Last Saturday we had a great time at a charity hockey game to raise money for our son’s special hockey team. The Arlington Fire Department competed against the Fairfax County Fire Department in a game played at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and it was a lot of fun. All the coaches, parents, volunteers, and kids on the team are so grateful to the firefighters who played and all the people who bought tickets and cheered in the stands, and everyone who bought raffle tickets and cookies at the bake sale. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

These are the cookies that I made for the bake sale, which I heard were quite a hit. The recipe is from a book I highly recommend, and not just for the excellent recipes, the Cookies For Kids’ Cancer Best Bake Sale Cookbook, by Gretchen Holt-Witt. The organization Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was started as a grassroots effort to raise money for children’s cancer research through bake sales. Gretchen Holt-Witt gathered friends and volunteers after her son was diagnosed at age 2-1/2. Her initial goal was 96,000 cookies, which they sold in three weeks and raised an incredible $400,000.

It’s a wonderful organization that works very hard to keep channeling funds toward pediatric cancer research, and this cookbook is one part of that plan. All of the author’s proceeds from the book go directly to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

The book has recipes for cookies, brownies, cupcakes, muffins, scones, candies, all sorts of things you’d expect to find at a bake sale. And one especially good thing about the book is that the recipes aren’t complicated. If you are like me, I’m usually trying to make cookies for a bake sale while also doing 12 other things at the same time, so it has to be something I can whip out on autopilot and I’m sure will pass the kid test. All four of my guys have enjoyed the cookies we’ve made from this book, so it gets thumbs up from all of us.

[Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher.]

CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

Adapted from Cookies For Kids’ Cancer Best Bake Sale Cookbook, by Gretchen Holt-Witt.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Equipment

stand mixer with paddle attachment
medium mixing bowl
2 baking sheets, lined with parchment

Ingredients

2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (110 g) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (88 g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (80 g) old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups (525 g) chocolate chips (semi-sweet, or mix of white and semi-sweet)

Preparation

1. Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325° F/165° C.

2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, one at a time, beating well between.

3. In the medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat until everything is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Shape the dough into rounded teaspoon-size balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet, and gently press each down. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies start to brown at the edges, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Store in an airtight container.

More Cookie Recipes

More Cookie Recipes From Around the Blogs

Cooking on the Side – Double Chocolate Cookies

Sass & Veracity – Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy – Peanut Butter and Banana Breakfast Cookies

Alpineberry – Nutella Rugelach Bar Cookies

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

A couple years ago I spotted seeds from Renee’s Garden in a local nursery. I was drawn to the herbs, particularly the slow-bolt cilantro, a variety that holds its leaves longer when the heat of summer sets in. As I’ve tried more of their seeds—haricot verts, dwarf cucumbers, Thai Queenette basil—I’ve been very pleased with their performance in the garden. This year I plan to try their Cinderella pumpkins, Easter egg radishes, Super Bush tomatoes, and padron peppers, and probably a few others that have caught my eye.

The seed performance is important, but it’s only part of why we like Renee’s Garden. Owner Renee Shepherd has been a leader in sustainable organic gardening for over 25 years and her company does not sell chemically treated or GMO seeds. Shepherd has contributed to a number of publications and speaks at national and regional garden shows and conferences, and her company donates seeds to educational programs and organizations around the world. They also offer a fundraiser program for schools and non-profits. In 2010 they began offering a new line of seeds, Cornucopia Seeds, which are value-priced packets of the same high quality seeds.

Giveaway

Renee’s Garden has become one of our favorite companies, and we would like to share a little of the Renee’s Garden love with you. We’re offering $25.00 gift certificates from Renee’s Garden to two lucky readers, which will help you purchase seeds to get your garden started. And if you are growing your own food (or farming, hunting, foraging), we hope you will join us for Grow Your Own! To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below telling us what you want to plant in your garden. Any kind of garden is fine, whether indoor, outdoor, containers, hydroponic, etc.

