A giveaway from Urban Cheesecraft: Make your own cheese!

If you have been around here long enough, it should be no big shocker to you when I say that I LOVE cheese.  Duh.  But, guess what else I love?  Etsy.  
Um... You are probably wondering what those two things could possibly have in common, and I don't blame you.  Although Etsy sellers have always shared plently of homemade goods including jams, cookies, and salts, I have been noticing an increasing number of specialty goods that look simply scrumptious.  Case in point: In one of my recent Etsy newsletters (naturally I subscribe to get cool Etsy Finds delivered to my inbox) I discovered Claudia of Urban Cheesecraft through one of Etsy's amazing videos.  Claudia founded Urban Cheesecraft as a way to share an easy and accessible way to make your own cheese at home - she basically takes all the guesswork out by providing kits that have everything you need to make cheese, and all you have to do is add the milk!
Check out a video about Urban Cheesecraft here, and don't miss the baby goats.  Is anything more adorable?

I think what I love the most about these kits from Urban Cheesecraft are the fact that for first-time cheesemakers, the process is so simple.  In my opinion, lots of people would prefer to eat 'handcrafted' food that they make themselves, whether it is bread, preserves, tomato sauce, or cheese, but often taking the initial step seems like a lot of work and it can be daunting.  Here Urban Cheesecraft provides all the equipment, all the instructions, and all the ingredients in one simple, inexpensive kit so you can have homemade cheese in just an hour.  (And isn't this kit cute?  Even better, it is made from post-consumer materials.  Love that.)  You just choose your milk, and you are ready to go!  Each kit makes 10 batches of cheese, so it is actually a really stellar deal.

Berry Frozen Yogurt with Lemon Sugar and Lavender Cream, and Chobani Greek Yogurt Giveaway

If you were to ask me - what food turns a bad day into a good day? - I would immediately respond with two answers: either Starbucks or frozen yogurt.  It seems my days are turned around by extremes of either hot or cold.  Now, I fully realize that neither a latte nor a frozen treat is really considered a 'food,' but that doesn't stop me from soothing myself with either after a particularly long and trying day.  Actually, there is not much that will deter me from getting a latte or a frozen yogurt any day.  In case you haven't realized it, I like to treat myself to my favorite things as often as I possibly can.  Does this make me spoiled?

Spoiled or not, I love frozen yogurt, but actually I just love yogurt... period.  Especially Greek yogurt, I literally cannot get enough; in fact, my co-workers used to make fun of me because they seemed to think all I ate was yogurt!  (No, this was not some sort of strange diet, I just love taking yogurt to work for lunch.)  Well, the joke is on them, because Greek yogurt is healthy and tastes incredible so they are really the ones missing out.  I love to eat plain yogurt topped with sliced almonds and fruit, drizzled with a little honey, or I swirl in a little jam or lemon curd to jazz it up. 

I think I got addicted to frozen yogurt (and Starbucks for that matter...) after moving out to California and trying frozen yogurt from Golden Spoon, and then I fed my habit by visiting every other fro-yo spot within a 10-mile radius of my apartment.  Most places had every flavor imaginable, from coconut to rootbeer to taro, but my go-to choices were always the fresh fruit flavors.  I tend to love more tropical fruits like mangoes or papayas, but a good strawberry, blackberry, or raspberry is simply incomparable. 

12,000 Miles Traveled...

12,000 miles later...I am back on US soil.  


This winter holiday, I flew from San Diego to Cleveland, OH; from Cleveland, OH to Oslo, Norway; and from Oslo, Norway back to America's Finest City. I relished the quality time with family, caught up with cherished friends, and spent bliss-filled days with my fantastic boyfriend.  I caught snowflakes on my tongue, froze my butt off in the ice and cold, and shed tears when my flight was cancelled (a second time!) due to winter weather.  I was lucky enough to eat fresh homemade bread almost everyday, to give hugs even more often, and to learn to make German Linzertorte from my grandma.  On multiple occasions, I ate till I thought I would burst, but I don't regret a single bite.   I came back a few pounds heavier, slightly exhausted, but throughly relaxed and very happy.

With Christmas, New Years, and my whole winter vacation over, the feeling of letdown is heavy in the air.  Yet, the haze is parted when I think of my passion for eating well and all the amazing food that I can't wait to share with you in 2011.  

In my last post (I had a giveaway, I haven't forgotten!), I asked what you might like to see here on The Cilantropist.  Overall, many expressed they felt the content was just the right variety of recipes between sweet and savory and they loved this place just the way it is.  Fantastic!  Hearing this thrilled me to pieces, but we all know nothing is perfect.  So here's what you thought: 

Ringing in 2011 with a Top 10 list, and a Giveaway!

