Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating it!
As for everyone else, Merry Saturday! :)

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Soup's on!

Less than a week till Christmas... I'm sure you are all too busy to actually be reading this... so I'll keep it short and sweet (kinda like me)

Yes I'm doing shots of soup... don't you do that?


So are you done shopping? Waving a white flag and saying good enough? I still need to get to the post office to ship off my gifts to the family in NJ... hmmm they may not get there on time at this point... uhoh.

Butternut Squash Soup
by steph chows

1 medium butternut squash skin and seeds removed, cubed
1 medium white onion
5 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp hot yellow curry powder (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups light coconut milk
water or stock to thin to desired consistency

Saute onion and garlic until fragrant and slightly browned, add spices and squash and continue to saute until squash is slightly tender. Add coconut milk and water and simmer until squash is wicked tender. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to get rid of all the chunks.

Serve with toasted fresh whole wheat rolls.

YUM

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Foodzie gift boxes

Foodzie is such a wonderful company, they hook up small delicious companies with the masses. Sometimes though there are just so many options on Foodzie I don't know where to start!! Enter in the sampler gift boxes.

Foodzie was kind enough to mail me one for free to test out. I'm in love with this idea!! If you love surprises you will also love this. You can sign up for a monthly subscription (or just once to try it out) and you'll get a box full of samples from five different Foodzie members!


Here's what was in my sample box:
redhead bacon peanut brittle- OMG this was AMAZING!!!
Maitelates Dolce De Leche Cookies- wow... just wow, I didn't know what to expect when I unwrapped the package but it was two thin cookies with dolce de leche in between and then coated in chocolate. I need more... NOW!
Zursun Idaho Heirloom Beans- I haven't had a chance to try these but can't wait to!
479 Popcorn- sea salt caramel, a little sweet a little salty, delicious!
Little Ragghi's Crakers- they went delicious with a little cheese and summer sausage! YUM!

If you are looking for another gift idea... go sign up your favorite foodie for a gift subscription!!! Or if you want to send one to me... I wouldn't complain! :)

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How to Build a Fire - book review

How perfect is this book's timing with all that fire building I did this past weekend!!

I want to tell you all about a wonderful new book that was just released today! How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew is by Erin Bried who is also the author of How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew.

image taken from amazon.com

Erin contacted me this past summer and asked if I'd be interested in reading an advance copy of her new book! She loved that my blog was dedicated to both my grandparents and she was so right that I would LOVE this book (both of them actually!!).

Bried reached out to grandfathers, ages 82 and up, from across the country to give us "practical advice and hard-earned wisdom that will help both men and women save money, build confidence, and get back to what's really important in life."

Some of my favorites:
how to iron a shirt- as you recently learned I hate ironing... and am not very good at it... this was a good refresher on what I'm suppose to do, and it helped!
how to make homemade ice cream- I mean come on... everyone needs to know this!
how to control your temper- sometimes we all need to be reminded of this.
how to do a back flip (into a pool that is)- Hilarious, aren't grandpa's great!

This is a fun, witty, and loving book, either one of Bried's books would make a wonderful Christmas gift so go on and support her, she's awesome!!

Full disclosure: I was provided a draft copy of the book this summer and am in no way being compensated for book sales or anything like that, I'm just spreading the word because I truly loved it and think Erin is an awesome girl :)

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Vermont

This weekend I snuck away to Vermont for a girls weekend with an old friend. A few highlights to tide you over...

wood was chopped

snow covered trails and streams were hiked

fires were made (both inside and out at the sauna)

and nights were spent cozy in the inn *wonderful*

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Remember Home Ec Class?

Did you have to take home ec classes? We did in middle school, 5th-8th grade. I learned how to sew pillows, boxer shorts, a locker caddie, and most importantly hair scrunchies. (come on people it was the early 90's, scrunchies were a fashion MUST) We also had to learn how to iron a work shirt of our dad's. I'd say this was sexist except for the fact all the boys had to learn too.... so I guess that made it ok right? Either way I still hate ironing. We alternated school quarters between cooking and sewing classes, I have to say I loved both. Recently I found a stack of all the recipes we made in home ec... score. I must say we made some pretty awesome things:

Pigs in a blanket
Pancakes
Pizza
Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Danish
Applesauce
Cornbread
Crumb Muffins
Nut Loaf... him this one made me stop and look again because it wasn't over the top butter and sugar laden like most of the other recipes... maybe it's time to bring the home ec nut loaf back into vogue!


I also have a memory of forgetting to add baking soda into cookies during class... so we ended up with hockey pucks... awesome. Any memories you'd like to share? The more embarrassing the better!


