YumSugar

What's Your Favorite Farmers Market Tote?

YumSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:45:13 -0700

In honor of this weekend's colossal Slow Food Nation event, PartySugar and I are celebrating sustainable living by using (and showing off!) our favorite farmers market totes. Now we want you to do the same! Snap a pic of you with your favorite reusable farmers market bag and send it to us. I'll feature all the submissions in an upcoming post.

After we've received all of the entries, we'll pick one lucky winner to get her very own YumSugar tote! I can't wait to see your favorite totes.

Don't Forget to Show Us Your Farmers Market Totebags!

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:19 -0700

Currently, I'm bringing back this navy blue Marc by Marc Jacobs tote that I bought last year. It's soft and flexible, yet able to hold everything I buy. I love the way it pokes fun at itself as well as designer labels in general.
To celebrate Slow Food, both PartySugar and I have taken pictures (she debuted hers earlier this week) with our beloved farmers market totes, and now we want you to do the same! Snap a pic of you with your favorite reusable farmers market bag and send it to us. You can use the Look Book feature on TeamSugar, post it in a blog, or on your own website. When everyone's submitted their photos (due date: Sept. 1), I'll do a giant post featuring everyone's pictures (and you don't have to cover your face, we're just shy!)

To be included in the roundup, notify me via email with "YumSugar Farmers Market Tote" in the subject line, or personal message me with the following information:

- Name you want me to use
- Where you're from
- What farmers market you shop at
- Details about your favorite totebag
- Link to your LookBook, blog post, or website or photo of you holding your favorite tote
- One short sentence on why you chose that tote

After we've received all of the submissions, we'll pick one lucky winner and send her her very own YumSugar tote! I can't wait to see your favorite totes.

Show Us Your Farmers Market Totebags!

partysugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:15:02 -0700

The culinary world is gearing up for Slow Food Nation. The festival, which celebrates local, sustainable farm-to-table food, is in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. Slow Food encourages people to purchase seasonal produce from farmers markets in an environmentally-friendly manner. That means toting the goods in a reusable bag rather than a disposable one. In my opinion, carrying a fabulous farmers market tote is just as glamorous as sporting a designer handbag. Currently, I'm obsessed with this large, bright-blue tote by Chronicle Books. The tote perfectly demonstrated the publisher's motto ("see things differently") because it folds up into a flat book when not being used.

To celebrate Slow Food, we've (YumSugar will share hers later this week) both taken pictures with our beloved farmers market totes. and now we want you to do the same! Snap a pic of you with your favorite reusable farmers market bag and send it to us. You can use the Look Book feature on TeamSugar, post it in a blog, or on your own website. When everyone's submitted their photos (due date: Sept. 1), I'll do a giant post featuring everyone's pictures (and you don't have to cover your face, we're just shy!)!

To be included in the roundup, notify me via email with "YumSugar Farmers Market Tote" in the subject line, or personal message me with the following information:

- Name you want me to use
- Where you're from
- What farmers market you shop at
- Details about your favorite totebag
- Link to your Look Book, blog post, or website OR photo of you holding your favorite tote
- One short sentence on why you chose that tote

After we've received all of the submissions, we'll pick one lucky winner and send her her very own YumSugar tote! I can't wait to see your favorite totes.

You Showed Us Your Cookbooks!

YumSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:01:31 -0700

A few weeks ago I asked you to share your favorite cookbook with the rest of us. For PartySugar it's Williams-Sonoma's The Bar Guide by Ray Foley. For me it's Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. There were so many great entries (over 20!) and only one duplicate. These books look fascinating and I can't wait to try out some of them. Thanks to everyone who submitted their book!

Entry #1
LA's Sarah Kushner wanted to share Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess. She says it's the one cookbook she uses on a regular basis.

Entry #2
Radarkitty from Livermore, CA wanted to share the book Sweet Gratitude. She choose it because it's all about baking desserts and is a fun illustrated read.

Entry #3
SoCalSugar, who's in Berkeley via San Diego, wrote in to share Christine Ingram's Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking: The Definitive Encyclopedia of Healthy Vegetarian Food. She believes there's a lot of great variety, including hearty and unique vegetarian meals that omnivores will love too!

Entry #4
Llendril writes in from Peyton Colorado to share Dorie Greenspan's Baking, From My Home To Yours. She loves this book because she believes Greenspan to be a lovely writer who produces even lovelier baking recipes.

Entry #5
Portland based LovaAJN couldn't choose a cookbook, so instead she's decided to take a picture with her favorite pink binder. This binder holds her most cherished recipes, including ones passed down to her from her mom.

Entry #6
Chef Farid Zadi, who's originally from France but is currently based in LA would love to share The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage by Rachel Laudan. He chose this book because it helped him look at food cultures and food history through a new lens or rather multiple lenses.

Entry #7
France-based Jennifer ended up deciding on The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine by John D. Folse. She believes it's beautiful and well researched with over 700 recipes that chart the evolution of cuisine in Louisiana.

