foodwhirl – Dabbled

St Patrick’s Day cooking…

Dot — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:12:07 +0000

St. Patrick’s day is coming up… got any cooking plans? Here are some of the recipes shared previously on Foodwhirl.com.

Niki’s Homemade Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patty’s Ideas – Corned Beef & Cabbage Tacos

Irish Car Bomb Ice-cream Sundae

Spotlight- Guinness Spiced Muffins

How to Cook Greens……for St. Patricks Day!

Happy Saint Patty’s day: just add pesto.

New Facebook Landing page for Foodwhirl

Dot — Mon, 16 May 2011 17:12:14 +0000

OK, OK, I promise more arts & crafts and less web design in the near future, but I had to show this off.

Facebook pages are generally pretty boring, and I have a client who wanted a fancier facebook landing page. So I decided to create one for Foodwhirl to see how difficult it was, before I costed it for her. And, though a little complex (once I figured out that facebook was no longer supporting FBML and I needed to use iFrames, i found this great tutorial) , it wasn’t too hard for my mad web skillz.

If you haven’t “Liked” foodwhirl, just go here: http://www.facebook.com/Foodwhirl to see it! And of course, Like foodwhirl while you’re there.

If you have friended Foodwhirl on Facebook, you can still see the page, just click ‘Welcome’ in the list in the left sidebar.

NOTE: if you’ve enabled secure browsing in facebook (https:), you’ll get an error message first. Just click to go to http for that session, and you’ll be able to see it.

Foodwhirl Wants You!

Dot — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:15:08 +0000

I’ve been coding my little heart out for the past week adding some new functionality to our group food blog, Foodwhirl.com. I’ve been wanting to add some new functionality to make it easier for you guys to submit your own recipes, and submit links to your food related posts.

Recipe Links:

Well, I think we’re about ready with the first part of the process… So go try out the “Submit your Recipe Link” – which will let you submit a link to a food related post you’ve already published on your own blog. So, if you blog, and you think you’ve posted an awesome recipe, technique, cake, or something else food related, now’s your chance to get it featured on Foodwhirl.

Just go here: https://foodwhirl.com/how-to-get-started

If you like, you can register for a logon on Foodwhirl, and see the status of what you’ve submitted, but it’s not necessary. [It’s nice to be able to see the status because it emails when a post is published, but not necessarily when it’s approved and scheduled at this point, and it may be a little while before we post it on the site if there is a backlog…]

Do let me know if you have any feedback on how the process works… we’ve tested it a bit this week, but there could still be some things that need clarifying or don’t work quite right.

Publish a Recipe on Foodwhirl:

Speaking of testing, we’re also almost ready to go with the new Submit a Recipe functionality, too! So if you don’t have a blog, or don’t blog about food stuff, or just want to participate, you can submit your recipe to be posted on Foodwhirl. It’s only for simpler recipes right now, with 1 photo (not the multi-step photo recipes we sometimes have), and it’s still in testing… so we need some guinea pigs!

So, if you’d like to submit a recipe to Foodwhirl, email admin@foodwhirl.com and we’ll give you the details–I don’t want to put the link out publicly yet, since it’s still being worked on…

Cool?

Cool!

cheers,

dot

Recently on Foodwhirl..Fall recipe ideas

Dot — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:03:06 +0000

Need some ideas for yummy fall recipes, or just general ideas on what to fix for dinner? Head over to foodwhirl.com! Some recipe goodness for you…

Pumpkin Thai Soup (and a whole Fall Dinner Party)

Over at The Novice Chef Blog, Jessica shares a fabulous looking fall themed dinner party, complete with menus, recipes, and organizational tips. Love it! Check out one of the menu items… Pumpkin Thai Soup–isn’t it gorgeous!

How to Cook Perfectly Boiled Eggs

Please welcome Jennifer Locklin of Jane Deere! We love her blog (we featured her Chicken Tikka Masala the other day), and this is the first in a series of “Techniques” posts from her.. so stay tuned! See the whole series. Looking for the perfect hard, medium, or soft-cooked egg?

Ancho Swordfish with Ginger-Sweet Potato Mash

Check out this gorgeous dinner from the lovely Janelle at Talk of Tomatoes! This truly looks like something you’d pay a fortune for at the fancy foodie restaurant of your choice. So how about treating yourself and making it at home? A romantic dinner, perhaps?

