Cookerati & Blog Action Day ‘09 – What do they have in common?
October 16, 2009 - Written by Diana
Blog Action Day is today and I’m late in doing this. It’s difficult to voice my opinion because Cookerati isn’t a political forum, or even really scientific. It’s about food, kitchens , cooking techniques and sharing ideas about these things. Not everyone believes in climate change. I had a relative say – I don’t believe in global warming, but I do believe there’s pollution – In California. I said, what about Columbus, Ohio? You can see it as you drive into the city – Nope, not as bad as California. What about the fact that every single waterway in Ohio is labeled as polluted by the EPA? Well, he didn’t know about that. They don’t necessarily believe that I’m not making stuff up and not reading about it from a reliable source. My feeling though, is that if you think, really think about what is good for the environment, you’ll make good decisions about the every day choices you make, even the little ones. I’m going to try and keep to the theme of Cookerati though and relate things that we do, because we care, and because we can. Most of the suggestions just …
Replace Your Butter with Star Olive Oil
October 5, 2009 - Written by Diana
Star Olive Oil is a delicious alternative to butter in your recipes and healthier too. I use olive oil in my cooking on a regular basis. Olive oil give a nice clean taste to foods without being greasy or heavy. I often slice up my vegetables – like squash and root vegetables, and drizzle olive oil and herbs over top then bake in the oven. My husband loves dipping bread into olive oil with fresh ground pepper. A brush of olive oil and herbs on corn makes a great summer side dish.
Some other ways to use olive oil:
STAR Olive oil is encouraging cooks to try olive oil in place …
Bob’s Red Mill & Scotland’s 16th Annual “Golden Spurtle” World Porridge Making Championship
October 2, 2009 - Written by Diana
Bob’s Red Mill – Do we love those guys or what? Matt Cox and the rest of the Bob’s Red Mill team is competing as the first and only US participants in the 16th Annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship in Scotland on October 11. With their Myrtle Spurtle, pear liqueur and brûlée-topped oatmeal, Team Bob’s Red Mill from the USA is ready to do what no American company has ever tried before – wrest the Golden Spurtle away from the Scots. Known for its whole grain products, Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods will take on the world’s best oatmeal makers when they compete in the 16th Annual “Golden Spurtle” World Porridge Making Championship in the small Scottish Highland village of Carrbridge, Inverness-shire, Scotland .
The company hopes to return home with the coveted “Golden Spurtle” trophy. A Scottish kitchen tool dating back …
My First Polenta.
October 1, 2009 - Written by DianaDeb, my sister, put it well when she said to me – social media is great fun. She’s right, sometimes instead of getting down to work some nights I get caught up on browsing seesmic, tweetdeck, facebook and google reader, looking at all the things people write. I also get inspiration from those tweeters and bloggers, and encouragement to try new things. I found a tweet on seesmic from Olga at Mango & Tomato and I clicked into her Polenta with Mushrooms, Bacon and Mushrooms Post . That dish looked fantastic. I left her a comment, and she sent me an email encouraging me to try it.
I had a bag of Bob’s RedMill Corn Grits just waiting to be experimented with. So I did it, I tried something new for me. I made my first polenta. What did we think? The consensus was corny cream of wheat; Corn taste with a cream of wheat texture. I poured it into a clay baking dish, sprinkled it with romano cheese and broiled it for a couple of minutes to create a nice cheesy crust on top. We decided we like polenta and we will definitely …
Handi-Vac R.I.P
September 21, 2009 - Written by DianaI was trying to find more handi vac bags to use for my food preservation this summer, and found out to my dismay, that they are no longer making, stocking, selling handi vac kits or bags. I received my kit free, but bought the bags. I had difficulty finding the bags in the store and went online. Much to my horror, I found this message – Reynolds® Handi-Vac® Product Line Discontinued. I’m so disappointed.
It’s what I used to vacuum seal my peaches and my broccoli. Though what really irks me is those people online selling the bags – 24 for 37.00. Can you believe the price gouging? Really folks, really? Forget it.
