Happy Halloween

Last night Christian and I tried to remember what Baby Maria was for Halloween last year and we could not. We're kind of bad parents that way, in that we remember a lot more about Enzo then we do about our second child. By the end of the night I had decided that she was a ladybug. Today I found these pictures that David took. Oh right, baby Maria was a baby chick.

Today I wish I were back in the U.S. I love seeing everyone in costumes, I love trick-or-treating and I love the smiles on everyone's face. There's no trick-or-treating where we live or even Halloween. But tonight we're celebrating with homemade cookies (gotta have some sugar today right?) and watching our favorite episode of Modern Family, the Halloween episode.

If we were back in California we would be going to our friends' house and eating donuts. Instead of handing out candy the Kaspars invite people into their house for donuts and apple cider.  Going to the Kaspars has become our favorite Halloween tradition.

What's your favorite Halloween tradition?

Hello Weekend!

The How To Project  is one my favorite little things to check out on the web. Their posters are hi-larious and so well designed. The How To Cook Breakfast poster always puts a smile on my face because my man is a total breakfast junkie. Christian is known for having not one but two breakfasts a day, specially when he surfs in the morning. I'm not a breakfast person but I do appreciate a good breakfast, specially if someone else makes it for me. High-five Christian!

Other things that made me smile this week

// This video, because I just adore anything and everything that Penny does.
// This round-up of make ahead meals.
// It's not soup weather here at all but if it was I would make this soup.
// And yet another tea gadget I'm smitten with.
// I've made caramel corn before but never in the oven. I want to try this recipe.
// Speaking of breakfast this syrup is making the internet rounds like crazy. I want to try it!

and in case you missed it here is what happend in Kitchen Corners this week

// Foodie Posters
// Sugar-Cane Juice
// The Cookiepedia Cookbook Giveaway
// Snickerdoodles without cream of tartar
// Eating my way through Itacare
// Teacup Lamps

I heard it's snowing already in some parts of the U.S. I also heard it's in the 80*s in Southern California. Wherever you're at I hope you're having a delightful weekend.

xoxo

Teacup Lamps

Oh boy, how lovely are these teacup lamps? I already have a thing for plates, I had quite a few on my
wall, now I can totally see myself starting to have a thing for teacups as well.



Not only would I hang these up in my kitchen but I would also hang it up in a bedroom. I think these teacup lamps would make any little girl's room instantly pretty.

What about you, would you ever use teacups as light fixtures?

Eating my way through Itacare | Tio Gu Creperia

Making lists is a very good thing. It forces me to actually do what I want to do and not just complain about not getting things done. One of the things I want to do before I leave Itacare is eat at every single restaurant on my street. There are tons. Lucky me right? 

On Saturday my little sister Iris, Enzo, and I hit the first spot on my list, Tio Gu Creperia, a crepe Cafe that is literally next door to our house. Every afternoon around 4:00pm we start hearing music come from the restaurant. The crew starts prepping for the night and the smells starts invading my house. 

Iris went straight for the dessert crepe, chocolate with Kiwi, and I went straight for the meat crepe, fillet  with cheddar and caramelized onions. Tonight I'm making crepes for dinner because I am totally intrigued with the thickness and consistency of Tio Gu's crepes. It's chewy to perfection.

Enzo had an early dinner at home so all he wanted was soda. Luis, one of the waiters, convinced him to have Kale juice instead. I'm thinking of hiring Luis to be my parenting coach. 

I'm glad Enzo gave it a try because the juice was super good, filled with mint and crushed ice and yes I want them to give me the recipe for their juice as well.

All in all a delicious night. 

Next up will be McA1, the knock off McDonalds run by a Swedish guy and a Brazilian woman. Think tiny shack painted in red and orange, with hamburgers that have pineapples and fried that are double fried. 

Snickerdoodles without Cream of Tartar

I did it. I made snickerdoodles without cream of tartar, without a stand up mixer, and without unsalted butter. I can understand not having cream of tartar in a town this small, in a country that is not obsessed with cookies. Fine. But not having unsalted butter, that is just plain mean.

But all is well, all is well. The cookies were made. They were delish. And now I know for certain that I do not need a stand up mixer to survive and I don't need cream of tartar, though I still really want some for a play-dough recipe.

Not that the kids need more play-dough. Not that they need any more of anything really. In fact according to Baby Maria, who only likes to eat in the nude, less is more. 

