Two Days of Shopping and Good Food

I did some shopping these last few days and I ate some good food. Hooray, for me. On Friday, I finally visited the New Pioneer Food Co-op. It is an organic grocer, deli, bakery, winery, etc. all wrapped into one. The smell hits you as soon as you walk in the door...

If it would have been around meal time, I would have definitely stopped at their deli to grab a bite. Or their bakery, for a "dessert only" meal. Just look at the goods!

I had a few things in mind that I wanted to look for, and for the most part found all of it. Although I could have probably spent more $$$$ and more time there....

I'm anxious to try the agave nectar in my oatmeal, and other baking related items. And check out the Larabars! I've never seen the "dessert" kind - I snagged a German Chocolate and a Chocolate Mint one. I'll be sure to let you know how they taste:) The garlic hummus (not pictured) was very good as well. I dove into that with some of Stacy's Garlic & Herb Pita Chips. Yum! I will tell you though.....I did have to explain to my husband what hummus was....he wasn't that impressed. Other items I snagged were Jalapeno Food Should Taste Good Chips, some organic garlic herb salt, and some almond butter with honey.

Oh, and the best part was today. Little man and I went to my nephew's basketball game. In between games we all went out for lunch and since my niece's birthday was a few days ago, my mom (as always) baked the cake. She always asks what cake we want (mine is ALWAYS yellow cake with chocolate frosting), and my niece usually picks my mom's coconut cake, but this time she told Grandma to "do whatever you want". So my mom picked a new recipe - something chiffon....can't quite remember the exact title....sorry. Anyway it had four layers with cherry and chocolate bits and tons of light, creamy frosting in between each layer. I thought it was great! Some people weren't as fond of it as me, but I certainly thought is was a keeper. Here it is before we dug in.

Did your mom bake your birthday cake growing up?

Still do it today? Or did you order one from a bakery?

Would you like to comment?

JocelynJanuary 16, 2010 at 7:22 PM
Looks like you picked up some great finds! I love that agave nectar!
And that cake looks YUMMY...wow. So pretty :)

I don;t think my mom ever baked homemade cakes for us..perhaps boxed is all she had time for ;) lol
Ally's Sweet and Savory EatsJanuary 16, 2010 at 8:50 PM
Jocelyn...well, my mom will admit many were boxed mixes...but it's the thought that counts right? In my opinion boxed mixes still taste good!
AshleyJanuary 16, 2010 at 10:00 PM
I LOVE hummus, but my parents are skeptical like your husband. Also, my mom always baked me a cake for my b-day when I was a kid. It was usually based on a theme and sometimes even in a shape, such as an elephant!
ErinJanuary 17, 2010 at 10:45 AM
We used to do ice cream cakes a lot as a kid, but now my cake request is blue raspberry Jello cake w/ whipped cream topping.

I love New Pi! Glad you found Larabars there, I'm going to have to check Gateway Market for them tomorrow. I'm so sorry we never ate there when you were working at Wells with us because it's now our favorite place to go out to.
KatieJanuary 17, 2010 at 5:04 PM
Oh my goodness, look at all the good foodie loot! I am a little jealous!

My mama always baked a cake...we got to pick the kind too. Everyone in my family always picked "banana cake" except me. I always went for straight up chocolte wiith choclate frosting. Yummm...we always got to have cake for breakfast on our birthdays too. :-)
lizzyJanuary 17, 2010 at 5:16 PM
LOVE blue diamond almond butter and Jocolat!! yumm! I haven't tried the Jalapeno FSTG chips yet...but they sound sooo good, can't wait to read what you think of them! Hope you're having a great sunday! xoxo!
Ally's Sweet and Savory EatsJanuary 17, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Lizzy...Jalapeno chips are GOOD! They are spicy, but that is how we like them:) Even better dipped in salsa....oh, and I put some of the almond butter in my baked oatmeal this morning - it's a keeper!
chow and chatterJanuary 17, 2010 at 6:45 PM
oh great store, my Mum baked it love your cake yummy
Naomi(Onefitfoodie)January 18, 2010 at 5:25 AM
mmm the cake looks so awesome! I think my mom made me cupcakes always! I would bring them to school on my bday, those were the best days! bringing in a tray of cupcakes to celebrate your own bday LOL. that blue diamnd almond butter is AMAZING!
Graze With MeJanuary 18, 2010 at 12:03 PM
I've had to explain "hummus" to so many people. It's really funny to me.

My mom always baked her cakes from scratch. I always requested either carrot cake or this one called Dark Red Chocolate cake. Both with homemade cream cheese frosting of course.

I remember the first time I had store bought cake at a birthday party, I think I was 5? I took a bite, made a face and ran over to my mom telling her it was "too sweet" and "had it gone bad??"
Ally's Sweet and Savory EatsJanuary 18, 2010 at 2:30 PM
Jessie,that is TOO funny! It's amazing how we all become so accustomed to our mom's cooking/baking....so that when we go anywhere else it is so different!
lizzyJune 26, 2011 at 5:51 PM
LOVE blue diamond almond butter and Jocolat!! yumm! I haven't tried the Jalapeno FSTG chips yet...but they sound sooo good, can't wait to read what you think of them! Hope you're having a great sunday! xoxo!
KatieJune 26, 2011 at 5:51 PM
Oh my goodness, look at all the good foodie loot! I am a little jealous!

My mama always baked a cake...we got to pick the kind too. Everyone in my family always picked "banana cake" except me. I always went for straight up chocolte wiith choclate frosting. Yummm...we always got to have cake for breakfast on our birthdays too. :-)
ErinJune 26, 2011 at 5:51 PM
We used to do ice cream cakes a lot as a kid, but now my cake request is blue raspberry Jello cake w/ whipped cream topping.

I love New Pi! Glad you found Larabars there, I'm going to have to check Gateway Market for them tomorrow. I'm so sorry we never ate there when you were working at Wells with us because it's now our favorite place to go out to.
JocelynJune 26, 2011 at 5:51 PM
Looks like you picked up some great finds! I love that agave nectar!
And that cake looks YUMMY...wow. So pretty :)

I don;t think my mom ever baked homemade cakes for us..perhaps boxed is all she had time for ;) lol