Rules

1. Renee’s Garden only ships to the 50 United States and Canada. Apologies to my readers in other countries.
2. You must leave a correct email address in the email field so I can contact you if you win. Please don’t put your email address in the comment field unless you want a bunch of spammers to find you.
3. You can earn extra entries by sharing this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter. Please leave a comment for each Facebook post or tweet.
4. The giveaway closes at 8:00 pm EST on Friday April 8, 2011. Random.org will select the winners and I will contact both winners immediately. Each winner must respond with 48 hours and provide a mailing address for shipping purposes. If a winner does not respond within that timeframe another winner will be selected.
5. I will announce the winners in this post once it’s official.

Thanks for reading and have fun planning your gardens!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reneesgarden

Twitter: http://twitter.com/reneesgarden

[DISCLOSURE: This giveaway is not sponsored by Renee’s Garden or affiliated with Renee’s Garden in any way.]

UPDATE: Congratulations to Erika and Natalie (the Sweets Life), winners of the Renee’s Garden gift certificates!

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

Pitchers, faucet, and refrigerator filters have been in our homes for years. Our first home together had a well and the water had a really off taste, so we used large filtration pitchers to clean up the taste of the water. We’ve also had faucet mount and refrigerator filters, which work well to a point, but I think the faucet mount filters can get in the way when washing pots and other kitchen gear, and the water from refrigerator filters is always cold, which doesn’t help when you want to heat water for cooking and drinking. And we’ve never been fans of water delivery because of the expense or buying bottled water for drinking because of all the wasted bottles.

We’ve been testing the Mavea Elemaris XL Water Filtration Pitcher for a couple weeks now, and it does the job well. It filters out the off tastes and smells our water has, and it’s handy sitting right on the counter ready to fill and use. The pitcher and filters are BPA free and all parts of the filters can be recycled through Mavea or at local drop off points, a big plus because I detest throwing away things that should be recyclable. My favorite handy feature on the pitcher is the automatic pour-through lid, which lets me fill the pitcher without taking off the lid. I don’t even have to touch the lid, I just set the pitcher under the tap and the pressure of the water opens the flip top, which automatically closes when the water turns off. I also like the soft grip handle which prevents slipping when I pour. We think it’s also a good looking design, though of course that has nothing to do with how it works.

The meter is a visual gauge for filter life. Mavea recommends changing the filter every 40 gallons of water, approximately every two months, which amounts to about 2/3 gallon of water per day. Performance varies depending on the quality of your water, and the manual states that hard water does reduce filter life, though we haven’t had it long enough to confirm that.

The Mavea Maxtra filter is  is the same filter used in some Tassimo home brewing systems. It is certified by the Water Quality Association for reducing  copper, mercury, cadmium, benzine, atrazine, simazine, tetrachloroethylene, and chlorine. Their internal tests also claim to filter limescale, though the WQA has not certified the product for limescale reduction. The Maxtra filter is also treated with silver to inhibit bacteria growth. (Source: product manual.)

The meter comes out easily for cleaning, which you should do on first use and before every filter change. Limescale can build up on the meter and on the pour-through lid over time, and Mavea recommends using a food-safe decalcifier to clean them. The manual states that you can expect about 5 years of life on the meter.

The Company

Mavea is the North American division of the German company Brita, which sold the rights to the original Brita water filtration line to Clorox years ago. Time.com ran an article about Brita and it’s reentry into North America, which provides more insight into the company and its strategy (Time – Pouring It On).

GIVEAWAY

Mavea is offering an Elemaris XL Pitcher to one lucky winner. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling us why you’d like to win the Elemaris pitcher and which color you would like, red or black. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner.

RULES

1. Giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada. One entry per person, please.
2. The giveaway closes at 10:00 pm EST on Saturday January 15, 2010. Random.org will select the winner and I will contact the winner immediately. The winner must respond with 48 hours and provide a mailing address for shipping purposes. If the winner does not respond within that timeframe another winner will be selected.
3. I will announce the winner in this post once it’s official.

[Disclosure: I received a Mavea Elemaris XL pitcher to preview. Mavea has agreed to provide one pitcher as a giveaway prize and will ship the prize directly to the winner. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.]

Pros: Large pitcher holds 3.5 liters, has a pour-through lid, is BPA free, filters are relatively inexpensive and recyclable, and the pitcher and lid are dishwasher safe.

Cons: The digital meter must be removed from the lid before washing, pitchers and filters not widely available in brick and mortar stores yet.

