For animal lovers, this can mean a double dose of giving: along with donating some canned goods or a sack of groceries at the grocery store, consider dropping off an unopened bag or cans of cat or dog food, or even a bag of litter to your local Humane Society or pet shelter as well.

Not only do the food and supplies benefit animals at the shelter, but many shelters nationwide also distribute items to people who are in need of them, and whose pets may not be able to eat without the help of the donations.

For more information on what is acceptable to donate, be sure to contact your state’s Humane Society, SPCA, or other local animal shelters. Many are also in great need of things like towels, washcloths, litter pans, etc, and monetary donations are also always welcome.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Don’t Forget Shelter Pets at Thanksgiving

To help stretch things out a bit and in an effort to appreciate it more, I love using pumpkin in as many dishes as I can. It’s the pefect tie-in for the season, and something I really look forward to, even in spring and summer. This week’s link round up are recipes and dishes featuring pumpkin:

~ Peanut Butter Pumpkin Brownies at Natalie’s Killer Cuisine

~ Harvest Pumpkin Soup from From Ketchup to Chutney

~ Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake at Streaming Gourmet

~ Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Playing House

~ Pumpkin Fudge at Recipe Girl

~ Easy Pumpkin Soup at Budget Bytes

~ How to Make Pumpkin Puree from Worth the Whisk

~ Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Three Ways at eCurry

~ Healthy Spiced Pumpkin Bread from Chef In You

~ Classic Pumpkin Bread at Gimme Some Oven

~ Pumpkin Apple Spiced Bundt from The Food Librarian

~ Pumpkin Martinis at Cake, Batter and Bowl

~ Pumpkin Waffles from Pennies on a Platter

~ Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate at Luna Cafe

~ Sweet Potato Pumpkin Biscuits from 13 Bakery

~ Turkey Bean Pumpkin Chili at Erin’s Food Files

~ Fall Pumpkin Dip from She Wears Many Hats

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Weekend Foodie Links: Pumpkin

Thankfully, my kids all like oatmeal, and though they’ll eat it with a little bit of brown sugar and milk, I like to surprise them every so often by adding fruit or baking it, like this baked apple oatmeal. This recipe makes six servings and the apples can be substituted with blueberries.

Baked Apple Oatmeal
from mr. breakfast

3 cups rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned)
2 cups chopped apples
2 cups milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup applesauce
1 large egg – beaten
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt

~ Prepare a 2-quart baking dish with a light coating of cooking spray.

~ Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~ In a large bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

~ In a seperate bowl, mix together milk, egg, applesauce, butter, and brown sugar.

~ Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry and pour into prepared dish.

~ Bake for 20 minutes.

~ Stir the oatmeal, fold in the chopped apple and bake 20 more minutes until top is lightly browned.

~ Spoon into serving bowls and serve with milk and a little extra brown sugar.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Baked Apple Oatmeal

Since most afternoons are still a little on the warm side, even the cooler iced drinks are still a treat, whether it’s an iced coffee or a yummy fruit shake. So for this week’s link round-up, I kept an eye out for all of the above, and found a lot of great, creative drink recipes to try out:

~ Eggnog from Sugar Crafter

~ Pumpkin Protein Shake at Eating Well, Living Thin

~ Autumn Sangria from Tokyo Terrace

~ My Glass Is Greener Juice at Healthy. Happy. Life.

~ Es Cendol from J’s Kitchen

~ Hot Matcha Green Tea Latte at The Sweetest Kitchen

~ The Caledonian from Houseboat Eats

~ Seven Fruit Smoothie with Yogurt at Beachlover Kitchen

~ Anise Herbal Tea from La Fuji Mama

~ Honey Liqueur Recipes at The Pegu Blog

~ Cameron’s Kick Cocktail from Umamimart

~ Matcha Green Tea Latte (2) at Kirbie’s Cravings

~ Rooh Afza from Pham Fatale

~ Vesper Martini at Sippitysup

~ The Spicy Lemon Cocktail from Tokyo Terrace

~ Kahlua Cream Cocktails at Kaiser Penguin

~ Calm Chamomile Banana Smoothie from Healthy. Happy. Life.

