Winner of Veganville's awesome contest!

Last night I found out that I was the winner of Veganville's super fun 'I got into my account' blog contest:)

Which is really very cool, because my dad bought me a recipe book a few years ago that these awesome recipe cards would fit nicely in.

Veganville makes delicious yummy baked goods on Etsy that have garnered lots of positive feedback.  Her whoopie pies and cupcakes look amazing! To visit Veganville's shop click here 

Many thanks to Gigi from Veganville for throwing this contest!

3 Beer Chili on a Cold Winter Night

Nothing better than a steaming bowl of chili to warm you up on a cold winter's night- and it is cold pretty much every night here! I use 3 different beers and 3 different kinds of beans in this vegetarian chili. Delicious with rice or without.


3 Beer Chili

3 15 oz cans beans; 1 black, 1 pinto, 1 red kidney
36 oz. canned crushed or diced tomatoes
1 small carrot, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 c. dried bulgur
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. minced jalapeno (or more, to taste)
16 oz. beer (I use a combo of IPA or hoppy winter ale, Pale Ale, and Stout or Porter)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
water, as needed

Can be cooked in a slow cooker (will take at least 8 hours) or in a big pot over the stove. First, saute onions in 1 tsp. olive oil for 2 minutes on med-high heat in a medium sized frying pan. Add minced garlic and saute for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain liquid from beans and rinse. Add tomatoes, beans, carrot, green pepper, jalapeno, onions and garlic mixture and 8 oz. beer to slow cooker. Turn it slow cooker (or set heat on large pot to medium) and stir well. Let flavors meld for 2 hours (or 1 hour in large pot, stirring every 15 minutes), then add rest of ingredients. Add water as needed. Basically cook until the carrots are cooked. Add more beer, water, or spices as needed.
Tasted delish with a side of brown rice. You can try different combos of beer.






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DIY Gifting: Part 4, Making Cards with Amy Hornburg Heilveil

I've been excited to see this blog thread continue over the last few months and so happy that Amy volunteered to participate.  Amy has mad skills when it comes to almost anything artsy/craftsy and is one of the few people who juggle more hobbies than I do, so I knew she would have loads of DIY gifting experience.  

As many folks feel so overwhelmed by the mass commercialism during the holiday season, making gifts gets us all out of the malls, so we can spend more time at home. The last couple of weeks I've been  baking like a madwoman.  While doing so, I'm helping my son study for science or talking to my mom on the phone.  My husband and son also look forward to partaking in my baking endeavors and their taste testing skills are most necessary to ensuring my cookies will be enjoyed:)  
Amy is a fabulous baker, but one thing I didn't know until recently is that she makes gorgeous handmade cards.  Here's Amy's DIY gifting idea #1 in her own words, which I might have to do for my grandma next year.   

"With all of the papers and stamps available today, it's simple to make cards to give to people, but how about making a package of cards to give to someone so that they can give the cards away?  Several members of my family express how much the enjoy getting cards from me for occasions because I make my own and they find them beautiful and unusual. 
This year I decided to make up several packages of cards to give as gifts.  Pictured are three of the 'assortments' that I've given as Channukah gifts, which went over wonderfully."









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DIY Gifting: Part 3, Knitting Hits and Misses with Dorothy Wisnewski

Not sure how everyone else's gift making for the holiday season is coming along, but so far I have yet to make ornaments- although I have bought some of the materials.  I have made quite a few cards.  Baking does not commence until December.  Right now my biggest obstacles are keeping the cat off of my dining room table (a.k.a. crafting table) and not losing momentum.
It is November, however, and whether you celebrate Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, if you are making your own gifts, then it's time to get going!
Just to get you started, here is some inspiration from crafty lady Dorothy Wisnewski .  Dorothy has created many knitted gifts in the past for friends and family and dishes the dirt to BBAC on past gifting hits and misses:

"Now, past gifts. I have given some stuffed animals that I knitted and were received well.  A few years back there was a monkey I made for a little girl, who named it Daffodil Moons. 






More recently I've done two little lambs (not from my original pattern, though), which also were a hit. It helps that I figured out how to embroider the faces properly! And I made Audrey a bat, which she quite liked, and also is loved by Lucian.

But there have definitely been some comical misses. The first sweater I made for Jeremy (Dorothy's husband) was not quite the right fit or size, so he wore it a few times and then stopped. But he never told me why. Finally, he insisted that we keep it around anyway, because it was the first full-size sweater I had made, which is kind of momentous in the career of a knitter. I, on the other hand, had intended to knit a useful thing, and did not appreciate this monstrosity sitting in my house mocking my inadequacies as a designer and tailor. So I ripped out every stitch, balled up all the yarn again, and have begun knitting it into a different sweater for him. There's still a chance this one won't work either, becuase of different design choices on my part, in which case it will become a vest and I will wash my hands of it.

The other funny failure that comes to mind also happens to be a sweater. (They're so conducive to imperfection!) When I was pregnant with Lucian, I wanted to make something special for Audrey, so that her baby brother wouldn't be the only one benefitting from people's generosity. So I made her a big sister hoodie, out of a lovely soft cotton blend, very comfy, with pretty cables all over. Since it was to be a surprise, I couldn't have her try it on as I knitted, but I knew that I didn't want her to outgrow such a labor-intensive sweater right away, so I sized it generously. Well, that was a year and a half ago, and we think she probably has another year or two before she can wear it. Oops."






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