I love tacos! Interesting taco ideas…

Tacos are a great go-to dinner idea, that can either be fancy and exotic, or simple and homey. Here are a few unusual taco ideas that I thought might give you some inspiration! We’ve done some fun taco ideas here on Foodwhirl too.. like Corn Beef and Cabbage Tacos and Shrimp and Fish Fajita Tacos..

Chocolate Covered Coffee Petite Eclairs

How about something delightfully decadent the next time you get an urge to bake? Check out these chocolate covered eclairs from Foodalution! When you’ve mastered cookies and cakes, knowing how to make pâte à choux should certainly be part of your advanced repertoire…

Chicken Tikka Masala

I love Indian food, but I must admit I’ve rarely attempted to make it. This Chicken Tikka Masala from Jane Deere looks fabulous, and might be a good first foray for me into the world of Indian cuisine!

Raspberry Peach Whole Grain Muffins

Our spotlight today shines on Steph of Steph Chows… She made these delectable looking Raspberry Peach Whole Grain Muffins on the fly, with no recipe… Bravo! They do look yummy AND healthy. But in case YOU need a recipe, you can get hers: Farm Fresh Muffins

5 Quick and Versatile Back to School Dinner Ideas

The kids are back in school, and with that comes soccer practice, play dates, homework, and countless other things that get in the way of a relaxed dinnertime routine. If you’re like us, you need some quick dinner ideas which can be pulled together quickly, and get everyone fed in a somewhat healthy manner!

Pinto Bean & Turkey Sausage Soup

This is a variation of my ‘go-to’ bean dishes that find their way to my table all whenever the weather starts to turn cool. This particular version uses turkey sausage and chicken for lower fat content, and the pinto beans that my 5 year old decided we needed at the grocery store the other day.

Easy Creamy Tomato Soup

As Fall approaches and temps get cooler, you may be thinking about serving warm and comforting soups to your family. I used to wait tables at an awesome place in Silver City, NM called Diane’s Restaurant. One of my favorite menu items was their creamy tomato soup with garlic croutons.

Lemon Rhubarb Mousse Cakes

These are so pretty, I had to share them with you guys… Delectable Deliciousness made these, and what a lovely little dessert that is sure to impress your guests with your baking prowess! She shares the technique, with lots of photos, for making the cake part, which could of course be used for other applications…

Missing The Boy.. plus Noodles, beets, squash & more

Dot — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:10:18 +0000

Thanks for all the feedback on my ‘teaching kids to read’ question the other day… lots of good input – very appreciated! If anyone else wants to weigh in, be sure to stop by :)

I’m missing my little one, who has been visiting myriad grandparents and other adventures. Will see his cute little face on Saturday!

(Here he is from a few weeks ago when
we went to the Botanical Gardens >>)

And also… If you’re a fan of Dabbled friend The Domestic Scientist, stop by and help her out… Apparently there are some great tools on the iPad for her autistic son.

For those of you who don’t stop regularly by Foodwhirl (and why not??) I try to link some of the recipes and techniques here at Dabbled on occasion, so you don’t miss any yummies.. (By the way, if you’re interested in contributing a recipe to Foodwhirl, just let me know!)

Foodwhirl Yummies: Asian Overlapping Meals

So, over at Foodwhirl, I’ve finished the overlapping ingredients series I was working on at Foodwhirl… So if you like noodles, shrimp, and things like that, go check it out!

Tasty Tofu Pad Thai

Starting off our Asian “Overlapping Meals”, we have one of my favorite comfort foods, Pad Thai… As with the goal of this series, many of the ingredients used in this dish will also be used later in the week, for less waste and more cost effectiveness!

Shrimp and Asparagus Noodle Salad

Next in our series of ‘overlapping meals’, here is a wonderful Asian inspired main dish salad that is quick to prepare on a hot summer evening. I love this cross between a pasta dish and a salad! This was inspired by Vietnamese Noodle Salads, but it draws on similar sauce and techniques from the Pad Thai.

Summer Shrimp Sushi

If you’ve never tried to make sushi rolls (maki) before, it’s a fun thing to try… especially if you have a little helper like I did. It makes a great appetizer or first course for a dinner party–or add a salad or some steamed edamame, and I’d eat it for dinner by itself!

