A Thyme To Bee Comforted December contest is over, and a very lucky lady has become the winner of a $25.00, gift cert to use in my other shop A Time 2B Unique!!! Suanne is that lucky lady!! Can everyone give her a woot woot!?!?!?!?!?
So I did a mini interview with Suanne as I am sure all of you our a little curious about the winner!! Here is the DL on the interview:
Wow! What a delightful surprise! You have some lovely items in your shop!!! I think I also visited your other store with all of the delicious food, but I couldn't check because it is closed for Christmas. (yes for all of you foodies A Thyme To Bee Comforted is closed for Christmas, but we will be re-opening January 2nd!!)
Where did you hear about my blog contest?: I'm not sure exactly where I found your blog contest. I have a group of friends that email each other items of interest, I do searches, and some of the other blogs tell readers about contests.
What Comforts you when you are feeling blue?: As a general rule, just being with my daughter chases my blues away. She is such a sweetheart!!! If that fails, bring on the chocolate!
Tell us a little about yourself, ie favorite food, color etc: Let's see. My favorite food. Hmm... I guess it is almost anything Paula Deen cooks. I love all colors but purple -- and I have no idea why certain colors of purple can be so unpleasant to me. I guess an analyst would certainly trace it back to an event in my childhood. My most enjoyable time is spent at my computer, but I hate to type. I use the Biblical method -- seek and ye will find (hunt and peck).
Are you an Etsy Seller?: I am not a seller on Etsy, but I will probably be a buyer when my personal finances make an upward swing. There are a lot of nice things that I have found. Thank you for making me a winner!
Suanne you seem like a really fun lady!! I am so glad you participated in my contest and took the time to reply to all of my questions!! Lol on the biblical method....that really made me laugh, you and my BF have something in common!! What a great interview!! Well I hope you have fun shopping, I know you wanted to check out some stuff in A Thyme To Bee Comforted, you can go to the sales link on my shop to see the kind of food that I have sold in the past! Or you can wait until January to get your fill of some yummy treats!
Well this contest just like last month has put a smile on my face, and I am already working on January's contest! She was featured on my blog a couple months ago (blog link); Heather from Heathers Handmade Creations will be ponying up the prize for January. I still have some details to iron out, but keep on the look out!! Once everything has been finalized I will blast email all of those on my mailing list, so if you aren't on the list email me and I will add you or become a blog follower!!
For those of you that follow the blog I will be posting this weeks Tip/Trick of the week tomorrow, as Suanne needs her day in the sun!!
Christmas is near, so be on your best behavior and spread some cheer!! Love and kisses from my family to yours!!
*Hugs
Angelica
Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Incredible Edible Leek
Ok so I know I am late in posting this tips and tricks segment. I have a good excuse though I have been busy with orders from my store A Thyme To Bee Comforted! Busy is always good, but with busy also comes problems, i.e the Post Office, they are on my list this month....grrrr......
Well enough about that! So today's tip and trick is the Leek! A leek you say, what the hell is a leek. It's that thing at the grocery store that looks like a green onion on steroids!!! Wikipedia defines the leek as:
Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum(L.) J.Gay
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (L.), also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. Two related vegetables, the elephant garlic and kurrat, are also variant subspecies of Allium ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food. The edible part of the leek plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths which is sometimes called a stem or stalk.
Why use a leek you may ask, well because it has a subtle onion flavor, not strong at all. It's darn tasty to!!! You also might be thinking to yourself well what tips or tricks could you possibly have for a leek??? Well the tip is on how to to wash a leek. A leek is like an onion it has many layers, and the stem is open not as tight as a green onion. So dirty etc tend to get stuck in the stems! So how do we was a leek, well there are two ways:
1. To wash a whole Leek halve the leek length wise, splay open the layers, and run water over them until your sure that all the grit has been removed. See pretty straight forward and simple!
