I’m back! I usually post once every two days, but I need to jot down everything about the Foodbuzz Festival before I forget. School is getting busy (wheee~) and I don’t want to start writing imaginary things. This is part II of the festival…

But first…Okay, I’m embarrassed to say this…but I was extremely sleepy that Saturday morning. I missed out on my morning coffee (dear Maggie is a tea-drinker), so I was like a walking zombie that morning. I slept on the car ride to the downtown area, and dozed throughout the morning seminar (shhh!!).

We had to wait awhile before the place was open to us bloggers, but in the meantime, a lot of bloggers took pictures next to the Foodbuzz sign…

And then we were in! Aaahhh!! Stampede!!

First stop was Nature’s Pride bread booth…
 Brandi from Bran Appetit was making her Pumpkin French Toast, so I had to stop by and watch her in action!
I love Brandi…she is so adorable and sweet! She also has the coolest ear piercing ever, but let’s focus first on her cooking…
Oh. Em. Gi. This was the first bite of my lunch, and the flavor stayed inscribed in my memory till the very end. Egg and bread, and stuffed with pumpkin and cream cheese some more? No need to elaborate here!

Next I had to try the Egg White Veggie Frittata Muffins made by Sabrina from Rhodeygirl Tests…
Yum! I thought this was amazingly creative…I could barely taste the bread; it was just infused into a lovely chewy and eggy base. But because I’m an idiot, I somehow forgot to take a picture of her…:-(

Next I stopped by the Frog Hollow Farm booth:
 Dried fruits. The dried peach is the freaking best. I snagged a free bag. I wish I had pinched several more. Damn me for being less greedy!

Frog Hollow Farm also had a whole spread of different conserves:
I got a jar of apricot conserves to take home, supposedly the most popular one. Unfortunately, I have been trying to open it all day, but all I have is a blue and puffing face.

Their granola was lovely too:
Next, a sampling of bread dipped in Stella Cadente Olive Oil:
Lovely fruity taste, but I’m not sure why people dip bread in olive oil…I suppose I’d rather cook with it!

So freaking pretty:
 Shrimp and Scallop ceviche. Not bad. Not my favorite, but that’s just because I’m not a scallop person. But I tried it because it was so god-damn pretty.

Aunt Else’s Organic Aebleskiver:
I was so excited to see this! I’d always wanted to try this lovely fluffy pancake balls! So damn cuuuute!
I had one filled with quince and apple conserve:

And another one filled with sausage! Yum!
Later I had just one more, since when else am I gonna eat something I can’t even pronounce, eh?

Now, you all know I’m not a cookie person…But with a name like Botanical Bakery?
With Lavendar and Lemon Thyme shortbread cookies?!
 Cardamom and Peppermint Cacao Nib?!
 Cinnamon Basil and Fennel Pollen?!
No, no, I am not a pig…I didn’t try all of them. I only had a bite of the lavendar, and the lemon thyme, and the cardamom, and the peppermint cacao nib, and the cinnamon basil. See? 5 out of 6. I totally restricted myself.

Next up, Gateau et Ganache:
I was totally moaning when I put these freaking amazing marshmallows into my mouth…
 Vanilla, Pumpkin, and Cranberry. They were soft, yet with a nice spongy texture, that lent a bit of texture until they melted in my mouth. Amazing.

I had to pass on the bon bons, but I took a picture just for fun:
For some reason, chocolates were aplenty:

Even though I’m not a chocolate fan, I tried them all…because they were free. I don’t even remember what they taste like, since all chocolates pretty much taste the same to me. But it’s becoming clear to me that I have a problem…An addiction to free stuff…-___-;;;

Also, I discovered that I really, really, really, REALLY like candied nuts, like these ones from Au Coeur de Chocolat
s:
The guy behind these amazing chocolate-candied almonds and hazelnuts gave me weird looks because I stopped by so often. But they were so freaking addictive!

And a huge bowl of candied hazelnuts?
Dangerous with me around!

But the BEST freaking stuff was these nut brittles from p.o.p candy:
They had their brittles in 7 different flavors: almonds, pistachios, pecan, rosemary almond, mixed, thyme-walnut-cherry, and Chai-tea-granola-pecan.
The Chai-tea-granola-pecan nut brittle was, hands down, the best. I went for seconds, and then thirds, and then the lady just gave me a whole mini-bag of them. I wanted to kiss her.
 The rosemary almond was really interesting too, with a savory shot. Close second favorite:
Next, the Bertolli cooking station:
Check out the menu!
 Crostini with Bertolli sauce, caramelized onions, blue cheese, and pine nuts:
Total winner. Crunchy, creamy, salty, nutty. Mmm.

