12/18/14

0 Whole Foods Market



I was invited to a blogger event to experience Whole Foods Market, only minutes from my home.  Whole Foods Market is not only a healthy grocery store, it offers so much more.

Near the entrance, there was a festive bar for patrons to enjoy a quick bite to eat.


There is even a place for kids to play while you shop!


Whole Foods was prepared to offer samples, and I enjoyed this non-alcoholic Pink & Black.


Gelato? Yes, please! Even better with Gingerbread waffle cones!


Pre assembled, ready to decorate Gingerbread houses ~ how cool is that?


I cannot get over how darling these holiday cupcakes are!


Yes, this Whole Foods market has a brick oven! These crusty pizzas are kept hot on a 165ºF counter.


Fresh sides...get a little or get a lot!


This place has THE largest OLIVE bar I have ever seen!


I love bulk bin shopping....I tend to get a little bit of everything!


Freshly ground nut butters available here! No sugars allowed!


I can live on cheese and crackers.  This is especially good cheese!


Whole Foods is more than food, it has some of my favorite beauty products...


...beautiful fresh cut flowers, and much much more!

I discovered that you can shop online and pick up at your local store.  Awesome!

This pretty much sums up my Whole Foods Market experience.  Thank you!


I received this cute little bag of treats from Whole Foods and invited to write a post to share my experience. All opinions expressed are 100% mine.

12/2/14

0 FAST Homemade Maple Syrup

 

Uh, oh.  Hubby's in a panic, opening and closing each and every kitchen cupboard.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"The syrup.  We are OUT of pancake syrup!"

Hubby loves pancakes, especially Peanut Butter Pancakes and Corn Muffin Pancakes.

He HAD to have his maple syrup, but....we were out.

And the pancakes were already made.

"Let's make our own syrup," I suggested.

He gave me this look, like...."are you kidding me?"

My mom used to make pancake syrup all the time ~ hubby grew up with the Aunt syrup or the Mrs. Something or other syrup, which is thick and buttery.

The problem with those syrups is they have a bunch of stuff that I can't pronounce, and besides, we were OUT of any kind of syrup.

Let's see.  All we need are four simple ingredients:

Brown sugar (light or dark, you choose) and cornstarch.


Cornstarch will act as the thickening instead of corn syrup.  Mix in the cornstarch with the brown sugar and add...

Cold water.  Put over a medium-high stove and bring to a boil.


Stirring constantly, boil for one minute.

Add in your maple flavor.  This is the brand my mom uses....but after reading the ingredients, you may want to use something else. I use it in my Maple Oatmeal Bread.
Mc Cormick Mapleine 2 oz (Pack Of 6)



Cook's Pure Maple Extract 4 oz  has simple ingredients and nothing artificial.



I love this Maple Syrup recipe because I know I made it and what goes in it. I love that it is fast, easy to make and HOT syrup always tastes better on HOT pancakes and waffles!

Thick & Rich Maple Syrup
Ingredients
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon natural maple flavor

Instructions
Put the brown sugar into a medium saucepan. Put the cornstarch and mix with brown sugar, making sure there are no lumps.  Add water.

Stir or whisk constantly over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil one minute, still stirring.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add syrup flavoring. Serve.

Store in the refrigerator.
Makes 2 cups

Recipes you may want to try:

Make Your Own Pancake Mix
Corn Muffin Pancakes
Peanut Butter Pancakes


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