cookiesinheaven

It's getting near that time....Christmas Cookies!

Labels: Christmas, Flickr Friday

The goal of "Operation Happy Holidays" was to bake, wrap and ship approximately 30,000 cookies to Montana troops stationed overseas.

...These homemade morsels have been cooked up every holiday season for nine years as a way to say "thank you" to all of Montana's military personnel who can't come home for the holidays.

"I want the troops to know Montanans appreciate the sacrifices they make, especially this time of year," said Steve Kubick, co-coordinator of the event.

Every year, the number of cookies baked is adjusted for the number of troops overseas. Judging by the amount of cookies baked this year, Kubick believes this is one of the largest groups of military personnel deployed from the state in recent memory.

More than 800 pounds of sugar and flour, 120 dozen eggs, 200 pounds of brown sugar and 250 pounds of chocolate chips — among other large-quantity necessities — went into baking 30,000 peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and snickerdoodle cookies.

Dimmer Kjelsrud, the other co-coordinator of "Operation Happy Holidays," said the cookies will be a small part of gift boxes that will be wrapped up on Saturday, along with items like candy, calling cards and beef jerky. - GreatFallsTribune

Labels: Cookies, Troops

Labels: Recipes, Thanksgiving

Labels: Flickr, Santa Barbara

Labels: Thanksgiving, The West Wing, YouTube

to you!

Labels: Music, YouTube

Labels: blogroll, Food TV, Rachel Ray, YouTube

It has been a tough year for organizations that feed the hungry.

First, there were the disasters. The January freeze and the recent Southern California fires drained local food banks. Then there's the economy -- and we're not just talking about foreclosures. Rising gas prices, the biofuel industry's need for wheat and corn, bad weather and a higher demand for meat products caused food prices to jump....

As a result, food banks and agencies serving free meals face two problems: Donations are down, and there are more mouths to feed. - Fresno Bee

Labels: America's Second Harvest, Blogger Challenge, Donating, Food Banks

he's more masterful than I, though.

Labels: blogtopia

Macy's is in the process of working out a deal to bring a 20,000 square-foot grocery store to the basement of its State Street flagship location in Chicago sometime early next year.

Macy's, which has faced a shopper revolt over its decision to drop the Marshall Field's banner, has come to the publicly-stated conclusion that it has done all it can to address the issues of the disaffected and has to move on to bringing in a new group of customers. Bringing in an upscale grocery store to the location would be one way to attract shoppers. - Retail Wire

The department store chain is talking to several companies about opening a 20,000-square-foot in-store supermarket, and a deal could be reached as soon as early next year, Guzzetta said. He declined to disclose candidates, but said, "I would like it to be organic." - Chicago Tribune

I'm sure they will be carrying Martha Stewart Wine. Macy's kitchen section has become "everything Martha". And, yes...you heard me right. Martha Stewart signature wine. But, the question remains - will it be a "good thing?"

If you are looking for recipes to use up that "after Thanksgiving Turkey", you might want to make Marshall Field's Walnut Room Special Sandwich!

One fresh, crispy head iceberg lettuce
Three to five thin slices of freshly roasted turkey breast (white meat only), room temperature
Three-fourths cup thousand island dressing (recipe to follow)
One thin slice of aged Swiss cheese
One fresh slice of Jewish or other mild (but flavorful) rye bread
One to two teaspoons butter, softened
Two slices of your favorite bacon
Slice of hard-boiled egg
Slice of tomato
Olive and parsley garnish

Butter rye bread and place on a large cold serving plate. Cover bread with Swiss cheese slice, followed by one or two slices of turkey. Take a nice large outer lettuce leaf from the head of iceberg and set aside. Slice the iceberg lettuce in a few large sections and arrange a section on top of the turkey and Swiss cheese.
Cover the open-face "sandwich" with big lettuce leaf. Top with several slices of turkey. Pour a very ample amount of dressing over the lettuce, allowing it to puddle slightly all around the plate. Place a slice of bacon and an olive on either side of sandwich mound. Place tomato slice and egg slice atop mound with parsley sprig. Serve immediately.

Yield: one Special Sandwich

Yield: One entree-size serving

Thousand Island Dressing

One cup real mayonnaise
One-half cup Heinz chili sauce
Two tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Two large green olives, pitted and finely chopped
One-half teaspoon dried tarragon
Dash Tabasco
Dash Worcestershire sauce
One hard-boiled egg, finely chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Serve.

Yield: One and three-fourths cups dressing

Labels: grocery stores, Macy's, Martha Stewart, Wine

....Craigslist has dozens of help-wanted listings from the Bay Area's top restaurants - all vying for the dwindling numbers of experienced cooks willing to put in long, hard hours for pay that barely covers their cost of living.