2. To wash sliced Leeks soak the sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water. Let them stand undisturbed for about ten minutes to let the grit fall to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the leeks out gently, taking care not to stir up the grit. Pat the leeks dry.
Now that you have some clean leeks what can you do with them, well you can make Home At Least Leek Salad, the recipe is courtesy of the Food Network (one of my fave sites).
Ingredients
Dressing:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 to 3 sprigs thyme, stripped from stems
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade and quartered
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Salad:
6 leeks, soaked in salt water to remove grit and thoroughly rinsed
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive oil
6 ears fresh corn, boiled until tender and cooled to room temperature
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil or if dehydrated soaked in water to rehydrate
6 small sprigs parsley
Directions:
Through the feed opening of a running blender add, 1 at a time, vinegar, thyme, mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and ground black pepper. Leaving the blender running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream. Set aside until needed.
Slice the white and tender green parts of the leeks into 1/2-inch diagonals. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet and saute until tender. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Slice the corn from the cobs and place in a bowl with the sauteed leeks. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and add to the bowl. Toss with enough of the dressing to coat. Do not feel compelled to use all of the dressing.
Serve garnished with parsley and additional dressing on the side.
There are over 700 hundred recipes for leeks on the Food Network site, so if you haven't ever cooked with likes I suggest you give them a try and you might surprise yourself! They make a great soup!! Well thanks for joining me in this late but great tips and tricks segment......I am off to finish up my Pecan Brittle order! Here is wishing you and your family a safe and HAPPY Holiday season!!
Hugs!
Angelica
Well enough about that! So today's tip and trick is the Leek! A leek you say, what the hell is a leek. It's that thing at the grocery store that looks like a green onion on steroids!!! Wikipedia defines the leek as:
Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum(L.) J.Gay
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (L.), also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. Two related vegetables, the elephant garlic and kurrat, are also variant subspecies of Allium ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food. The edible part of the leek plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths which is sometimes called a stem or stalk.
Why use a leek you may ask, well because it has a subtle onion flavor, not strong at all. It's darn tasty to!!! You also might be thinking to yourself well what tips or tricks could you possibly have for a leek??? Well the tip is on how to to wash a leek. A leek is like an onion it has many layers, and the stem is open not as tight as a green onion. So dirty etc tend to get stuck in the stems! So how do we was a leek, well there are two ways:
1. To wash a whole Leek halve the leek length wise, splay open the layers, and run water over them until your sure that all the grit has been removed. See pretty straight forward and simple!
2. To wash sliced Leeks soak the sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water. Let them stand undisturbed for about ten minutes to let the grit fall to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop the leeks out gently, taking care not to stir up the grit. Pat the leeks dry.
Now that you have some clean leeks what can you do with them, well you can make Home At Least Leek Salad, the recipe is courtesy of the Food Network (one of my fave sites).
Ingredients
Dressing:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 to 3 sprigs thyme, stripped from stems
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed with the side of a knife blade and quartered
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Salad:
6 leeks, soaked in salt water to remove grit and thoroughly rinsed
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive oil
6 ears fresh corn, boiled until tender and cooled to room temperature
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil or if dehydrated soaked in water to rehydrate
6 small sprigs parsley
Directions:
Through the feed opening of a running blender add, 1 at a time, vinegar, thyme, mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and ground black pepper. Leaving the blender running, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream. Set aside until needed.
Slice the white and tender green parts of the leeks into 1/2-inch diagonals. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a skillet and saute until tender. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Slice the corn from the cobs and place in a bowl with the sauteed leeks. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces and add to the bowl. Toss with enough of the dressing to coat. Do not feel compelled to use all of the dressing.
Serve garnished with parsley and additional dressing on the side.
There are over 700 hundred recipes for leeks on the Food Network site, so if you haven't ever cooked with likes I suggest you give them a try and you might surprise yourself! They make a great soup!! Well thanks for joining me in this late but great tips and tricks segment......I am off to finish up my Pecan Brittle order! Here is wishing you and your family a safe and HAPPY Holiday season!!