Price: Retail $39.99 for the XL pitcher (3.5 liters), $34.99 for the compact pitcher (2.4 liters), $7.99 for filter replacements.

Dimensions: 10” x 10-1/2” x 5-1/4” (25.5 cm x 27 cm x 14 cm)

Colors: ruby red, black, white

Materials: BPA-free plastic

Produced in: Germany

Warranty: 60 day money back guarantee

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Williams-Sonoma, Whole Foods (select stores), Macy’s,  BedBathandBeyond.com (filters only)

Company website: www.mavea.com

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

I was very fortunate to meet Shauna and Daniel Ahern at the International Food Bloggers Conference in August. Shauna was on the Food Blogging For Specialized Diets panel along with Alexandra Jamieson and Daniel provided some beautiful gluten-free dishes for the Sunday lunch. Though I’ve read her blog for some time now, this was my first time to hear her speak, and her passion is immediately evident and inspiring. Like Shauna, my sister was diagnosed with celiac disease in her 30s after years of illness and made a total life change, never looking back. So yes, there is a special place in my heart for gluten-free cooking, though I really haven’t ventured into the baking side yet.

Shauna and Daniel’s new book, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef is both cookbook and love story intertwined. As I read through it, I could feel their passion for food and how much it influences their lives. The combination of the heartfelt writing, earthy humor, and excellent food makes the book a winner for food lovers whether you need to follow a strict gluten-free diet or not.

The second recipe immediately caught my eye, a beautiful creamy potato-leek soup that calls for white truffle honey as an optional ingredient, and I clapped with glee because I just happened to have a jar of truffle honey waiting for the perfect dish.

The truffle honey was a generous gift from Kelly Cline, whom I met for the first time this year at IFBC. I’ve followed her for a couple years because her food styling and photography is beautiful with a dash of sass, a combination that really appeals to me. This soup was our first opportunity to taste the honey in a dish, and it led to a blind taste test with other honeys as Michael and I sampled them eyes closed and tried to identify each. The truffle honey has earthy overtones that balance the sweet, and I just love that the truffles were foraged. It truly was a very special gift. The boys were jumping up and down begging for a taste, and I marveled at how young they are to be enjoying something as decadent as truffle honey. They had no idea how special it was, they just liked the flavor.

The soup is pure autumn and winter comfort food, the kind that warms the belly and makes you want to snuggle up with a good book by the fire afterward. It’s also a good grow your own recipe, and all the herbs and garlic came from our garden, though we actually used more of each of the herbs because we love the flavors and aromas. We also couldn’t resist using some sweet and blue potato chips for the garnish, which added a satisfying salty crunch and beautiful color.

Everything about the book, from the jacket colors to the the beautiful photography by Lara Ferroni, is warm and inviting, making the reader feel like you’ve been asked into their home for an unforgettable meal. While you won’t find a stash of superfast food in here, the book has both everyday recipes as well as a good selection of recipes one might reserve for special occasions. There’s even a few recipes for hunters, such as the Rabbit with Mustard, Braised Balsamic Rabbit, and the Venison Osso Bucco with Blackberry-Port sauce, which has me longing for some venison when my father is done with his autumn hunting. The book is truly for food lovers; people who want to spend time in the kitchen and enjoy the thrill of making delicious food, and those who want to learn the love of cooking.

[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.]

POTATO-LEEK SOUP WITH WHITE TRUFFLE HONEY

Adapted from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, by Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern.

Serves 6 to 8.

Equipment

large mixing bowl
8-quart stock pot
blender or immersion blender

Ingredients

4 leeks, white part only, cut in half lengthwise and chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and medium diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 pounds (1.36 k) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
kosher salt to taste
cracked black pepper
white truffle honey (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
homemade potato chips, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

1. Place the chopped leeks in a bowl of cold water and allow them to sit for 20 minutes. Drain thoroughly, pat them dry, and chop roughly.

2. Set the stockpot over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic to the hot oil and cook, stirring to ensure they do not burn, for 1 minute. Add the leeks and cook, stirring. When the onion and leeks are softened, toss in the rosemary, sage, and thyme. Cook until the herbs release their fragrance into the room, about 2 minutes. Tumble in the potatoes. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch.