I suspect PackMate’s Vacu-Seal that we promoted at one time seems to be having similar issues. I saw new kits on the web, but could not find any bags to use with it. Has anyone seen the bags around lately?
Food News July 5th, 2009
July 5, 2009 - Written by Diana
- Subway announces they are cleaning up their standard subway build by removing pickles and olives from their standard build (what they use to list basic nutritional info). These two ingredients are higher in sodium and they felt that the sandwiches would be heart healthier without them. By removing them from the standard build, they hope to draw awareness for those watching their sodium intake due to high blood pressure or who are just concerned with overall heart health. Subway’s Fresh Fit menu is approved by the American Heart Association and their children’s menu is approved by the National Institutes of Health.
- Hormel – also wants you to eat healthier and help you to figure out what all the labels are really telling you. They have a downloadable “Shop Smart, Live Well: Value Without Compromise” guide that provides information on healthy, trusted and affordable options that people can feel good about eating and serving to their families. Specifically, the guide offers tips on how to:
- Decipher various product claims;
- Identify …
Today on In the Kitchen: Sweet Easter Treats
March 31, 2009 - Written by Deb NgWD (Woman’s Day) Radio’s In the Kitchen program on BlogTalkRadio features Sweet Easter Treats today. The live broadcast begins at noon, but you can listen in any time after the live broadcast, at your convenience.
Today’s guest is Bobbie Lloyd, president of Magnolia Bakery, the cupcake shop made famous by Sex and the City.
Enjoy!
Today on Frugal Coast2Coast: Save Money on Specialty Diet Foods
March 31, 2009 - Written by Deb NgMy friends Jenn and Lynnae host the Frugal Coast2Coast show on BlogTalkRadio. Each week they discuss saving money on every day things. Today’s show might be of interest to the Cookerati community as Jenn and Lynnae discuss different ways to save money on specialty diet products.
Many people with food allergies or special diets such as with diabetics find themselves having to buy expensive foods because they have no choice. Listen in and save. Today’s show begins at 8:00 p.m. but don’t worry if you miss the show – it’ll be archived an available on demand soon after the live broadcast.
Food Contests & Giveaways around the web – March 2009
March 21, 2009 - Written by DianaI’ve won a few things lately from a couple of different places. Nothing huge, but still nice things to have. The Wine Imbiber sent me a menu vacuum stopper when I won their contest by adding an entry in their Swirl-Sniff-Sip-Spit-Promotion. They also sent me a set of Schur DropStop wine pourers for entering the first week, even though I didn’t win the main prize (but I was a winner after all, wasn’t ?). They might still have a few of those left for people who want to help fill out the database with local winery suggestions.
It’s not food, but I won a new Pledge Fabric Sweeper from Robyn’s Online World. I really need it now that we’re keeping the new dog. The dog that showed up on our back porch and stayed, and has now been spayed and chipped, so she better be ours. She’s a real watch dog, she watches the closet where we keep the pet food with an eagle eye. She also does the happy dance anytime a person walks past it, in hopes that they will fill her bowl once again.
Just recently, I …
Food News – February 14, 2009
February 14, 2009 - Written by DianaSeattle coffee – you can still get a coupon for a bogo coffee from Seattle coffee (hint look in Borders bookstores) – http://seattlesbest.com/media/special/SBC_buy1_get1.pdf
Jamba Juice – a coupon for hot steel cut oatmeal for 1.00 at jamba juice. Good through March 3rd. Use the locater – not in my state, what about yours?
I Throw Like a Girl – Link your recipe or type in a recipe on Carol’s Saturday’s Stirrings for a chance to win a Banana Nut Cheerios Gift Pack. Every Saturday she has a Mr Linky up so that you can share your recipes.
Starbucks - is going instant – what do we think about this? Here’s one opinion.
Kashi Cookie Recall – One of my favorite food companies issues a recall on their cookies. We linked you to their free sample to send to your college kid. We ate ours and so did our daughter, but they are telling you not to now.
Wine Imbiber – gives away prizes if you help them fill out their vineyard list with their Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Spit …
