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Veggie Wednesday: Flavorful India Cookbook
2008-05-28 16:22:00
I don't make India n cuisine often, but once I started reading Flavorful India: Treasured Recipes from a Gujarati Family by Priti Chitnis Gress, however, I couldn't wait to get out to the grocery to search for ingredients and hurry back home to start cooking.Gujarat (a western Indian state) is largely known for vegetarian dishes, and although we didn't make any of those (we made Tandoori Chicken, Cocktail-Size Meat Samosas and Sweet Dough Balls with Coconut) the dishes we did make were perfect. My very-hard-to-please husband loved the tandoori and the dough balls; something I thought he would turn his nose up at, and the kids ate the samosas as I was cooking them so there weren't many left once we sat down to dinner. I'm confident that the vegetarian dishes would elicit the same response, and we'll be making them to test that theory.I love that each recipe has a story to it, and the sections on cookware and utensils, spices and Indian ingredients are priceless. This is Indian f...
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Look, Ma - No Hands!
2008-05-19 15:17:00
For any fervent cook there comes a time when cooking and phone calls don't mix. Now, I know some of you turn the ringer off or let the answering machine pick up, but what happens when you're waiting for an important call and still need to be cooking at the same time? I know what I do when that phone rings - I rush to wash my hands and hope to get there before the machine does. Once I pick up the phone, there's one hand lost. I know, I know, what about the "shoulder hold"? Right. A stiff neck and the chance that the phone will drop into the vichyssoise is no way to handle calls.Well, Plantronics has the perfect solution, the Calisto Pro Series phone. This is a completely hands-free wonder. Switch between landline, VoIP and Bluetooth mobile phone calls all with one product. Add up to 200 contacts - with 3 phone numbers each - from Outlook. How about a range of 300 feet from the base? That's farther than my garden out back. The sound quality doesn't suffer, either.What about simpl...
More About: Review , Hands

Mother's Day
2008-05-12 04:48:00
I know of mothers who receive lavish gifts on Mother's Day; things like pearls or diamonds or large-ish household appliances. I am not one of those mothers, and I prefer it that way. I was spoiled absolutely rotten today by my children, and it didn't involve precious gems or machines that go, "whirrrrr".These are the children responsible for my loverly day:Quite cute, aren't they?My oldest daughter (the tallest one in the back), Cassidy, started out my day with an idea that had sprung from my second oldest daughter's head (she's the second tallest in the back, Megan). Cassidy made me a most delicious breakfast of crepes. Yes, crepes. She had asked on Friday if I would teach her to make crepes. I did just that and then she surprised me by duplicating them precisely. We had a choice of apple stuffed or strawberry stuffed and I chose both. Of course. There were also raspberries, sliced kiwi and grapes to go along.While she was slaving away in the kitchen (crepes for 9 is a true fe...

And the Winner is...
2008-05-10 14:50:00
We have a winner for the Charlie Ayers' Food 2.0 Cookbook and Lunch bag giveaway. Using a highly technologically advanced method involving a small boy and several strips of paper, we've determined the winner to be:GIZ! Congratulations, to you GIZ, use your book, and your bag in good health! Thanks so much to all who entered. Keep coming back, this is certainly not the end of our contesting.
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Last Chance to Win!
2008-05-09 18:09:00
Today is your last chance to win Charlie Ayer's new cookbook, Food 2.0. It's one AWESOME read and I highly suggest you enter for this! Get a comment in to me before 12 PM PST (check this post for details!) and you'll be IN! A winner will be picked Saturday morning and I'll post it then.GOOD LUCK!
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LOK/CWA Cooking Challenge Round-Up
2008-05-08 15:22:00
Here are the entries for this month's LOK/CWA Cooking Challenge ! The first two meals are listed here since they were not posted elsewhere, and the rest are linked to their respective blogs..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.From Penelope, a LOK mom of 9:Poppy Seed Chicken3 cups raw rice - .482 10 oz cans cr of ck soup- 2 x .691 16 oz fat free sr cream - .991 lb boneless skinless chicken cooked and chopped-1.491 sleeve crackers - .541/4 c butter - .432 T poppy seeds - .05Cook rice according to directions and spread in 9x13 pan. Mix cooked chicken, sour cream, and both cans of soup. Spread over rice. Melt butter. Use a food processor to make the crackers into crumbs, add to butter with poppy seeds. Mix well and spread evenly over the sauce layer.Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 min.48 oz applesauce - 2.00(or 16 oz frozen corn - .69)Cherry Brownies1 box brownie mix - .991 egg - .121/4 c oil - .111 21 oz can cherry pie fill 2.00Mix brownies according to fudge directions, stir in cherri...
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Veggie Wednesday: Sorelle Paradiso Organic Olives and Olive Oil - Mambo Spr
2008-05-07 15:39:00
Sorelle Paradiso olive oil is one of those things in life that leaves you briefly dumbstruck. Their Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from 100% Sevillano olives is the best olive oil I have ever tasted. The fragrance alone was enough to make me swoon. We tried it with French bread and compared it to the oil I had been buying. I honestly thought I had been buying really good olive oil, and I was proved very wrong. This particular oil is so smooth and buttery, it's hard to believe it's just olive oil. It's also not as thick as the oils I'm used. This is one of those oils you MUST try; it goes far beyond being used as just a condiment. Don't take it from me, though, this particular oil won "Best of Show" at the International Las Vegas Restaurant Show 2008.All olive oils must have a residual oleic acid level less than 0.5% to be considered extra virgin, Sorelle Paradiso goes a step further and produces oil with a .05% oleic acid level. Impressive.Their Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from 90...
More About: Mambo , Organic , Olives , Wednesday

