March is popular month for many reasons. As a sports fan, I associate it with March Madness (Go UK!) and pre-season baseball. Those of us who are nature lovers, associate it with the return of robins and other favorite birds and the blooming of beautiful flowers, plants, and trees. But March has more up her sleeve than all of this. Did you know that March is also National Nutrition Month?!
Tip from Dave: Just because you’re cooking doesn’t mean you have to slave in the kitchen. There are simple things you can do to create delicious, memorable meals that don’t require a lot of time or money. My biggest tip this year is for budget-conscious consumers to stock up on pantry staples to supplement fresh or frozen items.
And with nutrients such as fiber and vitamin C, Del Monte Whole Kernel Corn is a staple item that everyone should have in their pantry!
Chipotle Corn Chowder Recipe
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegetable oil
Flesh from a 3-to-4 pound pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart reduced-sodium College Inn® Chicken Broth
1 can Del Monte® 50% Less Salt Whole Kernel Corn, drained (Dave’s pick for a lot more quality and nutritional value, without sacrificing taste)
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 thyme sprigs
to taste salt
to taste black pepper, freshly ground
1 small bunch cilantro, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
Directions:
Heat the butter or oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the pumpkin and/or squash and onion and cook 5 minutes.
Add the flour and stir into the onion and pumpkin. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring all the while. Add the corn, chipotle peppers, cream, and thyme and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin/squash is fork tender but not falling apart.
Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves, reserving some for garnish.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with the remaining cilantro leaves.
Coca-Cola, more than just about any logo or brand you can think of, symbolizes true Americana. That’s why (along with the upbeat attitude and great taste) so many people are drawn to Coca-Cola collector’s items. My mom collected Coca-Cola metal trays, bottles, and a whole host of other products and when she suddenly and unexpectedly decided to move on to Heaven, I gave all of her beloved Coca-Cola products a place to call home.
I’ve fallen in love with the logo and collector’s items, myself, and now consider myself a collector of all things Coca-Cola. I think it’s a great image, a great logo, and a big, beautiful slice of American history.
Click through any of the links for LOTS more. You’ll find vintage metal signs, tumblers, towels, and things you never even thought of. The website also features Sprite, Diet Coke (a personal favorite!) and Fanta.
By the way, speaking of Coca-Cola, have you ever tried Coke Zero? In my opinion, it tastes just like regular Coca-Cola… fantastic! For some reason (probably has a lot to do with baseball games and picnics), Coke tastes like summer to me. A hot dog and an ice cold Coca-Cola… it’s always the right time for that combination.
I’m a Starbucks fanatic and a green tea addict – so it’s only logical that I’d be a Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino fanaddict. When the weather’s cold, I almost always go with Chai Tea Lattes, Skinny Caramel or Mocha Lattes, or hot tea – but when the weather begins to warm up, they know what I’m there for.
My youngest daughter, Stephany, and I are completely hooked on the Green Tea Frappuccinos made with whipped topping on top and drizzled with raspberry syrup. Some people like the syrup mixed in with the green tea, itself – but it’s much prettier and much tastier if they just drizzle some on top. We both threw ourselves into one yesterday while out enjoying every single digit of the 49 degrees. That may not sound too warm, but it is when your weather’s been in the 20’s longer than my aunt was. She outsmarts the rest of us. She spends about 20 years in each decade.
While driving along slurpping, ooohing, and ahhhing, I thought how outstanding Starbucks Raspberry Syrup would be on smoothies, ice cream, pound cake, white cake with white icing, cool whip covering strawberries or hot green tea, my hand… This stuff is that good.
I jumped online and found that you can order some of your very own. In fact, you can order any of their remarkable syrups and get all kinds of remarkable in your kitchen. Think about the possibilities with each of these:
Click through any of the flavors listed for more information – there are also Sugar Free versions available. My mind just doesn’t spend much time with the words sugar free. Sometimes when I’m huffing and puffing on the treadmill I wish it did. But, there you have it.
I’d recommend each one of these perfect syrups for flavoring coffee and/or using in the seductive manners I described. Whatever you do, you MUST grab a bottle of the Starbucks Raspberry Syrup and a bottle of the Starbucks Caramel Syrup.
You can have a lot of success making Starbucks-like drinks at home, but having great coffee, great tea bags, and these flavored syrups are essential. And delicious!
Sweet! Get Cooking has been nominated in Saveur’s 1st Annual Best Food Blog Awards - in the Best Kitchen Tools and Hardware Coverage category. It would mean a lot to me to win the category, so, if you could (pretty please with chocolate on top) do me a favor and vote for Get Cooking I’d be ever so grateful. And as my campaign promise states in my title, I’ll feature more chocolate desserts on the blog.
