Carnivale on Cedros

Can you believe it is time for the fourth and final gala of the year at the Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach? The theme for this event is Carnivale on Cedros, featuring stilt performers, acrobats, jugglers and living statues stationed in different locations along the main street of the Design District.

All of the major stores will be open, and there will be a great Carnivale atmosphere all the way down Cedros.

So mark your calendars for December 3rd, and come ready for a fun shopping party starting at 5:00 pm right through until 9 pm.

Leaping Lotus is always a great place to go for gifts, and beautiful items for your home, and there are items to suit every pocket.

Gourmet Fusion has a full range of great gift ideas. For the pet lover, take a look at our pet water bottles, cat and dog dish towels, and cattitude ceramics. We also have a great range of teas and teapots, gourmet food items, and many kitchen products that are both practical and fun.

Leaping Lotus will have live music from “Third Coast Jazz,” near the front entrance, and throughout the store vendors will be serving cookies and appetizers.

Leaping Lotus is also making donations this year to Carol’s House, the domestic violence shelter for women and children in Encinitas.

So ring in the holiday season by joining Leaping Lotus and Gourmet Fusion for the most fun shopping party of the year. You can find Gourmet Fusion on the 2nd Floor of the Leaping Lotus, 240 S. Cedros, Solana Beach.

Gourmet Fusion Spring Shopping Party at Leaping Lotus

Mark your calendars for the first party of 2009 at Leaping Lotus in the Cedros Design District, Solana Beach. On March 19th from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., Gourmet Fusion at Leaping Lotus, together with many other vendors on Cedros, will be celebrating Spring with the first shopping event of the year.

Leaping Lotus will have live music, refreshments, raffle drawings and a BBQ to get everyone in the party mood. Appetizers and wine will be served throughout the store, and Gourmet Fusion will be giving samples of our wonderful, organic chocolate Art Bars.

Leaping Lotus is a great place to find those special, hard to find gifts, and this year won the Ranch and Coast Magazine "Readers Choice, Best of ..." award in two categories for 2009 - Best Accessories store, and Best Home Accessories store - so why not spend the evening with Leaping Lotus and the Gourmet Fusion store, and have some fun while you shop?

Gourmet Fusion has many sale items, including teapots, travel tumblers, salt and pepper mills, and Cattitude. We have also expanded our range of beautiful cast iron teapots to include the new Namaste range.

If you have not visited Leaping Lotus before, now is a great time to do so. Leaping Lotus is located in the heart of the Cedros Design District, in Solana Beach, California. 21,000 square feet, with over 100 merchants and literally millions of unique items and gifts to choose from. Come see us at 240 South Cedros Ave - Solana Beach,CA 92075 858.720.8283.

Gourmet Fusion at Leaping Lotus Summer Shopping Extravaganza

The Gourmet Fusion store will once again be taking part in the Summer Shopping Extravaganza at the Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach, California. The event takes place on Thursday evening, June 19th from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

During the evening there will be live music by Dano's Island Sounds steel drum, a silent auction for the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, and a fashion show. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served throughout the evening.

The Gourmet Fusion store will be having special sales, including teapots, water bottles, tumblers and salt and pepper grinders. We will also be giving samples of our Spanish gazpacho to try, as well as our new tea infused chocolates from Torn Ranch.

Torn Ranch is a California company located between Napa Valley and San Francisco and they make the most unbelievable chocolates and truffles using all-natural, kosher dairy products.

We are pleased to offer the green tea infused dark chocolate bars and indulges.

The milk chocolate bars and indulges come in four flavors - ginger tea, green tea, imperial chai and orange blossom.

So if you are in the Solana Beach area, stop by on Thursday for a great evening's entertainment.

Photos at Leaping Lotus Spring Gala

What a great evening everyone had at the Leaping Lotus Spring Gala on March 20th in Solana Beach. The crowd gathered to shop and enjoy the festivities.



Live music, plenty of wonderful food and wine, and great raffle prizes were some of the attractions - not to mention the Fashion Show - complete with dogs dressed for every occasion courtesy of Muttropolis, also in Cedros Design District, Solana Beach.