Charlie! Charlie! Charlie! Book Review and Giveaway
2008-05-06 15:25:00
Way back in 1999,Google, in its infinite wisdom, decided they didn't want their employees falling asleep halfway through the day because of poor choices at lunchtime. They wanted fresh, energy producing foods to be prepared for their workers and they hired Charlie Ayers, former caterer for The Grateful Dead, to do it. He did that and more, and when he left in 2005, he was serving up meals to 1,500 people a day and overseeing 10 cafés and 150 employees.Now on the verge of opening his own restaurant, Calafia Café and Market a Go Go, in Palo Alto, California, Charlie Ayers has also released a new cookbook, Food 2.0 - Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google.This book is perfect for a Deadhead, food lovin', organic eatin', Internet junkie like me. I totally relate to everything written and feel much more relaxed about my food choices. I always feel like there's a hard line there between vegetarian and omnivore, organic and non-organic, but Charlie has set down a brand new line somewhere...
More About: Book Review , Review , Book

Iron Chef Japan is BACK!
2008-05-05 20:28:00
If you're like me, you've never been able to get used to the American version of Iron Chef . Not that the show doesn't have its merits - it's very entertaining. I always found something very cool about all the dubbing that went into Iron Chef Japan . I LOVED that show. I was heartbroken when The Food Network took it off the air.Well, cry no more, it's BACK. Starting today, May 5th, Iron Chef Japan will be aired on Fine Living Network, weeknights at 11 P.M.!Check out this video, among many others from Fine Living Network and Iron Chef Japan!
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Winning Cookies
2008-05-05 20:08:00
Betty Crocker® recently held a Cookie Recipe Contest and the First-Prize winner was ?Cinna-spin? Cookies . When I first saw the recipe, I thought it looked too easy and there was no way they could possibly be so good with so few ingredients. I was very wrong. I made up a batch of these and they were gone so fast I never even got a photo. Then my husband and kids started begging for more. So, I'll be hitting the grocery again soon for several more pouches of Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix.Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix provided by Charlie Kondek of MS&L. This is not a paid product endorsement.
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Grow Your Own - II
2008-05-03 19:38:00
I've already brought this subject up, but each year I feel like it needs to be reprised, and now more than ever it's important to grow your own food. The less we depend on food grown elsewhere and trucked or flown in, the better for us all.I have a mere 48 square feet for vegetable gardening and I make the most out of it. The sense of accomplishment when harvesting something I've grown myself is awesome.These are week-old green bean plants.I love the little "dance" that chives do before continuing on their upward path.Plants amaze me. I love watching them grow from seed. I grow nearly everything in my vegetable garden from seed and the flowers are a combination of plants, perennials and seeds. This year we're growing nasturtiums from seed and they are very different. Most seeds turn into the very first leaves of the plant. Nasturtiums grow roots from one point, and the plant itself comes from another point. The seed is simply the seed and never turns into leaves. It's very neat...
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A Little Extra Time
2008-05-01 21:42:00
The Cooking with Anne and Lots of Kids cooking challenge has been extended! Have your recipe in by May 5th and the entries will be posted on May 6th. Check it out HERE and join in!***Addendum***Since this first challenge was not up until halfway through the month, you do NOT need to have a photo for your entry!
More About: Time , Extra

