Farmstead Goat Milk Caramels

Big Picture Farm's farmstead goat milk caramels are made with fresh goat milk straight from their farm. They're unlike any caramels I've ever tasted before. The goat milk provides a creamy and soft texture. They melt in your mouth, and are perfectly sweet. Big Picture Farms earned themselves serious bragging rights; their chai caramels won a Good Food Award in 2012, and their Cocoa Latte caramels were awarded a Silver Sofi award. Besides the taste of the caramels, I'm loving the adorable packaging.

Spun Sweets

Bon Puf  spins gourmet, all natural, cotton candy at events in the LA area.

The concept of a chic little cart making fresh to order cotton candy in unique flavors like horchata, earl grey, and strawberry lemonade sounds magnificent.

Oh, and can we talk about the logo? I'm loving the golden serif typeface. It looks beautiful against

 the modern white cart.

Photography credit: Bon Puf

Sweet Eats: Smitten Ice Cream

 It feels like summer here in the Bay Area. And when it's hot outside, you know I am headed straight to the ice cream shop! The other day I visited Smitten Ice Cream for a cool treat and left indeed, smitten! Their ice cream is extraordinary. It's fresh, divinely rich and creamy, but not cloyingly sweet. And to top things off, it is made to order. How is this possible? They use liquid nitrogen to expedite the freezing process. It flash freezes the ice cream at a very low temperature, which results in much smoother and velvety product. You get the goodness of old fashioned ice cream with modern techniques. 

I was not only impressed by the use of liquid nitrogen and the delectable flavors, but also their sustainable practices. Their ice cream is made with organic milk and cream from Beretta Dairy in Sonoma. They use local, fresh, high quality ingredients.The folks at Smitten Ice Cream take no short cuts, make their own toppings and juice their own blood oranges. Now that is something to be smitten about!

Must-try Flavors:

Blood Orange with Pistachio Shortbread

This sounds like it would be sorbet-like, but it is not. It tastes like creamsicle only better, made with fresh blood oranges. It's refreshing and inviting with a bittersweet flavor, similar to a marmalade. Pistachio shortbread adds a buttery flavor and an addicting textural crunch. 

Brown Sugar with Cinnamon Shortbread

The sweet yet delicate flavor is incredibly satisfying. The freshness of the cinnamon and spices come through, marrying beautifully with the brown sugar.

Fresh Mint Chip

Their Mint Chip is as fresh as you can get. There are no mint extracts that are added. Instead, mint leaves are steeped in the ice cream base. This particular flavor contains the least amount of sugar but is just the right amount of sweetness. 

Good to know:

-Because you are not able to sample the flavors (since everything is made to order), there is a 100% guarantee if you are not satisfied with what you have ordered.

-You cannot mix flavors because each flavor freezes at different rates.

-Smitten Ice Cream uses food grade liquid nitrogen, so don't you worry!

I love the industrial vibe they got going at the Los Altos location.

The Brrrista is adding the ingredients.

Liquid nitrogen action.

Oh yeahhh.

Get in my belly!

Smitten Ice Cream Locations:

Hayes Valley

432 Octavia St. #1A (at Linden St.)

San Francisco, CA 94102

Los Altos

Whole Foods Market – Los Altos
4800 El Camino Real
Los Altos, CA 94022

Rockridge-Opening April 1st!

5800 College Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618