And my plate.
When you click the link below, you’ll go to Saveur’s beautiful website. I’ll link you straight to the Blog Awards Page. When you’re on their site, look on the right to find the category “Best Kitchen Tools and Hardware Coverage.”
After registering – which takes less than 1 minute – find your way back to the right category and click the little white button in front of “Buttermilk Press” under the Get Cooking image. Here’s the link: Saveur’s Food Blog Awards
Yay! You will have done your part to make my day…. actually you already did that simply by being here. True, that.
I was recently sent a box of Covermate Stretch to Fit Food Covers. The deal was for me to tell you about them if I liked them or found them to be useful.
How about this? I loved them and am wondering how I ever lived without them. So, yeah, I do believe I’ll tell you all about this ingenious way to deal with leftovers.
Picture it: You’ve covered the leftover Easter ham, Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas casserole, cupcakes, cookies, or buffalo wings with plastic wrap or foil. Each time you or a hungry loved one gets under the foil or wrap, it loses its grip a little bit more. It isn’t long before more of the leftovers are exposed than covered and all of your brilliant culinary craftsmanship goes right out the door. You swear up and down that the cupcakes were once moist, but watch as everyone washes down each bite with milk.
I’ve been using the Covermate Food Covers and the scenario above (or should I say the end to the scenario above) is what I love most about these stretch to fit covers. I also love that they’ll fit any shape of dish, plate, pan, or bowl.
Covermate covers allow you to easily cover plates and bowls of food. You simply stretch one of the clear covers over the dish and allow it to snap securely into place. Thanks to the brilliant built-in FlexBand™ technology, uncovering and re-covering are just as easy. So you won’t have to tell anyone that your cupcakes were once moist or that the wing’s weren’t dried out when you made them!
Another plus as spring and summer finally roll into the neighborhood – flies won’t be able to find a way into your food, after all they don’t care if the cupcakes are dry or not!
Covermates also keep your food fresher: They’re made from heavy-duty clear plastic material that is twice as thick as standard plastic wrap. A micro-sealed edge and FlexBand™ combine to form a tight hygienic seal around all dishware to keep food as fresh and fabulous as you want it to be.
I also just happen to love the way they look. SO chic.
My box is the Variety Pack which has had (told you I loved them!) 10 covers: 4 medium, 4 large, 2 extra large, and a bonus Small Can Cover – I used it on evaporated milk… washed it off and used it again on sweetened condensed milk. What is it with me and cans of milk?
If you head over to Covermate Covers.com, you can actually sign up for a free sample pack. Would it be tacky of me to do…. Oh, don’t look at me like that, I’m only sort of kidding. I will be checking my grocery store for these today, though. Oh, I almost forgot another favorite use: I always have a few bowls of dried fruit, candy, and nut combinations sitting around the house. I like to put covermate covers over them to keep our cat Alexa out of them – she loves to dig them out and swat them to the floor. I try reasoning with her, telling her how much cashews cost but she just doesn’t care.
Now Covermate has me and my cashews covered – and Alexa perplexed. Go grab your sample pack and look for these in your store!
The vegetarian recipe below is from the wonderful cookbook you see pictured above – The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian. I’ve already reviewed this book on Get Cooking, so I’ll spare you the details about how much you need your own copy (which you do!). You can find my review linked below the recipe. I’m even more impressed with this cookbook now that I’ve re-read it and tried out more of the recipes. There are more than just recipes, of course, there is a wealth of information for everyone – whether you are…
A vegetarian who hasn’t touched meat in years.
A new vegetarian.
A semi-vegetarian.
A fish, and chicken-lover who is trying to eat more vegetables and more vegetarian meals.
Eating a burger right this minute and wish I’d shut-up about veggies.
No matter what category you’re in, you’ll love this book. Personally, I’m a 4… a very happy 4 who is about to eat a fish sandwich for lunch.
Vegetarian Recipe: Raw Hummus Romaine Roll-Ups
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Serving Size: 1 Roll-up 1 cup sprouted garbanzo beans (or steamed)
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup olive oil
2 TBS fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 TBS tamari
Salt
Pinch cayenne
Water
Large romaine lettuce leaves (washed, patted dry)
Feta cheese, crumbled
1 tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
Place the garbanzo beans in a blender or a food processor. Add tahini, olive oil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, tamari, salt, and cayenne, and blend until creamy.