For SEVENTEEN additional submissions, please read more

Entry #8
Maryann from Finding La Dolce Vita writes in to tell us about Honey From a Weed by Patience Gray. She chose this book because it contains stories and recipes gathered from the people who live close to the land in Tuscany, Catalonia, The Cyclades, and Apulia.

Entry #9
Jay from Cincinnati, Ohio wants to share both Professional Chef and Baking & Pastry from the CIA. Why? Because those two books are a continual inspiration for
all the "goofy *&^%" he wants to create!

Entry #10
Schianne dropped a line from Virginia to say that the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (which is about 17 years old!) is her favorite because she can count on it to have recipes for the staples as well as fancier dishes.

Entry #11
Good ol' Chubby from Bunrab loves Simple French Food by Richard Olney so much that it's falling apart from use. This old school book without glossy photos contains recipes like onion panade, sorrel tart and turnip gratin that are beyond delish.

Entry #12
Carrie from Minnesota's Twin Cities loves the Betty Crocker New Edition Cookbook because she grew up with it and has become very familiar with the recipes. She's also never had one go wrong!

Entry #13
Lucky entry 13 comes from Nags in Hyderabad, India. Her favorite cookbook is Tarla Dalal's Healthy Subzis. It's the favorite because of the simple and healthy recipes, and because it allows her to mix-n-match.

Entry #14
Half-Baked in Alabama wants to share the Joy of Cooking with us all. She loves it because you can find a recipe for almost anything you want to make.

Entry #15
Sarina writes in from Trinidad to share Vegetarian Express by Nava Atlas and Lillian Kayte. She loves that it contains wonderful tasting vegetarian meals that can be made in 30 minutes or less!

Entry #16
Washington DC based Popgoestheworld would like to share America's Test Kitchen's The New Best Recipe. She believes it has the absolute best recipes for all the classic dishes.

Entry #17
Linda writes all the way from The Netherlands to share Donna Hay's Modern Classics 2. It contains lots of yummy and well-written recipes, but what she really "loooves" are the pictures!

Entry #18
Nahm in Santa Monica, CA would love to share Tommy Tang's Modern Thai Cuisine Cookbook. It's her fave book because most of the recipes are Thai, but not all the way Thai; therefore people who are not used to real Thai cuisine can enjoy them too.

Entry #19
TeamSugar member Rothchild wrote in to also share the Joy of Cooking. She says that it's her go-to whenever she makes something new or uses a new ingredient. She also says that it has never failed her!

Entry #20
Josh writes in from the Bay Area to promote Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher. While this book does not have a recipe for cookies, meatloaf or veggie casserole, it does have a plethora of delicious beer recipes from polka dot pilsner to pumpkin spice beer.

Entry #21
Our very own TeamSugar has fallen in love with Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour. She thinks it's a superb read because not only does he cover the food, but the culture and people that have made it.

Entry #22
Team member tdamji wants to make sure we all know about How It All Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. She loves it because the recipes are simple and don't require a lot of special ingredients. She belives that it's a great cookbook for vegans and non-vegans alike!

Entry #23
Kiwitist wants to make sure that we all know how much she loves The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It's her old, beat-up favorite book!

Entry #24
Finally, last but not least, we have YumJimmy who is sharing How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. He uses this book all the time and treats it like a reference. This should give you an idea on how much he uses it: Whenever I ask him about something the answer is usually, "Well Bittman says..."

View 24 Photos ›

Show Us Your Cookbooks!

YumSugar — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:10:26 -0700

Tomorrow's the last day to participate!!!

Get your pictures in now! Read below to find out how you can be included in the roundup!

This month is all about summer reading here at YumSugar. We're talking about our favorite cookbooks, our favorite books about food, and books that just make us think of food. I don't know about you, but we have books in our collection that we just can't live without. For me it's Baking Illustrated by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. For PartySugar it's Williams-Sonoma's The Bar Guide by Ray Foley. We've both taken pictures with our favorite cookbooks and now we want you to do the same! So go ahead and take a picture of you with your favorite cookbook (or book that relates to food, drink or entertaining) and send it on over.

You can use the Look Book feature on TeamSugar, or post it in a blog or on your own website. When everyone's submitted their photos (due date: August 24), I'll do a giant post featuring everyone's pics (and you don't have to cover your face, we're just shy!)!

To be included in the roundup, notify me via email (yumsugar@gmail.com) or PM by August 24 with the following information:

- Name you want me to use
- Where you're from
- What book you chose
- Link to your look book, blog post or website OR photo of you holding your favorite cookbook
- One short sentence on why you chose that book

Can't wait to see your fave cookbooks!

Last Chance! Food Challenge: American Idol Style

YumSugar — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:26:47 -0700

For some reason, I thought everyone would be pretty excited about my American Idol Food Challenge - I guess I was wrong. Turns out you are all excited about seeing the results, but not so excited about actually entering... (thanks to those who have already!)

