Smoky Pork & Sweet Potato Tacos

I apologize that there isn't a picture of this dish. This is something that I found months ago, but I had forgotten it until yesterday when I was looking for a dish to make and bring over to our friends' house.

It's super easy because you chop some stuff up, put some things in the blender and throw everything in a Crock pot! I did use fire roasted tomatoes (I keep various organic Muir Glen brand cans in my pantry) which I think really added a great flavor to the sauce.

I also made the avocado crema that goes with the tacos. Super easy to make and very tasty. The only thing is that I would have halved the recipe because 7 people barely made a dent in the sauce, but it will be good for salad dressing this week.

The nice thing about this dish was that my teenage son even liked it (he doesn't usually like things with lots of sauce) and he even ate leftovers for lunch today!

http://www.feelgoodeats.com/2008/05/07/cousin-meags-killer-party-tacos.html

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

I have been AWOL this summer. I have actually spent more time traveling than in my own bed the last three months and I haven't been able to spend much time at the Farmer's Market (which is really sad) this summer. I have also ate quite a bit of food on the road that needs to be posted about on here, but I haven't had a chance to do it! I have one more trip to NYC tomorrow to end this crazy summer of travel, then my travel slows down quite a bit which means back to actually cooking and hopefully blogging again!

I did get to make this delicious buttermilk cake from Gourmet magazine with the fresh blackberries that I bought at the Farmer's Market earlier this summer. This cake isn't too sweet and it's great when it's reheated for a little bit in the microwave. I liked it as a breakfast cake, but you can use it for dessert with some ice cream if that strikes your fancy. It keeps for days (if it will last that long) and you can use all kinds of different berries.

Berry Buttermilk Cake (I used blackberries) from Gourmet Magazine

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 oz)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.