Chocolated Covered Banana Cupcakes

Ever since my daughter's baby shower, I've been obsessed with making the perfect cupcake. I've become a food reality show junkie as well, watching DC Cupcakes, Cake Boss, and Fabulous Cakes. I love watching how they make wonderful and artistic creations and my youngest child covers her eyes when they try to get their creations into the delivery vehicle.


The family has loved that I've taken on this adventure, but unfortunately, it's been hard to keep them from eating the cupcakes before I even frost them and even harder to keep them around to take a photograph!


We were invited to a cookout at my husband's co worker's house this weekend, so I decided to use them as guinea pigs to try out my latest creation. I'm getting pretty good at making banana cupcakes, so I threw together a batch. I wanted to try out a new frosting and the reality shows that I've been watching have been using chocolate ganache frosting, so I really wanted to try it. This is the first time I've ever tasted this topping and I totally fell in love-I AM a chocolate fan.


Introducing, chocolate covered banana cupcakes...yum.

I had a lot of frosting left, so I whipped up a batch of strawberry cupcakes-who wouldn't love chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes?

Everyone loved them and the adults actually ate them all before the kids had a chance-wow, I've created cupcake monsters.

Make it:

Chocolate Covered Banana Cupcakes

Banana Cupcakes Recipe:

2.5 cups granulated white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, bananas, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour the batter into the muffin cups until about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter

Ganache: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Foodie Blogger Interview

Today's foodie blogger is:

Heather Jones

"The Foodie Princess"!

http://www.thefoodieprincess.blogspot.com/

When and why did you start your foodie blog?
I started the blog back in 2007 as a cheap website for the private chef business I was starting. But shortly thereafter I found out I was pregnant with my second child and decided to put the business idea on hold. The Foodie Princess just became another food blog after that. I continued blogging pretty regularly until 2008 than I stopped because I picked up a gig as a regular contributor on the website Project Foodie, which also led to me contributing to the website Cooking Up a Story. I've been featured on Canning Across America and have appeared on Martha Stewart Radio. I re-launched the Foodie Princess blog earlier this month because quite frankly I missed the freedom that having your own blog allows. I still write regularly over at Project Foodie, in addition I'm teaching cooking classes to at-risk youth and doing some recipe development/testing for a few cookbook authors.

Did you teach yourself to cook?
No, I was raised by my mother who was single and my maternal grandparents. My grandmother discouraged me from spending time in the kitchen, she wanted me to go to college and become some hot shot corporate type, so whenever I wanted to help out in the kitchen she'd tell me to go upstairs and read a book. Occasionally I would get to spend time in the kitchen with my grandfather who was a Food Service Director/Caterer/Restaurant Owner. I decided to go to Culinary School after I had been working at Williams-Sonoma as a manager, it was there that I realized just how passionate I was about food. I graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education (Peter Kumps New York Cooking School) in New York City back in 2000.

What's your favorite dish/dessert to make?
I don't really have a favorite because I'm constantly trying something new either of my own creation or testing something for someone else. But I do find myself making homemade pizza on a fairly regular basis and everyone that's ever tasted it tells me I have a real talent for it. I have an aunt who often talks about opening up her own bake/gift shop and she says I have to make pizza to sell in her shop. As for dessert, I love making ice cream. My ice cream maker is probably my most used kitchen appliance.

Who are your favorite foodie bloggers?
Wow there are so many, but the ones I regularly keep up with are Molly Wizenberg (Orangette), Tara Austen Weaver (Tea & Cookies), Heidi Swanson (101 Cookbooks), Susan Russo (Food Blogga), and Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan and her gang from The Kitchn. Those girls are also true writers in addition to being Food bloggers.

What foodie blogger (if any) do you secretly wish you were?
This questions seems a little "Single White Female" don't want anyone to think I'm stalking them. It would have to be Molly Wizenberg, first of all she's beautiful. She has an adorable husband, is an incredible writer and is the owner of new restaurant that's doing exceptionally well. She just seems like she's very genuine and a lot of fun. Maybe I'll get to hang out with her one day.

Any advice for newbie foodie bloggers?
Just getting back into the blogging game myself I feel like there is still so much for me to learn. Number one I would have to say you can only do this if you truly love it because not everyone lands a book deal, or a tv show or has a 100k hits a day. When you're truly enjoying it that passion you have for food just leaps off the screen. Two, network like crazy, the blogsphere is a fun place and I've been blessed to meet some incredible people. Although sometimes it may seem like everyone is out for self, you would be surprised how many successful bloggers there are who will "pay it forward" to help you get to where you want to be.

