Introduction

I recently received an e-mail from a blog reader who had a nightmarish time with an ad. What’s worse, the ad was from this blog! Of course, the ads that appear under “Google Ads” aren’t chosen by me, they’re random and based upon a website or blog’s content. I still feel bad though.

It was one of those ads where you’re told that you’ll get something free….all you have to do is take a survey. The gist of the survey is to get your name on mailing lists and to, apparently, get you to sign up for a credit card. SUPPOSEDLY at the end of all of that, you’re given a freebie. When the ads first started coming out, I filled out a survey - trying for a free ipod that was promised. Of course, I never got the iPod. I’m really not sure anyone ever gets the freebie they were promised, to be honest.

At any rate, since the ad came from my site, I thought I’d point out that you should be very cautious about any that say FREE in the heading. Some may actually be legit, but if a survey’s involved - be warned that, after it’s all said and done, you may come away with your name on mailing lists, you may get a credit card, heck, you may even enjoy the survey aspect of it….but it’s highly doubtful you’ll come away with anything else.

I just created something I’m pretty excited about: The Buttermik Press Store. It’s in conjunction with the most trusted and highly respected online presence of all: Amazon. If you think about it, you never, ever hear a negative thing about Amazon. When you handle everything you do as perfectly as they do, you get the reputation you deserve.

I guess that’s true with everything in life, huh?

Anyway, The Buttermilk Press Store is now officially open! I’ve created a delicious assortment of Shops (or Categories) for you to browse through. There are too many amazing cookbooks to even count, of course, but I also included a section for healthy eating. If we’re going to eat (which we are!), we might as well do so in a healthy way. You’ll also find a section on Outdoor Cooking which features books for grilling, camping, and tailgating.

Books aren’t all you’ll find, though. There’s even a Grocery section - officially making grocery shopping easier and faster than ever before.

My favorite category, of course, is the one titled “Coffee, Tea, and Espresso.” Oh, yeah, that’s where the really, really good stuff is.

I don’t want you to buy anything you don’t want or need, of course, but when you shop through The Buttermilk Press Store, you help to support this website and blog. So, I humbly ask you this favor: When you (or someone you know) find yourself in need of a book or other product on Amazon - I’d love for you to use this store to jump over to Amazon. Even if you aren’t after one of the products in the store….just using it as a launch pad works wonders! I really appreciate it.

Thanks and enjoy!
Joi

I’ll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to call me names. Right about…oh….I dunno… NOW…I start thinking about the holidays. I’ve already started looking into Halloween candy recipes, Thanksgiving Dressing recipes, unique Christmas Cookie recipes, and I’m already pricing huge Christmas trees. The months between September and January find me smiling ear to ear 24/7 - I live for this time of year!

So, naturally, I start thinking early about Christmas shopping. It sneaks up on most of us every year - so why not sneak up on it when it least expects it? You guessed it - August!

I’ve made a category called “Christmas Shopping” that I’ll start filling with the coolest, most amazing items I can find. They’ll be geared toward people who love cooking, coffee, food, tea, gadgets, etc….which is just about everybody.

Needless to say, of course, most of the items can be enjoyed any time of the year and they most certainly don’t have to be bought for someone else! I know, for example, that this candle set would be to me, from me, for me. I’d put one in every room of the house and walk around in java bliss.

Like the Caddy Set in the last post, this 10 Pc Coffee Candle Set is also from Cafe Belmondo. This is one website I’m quickly falling in love with.

Sold!

Okay, I give up. I totally give up - as in I’m throwing in the white towel! Okay, now that that’s out of my system… I’ve had about 4 e-books for sale on the Buttermilk Press domain for the past few years. On each of the sales pages, I made a point of stating 6 times (6!) in bold that these were downloadable, printable eBooks. I stated that there would be no shipping costs because no shipping was involved in eBooks. You’d think that would suffice, right?

Wrong.

