Gifting Recipe Books
October 30, 2009 at 6:24 am | In Cooking, Dieting, Simple cooking | Leave a CommentTags: Cooking, Home, Wedding, Wedding ceremony participants, Marriage, Bridal shower, Child, Short subject
- Image via Wikipedia
We are not only invited to the wedding, but also to the wedding showers. My husband and I are in the stage of our lives where we are invited to many weddings. Our children are planning their weddings and so are their friends. My niece gave me a great idea one day because she called and asked for a recipe.
I love to cook and feed people. Our house has always been the gathering spot for the neighborhood children as well as the friends that our son and daughter made in college. I decided that I would make recipe boxes filled with recipes that I have served over the years.
I was trying to think of an idea for a shower gift that would be unique as well as inexpensive, due to the number of weddings we had in a short period of time. As a result I am often asked for recipes.
I decided that I would have a kitchen theme for the shower gifts. I created the recipe boxes by scanning my favorite recipes into the computer.
This was great because they were hand written without me having to write each one. I then made copies and pasted the recipes onto index cards. I found several different recipe boxes that I liked. Most of them came with blank cards in them. One of the recipe boxes I purchased had a great idea in it. On the sample recipe card it had a list of side dishes and wines that would complement the recipe on the card.
I showed this to my daughter and she agreed that this was a difficult part of cooking for her, knowing what to serve together. I added cards to each box that included menu ideas as well as table decorating ideas.
The first bridal shower was given for twins that were getting married a week apart. They have always been close and had wanted a double ceremony; however one of the groom’s families did not like the idea. I brought the two recipe boxes along with a set of hot pads and wooden spoons for each bride. My sister was at the shower and asked if she could get one of the recipe boxes. I also had several other requests. My idea of making a simple, inexpensive shower gift has developed into a small business for me. I custom make recipe boxes for people as well as selling some generic ones. It is a fun extra income stream.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a3841b28-ef27-4300-b84a-1db13bc7e109)
Everything you wanted to know about Picnic baskets
October 27, 2009 at 7:53 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: food, Gifts, Home, Paper towel, Picnic, Picnic basket, Shopping, Wine
For a long time now picnic baskets have been a matter of interest for people in the course of history. For many years, having a picnic basket, is the best way for people who transport food and goods to and fro for the purchase of goods for their homes, as well as visiting others in their homes and also for going out for outings and picnics. It is the most convenient way for carrying the traditional packed lunch or a meal and eating out.
Picnic baskets are still very much a part of modernized society, although some have been replaced by coolers and other carrying cases. Picnic baskets are much more festive looking than carrying around a bulky cooler. While you can find just picnic baskets for sale in various stores, you can also purchase picnic baskets that are fully stocked. These fully stocked picnic baskets may be suitable for 2 or 4 people and come in many different themes. You can get picnic baskets that have the plates, silverware, cups, picnic blanket, and so much more. Picnic baskets that are of a wine theme are very popular as gifts for weddings.
On my wedding day, two guests gave my husband and I picnic baskets. One was a wine theme for 2 people and they had put 2 bottles of wine inside of the basket. The other was a more traditional picnic basket for 4 people, equipped with everything we could ever need for a picnic. They even went so far as to put napkins and paper towels inside of it for us. I loved both of them immensely. We got married in the middle of winter, so we would not be using our picnic baskets for a while. One evening, I had to work late and was rather bummed about it. I arrived home to find that my husband had set up the picnic baskets and a wonderful meal for us, in our sun room. He had a fire burning and a wonderful atmosphere set up. I was thrilled that our picnic baskets were being used in the middle of winter. Now we’ve been married for several years and his interest in doing romantic things has faded. The picnic baskets still get used several times a year. I have used the picnic baskets for many more things than just packing a
picnic. I’ve used them for holiday get-together’s and transporting our baked goods or meals back and forth. I’ve used them for parties, and even sorting mail. You name it, I’ve found a use for those picnic baskets.
Picnic baskets make wonderful gifts for people, no matter if they enjoy the outdoors or not. Picnics can be held indoors and the baskets used for so many other purposes. I’m sure that the recipient will find a purpose for their new picnic basket.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ce90f475-2a67-4bfa-96a8-b55b8ce4553c)
Cooking Outdoors
October 26, 2009 at 7:23 am | In Cooking, Healthy food, Low carb cooking, Simple cooking | Leave a CommentTags: grill, Cook, Home, Shopping, Barbecue grill, Charcoal, Barbecue, Outdoors
- Image via Wikipedia
Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Outdoor cooking. When you start sharing the fascinating Outdoor cooking facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed. Hopefully the sections above have contributed to your understanding of Outdoor cooking. Share your new understanding about Outdoor cooking with others. They’ll thank you for it.