Lastly, take your time to really develop your voice, and find your niche. Its not all going to happen at once, and with all of the food blogs out there you can start to feel like you have to keep up but that's not going to get you anywhere, work at your own pace and do what works for you. Good photos and recipes that really work aren't a bad thing to have either...lol

Featured Foodie

I'm starting a new series called, Featured Foodie. this week's Foodie Blog is Catherine from Weelicious.

http://www.weelicious.com/

Her blog is filled with great recipes and photos to match! Take it away, Catherine!

When and why did you start your foodie blog?

When I had my son, I had no idea when and what to feed him. I have always been a big foodie and attending culinary school, but when it comes to feeding a baby I didn't know where to start. I began testing all kinds of baby food purees with foods from our local farmers market and educating myself about how to get kids to love a variety of healthy foods from day one!

Did you teach yourself to cook?

I attended the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC, but I've been cooking since I was a child.

What's your favorite dish/dessert to make?

Right now it's Peach Crumble. I'm obsessed with the sweet peaches at our farmers market!

Who are your favorite foodie bloggers?

Gluten Free Girl, Simply Recipes, Laura's Best Recipes, Steamy Kitchen and David Lebovitz

What foodie blogger (if any) do you secretly wish you were?

I'm happy just being me :)

Any advice for newbie foodie bloggers?

Get yourself educated and involved in social media (facebook, twitter, flickr) asap!!

Would you like to be featured? Leave a comment and let me know!

Strawberry and Chocolate Cupcakes-A Celebration.

My daughter's baby shower was yesterday and we went with pink and brown for the theme. We wanted to do cupcakes instead of a boring cake.

We went with a mixture of strawberry and chocolate cupcakes and put chocolate frosting on the strawberry cupcakes and strawberry frosting on the chocolate cupcakes. I came up with the idea of putting fresh strawberries on top of each of them at the last minute and it really added to the look.

I love the cupcake holders that Michaels carries, so I picked up one and we made it the centerpiece.

The bowl at the bottom of the photo is just some salsa in case you were wondering. For variety, I wanted some simple appetizers, so I scoured the Internet and found a recipe for these.

They are called French Dip Appetizers. I used Ritz crackers instead of wheat thins. They went fast. We still ended up with lots of leftovers because we had a lot of girls cancel, so I sent them all home with little mama.

Big brother will surely help her with eating them!

Make it:

Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

4 large eggs

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream together:
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces)1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)1 cup light brown sugar (7-3/4 ounces)
Add:
4 large eggs (one at a time)6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (chocolate should be melted, then cooled for approximately 15 minutes before being added)
Add and alternate:
2 cups cake flour (9-1/4 ounces)1 teaspoon baking soda
With:
1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place cupcake paper into each cup of 2 muffin pans (each pan yielding 12 muffins). Then fill each cup with 1 leveled off scoop of an ice cream scooper.
Bake at 350°F in regular oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Yields 24 to 27 cupcakes

Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients
10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries, drained

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease 12 cupcake pan cups or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the strawberry extract. Combine the self-rising flour and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in strawberries last. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with desired frosting.

Frosting-I used ready-made.

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French Dip Appetizers Recipe

Ingredients:

Roast beef lunch meat

Box of Ritz crackers

Block of chedder cheese

Container of fried onions

Directions: Place crackers on serving tray or plate. Tear off an inch of roast beef slice and fold over and place on cracker; repeat for all crackers. Slice thin slices of cheese and cut into one inch squares and place on each cracker. Place in microwave and set timer for 15 secs or just until cheese melts. Take out and put a couple of fried onions on each cracker as topping.

Whipped Lime Yogurt Dessert

After making the pound cake a couple of days ago, I found myself with lots of pound cake left over. In our house, I'm the one with the big sweet tooth, but I was not going to eat that whole thing. What to do with tons of pound cake in a house of non-sweet-eating-people?

I checked the fridge and found a container of lime flavored whipped yogurt and thought, why not? So, I opened it and got out the pound cake. I took the pound cake and cut up some squares and layered them in a small dessert glass, alternating with a layer of yogurt.

This is what I got.

