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Friday, November 20, 2009
adriana Has Sent You a Video From tangle
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: adriana <tangle@secure.tangle.com>
Date: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Subject: adriana Has Sent You a Video From tangle
To: adriannaa@gmail.com
From: adriana <tangle@secure.tangle.com>
Date: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 9:15 PM
Subject: adriana Has Sent You a Video From tangle
To: adriannaa@gmail.com
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Animal Lovers - Please do this for the SPCA - literally 15 seconds
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Saturday, August 1, 2009
Image by Rakka via Flickr
The Color creator is of course, something you use online. Why not right? What isn't done online these days? The way it works is as follows...
You use your mouse to slide the color drop around the color wheel to find the perfect color you want. The chart to the right of the color wheel shows you what food coloring colors are needed and the amount of drops it will take to make that color.
According to TipNut, the instructions on how to get the perfect color are pretty specific. A good example would be, let's say you are trying to make storm blue. The combintion of colors to make Storm Blue would be, 2 drops Blue + 6 drops Neon Purple + 2 drops Green.
Easy right? No more frustrations! I am excited to use this. I think I'll be making my daughter some scrumptious colorful cupcakes to test it out. Let me know if you use it and what for. Share a picture. I love seeing people's creations.
Labels:
Cakes,
Colors,
Cupcakes,
Food Coloring,
Frosting,
Kitchen Tools,
McCormick
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Silly Food Questionaire

I enjoy or better yet, I'm ADDICTED to reading blogs. Not just blogs. I am a bibliophile by nature. Even instruction manuals are interesting to me. But seriously, I love blogs. And as you may imagine, I read many food blogs, A LOT.
This afternoon as I took a break from cleaning my house, I logged on to see what new food blogs are out there. Great stuff! I highly suggest you Google "food blogs." You won't be disappointed. But don't forget about mine! One of the blogs I read had one of those "Getting to know me" type questionnaires. I thought it might be fun to share with you here, and if you have a food blog, maybe you might want to fill out the questionnaire and add it to your food blog.
Name: Adriana Contreras
Occupation: Currently a stay at home mommy.
Neighborhood: By the ocean, Fort Lauderdale, FLORIDA
Relationship status: Happily single after a very turbulent and destructive
relationship.
What did you eat today?
Ugh. Bad question. For someone that loves to cook I didn't eat
well today.
For breakfast I had: Nothing
For lunch I had: 2 Glasses of
water and a piece of gum
For a snack: I had fresh,
homemade, mozzarella cheese with saltine crackers.
For dinner I had: White rice
cooked with peas and carrots, plantains and a rare small potato
from Colombia south America called "papa criolla," and a fried
egg.
I know I should have breakfast but I don't. It makes me nautious.I know I should have had lunch because skipping meals is not only unhealthy but also messes with my metabolism, but hey it's Sunday and I make this my lazy day. Sometimes even when it comes to eating. My dinner may sound odd, but let me tell you, don't knock it till you try it. It was DELISH!
What do you never eat? Okra. The slimy texture gives me the queasy stomach.
What can always be found in your fridge? Tomatoes, cilantro, parsley, chives, fresh cheeses, and any fruits and veggies that are in season for my area.
What is your quick run to meal when you don't have a lot of time to cook? Pasta.
What is your favorite kitchen item? Hmmm...this is hard one. I have every kitchen gadget and appliance in existence. (At least I'd like to think I do). I'd really have to think about this one. Let's...my awesome kitchen knives? Or maybe my amazing cookware set? Or my favorite, HUGE bamboo cutting board? I don't know. Too many items to list I supposed.
Where do you eat out most frequently? I love sushi, Thai and Indian food so local restaurant so of this cuisine would have to be my most visited. It's most def not fast food. I never eat that. Or may I should say rarely. Maybe 2 times a year at most.
What would your last meal be if you heard would end tomorrow. To be honest with you. If the world was to end tomorrow, I wouldn't be thinking of my last meal.
What is the dish you prepare that people are most fond of? My lasagna
What is your least favorite cuisine? Italian. Yes...I know that my most famous dish is Italian and that my quick run to meal is Italian, so you would think I liked the food but to be honest, it all blends together for me. The only thing really different in the pasta shapes and sizes, and that is just too boring for me.
Do you have a favorite cookbook? I don't have one favorite, but I go through different favorites all the time. I collect cook books and am close to having about 100 of them in my collection.
What is it about food that inspires you so much? The colors, textures, tastes. The exotic aspect of cuisines that are unfamiliar to me. It allows me to emerse myself into cultures I am not otherwise able to see or visit.
What is the first thing you remember cooking? I believe I was in 3rd grade and came home from Brownies or Girlscouts, I don't remember which. We had learned how to make French toast and I was so eager to make it for my parents and show them whatI had learned.
What does your diet consist of? I mostly eat organic. The taste is just different, and the benefits are tremendous. Its especially important for me to havemy daughter eat organic. She has been eating organic since the first time she ever took a bite of food. Salads are my favorite food so we eat a lot of raw veggies. Cooked as well, but I prefer raw because it holds on to its enzymes better this way.
Supermarket, Whole Foods, fresh outdoor market? I shop first and foremost at local outdoor markets and then at Whole Foods. Grocery stores are my last pick. I can't stand what they do to the foods now days and how much they harm us.
What do you want to learn to cook that you don't know how to prepare yet? I am Latina, from Colombia. I don't know how to cook too many of our typical dishes. I would love to learn how to make some of them. My grandmother is an excellent cook. I plan on asking her to teach me when she comes to visit in November.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
McDonald's Moves Closer to Pesticide-Free French Fries

