Sugar & Spice Got a Makeover!

Welcome to the new face of "Sugar & Spice by Celeste"! I am so excited to launch this new design. My wonderfully talented husband designed the header for me, and I found the background over at BackgroundFairy.com. What do you think?

Stay tuned for Thomas Keller's recipe for homemade Chicken Pot Pie...Coming soon!

I hope you like it! I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments section!

:-)

A Sad Day for Foodies..."Gourmet" Magazine To Close

I was so sad today to hear the news...After 70 years, Gourmet magazine is slated to close by the end of the year. Gourmet has long been my favorite foodie mag...I've always been so excited to find it in my mailbox month after month. Unfortunately, that's all about to come to a screaching halt.

Here's the article from CNNMoney.com...You can find the original article HERE.

"Gourmet magazine closes after 70 years
Downturn and ad drought claim longstanding Gourmet magazine. Publisher Condé Nast announces 3 other closures: Cookie and bridal magazines Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Gourmet magazine will be shuttered after nearly 70 years.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Foodies got some sour news Monday.

Gourmet, which has amassed a devoted following over nearly 70 years of publication, will be shut down, publisher Condé Nast said.

The magazine, introduced in 1940, is expected to close by the end of the year.

"I feel like Linus and somebody has yanked away my security blanket," said Stuart Clifford, 55, who has been a subscriber for 32 years.

For Clifford, the November issue, which may also be its last, holds particular sentimental value. "My brother and I would always grab the November issue and find the featured meal and make a big deal about cooking it. That was our Thanksgiving (meal) year after year after year," he said.

Even though many fans enjoyed flipping through the glossy pages, popular food shows on television and online sites eroded the magazine's advertising revenue.

"The magazine industry is in a difficult position generally speaking, it's losing revenue to online advertising and it's a tough business right now," said Richard Dorfman, managing director of Richard Alan Inc., a financial advisory and investment company focusing on the media industry.

Gourmet, which has nearly 1 million subscribers, fell victim to a decline in ad sales and followed a companywide review of magazines.

"The review has led us to a number of decisions designed to navigate the company through the economic downturn and to position us to take advantage of coming opportunities," Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend wrote in an e-mail to employees.

In addition to shuttering Gourmet, Condé Nast said it was also killing parenting magazine Cookie and two wedding magazines, Elegant Bride and Modern Bride.

"In this economic climate it is important to narrow our focus to titles with the greatest prospects for long-term growth," Townsend wrote.

Roughly 180 people were affected by the news of the four titles closing, according to Condé Nast spokeswoman Maurie Perl.

According to Townsend, Condé Nast will continue to use the Gourmet brand in book publishing and television programming, and Gourmet recipes will still appear on Epicurious.com. The publisher's other epicurean title, Bon Appétit, will remain intact.

Condé Nast is also bumping up the frequency of its Brides magazine to monthly to fill some of the void left by the closing of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride.

"These changes, combined with cost and workforce reductions now underway throughout the company, will speed the recovery of our current businesses and enable us to pursue new ventures," Townsend wrote.

Other magazines have also been hit hard during the downturn. Titles including Blender, Vibe, Domino and Portfolio were all lost in the last year."

And The Winner Is....

First of all....I want to say a HUGE "Thank You!" to every single person who took the time to enter my very first giveaway. Hopefully, this will only be the first of many. I'd love to start offering more giveaways here at Sugar & Spice for my wonderful readers! :)

Now, on to our next order of business...announcing the big winner!

Drumroll Please................................................................................................................................................................................................
The winner of a brand new copy of the Taste of Home Big Book of Soup cookbook is.........................................................................................................................................................................................................



Comment #27 comes from jidgede

She says...

"my favorite?? YOUR taco soup!!!!! jennie in tn <><"

Congratulations Jennie!!! Please e-mail me at UABblazer83@aol.com to claim your prize!!! :)

A Fun Fall Giveaway!!!

There's always a big smile on my face this time each year...Autumn is here! It's without a doubt, my favorite time of the year. You can already feel it in the air here in Alabama! The rustle through the trees as the first leaves begin to change from green to a deep golden hue, the sight of a fun pumpkin patch decorated with yellow mums, and yes...even the spooky haunted house attractions that pop up throughout the city! I'm so excited about pumpkin pies, apples, pears, squash, cranberries, pumpkin spice everything, and hearty bowls of scrumptious SOUP!

