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!

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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…

  1. A vegetarian who hasn’t touched meat in years.
  2. A new vegetarian.
  3. A semi-vegetarian.
  4. A  fish, and chicken-lover who is trying to eat more vegetables and more vegetarian meals.
  5. 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.

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Coffee is life.  Okay, so maybe that’s a really broad, really ambitious statement – so sue me.  Just don’t take my coffee from me.

Some of you tease me (good naturedly, of course) about my unwavering stance on not cutting corners when it comes to baking.  I’ve said it a gazillion times, more times than not, you get what you pay for.  When it comes to ingredients, your food will taste better if you take the quality of each ingredient into account.  If you’re making a German Chocolate Cake, for example, and you want it to taste first rate, you’d better have first rate ingredients – otherwise, you’ll have to settle for the outcome, just as you settle for the ingredients.

Granted, I will look for bargains and if something’s on special, I load up.  I want to get what I pay for because I have a strong distaste for wasting money or being foolish with it.

However, experience has taught me that some things are simply worth the extra price.  Vanilla extract, cocoa, chocolate bars, and coffee each are at the top of this list.

Premium Coffee:  Why It’s Worth the Price

Some people question buying premium coffee.  I can almost hear them asking now, “Why buy premium coffee beans when I can buy ground coffee at the store for next to nothing.”  That’s akin to asking, “Why buy a Cadillac when I can buy a clunker?”

Premium coffee simply tastes better and leads to a much more enjoyable, satisfying, and lovely coffee-drinking experience.  Why do you think coffee house coffee is so extraordinary?  They take what they do seriously. They don’t buy clunkers.

Neither do I.

What’s Special About North Star Fine Coffees?

What distinguishes North Star Fine Coffees from other coffees, even other premium coffees?   I can think of a few words:

  • Commitment
  • Pride

Here’s where rubber meets the road – or rather where the bean meets the grinder:  There are twenty-eight grades of coffee.   Most people drink, on average, a grade 15 – 28. Even drinkers of ’specialty’ or ‘Gourmet’ coffees aren’t enjoying coffees any better than a grade 5, which qualifies at the minimum level for a specialty coffee. North Star Fine Coffees only offers premium grade 1 — the absolute finest available in the world.

This commitment to standing apart from the rest shows.  You can taste it in every sip. You can smell it when you grind the beans!  No lie, this may be something that only coffee drinker extraordinaires like myself, my husband, and our oldest daughter would recognize, but when we grind North Star Fine Coffee beans, you can smell the goodness throughout the kitchen and the dining room.   I love to put on an evening pot and I always grind the beans right before Emily gets home from work.  This way, she’s hit with the Heavenly aroma the minute she walks in the house.

Needless to say, it’s something we all enjoy each morning as well.

I’ve spoken through e-mail and social media to the President of North Star Fine Coffees and he’s as friendly and likable a person as you’d ever hope to meet. How could he not be?  Coffee people are the coolest people in the world!  Something always stands out to me:  He’s very warm, sincere, friendly, and positive – some of my favorite traits!  But there’s something else.  He takes a great deal of pride in his coffee and in his company.  You can tell it isn’t a job for him or just a way to make money.  He’s passionate about his coffees and he’s passionate about North Star Fine Coffees reputation.

My household is so overjoyed that he is!

***This fact is supported by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.

{ Literally pauses to take a sip of North Star’s Seattle Reign Blend! }

Where to Buy North Star Fine Coffees

I’d love for you to try North Star Fine Coffees for yourself.  I want you to taste just how special this coffee is and I want you to see, first nose, what I’m talking about with the aroma.  It’ll have you floating through the air!

Click any of the links in this post (or any of the images as well) to learn more about North Star Fine Coffees and to place your order.  I have tried and thoroughly enjoyed the following blends:  Black Label and Seattle Reign.

Seattle Reign: A decadent medium bodied coffee with soft earthy undertones, slightly sweet nutty flavor and a luxuriously smooth chocolaty finish.  (Yes, chocolaty! – a delicious subtle flavor of chocolaty Heaven.)

Black Label: Luxuriously smooth, seductive aroma, rich full body, with smokey overtones, and a semi-sweet finish.

I honestly can’t say which is my favorite – I love them both equally.  I guess this calls for more testing, right?!

{ Heads off for more testing… I love my life.}

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Doi Chaang Coffee

by Joi on February 26, 2010

I was recently sent 3 bags of Doi Chaang Coffee and it has been my supreme pleasure to test each one.  I’ve tried the following beautiful, aromatic, and delicious  varieties: Single Estate: Signature, Single Estate: Medium, and Single Estate: Piko’s Peaberry.

My favorite?  Whichever one happens to be in the pot at the time!  Seriously, each is outstanding and I don’t think it’d be possible to go wrong with anything with the name Doi Chaang on the front.

