June Food Pen Pal Reveal

It's time for another yummy reveal! Dawn put these yummy treats in my mailbox this month. The email she sent me had a ton of really great questions to help her get to know me and my food preferences (yes, I'm stealing the questions for next month!), so it shouldn't be a surprise that she was able to put together such a great box. She sent a few healthy granola bars that are perfect for popping in my purse when I'm on the go and a key lime lemonade mix that I can't wait to bust out on a sunny day. She also included chocolate flavoured coffee, which I had for breakfast this morning. It made my belly very happy :) And yes, that thing there on the left is a package of cat treats. One of those great questions Dawn asked was about pets and she made my kitties very happy with these treats (in true cat lady form, I opened them before anything else in the box).
The other things in the box were a chai chia cookie mix - I haven't made it yet because it's been so hot I haven't wanted to turn the oven on, but I'm excited to try them - and barbecue flavoured chickpeas - so, so yummy!
My kitty cats and I say thank you, Dawn!

Happy Canada Day everyone!

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
• Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

May Foodie Pen Pals

It's time for another Foodie Pen Pals reveal! This month I received my box from the wonderful Michelle at 3 Cheap Runners. She sent me such yummy things!

First up was a vegetarian soup mix. I'm the kind of strange person who gets hit with at least one really bad cold and flu during the summer, so this will come in handy!
She also sent red pepper jelly (which I've never tried before and am happy to tell you I liked!) and some dressing that will perfect for summer salads with spinach and walnuts!
I loved that Michelle also sent two treats for me - mint flavoured dark chocolate from a local shop (I loved, loved, loved this!) and chocolate covered pretzels! Even though everything in the box was great, I love salty-sweet so the pretzels were my favourite part of the package :)

Thank you, Michelle! You made my May great!

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
• Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

SFF Book and Baking Club: Kate Atkinson's Life After Life and Teatime Treats

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I love books. I also love book clubs, but don't have the space to host one. So I decided to start the Sugar, Flour, Flavour Book Club. At the beginning of each month, I'll post a book selection and a recipe suggestion. At the end of each month, I'll write a post about the book with the recipe I used and pictures of course. 

If you want to participate and you have a blog:
read the book and make your version of the recipe then post about it on your blog. You can leave a link to your post here on the last day of the month. 
If you want to participate and you don't have a blog:
leave your comments on the book and recipe on my post, or email sugarflourflavour[at]outlook[dot]com with your guest post!

This month's selection:
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Your favourite teatime treat

Happy Reading!

April Foodie Pen Pals

 April brought me another happy Food Pen Pals experience. I sent a package to Jessica and I had tons of fun shopping for her. Lindsey was my pen pal and she did a great job! I love getting things from different regions in Canada and Lindsey didn't disappoint. She sent me some Welsh Breakfast Tea and Midnight Lavender Tea and some grape seed oil from local shops. She also sent me Inca Fire Salt and Black Beluga Lentils. Plus, Tonka Beans! They're like vanilla beans and I can't wait to bake something with them!
I loved the package and I thought it was really sweet that Lindsey took the time to write about everything she sent on it's very own index card. She explained what they were, why she likes them and gave me some tips for using them. Thank you for a very thoughtful package Lindsey!

 

• On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
• You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
• The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
• You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
• Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
• Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

Lemon Pepper Shortbread with Ginger-Infused Brown Butter

I'm excited to share something new with you this month. And I'm not (just) talking about the recipe. I joined the Leftovers Club! Every month, US and Canadian bloggers are paired up to exchange the yummy goodies they made for their blogs! This month I was paired with Martine at Whey Beyond the Naked Truth. It was great getting to know her through our many emails and so much fun baking for her! After looking at her blog, I decided she might like the flavours of my Lemon Pepper Shortbread made with Ginger-Infused Brown Butter. They're in the oven right now. I hope she loves them!

Lemon Pepper Shortbread with Ginger-Infused Brown Butter
2      c   flour
1      c   butter
1/2   c   powdered sugar
1      T  black pepper
             zest from one lemon
             fresh ginger, peeled, in a 1" cube

In a small pot, heat butter and ginger for about 10 minutes or until butter turns a golden brown.
Remove from heat and discard ginger. (If you want a more intense ginger flavour, you could grate the ginger right into the butter!)
Let butter solidify.
Cream butter, sugar, lemon zest and pepper.
Mix in flour.
Roll into a log and chill 2 hours. Slice into 1/4" rounds and bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes.

Party Time: Some people, like the snobs on Top Chef Canada, think shortbread cookies aren't worthy of cocktail parties. I think they're wrong. (Yes, Dan Hudson was my favourite chef this season, and yes, I'm a bit bitter that he was sent home over the guy who managed to make chicken taste like Spam.) So if you want to include these tasty treats on your next party menu, roll them into bite-sized balls instead of slicing them. Just increase the baking time by up to 10 minutes.

Breakfast on the Go: Quinoa Granola

A while ago my cousin gave me a recipe for breakfast quinoa. It's cooked with milk, brown sugar and cinnamon, and then it can be topped with fruit or nuts, just like oatmeal. I love it, but I'm on the go a lot and I like food that can go with me. Breakfast quinoa technically should be refrigerated and topping it with fresh fruit means it doesn't last very long in the bottom of a warm purse. So I played around with some quinoa and came up with a version of breakfast quinoa that can go anywhere.  The recipe below has all of my favourite things in it, but you can use whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you like! Bonus, it has tons of good-for-you things in it and it fills you up! Try it - I promise you won't be disappointed!
 
Quinoa Granola
1/3  c   raw quinoa
1/4  c   flax seeds
1/4  c   pumpkin seeds
1/4  c   chopped pecans
1/4  c   sliced almonds
1/2  c   shredded coconut
1/4  c   raisins
1/4  c   dried cranberries
2     T   vegetable oil
1     T   honey
1     T   brown sugar
1     t    cinnamon
1/2  t    nutmeg
1/4  t    ginger
1/4  t    cloves

Rinse and cook quinoa as normal.
In a large bowl, mix cooked quinoa, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, almonds and shredded coconut. Stir in brown sugar and spices. In a separate bowl, mix together honey and oil. Pour over quinoa mixture and stir to coat. 
Spread mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 325F for 45 minutes, stirring periodically. Remove from oven and stir in raisins and cranberries.
Allow granola to cool before storing in an airtight container.

Books!

Those of you who have been reading my blog know two things about me: I love to bake and I love books. And I know this is a baking blog, but sometimes I just have to share my other love with you. LitConnect puts on some great book-related Twitter parties. They're always a good time and on top of getting to chat with some great authors, you also have the chance to win prizes. This month, LitConnect is hosting a party for Desiree Holt and Joey W. Hill and you can win BOOKS and a $100 Gift Card!! The hashtag for the party will be #HoltHillScorch. Click it now to RSVP and read more about the event. If you've never been to a Twitter party before, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll give you some tips. They're super easy!