I can’t tell you how many e-mails I’d get from angry husbands saying things to the effect of, “My wife paid over $11.00 for a cookbook you never delivered. I demand our money back!!” Then, I’d type out an apology (love apologizing for something I didn’t do), link him to the sales page, ask him to count the number of times ebook was mentioned, then refund the money. Big. Fat. Headache. For the ones with unusual character, they’d respond back with, “I’m so sorry! Apparently my wife doesn’t know what an eBook is. I’m sorry for your inconvenience.” One man was so sweet, I sent him downloads to two free recipe collections!

I’m frankly amazed at how irrate people get over $11.00. But that’s beside the point.

Do you know something else freaky - whenever someone places an order, they’d be asked for their e-mail address, right? More than once, I’d have someone all furious because they didn’t get their download and hadn’t heard from me….come to find out, they hadn’t used their REAL e-mail! They’d be like, “Oh, I made that e-mail up. I’m afraid of Spam.” (!!!!!)

At any rate, it’s proving to be more of a headache than it’s worth - and I’m sensitive, I can’t take all the grumbly guts - so I’ve taken down the eBooks. I’ll be slowly but surely adding each of the collections to the blog, so watch for the coming recipes. If anyone wants any of the collections up front, e-mail me the name of the collection you’re after and I’ll let you have it for $5.00. You can have all of them for $10.00…or, you can just wait until I get them all added to the blog (granted, it’ll take months and months!). Just remember, they’re ebooks!

I can give you my pay pal address or you can send a check or money order, whatever you prefer. I would just give them away, but I’m thinking of the blessed people who actually ordered the ebooks, knowing they were ebooks and never sent me running for the Tylenol bottle once. To them: I love you. I wouldn’t want them to have paid for something and it be totally free right now.

These are the collections:

• Ice Cream Maker Recipes
• Amish Recipes
• South of the Border Recipes
• Chocolate Recipes for Chocolate Lovers

Of all evenings to be going to the movies! Tonight’s Food TV line up is a great one. I can’t even record it because….er, well….the Daytime Emmy’s are on and I kind of have to sort of kind of record that. There I said it!

Anyway, check out the line up:

30 Minute Meals (The second episode): 30-Minute Passport to Thailand - Thai Cucumber and Radish Salad, Coconut Shrimp, and Chicken Satay Stir-Fry with Orange Scented Jasmine Rice

Good Eats: Circle of Life - Yeast Doughnuts, Doughnut Glaze, Chocolate Doughnut Glaze

Unwrapped: Coffee!

Emeril Live: World Wraps - Chicken Negimaki with Soy Glaze, Grilled Flank Steak Taquitos with Black Bean Puree, Roasted Pepper Salsa and Cilantro-Tequila Cream, Veal/Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Cannelloni, Sweet Cheese Blintzes with Apple Butter

Paula’s Party: - Paula’s Hawaiian Hoedown - Kalua Pig, LauLau, Paula’s Party Potion, Volcano Punch, Cracking a Coconut,Paula’s Laula Luau Coconut Pie

The two $40 a Day episodes are also great, but I’ve seen them both. The first one takes place in Chattanooga, TN - one of my favorite cities. The food includes Waffle of Insane Greatness, Grilled Gulf Shrimp, Fried Green Tomatoes, Andouille and White Cheddar Cheese Grits, Pecan Crusted Double-Cut Pork Chops, Cappuccino Cups. I’ve actually made the Waffle of Insane Greatness before, and you’ll be happy to know that it lives up to its name! I’m extremely partial to my own Fried Green Tomatoes, so I probably won’t ever try a different recipe. Most versions are too doughy, and I actually don’t like to use any flour. I make mine with cornmeal. I have officially given myself a Fried Green tomato craving right now and there are none to be found!