Veggie Wednesday: Giveaway WINNERS, Vegan Chik'n Noodle Soup and Organic St
2008-04-30 06:13:00
We have winners! Thank you to everyone for reading and commenting, I'm sure to have another great giveaway in the near future, so please keep checking back.Here are the five winners, according to Random.org, of last week's Veggie Wednesday giveaway - Congratulations!1. Ranae from Cornbread & Cookies2. Ben from What's Cooking?3. Meghan from Meghan's Mindless Muttering4. Linda in St. Louis5. aBookworm of A Bookworm's DiaryWinners , PLEASE email me at irishones7 (@) juno.com ASAP for details!~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~From Caroline Kligge, one of the fearless leaders of the Greater Reading Vegan Society. Caroline says, "Last night I made this soup and it was so delicious so I thought I'd share it with everyone, since a lot of people seem sick with allergies right now and could use some soup."Vegan Chik'n Noodle Soup 2-3 T Olive Oil2 carrots- peeled and diced2 parsnips- peeled and diced1 small onion- finely diced4 scallions- diced2 stalks celery- diced6 cups vegetable broth (I lo...
More About: Organic

Last Chance!
2008-04-29 15:44:00
Today is your last chance to add a comment to last week's Veggie Wednesday post for your entry to win my fabuloso GIVEAWAY! You have until 10 PM EST tonight, so go there and leave a word or two.Tomorrow is the last day to get an entry in the LOK/CWA Cooking Challenge for April. HERE is the link with all the info you'll need for that. Remember, this month's entry does NOT need to be accompanied by a photo.
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April Daring Bakers' Challenge: Cheesecake Pops
2008-04-27 15:22:00
This month's Daring Bakers ' Challenge , hosted by Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell, was these loverly little Cheesecake Pops from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O?Connor. The cheesecake itself was absolutely delicious, but the pops were difficult for me to make. I just couldn't keep the cake from sticking to the melon baller no matter what I tried. So, I went with the few that I was able to scoop and dipped and decorated. I think they're cute and I really liked the smaller one. The larger ones were too hard to handle and the little guys were the perfect "bite size". Check out either of the blogs above for the recipe!
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More Pasta!
2008-04-26 19:28:00
I'm on a big pasta kick lately, obviously. I love how versatile it is. It takes minutes to toss pasta with some of my favorite ingredients, and that makes it very appealing to me, as well.I had this for lunch two days in a row and I excused myself for it by using turkey bacon.Angel Hair Carbonara with Green Beans1/4 lb bacon2 cloves garlic2 T olive oil1 lb angel hair pasta1/2 lb fine green beans - cooked and drained3 whole eggs - beaten1 cup freshly grated Parmesansalt to tasteDice bacon and cook in a skillet with olive oil until browned. Add garlic and cook for several minutes on low heat until fragrant. Cook pasta until al dente - this takes 4-5 minutes with angel hair. Mix egg and cheese together well. Drain pasta and add egg mixture while pasta is still very hot. Toss quickly so eggs do not scramble. Add green beans and bacon mixture. Toss until well combined and serve!
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Veggie Wednesday: Product Review and Giveaway!
2008-04-23 07:03:00
Wish-Bone has a brand new set of salad dressing unlike any I've ever had. They're not your usual soupy dressing, they're full of chunks of vegetables and fruits and absolutely delicious.The idea is, instead of adding dressing to your salad, these are full enough to build your salad around. The first thing I did with mine was to make black bean salsa. Usually that means several bottles and cans, but this time I added one full bottle of Wish-Bone® Bountifuls? Simply Santa Fe Dressing to two cans of black beans and that was it. I served it up at lunch to my mother-in-law (isn't that the truest taste-test there is?) and she loved it so much that she asked specifically which dressing I used. When I gave her the recipe she was unconvinced that it was only two ingredients! It does look good, doesn't it?The rest went into plain ol' salads, except that they weren't plain ol' anymore! I can see the Berry Delight going very well with a salad of spring greens and flank steak (shhh - I k...
More About: Product Review , Review , Product , Wednesday