3. Raise the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Cook until your pairing knife slides right through one of the potatoes, about 15 minutes. Do not overcook the potatoes or you will have watery soup. When the potatoes are done, stop whatever you are doing and puree the soup.

4. Puree the soup in the blender or with an immersion blender. Work in batches as necessary, pouring the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the blender while it is running. Press each batch through a fine-mesh sieve back into a large bowl. Repeat until all the soup is pureed and pour it back in the pot. (We used an immersion blender and blended right in the pot because I like to have a few chunks of potato in my soup.)

5. Add the cream to the soup and stir to blend. Bring the soup to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the cold butter. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

6. Ladle the soup into bowl and garnish each bowl with 1 teaspoon of the truffle honey (if using), the chives, and crushed potato chips (optional).

More Gluten-Free Recipes

More Gluten-Free Soup Recipes From Around the Blogs

Gluten-Free Goddess – Butternut Squash Chili

Elana’s Pantry – Matzo Ball Soup

The W.H.O.L.E. Gang – Mexican Seafood Soup

Book of YUM – Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

Our annual visit to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse has become a must. In between trips we talk about the good food and tell anyone who will listen about the restaurant and dream of slow cooked meats, chili, cornbread, and pickles. Yes, their pickles are very good. They make their own refrigerator garlic dills and they go perfectly with any of the sandwiches.

We found the recipe in our copy of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse, the official cookbook by John Stage (one of the restaurant founders) and Nancy Radke. If you are a fan of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que but don’t live close enough to easily get your fix, this book is well worth adding to your collection. The introduction tells the story of how the restaurant got its start and even includes the daily music playlist and a fun feature, From the Walls of the Stalls (bathroom wall wisdom as contributed by patrons). Stage also shares plenty of tips for outdoor cooking, smoking with wood, and how to cook low and slow.

The recipes include regular menu favorites as well as popular daily specials, such as their pulled pork, pork ribs, beef brisket, barbecued chicken, and the Mutha Sauce, a flavorful tomato sauce that is the basis for their barbecue sauces. And if you are a fan of all their appetizers and sides, you won’t be disappointed. The fried green tomatoes, deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, beans, honey hush corn bread, grits, and fries are all here. The soups chapter has the Texas red chili, jambalaya, and gumbo, and you’ll find the Dr. Pepper Texas Chocolate Cake and coconut bread pudding with rum cream sauce in the desserts.

The pickle recipe is easy, no fuss, no processing in a hot canner, just cook up the brine and pour it over the sliced vegetables, then stick it in the frig. We do recommend you adjust the heat to your liking. Our jalapeños are wicked this year and just one is enough for the recipe, but taste yours and decide.

DINOSAUR BAR-B-QUE’S GARLIC DILL PICKLES

Adapted from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse, by John Stage, Nancy Radke.

Makes about 4 quarts/liters.

Equipment

4 (1-quart) jars with lids, cleaned well in hot water
3-quart saucepan
wide mouth funnel

Ingredients

4 pounds (~1.8 kilos) pickling cucumbers
1/4 cup chopped garlic
2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

BRINE
4 cups (960 ml) white vinegar
2 cups (480 ml) water
6 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 cup (88 g) sugar
5 tablespoons pickling spice
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns

Preparation

1. Combine the vinegar, water, kosher salt, sugar, pickling spice, mustard seeds, and peppercorns in the saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until just slightly warmer than room temperature.

2. Slice the cucumbers into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Divide them evenly between the jars. Add the garlic, jalapeños, and dill, dividing evenly between the jars.

3. Pour the brine into the jars making sure to cover the ingredients. Cool to room temperature and cover with lids. Store in the refrigerator, allowing the pickles to marinate for a week, then serve.

