Time for some Friday Things:
1. Bon Appetit’s Food Trends for 2013
They say that blondies are the new brownies in item 23. I love brownies, but I have quite the extensive blondie and light-colored bars collection, and it’s growing. Weekly.
2. A few favorites are Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies
Coconut White Chocolate Chip Blondies
3. I am in love with MacKenzie-Childs – I could get lost for hours and hours on their site. And spend thousands of dollars in like five minutes. It just goes on and on and on, from kitchen to home to garden.
Farmhouse Loaf Pan $135 and Baking Dish $160 are both gorgeous.
As is every single thing on their site and one thing just is more lovely than the next.
4. Not-Too-Sweet Wok-Popped Coconut Kettle Corn – No popcorn maker? No wok?
Me neither but I make popcorn almost every day.
I put two tablespoons kernels in a brown paper lunch sack, fold the top down, and microwave for 90 seconds. No added oil, nothing except just the kernels, and it works like a charm every time, every day for the past five years. And I can probably use the same brown bag at least ten times before grabbing a fresh one. How’s that for saving money. I sprinkle anything from cinnamon-and-sugar to nutritional yeast over the popcorn, sometimes with melted coconut oil, butter, or whatever I’m in the mood for.
I made the popcorn in the Parmesan Ranch Snack Mix with the brown bag method. Between the popcorn trick and the easy recipe, this party mix comes together in five minutes. A little too easy.
I also love putting coconut oil on popcorn. Chocolate Coconut Oil Protein Popcorn is an oldie but a goodie that uses chocolate protein powder.
5. The 20 Best Beauty Products Under $50 – A few items like a tub of Vaseline and yellow Clinique lotion made the list, and there are many products I’ve never heard of. My Sephora and adventuresome days of trying as many new products as possible are long gone. I’m about tried and true now.
I did a post a couple years ago Top 10 Drugstore Finds Under $10 with my personal favorites, like Carmex for my lips. I have a tube in every room, purse, bag, and car. I can’t live without it and nothing else works the same for me.
6. I thoroughly enjoyed Amanda’s post about Why You Should Never Start a Food Blog. For those who are bloggers, I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to some, if not all, of the post. Although there are negatives to it, and everything she said I can relate to, all the positives I relate to and it’s what blogging is about for me.
I truly appreciate my readers and am grateful that people read my blog. I get to create recipes, make food, take thousands of pictures of it, write about, people make it, and tell me about it. How cool is that? To me, it’s the coolest and the best.
I said it recently in my December 2012 Recipes post, but I’ll say it again, thank you for reading my blog, commenting, emails, tweeting, making my recipes, or just reading in stealth and stopping by whenever you have a chance. I am grateful. Thank you.
7. How to Make Maple Cream – from Cooks Illustrated. That would be worth breaking out my candy thermometer for. I want to just turn my DVR on, get a spoon, and that’s my idea of a party on the couch on Friday night.
8. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, but do have a microwave and seven minutes, make Seven Minute Microwave Caramels
I made another batch, dipped them in melted chocolate and they were the best thing I’ve eaten this year.
9. I just got my monthly iHerb order. Right now they’re offering $10 dollars off all orders over $40, and $5 dollars off smaller orders.
Their prices are already hands down the cheapest on my daily probiotics, the nutritional yeast I sprinkle on everything from popcorn (item 4 above) to salads to kale chips. I get all my vitamins and supplements, bulk cinnamon, liquid vanilla stevia drops, bulk white stevia powder, and so many other things I use every day there.
With free shipping and a discount on top of already discounted prices, I always feel like I hit the jackpot. Enter code AVE630 at checkout to save your $5 or $10 bucks and go shopping.
10. Jazz Era Jewelry Box, $68 Anthro – I love the pink beading and vintage flair. My jewelry box just recently broke and this one is so pretty and girlie.
What are your Friday Things?
What do you think of the food trends for 2013? Any trends you’re sick of and want to see less of or more of? Any favorite beauty products? Kitchen tips or tricks? Popcorn fan?
If you’ve made anything, done, seen, or bought anything fabulous recently, feel free to link it up in the comments.
I’ve read that salted desserts and the salted caramel craze is going to continue. Although I do love my caramels and salty-and-sweet treats from time to time, salted caramel is definitely everywhere. I’ve read that people are sick of cake pops and cake balls. Is that true? I could never get sick of cake.
Have a great weekend and check back for giveaways!
I’m so over cupcakes. Just give me the whole cake with extra icing, please. Looking forward to trying a duck egg and that Spanish Big Mac, yumm.
Cakes are so much easier, less fussy, less individual-work-per-item, one big thing to pour into a pan and bake, and then frost rather than 12-24 indiv items at all phases in the process!
I loved that piece by Amanda as well – one of my favorites of the past few months. And it’s crazy how often I find myself reaching for my Carmex – never thought my favorite beauty product would be so… generic. Oh, and blondies RULE – I loved BA’s list and was happy about so many of the items, from gochujang to East Coast blue crabs.
Glad you saw both Amanda’s list and the BA list. Both are great reads!
