Baking Goal: Stuffed Croissants

Oh so yummy! Anything with chocolate and I'm in! Check out the recipe here!

Homemade Ketchup

Source

Ingredients
1 can chopped tomatoes (28 oz)
1 can tomato paste (small)
1 large chopped onion
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 spoonfuls nutmeg (heaping)
2 pinches ground allspice
2 bay leaves (or 3)
a sprinkle or two of salt and pepper


Directions
Pour everything into a sauce pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue cooking until the mixture reduces by half, about 45 minutes. Puree until smooth with an immersion blender or in a stand blender or food processor.

Baking My Way: Cranberry Orange Meltaways

I could eat these cookies all night. It's no wonder they call them meltaway cookies...they just melt in your mouth and make you want to go back for more! Unlike the Orange Cranberry Bars I really like this combination of cranberry and orange (a little softer taste?) and the fact that it's a cookie? Well I'm hooked. I read on another blog that that baker makes them around thanksgiving and I think I'm going to start doing that too. It's a great festive cookie if you want it to be!  


1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
powdered sugar, if desired

1. Heat over to 350. In large bowl, combine sugar, powdered sugar, margarine, and oil; blend well. Add orange peel, vanilla, and egg; blend well. Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; mix well. Stir in cranberries. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

2. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until bottoms are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool 15 minutes or until completely cooled. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Savory Sunday

I just thought I'd show you some photos of my favorite plant (zz plant) and remind you about my green living blog Green Girly! Right now I'd doing a lot of garden care posts because we're all planting right about now, cause after all, it's spring! I'd love for you to come over and support me there! The more followers the better!

Skirt Steak Tostadas with Spicy Black Beans and Fresh Mango Salsa from Baking with Blonde

Tartufo from Life is Sweets

Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese Sandwich from Galley Kitchen

Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake from Baking with Blondie

BUTTERY CINNABUN CAKE from The Wednesday Baker

Here's how it will work:

1) Link up to the link below (link as many as you want but try to link something savory if you can)
2) Grab the Savory Sunday button and put it in the post you are sharing
3) Leave a comment after you post
4) I'd love for you to become a follower if you're not but it's not a requirement :)

<a border="0" href="http://thesweetdetail.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz355/amandandouglas/TheSweetDetailsButton-1.png" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://thesweetdetail.blogspot.com/search/label/Savory%20Sunday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz355/amandandouglas/Screenshot2011-04-22at14942PM-1.png" /></a>

link- Chai Tea Bread

Doesn't this sound wonderful? I need to wait for a chilly day to bake this and sit and eat it with a nice cup of tea.

Health Tip of the Week: Chemicals in Makeup Pt. 3

Quaternium-15 is a toxic agent used in cosmetic creams. Quaternium-15 can cause skin rashes and allergic reactions. Trade names: Dowicil 200, Dowicide Q, and Preventol.



Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is a surfactant, detergent, and emulsifier used in thousands of cosmetic products and industrial chemicals as a cleansing agent. It has a degenerative action on cell membranes and is damaging to hair and skin. High levels of skin penetration may occur at even low-use concentrations. Because it is derived from coconuts, SLS is implied to be "natural," but it is mixed with sulfur trioxide or chlorosulforic acid and then neutralized with aqueous sodium hydroxide (lye).

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (shortened from Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate or SLES) is a yellow liquid detergent similar to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, with higher foaming ability. SLES is considered slightly less irritating than SLS.

Talc – used in face powders and baby powders – can cause lung problems. Talc may be contaminated with asbestos. 



Color Additives date back as far as 5000 years. The desire to improve one's appearance is not a modern concept. Artificial colors and dyes are now included in nearly every cosmetic product.

Many coal tar derivatives are suspected carcinogens, and most artificial colorants have not yet been tested for cancer risk. About 76 D&C (approved for use in Drugs and Cosmetics) color pigments, and approximately 19 FD&C colors are used in food and toiletries. Six FDA "certified" colors are suspected carcinogens. Others may cause hives, eye irritation and permanent blindness, behaviour problems, emotional outbreaks, attention deficit disorder (ADD), chromosome damage, and reproductive mutations. Absorption of certain colors can cause oxygen depletion of the body resulting in death.

Fragrance chemicals are added to cosmetics and toiletries. Fragrance on a label can indicate any of 4,000 individual ingredients, nearly all synthetic. Fragrance exposure can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioural problems. "Fragrance-free" and "unscented" products may still contain fragrance chemicals without listing them on the label. 80%-90% of fragrance chemicals are petroleum derivatives that can enter the body through inhalation, skin, or ingestion, and go directly to the brain.

Information found at townsendletter.com

Baking Goal: White Chedder Dill Crackers

Don't these look great? We love crackers in our house, and we got through them really quick so I think it would be great to be able to make them! Check out the recipe here at Arctic Garden Studio