Tag: cooking

H is for Highland Foods Maple Pepper | Maple makes everything taste better.

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The maple connoisseur in my family is my husband. It is with great pride that he was able to wean me off of imitation maple syrup and onto the real stuff. Now I’m a convert and the worst kind of zealot. I can’t image not using the real stuff for my pancakes, over ice cream or in recipes.

Other maple products have thus far eluded me even though there are many to choose from in Maine. There was even a limited edition craft beer release of Maple Sunday from Lone Pine Brewing that was released this year on Maine Maple Sunday.  I blogged about Maine Maple Sunday during last year’s challenge with my post #atozchallenge | C is for Coopers Maple Products and Maine Maple Sunday.

Last month, with St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, I decided to try out Highland Foods Maple PepperTM and cook the Guinness Beef Stew recipe listed on their blog. Highland Foods has been making maple pepper for thirty years and they sell three types: garlic, original and habanero. I used the original maple pepper for my beef stew. The original flavor is made with 100% pure maple sugar, sea salt and black pepper along with a few other ingredients.

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Wings Closeup

#atozchallenge | W is for Wings Made with Deer Camp Black Bear Chipotle BBQ Sauce

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Finding ourselves in Portland one late afternoon with a few hours to spare, my daughter and I decided to pick up a few groceries at Trader Joe’s. Since the trip was unplanned, we didn’t have a shopping list so instead spent time wandering the aisles. Shopping without a list can be a dangerous activity. You never know what you’ll bring home. On a whim, I grabbed a two-pound bag of frozen organic chicken wings. I love wings, but surprisingly have never actually made them at home. This seemed like a reasonable splurge.

During checkout, the cashier commented that he’d heard great things about the wings saying “You wouldn’t think wings would be anything special, but they’re supposed to be delicious”. Interesting observation. I was feeling pretty pleased with my purchase.

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Alien Autopsy Cake Full

Alien Autopsy Cake to Celebrate the X-Files

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The X-Files was probably one of the first cult shows that I was obsessed with, and it launched a lifelong attachment to cult shows. It was unique, quirky, fun and had two extremely likable leads. While I admit, my attention did wane towards the end of the original series as I never quite got over Mulder leaving; it still holds extremely fond memories.

When I heard they were going to re-boot the show, I was so excited! My youngest even binge watched the entire series (thank you Netflix) so that she would be able to watch the revival and understand the history. She loved it so much she named her biology book Mulder. It was a proud Mom moment.

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