Glad you’re a Carmex fan too! And that you saw Amanda’s piece. I’m sure you were nodding in agreement the whole time!
I can’t look at your posts without looking at 10 million other recipes you’ve posted. The blondie photos are gorgeous, I shouldn’t be looking at them before I’ve had a decent breakfast!
Glad you enjoy them and thanks!
There are worse things than blondies for breakfast :)
I’m so down with blondies! I have been baking up a storm pre-baby and that is on my list for today! Happy Friday Averie!
Hi Averie! You have such a beautiful blog – I think I’ve just spent a 1/2 hour poking around. I love your positive energy and your food all looks delicious. Looking forward to reading more:)
Thanks for the great compliments and for saying hi…and for poking around for half an hour. That’s great :)
I actually prefer blondies to brownies so I am so excited about that new trend! And I can’t wait to make some of your blondie recipes in 2013!
Blondies just seem so versatile and can really go in so many directions and the way I make them, they come together with a stick of melted butter and 1 bowl in like 5 mins flat!
I LOVE Carmex too…have been using it since I was a kid :) That popcorn looks delish…love your blog!!!
Thanks – & glad you love it!
I enjoyed the link to the food trends for this year. A duck egg–sure, I’ll try that, but I think I’d have to pass on the sourdough fried in pork fat (though I am glad to see that bread made the list)! That maple cream looks like it would be just as addictive as cookie butter or nutella. I like the growing popularity of local/seasonal/sustainable, but I don’t think I could feasibly make it through the winter without berries or tropical fruits! I don’t know exactly why that concept is on my mind at this hour, but maybe it’s because I want strawberries on my salad with some balsamic reduction…and I guess I’m thankful I can make it today. Happy Friday!
The whole eat organic/local trend or overall food philosophy works well if you live here in SoCal. Not so well if you live in 80% of the rest of the country during the winter! Even here, when I was an active member of a CSA and got a weekly box and let them choose, there were times of the year when if I was just eating locally, that I’d be eating tons and tons of mizuna greens. And other times innundated with kumquats.
And that maple cream, I know!
Maple Cream! Oh my. Thank you for that link!!
I thought the same thing – insanely good looking!
Blondies are the bestest! In their honor, I’m going back to my very good friend, peroxide. Can’t wait!! And I have to try your coconut white chocolate chip blondies… yowzah!!
Clinique everything and carmex are chillin’ in my purse…forever and always. :)
Love that you are a Carmex fan…and can’t wait to see your blonde transformation if it’s really happening!
And thanks for the pin!
SO many links to click over to today. omg. firs tthe food trends – I love blondies over brownies anyway. could it be the hair color? hmm. who knows. cheap make-up- I’m all about it! I love my carmex too! Always in my purse and at my work desk. OH and lipsmackers. I love vanilla lipsmackers (yes, I realize I’m about Skylar’s age with that one). Amanda’s post about reasons to never be a food blogger is SO spot on. Wow. The criticism, the stealing, the need to please everyone but you just can’t… yes. So much truth behind every reason. On a positive note, there’s so much you can gain from having a blog. I’d like to add that if you have a full time 9-5pm job AND a food blog, you will NEVER have a weekend ever again. At least in the capacity of my own website. I know that’s true for you as well Averie!
I need maple cream, wine, and a night on the couch today. wine and maple cream? why not. and maybe a rum runner too.
I thought you’d like Amanda’s link if you hadn’t already seen it. I thought of our conversations the whole time I was reading it!
Glad you enjoy all the links and I love Carmex and lipsmackers..so many fun flavors but now I need to try the vanilla! I’ve only ever tried berry ones.
Your last sentence. I need all of the above! :)
I’m with you on iHerb. Just got in an order myself. I actually picked out a few things I’ve never tried before like hemp seeds. I’ve also started adding in amino acids and glutamine. I’m hoping that the supps help with muscle recovery after running and lifting and that it might help prevent major muscle/strength loss while I’m not supposed to be lifting.
You could do a post one day if you think xyz supps/vitamins/products helped you achieve intended goals or stay on track. I’m always so curious as to if things ‘really work’ and sometimes just the anecdotal stories are worth their weight in gold. Hope it all works wonders for you!
Such a fun post Averie! Happy u discovered MacKenzie-Childs too :)
I love the blondie trend because blondies are my friends!!!! I think the gooeyness factor on them is what was me obsessed (especially all your delicious recipes). P.s. Love Carmex! I use it every day. :)
My husband is quite the popcorn fiend. We have used both a popcorn maker or a wok for making it, but never your simple brown paper bag method. For our wedding we received a popcorn maker which was awesome and we used it OFTEN. But we didn’t take it to Asia. Here we usually use a wok, but not all places we go to have proper kitchens. Wow…I totally have to try the paper bag method now. Who knew it could be so easy (I guess the pre-packaged microwave popcorn could have given me a hint ;)
heh, a lot of the reasons not to be a food blogger are the same things I might tell someone about being an actor-the rejection, everyone having an opinion, the cost. But (for me) much like a blog, the love of doing it keeps one going…
anywho, how about some simple comfort food for a friday thing?