Thanksgiving is next week and there are so many things that are still needed to be done to get ready for the big feast.  Thanksgiving is one of the few times where placecards are a treat to see at the table assigning seats to all the many family members that are gracing at the table.

Although Thanksgiving will be at my house this year, and with the 20 of us that will be making an appearance at my dinner table, I thought these would be a lovely  little treat to see on the tables. These were my favorite!

• Autumn Leaves Thanksgiving Placecards: Each is created from ivory and honeycomb cardstocks and features a pile of hand punched fall leaves with a tiny hand cut acorn, $5.95 for 4 at Soft Day Studios.

• Pumpkin Place Cards: Hand crafted paper pumpkins are made of cream colored card stock embellished with cappuccino tan colored dots, custom handwriting can be added, $37.50 for 25. Just Beautiful!

• Thanksgiving Pumpkin Placecards: Tented pumpkin placards brings vintage feel to the table with multi-dimensional pumpkins, $5.25 for 4 at Soft Day Studios.  These are so cute.

• Thankful Harvest Vintage-looking Customized Placecards: These beautiful distressed placescards bring such a warm feeling to a table, $5 for 6 at Pink Cherry Mama.

Read the rest of this entry »

Natalie MacLean’s bestselling book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass is now in paperback. She was named the World’s Best Drink Writer for the articles and wine picks in her free wine newsletter available at www.nataliemaclean.com.  Please welcome Natalie and our first questionnaire.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Image: Velo Steve/Flickr)

It’s almost Thanksgivong time and you have some guests that are vegetarians… What do you do?!?

Don’t Panic!

One thing that is for sure try and have a few items plus a main course, like tofurky, that can accommodate to your turkey-free eating family and/or friends.  One thing always you cannot go wrong with are yummy delicious sides, especially with Thanksgiving there are so many you can make they won’t know what hit them. 🙂

For all you vegans out there… What’s your veggie-friendly Thanksgiving plan?

What is it about garlic, herbs, and fresh bread baking in the oven that brings strangers out of the wood work. 🙂

Nothing warms up a house like fresh homemade focaccia.  Focaccia, just the sound of it sounds delicious.  If you have never tried this delectable Italian flatbread.

This recipe I found while perusing one of my oh so many cooking magazines, I knew I just had to try it.  This one is so easy to make and really tastes delicious when straight out of the oven.  I had to literally tell my sister to STOP eating it after it was done cooking. She almost ate the whole entire thing.

I hope you enjoy it as much my sister did! 🙂
Read the rest of this entry »

Dessine moi un Objet

Leave it to les Français to make these quite useful yummy edible utensils. These creative edible salad, spoon, and fork were created by Julien Madéro, from the French blog Dessine moi un objet, which in English means “Draw me a purpose.”

As you can see above and below Julien created these salad servers and an accompanying bowl for salad dressing out of  pâte brisée.

Check out his site to see step-by-step photos of the whole process.

Très Magnifique!
Read the rest of this entry »

This question is being raised all over our schools due to some schools and activist groups who feel that chocolate milk should be banned from school cafeterias.

I know you may be looking at the screen asking yourself “WHAT?!?”  Ban chocolate milk…. not possible.

I know when I was a child before choosing anything I would go straight for the chococlate milk.  To this day I still love chocolate milk and so do my children.

I recognize the important role milk plays in our children’s lives today and so does Raise Your Hand For Chocolate Milk. Raise Your Hand For Chocolate Milk is a new campaign from the National Dairy Council and Milk Processor Education Program that is focused on promoting the benefits of keeping chocolate milk in schools and prevent them being banned as schools have done with sugary sodas and candies.

Top 5 Reasons to Keep Chocolate Milk:

• Milk Provides nutrients essential for good health and kids will choose it over regular milk, the majority of the time.

• Flavored milk contains the same nine essential nutrients as white milk and is a healthier alternative to soda and sugar juices.

• Drinking low-fat or fat free white flavored milk helps kids get the 3-daily servings of milk needed in their diets.

• Children who drink flavored milk meet more of the nutrient needs; do not consume more added sugar; fat or calories; and are not heavier than non-milk drinkers.

• Low-fat chocolate milk is the most popular milk choice in schools and kids drink less milk (and get fewer nutrients) in schools if it is taken away.

You can also sign the “Raise Your Hand For Chocolate Milk” petition to show your support to keep chocolate milk on the menu in schools nationwide.

I raised my hand!  Did You???

Read the rest of this entry »

(Image: kthread/Flickr)

It’s fall and its this time of year sweet potatoes are everywhere.  Especially with Thanksgiving coming around, there is no other vegetable that is used more than the sweet potato.

Do you have a special sweet potatoe recipe that you would love to share with us?  if so please do at the end 🙂

Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical parts of South America, and were domesticated there at least 5000 years ago.  Sweet potatoes are considered a staple in many countries and have been cultivated in Southern states since the 16th century.  Sweet potatoes have a yellowish orange flesh and are coated by a thin skin that can be white, yellow, orange, red, or purple.  Sweet potatoes grow best in abundant sunlight with warm temperatures.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid.  When buying sweet potatoes, choose firm ones with no cracks or bruises.  Their shelf life should last for two weeks or more if stored in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place and handled with care.

They are best enjoyed sweet or savory, or in baked desserts, breads, puddings and custards, especially casseroles.
Read the rest of this entry »

(Image: Bob Willoughby/Flickr)

As a child I rememebr my mom and teachers always telling me to eat a big breakfast before an exam.  That way I would be fueled and my brain functionality would kick in high gear.  As a mother I find myself telling my son and daughter the same thing and preparing a nice hearty breakfast before their exams as well.

So this line of questioning got me thinking if food can affect how you perform on tests and in school. well then can food affect your dreams at night while sleeping?

So you know me I satrted asking around and researching some answers… according to some eating before bed has the ability to trigger an increase in the body’s metabolism and brain activity, and is a potential stimulus for nightmares.

I know that the smell of food can affect dream content, a perfect example is one morning I was frying bacon downstairs and my uncle was visiting and he woke up from his sleep, where he was dreaming of eating bacon and eggs, and came down stairs saying the smell woke him up.

What do you think… Do you think food has the ability to affect your dreams?
Read the rest of this entry »

Image by Chow

• Want something new for Thanksgiving? Learn how to deep-fry a turkey. — Chow

• Colgate is reminding us all that we must brush after we eat through their ads. — Eat Me Daily

• Fashion designer Jason Wu loves to cook and is gearing up for his pastry lesson with François Payard. — Grub Street

• Even President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama can’t pass up a piece of pie from the White House’s pastry chef Bill Yosses. — Slashfood

• Do you like cranberry scones?  Guess what you can make Starbucks-style cranberry scones at home.  — Serious Eats

Read the rest of this entry »

Banana Muffins with Brown-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting… (geeshhhhhh) Now that’s a mouthful, try saying that 10 times!

Well after you try one of these babies you won’t be saying much at all except “Can I have another!” 🙂

These fresh baked little heaves are so delicious I made them for some mom’s at my daughter’s dance class and they just fell over.

I hope you do too…. Enjoy!
Read the rest of this entry »