Is everything making sense so far? If not, I’m sure that with just a little more reading, all the facts will fall into place.
Well, it looks like summer is coming to a close. It’s now time to get that fire wood stacked for the cold season. Okay, so we’re actually not to that point yet, but it will come soon. It always does. Time flies by so fast now days, I definitely have trouble keeping up. Am I mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway? It all tends to run together anymore. Do you ever feel this way? Anyway, I guess since the cold season is drawing near, it will be time to put away the outdoor cooking equipment. Right? Whatever! I for one am not storing my outdoor cooking equipment away for the cool months. This is when I use it most. Heck, I love grilling out in the fall and winter. As long as the weather allows it, I’m good to go. So this basically means if it is not snowing or raining. How about yourself? Are you also a hardcore griller?
It’s very hard to beat that wonderful char-grilled flavor that only the outdoor cooking equipment can provide. I am talking about the old-school charcoal grills. You know, the ones you used as a child. I completely got addicted to the grilled meats and vegetables. The smoky flavor sets my taste buds at ease. What is your favorite dish to grill up? I am going to go with shrimp and vegetable skewers. Yum! Can’t you just taste it right now with some Cajun grill rub on it? That makes for a magnificent meal. This past summer I probably made use of my Weber grill and outdoor cooking equipment about once a week. That’s probably a tad more than the typical family. As for the fall, I will use it much more. I am a cool weather nut. Just give me 60 degrees for most of the year and I will be stoked. The main thing I love about grilling outdoors and the outdoor cooking equipment these days is the vast selection. I mean just take a gander at what is on the market these days. It’s truly amazing. You can basically purchase an entire kitchen for outdoors. That’s the kind of outdoor cooking equipment a guy like me dreams of.
Probably some of the finest outdoor cooking equipment I have come across is online. The website, Frontgate.com has an awesome selection of stuff like this. Now, keep in mind that the upper-scale outdoor cooking equipment can cost you a pretty penny. It all depends on how much you love it.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=49dc0db9-c878-4796-a060-58aa6708806a)
An unique gift item for your Mother
October 24, 2009 at 6:06 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Business and Economy, food, Gift basket, Gifts, Shopping
- Image by mothernaturebeauty via Flickr
Most probably you want to get something special for your mother, whatever the occasion may be. A gift basket for mothers may be all that can help in the task of finding the perfect gift. The great thing about these things is that they are extremely flexible and can be found with infinite combination. Here are some ideas for your mother’s gift that should inspire you.
Most women love chocolate. This is a well-known fact. You can create a great mother gift basket that will address the occasional urgent craving for the cocoa bean. There are so many different kinds of chocolate available and they come in very attractive packaging as well. You can make a beautiful arrangement with little effort.
Remember that chocolate comes in all shapes and forms as well. Consider a whole theme that includes hot cocoa, cookies, pastries and the traditional gift chocolates. Adding a chocolate colored silk robe and matching slippers would be a great touch. You can also find cocoa scented candles as well as bath salts and gels that can be added to the mother gift basket as well.
While we are on the subject of food you might want to consider a gourmet theme for the mother gift basket. Why not put together an interesting collection of pastas and unique sauces? Mom might be interested in a great cook book as well. Add some kitchen utensils that she has been dying to get and you have the perfect mother gift basket that takes little time to create.
Not every mom wants to think about food all of the time. Some like to think about drinks. You can make a mother gift basket using coffees and ceramic mugs. Tea lovers would really appreciate a sampling of a lot of different kinds of tea. Some moms would love a nice bottle of sparkling wine with fine crystal glasses. Add a novel into the mix and you have a mother gift basket that you can truly be proud of.
There is always the bath theme commonly found in these kinds of arrangements. You can put all kinds of combinations of mom’s favorite scents and lotions. A scented candle in lavender or vanilla would be perfect for this collection. Add a big surprise like a gift certificate to her favorite spa and this mother gift basket will not be forgotten.
You can probably come up with better ideas for your own mom. Maybe she loves scrapbooks. She may adore a bunch of pictures and some scrapbook supplies. When it comes to the perfect mother gift basket the choice really depends on mom’s tastes and interests.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7637d64a-3bd4-43de-a85d-7bdf842d312f)
Why Are Coffee Tables Necessary?