So, in order to celebrate the changing of the seasons, I'm so excited to tell you about my very first giveaway here at "Sugar & Spice by Celeste"! I'm giving away a beautiful, brand-new copy of the Taste of Home Big Book of Soup cookbook!

Here's a blurb from the Taste of Home website with the details about the book:

"There's nothing like a hot bowl of soup, and this book's full of them! Taste of Home's Big Book of Soup has hearty, family-favorite recipes for soups, chilis, stews and chowders. Creamy Chicken Rice Soup, Pasta Meatball Stew, and Cheesy Potato Chowder are just the tempting beginning. You'll also find 16 recipes for great soup mixes. Make-ahead soups or homemade soup mixes are ideal for holiday giving, house-warming or a neighborly thank-you. Hardcover, 320 pages. Hundreds of full-color photos. "

So, what do you have to do to be the lucky winner, you might ask?? Well, simply reply to this post with your answer to the following question:

***What is your favorite kind of soup to serve on a cool autumn evening?? Is it a classic like Chicken Noodle Soup...or maybe you crave a delectable French Onion Soup?? Let me know! I'm excited to hear your answers!***

To be eligible:

1. At this time, I can only ship to addresses here in the United States. I apologize to all of my wonderful international readers!!

2. Please check back on Saturday, September 26th, to see if you are the lucky winner, so that you can claim your prize!

3. Only one comment per person, please.

Deadline: Friday, September 25th at midnight.

One winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, Sept. 26th using http://www.random.org/, based on the number of your comment.

GOOD LUCK!!! :-)

Photo courtesy of www.shoptasteofhome.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA CHILD!!!

So, as you might already know, today would have been Julia Child's 97th birthday. In the grande dame's honor, I'm planning to host a fabulous French dinner tonight. Of course, all of the recipes are from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volumes I & II.

On the menu:
- The Famous Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew in Red Wine, with Bacon, Onions and Mushrooms)
- Pain Francaise (Fresh French Baguettes)
- Reine De Saba/Glacage Au Chocolat (Chocolate & Almond Cake with Chocolate-Butter Icing)

All made from scratch!

As we speak, the Reine de Saba is sitting pretty in the refrigerator (I made it last night), and the dough for the baguettes is about to undergo its second rising. Next, I'll be starting the Boeuf Bourguignon. Whew! It will be a lot of cooking, but I like to think Julia would be proud. ;-)

Of course, I'll blog all about each dish in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Bon Appetit!!!

Sugar & Spice is Now On al.com!!!

I am SO VERY excited to announce that my blog - "Sugar & Spice by Celeste" - is now featured on al.com, which is a wonderful and popular source of local news in the state of Alabama. If you're an Alabama resident and you haven't been to visit this website, please do! Some of the categories on the site include News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment, Travel, Jobs and Real Estate...just to name a few. If it's happening in Alabama, you'll be able to read about it on al.com!

There is a local blog section that you can visit here: http://www.al.com/blogs/

Please support our local bloggers by checking out their sites and what they have to say. ;)

Of course, you'll find me under the "FOOD" section on the Blogs page.

Also, here's a direct link to my blog on the site: http://blog.al.com/sugar-and-spice/

I want to take this opportunity to thank you - MY READERS! You are the reason that I continue to blog and write about the happenings in my kitchen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and for coming back to my humble little blog. When I started this blog a few years ago, I had no idea anyone would actually read it or even like it for that matter. So once again...Thanks for reading!!! :)

Julia Child is on TV...again!!!

I've got some exciting news for all of the Julia Child fans in the USA...I was recently contacted by our local PBS station to let me know that the show "Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home" will be aired on Saturday afternoons. It's on at 1:00PM CST here in Birmingham, AL. Click HERE for more info...and be sure to check your local listings to see when it will air in your city!!!

Here's an excerpt from the website:
"Two of the world's best known and most loved culinary stars, Julia Child and Jacques Pépin, join each other in Julia's home kitchen for this popular Emmy Award-winning public television series.

America's favorite cooking duo takes you to the heart of good home cooking and shows you that while there are traditional ways of preparing a dish, nothing is written in stone.

These two legendary cooks play off one another like The Odd Couple, joking, even bickering good-naturedly, over kitchen technique, demonstrating that cooking is deeply personal and that there's often more than one way to get great results.

