- I think I need both some quiet time in Montana and a few of these no-bake fruit and grain bars.
- Cutting boards. I love them and have far more than one home cook truly needs. And yet, I yearn for one of these rough-edged boards from Red Onion Woodworks.
- Fig balls. Color me intrigued.
- Food. Curated. features the ladies behind The Well Dressed Nut. I love how careful they are about the nuts they use and their philosophy of layering flavor.
- Well Preserved has been on a role of good posts lately. A nice take on jam vinaigrette and fermented carrots with garlic.
- Speaking of yearning, I have this fancy red Excalibur dehydrator at the very top of my mental wish list.
- The Super Bowl is all over, but if you’re still feeling snacky, I wrote a fun piece last week on Table Matters about homemade dips and dippers.
- Today is my little sister’s 31st birthday. Happy birthday, Raina!
So many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter the Edible DIY giveaway last week. The winning number is #640, which is the comment left by Sasha. She’s looking forward to making the maple syrup caramels in the book. I hope they’re every bit as delicious as they look!
Hi Marissa,
We bought our son that dehydrator in black for a wedding gift. He and his wife love the way it works, but he said that it is very noisy and keeps them awake at night. The pluses: it really gets the job done and there is no need to rotate the shelves.
My other son and I have the round Nesco dehydrator and we both love it. This one is also noisy (I bet they all are). You do have to stop and rotate the shelves from time to time, but that’s no big deal. I love this dehydrator and would not swap it for anything. It can handle anything from fruit rolls to beef jerky.
Good luck with your choice, both are great machines. The Excalibur was just a bit too pricey for my pocketbook. (But I bought it for my son, go figure.)
Thanks so much for the feedback, Patricia! It’s good to know that the round Nesco gets the job done as well as the Excalibur!
I think I need some quiet time in Montana too….
Sounds nice, doesn’t it!
I’m a HUGE fan of Jam Vinaigrette and you know which one is always a hit at family gatherings? A dressing made with the tomato jam. I make it by the jar-full and put out a pitcher of it whenever I’m serving salad to a group. Usually, someone ends-up asking how it’s made and goes home with a jar of the jam.
I’ve not made it with tomato jam before. I will be trying it before the week is out, though! Thanks for the suggestion!
Marisa,
Thanks for the link love!
We have a similar excalibur (it’s not as fancy; matte black and plastic but has 9 trays) and LOVE it. I have used it for years including an 11 day period when we did not turn it off once (it uses the energy of a single lightbulb).
It changed our kitchen – though this one is awful purty. 🙂
You’re so welcome, Joel! And good to hear about your Excalibur!
Thanks so much for mentioning my cutting boards, Marisa! I bought your book at the tail end of the summer canning season, so now the pages are all dog-eared and ready for next year’s goods. Love it.
Camille, you’re so welcome! Your boards are SO beautiful (I’m planning on buying one when I finish up this next big project of mine). And I’m so honored that you bought my book. I hope you make lots of delicious things with its help!
Yay, I won the book! Thanks Marisa!!
Just wondering if there’s a link or recipe for the picture of lamb stew? Are those onions or slivers of cabbage in it? looks yummy!
I wrote about that lamb stew for my Weekender column. It’s a Paula Deen recipe (a shockingly healthy one) and all the details can be found here (those are slivers of cabbage): http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2013/01/irish-lamb-stew-the-weekender/