"They say they have all these bills and have to pay the rent, and they can't be making $12-$13 an hour," Lahlou said.

That crunch, plus many young cooks' expectations of the "Top Chef" high life, are just two of the factors that may make San Francisco's unique mix of chef-owned high-quality neighborhood restaurants a thing of the past.

Across the country, restaurant owners complain of staffing shortages. Many partly blame the newly glamorous role of chefs in the media, which has created a legion of chef-wannabes. But San Francisco's high cost of living, minimum wage laws and new sick leave and health insurance mandates mean that restaurants are being hit harder here than in other cities. - SFGate

Labels: labor, restaurants, San Francisco, Top Chef

Labels: Arlington West, Memorial, Veterans Day

Trouble in Crab Heaven

...Commercial boats were scheduled to set their crab pots this coming Wednesday for Thursday's opener that traditionally supplies Dungeness for the holiday demand. Because of the fuel spill, that opener might be in question.

...Collins is just as worried about the spill's long-term effect on the bay, which is a nursery for young Dungeness crab.

"Right now, the bay is loaded with baby Dungeness. As that fuel moves down the water column, it could devastate crab numbers for years to come." - SFGate

Labels: Dungeness Crab, Oil Spill, San Francisco

Bob is back home with his family, but they are all still traumatized from this horrific and unconscionable incident.

From KNBC

A Ventura County man who tortured a family's pet tortoise was sentenced on Monday, but the tortoise's owners say they are still suffering from the attack.

...Prosecutors said Mosqueda (18 at the time) snatched the 40-pound African spurred tortoise from a backyard on July 7, slashed its legs and neck, punctured its shell and threw it against a wall.

...Meanwhile, the family who owns the tortoise says their pain continues, and the ordeal has been particularly hard on a 12-year-old autistic boy who was making great strides in his development before the vicious attack. The boy's mother, Dorothy Sullivan, said the tortoise, named Bob, was her son's lifeline "out of the silent world of autism," KNBC's Chuck Henry reported.

Labels: Bob the Turtle

Chocoholics can assuage any guilt they may feel after a new process was developed that turns the by-products of making chocolate into a biofuel -- meaning you can eat your chocolate and be eco-friendly.

A truck, fuelled by the biofuel, will set out from Poole on the English south coast to Mali in West Africa later this month on a charity mission.

"The chocolate waste used to be used in landfill. But now we can make it travel as biofuel," said organizer Andy Pag who will be one of the two drivers on the trip. - Reuters

Labels: Chocolate, Ecology

Whole Foods Markets Inc. is opening a two-story emporium on Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena on Wednesday that will be its largest store west of the Rockies. More than 50% larger than a typical Ralphs or Vons grocery, it will include a wine and tapas lounge, a massage room, an in-house fresh jam and jelly center, a sandwich bar and a seafood counter serving ceviche and shrimp cocktails.

...A key component of an aggressive Southern California expansion plan by the Austin, Texas-based company, the two-story building fills an entire block and has a quasi-industrial look of red brick, corrugated steel and glass panels. Its 300-space parking lot is below the store.

... Shoppers will enter through a 6,000-square-foot produce department stocked with 500 items and a juice bar.

...Health products, the massage room and 18 check stands fill up the remaining first-floor space.

A "carveyor" moves shopping carts between the first and second floors and runs parallel to the escalator.

The second level is essentially an upscale food court with Korean barbecue, vegetarian foods cooked to order, a meat carving station, sushi, organic sake and beer. Shoppers can eat in a sit-down area or proceed to browse the large wine department, butcher shop and the packaged goods aisles. - Latte Times
Get a load of some of their "offerings"

• Wine and Tapas Lounge
  
• Sandwich Bar
  
• Seafood Bar
• Freshly roasted nuts.
• Italian Trattoria
  
• Extensive wine department with more than 1,200 selections
• Fresh donuts made by the hour
• Tortilla machine making fresh corn and flour tortillas.
• Eco-chic apparel, accessories and home goods.
• Chocolate island with more than 50 chocolate choices and white and dark chocolate fountains.
• Free wireless internet access.
• Massage room, staffed with massage therapists.
• "Veggie Grill" program with a daily rotation of fresh picked items, ready to be grilled to order by in-house chef.
• A "Custom Catch" program where shoppers select any available seafood and customize with marinades or seasonings. Team members will cook to order: charbroil, bake, steam, deep fry, sauté, or smoked with an in-store seafood smoker.

Labels: Development Gone Wild, Pasadena, Whole Foods

Labels: Chocolate Chip, Cookies, Midwest Airlines, Sendik's

Come down from your sugar rush, yet?