Before I move on to this simple, cream-of tartar free, recipe I just wanted to tell you, you folks who are blessed with pumpkins this time of year, that if I could I would make pumpkin snickerdoodles. Just sayin'. Also I don't mind showing you pictures of my two year old, who hates wearing clothes, if in return you promise to post some cute pictures of your kids, or pets, wearing Halloween costumes on your blog. O.K? O.K! Because the other thing that Brazil doesn't have is Halloween. It can't all be perfect right?!

Moving on.

(printable version)

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature

2 cups white granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon for two minutes, until the mixture is fluffy
3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix with the wooden spoon until the mixture is creamy.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, and vinegar, and mix to combine.
5. Chill the dough for a couple hours in the fridge. You can even leave it over-night.
6. Once the dough is chilled, combine the rest of the sugar and the ground cinnamon in a small bowl. 
7. Roll small balls of dough in your hand and coat it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
8. Place the dough balls in a cookie sheet, no more than 9 at a time, and bake for 10 minutes.
9. Cool the cookies on a wire rack and then serve with a cold glass of milk.

The Cookiepedia Cookbook Giveaway

Because I love you, I'm giving away another cookie cookbook.
Readers meet The Cookiepedia. Now drool your hearts out because this book is simply gorgeous.

And they have a recipe for alfajores, therefore I love this book and think you will too. I'm so excited I get to give one away to a lucky reader.

Oh and do come back later today because I have a cookie recipe to share with you.

The Prize: One copy of The Cookiepedia. Must have a U.S or Canada mailing address.

To Enter: Leave a comment. Any comment will do!+1 more comment: You can get more entries by becoming a Kitchen Corners' Follower using Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. 

 +1 more comment: By subscribing via RSS or email to Kitchen Corners' feeds. 

+1 more comment: Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter.

+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight Tuesday PST November 1st. The winner will be randomly selected, contacted via email, and announced next Wednesday.

-------------------------

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Anna

Garapa | Sugar-Cane Juice

Sometimes all it takes is leaving the house to be reminded of good-great-wonderful things. Some of my favorite things to eat I can't make at home. And that's a good thing, because it forces me to get out more.

I've always been a big fan of garapa, sugar-cane juice. I told Christian that I wanted to do a sugar free month, but then I remembered that I'm addicted to sugar-cane juice. There goes that ideas.

There's this guy (yes, the dude above) who makes an exceptional garapa. When he puts the sugar cane through the press he throws in a thick slice of ginger and half of a lime. Holy. Smokes. I can't even tell you how refreshing it is to drink this special ginger-y, Lime-y, sugar-cane juice, filled with ice, when we leave the beach.

Thank you Brazil for being so wonderful.

In other news

// We got a bike. A most excellent purchase.
// The town has been buzzing with camera crews filming a surf reality show.
// Christian is happy. He said he had the best surf session today since we moved here.
// Maria tried to convince a total stranger to taker her surfing. And he almost did!
// Playing in the sand never gets old. Why is that? I am so content with a plastic shovel in my hand.
// I married a guy who likes to dance and there are plenty of opportunities to go dancing here. Tomorrow we shall dance.

Foodie Posters

Christian and I spent Saturday night looking over every post on Colassal. Basically that was our date night. And boy was it fantastic. I love looking at cool things with Christian, it makes for great conversations.

Back in California we have a life size poster of Maria sleeping. It's the first thing you see when you walk into our home. Now I want this gigantic soft-serve poster on our wall too.

Other foodie posters that made me smile and why ...

Chicago Hot Dog poster :: Did you know I lived in Chicago for 7 years? Yep, I sure did and the Windy City sure taught me how to love hot dogs. True story.

The Ingredients of a Hot Pocket ::  Christian has this cousin named Isaiah. Isaiah is hilarious with a capital H. He does a stand up comedy piece about Hot Pockets and the many creepy ingredients of this classic microwave food. It's so funny! If we were doing Secret Santa this year and on a lucky draw I got Isaiah I would buy him this poster. For the past two years someone in our family drew Isaiah's name and we've always gotten him a t-shirt. Boring! This poster would be the perfect opportunity to redeem myself.

American Gastronomy Map:: I've lived in Cobb Salad, Cranberry, Popcorn, and Hawaii. The bummer about this poster is that they did not include Hawaii or Alaska. No fair. Though I would still love to have this poster hanging on my wall. According to the map where have you lived?

Advertising :: Just in Time for the Holidays

I have a big announcement, Kitchen Corners is now taking advertisers for the month of November and December. If you'd like to get some exposure, just in time for the Holiday season, and you think you're company would be a good fit then shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send you a Media Kit with all the information you need.