You can't really see the lime green color of the yogurt in the photos, but the lime flavor really complimented the pound cake. I light snack or dessert that doesn't make you feel guilty afterwards. My five year old, Emily ate the rest and asked when I was going to take some more yummy food photos. lol.

Blueberry Pound Cake

Usually when I go to the grocery store, I rush through, hurrying to get out of that darn place. I never know what to get. What to make for dinner each night. Going grocery shopping gave me a pain in my shoulder just thinking about it.

Last night when I went, I had a whole new attitude towards the whole food shopping thing. I went up and down the aisles with with my eyes open this time and I discovered things that I never saw before. I was even excited. I made a mental note of what I wanted to make for meals. I'm going to take it slow, but I am anxious for my next learning experience.

I had decided to make pound cake with blueberry sauce, since I had a lot of blueberrie sitting in my fridge. I gathered up the ingredients (I did buy some sea salt-not part of the ingredients, but I've always wanted to buy some) and I drove home and started.

I mixed the ingredients together for the pound cake and stuck it in the oven. I prepared the sauce while waiting. Everything went well, except for the pound cake sticking a bit. Okay. This isn't so hard. Maybe I can do this after all!

The finished product.

The photo above was taken inside.

This one was taken outside.

Which one do you like better?

-------

Make it:

Pound Cake with Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients:

Pound Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

5 eggs

2 teaspoons

Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients:

4 c. berries

1 c. sugar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2-3 c. water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350:F Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one Add flour, beat until smooth. Pour into greased baking pan and place into oven. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes.

Make blueberry sauce while cake is in oven.

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and simmer in a sauce pan. Check cake for dry cracks on top. Cool for about 15 to 20 minutes on rack, remove from pan and pour blueberry sauce over the cake.

Makes 8.

Playing with food

Okay, I'm hitting the grocery store tomorrow for my first "assignment" ingredients. I've decided to make a dessert dish first. I'm not telling you what it is-that, you'll have to come back and see. I can give you a hint-it's something that involves blueberries (I have some that need to be used before they go bad).

In the meantime, I've been photographing objects around the house to get my backgrounds together and testing them.

Here's a simple photo of some Necco Wafers.


Don't you remember these when you were a kid? We used to go up to our local candy store and buy candy and we always made sure we got a roll of these too.

Fun!

A New Food Journey

I haven't done much lately with this blog. I've been spending all my time over at my other blog, Six Feet Under Blog . I've been blogging over there for some time now, but accomplishing very little. I've weighed my options with the whole "blogging thing" and realized that I wanted more from my blogging and get into more of a niche blogging. I want to set a goal and have a purpose to my blogging. Blogging about my family life is fun, but not something I want to spend all my free time doing. I will still be blogging on that blog, but I'm going to start a fun new journey over here.

If you've read my other blog, you've had to put up with me whining about how I love foodie blogs. Foodie bloggers are kind and helping individuals. They won't shun you and everyone helps everyone when it comes to food. I also love beautiful photos of food. As a photographer, I would love to take wonderful food photos as well. The only thing is, I CAN'T COOK. Yep. Just ask the kids and hubby.

I started this blog originally as a food review blog-I figured that if I couldn't cook, I could do the next best thing and review food that somebody other then I created. It was fun. I still plan on doing reviews, I just want to do more.

So, I have decided to use Moody Food Reviews to document my journey of learning how to cook and to become a food photographer-or close to. How fun! I hope to build a readership of supporters (and critics) to help me a long the way. Yes. I need your help. Your advice. Your hugs when (if) I do something right.

I want to clue you into just how much I don't know how to cook. I am starting at square one of cooking 101. I'm documenting my first "dish" for this journey with cinnamon toast. lol. I know. This will be a LONG journey. Hopefully a year from now, I will be posting some fabulous dish that I made and the photograph of it will be fabulous.

So, here was breakfast and my first "shot" (pun intended) at food photography.

What do you think? Give it to me, or if you like it, I'd love to hear about it as well. I have started studying food photography already and I have been practising on different still life. I have to tell you, I love coffee cups, so they have been doing some major modeling work. In fact, I have to show you my favorite cup.

You will probably be seeing this cup in a lot of photos. Don't worry though, I have many other cups too that might find their way into a photo or two.

Now, along with doing product reviews, showing the end product of my latest creation and learning how to take food photos, I want to do some local restaurant reviews. Unfortunately, I don't live in a major city, but I hope to come across an interesting eating place or two.