We were busy at Gourmet Fusion serving a selection of food from the store. People stopped by to try Spanish chocolate, English chocolate, our organic Art Bars, and English Biscuits.

For those who wanted something more savory, we had a selection of Spanish pickles and olives served with cheese and crackers, and wine.


Everyone had a great time, and some lucky person even went home with the Gourmet Fusion gift basket filled with chocolates, cookies, tea, i-Pot, cups and an Easter bunny.

Don't miss the next event!

Gourmet Fusion at Leaping Lotus

Gourmet Fusion is excited about the opening of its new store at Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach's Design District on South Cedros.

If you haven't been to Leaping Lotus, it features many different merchants selling a wonderful array of products from all corners of the world which look great alongside our own international collection of kitchen and food products.

Gourmet Fusion will be selling all the favorites from its online store, such as our paella pan, its beautifully handcrafted ceramics from Spain, and our ever popular Union Jack mugs from England, but we have also included some new items and specialty food products in the Solana Beach location.

Our Spanish section includes creamy smooth milk and dark chocolate; olive oil pressed with rosemary or Seville oranges from Catalonia; the finest quality saffron, and three types of paprika to suit every taste.

In our Asian section you can find woks, rice and sushi makers, cooking utensils, and beautiful bamboo products, not to mention the many artisan crafted home decor items.

To our British section of teapots, mugs and English breakfast tea we have added delicious orange marmalade and lemon curd - yummy with toasted English muffins!

Of course, just for fun, the Deglingos, take pride of place at the front of the store, sitting mischievously below our Cattitude range of tea and coffee co-ordinates.

So next time you are in the San Diego area, be sure to stop by Gourmet Fusion store's new location at Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach and get a taste of something different.

How to Devein Shrimps or Prawns

What is the difference between a shrimp and a prawn? The terms shrimps and prawns used in the fish trade have no scientific basis. They are usually no more than an indication of the size of some of the 2,000 - 3,000 known species. Shrimp is usually the term applied to small prawns with over 100 to a pound in weight. Most of these are deep-sea creatures. The Gray or Brown Shrimp and the East Asian King Prawn live in shallow coastal waters. In addition to subdivisions based on size and depth of water, there is also a distinction between warm and cold-water prawns. Cold water prawns are better quality and, therefore, more expensive.

On top of this confusion, the use of the terms shrimp and prawn is not consistent throughout the world. They are usually sorted and named by their size but the system is different in Britain, Europe and the United States. The only point common to all of them is that extremely large prawns are sold as giant, king or tiger prawns.

Whether you are buying shrimps or prawns, you still have to figure out how to prepare them. You can buy them in most supermarkets either cooked, uncooked, with shell on or simply tail on, but there is no doubt that shrimp with the shell still in tact add more flavor to a recipe.

Some supermarkets will devein the raw shrimp for you, but if not, you can make your work easy with a simple shrimp deveiner like the one shown here. This is a relatively inexpensive tool and comes in handy for many seafood preparation jobs.

To use the deveiner on raw shrimp, first run a sharp knife down its back, exposing the vein, then push the shrimp deveiner along the back, removing the vein, then rinse under cold water. This leaves the shell still in tact with the vein removed ready to add to your lobster boil, or paella recipe.

If using on cooked shrimp, first cook the shrimp. Then, if their heads are still attached, remove them. Hold the shrimp under running water and peel off the shell working toward the tail. Push the shrimp deveiner along the back, and they are ready to use in your favorite shrimp cocktail. Shrimp deveiners like the one shown here can be found in the Gourmet Fusion store, along with many other useful seafood tools.

Pacific Cornetta Sale at Gourmet Fusion

It seems like we are having a retro time at the moment, and Gourmet Fusion is having a one week sale, ending August 2nd on its Pacific Cornetta Ceramic and Stainless Steel mugs. If you don't know Pacific Cornetta, they make travel mugs and infusers, similar to those found in Starbucks, but their designs are a little more unusual and a lot more fun. We have three designs on sale.

