Fabric Giveaway 1 Winner!!!

Congratulations Jennifer you are the winner of my first fabric giveaway!!!
Thank You to all who entered, keep on entering there will be more contests to come!!!

Raw Blueberry Blossom Honey Review

Mohawk Valley Trading Company’s Raw Blueberry Blossom Honey is unpasteurized, unfiltered, unprocessed, unheated and unblended. Therefore, all of the pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics are in the same condition as they were in the hive. I believe this honey to be the eighth wonder of the world! I never imagined that a honey could come from the hive and taste like a fruit. Blueberry blossom honey has a distinctive taste that will blow any other type of honey out of the water!

I use raw blueberry blossom honey for every recipe that involves berries including; blueberry scones, muffins and pancakes, the essence of blueberry in the batter really works great with any berry. I have also added it my bland wild blackberries that I made jam with and now my family won’t eat anything else! I literally add blueberry blossom honey to everything I whip it in my butter and cream cheese for toast and bagels and I even add it to my plain Greek yogurt.

The places you can use raw blueberry honey are endless but it is not for everything. At one point I ran out of wildflower honey when I was making honey mustard for a pork dish. I substituted wildflower for blueberry blossom and that was a mistake because all I could taste was blueberry and that was just not for me. Although someone else may like it I personally do not recommend using blueberry blossom honey with meat.

Blueberries are one of the few fruit-bearing plants native to North America. Maine is the largest producers of blueberries on the continent. The biggest difference between wild blueberries (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush) blueberries is the time they need to be harvested. Highbush blueberries are harvested once a year, while lowbush blueberries are harvested once every other year. Another difference is the size of the plant. Highbush blueberries can grow to more than 6 feet in height. Lowbush blueberries reach a height of one foot or less.

Low bush blueberry blossoms have small white or pink bell-shaped flowers. During the growing season, lowbush blueberries produce the flower bud by the end of the year. The next season, these flower buds blossom and produce blueberries. Lowbush blueberries are harvested about 2 months after the flowers blossom in the spring.

The berries from a lowbush blueberry plant are smaller in size and have a more concentrated flavor than that of a highbush.Wild blueberries are also richer in antioxidants. One-cup serving of wild blueberries has more total antioxidant capacity than a serving of cranberries, strawberries, plums, raspberries and cultivated blueberries. Highbush blueberries are not part of the commercial blueberry industry in Maine.

Raw honey has been proven throughout the years to have many health benefits because; Raw honey contains all of the pollen, enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics in the same condition as they were in the hive making honey a so called super food.

I highly recommend the raw blueberry blossom honey and I think you will too once you try it! Here is my favorite recipe, give it a try.


Honey Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:
1/4 cup raw blueberry blossom honey
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 egg plus 1 egg separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Cinnamon-sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. In small bowl, whisk together honey, yogurt, egg, egg yolk and vanilla; set aside.
2.  In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well.
3.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Add in currants. Gently mix wet ingredients into flour mixture until just combined.
5. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; shape into 8-inch circle (about 1 inch thick). Cut into 8 wedges.
6. Place on greased baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart.
7. Lightly beat egg white brush on dough;
8. Combine cinnamon-sugar; sprinkle on brushed dough.
9. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Fleece Blanket Giveaway- 1- Winner

Congratulations Emilee you are the winner of my first fleece blanket giveaway!!!! I will have many more to come so don't get bummed out if you entered did not win.

Raw Buckwheat Honey Review

Raw buckwheat honey in my book is an acquired taste; raw buckwheat honey has a deep, dark brown color, strong, pungent, molasses like earthy flavor, I found that it is very different from the wildflower and fruit blossom honeys. The flavor wavers toward the savory side rather than sweet aromatics of your typical honey. I decided to not use this for my sweet baked goods but instead for breads, barbeque sauce and other sauces that contain already pungent ingredients like dark beer and mustard.

I made a loaf of honey wheat bread and the depth of flavor was absolutely fantastic! The earthy flavor and the more subdued sweetness mad the bread great for toast and sandwiches. I have used the buckwheat honey as a glaze by itself on grilled meats that were prepped with a spicy dry rub, when the honey combined with the dry rub they created a barbeque sauce that was one of a kind. I also experimented with the honey by adding it to my honey mustard dressing recipe and now it is a staple in my home.

Not all honey is created equal and that is the case for the raw buckwheat honey, although it is honey it is not one that should be used to substitute a wildflower honey because it is very, very different; Though in the right application it adds an extraordinary dimension to a dish.

