Reminder the Dutch Chocolate letters are going fast

Buy Dutch Chocolate Letters here The milk and dark letters are swiftly moving into homes both near and far waiting for Sinterklaas. To learn more about Sinterklaas go to The Holland Ring.

Don't forget the 9th Dutch Open house is on November 16th, 2008.

Indofoods spice packet mixes Coconut Chicken dinner

Buy Indofoods Coconut Milk Curry Opor Ayam here

I used 1/2 of a spice packet last night with boneless skinless chicken thighs. I mixed it with the broth that is left after cooking the chicken - about 2/3's of a cup and served the cut up chicken and sauce over penne pasta with brussel sprouts. This was a big hit! But then the Indofoods spice mixes always are.

All Indofoods mixes are preservative free and at $1.25 they are an inexpensive way to try the delicious flavors of Indonesia without investing in the individual Conimex spices

Opor Ayam recipe IndoChef's Opor Ayam recipe

I think I figured out how to get the photos off of my phone so I can start posting about the Seattle Food and Wine Experience

Gov. Chris Gregoire Visits the Marina Market and buys licorice!

Our own Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire came to town today and she bought New Zealand's best licorice, RJ's soft eating licorice (both the Black and the Raspberry) for her daughter Michelle.

She also voted for my scarecrow as best (and signed it) so I could show off, Um, I mean tell people she endorsed my scarecrow! I'll have to post a photo of it. It's head is made of Gouda cheese wheel, the eyes, hair and smile are licorice. It is wearing a Marina Market shirt and a pirate apron. Little tiny mice and big rats are nibbling it. Oh and a hippo is open wide to chomp down too.

I am going to post about the fantastic time I had eating my way through the Seattle food and wine experience yesterday, courtesy of FOODBUZZ! Thanks again Shannon!

Awesome brownie pan that is all corner brownies!

Make your brownies extra good with Rademacker, Droste or Van Houten Dutch cocoas

Read more about it here, and don't forget to shop your local independent community stores!

What makes the edge brownie pan special?

Two delicious, chewy edges on every individual serving
Patented sidewalls circulate heat evenly throughout the pan
Better performance (fewer undercooked middles and burned edges)
Sized to fit box mixes and recipes for 9”x9” or 9”x13” pans
Premium nonstick coating and round, easy-to-clean corners
Durable heavy-gauge cast aluminum construction
Recessed handles allow pan to be gripped when turned upside-down
Custom spatula and recipes/instructions insert included

“Could this simple redesign of a conventional baking pan really eliminate the problem of undercooked middles and burned edges when baking foods like brownies, bar cookies, and even lasagna? When we tested the pan in our kitchen, we were pleased to discover the answer was yes. The heavy-gauge cast aluminum pan evenly distributed heat while cooking, and because the Baker’s Edge has more edge baking surfaces than most pans, it gave each serving of our brownies two chewy edges (a great thing if you like edge pieces!). And when we made lasagna in the pan, we discovered another advantage of the interior walls -- they kept the food stacked, which made for a better presentation and neat, easy serving. We also liked the pan’s handle design -- when it’s turned over, the recessed handles can still be gripped, unlike bakeware in which the handles become flush with the counter when the pan is flipped over.”
- Equipment Corner, America’s Test Kitchen

Allrecipeis.com Best ever Brownie Recipe

Best Brownies
Submitted by: AngieRated: 4 out of 5 by 2623 members
Prep Time: 25 MinutesCook Time: 35 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour Yields: 16 servings
"These brownies always turn out!"
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com
Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/22/2008

If you go to the all recipes link you can print the recipe out in 3 size formats!

Poulsbo lutefisk dinner news

Get away to old Port Orchard, new Bremerton, picturesque Poulsbo

By Susan Gilmore Seattle Times staff reporter

Here is a mention of our Lutefisk TV dinner!

Poulsbo is filled with quaint, artsy shops and is home to the famed Sluy's Bakery, which invented Poulsbo Bread. And where else can you spot a sign advertising lutefisk TV dinners? I even plunked down $4 at a used book store to buy an old Nancy Drew book, my favorite series from childhood.