Hugs!
Angelica
Monday, December 8, 2008
Scared to Fry??? Don't Be!!
Spicy Asian Wontons
Good Morning All!!
Here is hoping that it is a sunny and happy morning in your neighborhood!! Well it is Monday, and time for another tip/ trick segment!!
Today we are tackling your fear of frying!!! Let's be honest frying is a scary thing, all of that hot oil inches from your skin, splashes of it flying in the air when you putt your chicken or fries in. I fry often and I am still intimidated by the oil, and yes I have been burned more than once, but it each time it has been my carelessness that has caused the burns!!
The number one rule when frying PAY ATTENTION, this isn't the time to be answering the phone, or answering one of your kids million questions!! This is NOT the time to multi task!!
That being said there are some ways to eliminated or reduce the intimidation factor. The easy way to do this is to go out and buy yourself an actual deep fryer!! Now when selecting a fryer you need to keep a couple of things in mind.
1. The most important of them all, how easy is it going to be to clean. Sure it is easy to pour the oil into the fryer, but you need to remember at some point you will be having to take dirty oil out of that puppy!! My suggestion is to find one that you actually remove the oil cavity and put it in the dishwasher (one of mans BEST inventions). This is the type I have, and it makes cleaning the fryer A LOT easier!!
2. Gauge how much frying you are going to be doing, and what you are going to be frying the most. Like with everything in this day and age you can get fryers from about for about $40 or all the way up to several hundred!! In my case I got the heavy duty professional series, because well I am a foodie and I am constantly cooking!! I fry several times a month from chips to fish!!
3. I find it easier to have a fryer that has a basket that is like what you would find in your local restaurant, a nice big rectangular basket. It allows you to but a decent amount of food in it. So you can do larger batches instead of having to do a million little baskets!!
Alright well lets say a deep fryer is not in your budget, lets face it now people are having to tighten their belts!! You don't need a fancy dancy deep fryer to make your fave crispy chicken. All you need is a large heavy duty stock pot and a thermometer!!
There fryer in the photo is from the Food Network store, visit this link for their selection of fryers: http://www.foodnetworkstore.com/ProductList.aspx?Ntt=deep+friers&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchall&Nty=1&N=0&Ntk=All
Of course your local Target or Sears will also have them!!
Here is what you do to help reduce the splat er factor, i.e the fear of getting burned.
1. Just before you start to fry the food sprinkle about a quarter teaspoon of coarse kosher salt into the oil to help keep it from splattering.
2. Lower food gently into the hot oil, don't drop it from high up. Yes I know what you are thinking you want me to put my fingers close to the 300 plus degree oil?!?!?!? Are you friggin crazy?!??!?! No I am not, thank you very much, the bottom line is the closer you get your little piggies to the oil, the less it will splatter when you are puttin in your chicken leg, i.e. burning risk is reduced!!
3. If you are using tongs, keep them pointed downward to prevent hot oil from dripping down the handles. Yes I know this seems like its a no brainier, but just wait til you are multi tasking and you forget that you just had those tongs in the hot oil....yeah ouch.....been there done that......WHAT ARE U DOING MULTI TASKING??? What was the number one rule PAY ATTENTION!!
So now you got your beautiful crispy juicy chicken all fried up and you are thinkin to yourself well now what do I do with all this oil. Unless you have fried fish in the oil, strain chill, and reuse it for sauteing, NOT for deep frying. Particles that are left over in the oil lower the flash point, so it's potentially unsafe for frying.
The other option for the used oil is to cool the oil, strain into a big glass jar and store it at room temperature. When the jar is full, toss it. Or to be more green call a recycling center to see if it takes wasted vegetable oil.
Well I hope these tips help to make you feel safer in your frying adventures!! I know you can do it, and besides your kids will LOVE you even more if you are able to produce some tasty chicken fingers and fries for them at home!!
Keep safe, and spread the food love!!
**Hugs
Angelica
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