I’m definitely going to try Paula’s Coconut pie, Alton’s doughnuts, the grits, Rachel’s shrimp, and probably all of Emeril’s World Wraps. Fortunately, some of the episodes repeat themselves into the middle of the night….so I can see how One Life to Live fares, catch Rise of the Silver Surfer AND watch Alton, Paula, Emeril, and Rachael!

Tea-Time Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

I believe that the number 1 motive you should have when decorating your home should be to surround yourself with things that make you happy. If you have things that make you smile everywhere you look - a smile is always just a glance away!

In that vein, I use a lot of tea and coffee in our kitchen design. On the towels, wall art, dishes, etc. The art print above, as well as those below, are right up my motif allley! Click on each to take a closer look. They’re absolutely gorgeous.

Tea Time with Angel Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

Tea Time with Fuzzy Art Print
Leu, Michael

Buy at AllPosters.com

Tea Time Art Print
Van de Bos, Ina

Buy at AllPosters.com

Tea Time I

Art Print
Buy at AllPosters.com

8 ounces baby carrots (half of a standard size bag)
4 tablespoons salted butter (not margarine)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

Fill a small saucepan with about 1/2 inch of water. Add the carrots, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to simmer and steam the carrots for about 5 minutes - until they’re tender….but not mushy.

Drain the carrots and return them to the pan and cover.

In a microwave-safe dish, combine the butter and thyme. Microwave in 30 second bursts until the butter is melted. (You could also do this on the stove, over very low heat.) Add to the carrots and toss to coat.

Cover the pan and let rest for several minutes.

This is a perfect Easter recipe, served alongside ham, potatoes, some truly great bread, and another vegetable or two - you’ve got an Easter meal everyone will remember!

We’re all familiar with the benefits of broccoli, nuts, orange juice, apples, bananas, and green tea. We even try to work them into our diets as often as possible. Fortunately, they’re all what Alton Brown would term Good Eats, so it isn’t torturesome to do so.

However, if you’re like me you’ve always hoped for more variety - more foods to add to the mix. The food gods were listening, and below are some of the newbies we can throw into the line-up:

1. POMEGRANATE: This delicious, versatile fall fruit has higher antioxidant activity than red wine and green tea! Studies show it may prevent skin cancer and kill breast and prostate cancer cells.

But it doesn’t stop there. Pomegranate also fights Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Loma Linda University found that mice who drank pomegranate juice experienced 50 percent less brain degeneration than animals that consumed only sugar water. The pomegranate drinkers also did better in mazes and tests as they aged.

Pomegranate is also great for your arteries. In an Israeli research, a group of diabetics who drank about 2 ounces of pomegranate juice a day for 3 months kept their bodies from absorbing bad cholesterol into their immune system cells (a major contributing factor to hardened arteries).

2. KIWIFRUIT: On the outside, this guy looks kind of homely - but he’s actually beautiful inside. He also tastes a little like strawberrries (at least to me). Kiwifruit are full of antioxidants and fiber, and I don’t have to tell you how your body loves that combo.

Kiwifruit works to:

Protect against free radical damage: A study at Rutgers University compared the 27 most popular fruits and determined that kiwifruit was the most nutritionally dense.

Here’s more good news from the Kiwifruit Camp:

Kiwifruit makes the short list of fruits with substantial amounts of vitamin E. It contains more vision-saving lutein than any other fruit or vegetable, except for corn.

Kiwifruit lowers blood-clot risk: In a 2004 study from the University of Oslo in Norway, participants who ate two or three kiwis for 28 days significantly reduced their potential to form a clot. They also benefited another way: Their triglycerides (a blood fat linked to heart attack) dropped by 15 percent.

3. BARLEY: Barley is full of soluble beta-glucan fiber in its whole kernel or refined flour form. What does this mean for us, exactly? :

USDA Research Studies show that this particular fiber may lower bad cholesterol by as much as 17.4 percent. A 2004 study found that adults with moderately high cholesterol levels who went on a low-fat American Heart Association diet began to see an improvement only when barley was added to the menu.

