For the life of me, I can not remember where or how I heard of this website, but I have been ordering caramels, mints and truffles from these nuns for almost 10 years now.  Every time I place an order for a gift to give to someone else, I have to buy some for myself as well.  You know, “one for you, one (or two) for me”.  Their caramels (vanilla or chocolate) are so incredibly rich and creamy, they are truly heavenly.  Their truffles are beautiful, hand-decorated works of art and their mints are truly melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

If you are looking for a delicious and thoughtful gift idea this coming holiday season, check out Trappistine Creamy Caramels.

Well, today we received some really nice peppers. I’m not sure what variety they are but they smell like they’ve got a kick to them. We also received some beautiful red onions, tomatoes (1 smooshed), a Napa cabbage (yay!) and some yellow Swiss chard. I’m really excited about the Napa cabbage as I really enjoyed them earlier this summer.

Here is a photo of our beautiful peppers, onions and tomatoes…

As far as the other vegetables are concerned… I donated the beets to a friend who is recently on a beet-kick; the lone surviving tomato went into lasagna; and the mixed baby greens were donated to yet another friend just because I was feeling extra generous. Ah, yes, giving does feel good.

That’s all for now, folks. Check back tomorrow to see what goodies we receive.

My favorite items from this line are the LiveStrong Extra Large Plate, which is perfect for use as a platter at parties, and the LiveStrong Snack Plates, which coordinate perfectly along side the LiveStrong Extra Large Plate so that your guests may put their tasty nibbles on something other than a cocktail napkin.

Here are some images from the website:

Can’t you just imagine how strikingly lovely deviled eggs would look on this platter and these plates?

If you’d like your serveware to make a statement while also benefiting a very important cause, check out Chantal: LiveStrong today!

This week, I’m sure I will find the energy and inspiration to do something fun with our delivery. Today we received a bag of mixed baby greens, 2 tomatoes (1 smooshed, 1 intact), beets, potatoes, onions and celery.

I was tired of the box shots, so I let my husband take artistic liberties and shoot his choice of vegetables any way he saw fit. I think the shots are very artistic, actually. I think I hear the MoMA calling…

I first learned about Maytag blue cheese when I was in college (in Iowa) and I was watching Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network cooking with Maytag blue cheese.  I heard him say “…Iowa…” and I was shocked that Iowa made a cheese that I had not yet heard of.  So, the next time I went home for a holiday, my mom and I hunted down this cheese and made ourselves every recipe we could find that called for blue cheese.  I’ve been hooked ever since.  It is the only cheese I use in my traditional blue cheese dressing and Buffalo wing dip.  I also love to make Maytag blue cheese butter to dress up steaks.

You can find Maytag blue cheese in most specialty cheese departments but if you can’t, you can mail order it directly from Maytag Dairy Farms.  Now that football season is here, why don’t you make some homemade blue cheese dip to go with your Buffalo chicken wings?  But be careful, once people taste the Maytag, they’ll want to come to your house every time to watch the game!  That being said, Go Iowa Hawkeyes!

Today we received red Swiss chard, a bag of baby arugula, carrots, 2 red bell peppers, 3 red onions, and 3 red tomatoes (2 of which have been abused, as you can clearly see in the bottom photo).

Poor tomatoes. They didn’t stand a chance at the bottom of the box. I guess I have to accept my fate of receiving abused tomatoes. That doesn’t mean I have to like it, though. These careless box packers are standing between me and my Lycopene!

The yellow plum tomatoes were used to make yellow gazpacho. Of course, I had to go to the market to get a yellow bell pepper, a cucumber, cilantro and literally everything else necessary to make gazpacho, but the soup was really delicious. The mixed baby greens became a really yummy salad with sliced apples, walnuts, red onion and homemade honey-mustard dressing. The beets were thinly sliced and deep-fried to make chips and were served with a goat cheese/chive dip. Oh my, I am still dreaming about that dip. The Swiss chard was used in an impromptu dinner of shrimp and orzo all cooked separately then tossed together in a large saute pan with garlic butter. I don’t know what to call it, but it was super tasty. Last, but not least, the carrots and green bell peppers were used to make my Great-Grandma Hollingsworth’s carrot relish. Grandma used to always make this relish for big family meals and I always looked forward to it. It has a sweet and tangy dressing and is a great way to get kids to eat their vegetables. Here is the recipe (as well as a photo). I hope you’ll give it a try.

Carrot Relish

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped

Boil the carrots in salted water until they are tender-crisp. Drain and cool.

In a medium saucepan, combine the tomato soup, oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and keep hot.

In a large bowl, combine carrots, peppers and onions. Pour hot sauce all over, cover and marinate for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

Serve cold.

This relish will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Besides roasting some of the best organic coffee I have ever tasted, I appreciate the fact that most of Taylor Maid Farms’ coffees are shade-grown and fair-trade certified.  Additionally, Taylor Maid Farms is dedicated to supporting small family farms.

If you are a tea drinker, I recommend their Herbal Gardens blend.  This is the tea I drink when I’m soaking my feet in my foot spa.  Too much information, perhaps, but I wanted to convey the relaxed feeling this tea gives me.  It is so floral and aromatic, it is perfect for your own personal “spa day”.  It’s like aromatherapy in a teacup!

If you are looking to improve your coffee or tea experience, I highly recommend you give Taylor Maid Farms a try.  I simply love them!