I look forward to working with you soon!
xoxo

Hello Weekend!

I'm loving these new Levi's Shirts. I'm also loving that they're for a good cause. Levi's has partnered with food activist Alice Waters to celebrate 40 years of the "Delicious Revolution." The proceeds from the sales of these shirts go towards the Edible Schoolyard, a national organization that integrates garden and kitchen education into grade school curriculum. What do you think? Would you wear one of these?

Here are some other cool products I found this week that made smile

// iPad chef sleeves
// recycled bicycle chain bottle opener
// a teaspoon that wrongs out your tea bag
// ilcami carafe
// swiss army knife chocolates
// citrange

and in case you missed it here's what went down at Kitchen Corners this week

// a recipe for key lime oreos
// shell measuring spoons
// a cookie cookbook giveaway, which you can still enter
// a list of things I want to do before I leave Brazil
// Entenmann's Big Book of Baking giveaway, which you can still enter
// a peak inside my head during dinner time

It's raining and even a bit coldy down here. It even sorta-kinda feels a little like Fall weather. Oh and I figured out how to make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar. Smiles all around.

Hope your weekend is nice and cozy.
See you on Monday

Dinner Thoughts

Entenmann's Big Book of Baking Cookbook Giveaway

To end the week I have another cookbook giveaway for you. Entenmann's just released their first book, the Entenmann's Big Book of Baking. Just like aprons, you can never have too many cookbooks right?! This one is specially fun, the recipes range from super easy, where you use your favorite Entenmann's product to create a dessert, to a little more challenging.

The first section of the book is titled "Almost Homemade" and it features recipes submitted by Entenmann's Facebook Fans using Entenmann's products.

Perfect for beginner bakers.

I had the opportunity to look over every page of this book and I'm seriously impressed. The recipes are easy to follow and the pictures are just beautiful. Lucky me, I get to give one copy away to one lucky you.

Happy Friday my friends.

The Prize: Entenmann's Big Book of Baking. Must have a U.S mailing address.

To Enter: Leave a comment.+1 more comment: You can get more entries by becoming a Kitchen Corners' Follower using Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. 

+1 more comment: By subscribing via RSS or email to Kitchen Corners' feeds. 

+1 more comment: Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter.

+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight Thursday PST October 27. The winner will be randomly selected, contacted via email, and announced next Friday.

--------------------------
This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Nancy Mosher

ten things I want to do before I leave Brazil

// Go on a trip with Christian to some part of Brazil where neither of us has been.

// Help Enzo's school create a website or a blog. Seriously, it's the least I can do.

// Travel around Brazil for 2 weeks to just eat. Does anyone want to join Mariko and I? We're thinking June 2012.

// Write a cook book proposal! I keep putting this off even though I want to dream big. Big dreams can be so scary sometimes.

// Learn how to make more fish dishes.

// Go fishing.

// Organize a night picnic.

// Eat at every single restaurant on my street at least once.

// Learn how to make my own chocolate.

// Adopt a child. In my heart I know our family has room for at least one more.

{image via sweet designs)

One Sweet Cookie Cookbook Giveaway

I never get tiered of cookie cookbooks and am in fact really excited for the release of Tracy Zabar's new cookbook One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes coming out later this month. Tracey took the whole cookie swap to a new level by asking famous American chefs to share their favorite cookie recipe. There are over 90 recipes in this hardcover beauty. All I'm saying is that I think this book would be the perfect Holiday gift, don't you?

Today I get to give a copy to one of you. Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite cookie is. For rules and additional entries read below.

The Prize: One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes. Must have a U.S mailing address.To Enter: Leave a comment about your favorite cookie.+1 more comment: You can get more entries by becoming a Kitchen Corners' Follower using Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. 

+1 more comment: By subscribing via RSS or email to Kitchen Corners' feeds. 

+1 more comment: Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter.

+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight Tuesday PST October 25. The winner will be randomly selected, contacted via email, and announced next Wednesday.

----------------------------
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Metta.

Shell Measuring Spoons

I spotted these shell measuring spoons over at Lydia's kitchen and pantry board. Lydia has good taste.

It's a quiet day today. I'm recovering from a stomach bug and the kids are both taking an afternoon nap. I think they're coming down with something too. No fun.

Somehow the tranquility of feeling better, sleeping children, and a gray afternoon has got me in the mood to try a little DIY project. I wonder if I can find some shells on the beach and turn them into measuring spoons. Either that or Anthropologie needs to get their act together and start selling these spoons again.

