Rubies in the Orchard

Isn't that a great blog post title? It's actually the title of Lynda Resnick's book, who is the marketing genius behind POM Wonderful, FIJI water, Teleflora, and the Franklin Mint. I really admire her; she is such a smart, creative business woman, and I'm looking forward to reading her book and blog. She and her team at POM Wonderful have made the company into what it is today.

I've never visited an orchard before, let alone a pomegranate orchard. It's kind of a magical place. It really, really is. Rows and rows of beautiful boundless trees, adorned with bright red fruit, just waiting to be picked. It made me wild and I wanted to run through the trees and find a spot to lie down and look at the clouds.


But I couldn't leave my group and get lost in the pomegranate orchards in California. Although, I wouldn't have to worry about starving because LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE POMEGRANATES! I would be healthier than ever. I don't know if you realize how good pomegranates are for you; they're filled with powerful antioxidents, and they're good for your heart. Pomegranate juice has demonstrated a superior ability to neutralize harmful free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage the cells in your body. Free radicals come from air pollution, alcohol, pesticides, sunlight, tobacco smoke, drugs, fried foods, and even stress.


This is Brad. He is the the vice president and general manager for POM Wonderful. He gave us a tour of the orchards and taught us all kinds of things about pomegranates, including how to cut one.


He was slicing pomegranates and giving us samples - right there in the orchard.


Look at these beautiful arils. Look at that color! How can they not be good for you?


These are one of the most delicious things I've eaten. I've been using the arils almost every day in something. I love them in salads, couscous, oatmeal and cereal.


Then, it was time to pick a pomegranate!


There I go...

Look at those muscular arms! It kind of looks like I have man-hands, too.


It looks like a Christmas tree! I ended up taking five large ones with me, haha. Maybe I overdid it. I had a hell of a time getting them home in my carry on bag.


After touring the orchards and some downtime, we met in the lobby and went to dinner at the Vintage Press.

POM had a very special dinner planned for us, with an incredible menu.



I will spare you the food pictures I took, because, honestly, they're terrible. They're blurry and dark and don't do the food justice.


This is me with Shirley and Bren. At the dinner the POM team explained why we were chosen for this experience. I thought maybe they randomly drew numbers and that's how we were picked, but that wasn't true. They started out with a list of fifty-or-so bloggers and then narrowed it down. Each blog was picked for specific reasons! Isn't that amazing? I feel so honored. POM loves and appreciates bloggers, and knows how powerful a blog can be. I bet they'll pick more people and do something similar to this soon.


The next day was our last day, but before we caught our flights home, we were able to tour the POM factory, where they bring in the fresh pomegranates to sell, and also where they make the juice and tea.


That's right - they grow their own pomegranates right there in the area and then make their own juice. I was so impressed with their company. They are all about quality and will do everything they can to give you the best product.


I didn't get very many pictures of the factory because a lot of it is top secret, like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. They have all kinds of secret, advanced technological equipment that they didn't want their competitors knowing about. I bet Welches is just dyyiiinnng to know how their juice is so perfect. And where they're getting their oompa loompas from. Here is a secret for you: they have a river of pomegranate juice running throughout the factory that you can take gondola boat rides on.


After the tour we hopped into our vans, went to the airport, and flew home.
Thank you to POM for the experience of a lifetime! I will never forget it.

Ahhhh home-sweet-home. My trips and trip posts have been fun, but I'm ready to get back to blogging about desserts! Sorry it took me so long to get this massive post up; this week has been crazy busy for me. Yesterday I spent all day shopping for Halloween costumes for Eric and me, because we're going to a party tonight. I'll be honest, our costume idea is pretty spectacular. Check back next week for pictures! Teehee.

I'm disappointed I didn't get any treat recipes posted for Halloween. But maybe the best treat recipes come afterwards? Leftover Halloween candy! Wheeee!
Happy Halloween! Hope you all have a blast.

A Pomegranate Affair

I was whisked away for three days last week to beautiful Fresno, California, by the lovely POM pomegranate company.