More Recipes That Go Well With Barbecue

More Pickle Recipes From Around the Blogs

White on Rice Couple – Vietnamese Pickled Carrots

A Veggie Venture – Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles, Freezer Recipe

Homesick Texan – Hot Jalapeño Pickles

Pinch My Salt – Aunt Kathy’s Pickled Beets

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

I’m sure some of you—ok, many—may wonder why in the world I would review a floor cleaner. Honestly I had to think about it for a little while when they contacted me about taking a Hoover FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner for a test drive, but it came down to this: I have three boys that make some really unbelievable messes all over our house every single day, unless they are asleep or not at home. I spend loads of time sweeping, vacuuming, scraping, spot cleaning, mopping. Some days I look under the table and think we live at one of those restaurants where they let you throw peanut shells on the floor. Crunch, crunch, crunch. We once had to clean an entire quart of tortilla soup off the floor, cabinets, refrigerator, and under the refrigerator when Builder Guy pulled a container off the counter. He was only three at the time, and I remember shuddering at the thought of all the messes to come. I’m here to say that everyday I learn about some new way the boys can create a mess for me to clean up. Thankfully they are growing up and I can sometimes say, “Please clean that up,” like this week when Builder Guy knocked a nearly full salad bowl into the floor, sending vegetables and vinaigrette flying to the far corners of the kitchen.

So yes, I feel highly qualified to give my opinion on cleaning products.

The FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner is designed to vacuum, wash, and dry hard sealed floors such as linoleum, vinyl, laminate, tile, marble, bamboo, and wood. It is not designed for carpets or unsealed wooden floors, so if your wood slats have cracks between them, don’t use this product because water will seep under the wood and cause damage. I wanted to test it on our tile floors, especially the kitchen because that’s where the majority of our messes occur. Our kitchen and laundry room tile is deeply textured, which creates challenges for cleaning in the crevices and the grout.

The FloorMate comes unassembled, but it only took a few minutes to put it together.

First, you snap on the handle.

Attach the brushes.

Then attach the nozzle. Make sure you look over the nozzle carefully because after first use I found some shipping cardboard shoved in there pretty tight and out of the way, and of course it affected the FloorMate’s initial performance.

Then slide on the clean water tank.

The dirty water collection tank is already in place, and you just press the button down and pull it forward to see the filter. The cleaner is bagless, so some dirt and debris collects in the accordion filter as well as a small round filter below. The accordion filter comes out easily and can just be rinsed under warm water. The other filter remains mostly dry and you can just pull away the debris. The debris should be cleaned after each use and you’ll also want to rinse out the collection tank as well.

The handle has easy access to the power button and the trigger which releases cleaning fluid onto the floor.

The big button on the side lets you change cleaning mode on the fly.

There is a lever on the back for lowering the handle.

The back hooks hold the cord for easy storage.

And a white lever on the handle lets you fold the top half of the handle for more compact storage.

The FloorMate package I received came with the Hoover cleaner solution as well as some floor wipes, though I chose to use our vinegar/water solution. The measuring cap that seals the clean water tank is also a measuring device and the instructions say to fill it with cleaning solution then add to the water in the tank. That’s okay for the Hoover solution but not enough for vinegar solution, so I doubled the vinegar and it seemed to work fine.

I found the key working with the machine was to go slowly. In Wash mode, squeeze the trigger and go slowly over the area you want to clean, giving the brushes time to scrub. Then go slowly over the same area in Dry mode to suck up the dirty water.

I deliberately let the floor get dirty before cleaning, but ick. Not a good day for the 5 Second Rule.

After several trials, I feel I can definitively state that it works pretty well, though better on a completely flat surface versus deeply textured tile such as ours. The vacuum couldn’t always pick up some of the things on our floor, i.e. Cheerios. There were a number of spots that the brushes simply couldn’t reach and I hand scrubbed those, and for the same reason not all of the water was sucked back into the machine, though only about 25% remained on the tile and in the grout. If your floor has any food stuck to it, you may need to hand scrub to finish removing it.

If you are in the market for a vacuum or floor cleaner, the FloorMate is definitely worth considering because it combines functions, just remember to check your floor type first.

Giveaway

You can enter for a chance to win a Hoover FloorMate Hard Floor Cleaner at the Facebook fan page, just send them a photo of your messiest mess and complete the other registration details.

[Disclosure: I received this product from the manufacturer. The opinions expressed here are my own, as well as the photographs.]

Pros: Combines three cleaning functions in one machine, scrubs pretty well on flat surfaces, works with vinegar and water cleaning solution, handle folds down for compact storage, beltless, bagless, easy cleanup.

Cons: Not as effective on deeply textured tile and deep grout, not for use on unsealed wood floors.

Price: $149

Color: blue

Materials: Plastic housing, rubber wheels.