Also, some other summer yummies, plus some good techniques:

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

This is an excellent salad recipe that I posted at my Gaia’s Greens website a couple of weeks ago when we had beets in our organic produce boxes. It is quickly becoming a favorite in my house!! The combination of flavors is just perfect and it’s fast and easy to make.

Fresh Squash 2 Ways

Our 2010 crop is in full swing with yellow and zucchini squash topping the list of most prolific. In spite of the fact that we’ve eaten squash with almost every meal for the last week or so, I still love it and am always looking for new ways to prepare it.

How to pre-cook and freeze meatballs

I love the convenience of reaching into the freezer and grabbing a few handfuls of meatballs for something like a quick spaghetti dinner. When my child was a toddler, meatballs were a great alternative to whatever meat the adults were having (like steak!), so I’d pull out a few frozen meatballs, and have a quick kid friendly main dish…

How to (effectively) freeze ground beef

We’re all looking for ways to stretch our food dollar these days, and also–if you’re anything like me–we like to have common ingredients on hand so we can pull together a quick dinner without having to run to the store. Ground beef if one of those things I always like to have on hand. It’s great for making a quick chili in the winter, or an easy taco night. Or to beef up a quick pasta meal or pull together a shepherd’s pie. Or even for hamburgers!

Eggplant Bites with Red Sauce

In the Spotlight: I love eggplant… (Eggplant fried up nice and crispy is one my guilty pleasures!) so this take on a bite sized appetizer portion of eggplant parmasan at Talk of Tomatoes sounds pretty tasty! Bites, nibbles, crumbly blobs of Parmesan and breadcrumbs on small pieces of eggplant.

Yum! Buffalo Chicken Fingers..

In the Spotlight: Spotted at Can You Stay For Dinner, how to make Buffalo Chicken Fingers… and some great thoughts on not demonizing food, too! I love recipes that let you make your pub food favorites at home. And if you don’t want to make them spicy, this recipe would work for plain chicken fingers to feed the kids!

Happy Fourth! (Shrinkie Glass Markers & Holiday Link Roundup)

Dot — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:51:17 +0000

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday today (for those in the States of course, others can just have a lovely day!). If you’re still trying to get into the spirit, or throwing a little party today, here are some links to get ya going!

Here’s one of my favorite party projects, from July 4th a few years ago… Shrinky Stemware Charms made from recyclable #6 plastic (like from to-go containers)!

“For the 4th of July, my husband and best friend were running the Peachtree Road Race, so I decided to have brunch at my house and invite over friends for mimosas and food. Since we were doing mimosas (champagne and OJ for the uninitiated), i figured everyone would be drinking out of stemmed glasses and they’d get mixed up, so what about making some fun, temporary glass markers using shrinky dinks. I made up 6 the night before on a whim, and they were quite loved by all, but the funny part was that the morning turned into a shrinky dink party as everyone wanted to try and make their own (both more glass markers, and other fun stuff).”

Go Read the Whole thing and get the How-to! Shrinky Dink Stemware Charms

Here’s some more cool Independence Day links, too!

Dessert and Drink ideas for the 4th of July from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen
Creative July 4th Party Ideas at Tip Junkie
A Frozen Trio of Red, White, and Blue (sort of) at Perry’s Plate

Recipe: Coconut Granita with Lychees (she suggests adding red and blue fruit for 4th of July colors!) at Zakka Life
Mega-crafty’s cupkins for July: Cupkins: 4th of July Red, White and Blueberry Muffins …and Red White and Blue Cupcakes from her partner in crime, Ready, Set, Craft!
More Cupcakes! Independence Day Cupcakes at Ooh Shiny!

Lots of Decor and Food Fourth of July ideas from Chica and Jo
Rhubarb, Blueberry & Cream Parfait From the Chronicle Kitchen
One Pretty Thing’s Fourth of July Roundup Here, and more 4th of July here!

July 4 Roundup at Dollar Store Crafts (lots of cupcake ideas…)
Love this Nautical Crab Boil at Design*Sponge
Hot ‘n’ Smoky Baked Beans from Niki, here at Foodwhirl!
And here’s Rawls’ Potato Salad, if you need more food…

And More from Foodwhirl:

Iced Tea Gelato, and more Summer Recipes!