When I was first contacted a few months ago, I could hardly believe my luck. POM wanted to fly fifteen bloggers to Fresno to tour the orchards and factory for a "Pomegranate Harvest Tour" and asked me if I would like to go. I hesitantly said yes, but was afraid it was too good to be true.

Until I was sitting on the plane last week, I still thought that was the case. Why was I chosen? Who else will be there? What is the point of all of this? These are questions I asked myself, and they were soon to be answered.

I flew from Springfield to Dallas, Dallas to Fresno. Here are a few things you should know before you fly:

1. American Airlines does not offer chocolate milk. Sad face.
2. AA does not offer free snacks. I prefer flying Delta, because you get a choice between pretzels, peanuts, and Biscoff cookies. I recommend Biscoff cookies. You're allowed to take two packages, which I recommend also.
3. Do not let your dogs out of their carriers and allow them to run through the plane and growl at people.
4. I prefer a seat right by the wing, because it allows you to watch for possible gremlins.
5. Do not sit by me on a plane. I sleep with my eyes open and it's just as scary as a gremlin.

It turns out I was sitting closely to three other POM bloggers on the flight from Dallas to Fresno, and didn't know it. But no worries - we found each other later on. We split a thirty dollar cab ride to the Courtyard Marriott in Fresno. I kind of prefer Red Roof Inns and Motel 6's but whatever. ;)

I'm kidding, of course. It was a lovely hotel and I had this huge room all to myself. King sized bed, a couch, mini fridge, a balcony... what else could a girl ask for?

How about some POM swag?! OH MY GOSH YES.

Included in the bag: POM iced coffee, POM shirt, POM notebook, POM cookbook, POM potholder, POM cider mix, POM pen, POM coupons, and a clear box that you can use to pack future lunches in.



All of the bloggers met in the hotel lobby later and we went to dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.
I will resist making jokes, I will resist making jokes, I will resist making jokes.


I hadn't had BJ's before, but a lot of the other bloggers had and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to trying some BJ's. I thought maybe BJ's would help me relax after a long day of traveling. This pomegranate margarita did the job!
Get your minds out of the gutters. Geez.


Here are all of the wonderfully talented bloggers that I had dinner with. The majority are health and fitness bloggers. I thought I lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, but I was wrong. All of these women have inspired me to exercise more and eat better. That's something I had no idea I would be taking away from this trip. I'm also inspired to create more health conscious recipes.

Let me introduce you to them:
Shirley of Gluten Free Easily, Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter, Gina of the Fitnessista, Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point, Tina of Carrots 'n' Cake, Coco of Balance, Joy and Delicias, Bren of Flanboyant Eats, Roni of Green Lite Bites, Janel of Dine Dish Delish, Eric of Eric Rivera Cooks, Pace of Taste of Pace, Sagan of Living Healthy in the Real World, and Kristy of the Wicked Noodle.



We all split these not-so-healthy desserts. A cookie trio of peanut butter, chocolate chip, and double chocolate chip, served with ice cream. I think a warm cookie and ice cream is just about my favorite dessert ever. There was also an apple crisp that was to die for.

The next day we woke up bright and early and hit the hotel breakfast bar. It had a Belgian waffle maker which I spotted right away. Oh man, I love Belgian waffles. You know what I love even better than Belgian waffles doused in butter and syrup? Making Belgian waffles in a Belgian waffle maker that you get to flip upside down. That is fun, fun stuff.

But guess what? I felt ashamed when I saw that everyone was eating oatmeal and fruit, so I skipped the waffles, danish and bacon, and had oatmeal too. :(
I know... sad, right? You know what else is sad? Dying at the age of twenty-four of a heart attack because you ate too much waffles and bacon.

So after breakfast we hopped into these huge vans and drove to the pomegranate orchards. We drove by lemon trees, pistachio orchards, and grape vineyards. I had never seen anything like that before. I wanted to tear open the van door and leap into the orchards and start picking stuff. Fresno is beautiful, flat farmland, surrounded by mountains. I don't know the statistics, but I bet most of our USA grown fruit comes from this area.


The pomegranate orchards are right next to an almond orchard. We walked through the orchard and took some pictures. I love almonds.




