this was the dish i was most excited about though…

poke-poke.

we recently scarfed this at poke-poke while in venice beach, ca.  so.   yummy.  and oh so healthy.

my version sort of combines a few of their signature dishes and has kale, carrots, ginger, sesame seeds, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, tuna (duh), white onion, scallion, macadamia nuts and avocado.  yummy!!!!

Hey there fancy pants!  Looks like you could use a fancy top!

We here at The Fashionable Foodie are all about fashion and food, and our buds at Stove Monkeys are taking that to a literal next level with their line of chef-inspired tee shirts and apparel.  In case you missed it, check out the short write up we did earlier this month.

Well, the generous folks at Stove Monkeys have let us spread the love like butter on bread.  We’re hosting a giveaway and not one, but TWO lucky winners will each receive a shirt from the Stove Monkeys line!!!  That’s right folks, we will have TWO winners this month.

All you folks have two awesome ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment below telling everyone exactly which shirt from their line you would want to win, but please make sure you leave your email address (no one will see it and I promise we won’t bother sending you anything unless you win).
2. Follow @fashionablefood and @stovemonkeys on twitter, then tweet this post:

Hope I #win a #free @stovemonkeys T-shirt on the @fashionablefood contest http://wp.me/pqeAA-1wX

At the end of the contest, we will pick two people from the pool of entries to win…and remember, you have to be a follower of @fashionablefood and  @stovemonkeys for your twitter entry to be considered valid.

Can we be real folks? (Oprah moment)  We’re just a tiny little blog trying to make our way through the world and Stove Monkeys is just a tiny little company trying to get some people talkin.  It’s all word of mouth folks!  Help a brother out, if you dig what’s going on, spread it. Spread the love.

The deadline is September 30, 2011…as the political parties say, vote early and vote often!

you can’t have football without beer and james and i are both beer freaks…. loose cannon (based out of MD) hop 3 ipa and starr hill (based out of VA) northern lights ipa.

va was representin’ with these yummy virginia peanut and panko crusted chicken nuggets.  sooooo good and so easy.

and bmore was in the hizzouse with these crab and corn, old bay nachos.

i was lucky enough to score a head of cabbage freshly picked from my coworkers garden and decided to saute it up for a simple summer side dish.

• half a head of cabbage, shredded
• 1 tsp brummel and brown
• 1/2 tbs fennel seed
• 1/2 tbs mustard seed
• 1 tbs honey
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper
• grated parmesan

heat a skillet and add brummel and brown (you can use butter if you choose) once it’s melted, add your cabbage, fennel seed, mustard seed, salt and pepper.  cook about 10 minutes, add your honey and lemon and continue cooking another 10 minutes.  just before serving, top with grated parm.

super late in getting this post up but a few weeks back, when the dalai lama was in dc, they had a tibetan festival with tons of vendors offering beautiful jewelry, clothing, art work, etc.  james and i enjoyed strolling through and i scored some really unique pieces.

snatched up this great scarf!

james is pretty amazing.  today, he treated me to some fresh shucked oysters from wegmans in honor of national oyster day!

upon shucking though, we came across something quite interesting…

a pea crab!!  apparently, these little buggers feed off of oysters.  kinda gross, but he was so cute!

• 1 nectarine, chopped
• 1 peach, peeled and chopped
• 1 beefsteak tomato, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 salmon filet
• 3 tbs lime ponzu sauce
• 1 tbs black sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• zest of 1 liime
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
• sriricha to taste
• salt and pepper

season your salmon with salt and pepper and place in a preheated skillet that’s been generously coated with non-stick spray.  cook about 4 minutes per side. 

remove fish from the pan and flake with a fork.  combine in a large bowl with all other ingredients.

i’ve been trying to get my hands on these for a while now but every time i’d go to the store, they have the “temporarily out of stock” sign up in place of the cookies.

well yesterday, as i strolled past the cookie aisle and saw that all too familiar sign, i was about to walk away but wait!  what is that i see?  could it be?? yes!!  it was one lonely box and it was practically screaming my name. 

i have to say the wait for these cookies was well worth it!  these are seriously delicious.  as soon as you open the bag, you think ‘blueberry muffins’.  the taste is very reminiscent of them as well.  but they also have sort of a shortbread/buttery thing going on. 

they come in a few other varieties but so far, i’ve only been lucky enough to try the blueberry brown sugar.

go buy them!  if you can get your hands on a bag! 

 this looks like an absolute mess but it was heavenly!

How did the concept of Stove Monkeys come about and where did the name come from?

Anthony (my business partner and childhood friend) and I came up with the name Stove Monkeys because as chefs we’re always monkeying around in the kitchen. We wanted the name to be playful and to represent the fun we have when cooking food!

I love the quirky nature of the line.  How do you come up with ideas?

The design process is an everyday evolving process. The ideas come to us randomly. Mostly the ideas are whimsical and come about from the love of food. For example The I Love Pork shirt was spin off from the I love NY shirts.

Do you have a favorite piece from the line?

My favorite shirt is the Flatware T. Growing up I always had an obsession with graffiti & this shirt is a food shirt with a graffiti style. A typical style with graffiti is lines of paint dripping at the bottom of the design. I like to think of the dripping as sauce for the flatware T.

What chefs do you draw inspiration from?

I can’t say that there is certain chef we’re inspired from because we are inspired by our customers. The chefs doing the daily grind working in restaurant and the foodies enjoying their hard work creates our inspiration.

What are your favorite dishes to prepare?

I love cooking French/Mediterranean food, Latin, and BBQ. Growing up in TX def created a love for the Latin and BBQ!

Where do you see Stove Monkeys going in the future?

In the near future I see Stove Monkeys being worn from all chefs and foodies across the globe.

stovemonkeys.com

sensible portions cinnamon apple straws.   sooooooo goooooooood!

if you haven’t tried these you aren’t living life to the fullest.

seriously, GO BUY THEM NOW!!!

these cute little shorts from mink pink are hot, hot, hot!