I'm hoping to keep you coming back by running some contests as well.

I may never learn how to be a brilliant chef or famous food photographer, but I sure will try my hardest and have fun along the way! ;)

Using canned food for convenience while cooking.

Canned foods can be so helpful when it comes to cooking. I use them whenever I can to help save time while cooking. TwitterMoms offered a chance to learn more and blog in conjunction with The Canned Food Alliance, I learned so many things about canned food.

I learned:
Beans go through a seven step cleansing process.
Beans can be used straight from the can.
The darker the bean, the more oxidants.
Cans are reusable for life

My favorite recipe using canned foods:
Refried Bean Dip:
2 cans of refried beans
1 can of Black Olives (precut)
1 cup of salsa
1 cup of shredded cheese.
Open the cans of refried beans and scoop into a bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds to soften it up. Open the jar of salsa and measure out a cup of salsa and add to bowl. Mix them together until throughly mixed. Open can of black olives and cut up into small pieces if you don't have the precut) Mix in the black olives. Sprinkle cheese on top to liking.
Thats it! This dip is perfect with tortilla chips!

Watch the Field to Table Video

Canned Food Alliance

479° Popcorn Review

I love names of companies that are cool. 479° Popcorn is such a cool name. When I saw that name, I knew they had to have an awesome product. The owner, Jean Arnold, came up with the name when she realized that 479° was the perfect temp to make popcorn. This popcorn is also organic popcorn-just like her mom used to make-that she perfected by testing over and over.

I got to review a new product of theirs.I was sent the Pop It Yourself Kit ($35).
PIY Kit contains:
*32oz organic heirloom popcorn (Shaman Blue,
Yellow Topaz, Dakota Black, White Diamond)
*16.5 oz La Tourangelle organic, high-oleic
sunflower oil
*4 Gourmet Salt & Sugar Blends (Fiery Habanero
Sugar; Roasted Onion Salt; Aromatic Curry Salt;
Toasted Coconut Sugar)
*10 Paper Popcorn Cones
*Recipe cards, popcorn-making instructions and
pairing suggestions

I was anxious to try some organic popcorn and the flavors sounded awesome. Now, I'm a total pop-the-corn-in-the-microwave girl, so I wasn't sure if I would know how to pop it the old fashion way. I followed the instructions and soon, the house was smelling of yummy popcorn.

I split up the popcorn and tried each of the flavors. I was amazed at the flavor of the popcorn and each flavor salts were delicious!

I knew I now had a gift idea for some lucky friend in the future.

I think this would make a great snack for movie night or game night.

Keep a supply on hand for any occasion.

Visit 479° Popcorn today and get you some!

"I was sent a free product for review. I was not paid for this review and this is my honest opinion."

After popping

Quince and Apple Jams

Quince and Apple was so gracious to send me the Mini Jams and Jars set.

Quince and Apple is a company that I found on Foodzie. They are based out of Madison, Wisconsin. (near me! Well, I'm in Iowa)

When I do reviews, the first thing I check out is the packaging. I have come to be spoiled with cute packaging when it comes receiving food products. The packaging that these came in did not disappoint me! I love the "country" look of brown paper "grass" and the cute crate that holds them will be put to good use long after the jams are gone.

Now, on to the taste. As you might of figured, I love to taste test jams and jellies.

I never stray from traditional flavors when I go to the store, so I like to be able to try new flavors. The flavor choices that you can pick are:

A. Shallot Confit, Pear, and Fig Preserves

B. Jars of Orange Marmalade, Pear, and Fig Preserves

Don't they all sound delicious?

I tried the Fig and Black Tea first and I have to say that I have never tried this flavor before.

I decided to try it on corn bread at the request of a friend. Very good! This could be used on toast or scone too. I've decided to wait on opening the others right now and am enjoying the look of them on my counter.

So, if you are looking for a homemade tasting jam, I would suggest Quince and Apple for great tasting jams and gift baskets.

"Quince and Apple sent me this product for review and I was not paid to do this review. This is my honest review."

Chocolate Fruit and Nut Clusters

I love chocolate! If I had to pick one kind of candy to eat, I would pick chocolate.

When I found these Fruit and Nut Clusters from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates, I was all there.

