Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY: Artgoodies Block Print Kitchen Towel

 

ARTGOODIES is an online store that specilizes is printmaking. Every item fatures a special design. Here you will find kitchen towels, aprons, and totebags.

 

I mainly want one of these so I can frame. I'd be scared to have my 2 year old wipe his dirty hands on these. I guess even 2 year olds deserve something pretty to look at. 

My favorite is this one

Which one is yours? Visit the ARTGOODIES site and pick your favorite block print kitchen towel. You have over 40 to choose from! Come back and leave a comment by Tuesday October 7 telling us your choice. One comment will be chosen at random. If you win you get the towel you wrote about in your comment.
For additional entries leave a comment for each of the following

1. subscribing to the blog
2. following the blog
3. following me on twitter

Good luck!

Lucky You!

The winner for the ScribbleIt giveaway is...

Kari said...

Hmmm.. agreed. So hard to choose. I love the surname monogram!

e-mail so I can put you in touch with the sponsor.

Tabbouleh with Avocado

This is a little something I made this weekend because of an abundance of avocados as well as tomatoes. I didn't have pita bread so we ate it with brie cheese and crackers at a friend's house while watching the debate. It's nice having good food while listening to McCain and Obama it helps control my rage. I'm going to have to whip up something amazing this weekend so that I don't go totally mad listening to the vice president candidate debate. Until then I'll eat my left over tabbouleh.

Tabbouleh with Avocado

• 1 cup bulgar wheat
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• juice of two lemons
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 small avocado
• 1/2 cup mint
• 1/2 cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped leek
• 1 small onion
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium size mixing bowl add the bulgar wheat with hot water and lemon juice. Let stand for 1 hour
2. chop the tomatoes and avocados into small pieces.
3. using a food processor chop the cilantro, mint, and onion together. Add to the bulgar wheat mixture.
4. chop the leeks and add to the bowl. Mix everything well.
5. Add the tomatoes and avocados to the bowl. Mix carefully so as not to bruise the tomatoes and avocados.
6. Keep in the refrigerator until serving time.
   

What he ate. What did you eat?

While I was in Hawaii my husband, Christian, was in Brazil. He went to Corumbau, Bahia where we are planning to move to in 2 years when he's ready to do his field work for his Anthropology doctorate degree. He's interested in studying marine protected areas. What this means for me is that I will get to live in a beautiful place and eat lots of fish. And because he's such an awesome husband/best friend he took it upon himself to take pictures of things he ate.

Fish Muqueca

fried fish

chiles at Mercado Municipal

cheese at Mercado Municipal

I loved looking over his pictures and am curious to see what other people eat when they go on trips. If you want to send me any pictures of interesting things you've ate while on vacation shoot me an e-mail damarispalmer{at}gmail{dot}com with the picture(s) and I'll post it on the blog.

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY: $20.00 gift certificate to

Have you ever been to someone's house and seen something like this on their wall...

and thought,"cool, stickers for grown ups to decorate. Love it!?" I have. I've seen these fancy little things and thought I would like to have some of these willows decorate my kitchen

but maybe I should get this instead...

to organize my glass jars. ARGHHHHH! I really don't know what I want from this store. What would your pick?

Leave me a comment about your favorite ScribbleIt item and you could win a $20.00 gift certificate to their online store or their etsy shop. You choose.
visit ScibbleIt at

• ScribbleItOnLine.com
• ScribbleIt.etsy.com

and leave a comment by Tuesday September 29th telling me what you would pick. One entry per person please. You can leave additional entries for any of the following...

• subscribing to the blog
• following the blog
• following me on twitter

good luck!

Lucky You!

The winner for last week's s-n-p giveaway was

nanja said...

id=14872009 stainless steel and chiyogami
My favorite pattern for the salt and pepper shakers

please e-mail me your snail mail address by the end of the week. Thanks!

Cooking Marathon with a Cuisinart Food Processor

I am so happy to welcome a food processor into my kitchen. FINALLY! When I lived in Massachusetts I had a Cuisinart food processor that I bought at a garage sale. It was old and it worked great. I loved it so much so that I decided it was a perfectly good gift to give as a wedding present to some of my best friends. Ever since relinquishing my old food processor I've had quick chopping withdrawals. I knew I wanted this one because it's the one I had before and because every review I read is positive. So here is my raving review...