Spread several tablespoons hummus onto 1 romaine leaf, and top with crumbled feta cheese, chopped tomato, and chopped cucumber. Roll and eat.
This makes an outstanding hummus – whether you bring the romaine lettuce to the party or not. I love this hummus served with raw vegetables and/or crackers.
From my own experience (this isn’t from the book), you can substitute creamy peanut butter for tahini and soy sauce for the tamari. Tahini can be pretty costly. It depends on the mood I’m in at the grocery store whether I buy it or just use peanut butter. I’m familiar with both and, honestly, can’t tell a discernible enough difference to recommend one over the other.
The wonderful recipe above is from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian by Frankie Avalon Wolfe, M.H., Ph.D. You can read my review of the cookbook and see if you’d be interested in a copy of your own. Whether you are a vegetarian or not, this really is an outstanding book.
You knew it was just a matter of time before my inner cookie monster started talking about Easter cookies. I swear, I could bake and eat cookies all day, every day. The cookie cutters below are beyond adorable and would create some real works of art. I can’t figure out which one I want most, so you know what that means! I think I just heard my husband groan…
These premium cookie cutters are made of copper, meaning they’ll be around for years and years and years. As a matter of fact, copper cookie cutters make gorgeous, thoughtful heirlooms to be passed from generation to generation – along with the memories of using them. But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves, let’s focus on this Easter and spring! I’m from the school of living out loud and making every moment count double – maybe even more so on holidays. Taking extra special time in the kitchen to create beautiful treats for your family makes every holiday extra, extra special and memorable.
In fact, when you get right down to it, taking special time and effort in the kitchen makes any day feel like a holiday. The kitchen is more than just a room, after all, it’s the heart of the home. It’s the place where we write beautiful love letters to our family – one meal and treat at a time!
Wow, I didn’t see this one coming. As you know, I am the epitome of a coffee expert. My husband and our oldest daughter (Emily) are the same way. What can I say, we know our java. We always have a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen and we certainly know the spots around town with the best coffee when we need a quick fix away from home.
Emily and I are completely wild about Burger King’s coffee. For some reason, it is just always tastes outstanding. Apparently it’s about to get even more outstanding, if that’s possible. Starting this summer, new coffee will be served at Burger King’s nationwide.
Burger King will roll-out Starbucks Corp.’s Seattle’s Best Coffee to more than 7,000 of its restaurants in the United States. Burger King’s brand, BK Joe will be forced into retirement. Emily and I will miss it something fierce.
John Schaufelberger, senior vice president of Burger King’s global product marketing and innovation, told The Associated Press that coffee switcheroo is part of a continued effort to improve its breakfast business. He called Burger King’s morning menu one of their “top strategic priorities.”
Seattle Best Brand, which I love by the way, is one of coffee giants Starbuck’s babies. Starbuck’s acquired the Seattle’s Best brand in 2003. Seattle’s Best Brand is already served at 9,000 Subway franchises.
Nothing but love. I’ve got nothing but love for Dr. Al Sears right now. He has the following to say about a close, dear friend of mine, Chocolate:
If you ate chocolate on Valentine’s Day, I have some news for you. You don’t have to feel guilty.
In fact, I have evidence that you may have cut your risk from dying of a stroke nearly in half.
Two studies give us great news about chocolate.
The first study found that people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22% less likely to have a stroke.
The second study found that people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke than those who didn’t eat chocolate.
About 80% of strokes occur when there isn’t enough blood getting to the brain.3 Your brain is starved of oxygen and nutrients and begins to die immediately.
Chocolate helps to counteract that in two ways. It’s rich in antioxidants and helps to increase circulation.
Flavonoids fight silent inflammation, which is the leading cause of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and many others.
You can find flavonoids in vegetables, tea, and red wine, but cocoa has more flavonoids. In fact, dark chocolate contains up to four times the antioxidants found in tea.
The good doctor… well, let’s just go ahead and call him the grand doctor… has this advice for finding the best sources of chocolate:
Look for chocolate that contains 70% or more cocoa. This is the ingredient that contains health benefits.
Check how much sugar is added to the chocolate you choose. Keep it as low as possible. But choose sugar over artificial sweeteners or chocolate labeled “sugar free.”
Beware of other chemicals in the chocolate. Choose a brand that has pure ingredients and no chemical additives.
Make chocolate your special treat of choice once a week.
You can find good quality chocolate at a health-food store. More and more it’s finding its way into grocery and drug stores. Read the label to be sure of the quality and content.
