ZestyCook » open sky

Come On….Win Yourself a SLICER!

ZestyCook — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:00:43 +0000

OK – I am pumped! Opensky and zesty have teamed up for what I am calling “GET A SLICER” giveaway. Everyone has the chance to win a fantastic product. The Swissmar Borner V-Slicer Plus Mandolin, is a household kitchen product that I cannot live without. It will time and time again make you look like a super star in the kitchen. Whether you are making the perfect French Fries or just some sweet carrot match sticks – this can do it all!

So let’s get this show on the road…. Here it is in all it’s glory. You are getting $42 Value for FREE so make sure you get over to the promo page and enter your name right NOW.

Now onto the details

I wanted to create a little more excitement on how to enter into this contest instead of just the traditional – sign up thru RSS. Opensky has come up with a super easy way to enter for a chance to win a Swissmar Borner V-Slicer Plus Mandolin.

How To Enter:

Head on over to this promo page and enter you name to win.

The Rules:

1 winner will be generated at random. Everyone else who enters will receive a 10% off discount. The coupon can only be applied towards products in “MY” Shop. The coupon expires one week after the promotion begins so make sure you head over to “MY” Shop and use your coupons right away.
The winner will receive 1 Swissmar Borner V-Slicer Plus Mandolin
Contest will end at 5pm EST April 9th, 2010.

Mandolin Uses and Recipes

No matter what you like to eat in your kitchen, this mandolin has a use for you. Here are just a couple of times I used my mandolin and the results were fantastic.

Super Sweet Parsnip Chips

Homemade Healthy Fries

Do you guys remember when I did the healthy version of French Fries. Let’s just say that it was somewhat of a popular recipe around the world. I am not tooting my horn by any stretch of the imagination but there has been a lot of positive feedback on the recipe and technique including one famous foodie. Check this out below…

Anthony Bourdain says:

March 23, 2010 at 9:15 pm (Edit)

We tried your fry recipe and they were really, really great. They were the best that we have ever made at home! Thank you so much for sharing them with us.

Mandolin Tips

A few tips I have learned over the past in using this slicer include:

Be careful – these blades are SUPER sharp
Use long fluid strokes especially when slicing hard root vegetables such as a potato or parsnips
If you are chopping a lot of fries for example you can place the mandolin up higher so the potatoes have a place to pile up underneath – just ensure that the mandolin is sturdy and will not slip.
Clean and dry thoroughly after use to avoid water staining dirt build up

Recap

OK, so there you have it. This is one of the most exciting giveaways ever on zesty. To me whoever wins and buys this product is going to be super happy. I have not used such a “MUST HAVE” product in the last 15 years. I am thrilled to have teamed up with Opensky to offer such a fun prize. By all means if the mandolin is not a favorite of yours or you already have one – no problem. Head over to “MY Shop” and check other great products.

Have yourself an awesome Wednesday and I will talk to you on Friday.

Take care

zesty

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Come On….Win Yourself a SLICER!

Yummy Whole Grain Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

ZestyCook — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:00:51 +0000

Ok, so I have to confess a little bit here. I totally forgot to post yesterday being Monday and all do to the holiday. My apologies for that. To make it up to you I think I have a pretty tasty recipe that you can try at home and I think you even may be impressed at the fact it is “HEALTHY“. Whole grain oatmeal raisin cookies with a couple of unique ingredients that I have been dying to try for a while now. Agave nectar and apple juice in cookies really keeps them on the healthy and lighter side by avoiding the heaviness of the oil and the sugar.

Let me know what you think of the recipe but I think they turned out quite good. They are chewy in texture as well as being soft. They are nice right out of the oven or slightly warmed in the microwave. I like 18 seconds of warming time depending on your microwave of course.

Ingredients

2 Cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 Cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 Cup organic unbleached white flour
2 Tsp. baking powder
3/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. sea salt
1/2 Cup raisins
1/4 Cup flax seeds
1/2 Cup low Fat Plain Yogurt
1/2 Cup Apple Juice
1/4 Cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. Agave Nectar
1 Tsp. pure vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 400°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together oats, flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, raisins and nuts.
In another bowl or blender combine remaining liquid ingredients.
Mix together the wet and dry ingredients.
Drop batter by heaping tablespoons, about two inches apart, on to the baking sheets.
Press each cookie with moisten fingers or a spoon to flatten.
Bake 17 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For an even softer cookie, I like to slightly under cook the cookie as it will continue to cook internally after you take them out. The apple juice and yogurt will also aide in the moisture department.

So there you have it, a fun healthy recipe you can try at home. I had to test the cookies out of course as I watched the Olympics. They turned out just as I hoped. Is anybody else following the Olympics closely?

Stay tuned for a post that you will not want to miss tomorrow. It is all about Zesty and Opensky giving back to all of you. Have a fantastic Monday Tuesday and I will talk to you bright and early in the morning.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Yummy Whole Grain Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Back to Basics Egg-and-Muffin Toaster

ZestyCook — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:41 +0000

It’s Thursday! I have a special treat for you today. I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback on my new Open Sky store over the last few weeks and I am really loving what the folks at Open Sky are doing for online shopping. The idea of taking expert shopkeepers with their views and experiences on products and sharing that information to the readers/consumers is invaluable.

When I started zestycook.com back in August 2008 I had two goals in mind. They were and still are to add value to all my readers and the general public and to have fun doing it. I definitely know I am doing the latter and I strive to add value to each post that I write.

I’ve wanted to do a feature product for the last little while and today is the day.

Back to Basics Egg-and-Muffin Toaster is a great product that will make you super happy in the morning.

