The World According to Kate » food

First Tomato of the Season

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:09:40 +0000

We picked our first red tomato of the season from our little deck garden last night. It’s small (the deck ones always are), but it’s so beautiful. Very exciting!

It’s sitting on a counter right now while I try to decide what to do with it… I have a feeling we’ll just end up slicing it up [...]

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:41:22 +0000

So it’s that time of year again…

I know what you’re thinking ‘ The time of year that you just totally neglect your blog?’ No. And yes , because it’s that time of year that our weekends fill up with all sorts of parties and picnics where you’ll be expected to bring some form of baked good. [...]

Happy 5th Anniversary To Us!

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:45:43 +0000

Today, Kevin and I are celebrating our 5th Anniversary together! To celebrate, tonight we will be heading to Toshi , where we had our second date (and where we now go every anniversary), and if we have room, we may even hit up J Fosters for some ice cream afterwards. I also took a few days off [...]

Homemade Potato Chips In Your Microwave

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 15:30:53 +0000

The other day, I came across a ridiculously simple recipe to make your own potato chips using your microwave. It’s something that I just would have never thought possible and I, of course, couldn’t wait to try it out! Also, it’s got to be healthier than the greasy fried stuff you get in a bag!

…the international rivalry has put a spotlight on a fascinating, though fringe, sector of the beer industry: brewers who push beer to its alcoholic limits. BrewDog is one of a handful [...]

Make Your Own Frozen Yogurt

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 05 May 2010 02:32:54 +0000

So I’ve been on a bit of a yogurt kick lately – mostly just plain Greek yogurt that I then like to top with various mix-ins. Sometimes I throw in some nuts or berries, a little honey, vanilla, once in awhile even a little chocolate syrup. It’s all good!

Then a few days ago, I [...]

Jamie Oliver’s TED Talk

Kate Czlapinski — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:47:30 +0000

Jamie Oliver speaks about our need to educate the public about the food we eat and shares some stories about his work in Huntington, West Virginia. I saw this awhile ago and have been meaning to share it. It’s exciting to watch him speak so passionately about a subject that he clearly cares a lot about. It’s [...]

Plan B Burger Bar – Glastonbury, CT

Kate Czlapinski — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:33:22 +0000

In the past few years, a number of really quality burger bars have sprung up in the area. Now, as a rule, I’m not really a big fan of burgers. Sure, at a family cookout I may have one, but overall I’m not a big red meat eater, so when I go out I don’t normally [...]

Smokin’ With Chris – Southington, CT

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:09:22 +0000

Think you can’t find good Barbecue in CT? Then you clearly have never been to Smokin’ With Chris in Southington, CT. Over the past couple of years, Kevin and I have visited the establishment many times ( I think we may be nearing “regular” status) and we have never left disappointed. This post is long [...]

50 Ways To Reuse Your Old Beer Bottles

Kate Czlapinski — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:55:20 +0000

The other day I wrote about Whole Foods collecting customers’ used wine corks and I also mentioned that while that solves one of my problems, I still don’t know what to do with all the empty beer bottles that I haven’t gotten around to recycling (actually I think I said bottle caps, but the bottles themselves [...]

Bellini – South Windsor, CT

Kate Czlapinski — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:56:55 +0000

Last weekend, my mother and I headed up to Evergreen Walk in South Windsor, because she had a few items to return at LL Bean. After we were finished with our returns, we wanted to do a little lunch. We were originally going to eat at Ted’s Montana Grill, but the sun was out and it [...]

Whole Foods To Begin Wine Cork Recycling Program

Kate Czlapinski — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:05:30 +0000

Whole Foods recently announced that they will begin a program to collect customers’ wine corks. They have partnered with Cork ReHarvest to find various ways to recycle the used corks, which will be sent to several different manufacturers who will turn them into interesting household items.

I think this is a pretty neat idea, because if you’re [...]

Dinner At The Pond House – West Hartford, CT

Kate Czlapinski — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:02:52 +0000

Before seeing Wally Lamb speak last week, my mother and I did a little dinner at The Pond House Cafe in West Hartford, CT due to it’s proximity to the venue. The Pond House has long been one of our favorite lunch spots while dining in the area, but this is the first time either of [...]

Study Shows Beer Could Be Good For Bone Health

Kate Czlapinski — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:01:14 +0000

We all know that wine had gained a lot of attention for it’s potential health benefits, but recent studies show that beer, also, could be great for your health. IPA’s (my personal favorite) could be especially beneficial for their high levels of silicon, which is known to help decrease bone thinning and promote new bone formation. [...]

Sarah Palin’s Keynote Speech at Wine Wholesalers Expo

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:47:53 +0000

So apparently, earlier this week Sarah Palin gave the keynote speech for the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America’s 67th Annual Convention… and, big shock, it didn’t go so well. Number one, why would one invite Sarah Palin to give the keynote speech for a wine convention (besides the obvious assumption that most of us need [...]

Women With College Degrees Are Heaviest Drinkers

Kate Czlapinski — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:50:54 +0000

A recent study shows that women who have college degrees are the heaviest drinkers and are twice as likely to drink on a daily basis.

The report concludes: “The more educated women are, the more likely they are to drink alcohol on most days and to report having problems due to [...]

The Tunnel Bar – Northampton, MA

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:27:59 +0000

Kevin enjoying his Manhattan at The Tunnel Bar - sorry for the crappy iPhone pic

Recently, I’ve developed quite a fondness for whiskey… Kevin loves the stuff and I wanted to be able to drink it with him. As with everything, practice makes perfect. We started by making Manhattans somewhat regularly and sure enough, I [...]

The Good Friday Baking Extravaganza

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:02:45 +0000

As I may have noted before, I have sucker written across my forehead and frequently find myself volunteering to do all sorts of fun stuff on my days off from work. Often this fun stuff includes cooking or baking obscene amounts of food. Yesterday was one of those days.

I have Good Friday off from work every [...]

Wrapsody Bistro Lounge – Southington, CT

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:27:07 +0000

As you may recall, I sort of owed Tom and Heather a nice dinner out after Tom rescued me from the IT hell that I was experiencing a couple of weekends ago. As luck would have it, I had just been told by my mother about Wrapsody Bistro Lounge in Southington, CT , located right across [...]

Training Your Wine Palate With Gary Vaynerchuk

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:33:27 +0000

The other day when I was checking out Wine Library TV, which is basically my main source for when I want to try out some new wines, I came across this video that’s a couple of years old in which the super knowledgeable, super entertaining Gary Vaynerchuk tastes a number of different random things that are [...]

Le Creuset

Kate Czlapinski — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:05:54 +0000

If you hadn’t picked up on it yet by reading this blog, I’m a bit food centered. I’m constantly thinking about food. I like to cook, I like to read about food, I like to write about it, I like to look at photos of it, watch it on TV, but most of all I [...]