Ok so here is my first featured 2012 food product. So as you all know I love Trader Joe's....for me its almost like Disneyland...ya know the happiest place on Earth. Don't worry I don't put on my princess dress or mouseketeer ears to go grocery shopping but I do get a feeling of elation when I pull into the parking lot.



Last time I was there I found a coffee cake mix that I decided was a must try. And wow let me just say I am really impressed...it tastes as good as homemade if not better. I was a little worried when it was baking because the exterior definitely looked done but when I put a toothpick in it there was goop on it. So I put it in for another 5 minutes and decided I was just going to have to take my chances because I didn't want to set off the smoke detector or char it beyond edibility. However, it was perfect when I cut into it.

The mix is easy to make. You just take the cake mix and add milk, melted butter and an egg. Then take the crumb mixture mix and add chopped cold butter...I used my hands because as you all know I like to get intimately involved in my food. And it was fun!! The recipe says you have 2 options you can do a layer of batter, a layer of crumb mixture and then repeat or you can do all batter and then all crumb mixture on top. I opted for the layering method and it was yummy!

My only word of caution is that it does require nearly an hour of baking time. So if you are looking for immediate coffee cake gratification this is not the recipe for you. But most of the time I am not in starvation mode first thing in the morning so I can see that this would work for me the majority of the time. I guess worse case scenario if you are in starvation mode snack on something else while your coffee cake is cooking.

And since its 2012 I decided to start reading some of the articles about Food Trends for the coming year. I have truly decided that this is going to be a good year and here are my top 5 food trends that I stole from all the articles I read.

1. Custom French Fry Bars-holy yum!! Ok so this may be a fattening year but that sounds like the best friggin restaurant idea I have heard of in a long time. Where oh where can I find me a french fry bar? A cold beer and a french fry bar sounds pretty damn close to heaven.

2. Grilled Cheese Infused Vodka....gosh that would have made those childhood lunches of grilled cheese and tomato soup way better if they were served with a grilled cheese bloody marys...Random thought has anyone been down the vodka aisle at Total Wine? The amount of infused alcohols is completely insane and overwhelming.

3. Asian Dumplings-WTF!!! These have been around longer than dinosaurs have walked the Earth and now someone is trying to claim them as a food trend of 2012. I mean I love the dumpling whether we are talking about pot sticker or dim sum they all work for me but seriously.

4. Macaroons-Another random trend. And I am a lover of coconut so I do truly like this trend but very odd. They did specify that it is trendy right now to do macaroons in creative colors and flavors...but seriously how can you improve on perfection....cause I love the traditional gooey coconut macaroon especially the ones that are half dipped in chocolate. But maybe this trend will give me the inspiration to actually try and make them

5. And last but not least Retro Fare...ok I love the idea but what exactly are they calling retro. Are we talking 1985 TV dinners or are we talking about 1955 pot roast and mashed potatoes. Or oh hell are we talking about the 1990's Top Ramen cause that will really depress me. I would like to think that they are referring to the comfort food of like my Grandparents era but seriously what if they are not...does this mean I am old if they are creating trends after my childhood?



And last but not least tonight I made Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto. I did truly think that was going  to be breathtaking and it was not quite that good. But it would be a perfect work night meal as its quick, easy and tasty.