Their deep friendship and the high professional regard in which Julia and Jacques hold each other make the show a pleasure to watch."
Source: http://www.alacartetv.com/html/jnj/jnj.htm

In Celebration of Julia

'Julie and Julia' movie trailer

Before Giada, Ina, Paula, or Emeril came along, there was the Culinary Queen...the original....Julia Child. Her wit, charm...and that unmistakable voice. She was truly a force to be reckoned with.

August is going to be a very exciting month for Julia fans. First, the much-anticipated new movie Julie & Julia will be released on August 7th. And then...one month from today, on August 15th, foodies around the globe will celebrate Julia's birthday.

I can honestly say that there's no celebrity out there that I can really relate to...except for Julia. You've probably been asked the question, "If you could meet one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be?" There's no doubt that I would choose Julia. There are so many questions I'd like to ask her...so many things that I'd love to discuss with her. I'm currently reading her memoir, My Life in France. It has quickly become one of my favorite books I've ever read...and I'm not even finished with it yet. She is so inspiring. She has certainly inspired me and taught me to never give up...no matter how hard that recipe...or life in general!...seems.

I had no idea that she started her career so late in life. I guess I always just assumed she always loved cooking. Surprisingly, that was not the case! Did you know that she didn't really even start her career in the culinary world until she was 39 years old?? She discovered herself...and her love for cooking...in Paris. There's something magical about that city. I constantly find myself daydreaming about our visit there this past February. The food...the people...the culture...the markets...the "joie de vivre". Oh, I would love to live there for a year...or 2...or 10!

There are so many quotes from Julia in My Life in France that I love. There's one in particular that stands out in my mind and sums things up:

"By now I knew that French food was it for me. I couldn't get over how absolutely delicious it was. Yet my friends, both French and American, considered me some kind of nut: cooking was far from being a middle-class hobby, and they did not understand how I could possibly enjoy doing all the shopping and cooking and serving by myself. Well, I did! And Paul encouraged me to ignore them and pursue my passion."

It's quotes like these that make me love her and inspire me to "pursue my passion" as well.

There's one other quote that reminds me of how I felt after going to Paris...

"...I felt a lift of pure happiness every time I looked out the window. I had come to the conclusion that I must really be French, only no one had ever informed me of this fact. I loved the people, the food, the lay of the land, the civilized atmosphere, and the generous pace of life."

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the new movie, Julie & Julia. A few months ago when I saw the trailer for the first time, I was like a little kid. The preview in the theater was the first I'd even heard of it. When it came on and I realized what it was, I leaned forward in my seat, squeezed Brad's hand tighter and tighter as the preview went on, and I couldn't take my eyes away from the screen. I was SO excited and happy about the movie...I know that sounds dorky, but darn it...I was thrilled! LOL. You better believe I'll be one of the first people in line on August 7th to buy my movie ticket!

So, in honor of Julia...now through the end of August, I'm going to conquer several recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And of course, I'll post all about my experiences here! Stay tuned for more Julia!

I'll leave you with one final quote from Chef Bugnard in Julia's memoir that is so true:

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made...even after you eat it, it stays with you - always."

Photo of Julia Child courtesy of http://www.muddysbakeshop.com/

My Favorite Kitchen Toys!

Recently, I got a wonderful post idea/request from a reader, but no matter how hard I've looked, I can't seem to find the original e-mail from the reader. So, I must apologize in advance...Hopefully, this person will read this post and be able to let me know it was from them. ;)
UPDATE: The awesome reader that requested this post was Blondie42107 from the blog Somewhere Over the Rainbow. THANKS AGAIN! :)

Anyways, my wonderful reader suggested that I do a post about my favorite kitchen tools. I thought it was a great idea, so I tucked the idea away in my head for a post. I thought it would be fun to talk about kitchen "toys"...hehe.

So...drumroll please...here are the things that I could not live (or bake/cook) without!

PS - These are all stock photos...not ones that I've taken.