Buckwheat is also known in the holistic medicine world as a wonder drug of sorts because it has a high in mineral content and antioxidant compounds. When I was sick with a chest cold I could not stop coughing! I tried all of the over the counter cough syrups with no avail, then I tried the raw buckwheat honey as a cough syrup and it worked better than the store bought cough syrups. I have recommended this to several of my friends and they too have confirmed that it truly worked.

If you are planning to use buckwheat honey for its health-benefits, make sure the label states raw honey because that is specific type you need. This is because heating of any honey (pasteurization) destroys the all of the pollen, live enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics; these are the important parts to receive the health benefits. Mohawk Valley Trading Company’s raw buckwheat honey is the same as it was in the hive.
You might be wondering what exactly is Buckwheat? Buckwheat is neither a grass nor wheat, but is a fruit related to rhubarb it was one of the first crops cultivated in the United States. Dutch colonists brought buckwheat to North America where they planted it along the Hudson River. Buckwheat was sometimes called beech wheat, because its seeds look like small beech nuts. Buckwheat was an important crop in the U.S. until the demand declined in the 1960's. Today, it is primarily grown in Northern states such as New York, where the Mohawk Valley Trading Company’s buckwheat apiaries are located.

Buckwheat seeds are also used or making gluten free flour and buckwheat blossoms are an excellent source of nectar and blooming can continue well into the autumn.

Try this recipe out for yourself; you will be presently surprised how well the buckwheat honey flavor works!

Milk and Buckwheat Honey Loaf Makes 1 loaf

1 cup wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup raw buckwheat honey

Directions:

Grease a 7 by 3-inch loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Put the wheat flour in a mixing bowl. Sift the white flour, baking powder, and salt over the wheat flour.
Measure the milk in a 2-cup measure and incorporate the buckwheat honey at a drizzle.
Pour the milk and honey mixture into the flour and beat until well combined. Pour into the loaf pan and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until humped and well browned.

Raw Autum Wildflower Honey Review

Mohawk Valley Trading Company offers many different flavors of raw honey that is unpasteurized, unfiltered and unprocessed. Even before you open the jar you can tell that it is a very high quality product. The Raw Adirondack Wildflower Honey which I most recently tried is by far the most versatile raw honey that I have tried thus far.

I try to find a way to replace refined sugars with raw honey in most of my recipes.  I have found that it is easier to replace sugar with a raw honey rather than liquid honey because of the solids that are retained in the raw honey that are not found in the liquid type. I have used the wildflower honey to bake, cook and as a topping for yogurt and ice-cream.

The color is light and the flavor is too, it complimented every dish I made superbly! I prepared a honey mustard glaze for roasted pork the honey melded well with both the flavor of the meat and with the mustard.

For dessert I used the raw honey in fruit and cream cheese tarts, I whipped the honey into the cream cheese instead of using milk and powdered sugar. The filling came out fluffy and had a beautiful glossy finish it looked like something out of a magazine!


The wild flowers that the bees feed on vary from year to year making the color and flavor different year to year. The bees feed on the pollen of plants such as golden rod and milk weed and my other plants that cause allergies many people. Studies have shown that eating the raw honey with these pollens can help people reduce allergen intolerance.

Raw honey has been proven throughout the years to have many health benefits because; Raw honey contains all of the pollen, live enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics in the same condition as they were in the hive making honey a so called super food.
I would highly recommend the Raw Adirondack Autumn Wildflower Honey for any recipe. The light flavor is great for people who may not want the rich flavors from other types such as buckwheat or the tulip poplar locust.

Honey Granola

1/4 cup raw honey
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup raisins or chopped dried fruit
3 cups oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped nut meats

In large ungreased baking pan, combine oats, coconut and cinnamon; mix well.

In small bowl, combine nuts, honey, butter and vanilla. Pour over oat mixture in pan.

Bake at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring several times.

Remove from oven; stir in raisins. Cool in pan. To serve, top with diced apples and yogurt.

100% Cotton Denim Fabric Giveaway 1 Crooked Brook

Crooked Brook is a label used by the atelier division of an art studio that offers full service apparel design, pattern making, sample making, private label small lot production and embroidery. As a result of this, they generate a wide variety of clean, small pieces of fabric that are perfect for sewers, quilters or crafters, that I have partnered with them to offer for giveaways.

For this Fabric Giveaway, I am offering a box of small pieces of 100% Cotton Denim Fabric.

What is Denim Fabric?
Denim is a heavy cotton twill fabric, that is produced when during the weaving process the weft thread passes over the warp thread two or more times.  This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from other fabrics like cotton duck. Denim is desirable because of its durability and versatility of use from jeans to shoes and even upholstery.  