So, in a last-ditch effort to ~~guilt~~ persuade you to enter my challenge, I'm extending the deadline to NEXT Tuesday, May 15.

To participate all you have to do is come up with a dish that makes you think of American Idol. It can be a cocktail, a dip, a full dessert, anything. If it makes you think of Idol then serve it up!

Here's how you enter:

Write about your creation by ~~May 8~~ May 15 (be sure to include a link to this here post). If you don't have a blog, you can always sign up for a TeamSugar account and post it there.
Send me an email by ~~May 8~~ May 15 (the roundup will be posted on ~~May 11~~ May 18) with the following information:
- Your name & location
- Your blog name
- Permalink for your post
- What you made and why
- A 100x100 pixel image of your creation (optional)

Send the emails to yumsugar[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject "American Idol Creation" (or send an PM or use the contact form) - I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! I'll post the full roundup on ~~May 11th~~ May 18th.

YumSugar Out!

Image Source

Reminder: American Idol Food Challenge

YumSugar — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:20:16 -0700

Don't make me cry folks, so far there have been no takers for my American Idol food challenge. Please tell me that you're all in your kitchens whipping up something tasty (or untasty, this is American Idol afterall...) for my challenge. Entries are due this Tuesday May 8. Do I have to extend the deadline? Was the challenge too hard? Come on, I know you guys are up for a challenge. If a cake shaped like Simon is too hard, how about a parfait where each layer represents one of the judges? I know you've got it in you.

Here's what you need to do to participate:

Write about your creation by May 8 (be sure to include a link to this here post). If you don't have a blog, you can always sign up for a TeamSugar account and post it there. Or post it in the comments below.
Send me an email by May 8 (the roundup will be posted on May 11) with the following information:
- Your name & location
- Your blog name
- Permalink for your post
- What you made and why
- A 100x100 pixel image of your creation (optional)

Send the emails to yumsugar[at]gmail[dot]com with the subject "American Idol Creation" - I can't wait to see what you guys come up with! I'll post the full roundup on May 11th.

Oh and if you're wondering, that Sanjaya cookie came from the crazy folks over at Milk Fat.

Southern (Indian) Thanksgiving

Yum Community — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:30:42 -0800

This story was written by member courtneyd and comes from the Kitchen Goddess group in the YumSugar Community.

For a few years now I've wanted to try to marry the traditional Southern Indian food my husband grew up enjoying with Thanksgiving as I know it (Southern girl with a love of spice and heat). So this year I did a trial run of a tandoori-style turkey made in the oven.

By next year I hope to build my own tandoor, or at least grill this guy, because it needs a little more heat to crisp up properly. Even so, the meal turned out great! Tandoori turkey, tamarind gravy, creamed saag, masala mashed potatoes, and Whole Foods' naan, which has a slight dinner roll texture, so it works out perfectly for this blended meal. The tamarind gravy was an original creation (that I cannot believe turned out properly, it was sooooo good), and the other recipes were either inspired by or taken directly from The Food of India from Whitecap Books. I love their "food of" series, and my husband is impressed with the Indian recipes.

For the turkey, I followed the instructions from November's Martha Stewart Living to spatchcock a turkey and cooked according to their instructions after marinating for about 7 hours. Not including the marinade time, this meal came together in about 2 hours on a Friday night. Also, we discovered New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc complements Indian food perfectly.

To get her recipes for this Southern Indian feast, keep reading.

Announcing Our Thanksgiving Recipe Challenge!

partysugar — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:00:34 -0800

Calling all home cooks: Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we want you to share your tried and trusted recipes in the community. Just join the Kitchen Goddess group and go hog wild! Does your giblet gravy get rave reviews? Do people fight over the last of your sweet potato casserole? Is everyone always asking for the secret to your green beans? Now's your chance to show us what you've got. Upload your recipes along with a photo and a brief description of the dish to the Kitchen Goddess group. All month long, we'll be selecting our favorite recipes and featuring them here on YumSugar. Imagine the satisfaction you'll have on Thanksgiving dinner when you sister-in-law says, "this stuffing is the best I've ever tasted," and you coolly reply, "I know. It was featured on YumSugar. I'll send you the link to the recipe." So what are you waiting for? Start typing up those recipes now! To learn how to post recipes, check out this guide.

Reader Challenge: Deep Fried Elvis Cupcakes

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:57:31 -0700

TeamSugar member sarahkushner inspired us all with her root beer float cupcake and now she's hoping to do it again. This time around she's proposing an Elvis cupcake challenge. Actually make that the deep fried Elvis cupcake challenge. That's right, she's provided a recipe for a poundcake cupcake that is filled with bananas and peanut butter and then deep fried, and she wants you to make it!

If you're interested in making this creation (she says she's going to do it eventually, but maybe you can beat her to it!) then check out what she has to say.