~ Vietnamese Iced Coffee at Ravenous Couple

~ Damson & Apple Cordial from Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess

~ Homemade Orange Liqueur at Palachinka

~ Healthy Oatmeal Shake from Gina’s WW Recipes

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Weekend Food Links: Beverages

October is:

National Apple Month

~ Apple Recipes
~ Old Fashioned Apple Cakes
~ Apple Almond Tart
~ Granny Smith Apple Pie
~ Apple Crisp

National Apple Jack Month

~ Apple Jack Recipe
~ Apple Jack Pound Cake
~ Apple Jack Cocktail Recipe
~ Apple Jack Brandy Recipes

National Caramel Month

~ Caramel Sauce Recipe
~ Caramel Apples
~ Caramel Apple Cookies
~ Caramel Banana Cream Pie
~ Homemade Caramel Corn

National Chili Month

~ Turkey Chili in the Slow Cooker
~ Beef Chili
~ Vegetarian Chili
~ Healthy Chili (video)
~ Ten Tips for Cooking the Best Pot of Chili

National Cookie Month

~ How to Make Perfect Cookies
~ Cookie Tips and Hints
~ Vegetarian Cookies
~ Gluten-free Cookies
~ Decorating Halloween Cookies

National Dessert Month

~ Dessert Tips and Terms
~ Dessert Tips
~ Vegetarian Dessert Index
~ Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes
~ Healthy Desserts

National Popcorn Poppin’ Month

~ Healthy Popcorn Collection
~ Gourmet Popcorn Recipes
~ Perfect Popcorn from Alton Brown
~ Homemade Microwave Popcorn
~ Popcorn Toppings

National Pork Month

~ Pork Chop Casserole
~ Pork Recipes
~ Slow Cooker Pork Recipes
~ Healthy Pork Recipes and Tips
~ Healthy Pork Chops Recipes

National Seafood Month

~ Seafood and Fish Recipes
~ Seafood Allergies
~ Top Seafood Recipes
~ Homemade Fish Tacos
~ Seafood Tips

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

October Is…

Image credit: audelising

1. Salsa. Top a patty with spoonfuls of bottled salsa, or better yet create your own! Mix together chopped red tomatoes, onions, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Refreshing!
2. Cheese. All kinds of cheese! Grate cheddar over your patty. Melt some Brie. Crumble Feta. How about some Mozzarella? A layer of cream cheese.
3. Hot, hot, hot! Jalapenos. Roasted red peppers. Chili flakes. Wasabi. Homemade chili. Spice that burger up!
4. Greens galore. Basil leaves are yummy, and so is a scattering of arugula on your burger. How about some alfalfa sprouts or spinach?
5. Sweets for my sweet. Caramelized onions. Candied walnuts.  A drizzle of honey.
6. Go tropical. Pineapple rings. Thousand Island dressing. Sweet and sour sauce. Apple slices.
7. Breakfast in my burger. A hash brown. Sunny side up egg or scrambled. Strips of bacon. Diced ham.
8. Fajita Fun. Sour cream. Guacamole. Diced tomatoes. Salsa. Shredded lettuce. Yum!
9. Asian flavors. Chinese five-spice seasoning. Grated ginger. Hoisin sauce.
10. The Classics. Catsup. Pickles. Cheese. Mustard. Mayonnaise.
11. Go for Crunch! Potato chips. Deep-fried onion rings. Apple chips. Sliced almonds.

What do you top your burgers with?

Post from: Blisstree

11 Toppings to Build a Better Burger

Now, truth be told, I’m actually not a big fan of seafood. I didn’t grow up with it as a regular dish at home and never really seemed to develop a taste for it otherwise. I’m still experimenting and exploring, though, and haven’t written it off! What are your favorite seafood dishes?

~ Grilled Cuttlefish from Nyonya Food

~ Greek Salad with Char-Grilled Salmon at Living Tastefully

~ Lobster Salad at Rue le Sel

~ Fishball Soup from Yours Deliciously

~ Sautéed Squid Concassé at Guilty Kitchen

~ Smoked Salmon Blinis from JBug’s Kitchen Antics

~ Poached Salmon with Corn and White-Wine Butter Sauce at Pink Parsley

~ Petrale Sole with a Beurre Blanc Sauce from Thibeault’s Table

~ Chinese Stir-fried Shrimp with Snow Peas at Use Real Butter

~ Bloody Mary Tomato Salad with Shrimp from Food o’ del Mundo

~ Spicy Salmon, Philly, and Shrimp Tempura tutorial at Soupbelly

~ Asian Noodles With Shrimp from Jessica’s Dinner Party

~ Tuna Salad Roll at Feasts and Fotos

~ Stir-Fried Salmon with Caramelized Lemon from Passion 4 Eating

~ Seafood Casserole at Never Enough Thyme

~ Salmon with Sour Cream and Dill Sauce from Dreaming of Winter

~ Creamy Shrimp and Bacon Linguini at The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch

