Archive | MY EDITORIAL RSS feed for this section

The Bounties of Vermont…

8 Apr

 

I recently visited Vermont for the first time…  The main purpose of my visit was to ski at SugarBush, a lovely ski resort right in the middle of Vermont.  My best friend’s dad has had a slope-side apartment there for the longest time, and it was this year the first time we’ve been able to sync our schedules and go together.

I am not the one to bring gifts or souvenirs back from a trip – but I like to purchase items that are indigenous to the place I am visiting…  so I need to share with you about these true Vermont beauties:

Vermont’s Maple Syrup

Oh goodie…  the variety of maple syrups can be overwhelming sometimes.  I learned about Vermont Fancy, Grade A Amber, Grade A Medium, etc.  I can get at home the Grade As, but I had never seen or tasted Vermont Fancy – so that’s what I bought as a souvenir.  I also bought some maple spread, maple butter and some maple candies.  You’ll be seeing some of these maple jewels in various upcoming posts… I see pancakes in my future… 

Vermont’s Apple Cider

We went past Cold Hollow Cider Mill…  but it is really hard to miss, because their cider bottles are EVERYWHERE!!!  Truth be told… I do not know the difference between apple juice and apple cider, but I LOOOOOVED this apple cider.  It’s like the freshest, sweetest unfiltered apple juice you have ever had.  If you’re ever in that neck of the woods, you need to try their cider.

 

 

Vermont’s Cabot Cheese

 I an a Cabot cheese lover.  What I love about Cabot cheeses is they explicitly mention in their packaging they do not use animal rennet in their manufacturing.  My favorite variety is the Extremely Sharp Hunter’s variety, which is as sharp as you can get here – to me, it’s perfect to eat with strawberries or green grapes.  We were able to go to one of Cabot factory store where we were able to taste test many varieties… and I found the Vintage Variety – aged for 24 months hand-selected by the company’s president… this is even sharper than the Hunter’s kind… it’s AWESOME!!!!  I just wish I could have been able to bring home a larger piece.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

We visited Ben & Jerry’s factory tour one afternoon after skiing.  Even though most Ben & Jerry’s ice creams are not karma-free (because they contain egg yolks in the base recipe), they do offer a variety of organic flavors and fruit sherbets.  The new flavors we tried at the factory were AMAZING!!!!  And if you have a B&J shop nearby, stay tuned to their FREE CONE day coming up on April 29th.

 

It’s all right there on VT Route 100 – Visit and taste all the bounties Vermont has to offer… you can take a stab at skiing too if you’d like, you know…

 

Tags: , , ,

Strawberry Seduction Event Completed

7 Apr
strawberryseductionlogo.png

 

My friend Mike, at Mike’s Table summoned all culinary bloggers to submit our favorite strawberry recipes…  I told you all about it here a few weeks ago.

You know I am a strawberry lover – so much of a lover to even pay $7 for a basket of these delicious red sweet jewels.  I was very excited to see someone loved strawberries even more than I.

Well, Mike completed the Strawberry Seduction round-up yesterday and he already posted the most beautiful collection of strawberry-inpired recipes I’ve seen.  There are recipes from all over the world – from All ober the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, UK, Islas Canarias and of course, Puerto Rico.

 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Strawberry Oatmeal Squares – by my good friend Kathleen and Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen

Strawberry Bruschetta – from Alexandra at Addicted Sweet Tooth

Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone cream – from The Budding Cook

 

As you already know… here were my entries:

Strawberry Kanten

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Banana Sherbet

Please visit and check out all the lovely recipes and be inspired to make something with strawberries this week.

Tags:

Foodie BlogRoll Welcomes KarmaFreeCooking

31 Mar

I am super excited…  KarmaFree Cooking has been added to the Foodie BlogRoll.  The Foodie BlogRoll is a directory of blogs all revolving around the topic of food and the enjoyment of eating such foods.  This directory is the brainchild of Jenn…  better known as the culinary royalty The Left Over Queen. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am to belong to such a great group of writers and chefs.  You can now find a link to the Foodie BlogRoll on the sidebar at the right.  Please visit and check out all the wonderful food-related blogs out there.  There are plans to categorize the blogs in the directory and soon enough there will be a vegetarian section for you to scan only the vegetarian blogs available.  Jen manages this directory on her own… so be patient.

Do you have your own food blog? Are you interested in joining a community of over 1000 fellow food bloggers worldwide? Do you just like reading about food, looking at beautiful food photography, or finding great new recipes online? This might be for you. Check out the FAQ page for more info about what it is and how to join.

Strawberry Seduction Challenge

18 Mar

strawberryseductionlogo.png

Mike at Mike’s Table is hosting a blog event – the Strawberry Seduction Event. 

You know I am a strawberry lover – so much of a lover to even pay $7 for a  basket of these delicious red sweet jewels.  I was very excited to see someone loved strawberries even more than I.

I went a submitted a few recipes I had already shared with you to this event and I hope to create a few extra before the April 4 deadline.  The recipes I submitted are:

Strawberry Kanten

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Banana Sherbet 

I’ll let you know of any other cool vegetarian strawberry recipes submitted by other bloggers… OK?

Tags:

You Make My Day Award

14 Mar

blogaward.jpg

I have been graced by having 2 friends and fellow bloggers name me within their You Make My Day Award list.  The first time it happened caught me completely off-guard… It was Bonnie at Weaving Spirit.  And again, this week my friend Kathleen from Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen also named me as someone who “makes her day”.  And this latter one is very special, because it was Kathleen who inspired me to start this blogging adventure about a year ago.

So I feel the need to reciprocate… to share with you a list of the blogs and online places out there that Make My Day, in addition to my friends mentioned above:

  • Serious Eats – I can’t remember how I learned about this website, but I do remember I had something to do with Mario Batali.  I love Serious Eats because it’s a one-stop shop on the celebration and enthusiasm of food thru blogs and other content providers.  I personally love the Talk section because it provides a forum to ask, answer, vent and celebrate anything food-related.  It’s awesome!!
  • Tastespotting– I also visit this site almost daily… It’s food photography at its best.  I have learned and found so much inspiration from the people who post here…

And who are these people I have met thanks to Tastespotting… 

  • 101 cookbooks – Heidi is a vegetarian who takes the most wonderful pictures of what she cooks.  The premise of her blog was to go thru the recipes of all the cookbooks she had been collecting over the years.  I wish I had a table or butcher’s block like hers… it makes for a very elegant background for her pictures.
  • herbivoracious – Michael is a vegetarian who took a sabbatical from his engineering job to work as an apprentice in Cafe Flora in Seattle.  He inspires me to take chances and to follow one’s dream and passion and see where that leads.
  • Paola at Mijn Zoete Leven – I have no idea what the title is, but Paola is a Colombian living in the Netherlands.  She has developed a home business out of her “small but very well-equipped kitchen” in Almere. 
  • Daring Bakers – After seeing photo after scrumptious photo of lemon meringue pies back in January, I decided to join this group of fellow bloggers who every month we get together, in heart and spirit, to bake the same recipe.  I have only completed one challenge so far and have loved every minute of it.

And last, but not least, my teachers in the culinary world –  Martha Stewart and Food Network, which are my food and recipe encyclopedias.  I refer to them everytime I see a great recipe on TV, which is almost everyday.

And also a special mention to Kimberly – she is a vegetarian living in Iowa and even though her blog is not food-related, I enjoy very much our email conversation about recipes, ingredients and the vegetarian lifestyle in general…  She’s a KarmaFree Cooking fan and I appreciate her very much for that.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →