Tag Team, Back Again*

Wow! I was tagged again, this time by the hilarious Kimberlee of Brown Button (I love her blog,) and the lovely Vicki of French Essence (which I've only just discovered, but I am enchanted already.) I am certainly quite honored! So, here goes.

The Rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules
3. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them
5. Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.

The Facts
1. My husband and I have two dogs; one dog weighs 80 lbs and the other only weighs 18! Quite opposites in size, but they get along famously.
2. I dogear the pages of books as I read, but I never dogear the pages of magazines.
3. In case you haven't guessed by my header, I am a complete night owl!
4. I somehow know the words to a lot of songs, and I always sing along. In high school, one of my friends said, "Geez! Do you know the words to EVERY song?" I think she may have been annoyed by my singing, but, then as now, I just can't help myself!
5. I love dark chocolate, but completely pass on milk chocolate.
6. While certainly no one would call me a neat freak (Mom, are you laughing?) I simply can't stand to cook in a messy kitchen. It must be clean before I can mess it up again!

As a kid, I always preferred "Freeze Tag" to the regular version. What that means in relation to this I have no idea. But I am terribly indecisive at times, and right now, I can't decide who to tag. I would love finding out more about you all though, so please feel free to leave comments and play along!

*Yes, that is "Whoomp (There It Is)"

Home Sweet Home

A custom pen and ink drawing of a couple's home from Etsy shop the ink lab would make another sweet and very personal wedding or first anniversary gift.





Think outside the box for a couple who hasn't yet shared a special home; for them you could commission a drawing of the place of their rehearsal dinner, wedding or reception.

A friend of mine received a drawing of the historic home where they held their wedding as a wedding gift, and it is a piece that holds great sentimental value to her. Art this personal seems bound to become a family heirloom

In addition to the ink lab, you can find other custom home drawings on Etsy here and here. A colorful home portrait can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here on Etsy.

Cities of Love

I love these City Love prints from Etsy shop Art Shark Designs. These prints would make a sweet wedding or first anniversary (paper) gift for a couple who has shared a special moment or history in one (or many!) of these cities.

New York

San Francisco

Washington D.C.

London

Venice

Also, according to Art Shark's shop announcements, the designer will debut new cities in coming months including Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, and a yet-to-be determined city in Ireland, as well as possibly others. I am excited to see what other cities will be added to the shop.

Do you and your significant other have a city that has played an important role in the story of your relationship? Do you have more than one?

Tastebook- Karina's Kitchen Recipe Collection

I am excited- and pleased- to announce that I have just produced three Tastebook cookbooks:


Karina's Kitchen - 100 favorite recipes from my kitchen to yours

Karina's Vegetarian Table - A collection of vegetarian favorites from Karina's Kitchen

Karina's Vegan Table - A collection of vegan favorites from Karina's Kitchen

What is Tastebook?

As soon as I heard about Tastebook I was intrigued. iTunes for recipes? Count me in. For those of you new to Tastebook here's the scoop. Tastebook is an on-line publishing platform that lets you create beautiful, hardcover cookbooks (perfect for food bloggers and handy for cooks who find their culinary inspiration online).

With the holidays fast approaching- and with it the gift-giving season- I decided to create a recipe collection for gluten-free families, entitled Karina's Kitchen- for every family who cooks gluten-free, by necessity or by love.

For my omnivorous readers- I've chosen 100 recipes for the Karina's Kitchen Tastebook- my personal favorites- and the most popular recipes here on Karina's Kitchen. From Flourless Chocolate Cake to Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Kicked Up Mac & Cheese (and the dairy-free vegan version, too) to my Sweet Potato Rancher's Pie there are recipes in all categories including appetizers, soups, salads, chicken and beef dishes, seafood, brunch and muffins, cakes, cookies and brownies. I also include specific tips for substituting problematic ingredients- such as eggs and dairy. Almost all recipes featuring chicken or beef include a vegetarian option.

For my vegetarian readers Karina's Vegetarian Table features over 85 personal favorites- all ovo-lacto vegetarian recipes.

For vegans I have collected 50 vegan recipes from Kitchen Kitchen- some of the most popular recipes on the blog- and every one is- you guessed it- a gluten-free vegan favorite. Check out Karina's Vegan Table here.

In order to add or subtract recipes and edit a Tastebook you'll need to join Tastebook (it's free). You can then import my recipes into your Tastebook (search with the term "gluten-free" and mine will come up); this allows you the ability to mix and match with thousands of other recipes on Tastebook, and import your own personal favorites. Like iTunes. For recipes.

I love the dynamic nature of this project. It's a living cookbook that can be added to and updated, reflecting the spirit of my blog and its interactive nature.

Here is the cookbook's dedication:

This gluten-free recipe book is dedicated to the kind and generous readers of Karina's Kitchen blog- Recipes from a gluten-free goddess. Without your lively feedback and support I would be just another cook wrestling with xanthan gum in her humble kitchen.

So that's what I've been up to, behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy it!

Preview Karina's Kitchen Tastebooks at the Tastebook site.

A birthday, some awards and total frustration with my internet connection!!!

Our internet connection has just not been right in the last week. It goes in and out...mostly out, so that I feel I am falling behind in my blogging and commenting. When we are connected, I am racing to check my email and check my nephew's blog, so I'm sorry if I've been slow to respond lately! :) Hopefully, it's back for good!

My birthday was last week. No, I didn't make myself cookies. :) I was debating about what to make when I actually had a dream about chocolate eclairs!!! I think looking at all of the pictures of the Daring Baker's eclairs lodged itself in my brain. So, eclairs it was!

I used the recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook for the eclairs and the chocolate glaze. The chocolate pastry cream was a recipe I found on Tartlette. I followed her recipe and folded in about a cup of whipped cream before piping it into the eclair shells.

Here's one thing I discovered, it's hard to take a picture of eclairs! When I make them again, I'll do better, I promise!

The recipe made over 2 dozen eclairs, so I packed up a bunch to take to my son's baseball game that morning. Even giving some away, I managed to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner on my birthday!!!

Also during the last week, Montee and Amy were kind enough to give me my first 2 blog awards!!! thank you so much guys!

From Amy at Skinny Foods That Feel Guilty! Don't you love that blog title?!?

And from Montee at Montee is a Palmetto Girl. Reading Montee's "southern girl" blog reminds me so much of the 2 years we lived in Alabama....although she is a Texan now...right, Montee? ;)

Go check out their blogs!!! And while, you're at it....if you read this blog...you've been tagged! You all deserve it! I love reading each and every one of your blogs; I am inspired everyday!!!

Forgotten no more

I will be gone for the day, but I wanted to leave you with the Long Forgotten Coat Rack from Anthropologie; if I had my way, it certainly wouldn't be forgotten for long! This coat rack would be a cheerful sight in an entryway, and it would add such interest to the right space.

Not Just Upper Crust

I promise I am moving on from apples, but I couldn't leave the topic without mentioning these sweet calling cards from Etsy shop Avie Designs. It seems so upper crust* to have calling cards, but these cards are certainly an affordable luxury with 48 cards for $12.50.

That's it. Moving on (well, at least for a while!)

*I couldn't help but love learning the history behind the phrase "upper crust." One of those phrases I had never given much thought to the origin, although it's probably not difficult to guess if you think about it. This handy fact come to us from U.S. Apple Association.

In early America, when times were hard and cooking supplies were scarce, cooks often had to scrimp and save on ingredients. Apple pie was a favorite dish, but to save on lard and flour, only a bottom crust was made. More affluent households could afford both an upper and a lower crust, so those families became known as "the upper crust."