~ BBQ Mackerel with lemon and Smoked Sea Salt from The Good Mood Food Blog

~ Salt and Pepper Shrimp at Ravenous Couple

~ Warm Cured Trout with Deconstructed Bernaise from Spork and Foon

~ Spicy Ahi Poke on Wonton Chips at The Bite Me Kitchen

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Weekend Foodie Links: Seafood

1. Save your old seeds (check to see if they still work).
2. Compost for homemade soil – even if your yard is small you can compost. In fact, you can compost indoors if you want.
3. Don’t buy new – garden tools, gardening books, pots, and so on. Most gardening supplies can be easily found at thrift stores. You can also borrow from or share garden tools with friends. It’s also super easy to check out books about gardening from the library.
4. Try some easy DIY landscaping instead of paying someone to do it for you.
5. Always use reusable items and recyclables such as egg cartons for starting seeds or reuse the plastic seed pots you used last year (clean well to avoid disease). You can also make your own growing pots with recycled materials.
6. Be water aware. Build a rain barrel, water at night, only give plants the actual water they need, and so on. Using less water can save you big time.
7. Make homemade weed killer -Mix one ounce orange oil and 1 teaspoon liquid soap with 1 gallon of 10% white vinegar. Shake it up and use it to spot treat weeds.
8. Use the least evasive pest control methods first, which are often much cheaper than advanced pest control supplies.
9. Buy seeds locally from the farmers market or a local farm store. You can often buy just what you need vs. a whole packet. at the local farm store.
10. Swap seeds and plants with neighbors.
11. Plant a garden that will naturally thrive where you live. Plants made for your climate will thrive better with less care than exotic plants.
12. Use what you’ve got such as leaves and newspaper as mulch.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

12 ways to garden on the cheap

It got me thinking about food photography in general and how much I’ve learned about it over the last two years. I found the above video about a food photographer who doesn’t mind sharing his behind the scenes tricks to capture the perfect shot for his clients.

He talks about how he got his first taste of food photography as a child when he watched his friend’s dad developing pictures in his dark room. He then started out on his own doing fashion shoots before expanding his portfolio into food photography.

Though the at-home cook probably doesn’t need to employ tweezers to style their food, if you’re interested in food photography it’s important to keep several elements in mind: lighting, props, cropping, and a good macro setting or lens.

I found a few sites and blogs that go into more detail about how to get that perfect shot:

~ Cookography writes about lighting sources and flash, and how to use both to your advantage.

~ Photojojo provides ten great tips on food photography, including the basics like setting and lighting, and also color balance, zoom, and capturing the small details.

~ I like this article from Lifehacker about taking photographs of your food when you’re out in public at a restaurant. It gives a few etiquette tips on how to not be obnoxious to everyone else around you.

Post from: Blisstree

The Art of Food Photography

Not all the recipes are for the grill, but they do all look very yummy, and worth the effort!

~ Grilled Mushroom and Swiss Burgers at Cully’s Kitchen

~ Easy Eggplant Kebab with Meatballs from Give Recipe

~ Salmon en Papillote at Suzie the Foodie

~ Chicken Sandwich with Yogurt Dill Sauce from Life’s Ambrosia

~ Malay-Style Red Chicken Curry at My Cooking Hut

~ Tandoori Fish from eCurry

~ Red Wine and Cranberry Bison Stew at La Casserole Carree

~ Pan-fried Salmon with Soba Noodle Salad from Syrie’s Australian/New Zealand Food Blog

~ Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burgers at Jenn Cuisine

~ Sherry Braised Beef Short Ribs with Autumn Vegetables from Cooking Nook

~ Mexican Meatballs in Chile Ancho Sauce at What’s Cooking?

~ Crispy Oven Fried Chicken from Once Upon A Plate

~ Herb Crusted Saddle of Lamb with Minted Peas at Dragon’s Kitchen

~ Braised Chicken with Rosemary, Grenadine and Lime Juice from Home Cooking Rocks

~ Teriyaki Chicken at Sea Salt With Food

~ Grilled Top Sirloin Steaks with Corn Salsa from Chaos in the Kitchen

~ Molasses-Mustard Glazed Pork Medallions at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

~ Homemade Mini Corn Dogs from Elizabeth’s Edible Experience

~ Aussie Burger at Short’s Kitchen

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Weekend Foodie Links: Meat