friday links

Happy Friday!
ON a recent trip to Trader Joe's here's what I found, tried, liked, hated.

Haven't tried, but it looked fairly moist.

Hubby loved it, I hated it. Not nearly enough cheese on it.
The crust was ok.

This is new (and good news!)

This was pretty good. Not quite danish, but close enough.

These were good, small but good.

Loved these!

Haven't tried these.  Have you?

These were ok, very dry.  If you make them, add a few splashes of cream to dough before baking.

I LOVED these!

Haven't tried these.  Have you?

Haven't tried these. You?

Pretty good!

Fairly good.

Not good.  I wanted to like them, but there is no cheese flavor whatsoever.

Anyone tried this?

Around the web:
Did you know that you can truly make a solider overseas life better by simply writing them letters?
That's all it takes is a letter to help. Please visit Soldiers' Angels.
Guide to writing better than you normally do from McSweeney's
Prebiotics can truly help you lose weight from blisstree
fake food: the fake ingredients in your food from greatist.com
immune boosting carrot-ginger juice from detoxinista.com
60 must read health & fitness blogs from greatist.com
oyster fats may curb breast cancer from vitalchoice.com
dosa: indian style pancakes w/ pickled cucumber from wholesomeireland.com
vanilla bean ricotta donuts from cannella-vita
rosemary shortbread rounds from becca-bakes.com
red velvet strawberry chocolate cake from heatherchristo.com
happy cheeks!  LOL  (love this idea) from myhappycheeks.com
no bake pb krispy treats from collecting memories
15-minute thin mints (no bake, vegan) from topwithcinnamon.com
chai spiced snickerdoodles (vegan) from arismenu.com
chewy peanut payday bars from averiecooks.com
archie bunkers house in queens from scoutingny.com
top herbs & spices for your health from marksfdailyapple.com
rewire your brain for positivity & happiness from lifehacker.com
meet porter: the worlds 1st driving dog from the driving dogs
there's a new nut butter company in town! dying to try this from bigspoonroasters.com
3-phase plan to fix your metabolism? from doctoroz.com
homemade cinnamon-raisin newtons from supergluemom.com
peaches & cream mousse pie from seriouseats.com
baked french toast sticks from abeautifulmess.com
roasted broccoli & cheddar queso from macheesmo.com
lasagna soup from noshingwiththenolands.com
spicy asian chicken noodle soup from divinecusine.com
corn chowder w/ shrimp from agirlinthesouth.com
chocolate-coffee banana donuts (paleo) from paleomg.com
homemade chicken bouillon cubes from the musician who cooks


one of my favorite breakfasts (full of protein too). bacon & egg on peanut butter toast.

puffins with peanut butter? oh yes.

frosting shots at cupcake charlies on cape cod.

hostess with the mostess cupcakes are my all-time weakness.
Let's go from cupcakes to steamers?  LOL

Yum, never get sick of these.

A house on the CC National Seashore (chatham side) collapsed after the recent storm. Here is a
barge bringing over the house parts, inside and out.

chatham fish pier, chatham, ma.

We've had three storms, one was a blizzard, and this weekend we're expecting another one.
I pray all these storms are a nice prelude to a beautiful, sunny, non-rain filled spring & summer.
Before I forget, the winner of the Old Farmers Almanac Cookbook is Lori Stilger (#13).
Congrats Lori please email me your shipping address.
Have a great weekend all!

friday links + giveaway!

Happy Friday!
I was asked to review The Old Farmer's Almanac Everyday Baking cookbook and immediately said 'yes'!
It's a great cookbook, recipes by Ken Haedrich, featuring 118 recipes, baking tips, time-saving advice, step-by-step tips for easy preparation, and beautiful color photos. Cookbook categories include: breakfast baking; quick bread; cookies, bars; sweet pies; crisps, cobblers; cakes for every occasion.
Ken Haedrich developed and personally tested these recipes for Everyday Baking.
Haedrich is a winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award and author of 11 cookbooks, including Pie, which was named one of the best baking books of the past 25 years by Cooking Light magazine.
If you go to their website, there is a free recipe download.

They sent me two copies: one for me and one for a friend.
I'd rather give one away.


It's really a great little cookbook for the price.
All you have to do to enter is just leave ONE COMMENT telling me if you've ever heard of any of the
farmer's almanac cookbooks.
And which one you have and/or like or want.
REMEMBER: there has to be an email address in your signature line or your comment.
Let's do the drawing next friday (2/8/13).

Around the web, healthy & tasty alternatives to super bowl eats:
bean & beet dip from macheesmo.com
kale pesto & white bean dip from annies-eats.com
buffalo roasted cauliflower from closetcooking.com
sweet potato sliders w/ roasted garlic cream from eatswellwithothers.com
5-minute pizza dough (way better/healtheir than pizza takeout) from injennieskitchen.com
fire cracker chicken skewers w/ lime cream sauce from aroundmyfamilytable.com
baked cannelini beans w/ sage & proscuitto from brooklynsalt
great roundup of dips & dippers from wholefoodsmarket.com
roasted cauliflower & aged white cheddar dip from closet cooking
buffalo & blue cheese veggie bake from bakeyourday.net
31 guilt-free superbowl snacks from greatist.com
margherita pizza w/ cauliflower crust from sixtyone45.com
raisin-rosemary crisps from flourarrangements.org
cal-mond cookies (raw) from bakingandboys.com
baked honey-mustard panko chicken fingers from savoryingthethyme.com
salt & pepper prawns from theperfectpantry.com
blue cheese stuffed buffalo turkey meatballs from onceuponacuttingboard.com
peanut butter-brown rice crispy balls from ahouseinthehills.com
healthy "ring dings" from pbs.org
skinny buffalo chicken bites from eat-yourself-skinny.com
gluten free chocolate-peanut butter cookies from vanillasugarblog.com