I picked three almonds. I don't think I was supposed to do that, but I did anyway. I put them in my pocket and walked briskly back to the van, observing my surroundings to see if anyone had caught me.
This reminds me of the time when I was five and stuck a walnut in my pocket at the grocery store.



The planes arrived at that point, and it was time to fly over and tour the pomegranate orchards!
This is actually the larger plane... I rode in the smaller plane, which sat four, in the second batch of people.


Caitlin and Tina went in the first batch of people, and then blogged about their experiences right after. Talk about dedication!


Me, posing and squatting awkwardly on the wheel.


Me, getting ready to fly the plane.


Noooo, just kidding. That's our pilot in the blue.


This is Shirley, Pace and me in the plane.


Take-off! Wheeeee! I love flying.





Shirley! We're riding in a plane, Shirley!


Beautiful POM orchards.


We were up in the air for about fifteen minutes before we landed. It really felt like only thirty seconds.


Oh. My. Gosh. Is that... is that what I think that is outside my window?? Surely not. No. It can't be.

Part two of my trip coming soon!

Levain Bakery

I'm back from my trip to Fresno, California. I had a wonderful time and I'm incredibly grateful that I got the opportunity to go. Thank you so much to POM! I'm saving details about that trip for next week. I have so much to tell you and a ton of pictures, but first I need to organize my thoughts and edit pictures and such. It really was a trip of a lifetime.

I still haven't told everyone about my favorite bakery I visited while in New York City, and it's due time, because it's been almost a month since I visted New York. Haha.

The favorite bakery I visited in New York City: Levain Bakery. I don't know if this comes as a surprise to anyone, because I've told you in past posts about how much I wanted to visit it.

When I found out I was going back to New York, I knew one of the places my mom and I had to go was Levain Bakery. I had heard so much about their chocolate chip cookies, I had to try them. So one morning we took a $20 cab ride (ha) to the upper west side. 167 West 74th Street, to be exact.

Mom took some pictures of me standing outside by the sign, but I looked goofy because the sun was shining in my face, so you don't get to see those. Teehee. Okay, anyway, so this bakery is really tiny, and it's underground. You walk down the steps into the place and the display of baked goods is in the front. They have breads and scones, but I had to pass on those; I was there for cookies.
Glorious cookies.




They have four flavors of cookies: Chocolate Chip Walnut, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip.


$3.75 a cookie. Eek. Fifteen dollars later, mom and I were in business. We sat at a little area by the window, and I proceeded to take pictures.

First up, chocolate chip walnut. Oh goodness! The anticipation! Was this the ultimate chocolate chip cookie??



Here's a close up shot. They're golden brown and crisp on the outside. The inside is soft and appears to be slightly underdone. Although, how could they sell the cookies if they were underbaked? Wouldn't people get sick? I'm very curious about that. The texture is incredible; you get the best of both worlds - crispiness aaaand gooeyness. Oh yeahhhh. I also liked how tender the cookie was. You could easily crumble it into large chunks.



The chocolate chips were delicious and I LOVED the walnuts that were left whole. They tasted like they were untoasted, but they still had such a nice, buttery flavor. This was a good cookie. This is what I'm talking about when I say I want to make or eat the ultimate chocolate chip cookie. Can I clone these and possibly make them better? I think so. I really do. No promises, but I'm working on it.


Next up was the dark chocolate chip cookie. This was like half cookie/half brownie. Really rich and delicious.




Then came the oatmeal raisin. This cookie took me by surprise - I didn't know what to expect, but it was delicious. I read somewhere that it needs more oats, and I would agree with that, but otherwise it was perfect. This was my second favorite. It had a scone-like texture.


Finally, the dark chocolate peanut butter chip. This one was identical to the dark chocolate chip, except it had peanut butter chips. Once again, this was very rich with the texture of a brownie.



All of the cookies were really good, but the chocolate chip walnut was perfect. I'm glad I went to Levain Bakery, twenty dollar cab ride and all. It was kind of a dream of mine, and I'm glad it came true. I would recommend going if you're visiting the city. And If you're not, you could buy them online... oh geez that's a lot of money. What I meant to say was, if you're rich you can buy them online.

Levain Bakery
Upper West Side - 167 West 74th St New York, NY