These clusters sample includes:

Ginger Cluster - Fiery baby crystallized ginger

Cranberry Pecan Cluster - Sugared pecans and cranberries

Orange Peel Cluster - Candied Italian orange peels

Pistachio Cluster – Salted California pistachios

Apricot Cluster - Turkish dried apricot

I love the taste of sweet with salty. It's the best combination.

This company hand crafts truffles and chocolate treats with French chocolate and fresh, natural ingredients. Based out of Rochester, NY, they put love into each handcrafted piece.

If you are in the mood for chocolate-remember, Valentine's Day is coming up-visit them today and order a box -or two!

Rogue Valley Gourmet Food Sampler-Cheeses, Sausages and more!

I love food samplers. You get a chance to try a little bit of different foods at the same time. I always think of Hickory Farms, when I think of sausage and crackers. When I came across Gary West Meats from Foodzie, I had to see what their sampler pack was all about.

The Rogue Valley Gourmet Food Sampler ($39) consists of local Rogue Valley products: The famous Rogue Creamery's herb flavored cheddar, All Beef Summer Sausage, crispy hand made Rosemary Crackers from the Deux Chat Bakery in Ashland, Gary West Sweet Hot Mustard, and Gary West Original Recipe Jerky.

Rich in flavors, this would be a great gift, or even just for snacking on a cold winter day.

Visit Gary West Meats today and check out what other delicious products and stock up today!

Holiday Food Gift Guide Part 4

Oh am I bad? I promised a daily gift guide and I didn't follow through. Well, I'm snowed in right now, so I'm going to do today's and I promise to finish it tomorrow.

Ok, where did I leave off with? Oh yeah...

Idea #16

Two Piece Truffle Gift Boxes from Neo Cocoa ($5 for a box of two)

Yes, there has to be chocolate every day. Who doesn't like truffles? These type are shell less and look yummy and at this price, you need to buy two or more boxes!

Idea #17

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle from Made to Crave ($5.99 for a 5oz bag)
Who loves cookies? I do. I do. When it comes in "brittle" form, it's even better.

Idea #18

Chevre Goat Cheese & Honey Gift Box from Belle Chevre($45 a box)

Honey and fresh Chevre are a perfect match! This gift box includes with an

-8oz Belle Chevre Fromage Blanc

-Greek Kiss Chevre

-A 12-16oz hand-cut Honeycomb from Savannah Bee Company

-Gourmet crackers from Rutherford & Meyer.

Idea #19

Orange & Honey Fleur de Sel Caramels from Das Food ($6.99 a box)

Natural carmel is the best. It's always soft and chewy and, well, the best thing ever to find under a candy lover's tree!

Idea #20
Dark Chocolate Cocoa Beans from Aequare Chocolates ($4.99 a bag)

Chocolate covered cocoa beans-need I say more?

Now, come back tomorrow and check out the last part of our Holiday Food Gift Guide!

Holiday Food Gift Guide Part 3

Day 3 of my Holiday Food Gift Guide. You can find it from the start here.

Idea #11

Jam from Sunchowder's Emporia. (price varies)

You might remember my first review was done from this company. Their jams and spreads are awesome and I am planning on giving a trio set with some homemade bread to one lucky relative this Christmas.

Idea #12

30 Piece Low Fat Donut Hole Sampler from Holey Donuts!($13.95)

This is the best source for donuts that won't make you feel guilty. You can keep them in the freezer until you need one to feed that craving for something sweet. They'll love you for this.

Idea #13

Spice Bazaar from Olio and Spices.($39.95 per box)

I love spices-who doesn't? Having different blends on is helpful to any cook. This package contains the following spice blends:

Sugar & Cinnamon Blend

Salt & Pepper Blend

Summer Blend

Tuscan Blend

Cajun Blend

Provence Blend

Grilling Blend

Ocean Blend

Santa, if you are reading this, send me one!

Idea #14

Sweet Tooth Popcorn Sampler from 479 Popcorn. ($38.00 for 5 boxes)

Ok, anyone can give popcorn, but this is no ordinary popcorn. This popcorn is made in small batches by hand and the flavors sound scrumptious!

This sampler flavors are the following:

Fleur de Sel Caramel: Delicate French salt sprinkled over caramel-drenched organic popcorn, for an interplay of sweet and salty.

Ginger Sesame Caramel: Buttery caramel infused with organic ginger and generously sprinkled with toasted organic sesame seeds. A display of tingly heat, gentle sweetness and nutty finish.

