Canning- A Beginner’s Adventure

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Shawn

Every cook has their culinary bucket list. Things they want to attempt making, but are hard projects even for the expert. For me, one of the items on the top of my list was canning. As a big believer in eating seasonally, I’ve yearned for the know-how that would allow me to preserve the flavors of the season for later in year.

Apparently Atlanta is not a big canning town. Either everyone’s big-haired grandmother (bless their hearts) passed down these essential skills, or no one has an interest because no matter how hard I Googled, I could not find any local classes on the subject. Well, OK, there was one in August, but that meant I would have to wait and miss strawberry season- gasp! The fact was, I was going to have to go at this alone…

I took it upon myself to order some books, read all that I could online, and watch YouTube videos on the subject until my eyes were sore. Read More

Back To Basics- How to Make Laundry Detergent

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Shawn

With all the focus that we put on what goes into our bodies, sometimes it’s easy to forget about the things that go on our bodies. Our skin works as a protective barrier, designed to keep out potentially harmful bacteria and even radiation; yet, it’s a porous surface and some chemicals can penetrate it, getting inside and potentially wreaking havoc.

There has been a movement towards natural cosmetics and beauty products over the past several years as people have begun to discover ingredients in conventional formulas they found questionable. It’s cheaper and better for the bottom line to put low cost fillers in cosmetics, the same way the food industry does with processed ingredients. I, along with many others, have done my best to clean out my bathroom cabinets; eliminating products that could be harmful over the long run, and in turn replacing them with natural products, some even homemade! Read More

Chocolate Chunk and Thyme Cookies

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Shawn

Before we hop into today’s post, I just wanted to let everyone know I’m working on our monthly E-Newsletter, An Extra Helping, which will be going out later this week for the month of May! It’s going to be totally awesome with content you won’t find on the blog, so be sure to sign up! You can do so by submitting your email in the field down on the right. And of course, I’d NEVER share your information with anyone!

There is a little block, set back in the northwest side of downtown Amsterdam, that I love. It has my favorite coffee shop in the city, the best cheese store that always has free samples out, and the most amazing chocolatier that ever existed, Puccini Bomboni. The store has a whole chocolate bar with at least 40 different types of bites size chocolates overflowing from their platters. Read More

Honeybee Highball and My Montana Trip

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Shawn

Before we hop into today’s post, I just wanted to let everyone know I’m working on our monthly E-Newsletter, An Extra Helping, which will be going out next week for the month of May! It’s going to be totally awesome with content you won’t find on the blog, so be sure to sign up! You can do so by submitting your email in the field to the right. And of course, I’d NEVER share your information with anyone!

These past two weeks I had the pleasure of spending time with my family in Montana. The trip itself was instigated by the birth of my niece, Marlee, back in January; and while it was good for my soul to see everyone in my little family, she was most definitely the star of the trip. Read More

Back to Basics- Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Shawn

My vegetarianism was always a conundrum for the most of my meat eating family, but not my Nana. I watched her from the bar stool; my elbows propped up on the counter as she fished out soy burgers from her freezer and showed me all the salad fixings she had washed and cut up for me in the fridge. Even though I was just a punky teenager, I was incredibly moved by her thoughtfulness.

“What type of salad dressing do you like?” she asked, motioning to the large collection contained in one of the door shelves in the opened fridge.

“Balsamic Vinaigrette,” I answered.

“Oh, well in that case, I will make some fresh for you!” she replied while reaching for a jar near the stove.

I watched in awe while she mixed up salad dressing for me, pouring beautifully colored liquids into the glass bottle and shaking it. Read More