#1: Le Creuset Dutch Oven

***I love my Dutch Oven! It's so versatile and never, ever disappoints!***

#2: Silpat Baking Mats

***These baking mats will change your life! Nothing sticks to them. They help me make everything from French Macarons to Chocolate Chip Cookies.***

#3: "Black Betsy"...a.k.a. KitchenAide Stand Mixer
***"Black Betsy" is just amazing...she works harder than I do in the kitchen! She kneads dough, mixes cake batter, I could go on and on...If I could only have one thing on this list, it would definitely be my KitchenAide Stand Mixer!***

#4: Chef's Tongs
***How did I ever cook bacon without a good pair of chef's tongs???***

#5: Williams-Sonoma Pizza Stone
***This pizza stone is wonderful! It makes gorgeous pizzas and can be used on baguettes and other breads. Plus, you can leave it in the bottom of your oven all the time...no need to take it out and wash/store it.***

#6: Wilton Off-Sided Spatula
***Oh, the wonders of an off-sided spatula...it has brought my cake decorating skills to new heights!!!***
#7: Pampered Chef Zester
***This little guy is great...he always produces long, beautiful pieces of lemon or orange zest...definitely makes my life easier!***#8: Pam for Baking
***I don't know what I'd do without this stuff. It works so wonderfully...no longer do I have to waste time buttering and flouring every pan. With a quick spray of this, the job is done! It works equally well on everything from a Bundt pan to a cookie sheet! It even has real flour in it.***

I also got some new toys yesterday at Williams-Sonoma that I cannot wait to try! They include:

Fluted French Tart Pan

Deep French Quiche Pan

Madeleine Cookie Pan

Fleur de Sel

We're Back from Europe!!!

WOW...have I got a lot to share with you!!! Brad and I just returned from our 2 week journey across Europe. It was absolutely incredible. We did so much and saw so many things, that it just blows my mind. We started in Paris and then went to Germany. Next, we spent a week in Italy traveling from Venice to Florence and then Rome.

What a journey! I'm going to share all the details with you right here on my blog. This week, I'll begin making a post for each day that we were there. I'll start with Day 1 in Paris, and share tons of photos and details about the trip. Brad and I took over 4,100 photos!!! Once they are edited and ready for the web, I'll start posting them. We took photos of everything...the entire trip is documented - from the food we ate to the places we saw. And the food...oh, the food!!! I have an entire list of dishes that I can't wait to recreate. Of course, I'll post those recipes along the way too.

I look forward to sharing our trip with you!

Foodies - Here are "50 Ways to Eat Green"!

***I recently came across the article below in the latest issue of Bon Appetit magazine...one of my favorites. I've found myself trying to be as "green" as possible lately. I'm "that girl" at the grocery store...the one that pushes a buggy full of filled, reusable grocery bags out of the store. I'm so proud of that, though. It never fails, every single time that I check out, someone comments about how neat and great it is. In fact, it happened just today as I was leaving the store. On a recent grocery trip, one lady even told me that I had inspired her to start using reusable grocery bags. I sure hope so. I think that's awesome. You may remember THIS post a while back about reusable bags. Do you use them yet???

What are you currently doing to help our planet?

Be sure to click the links below for more info! :)

***

From Bon Appetit magazine:
"50 Ways to Eat Green"

The Bon Appétit Guide to Cooking Up a Greener World
By Hugh Garvey
Photography by Craig Cutler and Kana Okada
January 2009

If only eating green were as simple as going to a farmers' market, buying organic, and reusing that shopping tote at the grocery store. That's a darn good start, but there are so many other ways to shop, cook, dine out, and even clean that can have a more meaningful impact on our environment. The 50 tips and recipes here will help cut down on landfill, pesticide use, overfishing, and the consumption of fossil fuels. They will also slow down the depletion of the ozone layer, encourage the humane treatment of livestock, improve the welfare of workers, reduce toxic chemicals in your home, and likely make you healthier along the way. Plus, you'll be making and eating some amazing food. (Like an environmentally friendly Bison Burger). Read on to learn how to cook up a greener, more delicious future.