 

To enter this giveaway, check out Crooked Brook’s fabric page and leave a comment here with the type and color of fabric you would like to see offered for a future giveaway.

You must be 18 years or older to win.
Contest ends midnight (Eastern Standard Time) 05/23/12.
Winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email.
Winner will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
Crooked Brook will ship the prize to the winner within 30 days of contest end.
Physical address required for shipping; no PO boxes, US recipients only residing in one of the 48 contiguous states.

Raw Apple Blossom Honey Review

Mohawk Valley Trading Co. sells unpasteurized, unfiltered, unprocessed, unheated, un-blended raw apple blossom honey. Their raw apple blossom honey took me buy surprise as to how versatile it can be and I believe it to be one of the best raw honeys on the market today! It can be used in just about any dish you can imagine, I used it to the replace the white sugar in my apple pie filling and now I will never use white sugar in this again.

The raw apple blossom honey added a whole new dimension to the flavor of the pie and all of my guests were so impressed and could not get enough. I whip a bit of honey into my butter and use it in frosting's to cut down on the amount of sugar needed in the recipe also the butter works great or any breakfast food.

Not only is the raw apple blossom honey great for baking, but it is a fantastic addition to any savory dish calling for honey. I use it in dressings, barbeque sauces and as a simple glaze for chicken and pork dishes. As most people do I also use it on my toast, in my tea and as a topping for my pancakes and French toast as a substitute for maple syrup.

Raw honey has been proven throughout the years to have many health benefits because; Raw honey contains all of the pollen, live enzymes, propolis, vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, and aromatics in the same condition as they were in the hive making honey a so called super food.

You may be wondering how the flavor of an apple is transformed from floral pollen into eatable honey; It has to do with the wide variety of apple blossoms that the bees feed on that gives Raw Apple Blossom Honey its unique and extraordinary flavor.

Not far from the Mohawk Valley Trading Company headquarters, on a south facing slope of the Mohawk Valley, there is a little known boutique apple orchard. The owner, in addition to growing a wide variety of officially recognized apples, has developed a few species of apples that exist nowhere else, except in his orchard.

At the beginning of apple blossom season, they set up an apiary in his orchard.

This Apple Blossom Honey is derived from the nectar of Fuji, Wolf River, Crispen, Sweet Sixteen, Pound Sweet, Granny Smith, Winesap, Fortune, Cortland, Empire, Ginger Gold, Macoun, Spigold, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Acey Mac, and other apple blossoms that the bees will collect from.

The uniqueness of the apiary’s surroundings is why when you taste Mohawk Valley Trading Company’s Raw Apple Blossom Honey you will never taste another like it, because there is no other place like the Mohawk Valley on earth.

See for yourself; try out this wonderful recipe to test this marvelous product.

Raw Apple Blossom Honey Cake

Ingredients
²⁄₃; cup raw apple blossom honey
2 eggs
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup apple juice
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups flour, less 1 tbsp
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Prepare an 8 X 4 loaf pan with shortening and flour. Line the bottom of the pan with greased parchment paper.
Whisk flour all other dry ingredients.
Beat eggs in a separate bowl; add sugar and honey, beat until smooth and light in color. Gradually add butter until well blended.
Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture alternating with apple juice.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and top with sliced almonds.
Bake 50 minutes in a 325 preheated oven until knife inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven let set several minutes, the flip onto wire rack and finish cooling.

Fleece Blanket Giveaway 2- Crooked Brook

I am excited to announce Free Is Sweet has teamed up with Crooked Brook to sponsor some fleece blanket giveaways.

Fleece blankets (also called fleece throws) are made from Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or other synthetic fibers and can also be made out of recycled PET bottles or recycled fleece. They are lightweight, warm, soft, and hydrophobic; holding less than 1% of their weight in water which allows them to retain much of their insulating powers even when wet.

Fleece blankets are machine washable, dry quickly, are very breathable and will not lose their thickness when compressed; it does not matter if you crush, pull, twist or wad up the blanket it will come back to its original shape and thickness.

It is these properties that make fleece blankets ideal around your house, work and these are blank, wholesale fleece blankets with a slight imperfection or custom embroidered fleece blankets with an embroidery mistake in the corner.

There are many things you could do with these second quality fleece throws. First, if it is a smudge that can be washed out, you may be able to use the blankets as they are. If not, you could decorate it with a crocheted edge or make fleece pullovers, scarves, booties, hats, vests and lots of other items.