BY Ariel Schwartz
McDonald's french fries are crunchy, delightfully salty, and covered in pesticides. That last point may not be true for much longer now that the company has agreed to survey and promote best practices in potato pesticide use reduction. McDonald's Corp., the largest purchaser of potatoes in the U.S., will disclose its findings to shareholders and in its annual corporate social responsibility report.
Since McDonald's doesn't grow its own potatoes, the company will ask suppliers like ConAgra and J.R. Simplot to cut down pesticide use. And since ConAgra and J.R. Simplot also supply potatoes to other companies, McDonald's will succeed in shaking up the entire potato supply chain. Imagine the positive repercussions if it did the same thing for, say, tomatoes.
Next up for MickeyD's: spearheading a better-beef coalition along with Cargill, Wal-Mart, and trade and environmental groups. The company already buys stock from sustainable fisheries and recycles 100% of its frying oil in the U.K. into biodiesel.
Whether McDonald's pesticide initiative succeeds remains to be seen, but it is an important step regardless for an industry that is not exactly known for social responsibility.
ADRIANA'S PERSONAL NOTE: Since as far back as I can remember into my childhood, I don't recall my mother ever offering to take me to eat fast food. I myself am a mother now, and am proud to continue the tradition. In part because of how on healthy it is, in another, because it's just disgusting. However, now that I know McDonalds is becoming more aware of what they serves there customers, I may take a little trip to McDees with Vanessa-Alexandra and give her a taste of some of the best fries in the world! ; )
Labels:
Fast Food,
French Fries,
Health,
Healthy Food,
McDonalds,
Pesticides,
Potatoes
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Transform your Kitchen Into the Perfect Bake Space

TRANSFORM YOUR KITCHEN INTO THE PERFECT BAKE SPACE
by Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS
As a professional kitchen designer, the complaints I hear most frequently from baking enthusiasts include:
"I don't have enough storage space."
"I don't have enough counter space."
"My oven doesn't work well."
"I can never find what I need."
Part of my job is to remedy such problems, so here are a few strategies and products I recommend to clients to help make their baking experience as delightful as their baked goods.
DEFINE A BAKING CENTER
Any successful design or organization project begins with a plan, and transforming your kitchen is no exception. The transformation begins with the baking equipment you own and the ingredients you keep on hand.
Pull all your baking items from where they're usually stored and set them out together. This will show you how much counter top and drawer/shelf space you need to create a dedicated "baking center."
If you bake at least once a week, you should plan to set up your baking center within your refrigerator-sink-range/cooktop work triangle (i.e., the high-traffic workspace near your most used major appliances).
BAKING CENTER STORAGE
Once you've determined how much room you need and where it will be located, it's time to outfit your personal baking space. I recommend drawer dividers to keep your whisks, spatulas, mixing spoons and other small items separate and organized. In addition, tray dividers work well in narrow cabinets for storing baking sheets and muffin tins (storing such items vertically can save a lot of space). If you have the room, a stand mixer lift will keep your counter tops clear when your mixer is not in use. Backsplash racks or ledges are ideal for storing spices.
BAKING CENTER APPLIANCES
If you're planning to replace your oven or microwave anytime soon, here are three types that can save you space and multiply your cooking power:
Single-Double Wall Oven - This unit packs two ovens and convection power into a single oven unit. So if you have room only for a single oven, now you can have a double instead.
Steam/Convect Oven - This oven can cook an entrée and a dessert at the same time using both convection and steam power.
Lift Oven - This unique oven can be installed on an open wall above a countertop, thus increasing your baking capacity without adding any cabinetry. It's also ideal for anyone who has a tough time bending to remove food from a range or below-countertop oven.
BAKING CENTER COUNTER TOPS
While bakers have long enjoyed marble as a cool surface for rolling dough, I recommend engineered stone/quartz countertops as a 21st Century replacement. Like marble, quartz offers a cool, smooth surface, but it's far more durable and non-porous. This last attribute means you don't need to worry about food-borne bacteria seeping into your top, especially for the many recipes that employ eggs.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you're an avid baker and fortunate enough to have extra space around your kitchen, it might be worth setting up a completely independent baking center work station. I strongly recommend working with a kitchen design professional who can help plan and install such a project. The National Kitchen & Bath Association is an excellent resource for finding someone qualified to help you achieve a successful outcome that enhances your wonderful hobby, as well as your home's value.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS is an independent, NKBA-certified kitchen designer based in Tampa, FL. She writes regularly on design, architecture and remodeling issues for local, national and online publications. You can find more on Jamie's blog: Gold Notes: Nuggets from the World of Residential Design.
NOTE: PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE PHOTOGRAPH I HAVE POSTED ON THIS POST IS NOT NECESSARILY WHAT IS RECOMMENDED BELOW. I SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPH TO REPRESENT A BAKE SPACE. PLEASE BASE YOUR BACK SPACE ON THE NOTES BELOW AND NOT ON THE PHOTOGRAPH.
The info below was taken from bakespace.com. One of my all time favorite social networking sites for those that love to cook and bake. If you are not a member and you enjoy cooking or baking and meeting others with your interest, I highly recommend it. Right now they are giving away prizes so its a good time to join and you never know, you might win something!
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