The first one shown here is the Pearl Ceramic Stainless MoDLiFe Fireworks Mug. Its ceramic shell with modern "fireworks" graphics in shades of pinks and mauves would be great to use at the upcoming Labor Day celebrations.

This "Squiggles" mug is great for using at home or in the office. It has a sophisticated design on white background with squiggles in brown, sage green and light turquoise running down it.

On the practical side, the outside of these mugs stays cool to the touch, and the double wall construction keeps heat inside. They also come complete with slide lock plastic lid for sipping and to prevent spillage. They work equally well for hot or cold drinks, so can take you right through summer into the cold days of winter.


Our third design is a combination of Squiggles and Squares, and that is what it is called. It is white with shades of greens in squiggles that make up square shapes.

All these mugs are great for hot tea and coffee, keeping iced drinks nice and cool, and make a perfect gift. This week, they retail at just $11.99 at the Gourmet Fusion store.

Tapas

Tapas, the traditional Spanish "small plates" have become increasingly popular throughout the US and Europe with tapas bars opening up in every major city, and it is easy to see why. In Spain drinking and eating automatically go together, and you always nibble on something if you stop by a bar or cafe for a drink. It can be a simple plate of olives, chorizo sausage and crisp loaf of bread, or something more elaborate that includes Spanish omelettes, shrimp and garlic, and potato salad.

These bite sized hors d'oeuvres are more than just appetizers, they provide a leisurely way to enjoy many different tastes and the companionship of friends - in other words the Spanish way of life. Wherever you are in Spain, tapas bars come alive in the early evening, in a tradition not unlike English pubs, and people socialize over food and drinks until it's time for dinner. Tapas date back many centuries when inn-keepers realized that by creating these bite-sized portions they could attract more people into their inns, and soon each began trying to create something better and different from his neighbor, resulting in a vast array of wonderful recipes.

So next time you invite friends over, why not do tapas and drinks at home? The recipe below is just one of the many from the fabulous book "Tapas" by Richard Tapper (seriously that is the author's name) and the hand-painted tapas dishes and traditional terra-cotta cazuelas pictured above are available in the Gourmet Fusion store.

Mushrooms with Bacon (Champinones con tocino)
Ingredients (serves 6)

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces diced tocino or bacon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb button mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method

1. In a frying pan over high heat, warm olive oil.
2. Add tocino and fry for 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir well.
4. Add wine, salt, pepper and parsley and cook over high heat until most of the wine has evaporated and the mushrooms are cooked, 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Caprese Salad with Balsamic Vinegar and Black Olives

This has got to be one of the best salads in the world. It tastes amazing, looks beautiful and is simple to make. What could be better than that? You can see why caprese salad is one of the most popular salads in Italian restaurants as an appetizer or as part of an antipasto plate.

Insalata Caprese (which means salad in the style of Capri) is a very simple dish made with sliced mozzarella, plum tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, black pepper and olive oil. In this variation, we use small cherry tomatoes and add balsamic vinegar and black olives and there is no need to season with salt. This gives the dish a very colorful and festive look and adds a zing to an already wonderful meal.

Ingredients (this will make 4 small plates or 1 large plate)

• 1 lb mozzarella cheese (ideally buffalo mozzarella, but you can use any)
• 1 lb cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
  
• 1 Bunch of Basil
• Virgin Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 15 - 20 Pitted Black Olives
  

Method

1. Slice the mozzarella into slices about 1/4" thick
2. Arrange the cheese and halved tomatoes on one large or four small appetizer plates
3. Arrange basil leaves randomly between the cheese and tomatoes
4. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
5. Place the black olives decoratively on the top
6. Grind the black pepper over the salad
7. Garnish with basil leaf
   

Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread, or pizza dough balls for mopping the oil and vinegar.

Father's Day Gifts for the Gourmet Dad

Father's Day is just around the corner but there is still time to order Dad something online, so here's a selection of gifts from the Gourmet Fusion store to suit every pocket and taste.

