I wanted to make my mother’s red velvet cake for Independence day, adding fresh blueberries on top made it quite the patriotic dessert.  I also wanted to find a natural substitution for the red dye traditionally used to give the cake it’s blush hue, and I found it. The almost walnut sized deep red beets that I bought at the farmer’s market made this cake beautifully rosy. And whad’ya know, beets are in season! Be sure to stop by your local farmer’s market and pick up some small, homegrown beets to bake this cake; or better yet pick them from your own garden! Be sure to use the entire plant by adding the green tops to a fresh salad.

Happy Independence Day! (more…)

Choosing a gourmet cheese can be very overwhelming if you’re just beginning to indulge in this delicious genre of food.  It can even be overwhelming if you’re not a beginner and are simply faced with a large selection!  I’ve made it easy for you to choose some definite crowd-pleasers for the next cheese plate you create by spelling out some of my all-time favorites.  You won’t want to miss these tips!

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One day doesn’t seem to be enough to celebrate the universal day of love, so we decided that we would start a bit early with our special edition Valentines Day strawberries. Nothing says Happy Valentines week to your employees, customers, family, or that special someone like strawberries covered in our fine chocolate complimented with red and pink flair.

Place your order at Zupas as early as February 8th for only $11.99 per dozen, or call and pre-order today!

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How do you start your new year?  Did you know that all over the world, different people eat certain foods on New Year’s day to bring luck throughout the year?  Here are a few ideas if you are looking for a little more prosperity for 2010! (more…)

This is what Santa ate at our home, along with a few of our neighbors. They taste just as a Christmas cookie should, with the perfect amount of spice and good cheer. I especially like that anise is used, it is a little known spice that is wonderful to use in baking sweet treats. These particular “pepper nut” cookies were coated in vanilla sugar, adding a sweet twist to the original. (more…)

My father is from the Brittany region of France, where crepes where born.  So, every year as long as I can remember, for Christmas Day dinner we have these amazing dinner crepes with our meal!

For those of you who thought crepes were only for dessert, you are in for a great surprise!  The creamy ham, mushroom, and swiss filling is perfect!  Maybe it will become a favorite holiday dish for you too!

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Cranberry Orange Bread

makes 1 large loaf or 4 mini-loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon good salt

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 3 oranges)

zest of 3 large oranges (about 1 Tablespoon, packed)

1 egg

1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°.  Sift all dry ingredients together.  Cut in butter until the mixtures resembles coarse meal. Over a plate or parchment paper, zest the oranges using a microplane zester.  Set aside.  Cut the oranges in half and juice.  In another small bowl, combine the fresh orange juice, zest, and egg with a whisk.  Add the orange juice mixture to the dry ingredients all at once.  Mix until just combined.  Fold in the chopped cranberries and nuts.  Spoon the mixture into one greased loaf pan or into four greased mini-loaf pans.  If you make one large loaf, cook the bread for 1 hour.  If you are making the mini-loaves, set your timer to about 30 minutes (you’ll want to start watching it at 25 minutes as ovens are all different). Once out of the oven, cook the loaf pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. When the bread is slightly cooled you can tap the loaf/loaves out of the pans carefully and place them on the wire rack for additional cooling.  Enjoy!

I recently had to make a decision on what to make for neighbor gifts this year for Christmas.

An old stand-by caramel popcorn recipe came to mind.  It really tastes just like the expensive kind you buy at the gourmet popcorn store at the mall.  And, if you add a cup of nuts to your recipe, it really fancies it up!

So, if you are still trying to decide on a goody to whip up for your neighbors and friends this year, this may be the winner!

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I love the holiday season and all the baked goods that come with it.  I especially love the smell of cinnamon and sugar baking up in the kitchen.  Which is one reason I loved these spiced cookies!  And although the title calls them “crisps”, they were a bit chewy, which is just how I love my cookies! (more…)

Can you believe the weather this week? The photo looks like the view from our front window. We’ve been having hot cocoa (hot rice milk with hershey’s for me) almost every evening to ward off the cold. We love creamy marshmallows with our hot cocoa and like most anything else, homemade is best. Try this recipe for homemade marshmallows today, you won’t be disappointed. They’ll be perfect to have on hand for this weekend’s storm. Plus, making them is surprisingly easier than you think, just be sure to read the recipe thoroughly, prepare your ingredients/tools- mise en place, and don’t rush.

Hub was sad he missed being able to lick the sticky bowl of leftover marshmallow, a task any candy lover would be willing to assist with. (more…)