Key Lime Oreos

One of the first recipes I ever learned to make was key lime pie, we called it pie even though tart would of been more appropriate. The whole recipe called for 5 ingredients, crackers and butter for the crust and sweetened condensed milk, table cream, and key limes for the filling. My best friend at the time, Erica, and I were vacationing at her uncle's beach house. Pretty much we made this every single night and ate it between the two of us as we laughed about nothing and everything. Good times.

After that vacation I taught my sister how to make the pie and and today (cross my heart) she is making it this very instant. Since we've been to Itacare she's made the pie no less than 5 times. We've been here just over a month. It's because the filling is so dang good. It's also because she doesn't care much for cooking or baking so whenever she's in the mood to make anything she makes this. I'm not complaining.

Last week I decided we needed to make home made oreos. I don't really believe that we have to make everything from scratch. If I had the option of going to the store and buying oreos, preferably the triple-double oreos, I would. But I don't. The lack of processed foods where I live is awesome, and yet so sucky when you want to just eat a 'freakin oreo.

So we made our own oreos and they were ... sweet, too sweet. We couldn't find powdered sugar so Christian used normal sugar for the filling. Bad idea. It was kind of too sweet for us to eat so we fed it all to our children.

Ha! In their dreams!

What does Maria have to do with key lime oreos? Nothing. I mean, everything. Absolutely everything because she's my newest sous-chef. When she sees us baking something she wants in and then she wants to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Hello Weekend!

I'm still blushing! Daily Buzz Moms picked their favorite posts from Kitchen Corners and featured them today. Thank you Daily Buzz Moms, it was a great way to start my Friday.

Today I've been in an awfully good mood. We woke up to the the most stunning sunshine. It's hard to be in a bad mood when it's so sunny outside, everything just come alive more. Now we're ending the day with fried Mahi Mahi, a simple salad, and some rice and beans. Then Christian and I get to go on a date, I'm thinking we'll get some frozen yogurt today. Having my sister live with us makes date nights a total possibility.  Yay for free babysitting!

Before I get too much into weekend mode I wanted to share,

some of my favorite finds from this week


// If you're in the Santa Cruz California area go to this food writing retreat. Last year I had a chance to go and it was pure delight. I'm sad I'm going to miss it.
// Green Kitchen Stories just released their new iPad app.  I'm not sure how to describe it, few words could do justice to the beautiful things David and Luise create. All I can say is that I've been in love with the app and have already put it to good use. If you're into healthy, beautiful, vegetarian meals this app is for you.
// Oh, I'm a total sucker for cutting boards and I think that I have found the most perfect one. How functional is this?
// Speaking of functional check out this pot.
// I've never made roasted chickpeas before but I really want to try. Have you ever made them? Is there a recipe you like? I'm thinking of trying this one this weekend.
// I loved this Kirtsy slideshow. There was a time in my life where I used to make all sorts of hair masks from fruits. I kind of want to get into that again.

and in case you missed it here's what's been going on this week at Kitchen Corners.

 // Why I love life-style bloggers.
// Picnic ideas for you and for me.
// A gift certificate giveaway to my favorite online stationary store. The giveaway is still open.
// And another giveaway, this time to The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog DVD, also still time to enter.
// Remember how I went to D.C back in July to shoot a cooking video? Well you can go here to see more.
// And in case you're needing some sunshine in your day you can try my Tropical Smoothie recipe. It's really easy and the kids loved it. Success.

Have a lovely weekend.
I hear it's hot in Santa Cruz, California this weekend.
I'm so glad my friends back home will get a beautiful weekend to play outside.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend too.
xoxo

Tropical Smoothie

This past Wednesday was Children's Day in Brazil. Enzo was ecstatic. Maria was ecstatic too, not because she knew what Children's Day was but because her big brother was excited therefore she had to be excited as well. Siblings are the best.

I like the idea of Children's Day a lot and I like it even more that it usually falls on a weekday, giving the kids a day off from school. It's fun to feel special, it's even better to feel special collectively. It felt like every kid in the town shared a birthday.

Thanks Vovo Cecilia for the presents!

On Wednesday I asked you about your favorite childhood memory. I loved reading the comments. I wonder if your parents knew that what they were doing would turn out to be something you remembered so fondly.

Sometimes I let myself think about the future and wonder what my kids will be like as adults. I wonder what sort of happy thoughts they'll take with them as they grow up, hopefully there will be many to pull from.