Some of the features of this product include:

Makes the ultimate breakfast sandwich in 4 minutes.
Hard boils up to 8 eggs at a time.
Wide slot toasting function for bagels and croissants.
Individual toasting or poaching function.
Auto shutoff for both toaster and egg poacher.

So there you have it. A fun little product that I wanted to share with you. If you happen to have a favorite kitchen product and think that it would be great in the store… by all means tell me in the comments or email. I am always looking for great products that make your time in the kitchen more fun and enjoyable. Have an awesome Thursday and I will talk to you on Friday.

Oh wait, before I go – make sure you enter the giveaway contest.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Back to Basics Egg-and-Muffin Toaster

Shepherds Pie, House Work & Open Sky

ZestyCook — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:10 +0000

Happy Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend. My weekend was action packed with “the house”. We started painting the ceilings this weekend and I had to clean the whole house before paint starts on the walls (today). We are still having window problems – we had some more rain along with a couple of new leaks – grrrrrrr.

We had a lot of help at the new build with sweeping, cleaning and vacuuming. It was greatly appreciated. A zesty in law spent the whole day on Sunday pushing the broom, scraping the seam filling mud off the floor and vacuuming. You gotta love great help! Needless to say I didn’t spend much in the kitchen but we did manage to eat. I wanted to share with you a old time recipe that I am guessing everyone has tried.

Now this is a super dish for leftovers, a great casserole in the winter and even better a pretty healthy dish over all. I know this has ground beef on the bottom but if you are a vegetarian you could simple substitute out the beef for scrambled tofu or just use other vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini or even squash.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
1-2 cups vegetables – chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 1/2 – 2 lbs potatoes (3 large potatoes)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp. milk
Salt and pepper

Method

Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).
While the potatoes are cooking, add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink.
Add the carrots and let them cook until warmed through.Add salt and pepper.
Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
Add corn or peas near the end of the cooking process before adding to the casserole dish.
Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, add the milk to give some extra flavor and season to taste.
Place beef and vegetable mixture in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely.
Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Zesty Tip: There are a couple of tips that I would recommend with this dish. Utilizing a can of vegetable soup is a great idea if you don’t have beef stock on hand. It gives a nice flavor and keeps it moist. Another idea is to rub a little milk and butter on top of the potatoes to ensure they get nice and golden brown.

My final idea, which I have yet to try, is to attempt this recipe with a “SWEET POTATO” topping. I can only assume this would be delicious.

Open Sky NEW PROMOTION – 10% OFF SALE

We’ve launched a 10% OFF SALE! This sale applies to EVERYTHING in every OpenSky shop, from Yes You Can Grill’s Outdoor Chef City Grill to Cooking With Friends’ Jarden Ball Home Canning Kit to Veggie Gardening Tips’ Composting Accessory Kit.

Here are the details:

Coupon Code: Cory1009
Offer: 10% off
Expiration: November 15, 2009

Giveaway Update

I am really impressed with the results of my latest giveaway from Friday and I am really grateful for all your nice comments. They really are fun to read! I was thinking of a crazy idea and I wanted to run it by you to see what you thought. What do you think if I get 350 comments on the giveaway that I actually give TWO Design Makeovers. Let me know your thoughts and then tell all your friends and see if we can reach that number.

Wow – I think that was a long post. I hope you have an awesome Monday. If I can remember to take the camera to the house tomorrow – you will be getting a house update.

Take care

zesty

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Shepherds Pie, House Work & Open Sky

Cranberry Jelly and A New Zesty Store

ZestyCook — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:26 +0000

Welcome to Tuesday! I hope you had a great start to your week. Today I want to share with you some exciting news and a super simple recipe for a fall preserve. Before we get started, I want to say thank you for all the nice comments in yesterday’s post regarding the marathon.

On to the Food

If you are like me, then you love cranberry sauce, jelly or for that matter cranberry anything. One of the main reasons why I love Turkey Day is because of the cranberry. For today’s recipe it doesn’t get any easier than Cranberry Jelly. Three ingredients, one pot, a sieve and some jars. That’s it.

This yummy side treat takes all of 20 minutes to make so next time cranberries are on sale give this a try.

Ingredients

4 Cups Cranberries
2 Cups Water
2 Cups Sugar

Method

Boil Cranberries in water until berries are soft.
Put through a sieve.
Add sugar and return to heat.
Let boil until thick (about 10 minutes).
Pour into Jars and let cool.
ENJOY!!

Zesty Tip: Be sure to sterilize your jars before using them. You can re-use your jars but I suggest purchasing new lids especially if you are using mason jars to ensure a tight seal.

On with the News

Zesty Opens a New Store

About 6 weeks ago, I was contacted by the folks at OpenSky Project. They had shown interest in myself and zestycook.com to be a part of the Open Sky Project as a store keeper. The company’s concept is “expert-powered e-commerce, connecting consumers to experts and the products they love and use.”

The ultimate idea is a space where blog readers can go to learn more about an item and purchase it on the same page, if they so choose. Open Sky has all the customer service you’d find at any other online store – everything is guaranteed. Their goal and mission is to connect consumers to experts and the products they love and use.

So with that said, I would like to officially announce the opening of the zestycook store! In the upcoming days, I will be adding more products, pictures and videos but for now browse around and tell me what you think.

Have a great Tuesday and contact me if you have an questions or concerns.

Take care

zesty

Download ZestyCook.com's Recipe E-book Free for Subscribers only: Simply Zesty

Cranberry Jelly and A New Zesty Store