I love it. I love it so much that I decided to begin a cooking marathon with it. I am determined to fill up my freezer with as much prepared food as possible before school starts on Thursday. Today I put the food processor to use and made over 100 meat balls. Sure we might be having meat balls with all our meals but at least it's loaded with sweet potato puree, carrot puree, and homemade tomato sauce. All this was quickly made using the said food processor. The meat balls also have 4 cups of squash, chopped in the food processor. My favorite ingredient however, other than the ground beef, is the Brazil nuts that I also chopped in the food processor. Can you tell I'm having way too much fun with this thing?

and the end results is....

all 114 of them!

If you really want a recipe let me know and I'll send it to you. I'm a bit nervous putting up a recipe that makes a gigantic amount of meat balls. You'd think I was crazy.

Do you have a food processor? If so what is your favorite thing to make with them?

reflections on my sweet life

Tomorrow we leave Hawaii. It'll be a day of packing and saying good-byes and resting for our red eye flight. Today was a day of enjoying, of embracing, and of realizing things. We went to the beach in the morning and as always we were pretty much the only ones there. It's fun to play at the beach with a 2 year old and have yourself surrounded by beauty everywhere you look. In the afternoon Enzo and I had a mommy and baby pig out date at Ted's bakery. Hawaii has a special way of making you feel spoiled.

When I lived in Hawaii I often felt like my life was bitter sweet. I was living in paradise and yet I found myself in a constant funk. It was hard enjoying my newborn that never slept. It was hard staying home in our hot poor ventilated house. But the hardest thing about it was the guilty feeling I had of being unhappy when I knew quite well that I had very little to complain about.

One year later I return to Hawaii to vacation and I realize that I have changed and circumstances have changed and I feel like things could not possibly get any sweeter.

One year ago I dreaded staying home all day with my son. This time around I was able to enjoy him so much. My brother in law says that it's all about not having any expectations and I think he's right in some ways. I came to Hawaii knowing that I would be solo parenting for 3 weeks and that I would have to do all the feedings, diaper changes, baths and bedtimes. My days were filled with no agenda and I was able to just enjoy watching "Bugs Life" and "Dumbo" almost on a daily basis, go to the beach whenever we wanted to, and sweat in the shadeless park with my friends. Due to my amazing mother-in-law, next door neighbors, and house mates I was also able to go out to dinner a handful of times, to the movies, to friends houses and even to the beach by myself where I just vegged and read for a couple of hours. All this while Enzo stayed home playing with cousins, Grammy, Aunties and Uncles and didn't even care for a second that I was gone.

I knew coming to Hawaii was going to be a good idea. I knew I would get help watching Enzo and I knew that it would renew my energies to see close friends and family. However, I was not expecting it to be this sweet.

Yesterday as I walked at night to a friend's house I was completely enveloped by moonlight and the ocean breeze and you know what? It felt so good, and warm, and simple. I have a tendency to keep my life away from simplicity. I keep my days filled with school, blogging, taking Enzo to music classes, to the park, to playgroups. I not only fill up my days but I tend to fill up his days too. Thank goodness he gets to spend half off his time with his dad who tones the social scene down and enjoys just hanging out solo with Enzo in some hike, or river, or beach.

Hawaii was perfect because Enzo and I were able to spend a lot of time together without many distractions. Well, I take that back. We had distractions but fortunately for us they were all really delicious.

Mango Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker

The only way this could possibly get more homemade was if we had a cow and got the heavy cream from our cow. The mangoes are from the little mango tree that's in the backyard that overflows with mangoes every summer. You can make this recipe with any fruit. We tried a variation of mangoes with strawberries and it was totally good. But to keep things simple we used our last mangoes to make a batch of pure homemade mango ice cream.

MANGO ICE CREAM

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups mango (or a different fruit if you'd like)
• 10 ice cubes

1. Place all the ingredients in the blender and mix on high for 30 seconds, or until all the ice is crushed.
2. Pour into a shallow plastic container.
3. Freeze for a couple of hours until it is firm.
   

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY: SALT-N-PEPPER SHAKERS BY GAMIWORKS

GAMIWORKS is an etsy shop that that makes beautiful jewelry as well as houseware items all inspired by Japanese chiyogami.

I know this is not kitchen related but I have to show you a few of her pendants because I want them around my neck this very instant.

Beautiful huh? Well her houseware items are also totally cute. GAMIWORKS is giving away a set of mini salt-n-pepper shakers and you get to choose which one you like. These are the ones I like the best.

Which one do you like? Just visit her site HERE and look over the mini s-n-p shakers. Come back and leave a comment by next Tuesday September 23rd telling us which one you want. They all have the same name so leave the i.d number of the one you like. I'll pick a comment at random. If your comment is chosen you'll get the s-n-p shaker you wrote about in your comment.