Nut Loaf
recipe given out in South Orange Middle School home ec classes circa early 90's
(my changes in parenthesis)

1 1/4 c flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 c sugar (I used 1/2 splenda 1/2 brown sugar)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 T. +2tsp salad oil (I used canola)
1/2 c milk (I used fat free)
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts
(1/2 cup chocolate chips)
(1 tsp vanilla)

Preheat oven to 400 Grease and flour 2, 4" loaf pans.
Measure and mix together the dry ingredients into a large bowl of the electric mixer. Combine the liquids in the smaller bowl. Pour the liquids into the large bowl and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. STIR in nuts (and chocolate chips). Pour into the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes--watching carefully.

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RedPack

The wonderful people at RedPack tomato products contacted me and asked if I'd like to give their canned tomatoes a try. Of course I was happy to have them send me some and come up with some tasty treats. Here's a little bit about the company.

The folks at RedPack treat their tomatoes as an all-day, all-year, lifetime endeavor that’s worthy of constant care. Each well-tended field of tomatoes is harvested at the moment when tomatoes are their ripest, and then are handled with exceptional care until they are tightly sealed and on their way to the shelves of your nearby grocery store. While the farms where RedPack harvests its tomatoes are located in the Midwest, you can find them in the Buffalo-Rochester area pretty easily. You can learn more at here.

John noticed me unpacking all the goodies they sent and immediately called dibs on creating dinner for us. Seriously though who's going to complain when their husband wants to make dinner :)


These were delicious, no aluminum can aftertaste like some canned tomatoes, and it's the perfect solution when it's winter and there are no fresh tomatoes around!


Since this is a John recipe nothing is measured out. I'll just give you a rundown of what went into the pot.

A gumbo style random tasty dinner
recipe by John

chopped onion
garlic
pepper among other spices
spicy chicken sausages chopped up
white wine
I'd bet money there is some Franks Red Hot in there
1 28oz can RedPack diced tomatoes
shrimp
black eyed peas

brown rice - served on the side

Saute it all up, then add white wine and tomatoes, simmer for 30 minutes.

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Second Annual Cookie Exchange Sign Ups are OPEN!

OK everyone it's the second annual steph chows cookie exchange!!


Feel free to grab the above image to display on your blog and link back!

So most of you said you're in either way, one said before, four said after. And thankfully no one said they hated cookies! So we are going to wait until after. (Jeanne admitted to me she was the only person who said before and she was ok with doing after, thanks Jeanne!) You all have until Sunday (December 12th) to send me an email to sign up. I will email out your partner by Tuesday the 14th. Once you know your partner you have until January 16th to get those cookies in the mail! (at the same point... you can still send them right away if you want to... nothing's stopping you)

OK, first lets set some ground rules.

1. You don't need to have a blog, anyone can participate (feel free to pass the link on to your friends and family who might enjoy joining in!)
   
2. Email me by December 12th at stephchows at gmail.com with your name, address, and any allergies (we don't want anyone keeling over!)
3. You must be willing to bake 1 -2 dozen cookies/bars/goodies and mail them out by January 16th (I'll let you and your cookie partner decide how much you want to send each other)
4. Send me a picture of what you sent if you would like to be included in the roundup, along with a link if you posted about it on your blog.

Don't know what to make?? Here are some of my favorite cookies to make and give!

Pizzelles, either pumpkin, chocolate or traditional!


Captain Morgan Smore Fudge?

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Almond Saltine Bark - people eat this stuff up like mad!

Magic in the middle cookies

Raja Oaties


PB chocolate chip cookies



And you can always see all the cookies I love to make HERE.

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Apple Butter Brownies and a Cookie Exchange?

Ummmm when did December get here... no really... when did this happen??

We had the brunettes last week so it's about time we have some brownies right? Remember that Musselmans Apple Butter I was telling you about? Well once I made the brunettes with it I had to make up a batch of brownies using it as the base... WOW so glad I did because these things came out AMAZING!


Super fast to whip up these will have people drooling for more.

Fudgy Brownies
recipe by steph chows

1 cup Musselmans apple butter
1/3 cup splenda or 1/3 cup white sugar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's 100% Cocoa Special Dark
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (i used semi-sweet chips)

Preheat over to 350 F
Mix apple butter, splenda/sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, beat in egg
In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
Add flour mixture to wet mixture a little at a time, stir in chocolate chips.
Spoon batter into 8" square pan
Bake for about 30 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Serve alone or with a scoop of your favorite ice cream.


Now onto that cookie exchange! I had a bunch of you asking if I was hosting one this year and the short answer is YES! Now the longer answer is when do you want to send cookies??

Would you take part in the cookie exchange?
	Yes but only if I get cookies before Dec 25th
	Yes but only if I can mail them after New Years
	Either way I'm IN!!!!
	I hate cookies
pollcode.com free polls

And the other question is where are you located (if we have enough we can do mini exchanges in other countries like last year's mini UK exchange!)

Where do you live?
	USA
	Canada
	UK
	AUS
	Other- but I want to participate!
pollcode.com free polls

More cookie details to come Friday!!!

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