October 7, 2009 at 7:22 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Beverages, Coffee, Department store, Furniture, Glass, Home and Garden, Living room, Shopping
- Image via Wikipedia
The following article covers a topic that has recently moved to center stage–at least it seems that way. If you’ve been thinking you need to know more about it, here’s your opportunity. See how much you can learn about coffee tables when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information. Hopefully the passages below will contribute to your understanding of coffee tables. Share your new understanding about coffee tables with others. They’ll thank you for it.
I spent a lot of time in college without coffee tables. Now I use it a lot to fold laundry, and my husband thinks it makes a nifty footstool. Now that I’m older and have a child in my home, I realize that coffee tables are more important than I thought they were.
Sure, we had a table we could use for meals, and we even had an end table, but a coffee table, at that point in life, was a luxury. When it came down to it, it was not an important purchase. We use ours to play games, draw pictures, eat the occasional meal, and as a place to put stuff we don’t know what to do with.
Coffee tables come in all shapes and sizes, and you can find that you love or hate your table. I had one that had a drawer underneath. I loved the feature, but it also had little cubby boxes on the top. These were impossible to clean, and they ended up collecting all sorts of odd items that simple weren’t of any use, but were things we weren’t sure if we should throw away. It always looked like a mess, and I finally got sick of looking at it, and decided it was time to go to the store and look at new coffee tables.
If you buy a living room set, it may come with a table. The store may have chosen what they think matches, but if you don’t like the table they have chosen, ask if you can substitute from among the other coffee tables they have in their store. If they really want to make a sale, they may very well do this for you. Don’t forget that most of the end tables will match the coffee tables, so make sure you get those switched as well.
You can find coffee tables in stores and online. You can buy one by itself, or you can get a set with end tables. You can find cheaper models in department stores, or you can buy high quality items in a furniture store. Remember to consider your home when looking at coffee tables. Some are not good for those with children. The glass type of coffee tables look great, but they are going to be dangerous and hard to clean if you have kids. Also consider sharp corners or ones that have extras that might break off. You will find your children use your table quite often, so you want something that is safe and secure.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=51fb2e56-190a-4c99-8cfa-8aa87c99a3e5)
What is the China Storage System?
October 6, 2009 at 7:09 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Bridal registry, China, Dishware, Home and Garden, Kitchen and Dining, Shopping, Sunday roast, Tableware
- Image by Princessehof via Flickr
The following article covers a topic that has recently moved to center stage–at least it seems that way. If you’ve been thinking you need to know more about it, here’s your opportunity. It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of China storage. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.
My daughter is in the process of planning her wedding. We are very close and so she is involving me in a enthusiastic deal of the planning. Her fiancé works for a company that involves a enthusiastic deal of international travel for him correct now. Due to this he has not been able to help with many of the details of the wedding. They have picked out their china, flatware and crystal patterns. They also filled out their bridal registry together. I suggested that we involve my daughter’s future mother-in-law with some of the planning. Our son had gotten married last year and I appreciated being involved in the planning. We made arrangements to meet for lunch.
Sometimes it’s tough to sort out all the details related to this subject, but I’m positive you’ll have no trouble making sense of the information presented below.
The three of us had a nice lunch together. During lunch my daughter was describing her china pattern to us. The store where they had chosen their china from was close to where we had lunch so we decided to go and look at their selection. During lunch the mother of the groom was telling my daughter that she needed to get some good china storage containers. My daughter explained that they have a built in china cabinet in the town home that they have purchased. She also said that she was going to use her china often so she did not want a china storage system that would be time consuming to access. The groom’s mother laughed and said that no one used their china more than once or twice a year. She said that her dishes have been in china storage for several years without use.
My daughter was surprised to hear this because she was used to how often I use my china. She mentioned this to the groom’s mom. I use my china very often. I store the china in the china hutch, but I do not pack it in the zipped china storage containers that many people use. My daughter has always enjoyed helping set the table with china and crystal. I feel that it is important to use our formal dinnerware often. I started doing this right after our wedding and continued the tradition as we raised our children. At least twice a month we required that the children plan to be home for a formal Sunday dinner. They were allowed to have friends join the family for these dinners so they could practice their table manners. Several of the neighbor kids have shared with me that they learned all their table manners at our house. I am glad that I put such an emphasis on the formal meals because my children know how to carry on a dinner conversation and they also know how to set a table. I cannot believe the number of people that go through the time and expense to pick out fine tableware and then put the flatware in a box and the china storage cases in a cabinet. I feel that if you have the articles you should use them.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5d7c4ab1-a90f-4f2c-9d6e-960caf8e2331)
Simple Barbeque Recipe
September 28, 2009 at 9:22 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Barbecue sauce, Condiments, Cook, food, Home, Sauce, Vegetable fats and oils
The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant. If you find yourself confused by what you are reading then don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about Barbeque into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about Barbeque, and that’s time well spent.