Reduce the duration of your cold with Ricola Elderberry supplement drops and clear your sinus pain with Haribo Bronchiol Eucalyptus gummies

Ricola uses elderberry juice concentrate with an herbal mixture of thyme, hyssop, lemon balm, sage, peppermint and lemon juice to create these yummy good for you supplement drops. Two drops provide 100% of daily vitamin C needs.

Here is an excerpt of an interesting article about elderberries and how they reduce the duration of cold or flu. For the full article click on the links.

Health Benefits Boost ELDERBERRY
Prepared Foods, June, 2001 by Chris Kilham

*Antioxidant activity. In Karlsruhe at Germany's Bundesforschungsanstalt research center for food, scientists conduct studies on dietary agents that can reduce oxidation and protect cells. According to research led by the center's director, Dr. Gerhard Rechkemmer, anthocyanins found in elderberries possess appreciably more antioxidant capacity than either vitamin E or vitamin C.
* Immune payoff. Rechkemmer's investigations also show that elderberry anthocyanins enhance immune function by boosting the production of cytokines. These unique proteins act as messengers in the immune system to help regulate immune response, thus helping to defend thex body against disease.
When asked if he thinks that further berry research will reveal additional health benefits, Rechkemmer is positive. "1 believe so. But the anthocyanins are extremely hard to track in blood plasma, so we do not know exactly what they are doing in the body. We must discover their mode of action and go beyond belief to certain knowledge."
* Cardiovascular protection. At the scientific heart of the elderberry boom, Doctors Werner Pfannhauser and Michael Murkovic at Austria's University of Graz have found that elderberry extract reduces oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Oxidation of LDL cholesterol is implicated in atherogenesis, thus contributing to cardiovascular disease.
* Anti-viral activity. An Israeli study on the anti-viral activity of elderberry extract found that in vitro elderberry extract inhibited replication of a number of strains of influenza A and B in cell cultures. In the same paper, administration of elderberry extract to 27 patients with influenza shortened the duration of flu symptoms.
* Stress reduction. Austrian endocrinologist Dr. Sepp Porta uses elderberry concentrate in stress studies. "We only gave these people the elderberry for 10 days," he notes. "We put them through typical stress tests, all the usual physical challenges, and the results were so remarkable, I checked them over and over."

Haribo Bronchiol Eucalyptus gummies are individually wrapped and also come in Cherry Eucalyptus.

The powerful eucalyptus quickly works to clear sinus congestion which is a common malady here in the Pacific Northwest.

Foodbuzz Publisher Community Launches

FOODIE ALERT: LAUNCH OF GLOBAL FOODBUZZ BLOGGER COMMUNITY
INCLUDES LOCAL POULSBO, WA BLOGGER

San Francisco – October 13, 2008: Foodbuzz, Inc., officially inaugurates its food blogger community with more than 1,000 blog partners, a global food blogging event and an online platform that captures the real-people, real-time power of food publishing in every corner of the world. At launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.

Local blogger Andrea Rowe of Poulsbo's Marina Market (http://www.marinamarket.com/) is a Foodbuzz featured Publisher. Her blog is http://www.gotlicorice.blogspot.com/ The Marina Market has been supplying the Kitsap region with International foods from Scandinavia, Holland, Germany and more for over 10 years from the heart of downtown Poulsbo.

“Food bloggers are at the forefront of reality publishing and the dramatic growth of new media has redefined how food enthusiasts access tasty content,” said Doug Collister, Executive Vice President of Foodbuzz, Inc. “Food bloggers are the new breed of local food experts and at any minute of the day, Foodbuzz is there to help capture the immediacy of their hands-on experiences, be it a memorable restaurant meal, a trip to the farmers market, or a special home-cooked meal.”
Foodbuzz is the only online community with content created exclusively by food bloggers and rated by foodies. The site offers more than 20,000 pieces of new food and dining content weekly, including recipes, photos, blog posts, videos and restaurant reviews. Members decide the “tastiness” of each piece of content by voting and “buzz” the most popular posts to the top of the daily menu of submissions. Foodbuzz currently logs over 13 million monthly page views and over three million monthly unique visitors.
“Our goal is to be the number-one online source of quality food and dining content by promoting the talent, enthusiasm and knowledge of food bloggers around the globe,” said Ben Dehan, founder and CEO of Foodbuzz, Inc.

