One of my favorite things to do as a blogger is turn others on to great blogs, articles and items of interest. I’ve been remiss in offering up the food blogging link love and that ends today. Here’s some of what’s going on in the world of food and cooking:

• 13 Foods Children Can Make and Learn About Cookbooks at One Book Two Book
• Watermelon Sandwich Cookies at The Kids Birthday Fun Review
• A Red, White and Blue Chocolate Treat at Chocolate Bytes
• A Healthy 4th of July Cocktail at Robust Cooking
• A vintage 4th of July Menu at Baking Delights
• Wine pairings for your July 4th menu fare at Behind the Vines.
• A tasty looking beer battered fish recipe at Brew Ha Ha.
• Chris’ Original Shrimp or Chicken with Roasted Red Peppers at Ageless Beauty
• Mediterranean Potato Salad recipe at Busy Family Meals.
• Bloody Mary Ribeye Recipe at the Big Green Egg Blog
• Strawberry Salsa and Burgers with Simple Guacamole at Everybody Likes Sandwiches
• How to Turn Your Kettle Grill into a Smoker at Simply Recipes
• A Vegan Fourth of July Feast at the Vegan Cooking Blog
• Picnic Pasta Salad at Thyme for Cooking

Have a great fourth! And remember, life is too short for bad food!

Image: AllPosters.com

With the current Beef concerns, you’ll be thrilled to be introduced to Roseda Beef. They are careful about raising beef. The whole process from breeding to aging is done in a controlled way to ensure the highest quality beef.

• The cattle are bred to Roseda bulls or Roseda approved bulls.
• Roseda Beef is a family-owned and operated purebred Black Angus cattle farm.
• The cows are on a wholesome diet of corn, hay, soybean meal, vitamins, minerals and fresh water.
• They don’t use hormones or chemical additives and only use antibiotics when medically necessary.
• They dry age all of their beef from 14 - 21 days
• All the cattle are assigned a number and tracked from their conception. They can easily determine which cattle produces superior beef and know which animal produced a particular cut.

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When I was growing up the four things you had to know about to be a good American were Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple pie and Chevrolet, especially if you grew up near the Mets. Times have changed. Hotdogs sales are stagnating. I thought that was odd, because my son eats so many hotdogs the hot dog vendors call him to gauge whether to open up another production line.

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I loved it that you guys were so generous.  They were great anniversary gifts - well, except maybe for the guy who said clothes, he’d get the wrong size.  Stick with rum, you don’t have to worry about size.  The winner is # 70 Linda Lansford who said,"I would select the Tortuga Classic Gourmet Gift Basket. There are goodies my husband would like."  There are goodies my husband would like too Linda.  I’ve sent Linda an email with instructions.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  This really was a lot of fun.  I really need to check out the rum balls, and the chocolate fudge, and the barrel, and…Tortuga Rum

Did you know bay leaves, sage and cloves are all natural insect repellents? It’s true. You can crush them up and use them by themselves or crush them up and use them together. Put them in bowls and place around your barbecue and picnic to keep the bugs at bay, or burn as a potpourri. You can even put wrap them in a bit a gauze and wear them on your person to deter insects from biting.

Image via Newscom

I got this gem of a snack the other day.  It came in a container that you could toss in a bag or a pack or sit in a cup holder of the car without worry that it would end up dumped all over.  The almonds were toasted and had a baked on chocolate flavor.  I thought they would be powdery and stick to your fingers, but they weren’t.  My husband who is a nut aficionado, tasted a few and a few more and a few more.  He really loved them, as did my daughter.  The baked chocolate coating doesn’t add any calories to the almonds like a dipped chocolate coating would. 

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Our tomatoes are starting to come in. Right now it’s just a trickle but in a few weeks we’re going to have so many, it’ll be time to be creative. We make salads and sauces and soups. Today I’d like to share a wonderful recipe for gazpacho. It took me a long time to try gazpacho. I love tomato soup, but the thought of eating it cold didn’t sit well with me. Once I tried it I was hooked, I hope you’ll be too.

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Mom’s Best Natural Cereals provide tasty wholesome alternatives to the usual supermarket fare. When I first presented the Tasty-Os to my then five year old son I thought he’d balk, but he really enjoyed them. I enjoyed many of the cereals too.

The folks at Mom’s Best Naturals and Liz Weiss, MS. R.D. and mother of two children were kind enough to team up and pass on some tips for saving on groceries, and I have permission to share those tips with you today.

1. Check labels for the healthiest ingredients and the best price - Stay in
the fructose free zone! Look for foods that do not contain artificial
colors, flavors and high fructose corn syrup and are priced affordably for
your families budget. Mom’s Best Naturals breakfast cereals and instant
oatmeal are a great option because they are all natural and priced 20-50
percent less than other natural and organic brands.

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I try to be creative with my leftovers. I use leftover vegetables to make a pasta salad or omelettes or to flavor my pasta sauce, and leftover meats or potatoes can be turned into a soup, stew or casserole. My friends at Thai Kitchen had a few ideas for leftover makeovers and I thought I’d share those recipes with you here today,.

You Have:  Roasted Chicken

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Does your grocery store give you money back for every bag you reuse? Mine does. Whether we bring our own canvas bag or reuse the plastic ones from the supermarket, we get a nickel off our groceries for each bag. That may not sound like a lot to you, but it adds up over the course of time. I know someone who takes his nickels and puts it in a jar. He’s saving for a Wii. OK, it may take him a while, but the cashier told me today the average person saves fifty cents a week bringing back ten bags for reusing. That adds up.

Most of us like to collect our nickels and dimes from returning bottles. Why not apply the same principal to our shopping bags?

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