If Dad is a whizz at making cocktails, check out this stainless steel ribbed design cocktail shaker (that also has a matching ice bucket), and team it with his favorite vodka or gin and you have a sure winner. For the wine connoisseur these sophisticated stainless steel and black silicon wine stoppers ready to give in a wooden gift box are great as a gift by themselves or with his favorite bottle of wine, and if Dad enjoys barbecuing, going to the beach or camping, our red neoprene six pack tote by Built NY will keep his favorite drinks icy cold.

Talking of barbecuing, what Father's Day list of gifts would be complete without including something to make his grilling even more perfect than usual? We have a selection of gifts for the barbecuing Dad in mind.

Not only do we have all the cool tools, but there's the Chef's Apron for the real pro who takes his art seriously, and the gauntlet/mitt for those times when that food comes off the grill sizzling hot. Check out these and more in our Barbecue section.

If relaxing is on his mind, we have a great selection of tea and coffee mugs, and tea infusers in our Tea and Coffee Products.

The fun mug shown here is a Mind The Gap London Underground mug by Blues, and it has the complete route the Tube takes around London. It is one of our newer items and is sure to become a collector's favorite.

Tea and Coffee Month at the Gourmet Fusion Store

May is tea and coffee month at my Gourmet Fusion store and we have just added these white ceramic stackable espresso cups. I really like these because they have a modern look, and if you are short of cupboard space, they are attractive enough to leave on display. They don't take up a lot of room on your counter top because they stack in the chrome stand - the cups fit in the middle chute, and the saucers fit neatly into the bottom part of the stand.

May is also the month for receiving a free $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card when you buy anything valued at $5.00 or more from the Tea and Coffee Products range. The espresso cups shown here can be purchased online for $15.99 and shipped to anywhere in the US.

A Nice Cup of Tea

Tea is an integral part of everyday life in England, where I grew up, and even though I am hooked on Starbucks coffee, whenever I am stressed or have a problem, I automatically put on the kettle and make tea!

Appreciated centuries ago for its reviving qualities, a cup of sweet, strong tea is still regarded by many Londoners as a cure-all for minor ailments and fatigue, and by simply putting on the kettle, they feel they are making progress in solving whatever is troubling them.

Londoners were formally introduced to tea in 1664, when the East India Company began to import tea from China. Coffee houses soon began to sell tea to drink at home, and by 1707 it was well established as a fashionable, if expensive, drink and while gentlemen enjoyed it in coffee houses, gentlewomen made clear green or black tea in the Chinese style, without milk or sugar for their guests in the evening. Tea only became widely available to the poor in 1784, when the government removed the high excise duty on tea leaves. Mid-morning tea breaks were routine by the end of the nineteenth century and at many firms, a "tea lady" was employed to wheel a trolley around the office with an urn of tea, milk, sugar and biscuits. Today, tea drinking has once again become popular, with the availability of rare and interesting varieties from companies such as Twinings and Fortnum & Mason. So how do you make the perfect cup of tea?

The Perfect Cup of Tea

1. Boiling the Water. The water should be brought just to the boil for brewing black tea and be just off the boil, for preparing more delicate green or white teas. The ideal pot for brewing tea contains a small perforated holder (infuser) for the tea leaves. The holder can be removed or sealed with a plunger once the tea has been brewed sufficiently.
2. Brewing the Tea Leaves. The teapot is warmed with hot water just before the leaves are added. Traditionally, British tea drinkers allow 1 teaspoon of loose-leaf tea per person, plus 1 extra teaspoon for the pot, but most tea experts recommend experimenting to taste. Large-leaf teas can be brewed for 4-5 minutes; small leaf teas need only 2-3 minutes.
3. Serving The Tea. Britons drink their tea black or white (with milk), or with a slice of lemon. There is much debate about the correct way to serve the milk, but most believe that it should be poured into the cup before the tea is slowly added. (more information on tea can be found in the Williams-Sonoma book, London).
   

So why not dust off the teapot and buy some tea (or tea bags) and the next time you are feeling blue, do what the English do - put the kettle on and make a nice cup of tea. The English bone china Royale Amber Teapot-for-one pictured at the top of the page can be found at the Gourmet Fusion Store, where this month there is also a free Starbucks Gift Card promotion. Cheers!