1. Eat More Chocolate

2. Boil Once, Cook Twice

3. Fill up Your Freezer

4. Don't Read the Omnivore's Dilemma

5. Make a Bison Burger

6. Ask Your Farmer These Questions

7. Don't Open That Door

8. Buy a Side of Beef

9. Cook More Often

10. Roast a Whole Chicken

11. Become a Human Food Processor

12. Eat Alaskan Wild Salmon

13. Savor Sardines

14. Get the Scoop

15. Plant an Heirloom Vegetable Garden

16. Learn How to Read a Carrot...

17. Buy Barramundi

18. Be Your Own Barista

19. Treasure Your Trash

20. Make Stocks

21. Make Your Own Cereal

22. Join a CSA

23. Eat American Cheese
24. Text Fishphone

25. Veg Out

26. Turn Off the Lights

27. Clean Green

28. Start Composting Tonight

29. Eat Grass-Fed Beef

30. Become an Urban Forager

31. Eat Sustainable Shrimp

32. Eat Free Food

33. Get Blasted

34. Eat Sustainable Sushi

35. Become a Locavore

36. Bike to the Market

37. Support Your Local Green Restaurant

38. Go Bento

39. Eat More Tofu

40. Stop Whistling

41. Use Your Dishwasher

42. Bag It

43. Mix Your Drinks

44. Take the Leftovers

45. Pack Your Own Lunch

46. Support Your Local Winemaker

47. Read Fritz Haeg's Edible Estates

48. Keep the Greens

49. Plan Your Paper Use

50. Recycle Bon Appétit

All I Want for Christmas...

***That's our tree! Isn't it pretty? I love, love, love this time of year!

So, as you may have guessed, cookbooks are one thing that I love to collect. When Christmas rolls around each year, there are usually several that I've had my eyes on. This year is no exception...Especially with our trip to France, Germany, and Italy coming up in just 2 months. I've found myself obsessed with French cuisine. I love it. So naturally, some of these cookbooks are by French chefs or about Paris in general...and there's even one by a Birmingham, AL chef about Italian cuisine! Honestly, I'm probably just as excited about sampling all of the gourmet food as I am about seeing the sights! Haha. Our 2 week-long adventure in Europe, will be here before we know it. We've got *almost* everything we need before we go...cameras, passports, new coat...check! There are only a few more things we'll need, like some comfy walking shoes. The good news is, I plan to blog about our entire trip right here on Sugar & Spice. I want to write about everything from the food we eat to all of the amazing things that we see and do. I hope you'll come along with us in February. :)

The following cookbooks are at the top of my Christmas list this year. I've included links to each cookbook on Amazon.com. What's on your wish list???***

1. "Paris Sweets: Great Desserts From the City's Best Pastry Shops" - By Dorie Greenspan

I recently bought Dorie's "Baking: From My Home to Yours", and I absolutely love it. Dorie Greenspan never fails to deliver a delectably perfect recipe. So, the first two cookbooks on my list are no-brainers. I've read nothing but rave reviews for "Paris Sweets". I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.

2. "Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme" - By Dorie Greenspan

I first heard about this cookbook during one of my favorite Daring Bakers challenges - The Chocolate Eclair. Not to mention, Pierre Herme is considered the top pastry chef in France...and even in the WORLD! Being the chocolate lover that I am, I must have this cookbook! :)

3. "The Complete Rubuchon" - By Joel Rubuchon
The New York Times recently declared this book the "Joy of Cooking" for French cuisine. After flipping through the pages, I certainly believe it! The only drawback to this great cookbook is the fact that there are no photos...which is usually something that I love. However, Joel Rubuchon is the man, and I cannot wait to try some of his recipes. He includes precise techniques and teaches you the correct preparations for classic French dishes. This is a book you can rely on for any occasion! The recipes are also less fussy than you would expect, which is something else that I love about this book.

4. "Bottega Favorita" - By Frank Stitt
Frank Stitt is a local chef here in the Birmingham, AL area, and he has received accolades from Gourmet magazine, the Discovery Channel, The New York Times, the James Beard Foundation, and he was recently named one of the culinary "Legends of the Decade" by Bon Appetit magazine...pretty darn impressive, huh?? I have an autographed copy of his first cookbook, "Frank Stitt's Southern Table", which is equally as fabulous as this companion book.

Here's a great review from Amazon.com:

"There are some places worth traveling to just for the food: Rome, Venice . . . and now, Birmingham, Italy.

In this companion to his first, best-selling cookbook, the beloved Southern chef Frank Stitt travels to Italy and brings the best of Mediterranean cuisine back home. To Stitt's mind, the two regions—Italy and the American South—share commonalities. Both native cuisines have a tradition of turning humble ingredients—ground corn, bitter greens, cured pork, the daily catch—into poetry on the plate. And as the chef points out in his lively introduction to the book, this is elemental cooking based on the purity and simplicity of the freshest and finest ingredients."