And I can’t believe I saw the Duo Dishes cook! 
Their stuffed Baby Portobello Mushrooms was gone in one bite. It was tiny. But it was exploding with flavor!
I also watched Lauren from Healthy.Delicious cook!
I’m so mad I didn’t get to say hi to her! If you haven’t been to her blog already, GO NOW. I tell you, her recipes are so gorgeous and creative and amazing that even a fast-food glutton would be swayed over to healthy food! 

Evidence? Her wicked Seafood Cioppino:
It was AWEsome. The shrimp was so flavorful and juicy. The person beside me was heaping praises on the dish. I wish I had written down what she said. Unfortunately, I was distracted with trying to pry open the mussel, eventually sending it flying across the table.

Unfortunately, I did not get to see Mardi from Eat, Live, Travel, Write cook her Deconstructed Pesto Pizza, but I did get to sample it:
Thin crust, tons of gooey cheese. What’s not to love? I loved how the pesto is “deconstructed”. 

Simply Nic’s Sweet and Savory shortbread bars:
This one was pumpkin spice:
It was out of the world. It was crumbly, yet chewy, and I was positively moaning while eating this!
Yes, I went for more! Soooo good!

I also got to try different kinds of honey from Big Sky Honey and Honey Ridge Farms:
And pumpkin butter for the first time in my life!
By then, I was all sugared out. I needed something salty. To my utter delight, I found a server walking around with a platter of Chicharrones from 4505 Meats again!
Once again, I was like a puppy following its owner with its tail wagging. What is it about fried pork skin that is so damn irresistible?

Then I hopped on to pretzels from Vibrant Flavors:
 Beerzels, Maple Bacon, Sweet Onion, Barbeque, Italian Herb, and Roasted Garlic.

I zoomed in for the Maple Bacon:
Salty. Sweet. Crunchy. Total delight!

And somehow I chanced upon this:
Herby meatball with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese. It was really herby, and not too meaty. Perfect little bite!

More salty foods…479 Popcorn!
I didn’t take all the pictures, but I tried every one of the flavors available: Black Truffle + White Cheddar, Ginger-Sesame, Chipotle-Caramel + Almonds, Madras Curry Coconut + Cashew, and Fleur de Sel Caramel.

The Black Truffle one was fascinating:
So was the Ginger-Sesame.
But my favorite was the Chipotle-Caramel + Almonds. Somehow, no picture. You know it is good if I didn’t even stop to take a picture.

My stomach was bursting by then. But I somehow managed to wobble my way to the Kerrygold cheese and butter station:
Oh, big hunk of cheese…If only it were my pillow…let me drool on thee…
Next to it were these amazing tarts:
No, they are not desserts! They were little tartlets with beets and goat cheese…cool, huh?

This was even better though:
 Wild rice, pomegranate, squash, and blue cheese dijon mustard in a buttery shortbread crust. Holy freakalicious!!

Somehow I found my way to more cheese:
Love, love, love brie!

I was stuffed…stuffed I tell you! But I still had to sample Shannon from Tri to Cook’s Savory Pumpkin Bread Pudding:
I’d been waiting for this all day long! It did not disappoint…Shannon is an awesome cook! I swear she and I thinks alike, because every of her recipes are something I would dream up!

Also, the Ravenous Couple’s Fried Halloumi Cheese Toast:
It was the first time I tried Halloumi. Hello, new cheese obsession! This will be tremendous grilled on Mr. GF!

I must have eaten this hotdog somewhere, sometime:
I really can’t remember. I was sort of comatose.

I made my last stomach space for Brittany from Eating Bird Food’s Healthy Veggie-Stuffed Hummus Sandwich:
I had to eat it open-faced, and left out the top piece of bread. It was ultra-fresh, and so simple, yet all the flavors really worked together!

The day didn’t end, though. More food was awaiting me. Part III, coming up! Now, guess which one is me?
Question of the day: If you could win a year’s supply to any kind of food, what would it be?

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4. Que Sera, Sera
5. Opening up to new worlds