Warranty: 1 year

Where to buy: https://www.hooverfloormate.com, Amazon.com, WalMart, Target, other retail outlets

Company website: www.hoover.com

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

The classic question for any home cook is what to substitute for ingredients you don’t have on hand, can’t find, don’t like, or are outside the budget. That tin of baking powder in the pantry is well past the expiration date and probably won’t rise your cake, so what can you use instead if you can’t make a mad dash to the store? What if a recipe calls for a spice, cheese, or sauce you’ve never heard of and can’t find?

Originally published in 1986, Substituting Ingredients: The A to Z Kitchen Reference, by Becky Sue Epstein is now in its fourth edition and includes over 1,000 substitutions as well as instructions on how to make common condiments. For the novice cook I recommend the first chapter “How to Use This Book,” a short read which covers the ins and outs of substitutions and explains how the substitution lists are organized in the book. Other chapters include herbs and spices, measurement equivalents, remedies for common kitchen disasters, and even green homemade substitutes for household cleaning formulas. You’ll learn useful things such as how to make harissa sauce, crème fraîche, cocktail sauce, a nontoxic homemade oven cleaner, and even the volume of various baking pan sizes in case you don’t have the size a recipe requires.

It’s the kind of book a novice or intermediate cook would want on hand for quick reference and it would make a nice gift for anyone learning to cook.

[Received book from the publisher.]

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Company website: www.sourcebooks.com

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

When I think of diner food, the first thought that comes to my mind is greasy spoon, traditional diner food that’s great for comfort but not healthy, and that’s what I said to Robert Giaimo, Founder and President and CEO of Silver Diner, Inc. I have eaten at Silver Diner, but it’s been a while and it’s not a restaurant that comes to mind when thinking about a place to get a healthy meal. Happily, Giaimo and his partner Ype (Ee-pah) Von Hengst have set out to change that.

Silver Diner has not only changed their menu by adding healthy dishes, but they’ve switched to grass fed angus beef and hormone free all natural meats. They’ve added gluten-free dishes and 600 calorie entrees. They’re also buying local and getting farm fresh produce, milk, chicken, and eggs to the table within 48 hours. Their eggs now come from Martin Farms in Pennsylvania; milk comes from Kreider Farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; natural multigrain breads all come from local regional providers, and even the beer and wine come from local regional wineries and beer companies. Their coffee is Greenberry Coffee, which is roasted in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Bloggers from the DC Metro area had a chance to sample some of the new healthy dishes at a blogger event on May 13 at the Clarendon restaurant in Arlington. [Disclosure: The blogger event was hosted and paid for by Silver Diner and organized by Zcomm. The bloggers received a free buffet meal and gift baskets with coffee mugs, fresh local asparagus and strawberries, and Greenberry coffee. They also gave away a few prizes, though I didn’t win anything. The opinions expressed here are my own.] We had a chance to listen to Giaimo and Executive Chef Hengst talk about the changes coming to all the Silver Diner locations and the reasons why, all while tasting a menu that included:

• Healthier Shake Shots,
• Silver Diner Mimosas,
• black bean quesadillas,
• crab dip,
• sliders (Salmon, Pesto Turkey, and All American),
• Tomato Mozzarella Finger Sandwiches,
• Summer Citrus Salad,
• Chopped Asian Salad,
• 600 Calorie Smothered BBQ Meatloaf,
• 600 Calorie Vegetarian Stir-Fry,
• Shrimp Scampi with Gluten-Free Penne,
• Guacamole Pepper Jack Burger,
• Gluten Free Brownie Sundae,
• Apple Pie,
• Double Chocolate Triple-Layer Cake, and
• Coffee, wine, beer.

I tasted quite a few things, keeping my samples to just a bite or two because there was a lot of food and the wait staff kept bringing out more. Of everything I sampled, my favorites were the Salmon Sliders (though I would have liked a little more teriyaki glaze and wasabi), the Summer Citrus Salad (photo below), and Chopped Asian Salad (photo below). I even liked the 600 Calorie Smothered BBQ Meatloaf (photo above), and I really don’t care for meatloaf. The only thing I didn’t sample were the burgers because I was trying to save some room for a few bites of dessert, but they looked very good. The apple pie is beautiful—it looks more like a galette than a pie—and it was my favorite dessert, though the chocoholics would probably vote for the cake.