5. "Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen" - By Clotilde Dusoulier

I first happened upon Clotilde's food blog, Chocolate & Zucchini about a year ago. I loved the name and I love the blog even more. She's authored several awesome books, and I would love to have a copy of this one. Be sure to visit her blog...you'll be impressed!

Savory Low-Calorie Chicken & Amazing Taste Samples!

***A company named Amazing Taste recently sent me some wonderful samples of their seasoning product offerings. I had not used their seasonings before, so I was curious about them. I replied to their e-mail, and just a few days later I received 9 different samples! Pretty cool, huh? They even sent along some recipes to try. I happened to have almost everything for this recipe on-hand, so I thought I'd give it a try. I simply adjusted the recipe to serve 2 people. It was really good! You can see their product offerings and learn more about the company at the following site - Amazing Taste. Be sure to check them out! I used their Beef seasoning in a pot roast that I made last night...it was fabulous. I'll be sure to blog about that as well.

Amazing Taste - Thanks again for sending these great samples!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 packet Amazing Taste Malibu Seasoning

1 cup carrots, sliced

1 cup zucchini, sliced (I didn't have this on-hand, so I substituted celery)

1/2 cup water, light beer or white wine

1 cup mushrooms, sliced (I left these out...we're not mushroom fans).

1 small onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place vegetables in 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. of Amazing Taste Malibu Seasoning.

Coat chicken on all sides with remaining seasoning and place over vegetables.

Add liquid and bake chicken covered for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve with rice pilaf or brown rice. (I served this dish with white rice.)

20 Days Until Christmas!!!

Without a doubt, this is my very favorite time of the year! As I type this, I'm sitting by the Christmas tree...all lit up and pretty! I love it. We've got most of our decorations up now...including my new favorite decoration. When I was little, my Grandmother had some beautiful Annalee dolls. When I found the Annalee Christmas Countdown Calendar above, I HAD to have it! It reminds me so much of my Grandmother...baking Christmas goodies with her, listening to the reindeer on the roof (she'd always pretend like she could hear them on Christmas Eve...pointing out any knocking noises she heard outside), and seeing Rudolph's red nose on the way to visit family. See, she'd always find one of those towers with the single red light at the top and tell me it was Rudolph. Oh, those were the days. She made this time of year so magical. So, everytime I see my new calendar, all those fun memories come rushing back.

Oh, and don't you just love my new "Cook" ornament? My Nestie friend, Jenny, bought that for me as part of our Ornament Exchange....along with several little photo frame ornaments. I can't wait to pick out some photos for them. Thanks again, Jenny! I LOVE them!!!

Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done yet? I haven't bought the first thing! Is that bad? I've got several gifts picked out...I just haven't bought them yet. We plan on getting started next week sometime.

Well, now that the official countdown has begun, I can't wait to get in the kitchen and do some more holiday baking. What will you be baking this year?

"The Sweet 100"

***Recently, you may have seen something called "The Omnivore's Hundred" floating around on numerous food blogs. When I spotted the similar list below, called "The Sweet 100," I couldn't resist playing along...I love sweets! :)

The fabulous CakeSpy created this fun list. You can visit her site HERE. The best part about this list is that CakeSpy has included links to photos and recipes. If you don't know what something on the list is, just click on the name to find out!

Anything that I've tried or made is in bold...and colored purple. It looks like my magic number is 62...what's yours???***

From Cakespy's site:

"Recently, a website called Very Good Taste started something of an internet fire with a list called "The Omnivore's Hundred", which listed 100 foods which "every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life." We liked the idea, and inspired by the vegan variation on Hannah Kaminsky's site, we thought--why not make our own Sweet 100!? Like the original, our list includes "fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food"--but in our universe, it's all sweet! (In case any of them are foreign to you, links to pictures and recipes are included; also, for any vegans, feel free to go through the list assuming it's a vegan counterpart). How many have you tried?

If you'd like, feel free to follow the same guidelines:

1) Copy this list into your site, including the instructions!

2) Bold all of the sweets you've eaten--or make them a different type color.

3) Cross out any of them that you'd never ever eat.
4) Consider anything that is not bold or crossed out your "To Do" List.

5) Optional: Post a comment here linking to your results--or just post a comment letting us know how many you've tried, or what you're going to try next!"