Earth-Friendly Choices
2008-04-21 22:09:00
Today marks the 38th anniversary of Earth Day. Bet you didn't know it was going on that long, did you? I know I wasn't fully aware of Earth Day until my 20's. I'm hoping that nobody else is that far behind, though, because this World could surely use a little attention, and not just on Earth Day.Here are a few things I've come across this year that I think are right on when it comes to being Earth-Friendly .360 Vodka - Alcohol!? Well, yeah. I don't usually drink, I mean I think I could count on two hands the drinks I've had since I got married, and I'm hypoglycemic so it's not exactly a smart choice for me, but I really enjoy cooking with wine and spirits. I like the flavor that alcohol imparts to certain foods and I'm not above a very weak mixed drink if the atmosphere is right.360 Eco Luxury Vodka is totally earth-friendly. I was sent a bottle to check out and so I made a single cocktail to share with my mother-in-law when she came for lunch on Sunday and later, a recipe ...
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New Cooking Challenge
2008-04-18 15:24:00
Cooking with Anne and Lots of Kids have teamed up to bring you a brand new family-friendly monthly cooking challenge! Check it out HERE and join in!
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Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken and Tapenade
2008-04-17 19:18:00
There's the "t" word again. I can't ever get enough tapenade and seek out ways to enjoy it more than as its lovely self spread on French bread. Today's lunch found it tossed with pasta and chicken. Nothing else was needed at all. Beauty in simplicity indeed.
More About: Angel , Pasta , Hair , Chicken

New Today: Tea-Over-Ice from Tea Forté
2008-04-16 18:27:00
Available today, April 16, 2008 from Tea Forté, innovators of the contemporary tea experience , is their creative new idea for iced tea, Tea-Over-Ice. The pots are made of heat resistant glass and have a unique shape that makes them perfect for at-table service and guaranteed engaging conversation. I imagine a spring brunch or summer tea on the patio would be the perfect setting for this.Tea-Over-Ice comes in 4 flavors:White Ginger Pear: A light, refreshing blend of white tea and Japanese pear, delicately balanced with GingerRaspberry Nectar: A full-bodied herbal iced tea with the essence of raspberry and hibiscusPomegranate Blackberry: An invigorating blend of to of the most luscious and popular fruits of the moment.Ceylon Gold: This iced tea offers serious refreshment and raises the bar on a well-loved classic.Purchase yours today at select stores or online at Tea Forté.*This is not a paid advertisement.
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Royal Foodie Joust: My UN-submission
2008-04-16 00:16:00
My last post was the recipe I submitted for this month's Royal Foodie Joust using the ingredients cardamom, brown sugar and mango. I had so many ideas running around in my head that I couldn't stop with that one entry. I can't enter twice, but there's nothing stopping me from posting my other ideas here.These are Mango Egg Rolls with Cardamom Devonshire Cream, my Oriental/Hispanic/European idea; talk about fusion!I had egg roll wrappers leftover from the Chicken Cannelonni I posted at Cookies to Caviar and when the ingredients for RFJ came up, I knew I had to use them somehow. There's no recipe here, just strips of mango sprinkled with brown sugar and rolled up in egg roll wrappers. I fried them like usual and made Mock Devonshire Cream with a half teaspoon of ground cardamom stirred into the powdered sugar.Oh, and the kids? They devoured them and clamored for more!
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Royal Foodie Joust Entry: Sweet Chicken Curry with Mango and Kumquats
2008-04-12 23:35:00
This month's Royal Foodie Joust ingredients are, cardamom, mango and brown sugar.I know most jousters are thinking along the lines of baked goods, but I'm more pulled to the savory side of life.Here's what I made:Sweet Chicken Curry with Mango and Kumquats1 lb. chicken breast - cubed1/2 cup flour1/4 cup cornstarch1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper1 tablespoon minced shallots2 tablespoons sliced green onion1 clove garlic - minced1 small onion - sliced1/2 cup each red, green and yellow peppers1/2 cup pineapple bits - drained1/2 cup small kumquats1/2 cup diced mango1 cup chicken stock1 tablespoon curry powder (the cardamom is in the curry!)2 tablespoons brown sugar4 cups cooked jasmine riceStir together flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Toss chicken cubes in flour mixture and fry in a large heavy pot in batches until lightly browned. Set aside.In the same pan, cook shallots, green onion, garlic and onion until limp. Do not brown. Add peppers, pineapple, kumquats, ...

