off the grid SF

Last night my best friend from freshman year asked me if I was free for dinner. At this point in the week, I'll take just about any excuse to take a break from studying, and because I wanted to see my dear Dara, so I jumped at the chance. He recommended we go to Off the Grid, which I had never heard before. Let me tell you, my life is changed.

Off the Grid is a food truck festival. The company blocks an entire city block off and around ten food trucks come in and sell their goods. There's live music and chairs set up so that you can sit and enjoy your food and your company.

I had a California tofu burrito with french fries in it (can't put into words how good it was) and Dara and I split a salted carmel and a red velvet cupcake.

If you're in the East Bay, Off the Grid sets up shop at Shattuck and Rose in Berkeley every Wednesday evening. For SF locations, check the link above.

You must try!

Framboise

Kate and I stumbled upon a Mickey D's in Paris today that serves mini macaroons!

Aaaand I discovered this awesome new flash feature on my camera.

Today was such a win.

Recipe: Cake Pops

Now this is a recipe that calls for a little patience and a whole lotta sweet tooth.

Have you tried cake pops yet? They sell adorable little perfect ones at Sbux. Try one of those before you make your own!

What I love most is that these are super easy to get good at making, and everyone fawns over them because they're so cute. I did a trial run a few weeks ago and they turned out okay, but I made a second batch of 'em for Kendall's graduation party that everybody loved (even me, my harshest critic)!

What you need:

A baked cake (I like funfetti or yellow...or if you're hardcore make one from scratch!)

A mixing bowl

A tub of frosting (vanilla for funfetti or chocolate for yellow)

Candy chips that you can melt (Michael's craft stores have an excellent assortment of colors and they're relatively inexpensive)

Large lollipop sticks

A styrofoam brick

How you make them:

1. Start crumbling the cake into the mixing bowl. Should be about the consistency of breadcrumbs.

2. Once you've mashed up the whole cake, mix in one spoonful of frosting at a time until the mixture is entirely moist. I usually use about half a can of frosting, but add more if you like things extra sweet!

3. Wash your hands and start shaping the cake/frosting mixture into balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Place them on a plate, and once all your mixture is balled up pop them in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

4. Get your candy chips and melt them in a microwave safe bowl (microwave for no more than 30 seconds at a time and stir in between).

5. Take out the cake balls. Place sticks in them, no more than about a centimeter deep.

6. Dip the cake ball into the melted candy. You might have to swirl it around and even use a spoon to make sure it's all covered. Add sprinkles to decorate if you wish!

7. Place the pop into the styrofoam to harden.

8. Enjoy!

The dipping can be tricky the first time you do it, but I promise it gets easier!

Let me know if you try them!