The Foodbuzz blogger community is growing at a rate of 40 percent per month driven by strong growth in existing partner blogs and the addition of over 100 new blogs per month. “The Foodbuzz.com Web site is like the stock of a great soup. The Web site provides the base or backbone for bloggers to interact as a community, contribute content, and have that content buzzed by their peers,” said Mr. Dehan.

Global Blogging Event

Demonstrating the talent and scope of the Foodbuzz community, 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs offered online food enthusiasts an international, virtual street festival of food and diversity. The new feature showcased blog posts from 24 Foodbuzz partner bloggers chronicling events occurring around the globe during a 24 hour period and included:

· Mid-Autumn Festival Banquest (New York, NY)
· The "Found on Foodbuzz" 24-Item Tasting Menu (San Francisco, CA)
· Aussie BBQ Bonanza – Celebrating Diversity (Sydney, Australia)
· The Four Corners of Carolina BBQ Road Trip (Charleston, SC)
· Criminal Tastes – An Illegal Supper (Crested Butte, CO)
· From Matambre to Empanadas: An Argentine Dinner (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
· A Sweet Trompe l’oeil (Seattle, WA)

“24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs” captures the quality and unique local perspective of our food bloggers and shared it with the world,” said Ryan Stern, Director of the Foodbuzz Publisher Community. “It illustrates exactly what the future of food publishing is all about – real food, experienced by real people, shared real-time.”
About Foodbuzz, Inc.
Based in San Francisco, Foodbuzz, Inc., launched its beta Web site, foodbuzz.com, in 2007. In less than a year, Fooduzz.com and its community of over 1,000 exclusive partner food blogs have grown into an extended online property that reaches more than three million users.

Contact: Allison Costello Ketchum allison.costello@ketchum.com Doug Collister Foodbuzz doug@foodbuzz.com
# # #

It's Lutefisk time in the city. First Poulsbo Lutefisk dinner of the season is October 18th, 2008

Buy Lutefisk here!The first Lutefisk feed of the season is at the First Lutheran Church (on 4th Ave. two streets up from the store) on October 18th.



This is the 96th Annual dinner. Poulsbo celebrates it's 100th Anniversary as a city this year. We have a long history of eating lutefisk as the the town was settled by Norwegain Fishermen.


Photographer: Lauritzen & Westh

What will be served?
Lutefisk, made from true cod and processed in the conventional Norwegian manner, and served with melted butter or cream sauce.
Norwegian meatballs and gravy; Potatoes and Lefse.
Special Lutefisk Dinner Salad and Fresh sliced tomatoes.
Sherbet with Norwegian cookies.
Coffee, tea and/or milk.
The dinner is Served Family Style – All you can eat. Beverage and desert included.

The Second Poulsbo Lutefisk Dinner is at the Sons of Norway Lodge on November 15th, 2008 with basically the same menu. A good time is had by all at both dinners which are attended by hundreds of lutefisk loving locals.

A delicacy in 1555 Lutefisk was first mentioned in the Norwegian literature of Olaus Magnus in 1555. He describes how lutefisk was prepared and eaten: The stockfish must lie in strong lye for two days and two nights, it is then rinsed in fresh water for 24 hours before it is cooked and eaten. It is served with salted butter and is highly rated, even among kings!
Immigration to the USA Lutefisk is eaten throughout Norway, both in the country and in the towns and cities. Lutefisk is also eaten in Sweden and in parts of Finland, but not in Denmark – although a good explanation for this has yet to be given. In the last 160 years it has also been eaten in the USA, owing to Norwegian immigrants bringing the tradition of eating Lutefisk to America in the 19th century. However, it appears that the main reason for why the tradition has been kept alive by the descendants of Scandinavians in the USA is that eating lutefisk has been a strong symbol of Nordic identity for several generations. It is still the case today perhaps more than ever.