Only one problem, when he says to make chocolate your “special treat of choice once a week…” don’t you imagine that he meant once an hour?
As a self help diva, cooking diva, and chocolate addict all rolled into one – I am in love with this! FoodChannel.com has put together a wonderful and fun article about the benefits of “thinking chocolate.” Read on, you’re going to love this!
FOODCHANNEL.COM ENCOURAGES YOU TO “BE THE CHOCOLATE” THIS VALENTINE’S DAY
CHICAGO (Feb. 11, 2010)¾ In honor of Valentine’s Day, The Food Channel® (foodchannel.com ) editorial staff is encouraging visitors to the site to “be chocolate” and embrace the lessons one of America’s favorite indulgences can provide. “We have been watching chocolate ever since it was named one of the top food trends of the decade,” said Kay Logsdon, managing editor of The Food Channel . “This week, in particular, it seemed appropriate to commemorate how chocolate can enrich our lives—in ten fun ways.”
It’s Important to Hold Your Temper
It’s not easy to melt chocolate perfectly, just as it’s not easy to find your own boiling point and keep it under control. The fact is, for chocolate to form properly into all those fun shapes that go into the candy box, it has to be tempered. That means it has to be fed the right amount from the chocolate block, at the right time during the melting process, all the while being constantly stirred. In life, it means we have to guard what we take in, and be willing to move and change as necessary in order to get better.
Soft Centers Usually Have a Hard Shell
The best liquors, the softest centers, all need some protection around them. So remember that when your co-worker has a tough façade or your friend appears sort of brittle. Could be they are protecting their soft insides.
Meltdowns Can Be Avoided
Real chocolate starts to get soft at 72 degrees. Great candy stores keep the temperature cool rather than add vegetable oils to the mix. You can keep your cool if you remember to turn down the heat.
A Little Nuttiness Doesn’t Hurt
Unless you have an allergy, nuts add a new dimension to chocolate. A little crunch, a different flavor, a higher antioxidant level—it all just adds to the variety. So accept a little nuttiness in your life.
You Can Find an Excuse for Almost Anything
If society can pile sugar and cream into dark chocolate and call it a good-for-you antioxidant, then surely your teacher will believe someone ate your homework. Just tell her you wrapped it in chocolate.
Variety Matters
When it comes to chocolates, there is great variety. You have your soft creams, your liquors, your ganache, and your buttery caramels. You have your chews and your nuts. You’ll have your favorite, but at some point all of the varieties have to go in the box together. Learn to get along with variety.
Sometimes You Have to Feed the Need
Chocolate reportedly stimulates the release of hormones in the brain, and feel-good endorphins in the body. And, face it. Sometimes that is a craving that needs to be met. When hormone meets hormone, everyone feels better.
Some Things Are Just Worth It
We know the bad, the calories, the fat, the pound-for-pound guilt. We also know that there are lots of entrepreneurs who have quit the daily grind in favor of dipping chocolate. It’s a satisfying career, especially when you can lick the bowl.
Addictive Behavior Can Be Controlled
We all have our addictions. We are work addicts, Facebook addicts, Jersey Shore addicts and even nicotine addicts. Chocolate tells you when you’ve had enough—when you tip the scales at a new weight, when you have a stomach ache from eating too much, when you have spent your food money on candy and have nothing left for lunch. You can learn control from chocolate. Small doses go a long way.
Some Things Make Everything Taste Better
It’s the reason why people put chocolate in cookies, breads, drinks and candy. Chocolate is a flavor that goes with everything. Be chocolate.
Logsdon counsels, “Apply these lessons to life and see how far they get you. Hold your temper, recognize when people are softies at heart, reduce the heat and pressure in your life and the lives of those around you, and be a little crazy. Accept change, avoid addictions, and know what you need, physically and emotionally. Most of all live your life so that you can go with anything. Be chocolate. There are lots of lessons that are harder to swallow.”
About The Food Channel®
The Food Channel ( www.foodchannel.com ) immerses visitors in a vibrant online community—comprised of food enthusiasts, culinary students and professionals—joined together by a passion for all things food. The site includes original features, chef-tested recipes for all occasions, chef profiles, 4-star food photography, book reviews and food-event coverage. Visitors will also find a variety of videos on cooking techniques, recipe preparation and interviews on topics of current interest. Weekly and monthly trend and recipe newsletters are available by signing up on the site. For additional food news, trends, recipes, professional tips and reviews, visit www.foodchannel.com. Follow The Food Channel on Twitter at www.twitter.com/foodchannel or Facebook at www.facebook.com/FoodChannel.