Chipotle Caramel + Almonds: A blend of rich caramel, chipotle, and spices. Roasted almonds add crunch to this sweet, spicy snack.

Vietnamese Cinnamon Sugar: Our Madras curry blend, toasted coconut, and spiced cashews. A delectable savory delight.

Get your favorite person one of these and a movie to go with it.

Idea #15

Napa Valley Blend Coffee from Paupaiz Coffee ($10.00 for 14 oz bag)

I love coffee and when someone wants to give me a bag of organic and flavorful coffee, then I'm there. Five different beans from Central and South America are roasted individually at different temperatures, then blended together, producing a heavenly flavor, some detect a hint of honey sweetness. Served at several wineries and has a strong following at a local Napa market.

Now, go start your Christmas shopping!

Holiday Food Guide Part 2

Today's continued Holiday Food Gift choices come from Foodzie. (you can see 1-5 here) I love this website because it gives small food businesses an opportunity to sell online and get more exposure then if they just had their own website. So, here it goes...

Idea #6

Cocoa Nib, Coffee Bean, & Pecan Artisan Brittle from Morning Glory Confections. (2 oz $5/5 oz $10) This isn't your grandma's brittle! This brittle consists of cocoa, coffee and pecans to add a kick to traditional brittle. Any peanut brittle lover would love this as a gift!

Idea #7

Butter Cup Collection from Ococoa Chocolates. (9 piece $22)

I love the name of this company! How cute! I'm partial to chocolate. I dream chocolate. I cannot live without chocolate. When I saw this collection of chocolate cups, I was all, ooooh and ahhhhh. Any chocolate lover would be crazy not to want a delicous box of these!

Idea #8

Holy City Chocolate Hot Chocolate Gift Set from Holy City Chocolate ($20)

This company has "cool" written all over it! Their hot cocoa is all natural combined with high-quality dark chocolate chunks, which comes packaged in a 16 oz silver tin with a retro-inspired label lined with witty sayings and ‘50s graphics. You also get an oversized hot chocolate mug with their logo on it. A perfect treat for anyone!

Idea #9

Specialty Mushroom Basket from Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. ($27)

What to give that person that loves to cook and experiment? Why, a mushroom basket of course! This baby contains two pound assortment of fresh organic certified specialty mushrooms - five to seven kinds (depending on harvest)which are arranged beautifully in a wicker basket-shipped overnight to insure freshness. A product guide with information about the mushrooms, how to store and clean, and delicious recipes is included with the basket. How awesome is that?

Idea #10

Balsamic Vinaigrette with Dark Chocolate from Ravenous Chocolate Vinaigrettes (8oz bottle $5.50)

Ok, I have to end my Christmas gift ideas for the day with something that contains chocolate. Have you ever heard of this before? What a cool idea and you can use it on salads, as a marinade, and even over Ice Cream. Something you can put on your salad AND your mint chocolate chip ice cream? These people should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for making such a product. Santa, please put a bottle under the tree this year.

Tune in tomorrow for my next section in my Holiday Food Gift Guide!

Holiday Food Gift Guide

It's been awhile since I've posted and now I'm back in the saddle again!

I wanted to celebrate the holidays on my blog by putting together a holiday gift guide for those who want to give the gift of food. I will list five ideas each day this week, so make sure you come back every day to see what I've chosen. What fun this will be. :)

Today's list:

Idea #1

I have to start out with an awesome gift, Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook ($16.95) Ok, this one isn't food, but it's food related!

Idea #2:

The Black & Decker One Touch Chopper. (Retails: $16.95) This isn't food either, but right now, I'm giving one away on my other blog-hurry and enter, it ends December 5th!

Idea #3

27 Baby Witch Brownies Gift Tin from Fat Witch Bakery. (Retail: $45) Assorted Selection: 9 Fat Witch Babies, 9 Blonde Babies, 9 Walnut Babies. I love, love, love these. You must try one of these before you die.

Idea #4

Little Laura's Sweet's Cake Pops. ($36 for 24 pops) Who doesn't love cake pops? These are so cute and a very unique gift, especially for the little ones in your life.

Idea #5

Today's last idea is from Quince And Apple. The Original Wisconsin Gift Box. ($27) This includes Organic Potter's Crackers, add Organic Otter Creek Cheddar Cheese, and top it off with small-batch preserves from Quince and Apple.

