YumSugar

Whet Guests' Appetites With a Spicy, Seasonal Salad

YumSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:15:00 -0800

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12 Days of Edible Gifts: Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix

YumSugar — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:43:19 -0800

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Celebrate Flavors of the Holiday With Sweet, Spicy Pecans

YumSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:47:41 -0800

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How To Host a Chili Cook-off

partysugar — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:30:03 -0800

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Soup's On: Radicchio Soup

partysugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:18:18 -0700

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Home Away From Home: Lainio's Snow Village

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 06:00:11 -0700

Before I bid Winter a final adieu, I thought I should bring you some awe-inspiring photos of a unique hotel, bar, restaurant, and art gallery in Finland. The Lainio Snow Village is located in the smal town of Lainio in the western part of Finnish Lapland, about 150 km north of Lapland's capital Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle, and opens on December 1st every year. Consisting of an Ice Bar, a Snow Hotel, a restaurant, and an art gallery, the space is made of snow and ice, and features colorfully lighted ice sculptures and snow sculptures. There are also amusements for kids as well, with an ice maze and snow slide.

If you're daring, you can rent one of the 20 double igloo rooms at The Snow Hotel, or one of six ice suites. If you get chilly, you can descend to the subterranean floor where there's a sauna, showers and bathrooms, and a large room with a fireplace. I'd love to have an ice adventure by staying over at the Snow Hotel; would you?

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Midday Muse: Ice Escapades

CasaSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:00:11 -0800

When I used to live in a chilly part of the country, one of my favorite Winter distractions was walking out to the Lake Superior Ice Caves of the Bayfield Peninsula. The combination of ice, wind, and dripping water creates amazing stalactites and stalagmites, along with dramatic sweeping arcs of ice. It's a beautiful and unearthly landscape, and one that makes months upon months of Winter worthwhile - almost.

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Soup's On: Sweet and Spicy Chili

partysugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:43:31 -0800

Technically chili isn't a soup, but since it's almost Super Bowl Sunday, and chili is a one-pot meal made in a similar process as soup, I had to feature it. My dad discovered this recipe and has been raving about it for a couple of weeks now. Currently it's our favorite chili because its both sweet and spicy at the same time.

Brown sugar adds the sweetness and serrano and jalapeno peppers add the spice. To save time, I used the food processor to chop the vegetables. This recipe does take a few hours for the flavors to meld, so don't wait until the last minute. To see the method behind the chili, read more.

Sweet and Spicy Chili
From Jason Miller of Primehouse New York

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
16 oz. coarse ground beef
12 oz. sirloin (prime grade is best), cubed into 1/4 in. chunks
2 medium yellow onions, chopped into 1/4 in. dice
1 shallot, diced fine
2 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
1 red bell pepper, diced 1/4 in.
1 green bell pepper, diced 1/4 in.
1 cup tomato paste
1/2 tsp. fine-ground instant espresso
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cayenne
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 15 oz. cans kidney beans
2 cups beef stock
1 28 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, chopped (drained, but reserve juice)
12 oz. dark beer (Guinness recommended)
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned thoroughly about 8 minutes. Drain off excess fat.

Add sirloin, garlic, onions, shallots, green and red bell peppers and continue to cook for an additional 12 minutes, making sure to thoroughly brown the sirloin and get a good carmelization on the vegetables.

Add the tomato paste, espresso, dried seasonings, and sugar. Saute and thoroughly mix over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add beans, stock, tomatoes, beer, and hot peppers and let simmer for one hour over medium-low heat, stirring the mixture every 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for additional one hour, using the reserved drained tomato juice to thin if needed.

Serve hot with the garnish of your choice: cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, etc.

Serves 10-12.

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Noboarding: I Say Yes to the No, bindings that is

FitSugar — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:30:00 -0800

If you are a surfer in your heart and soul, nothing can compare to the freedom of gliding over ocean waves, with nothing but a board between you.

But in the winter, your only option is to snowboard, but the feeling of being locked into bindings that are attached to a board, isn't much like surfing at all. Until now.

Check out the noboard. No bindings. Nothing but you and your board. In order to stay on, you hold onto a rope that's attached to your board, which has a heavy duty, thermal-set, elastomeric pad. This just means that it's specifically designed to have outstanding grip and it's able to handle cold temperatures.

Noboarding allows you to use your body more freely, which obviously makes it much more difficult than regular snowboarding. Which was why it was created in the first place by the late and great Gregg Todd.

You can check out the Noboard short film (Yes to the No) coming to a town near you - the Banff Film Festival World Tour features this and other stunning short films on mountain themes that are like nothing you've ever seen.

Want to see a some photos and a video of noboarding? Then read more

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