Red Velvet Cake
Princess Torte
Whoopie Pie
Apple Pie either topped or baked with sharp cheddar
Beignet
Baklava
Black and white cookie
Seven Layer Bar (also known as the Magic Bar or Hello Dolly bars)
Fried Fruit pie (sometimes called hand pies)
Kringle
Just-fried (still hot) doughnut
Scone with clotted cream
Betty, Grunt, Slump, Buckle or Pandowdy
Halvah
Macarons
Banana pudding with nilla wafers
Bubble tea (with tapioca "pearls")
Dixie Cup
Rice Krispie treats
Alfajores
Blondies
Croquembouche
Girl Scout cookies
Moon cake
Candy Apple
Baked Alaska
Brooklyn Egg Cream
Nanaimo bar
Baba au rhum
King Cake
Sachertorte
Pavlova
Tres Leches Cake
Trifle
Shoofly Pie
Key Lime Pie (made with real key lime)
Panna Cotta
New York Cheesecake
Napoleon / mille-fueille
Russian Tea Cake / Mexican Wedding Cake
Anzac biscuits
Pizzelle
Kolache
Buckeyes
Malasadas
Moon Pie
Dutch baby
Boston Cream Pie
Homemade chocolate chip cookies
Pralines
Gooey butter cake
Rusks
Daifuku
Green tea cake or cookies
Cupcakes from a cupcake shop
Crème brûlée
Some sort of deep fried fair food (twinkie, candy bar, cupcake)
Yellow cake with chocolate frosting
Jelly Roll
Pop Tarts
Charlotte Russe
An "upside down" dessert (Pineapple upside down cake or Tarte Tatin)
Hummingbird Cake
Jell-O from a mold
Black forest cake
Mock Apple Pie (Ritz Cracker Pie)
Kulfi
Linzer torte
Churro
Stollen
Angel Food Cake
Mincemeat pie
Concha
Opera Cake
Sfogliatelle / Lobster tail
Pain au chocolat
A piece of Gingerbread House
Cassata
Cannoli
Rainbow cookies
Religieuse
Petits fours
Chocolate Souffle
Bienenstich (Bee Sting Cake)
Rugelach
Hamenstashen
Homemade marshmallows
Rigo Janci
Pie or cake made with candy bar flavors (Snickers pie, Reeses pie, etc)
Divinity
Coke or Cola cake
Gateau Basque
S'mores
Figgy Pudding
Bananas foster or other flaming dessert
Joe Froggers
Sables
Millionaire's Shortbread
Animal crackers
Basbousa

***Photo courtesy of StyleHive.com***

A Tribute to My Sweet Great Aunt Nell

My Great Aunt Nell was one of those women that you admire...that you want to be like. She was such an incredibly strong, caring, and loving person. When you were around her, her smile and loving nature were contagious! She's battled an illness for a long time now. I got the devastating news this past Thursday that she had passed away...after a long fight. I have so many wonderful memories of my Aunt Nell that I will forever cherish. I'll never forget spending time at her home in Minneola, FL when I was younger...those were such happy times. Aunt Nell always had a great story to tell...

I spoke with Aunt Nell a while back, and she told me a story about how she and my Uncle Bill had gotten out all of their love letters from when they were dating. They had read all of those letters to each other earlier that day. It was just such a sweet story that brought tears to my eyes as she was telling me. Aunt Nell and Uncle Bill's love for each other was so obvious and strong...it's so inspiring to see a love as strong as theirs after so many wonderful years together.

I was SO happy that Aunt Nell and Uncle Bill were able to travel all the way to Dothan for our wedding in May 2006. The picture above was taken at the end of the night...of Uncle Bill, Aunt Nell, Me, and Brad. I loved Aunt Nell dearly, and it's so hard to let her go. One thought that comforts me is that she is up in heaven with my grandmother (her sister), having a good ole' time. They're both probably looking down on us right now, with a great big smile on their faces...

We love and miss you Aunt Nell!

Live, Eat, Shop, REUSE

"Would you like paper or plastic?"

"Umm...neither!" has been my answer recently. One day as I was patiently waiting for the cashier to scan my goodies at The Fresh Market, I spied a trendy looking, reusable grocery bag. I mean, how smart is that? I quickly snatched one up and added it to my loot. At under $1, it was a bargain. Plus, who could resist the cute carrot graphic on the front? Now I wish that I had bought more, because the particular Fresh Market that I frequent hasn't gotten anymore in.