Barley also decrease blood sugar and insulin levels. This fact makes barley a better choice for people with type 2 diabetes.

4. CRANBERRIES: Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without this American berry and it finds itself among the top 10 antioxidant-rich foods. This, of course, makes it a potent cancer protector. It helps treat urinary tract infection and prevents gum disease.

A few things you might not know about cranberries:

Cranberries eradicate E. coli. Cranberry juice, amazingly, can actually ALTER antibiotic-resistant strains, and, thereby, make it impossible for the ill-intending bacteria to trigger an infection. Eating about 1/3 cup of dried cranberries yielded the same benefits. If you haven’t tried the dried berries, you should - they’re very tart and downright delicious. Then again, I’m one of those people who drinks cranberry juice when she doesn’t have to - I just love the flavor.

Cranberries and Cranberry juice also help prevent strokes. Research shows that eating cranberries or juice every day can lead to healthier, more flexible blood vessels.

5. BROCCOLI SPROUTS: Okay, this one might surprise you - I had to do a double-take. Broccoli sprouts are even better than Broccoli….. you know, superfood extraordinaire. Broccoli’s offspring is surpassing it! They contain at least 20 times as much of the known disease-fighter, sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), as their elders.

SGS has been shown to:

A. Kill tumors: The chemical triggers enzymes in the body that either kill cancer cells or keep them from growing.

B. Protect your heart: People who ate about a half cup a day of sprouts lowered their total cholesterol by an average of 15 points, and women in the study raised their good cholesterol by 8 points — in just 1 week, according to a Japanese study.

C. Save your sight: Exposure to UV sunlight can, over time, may lead to macular degeneration. Malcular degeneration is the number one cause of blindness in US seniors. Research at Johns Hopkins determined that broccoli sprouts can protect retinal cells from ultraviolet light damage.

6. KEFIR: You’re probably thinking, like I was when I first read about it, “Kefir?!?!” Kefir is a cultured milk drink, and it scores big in calcium — one 8-ounce serving contains 30 percent of the recommended daily intake — and contains more beneficial bacteria than yogurt.

Kefir can reduce food allergies. In a targeted agricultural research, baby mice fed kefir had a threefold reduction in the amount of an antibody linked to food allergies.

More impressively, Kefir battles breast cancer. Women age 50 and older who consumed fermented milk products had a lower risk than those who ate little or none.

With Kefir, you can avoid triggering lactose intolerance. It contains lactase, the enzyme that people with lactose intolerance are missing, say researchers at Ohio State University.

So how about the taste? It tastes like plain yogurt, it just isn’t as thick.

I’ll try to start working these foods into more recipes here as well as on the website. For more information and recipes on Kifer, click HERE.

Have a beautiful weekend!
Joi

Information from: Prevention Magazine - the best magazine on the rack

There’s nothing in the world quite like a great cup of coffee is there? I was out yesterday with my youngest daughter, walking and enjoying every second of the beautiful weather. I started mentally going over all the web publishing work I needed to do when I got home - this blog needed this, that blog needed that, this post needed typing, that post needed editing (when you have over 12, there’s never a day without at least that many thises and thats).

Before my mind planned out the work load, it set the stage. My desk would have to be primed and ready: My favorite pink pen, my favorite planner, and (most importantly) a mug of hot coffee. The only things left would be turning on the Food Network and then turning on my brain cells - without fail, the first is always the easiest.

No matter what I’m tackling on my blogs, I MUST have coffee nearby. Boca Java Gourmet Coffee & Tea is, apparently totally in sync with me.

Their Beach Day Blog Coffee was created for bloggers by a blogger. It’s a rich blend that’ll make every post an absolute joy to work on. Type a line or two….lean back and sip a little bit of warm comfort….type a few more lines…..take another sip. Sweet!

Click the link above to take a closer look. When you get to their glorious site, simply enter Beach Day Blog in the search box. Be sure to check out their other coffees as well - these people know what they’re doing!