Tastes from Home Giveaway!

When someone says the word 'home' what pops into your head? Family? Food? Sights? Sounds? The first thing I think of at the mention of the word 'home' is always my mother, the second thing is cooking with my mother. So what could be more appropriate for a "Tastes from Home" contest than to share my own recipe for a favorite childhood food --- buttery mashed potatoes. Take a gander at this:

Granny's Homemade 'Lumpy' Mashed Potatoes Recipe

Ingredients:

3-5 medium-sized white potatoes

1/4 to 1/2 Cup of whole milk

1/2 Cup of butter

1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt

Utensils:

2-quart sauce pan w/ lid

vegetable brush

collander (or paper towels)

large mixing bowl

measuring cups

measuring spoons

fork

Instructions:
Scrub potatoes clean w/ vegetable brush + cold water. Allow to drain in a collander or pat dry w/ paper towels.

Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add potatoes, cover with lid, and boil until tender (~20 minutes). Once potatoes are tender, remove from heat, and drain in collander. (Shake collander as necessary to remove any excess water.)

Pour potatoes into a mixing bowl. Use a fork to break apart tender potatoes into chunks. Add milk and butter a little at a time, beating potatoes with fork after each addition. Continue this routine until the potatoes are a lumpy mash. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Eat and enjoy!
---------------
There's a blog giveaway coming up farther down in the post...

Where's Xavier?

XOJET and L'Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel are sponsoring a contest where entrants take photos of the XOJET mascot, Xavier C. Bear, in various locations while traveling. The best photo (as determined by voting) will win a trip to LA on XOJET and a stay at the L'Ermitage.

I received my Xavier plush today. Now, I've just got to remember to take the thing with me when we road-trip across country toward the end of the month, and then remember to bring a camera and take pictures, so I can can enter the dang contest.

I'll try to remember to update this post with a few snaps, once the deed is done. Where's Xavier? Currently, still packed in a box.

My Global Sun Oven

Over the last few months I've been participating in a promotional contest sponsored by Sun Ovens, International --- and back in May I won first prize, a Global Sun Oven® that I received today. (I also won the second and third prizes in previous months.) I'm so excited! This thing is awesome! (I've been lusting after one of these for a while, because I was too lazy to build my own contraption, so this contest was perfect for me.)

Once I get it set-up and primed, I'll post more about it. In fact, I'll probably periodically post recipes and my experiences with the oven along with musings about solar energy in general. (I'm big on sustainability, ecology and the environment. And bullish on green tech!) Go, go, sun go!

Besides, even if you don't give a fig about the environment using a solar oven to cook is a no brainer --- who wants to heat up his house by turning on an oven in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record. (We've already had twice a many 90+ degree day as we had last Summer and we've still got over a month and a half left.)

Perhaps, you can win one for yourself; you can also win a nifty set of pots and pans or a recipe book. Go enter the current month's contest: SUN OVENS Taste and Tell Contest. Make certain to read the rules. Don't worry, it's very easy to participate. Tell them Tad sent you!