I made a point, well actually a couple points, to ask Giaimo and Hengst about the children’s menu and any changes they had planned for it, and they assured me that the children’s menu is also undergoing the same changes. The new ingredients are already in place in the menu and there are new healthy entrees, sides, and dessert for children to choose from. The new children’s menu will be revealed in June and I look forward to seeing and tasting what Silver Diner has come up with.

Our family is very concerned about the food we eat, which is why we try to grow our own herbs, vegetables, and fruits as much as possible. It’s heartening to see local restaurants change their business practices by adopting a healthy philosophy and supporting local farms and businesses, and I hope that other restaurants will follow suit. Safe, healthy food should be served everywhere, not just in expensive establishments.

To promote the new healthy menu, Silver Diner is sponsoring a Social Kitchen contest where fans can win a $50 gift card to Silver Diner and one lucky grand prize winner will get their choice of $500 to spend in their local community or a trip for two to a local vineyard, including lodging and wine tasting. The contest ends on May 28 at 5pm ET. Visit the Silver Diner Facebook page for more information on the contest (link below).

Company Information

Silver Diner, Inc.

www.silverdiner.com

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This year’s unusually cold winter and several feet of snow kept the ground frozen and prevented us from doing our typical winter prep, though we can see grass now on most of the yard and in some of the garden, a hopeful sign of a warm spring to come. And of course that turns our thoughts to what we want to plant this year.

If you are like me, you’ve been pouring over seed catalogs since they hit mailboxes in January. We have several places we like to order form, and The Cook’s Garden is one of our favorites. They carry a wonderful variety of vegetable and herb seeds and plants as well as cottage flowers and some garden supplies. We’ve especially enjoyed their year-round lettuce collection, which contains a variety of lettuce seeds to plant throughout the year.

To celebrate the coming of spring and to help you prepare your garden, I’m giving away one $50 gift certificate to The Cook’s Garden, which should help you purchase all the seeds you need and maybe some tools as well. And if you are growing your own food (or farming, hunting, foraging), we hope you will join us for Grow Your Own this year!

Rules

1. The Cook’s Garden only ships to the 48 contiguous United States and Canada. Apologies to my readers in Hawaii, Alaska, as well as other countries.
2. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below telling us about what you want to plant in your garden this year. Any kind of garden is fine, whether indoor, outdoor, containers, hydroponic, etc.
3. You must leave a correct email address in the email field so I can contact you if you win. Please don’t put your email address in the comment field unless you want a bunch of spammers to find you.
4. You can earn extra entries by mentioning this contest on your blog or Twitter. Please come back and add additional comments with links to your blog post and/or Twitter status. So that’s three possible entries per person. Three entries = three comments. I will check out the links to verify.
5. The giveaway ends at 8 p.m. EST on Friday March 26, 2010. Random.org will select the winner and I will post an announcement soon after.

Thanks for reading and have fun planning your gardens!

[DISCLOSURE: This giveaway is not sponsored by The Cook’s Garden or affiliated with The Cook’s Garden in any way. I just happen to like them.]

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.

Cathy Erway gave up eating out in New York and started cooking for herself, a two-year experiment she chronicled on her blog, Not Eating Out in New York. Restaurants, take out, and street carts were out, cooking for herself, foraging, and freeganism was in. Cathy’s story is interesting for anyone trying to live frugally by cooking at home more and eating out less, and she shares it in more detail in her book The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, scheduled for release on February 18.

You can win my review copy of The Art of Eating In, just leave a comment in this post about how you have changed or plan to change your/your family’s eating out habits. Please make sure your email address is correct in the email field so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. (Please don’t put your email address in the comment field unless you want a bunch of spammers to find you.) You can get an extra entry if you mention the contest on Twitter, just leave an additional comment with a link to your Twitter status.

Apologies to my international readers, but the prize can only be shipped within the continental U.S. The contest closes at 9 P.M. EST on Thursday February 18, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.

Update February 19, 2010: Congratulations to Carol, comment #10, for winning the book!

Thanks for subscribing to this blog! Copyright © 2005-2012 Andrea Meyers: making life delicious.