Dot — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:38:44 +0000

The other day I had an inspiration… We have a mint plant that is growing like crazy, and I adore a little sprig of mint in my Iced Tea in the Summer time. So a recipe creation was in order… What about gelato, inspired by the flavors of good ol Southern iced tea? The experiment was quite a success – although next time I think I’ll add a bit of lemon zest to the mix to really capture a perfect iced tea. Go get the recipe over at Foodwhirl: Southern Mint Iced Tea Gelato.

More Summer food inspirations from Foodwhirl.com:

Tres Leches Pancakes

“My awesomely cool friend Rachel pointed out these on her Facebook, and I had to link them here. We’ve featured Tres Leches Cake here before (yay, Niki!) but I know some of you won’t go bake a cake. But everyone makes pancakes, right? They aren’t scary. So check out these Tres Leches Pancakes at Givers Log.”

Lunch Ideas: Salmon Cucumber Sandwich

“Need a nice, healthy lunch, or a light dinner? I adore fish sandwiches in the summer, and salmon and cucumber are always a nice mix! I love to cook an extra salmon filet or two (to medium rare) when doing salmon for dinner (maybe Chili Garlic Salmon?), then heating it up the next day for a quick lunch.”

Birthday Party Brunch

“With the summer so hot, when I recently planned my son’s birthday party, I decided to do it as early in the day as possible to beat the heat a bit. And since we were inviting both kids and adults, we needed ‘real food’ for everyone to munch on. A brunch was a relatively easy and cost effective way to feed everyone and have a great gathering…”

Cooling off for the Summer

“I hope everyone is gearing up for a lovely Weekend! Here in Atlanta it’s going to be beautiful, but HOT… So, here are some ideas for cooling off! ” Including: Make a Cucumber Gimlet at Crumpets and Cakes! Or maybe some Homemade Herbal Lemonade. Pictured: Star Shaped Fruit salad from Chica & Jo.

Spotlight: Sushi / Ceviche

“I spotted this gorgeous idea this morning, at Cristina – from Buenos Aires to Paris, and thought “wow, 2 of my favorite foods – why didn’t I think of this combination?” Needless to say, this looks divine! Dreaming about vacations by the sea? Late summer nights sharing dinner with friends?”

Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)

“I’ve been on a kick of Asian inspired food lately (like this Easy Pad Thai!) and this one looks like an excellent choice… A simple Thai meal! Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow) at No Recipes. Thai Basil Chicken is one of those dishes that fits squarely in the category of best-bang-for-your-buck.”

Penne Pasta with Cream, Pesto and Tomatoes

“I’ve been experimenting with selling herbs at the local farmers market recently and the one that seems to sell the best is basil. I always seem to sell out early. So this last market, I took double what I normally take and guess what….. I didn’t sell it all. …”

Greek turkey burgers with yogurt and feta

“This sounds like a delicious application for ground turkey, from the very helpful The Perfect Pantry! Why does a whole chicken taste better than a whole turkey, but ground turkey tastes better than ground chicken? I don’t have the answer, but I always have ground turkey in my freezer.”

Cajun Shrimp & Okra

“I had the urge the other night to make some sort of dish with shrimp, to use up some shrimp broth in my freezer. I had a pound of shrimp, and also some frozen okra on hand, so I figured that was just screaming to go Cajun or Creole (Let the good times roll with Shrimp Creole!).”

And if you’re not reading Foodwhirl, why not? It is yummy tasty good over there…! Here’s the Foodwhirl RSS Feed.. for new recipes delivered mostly daily! And Foodwhirl’s Facebook or Twitter if you’d prefer to follow us that way. So go stop by and say hi! You’ll find me over there, plus lots of other real cooks cooking real food.

Quinoa, Gnocchi Tots, Rhubarb Pie, and more…prizes too!

Dot — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:56:00 +0000

First, the prize!

On Foodwhirl today, pick your favorite recipe for a chance to win an $80 gift certificate!

Go ahead… I’ll wait. OK, you entered the contest? Good. Now, on to some recipes!