Happy New Year friends!  2010 has officially come to a close, and what a year it has been.  On the rollercoaster of life, this blog has been a consistent high point, and I get such happiness from sharing my love of food with each of you every day. Throughout this past year, I hope The Cilantropist has given you delicious recipes that helped you experience the simple joys of eating well and sharing good food with friends and family.  I have so many exciting ideas to share with you in 2011, and I can't wait to get started; I hope you will continue to pull up a comfy chair and follow along with me on my adventures.  

But first, lets take a little look back at 2010 and your favorite posts and recipes!  I chose the Top 10 based on pageviews, twitter, reader comments and emails; not surprisingly, many of the top posts were from Project Food Blog, where I made i my mission to put my very best food forward and improve the quality of my blog by leaps and bounds.  So, without further ado, here are the The Cilantropist's Top 10 post of 2011!    

1. The post where I shared my lunch menu for A Presidio Picnic, with Italian Pressed Sandwiches is by far the most viewed post on The Cilantropist.  The post includes a recipe for Sopressata and Provolone Italian Pressed Sandwiches, which I also made for a post-Project Food Blog Celebration, and is the most popular recipe with readers.  For the lunch, we also enjoyed Parmesan and Gruyere Cheese Straws from Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten, as well as Spiced Pear and Cranberry Pocket Pies.  The Pocket Pies were a huge hit as well, and I can't wait to make them this summer with peaches! 

Peppermint (and Cocoa) Meringue Kisses, and Giveaway Winner!

Did everyone have a lovely holiday?  I hope so, and I also hope that many of you are still enjoying a relaxing vacation before heading back to work!  My Christmas with family and friends was everything I hoped it would be and was surprisingly stress-free...with the exception of my flight to Norway.  

The east coast winter storm basically closed most airports and left thousands stranded after the holidays; though my travels were interrupted, I count myself lucky that my delay meant more time with family and not more time sleeping on the floor of Newark Airport.  I finally arrived in Oslo today after having TWO cancelled flights on Sunday and Monday this week (if you follow me on twitter you heard all about it!) and this Norwegian Cilantropist is looking forward to a week and a half of bliss.      

So for today, I am going to tell you about the peppermint meringue kisses that I made before the holidays.  I know that Christmas is officially over, but as a good friend reassured me, peppermint flavors can be enjoyed throughout winter and should not be limited to the holidays.

The recipe comes from Desserts 4 Today by Abigail Dodge; earlier this year, I was the lucky winner of a copy of Desserts 4 Today through a giveaway on VinoLuci's site.  This book has loads of fabulous recipes that all use only four ingredients.  (Get it, Desserts "4" Today?)  Oh yes, you heard me right.  You can whip up a quick and easy dessert with four things that you already have in your pantry, or can easily pick up from your local grocer.      

Project Food Blog voting is open! And a Giveaway!!!

To show you how much I love you all, I could box up hugs, or I could tell you about my awesome giveaway!  CSN stores is sponsoring a giveaway for a $35 gift certificate that you can spend on whatever your little heart desires.  Maybe you need something spruce up your home like dining chairs or a cute new kitchen rug.  Personally, I have had my eye on some of the items from their cookware site, in particular these silicone baking mats and these kitchen scales.  

So how do you enter?  There are a total of 4 ways you can get a entry, and they are so simple: 

1.) Whether you are a new reader or a loyal follower, tell me what your favorite post is on The Cilantropist.  If you need to jog your memory, just browse through my monthly archives over in the sidebar, or check out my new recipe index. 

2.) Follow me on Twitter!  As my friends will tell you, I am Chatty Cathy.  

3.) Get another entry by tweeting about my giveaway: "I entered the CSN giveaway from @TheCilantropist! Check it out! http://bit.ly/9xbQEY" 

4.) Follow my blog through a reader, also on the sidebar.  I love love love my followers and my commenters, and visit their blogs often. 

Please leave a separate comment for each entry, and if you already do one of the things mentioned above (ie. subscribe to my blog or follow on twitter), please leave a comment mentioning it.  Just so that we are clear on who can enter, this giveaway is open to anyone in the US or Canada.  This giveaway is open to bloggers and home cooks alike, just be sure to include your email address in the comment section (email is confidential) so I can contact the winner.  Giveaway is open through Thursday, September, 30th, at 9pm PST, and a winner will be chosen at random.  

Did you see my post yesterday where I made authentic Tom Yum Goong?  Don't speak Thai?  Well then, I made Hot and Sour soup, and it was glorious.  I also may have made my own Roasted Chili Paste (Nam Prik Pao) from scratch.  Some people say this means I am hardcore.  Maybe I am... Or maybe I am just in search of authenticity.  Either way be sure to check out my full post on Foodbuzz, and if you like it, vote for me in the second round of Project Food Blog here!  I am so excited to be participating in Project Food Blog and I appreciate your support.  Thanks for reading!