Come back tomorrow and check out my next batch of goodies!

Sunchowder's Emporia Review

This is a special review, for it is my first official food review on my new blog. Sunchowder's Emporia is a company that makes jams and spreads and so graciously sent me a gift box sampler.

I loved the packaging that these came in. I love companies that go out of their way to put that extra special touch in their packaging. It gives the look and feel of a warm and caring company.

Here is the box that it came in.

So cute and makes me think of fall and holidays.

Inside, was four cute little jars. Makes me wonder how wonderful the regular sizes look!

The flavors I received were Strawberry Balsamic, Pumpkin Butter and Apple Butter.and Spiced Pear. Don't they sound simply delicious? I couldn't decide on which to try first, so I just closed my eyes and picked one. Strawberry Balsamic won, so I got out a bagel and got it ready.

All I can say is 'Bam!" lol. Can I use that?

Anyway, I love the chunks of strawberries and it has an extra kick to it unlike what you buy at the store. I had to open the other flavors and try them on a spoon. All were excellent. I've never actually tried "butter" flavored ones before, so I'm glad that they introduced me to them.

An added benefit to purchasing from this company is that they have no added pectin, corn syrup,preservatives or colors. Can you say that about your jam?

Ok, I know you want to try some yourself or buy some for friends for the holidays coming up. You can find SunChowder's Emporia on Foodzie or you can order from their other store at:

http://www.sunchowdersemporia.com/

Now, go get you some!

"Fall" into the moment with homebaked bread

Ever since the leaves started turning beautiful oranges and reds, I've been craving Thanksgiving food. You know, like turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie, and warm home baked breads.

Today, when I woke up, I decided to give in to one of my cravings and make some banana bread. I love the banana smell the fills our house while it's in the oven baking.

I know, I know. You are yelling at the monitor right now at me saying, "YOU are baking?" Yes, but I cheat. I buy it in a box and just add the eggs and oil and water. I really can't mess that up-at least most of the time. It turned out yummy and when my kids get a whiff of it, it won't last long.

Now, for those of you that want the true homemade banana bread, I've found some recipes for you from some of my favorite food blogs.

The first one is from the best food blog ever, Pioneer Woman, or PW as she's known by her readers. She has a terrific recipe to share and of course there's butter-lots of butter.

Pioneer Woman's Banana Bread
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups PLUS 2 tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe (overripe is good, too) bananas
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1 1/2 cups sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour bundt pan.
Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat.Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.
Pour into bundt pan and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing and serving with softened butter.

Doesn't that sound yummy? Try it, I dare you.

The next recipe is from Simply Recipes. This is a wonderful food blog that's pretty famous too. They have all sorts of recipes and I just knew they had to have one for banana bread. It just wouldn't be right if they didn't.

Here is their banana bread recipe:

Banana Bread

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Method
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Not in the mood to bake? I couldn't find anyone selling banana bread on Foodzie, but I did find one on Etsy from Switched Baked Goods. Their banana bread is vegan. Dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free.

Doesn't that make you want to lick your monitor? Picture yourself sitting on a big comfy chair, all wrapped up in your favorite throw and eating a big piece of banana bread and a glass of milk. Are you feeling it yet? Now, go make or buy yourself some bread...

Cupcakes, Cupcakes.

Anyone who reads my other blog, Six Feet Under Blog, knows that I have a soft spot for cupcakes. I love to look at them and eat them and I just get all tingly when I'm around them. I would eat cupcakes every day if I could-it's a good thing I can't bake or I'd weigh 400 lbs!

Anyway, I have a favorite food blogger that shares my passion except she actually can bake and she's good at it. Her cupcakes are so beautiful, you would feel shameful eating them.

Her name is Kara, and her blog is:

Kara's Cupcakes

She has made cupcakes for every occasion and seems to always have someone's birthday to do. I wish I lived next door so she would make cupcakes for me. Kara? Would you consider moving to Iowa?

She posts wonderful photos and gives you great ideas for special occasions. I wish I knew how to do the frosting that she does. It looks like whipped cream, so fluffy. She even has made cotton candy cupcakes.-what a cute idea!

So, you've got to see some of her creations.

Like this...

Or this...

Strawberries and chocolate? I'm in heaven.

Are you craving a cupcake now? I know I am. I hope the bakery is still open...