other fun eats:
snickerdoodle bars from tasteantellblog.com
homemade fruit roll ups from iambaker.net
california breakfast sushi rolls from farmgirlgourmet.com
how to make chocolate bars from davidlebovitz.com
peanut butter snickers brownie skillet from picky-palate.com
adorable mini "play food" from bakerella.com
british raisin tea cake from seriouseats.com
cheesy artichoke bread from vanillasugarblog.com
biscoff gooey butter cake from bakeyourday.net
salted caramel pineapple tart from cookingcontestcentral.com
momofuku crack cookies from thymeoftaste.com
crawfish beignets w/ cajun dipping sauce from cookingbride.com
creamy crawfish dip from thekitchn.com
shrimp queso flameado w/ ranchera salsa from homesicktexan
some of the best burgers I've ever seen from thefoodinmybeard.com
ground beef gyros from vanillasugarblog.com

Happy Weekend!

friday links

Happy Friday!

Some of my recent finds at Trader Joe's. 

Some new, some not so new....

>

crunchy cookie butter! oh the baking possibilities.

anyone tried this? might get a couple for hubby.

these weren't too bad.  much better than ramen noodles. plus rice noodle is a better taste.

in the frozen section. they are small. too small for the price--I could eat the whole box in one sitting.

anyone tried this?  love the addition of brie, which makes me think to make a brie & pasta at home.

FINALLY! sweet potato tots. can't wait to try them.

small little pre-cooked pot roasts in a bag.  weird. small. afraid to try...you go first.  lol

the price can't be beat. much cheaper than whole foods. has anyone used it?  tell me if it's good?

more pre-cooked beef in a bag.  still, afraid to try.

these were decent.  get the tzatziki sauce to dip them in!

these two together = food harmony

anyone tried these danish pancakes aka ebelskivers

this was good--needs more peanut butter inside.

they were ok. not very onion-like tasting. I want to create my own now, with far less oil.

always weary of shelf-staple tofu. anyone tried this?

these are good. My homemade coconut truffles are much better though. 

not new, but I finally tried it and it was really good. The price is good too.

these were the 'sample of the day' and they were ok. a little dry, but good.

anyone tried this?

I found it hilarious that our trader joe's (cape cod) sells lobster tails at a ridiculous inflated price.

A couple of my friends got this and loved it. You?

As I've mentioned before, during the winters I tend to get a little bit of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and while I take the fish oil, the Vit D3, etc...I haven't tried the "sun lights" yet.

I was hesitant about most of them until I came across a totally different kind of sun light that mimics the "blue sky of summer".  Did some research for reviews and most of them were positive   I was more than happy to give this a go.  

I did not shine this on the cat.  He was merely posing for the photo--ha!

About a week into using the light, I have to say I have noticed a huge improvement in my mood, and an even bigger increase in my energy levels.

The light is by Philips: Philips GoLite Blu. Sold on amazon. But look for the reviews on youtube.com.

It's a great, portable size. Hard to photograph when it's on since the light is bright, but this photo illustrates how small it is.

Don't use this at night, best to use in the morning.  Give it a couple days to start feeling a difference.

Here is the website for it, but make sure to buy it on amazon as it's much cheaper -- far cheaper!

I was at IKEA the other day and saw this wonderful bed workbar.

Isn't this the best idea?

The prices aren't that bad.

This is perfect for all our shoes in the garage. Well built too.

For this price?  Definitely getting a few for the office. Excellent way to hide all that crap and 'instantly' make the office look cleaner.

I use these for holding my dishes in the kitchen.  Five years later, and they are still going strong.

Can't remember the price of this, but it was cheap.

Would be great for a tv or play room right?

This is a dressing room model at IKEA.  Love how more modern IKEA has become.

Finally took hubby (for the first time) to Five Guys Burgers.

Let's just say he was a happy man. 

The Cadbury Eggs are already appearing!  

Around the web:

pretty pinwheel cookies from lucy's friendly foods

custard creme cookies from warm, snug & fat

pop up groundhog cookies from she knows food & recipes

iphone case doubles as coffee cup holder (very odd) from designtaxi.com

gorgeous mermaid dress from thefancy.com

'packed with love' sticky tape from thefancy.com

quick cinnamon-sugar baguette bread from wherethecookiesare.com

mermaid weathervane (must have this!) from thefancy.com

how to make homemade yogurt in a slow cooker from everybodylikessandiwches.com

gorgeous polka-dot cake! (you have to see this!) from easybaked.net

magazine stool from thefancy.com

how to brew turkish coffee (in case you wanted to know) from seriouseats.com

a list of taste-tested K-cups from seriouseats.com

fool proof pan pizza (love this) from seriouseats.com

that one light switch that you don't know what it goes to? now you do from tastefullyoffensive.com