One comment per person. If you want an extra chance to win you can write an additional comment for any of the things below.
1-following my blog
2-subscribing
3-following me on twitter

good luck!

Lucky You!

The Darling Domestics apron was a hit. If I ever have a little girl I am buying matching aprons.
The winner for last week's giveaway was

Carol said...

These aprons are downright sexy! Love the pink circles.

Carol, send me your snail mail address and let me know if the pink circle is really the one you want and we'll send it to you.

Favorite Things to Eat in Hawaii

Yesterday I had a major eating binge with two friends who were kind enough to take off a whole day of work to accompany me. We started out with breakfast at Ted's Bakery. This North Shore bakery has the best breakfast sandwiches on the face of the planet and I'm not exaggerating. Next we hit Haleiwa Eats, which is my favorite place to eat, and had mochi ice cream at a local ice cream shop for dessert, At night we went to the Laie Sunset at the Beach festival that was going on this weekend and had Okinawan donuts, popcorn, and and rice crispy treats just to make sure that we got our our daily count of a million calories.

The pictures above I took at Haleiwa Eats and because of either lack of creativity or resistance to change I always have to order at least these two dishes; spring rolls and shrimp pad thai.

The atmosphere is great. You can sit outside and enjoy the constant movement of people going up and down the touristy town of Haleiwa or you can sit inside and ignore all that. I love the music they play inside and their decoration is what I hope my dining room will look like one day. The service has always been good and the prices are even better. Yesterday we ordered 3 appetizers, 3 entres, and a side of coconut rice which was enough to feed the three of us plus bring home a ton of left overs which fed 3 more people and all for just $65.

If you are ever in Hawaii I really recommend going there and you can thank me later by express shipping me some spring rolls and shrimp pad thai.

Beef Korma with a Mighty Cook

This is Mighty she is my BFF (code for Best Foodie Friend). I love eating whatever she makes and love cooking with her. On Sunday she showed me how to make Beef Korma. It was so good that I decided that this will be the dish I will make for my husband to welcome him back from Brazil and congratulate him for surviving 25 days without me. It's also a good recipe for the occasion because it creates lots of dirty dishes and since Christian loves washing dishes I think he'll feel extra happy to be back.

BEEF KORMA

• 1 tb coriander seed
• 1 tb cumin seed
• 1 ts cardamom seed (without pods)
• 1 ts crushed red pepper
• 6 whole cloves
• 1/3 c water
• 1/4 c blanched slivered almonds
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 tb gingerroot, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 ts salt
• 1/2 ts ground cinnamon
• 2 lb beef or lamb stewing meat cut into 1-inch cube
• 1 tb cooking oil
• 2 tb cooking oil
• 2 md onions, thinly sliced & separated in rings
• 3 apples pleed and sliced
  
• 1/2 c water
• 3/4 c whipping cream
• 1/2 c plain yogurt
• 2 tb all-purpose flour
• 1/4 ts garam masala
• 2 tb snipped coriander or parsley
• indian spiced rice or hot cooked rice
  

1. In a blender container combine coriander seed, cumin seed, cardamom seed, crushed red pepper, and whole cloves. Cover the blender container and grind the spices into a fine powder.
2. Add 1/3 cup water, the slivered blanched almonds, garlic cloves, gingerroot, salt and ground cinnamon. Cover the blender container and blend till the mixture has a pasted consistency.
3. In a 4 quart saucepan or Dutch oven brown 1/2 of the meat on all sides in 1 tablespoon hot oil; remove. Repeat with remaining meat, add 1 tablespoon additional oil, if needed; remove.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the saucepan; add onions. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes or till onions begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium. Add blended spice mixture; cook and stir 3-4 minutes more or till slightly browned.
5. Add meat and 1/2 cup water to the saucepan. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or till meat is tender; stir occasionally. Add apples.
   
6. Stir together whipping cream, yogurt, flour, and garam masala. Stir mixture into Dutch oven; Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more.
7. Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with coriander or parsley. Serve with Indian Spiced Rice or hot cooked rice.

Yield: 8 Servings

Papaya Smoothie

If you are lucky enough to either live in Hawaii or vacation in Hawaii then you should take full advantage of the abundant papayas that seem to be every where. This fruit has zero fat, zero cholesterol, and tons of fiber. Which means that it's good for you and also good for your 2 year old who hates going number 2. Today I made a papaya smoothie and Enzo loved it and I loved how easily he went to the bathroom without screaming ouch, ouch, ouch for 10 minutes.

Papaya Smoothie

• 1 medium papaya
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons frozen concentrated orange juice
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt

1. Remove the seeds from the papaya and scoop the flesh out into a blender
2. Place the other ingredients in the blender with the papaya
3. put a couple ice cubes (optional)
4. Blend on medium speed for about 10-15 seconds
5. makes 3 cups
   

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

My philosophy that every girl needs an apron still stands and therefore I LOVE giving away aprons. It took me a while to use my apron from Domestic Darlings because it is so cute I couldn't bear to get it dirty. I got over it (because it's washable) and wear it all the time. It's funny how I get compliments from people who see me wearing it. "You always look so dressed up?" Hum... it's the apron buddy. If you could see what kind of ugly beat up shorts and old t-shirt I'm wearing under this you wouldn't think twice before giving me fashion tips. Lucky for me the Domestic Darlings apron that I have makes me look like I'm not a total fashion hater.

 

 This is what they had to say about themselves:

Domestic Darlings is a home-based kitchen and fashion design and production company. We manufacture and sell our own designs of women's aprons, matching girls' aprons, and accessories, designed to help you get everything done around the house in style.

Lucky for you they are giving away one of their aprons and you get to choose which one you like.

 

Just visist their shop and leave a comment by Tuesday September 16 telling us which is your favorite apron. The winner will get to choose between the white and black floral, pink circles or the purpel floral apron. One comment per reader unless you decide to...

1. subscribe to me feeds
2. follow my blog
3. follow me on twitter

you get an extra entry for each of these things. Just leave me an extra comment telling me that you've become a subscriber or a follower and I'll enter you twice, thrice, or fries (not a number word huh?) you get the point.
Good Luck!

Lucky You!

The winner for last week's giveaway is...

Bakersdozen who said...

Well, for my little girl it is the ladybugs. My other kids would loved the money one, but she is the one who brings a lunch to school everday.

The lady bug bag is super cute. i hope your daughter enjoys it. e-mail me your snail mail address so I can get these out to you.

cook me up some tie-dye

There's always something cooking at my mother in law's house. If it's not food than it's tie-dye. On Saturday I had breakfast while my nephew, Mikey, sat next to me on the counter tie-dyeing some shirts,

Today I woke up and the counters were full of tie-dyed skirts, shirts, and shorts on cookie sheets, mixing bowls, colanders, and even glass jars.

I love how her kitchen is a place to cook up colors, creativity, and fun. I got in on the action and tie-dyed a lunch bag for Enzo. I'm assuming this will be his ticket to coolness in preschool. You can also get in on the action. Dharma Trading Company ships dyes and fabrics to anywhere in the U.S, including Hawaii.

Other than food what's cooking in your kitchen?

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Mix

Yesterday I had some really good and moist lemon poppy seed muffins that my friend Rachel made. I was ready to bust out my note book and start writing down the recipe when she told me that it was a Betty Crocker mix that only requires you to add water. NICE!

I'm usually a hater of anything that is not purely from scratch. It mostly has do do with my preconceived ideas of how food should be prepared and because I assume it tastes bad. These tasted really yummy AND if you are in Hawaii right now they are on sale at Foodland for $.99cents. And no Betty Crocker and Foodland are not paying me the big bucks to say this, I wish.

Kielbasa and Cheese Muffins for Lunch

Me yesterday " what should I make for lunch, what should I make for lunch..?"

Me (again) "FAT, I should have fat for lunch"

I actually had green beans with the rest of my fatty lunch but it wasn't nearly as good as the kielbasa and cheese muffins. Here is my variation of the cheese muffins, adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

CHEESE MUFFINS

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup melted salted butter

1. Whisk together dry ingredients, then stir in cheese.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, and butter together. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine.
3. Bake in muffin tins at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Makes 12.

Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time!

GIVEAWAY: NO TRASH LUNCH KIT

 

I am so excited for this back to school giveaway with QuartyO. Her etsy shop is filled with reusable and washable products that are cute and environmental.

QuartyO makes reusable and washable lunch kits that contains one lunch bag, one sandwich sized bag, two snack sized bags and five small broadcloth or muslin napkins - one for each weekday. 

The winner gets to choose the fabric. So just go to her site and leave a comment here by Tuesday September 9th telling us what your favorite lunch kit fabric is. One comment will be chosen by random. Good luck and I wish everyone a great school year!

Lucky You!

sorry I'm posting this so late but in my defense it's not even 7:00 am in Hawaii so here we go.

The lucky winner for last week's giveaway is Smooshy who said "I like the wheelbarrow note cards"
Well I'm glad you like the note cards because you'll be getting some of those plus the cupcake toppers and the lunch bags so enjoy.

send me your address by e-mail so I can send these to you.