THE ?FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON? RECIPE CONTEST
2008-04-10 17:51:00
This definitely looks like fun! I'm not sure if I'll get the time to cook something up and enter for myself, but I know that several of my readers are up to the challenge. You have from April 15th through May 31st to enter. Give it a look and see what you think.Thanks to Jillian McMenamin of GolinHarris for giving me the "heads-up" on this!********************COLUMBIA CREST WINERY AND FOOD NETWORK STAR BOBBY FLAY PRESENTTHE ?FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON? RECIPE CONTESTAcclaimed Washington State Winery to Sponsor Contest onFoodNetwork.com with World-Renowned ChefPaterson, Wash. (January 24, 2008) ? Columbia Crest Winery, in conjunction with Chef Bobby Flay, today announced the upcoming launch of the ?Flayvors of Washington? recipe contest. The month-long contest, which launches April 15, 2008, will be hosted on the Food Network Web site. The contest is part of a partnership between the Washington-based winery and Flay that highlights the unexpected rewards of dining with Columbia Crest G...
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Veggie Wednesday: Linguine with Baby Spinach and Almonds
2008-04-09 17:56:00
This is very reminiscent of pesto and so good even the two littlest at home with me at lunchtime today loved it! Simple and delicious.Linguine with Baby Spinach and Almonds Serves 21/4 pound linguine cooked al dente1 cup baby spinach leaves - whole1/2 teaspoon dried basil - crushed1/2 clove galic - minced1 tablespoon olive oil1 tablespoon sliced almondsToss together until heated through and spinach is slightly wilted. Salt to taste.
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Leftover Sausage and the Sausage Sandwich Tart
2008-04-07 18:20:00
*Disclaimer: These photos are really bad. My poor old camera is not doing so well, I guess, but a new one is absolutely out of the budget for now. Hey, it still looks like food, right?*My mother brought over the mammoth of all sausages - a full 3 1/2 pounds from her favorite butcher. I have no idea why she thought we needed that much, but she was thrilled that they still use real butcher paper and tape, and so, I humored her and told her how fabulous I thought it was. In truth, I still get meat from my own butcher in real butcher paper, but I let mom have her moment. I cooked all of it at once, knowing we would never eat it all in one sitting, and set aside what we didn't eat with homemade waffles and thought on what else I'd like to make. I had a bit of puff pastry leftover and some lovely red and green peppers and a very nice yellow onion. I really enjoy a good sausage sandwich and decided a tart based on that would be pretty darn good. I was right.I pressed the pastry into a 10...
More About: Sausage , Tart , Sandwich

Another Blog
2008-04-06 01:35:00
Ever noticed how large the Foodie blogosphere is? Ever wonder how on earth to keep up with it all? I'm hoping Foodie News will help bridge the gap, at least with news as it pertains to the food blogging community.If you have news and would like everyone else to read about it, or if you're just the type that has to know all that is going on, check out Foodie News!
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Puerto Rican Rice and Beans
2008-04-04 20:20:00
I learned how to make Puerto Rican Rice and Beans about 15 years ago. I was in the throes of my culinary education and my husband and I and two small daughters lived next to a lovely Puerto Rican family. Carmello and Brauli were parents to 3 kids of their own and we spent a lot of time trying to bridge the cultural divide. We would teach them English and they would teach us Spanish. Brauli sent food over to us and we would treat them in kind.They would often have large numbers of family over to visit and each time there was a huge undertaking in the small kitchen they had. Women would converge there - aunts, mothers, cousins, daughters, grandmothers - and they would each take up something that contributed to the large meal they would all share.The men would head outdoors to play horseshoes or stay in to watch sports on TV; no cultural divide there!On one of these occasions, Brauli invited me over so I could watch her make rice and beans. There were many questions from me, which she ...

Must Read
2008-04-03 19:18:00
I have a food post ready, and I'll get to that later, but for now I'd like if you would stop by A CF Husband's Blog to visit with Nate and Tricia and Gwyneth Rose to read their amazing story.Gwyneth Rose was born 15 weeks premature to her mother, Tricia, who was waiting for a double lung transplant and daddy, Nate, keeps tabs on all of it and updates everyone with such love and courage. Tricia received her lungs early this morning (!!!!) and that little family could sure use your prayers to help them continue on this amazing journey.
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Daring Bakers' Challenge: Perfect Party Cake
2008-03-31 03:48:00
This month's Daring Bakers ' Challenge was hosted by Morven at Food Art and Random Thoughts.She chose what turned out to be the best cake I've ever had - and my entire family feels the same way. Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake from her book Baking: From My Home to Yours, is just that; perfect.I made this one twice, for two reasons. The first was that I didn't think the cake was supposed to be so flat. It really doesn't rise much at all. It was so good, though that I thought it must be right. When I checked with other DBers I found that they had the same "problem", which wasn't a problem after all. The second reason was that the cake was so good, there was no reason not to make it again.The full recipe can be found at the above link to Morven's blog and these are two photos of the delectable confection:**I feel like I need a little addendum here ... this cake does not really look pretty. At all. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that for me to have attempted to a...