More recent recipe yummies on Foodwhirl:

Spotlight: Pork Ragu

Over at Talk of Tomatoes, Janelle has a tasty looking recipe for Pork Ragu! This looks like a wonderfully simple ‘go-to’ meal…
“I am in love with ragu. Shall I marry it? I made this ragu recently for lunch, and my eldest son says to me: “mom, this is the only thing I am willing to eat the rest of my life.” His way of saying: make it again and again and again and again and again…”

Don’t fear the Quinoa! Crunchy Quinoa Salad.

Quinoa. Pronounced “keen-wah”. What the heck is it? It’s a grain-like seed from Peru that is incredibly healthy (high in protein, and full of amino acids) and quite tasty too! You basically can use it as a healthier substitute most places you would use rice or couscous.

Spotlight: Rhubarb Cream Pie

Reader Allison, from the delightful newish blog, Radishes and Rhubarb, does her first actual rhubarb related post… And it’s a sweet one, dedicated to her mom, with a delish looking recipe for Rhubarb Cream Pie. The recipe is her mom’s, and thanks to Allison for sharing it! (I must admit, I have never tried to cook with rhubarb… although those gorgeous red stalks always look tempting.)

Chicken & Spinach Enchilada “Lasagna” Casserole

The other night I was brainstorming on dinner, and my eyes feel to a bag of tortilla chips we had opened the other evening when we had friends over. “Hmmm…” Dot thinks. “What can I do with those?” (Because Dot is inherently cheap and knows that the chips will just end up going stale and being throw away…) This fabulously easy and tasty enchilada casserole was the result.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Orange Ginger Sauce

“All of these vegetables need to be eaten before they go bad!!” Sound familiar? We went to visit my man’s parents for Mother’s Day and had just gotten my organic produce box the day before we left. I contemplated taking the whole box with me, but it wouldn’t have fit in the overhead compartment… I love my organic produce, and I really hate it when I let it go bad!! I was determined not to let that happen this time!

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken is one of my loves, along with chocolate, mint juleps and David Tennant’s Dr. Who. However, like most things I love, it’s something that I can only have in small amounts. Why is that? Why do we love that which is bad for us? Why can’t fried chicken be a HEALTHY meal? That plaque on my arteries should be good for me – some added structural basis to weakening coronary vessels!

Spotlight: Potato Gnocchi Tater Tots

I ran across this recipe the other day at Deliciously Organic, and had to save it into my ‘to post’ folder! I love this updated take on that old favorite (and guilty pleasure), tater tots.
“What a blast kneading the fluffy potato with a little flour and arrowroot, rolling it into tiny logs, boiling then frying them to golden brown perfection. They taste way better than the tots you find in a bag.”

Simple (almost) Summer Salad

As much as I really wanted to try out Dot’s frank-and-burger loaf recipe for dinner tonight (I mean, yum, right?), I opted to go a slightly simpler and (more than slightly) healthier route. I received some lovely avocados, tomatoes and corn in my produce box this week, and all of them were in need of being used, so I decided to throw together this quick and tasty salad as a side with my stuffed poblano peppers for dinner.

Recently on Dabbled:

Interview: Debbie Does Cakes

Dot — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:25:02 +0000

As long as I’ve been blogging about interesting food, I’ve been finding and loving cakes done by Debbie Goard, of Debbie Does Cakes. Well, I recently got to interview her for Foodwhirl! So head over and check out the interview, and get inspired… You’ll never guess how she got started doing sculpted cakes, and go see what her most bizarre cake orders have been!

Go read the Interview: Debbie Does Cakes

More CAKE! on Dabbled..

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Dot — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:08:27 +0000

Over at Foodwhirl today is a Cinco de Mayo roundup of recipes! Go check it out… Got a fave recipe for Cinco de Mayo? Or a great margarita technique? Do share!

Also recently at Foodwhirl..

Waffled Monte Cristo Sandwich
Heather of Dollar Store Crafts guest posts her fabulous waffled Monte Cristo sandwich… And guess what, it’s even a remotely healthier version!
Braised Beef Cannelloni
Karen shares what to do with a big hunk of beef, when you are sick of pot roast.
Spotlight: Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Check out the latest creations from the monthly Cupkins team.
Tres Leches Cake for Cinco de Mayo
Niki’s cake looks divine, and she describes it as a mashup of cake and icecream..what’s not to love?