

VonDulce has an amazing selection of sweet candy confections, all I can say is Yum.
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Kale Chips that I made yesterday:}
I purchased a juicer even though I already had a Vita Mix blender because I don’t always want a smoothie like consistency to my drinks. I had a ton of Kale in my fridge since I use it as the base for most of my drinks. After talking on Twitter about juicing I was given great advice on how to make Kale Chips so I thought I’d give it a try. I purchased the curly variety and bought 3 bunches of which I used 1 bunch to make my chips with. The recipe that I tried was:
1 bunch of Kale
1 Tbs of Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Paprika
Preheat oven to 350
-Thoroughly wash the leaves to remove any dirt and any pesticides. {I use Environne veggie wash and you’d be amazed at how much stuff comes off of your fruit and vegetables}
-Cut the bitter green stems away from the leaves (I used kitchen scissors and made quick work of them)
-Use a salad spinner to get the leaves completely dry and if needed pat them down with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
-Get a large bowl and combine the oil, salt and paprika (If you’d like) and use your hands to make sure the leaves are fully coated.
Use either parchment paper or a lined baking sheet and lay them down evenly.
Bake for 10-12 minutes carefully watching to make sure the leaves don’t turn brown because those parts will be bitter.
Voila!
When you remove them from the oven and take your first bite, you’ll be amazed at their wonderful crunch. It’s like eating a salty potato chip yet there’s a nice briney, seaweed type back note that floats on the palette. I made two batches and ate the first batch alone. In fact in the photo it looks a bit light because I kept eating them. My son loved them and thought they were fabulous but my daughter who’s picky only ate a couple before deciding she didn’t like the green flavor, but then again she doesn’t like dark greens so I wasn’t really surprised.
I plan on experimenting and maybe mixing in fresh garlic and maybe a flavored sea salt next time.
Yum.
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I saw this on one of my daily searches on Etsy and just had to share. I love a good butter spread onto nice warm whole wheat organic toast and I can just imagine how a yummy sweet butter would taste if it was infused with tea..I’m sure it must be heaven. This was made by Original Tea Butter Co.
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Lemon Bird makes amazing jams that are perfect for any occasion. I’ve purchased her jams in the past and I refused to share them because they were “that” good. Thanksgiving is fast approaching and her selection of jams would be a perfect addition.
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So I decided to try my hand at making Quinoa {KEEN-wah} today since I’m trying to eat more healthy and want to find better alternatives to rice. I already successfully convinced my kids that Couscous is yummy and they now have no issue eating it. The first time however, when I introduced them to Couscous they complained about the texture every single time I made it. I’ve found with enough chicken broth, anything can be palatable to kids. So I decided to move on to Quinoa.
I guess I didn’t pay enough attention to why you must soak and rinse Quinoa thoroughly but I found out today. My Quinoa came out bitter and even with chicken broth it was hardly worth trying to make the kids eat it. I received a hot tip from one of my twitter pals to pour a little Balsamic Vinegar over the top so I gave it a try and it tasted much better. I’ll have to wait until my next batch to spring my concoction upon my unsuspecting children. Maybe next time I’ll add in bits of cauliflower and broccoli for a bit of crunch and color.
On a good note, I found a fabulous food blog called 101 Cookbooks that had a lot of Quinoa recipes for me to try so I’m hopeful. On a side note..I wonder how many of us could have averted a culinary disaster simply by reading the directions?
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Rustic Dude’s Cutting Board in Hickory

Artichaut Cutting Board in Black Walnut
I’ve been admiring the work of Gray Works on Etsy for quite some time. I love functional pieces that are beautiful by design. They only use locally and sustainably harvested or salvaged hardwoods, hand rubbed with organic olive oil. Each beautiful board will come signed and numbered underneath. You can even become a fan on their Facebook page.
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