a greased baking sheet and fold over the edge so you have a little lip all the way around. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it looks nice when it’s rustic. If you’re feeling really fancy you can beat up an egg and baste the edges with it so it turns crispy in the oven.

Lay the slices in the middle of the crust and pour the syrup over. The lip on the crust should keep it from spilling out.

Put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden around the edges.

Right when you take it out to cool sprinkle the orange zest and the rest of the thyme leaves on top.

I hope you all enjoy these and become more popular because you made them and have a really really great holiday.

-Raquel

I have naturally very curly hair. This might surprise you since I do my best to tame the wild beast that is my mane within an inch of its life. On a daily basis I use a flattening iron, curling iron and a strange torture looking device called a hot comb. Along with dying my hair, this puts quite a strain on my locks. One way I combat this is with a ton of moisturizing products.

1. I start with a moisturizing shampoo. The problem with most moisturizing shampoos is that they don’t clean as well and for someone who uses a lot of product-I need a deep clean. Try Bumble and Bumble Creme de Coco Shampoo-a bottle will last you a long time as it lathers exceptionally well and your hair never felt better after just a shampoo.

2. I will shout from the mountain tops that my favorite conditioner is a hard to find Japanese line called ER Crede Conditioner. This product uses avocado oil and silk proteins to make your hair the absolute softest its ever been.

*Need a little extra moisture? An avocado mask is one of the best things you can do for your hair. Just mash up a couple of avocados and slather on your hair-leave on for 5 mins and shampoo-voila! perfectly moisturized hair!

3. Before using any heat styling on your hair-use a protectant. I like BioSilk because its not too greasy and smells great while also moisturizing your skin. You can also use the CHI line as the products use almost the same ingredients.

4. When your hair needs a pick me up- use some After Party by Bed Head-your hair will shine and smell great-nevermind that the bottle looks like something you would pick up in an adult store…

There you go ladies-some thirst quenching products for your dried out locks, enjoy!

-Jessa

As I begin this post about olives, I feel a bit fraudulent and here’s why: I really can’t stand the taste of olives. But wait!!! I know this is a personal defect, most people in their right mind love olives, and they should! Olives are a beautiful addition to any table spread, they compliment all kinds of cheese and wine (which I do love), and are the basis for olive oil which is one of the most cherished ingredients in all of foodopia. None the less I like to know about all of the food out there and I thought I might share some of what I’ve learned.

Color

There are 3 main colors that you will find at your olive bar: green, blonde, black.

Green - These olives are picked from the vine before they are ripe. They tend to be a little toothier, firmer, and have more of the buttery olive taste. Some examples of these are Lucques, Castelvetrano, and Mt Athos. These are paired well with white wines and also hold up well in cooking, i.e. pizzas and paninis.

Blonde - These olives are picked right at the turning point of unripe to ripe. They range in color from very blonde-green to purple-brown. The most common blonde olive is the Kalamata. These olives are perfect for appetizers, they are easy to eat by themselves and are great for tapenades and spreads.

Black - These olives are picked after they are ripened. The are a little softer and have a deep strong olive taste. Common black olives are Cerignolas, (also eaten when green, these olives are HUGE and look really nice mixed together) Empeltre, and Nicoise. These olives pair well with full body red wines and sharp salty cheeses.

Processing

There are three main ways that olives are flavored and processed: brining, oil curing, and sun curing.

Brining - A brine is traditionally some variation of water, salt, vinegar, spices, and herbs. When you find olives on an olive bar floating around in “water”, those are brined.

Oil curing - Oil curing is when the olives are taken directly after they’ve been picked (usually ripe black), laid out on a big tray, sprinkled with salt, and coated with olive oil. The skin becomes shriveled looking and they have a very rich oiliness to them as you can guess.

Sun curing - Much like oil curing, the olives are piked when ripe, laid out on a tray, sprinkled with salt, but are not coated in oil. They shrivel even more, and have a chewier texture similar to sun-dried tomatoes.

Pits

There are 3 ways you will find olives in regards to pitting: whole, cracked, pitted.

Whole - Think of a whole olive as a bone-in steak. The richness of the olive remains intact when the pit is left in. When olives are cured or put in brine with the pit in, the flavors only penetrate the outside of the olive so when you bite in, you still taste the true oliveness.

Cracked - Cracked olives still have the pit in but are cracked open before the are put in to brine or set out to cure. They absorb more of the flavoring than a whole olive and are a little easier to remove the pit from if you are choosing to do this without the fancy tongue work.

Pitted - Pitted olives have had the pits removed before the are put in brine or set out to cure. They absorb the most flavor of however they are prepared because they are able to be fully soaked in and out. They loose some of their original olive flavor, but they are ideal if you are mixing them into a pasta or salad because it’s less work for you and not a choking hazard to yourself or loved ones.

There. More than you ever wanted to know about those salty little devils.

-Raquel

Much like with my cooking, I piece together my outfits. The usually consist of a piece that I splurged on, vintage jewelry I “borrowed” from my mom, something inexpensive and basic (many times from forever 21 I’ll be perfectly honest), or something from the collection of the most stylish person I know, actress and dear friend Amber Heard. I credit her and my mom for any development and interest in how I dress myself.

My mom has a colorful, eclectic, layered aesthetic and has been the best styled woman since it was cool to wear a lace dress with boots the first time. She always says “you can never be over dressed for an occasion” and has always encouraged me to wear what I feel good in.

Since Amber and I met when we were 17, we have made events out of getting dressed. She has always had a classic flavor, lots of tailored black and cream, but always paired with an unusual piece that she has found in some market in Argentina (insert envy, I do).

What both of these women have inspired me to do is think outside the box. I don’t have a wardrobe budget. I try to make the few nice pieces I have stretch by pairing them with something unconventional, belting them at a different spot, mixing color palates, and l a y e r i n g…. God help me.

There is always a new outfit in the closet, even on those days when it feels like you’d rather go naked than wear those old clothes hanging there. I encourage you to go play, bring out the box of jewelry you’ve stashed away, TRY ON something you haven’t worn in forever but just can’t get rid of with one of your favorite pieces that always makes you feel good. I would love to share all kinds of underground fashion info with you, what trends are coming after the upcoming trends, what designers are on the rise, what boutique has the best cluster pearl necklaces. There will be those posts but mostly what you’ll see here are my attempts at creating something original, even if it’s just an outfit, because some days you just want to feel different.

-Raquel