Petunia Bloom

Napoli’s Italian Restaurant March 1, 2008

I kept hearing about this wonderful little Italian restaurant called Napoli’s.  It was close to my house so I decided to take an out-of-town friend there for lunch.  At only $6.95 for the lunch special, which included a salad, I thought it would be a nice outing.

To begin with, we had the homemade bread on the table.  Oh my goodness, it was very good.  (A warning:  Don’t eat too much.  It is very tempting but use restraint.)  Next, our salads arrived.  They were small, all lettuce and one slice of a tomato.  This is not how I typically like my salads, but it was a lunch special so I am not going to complain.

I ordered the manicotti and my friend ordered the Chicken Marsala.  The manicotti was better than my mother’s which is a huge compliment.  I have never particularly liked any manicotti that wasn’t my mother’s.  It did not have too much garlic which is my typical complaint of most Italian food restaurants.  I would wager to guess that the manicotti noodles were made on-site.  My friend said the Chicken Marsala was very good as well, and the whole thing cost less than $20.  You can’t beat that for great sit-down Italian food.

The service was extremely quick and efficient with Italian waiters on the side.  The atmosphere isn’t anything to write home about, but is clean and has character.

With the great price, service, and location I will definitely be back.

Homemade Fresh Berry/Pink Berry Yogurt

The recipe I found online to make this type of frozen yogurt called for strained yogurt. I have made it both ways and don’t notice much of a difference.

Here is how I made this batch:

In a blender, liquidize: 3 Cups Plain Nonfat Yogurt & 1/3 Cup Sugar

Pour into running Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for 10-15min. depending on the consistencey you like.

This batch seemed a bit more tart. It might have been because of the nonfat yogurt. It seems to work better with low fat plain yogurt, but if you don’t want the extra fat/calories use the nonfat. It still tasted amazing.

Cake #3

I just finished this cake for my cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. The roses and flowers I made myself. Making roses was challenging at first but I love how they turned out. For next time, I will make the frosting for the roses stiffer so it is easier to get the roses to look right.

Baking Tip February 28, 2008

Does your cake stick to the pan? I have always used Pam. It does the job probably half of the time. In my cake decorating class I am taking at Hobby Lobby I learned a new trick.

Combine equal parts: oil, flour, and Crisco (plain).

With your fingers or a paper towel, rub approximately a quarter of an inch of the mixture all around the pan before baking a cake. It works great!! My cake fell out of the pan. Simply refrigerate any extra and use for your next baking session.

Fresh Berry Frozen Yogurt

Fresh Berry is a sister franchise to Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe. You might have heard of one or both of these companies if you are from Tulsa, OK.

The first time I visited Fresh Berry I was very impressed. Two flavors of frozen yogurt are offered: Dark Chocolate and Tart. Personally, tart is my favorite. It tastes similar to plain yogurt but is sweeter. The frozen yogurt is made from low fat yogurt and contains the probiotics that are good for your digestive system. The combination makes for a low fat and fairly healthy dessert or snack.

With each smoothie or frozen yogurt cup purchased, the customer gets to choose toppings for it from a topping buffet. It consists of the norm in toppings such as chocolate chips, nuts, and bananas, but it also offers some not so norm choices such as kiwi, raspberries, and mangos.

The business concept of Fresh Berry is not new. These types of frozen yogurt businesses can be found all over CA. To name a few: Pink Berry, Yo Berry, Cantaloop Frozen Yogurt and so on. In Tulsa, however this is very new and quiet overdue in the land where TCBY and Dairy Queen reign.

The Fresh Berry location in Bixby has a great product but less than great service. I have gone to this location 6 or 7 times and out of those times only ONCE, let me repeat ONCE, have I been greeted. I guess it is a pet peeve of mine when I go into a business to spend my money and the employee just stands there and looks at me. Where has common courtesy gone these days? You are supposed to say “hello” or “good afternoon” and then proceed to ask the customer what he or she would like to buy. Even a “hi” would be better than just standing there with no smile or greeting.

The first couple of times I went to this Fresh Berry location all the toppings seemed very fresh, but the last couple of times the berries were not fresh. It looks as if the employees just use and reuse the toppings over and over again. My date’s blueberries tasted stale and my raspberries had freezer burn. When you receive a less than perfect product, it leads to the topic of price. How much did you pay for this less than perfect product? Well Fresh Berry is not cheap. You will pay an average of $4/person and the serving sizes are not overly generous.

My advice is to go to Fresh Berry and see if you like the product. If you do, go buy a Cuisinart Ice Cream and Yogurt Maker and start making frozen yogurt at home. In this machine it takes less than 25mins to whip up some great frozen yogurt that is very similar to Fresh Berry, Pink Berry, etc. There are some great recipes online. I am still experimenting with mine. When I perfect my recipe I will post it. Until then, let me know how yours turns out! Good luck!

Cake Decorating Class February 24, 2008

I am taking a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby with some friends. This week I made my second ever decorated cake. I was very glad with how it turned out. Decorating a cake is much more difficult than it looks. It takes practice I guess!!