These fleece blankets are great keep to in your vehicle, for your cat, dog or a baby animal that needs to be kept warm.

Actually, you could do whatever you want with it.

The prize for this Fleece Blanket Giveaway is a 50” x 60”, 100% polyester fleece blanket with a slight imperfection or an embroidery mistake. The color of the fleece blanket will be determined by what Crooked Brook has at the time the winner is announced, and they will try their best to send the winner’s blanket in the color they would like to win.

To enter, leave a comment here about what you would do with your fleece blanket.

The winner will be randomly chosen and can choose from the colors shown in picture.

Terms & Conditions:

You must be 18 years or older to win.

Contest ends midnight (Eastern Standard Time) 5/18/12.

Winner will be chosen randomly and contacted by email.

Winner will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen. 

Crooked Brook will ship the prize to the winner within 30 days of contest end.

Physical address required for shipping; no PO boxes, US recipients only residing in one of the 48 contiguous states.

Honey Like No One Else- Buckwheat Honey Giveaway!

Eric the creator of the blog Honey Like No One Else is hosting his very first honey giveaway! At his site you can enter to win a jar of Buckwheat Honey from the Mohawk Valley Trading Company.

Eric is the founder of the blog Eat Like No One Else and his passion for honey is why he hosts a separate blog on his main site that is specifically dedicated to honey. Here is a little info about Eric and why he is so passionate about honey:

My name is Eric. I live in Saline, Michigan with my wife (Donna) and two daughters, Hannah (4) and Autumn (1). I have been enjoying varietal honeys ever since I first tasted orange blossom and avocado blossom honeys during a trip to California in 2011. I have started up a separate blog from my main blog to share my passion for great tasting honey and the stories behind them.

Why have a separate blog on my site dedicated to honey? Honey is a very diverse sweetener that is collected in a variety of ways. There are so many interesting stories out there on how the beekeepers get their honey. I plan to bring you those interesting stories. I also want to share some of the nation’s best honeys with a focus in my own backyard (Michigan).

I got into varietal honey about a year ago. I was a skeptic at first. I thought I would never be able to tell the difference between a clover honey and an orange blossom. While visiting California, I tasted some honey at a farmer’s market. I was surprised at the flavor my tongue was experiencing. That day I bought my first orange blossom honey as well as some avocado honey. I have tried many different honeys since from cranberry blossom to star thistle to sourwood. All have their own unique flavor.

On this blog you will find interviews with beekeepers, reviews of honeys, recipes, and sources to buy honey. I am planning on taking all this research and turning into my very first e-book.

There are multiple ways for you to gain entries into this contest and if you would like to enter to win a jar of Buckwheat Honey head on over to Honey Like No One Else.

100% Organic Cotton Twill Fabric Giveaway 1 - Crooked Brook

I am very excited to announce that I will be giving away a box of assorted Certified 100% Organic Cotton Twill Fabric  courtesy of Crooked Brook. These are nice size pieces of fabric with endless possibilities!

Crooked Brook is a label used by the atelier division of an art studio that offers full service apparel design, pattern making, sample making, private label small lot production and embroidery. As a result of this, they generate a wide variety of clean, small pieces of fabric that are perfect for sewers, quilters or crafters, that I have partnered with them to offer giveaways!

For this Fabric Giveaway, I am offering a box of small pieces of 100% certified organic cotton twill scraps.

What is Twill Fabric?
Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs this is achieved when two sets of yarns cross each other, usually at right angles, generally accomplished with a loom. With fewer interlacing in twill fabrics this allows for the yarns to move more freely, and thus they are softer and more pliable allowing the fabric to drape nicely. Twills recover from wrinkles better than plain-weave fabrics do because of the number of interlacing. Twill fabrics have a front and a back side, unlike plain weave, where both sides are the same. The front side of the twill is called the face and the back is called the back. The face side of a twill weave fabric is the side with the most apparent pattern. The face side is typically more durable, more attractive, and most often used side of the fabric. There are various types of twill fabrics including chino, drill, denim, gabardine, tweed and serge all of which are suitable for many applications.

 

To enter this giveaway, check out Crooked Brook’s fabric page and leave a comment here with the type and color of fabric you would like to see offered for a future giveaway.

You must be 18 years or older to win.
Contest ends midnight (Eastern Standard Time) 05/16/12.
Winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email.
Winner will have 48 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
Crooked Brook will ship the prize to the winner within 30 days of contest end.
Physical address required for shipping; no PO boxes, US recipients only residing in one of the 48 contiguous states.