After some additional research, I found out exactly how bad plastic bags are for the environment. I've always been one to recycle, especially after purchasing our first home and having the option to put a recycling bin next to the curb every Sunday night. I have no excuse now...just toss the assorted cola cans, plastic bottles, cereal boxes, etc. in a bin and someone comes to collect the contents every week. It makes me feel good to do a little something extra for the environment. It may not be much, but all the little acts people do add up!!!

The purpose of this post is to try to persuade you to buy a reusable grocery bag...or two, or three, or ten!...and use them!

One problem I have is simply remembering to take the bag with me. I've solved this problem by keeping it in the back of my car (most of the time). I've found that even though it has a Fresh Market logo on it, other grocery stores don't seem to mind. In fact, the bag boy at Winn-Dixie made the comment the other day that he wished more people would use them. Apparently they make it easier to bag all the items.

So why not? Why not buy a reusable grocery bag? I really can't think of a good reason. Mine folds easily and fits right down into my purse. I pull it out at the register and say "fit as much as you can in it!" I need to buy a few more...that's definitely on my to-do list. After all, I only have one. The Fresh Market is supposedly going to get some new bags in stock with sunflowers on them...let's hope those come in soon!

Did you know:

* The average American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year.

* Each time you use a reuseable grocery bag, you save 4 plastic bags, on average!

* Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) are the main culprit. Once brought into existence to tote your purchases, they'll accumulate and persist on our planet for up to 1,000 years.

Photo courtesy of www.reusablebags.com

The following is from http://www.green-kits.com/paperorplastic.html:

Why Use Cloth Shopping Bags?

- Plastic bags, first introduced in 1977, now account for four out of every five bags handed out at grocery stores.

- Plastic bags tend to "fly away" out of cars, trashcans, and landfills, littering our roadways, land and sea. In fact, did you know that plastic bags are the fifth most collected item during coastal clean-ups? Yuck.

- Most plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is made from crude oil and natural gas, nonrenewable resources. The US alone uses about 12 million barrels of oil every year just to keep up with the demand for plastic bags (current annual demand tops out at about 100 billion bags).

Photo courtesy of www.reusablebags.com

Sounds like paper bags are the favored option, right? Read on:

- The US will cut down 14 million trees each year to satisfy our demand for paper grocery bags.

- 2000 plastic bags weigh 30 pounds while 2000 paper bags weigh 280 pounds. So it requires a lot more fossil fuel to transport paper.

- In the landfill, paper bags generate 70 percent more air and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.

- It takes more than four times as much energy to manufacture a paper bag as it does to manufacture a plastic bag.

- Energy required to produce bags (in British thermal units): Plastic bags: 594 BTU; Paper bags: 2511 BTU.

- Research from the year 2000 shows 20 percent of paper bags were recycled, while one percent of plastic bags were recycled. Quite frankly, both of these numbers stink.

Photo courtesy of www.reusablebags.com

- Current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. In fact, a lack of water, light, oxygen, and other elements that are necessary for the degradation process inhibit complete degradability.

Statistics from http://www.epa.gov/

"Using reusable grocery bags is simple. It's easy to "BYOB"; keep a few cloth grocery bags in your car and a few by the front door. Just one cloth bag, during the course of its long and prosperous lifetime, will eliminate the need for more than 1000 plastic bags!

So just think how many trees and resources you'll save by utilizing just one bag let alone a four-pack of them.While any old bag will do to help stop the unnecessary waste of disposable grocery bags, utilizing tote bags made from 100% cotton, a renewable resource, is best. There are many reusable cloth bag options available, including recycled cotton, organic cotton, and natural hemp. But experts agree that using any reusable cloth grocery bag will do the trick."

Photo courtesy of www.reusablebags.com

Helpful links:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/

http://www.reusablebags.com/

http://store.chicobag.com/

http://www.green-kits.com/

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

CLICK Photo Contest - March - Metal

Contest Entry

Here's my very first submission for the monthly CLICK food photography contest. This month's theme is METAL. You'll find more info about the contest here:

http://jugalbandi.info/2008/02/click-march-2008-the-theme-is/

This is a shot of my new spice rack. I thought is would be a good subject for this month because of the way the colors of the spices contrast with the metal of the rack.

I took it using my Nikon D50 DSLR and the 18-55mm Nikkor lens.

The photo below is just another shot that I thought was pretty neat. It shows the spice rack in motion...