Moovision

Back in July I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C to shoot a cooking video with Moovision, featuring Lactaid (Lactose free milk). It was a very quick trip as I was in the middle of a family reunion in Utah. But it was a good trip none the less. I loved being back in in the East Coast. I loved staying over at a friend's house, a friend that I hadn't seen for years. And I loved meeting fellow food bloggers from The Wicked Noodle, The Village Cook, and Bran Appetit. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet Andrea from Andrea's Recipes but hope to soon some day, because I hear she's really great.

The whole crew was super dynamic and so fun.

Kristy and I made one of my favorite recipes together, tilapia in pesto sauce. It's a quick recipe with few ingredients, perfect for getting dinner on the table. Cooking with Kristy was a riot. I look really serious in the video but really I was trying not to crack up. I felt right at home, specially because the crew kept interrupting us to shoot re-takes :) I can't even tell you how many times I'm interrupted at home when I make dinner. Usually there's no camera or makeup, so I guess in that sense it was a little different.

For a simple lactose free free desert you can try my pomegranate mousse recipe and to get access to more lactose free recipes do visit Moovision.com it's a great resource for anyone that's lactose intolerant. You can also follow Moovision on Facebook to get recipe and contest updates.

Have you ever shot a cooking video before? If you were going to cook something on camera what would you make?

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog DVD Giveaway

Did you get a chance to see my previous post? Today is Children's Day in Brazil and I'm celebrating on Kitchen Corners with two giveaways for the little foodies in your life.

Are you familiar with Scholastic Storybook Treasures? Basically it's your favorite children's books in animation, simple animation (even better), and a joyful narration to accompany them. Basically it's awesome. Last night we watched one of our favorites to get us in the mood for Halloween.  This one is also a favorite, and this one, and this one.

Now the Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is sure to become a new favorite in our home because a) I love Mo Willems and b) because I love a good story where a hot dog is involved, and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is one of my favorite books ever.

The DVD will be in stores later this month. I'm thrilled that today I get to give, not one but, two copies away. Happy Children's Day!

The Prize: One copy of The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. 2 Winners. Must have a U.S or a Canada mailing address.To Enter: Leave a comment about a happy childhood memory you have.+1 more comment: You can get more entries by becoming a Kitchen Corners' Follower using Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. 

+1 more comment: By subscribing via RSS or email to Kitchen Corners' feeds. 

+1 more comment: Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter.

+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight Tuesday PST October 18. The winner will be randomly selected, contacted via email, and announced next Friday.

----------------------------------------
This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Jozen and Carol Yuen.

Paper Culture Giveaway

Today is Children's Day in Brazil. It's a national holiday, I kid you not (no pun intended). The festivities have been ongoing for days, with parties and field trips and all sorts of fun things my kids never experienced because this is the first time we're in Brazil during Children's Day.

To celebrate the day I have two giveaways lined up for you, all with the little ones in mind.

First up is a $50 gift certificate to the online stationary store Paper Culture. I love their foodie themed cards. Believe it or not 2 days before we moved to Brazil I convinced Christian that it was absolutely necessary to stuff some Paper Culture Cards in my suitcase, because the thought of not having pretty stationary during our move put me over the edge big time. I love paper, I love everything about paper, and even though I do a lot of my writing on the computer I still try to write a fair amount on paper.

I was introduced to Paper Culture this past Summer and quickly became a fan. Visit their website, it's impossible to not fall in love. Their designs are the absolute prettiest that I have ever seen from any online stationary store. Don't be surprised if your guests never throw out your invitations.

The fun part is that everything is highly customizable. You can add pictures, add text, change text color, size, fonts. The other fun part is that Paper Culture is an eco-friendly company for reals! Every card is printed on recycled paper, they have a commitment to not cut down any trees. Not only that but they go above and beyond -- for every order placed, Paper Culture will plant a tree in a US National Forest. You can read all about their Cards to Trees initiative, to learn more.

For for pretty stationary that helps us celebrate the fun things about childhood.

The Prize: One $50 gift-certificate to the online store Paper CultureTo Enter: Leave a comment about a happy childhood memory you have.+1 more comment: You can get more entries by becoming a Kitchen Corners' Follower using Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. 

+1 more comment: By subscribing via RSS or email to Kitchen Corners' feeds. 

+1 more comment: Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter.

+1 more comment: Share this giveaway! Sharing buttons are right below this post. Just leave a comment telling me how you shared.

Giveaway closes: Midnight Tuesday  PST October 18. The winner will be randomly selected, contacted via email, and announced next Friday.

---------------------
This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Tiffany.