About Doi Chaang Coffee:

From Doi Chaang’s Website:  Doi Chaang Coffee is a single-origin, premium Arabica. It is certified organic, forest canopy grown, hand picked, fresh water processed, sun dried, hand sorted and freshly roasted to ensure the highest possible quality for each cup of Doi Chaang Coffee. Naturally low in caffeine, it has a complex and flavourful profile which is enhanced and released through detailed cultivating, processing and roasting methods.  Read more….

Click the following link to shop online for this wonderful premium coffee.  It’s more than just a cup of coffee, it’s an experience:  Buy Doi Chaang Online.

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Amish Iced Orange Juice Cookies

by Joi on February 23, 2010

Basset Hound Cookie Jar
Basset Hound Cookie Jar

Amish Orange Juice Cookies

2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream shortening and sugar together.  Add the egg and blend well.  Add the orange juice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Beat well.  Add the flour.

Bake at 400 degrees until set and golden brown – between 7 and 9 minutes, depending upon the size of the cookies.  (Check at 7!)

Orange Butter Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBS butter
2 TBS orange juice

Blend together and spread onto cooled cookies.  The quality and brand of your orange juice will affect the intensity of the orange flavor.  Even the cookies with the least “orange” flavor are still outstanding, though.  And when I say outstanding, I mean can’t eat just one delectable!

******* The gorgeous cookie jar at the top of the post is just one of an entire collection of dog and cat cookie jars available. I chose the beautiful Basset Hound in honor of one of my favorite dogs we’ve ever had – Honey. She was, undoubtedly, one of the sweetest, most warm-hearted animals to ever live and I simply adored her. If you click through the link, you can find your own dog or cat’s breed.

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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!

Hatchling Copper Cookie Cutter
Hatchling Copper Cookie Cutter

Lamb Copper Cookie Cutter
Lamb Copper Cookie Cutter

Bunny Copper Cookie Cutter
Bunny Copper Cookie Cutter

Egg Shaped Copper Cookie Cutter
Egg Shaped Copper Cookie Cutter

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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.

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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? :)

Source: Dr. Al Sears

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One of my favorite human beings, let alone Presidents was President Ronald Reagan.  He was one of a kind and I’m not sure there’ll ever be another like him.  The country fell in love with him and for good reason.  His charm, personality, and sense of humor made him a force to be reckoned with and they made him always appear to be larger than life.

The recipe below is reportedly a favorite of this great American and would be perfect for a President’s Day supper – or any day for that matter… it sounds delicious!

Ronald Regan’s Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

Serves 4 as an entrée, or 6 to 8 as a side dish

1/2 pound macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg beaten
3 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of paprika

From White House Cookbook, Revised and Updated Centennial Edition by H. Haller and V. Aronson

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
  2. Add macaroni to 2 quarts of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes.
  3. Drain well in a colander. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
  4. Stir in butter and beaten egg. Add 2-1/2 cups of the grated cheese.
  5. In a small bowl, combine milk with salt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
  6. Spoon macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole. Pour milk mixture over and sprinkle top with the remaining cheese.
  7. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake on middle shelf of preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until macaroni is firm to the touch and the top is crusty and browned.
  8. Serve at once, either as a light entree accompanied by a hot green vegetable and a crisp salad, or as a side dish with Hamburgers or Meat Loaf.



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According to Monticello.org, this muffin recipe was often used, and loved, by Thomas Jefferson and his family.   This would be a wonderful recipe to make tomorrow morning – very fitting for President’s Day, wouldn’t you say?

If you’re a history buff like me, you’ll definitely want to click the link above and visit this very informative and beautiful site.

Recipe for Monticello Muffins

4 cups of flour
1- 1/2 packets of yeast
1 -1/2 cups water
cast iron griddle

Silver flatware Jefferson brought from France; photograph by Edward Owen Mix flour, yeast, and water. Dough will be very sticky. Coat your hands in flour before kneading the dough. While kneading, continue to add small amounts of flour to the dough until the stickiness disappears and the dough becomes more solid. You may find you add as much as 1/2 cup more flour during this process.

Put the dough in a large bowl, cover with a towel, and leave in a warm place overnight. The dough should more than double by morning. The underside of the dough may be a bit sticky — if so, knead it a bit more. Using your hands, shape the muffins into small golf-ball sized balls. Set the muffins aside, cover with a towel, and let rise for an hour.

Preheat ungreased griddle over medium heat. Add shaped muffins to griddle and cook for about five minutes on each side.

The muffins will look like biscuits on the outside and English muffins on the inside. Serve immediately. Makes two dozen small muffins.

On Monticello.org, you can even find the Jefferson Family’s Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe!

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