If you’re not fortunate enough to have an ancestor with a love of all things grilled, you’re probably going to spend a good deal of time trying to find the perfect barbeque sauce recipe. A favorite type of food that almost everyone craves during the summer is barbeque. Biting into a richly flavored rack of ribs or chewing on a chicken leg that’s smothered in barbeque sauce is just plain delicious. Depending on the cookbook’s focus it might even be a spicy or Cajun style barbeque sauce recipe. The first place you might want to start is with the cookbooks you already have.
There are a ton of great resources when it comes to finding more information on barbequing. My family prefers food that is hotter and more robust so I threw in extra cumin and chili powder and now everyone is happy when we eat grilled food. The key to finding a good barbeque sauce recipe that is heart healthy seems to be in the base. Almost every cookbook has at least one recipe for a good barbeque sauce.
It’s really a question of hit and misses at this point, so why not whip up a batch of barbeque sauce and give it a try? I’d have to say, from my own personal experience, that it’s really a matter of personal taste. If the recipe calls for heavy oil such as a vegetable oil, this is going to add not only considerable calories but a good deal more fat as well. It seems like everyone and their Grandmother has a recipe for their favorite sauce to use on the barbeque. You may stumble on a great barbeque sauce recipe that is filled with fat. One drawback to delving into the world of grilling sauce in this way is that many of the older cookbooks haven’t taken healthy eating into consideration. Unless you are willing to settle for the bottled variety, it’s a trek that is filled with tasty treats. I used a standard barbeque sauce recipe and then played with the spice combinations. Fat free sauces have become the rage and honestly there are a number of great sauces specifically for grilling that taste fantastic. Although this is bound to be incredibly good, it’s not going to be as great for your well-being. For some it’s a bottled sauce that they swear is the best they’ve ever had, while for others the barbeque sauce recipe they use has been passed on from generation to generation and is as closely guarded a secret as you’ll ever find.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=6caa765e-4084-44a9-8f23-1ec63771a170)
Darn Good!
September 12, 2009 at 4:10 am | In Cooking, Diet and your Hair, Healthy food, Low carb cooking, Simple cooking | Leave a CommentTags: Yogurt, sweetened, frozen, good, ice cream, luscious
What would you consider the value of a bowl of frozen yogurt?
To be clear, I don”t mean its sentimental value, nothing as romantic as all of that, I”m talking about nitty-gritty, slap-a-price tag-on-that-puppy value.
Hold on, let me give you the details before you all start yelling out answers all The Price is Right-style on me.
This is not just any frozen confection. It is removed from the insipidly-sweet ranks of those frozen yogurts parading as ice cream. It has the unmistakable twang of yogurt, softened only slightly by sweetness. This is one that puts Greek yogurt front and center; yogurt so thick that when spooned it falls lazily back upon itself in luscious folds. This is one where the yogurt plays equal partner to handful upon handful of mixed berries that have been squished and squashed into a violet-hued pulp.
It”s darn good stuff.
Chicken Tikka Masala Edition
September 6, 2009 at 9:47 am | In Cooking, Dieting, Healthy food, Low carb cooking, Simple cooking | Leave a CommentTags: chicken, curry, Indian Food, Thailand, Tikka Masala
Welcome to my culinary experiment!
Sadly, it is time for my orange-colored culinary journey around the world to conclude. It started in East Hampton, traveled across the Atlantic to The Gambia, headed west to Thailand, and now retreats back east a little to India, home country of my next endeavor, chicken tikka masala.
I was inspired to try this dish after my friend Eunnok whipped up a batch for himself and posted pics on Facebook. It looked delicious, and he confirmed that it indeed was. He forwarded me the recipe, one thing led to another, and voila, here I am with another Adventure in Domesticity.
Which Cognitive Enhancers really work: Brain Training, Drugs, Vitamins, Meditation or Exercise?
August 16, 2009 at 8:45 am | In Cooking, Healthy food, Simple cooking | Leave a CommentTags: Dieting, drugs, Enhancers, exerise, meditation, Vitamins
From Sharp Brains.
But what about the science behind the hype?
Certainly cognitive training has been shown to be effective in a few randomized controlled trials, but the evidence is still quite limited. The first large study in older adults without dementia failed to find an improvement in daily functioning from the training, but it did slow decline. Also, this study’’s method has been criticized.
Read rest of the Article
Other studies have found benefits for specific groups such as children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. Whether advantages gained by these groups might be effective for others is a matter for debate.
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
