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Valentines Party Snacks

Valentines Day can be about celebrating so much more than just the love you happen to share with a special someone in your lifethough thats certainly the reason for the season. It can also extend to celebrating the friends youre fortunate enough to have in this life. Throwing a heart-shaped holiday party in your own humble abode is one of the better ways to do just that. And who knows? Maybe a few of your friends might meet someone new afterall. Below, weve outlined a few snacks you could make at your lovely late-winter shindig. Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies Conversation hearts have been a fixture of valentines for as long as anyone can remember. But transforming that idea into delicious sugar cookies adds both the element of customization, and the element of making candy into a bigger cookie. Obviously. With a bit of food coloring, youll be able to color different batches whatever shades of red, pink, or purple your heart desires. And with a cookie stamp and letters, youll be able to leave a memorable message for your friends. You can find out what youll need to make it over here . Chocolate Heart-Shaped Brownies With this batch of confident brownies, you can add a vibrant chocolate red chocolate frosting to these heart-shaped delights. And the white sprinkles against the red pops in a beautiful way. Once youve cooked up the brownies, youll just need a two-inch heart-shaped cutter. Then be sure theyre chilled before you dip them into the melted red frosting. To find both the brownie recipe and the step-by-step for the bright red frosting on top, you can head over here for all the details. True Love Doughnuts Look, heart-shaped anything is a winner when it comes to parties like this. And these cake baked doughnuts are no exception to that rule. In fact, if anything, they only further cement how irresistible holiday-themed baked goods can be. And the raspberry icing on top, with a bit of coconut, makes this one an open and shut case. A word to the wise before you get startedyoull want to pick up a heart-shaped mold for the doughnuts somewhere. You can check your local baking aisle for the supplies. Youll find the rest of what you need to make this work over here .

Super Bowl Snack Ideas

Super Bowl parties can be a blast with friends, all the big-time commercials, and the infamous spread of snacks. But when you or your friends are trying to keep to new year diets, or just are hungry for something different, plain old chips and salsa might not always be your go-to anymore. Whether youre looking to mix things up a bit, or just need to take a break from your old chip and dip friends, weve put together a list of new snacks to try out this year during the big game. Decadent Loaded Baked Potato Dip + Homemade Chips While buying a bag of your own kettle chips might elevate your snack game to the next tier, making your own chipsalong with this loaded potato baked dipputs you in another snack universe altogether. This recipe is a great way to simplify a savory recipe that goes pairs perfectly with the big pigskin game. For the chips, all youll need are a few white or gold potatoes, canola oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper. And as far as the dip goes, youll be getting a simplified baked potato listchives, sour cream, cream cheese for consistency, bacon crumbles, and a couple extra bits. Its easy to throw it all together, and you can find out how to make it all over here . Super Bowl Taco Bar Setting up a serve-yourself bar is one of the smartest ways to have any real social meal with a larger group of friends in an apartment. The taste of tacos paired with your favorite beer is something that just cant be beat. Call it a dynasty. The Kitchn has a few suggestions for different toppings you can try. For example, as far as the meat toppings go, they recommend braised pork or this pot roast filling. Vegetarian toppings could include anything from sauteed mushrooms, black beans, or even unconventional toppings like spicy kale. You can find a list of unconventional ideas for your super taco bar over yonder .

Super Bowl Sunday Food Fixins vs Movie Night Munchies

January! The time of year when our thoughts turn to the Super Bowl. Time to gather friends, family, and come together, to watch the big game. And what better way to celebrate than in your apartment at Willow Hill with good friends and good food. And football should be watched with plenty of food at hand but if youre just not really into football, what about watching a movie instead? Here are some fun food ideas for whatever you are tuned into Sunday afternoon, be it the Super Bowl or swooning over the lead in your favorite romantic comedy. Football Finger Foods because who has time to go to the dinner table when the game is on? With everything from Tater Skins to Buffalo Wings, these tasty finger foods will be a hit at your next football game night. MyRecipes.com has some great ideas for eating in style with essential foods like Sausage, Bean, and Spinach Dip --served with chips or chunks of bread, its a warm filling dish for a winter day. And for the health conscious football fan, Everyday Health has some healthy options for your game day goodies. There is no need to give up taste for nutrition. Serving Truffled Popcorn with Rosemary and Garlic, doesnt even sound like its something on the healthy side --but it is indeed. Bon Apetite! What better way to enjoy a movie than to invite friends over for a tea party prior to the movie. A quick search on Pinterest yielded about a gazillion ideas. Choosing just one could prove difficult. A few suggestions are the Cucumber Cupcakes with Hummus ; but a description doesnt do it justice, and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Rachel Ray has some great options for healthy eating. Find them here . Or do a breakfast for dinner themed gathering. Whipping up pancakes or waffles is easy, and its nice to relax and eat them instead of being in a rush to get out the door. Or try German oven pancakes for something a little different. These Mini German Pancakes would be perfect to serve. And as you share the goodness of friends and food. Did your team win? Please feel free to leave a comment and share what recipes you tried. Happy January!

Local Winter Rentals

New year resolutions often include goals to take up new hobbies. And because of the proximity to winter, sometimes that includes exploring the colder side of the pacific northwest. But for those that want to try it out a bit before the commit, and let unused gear gather dust in the warmer months, you might be wondering what your options are for local rentals. Below, weve decided to highlight a few places you can do just thatalong with what they offer. Local Winter Rentals Though you might need to globetrot a bit, the following locations are still pretty darn close. Were featuring a wider reach in case one is on your way to a snowshoeing, skiing, climbing, or winter camping spot. Wed recommend the following. REI REI in general is a great place to start, especially with so many locations nearbyincluding in Tacoma. By the looks of their website, theyll rent skiing gear, tents, backpacks, snowshoes, mountaineering gear, camping stoves, and sleeping bags and pads. You can explore more details here and give them a call for more information. Feathered Friends Seattles Feathered Friends provides high quality mountaineering gear for relatively affordable rates. Youll be able to rent anything from warm alpine down jackets and pants to snowshoes and poles for trekking the nearby trails. You can explore their pricing over here . Other Recommendations Sports Authoritys myriad of nearby locations also offers snowshoe rentals for both children and adults. Seattles Outdoor Research and Second Ascent also offer a lot of the mountaineering gear mentioned above in case other rental stores are out of what you need. And although student resources at local universities are usually reserved for students, its worth giving them a call to see what theyd recommend.

Homemade Kombucha, part 2

Making resolutions to eat a little healthier, smaller things can influence other bigger decisions when it comes to eating better. Just like youre more likely to pair something healthy with kale, kombucha is a kind of drink thats just as good for you as it is on your day-to-day willpower with food. But since kombucha doesnt come cheap, we thought wed help you learn how to make it yourself. In our last post, we laid out what youll need to make your own batch. Next, well zero in on how to make it come to life. Homemade Kombucha Making the Base First youll need to make the tea base for your kombucha. Simply bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once thats happened, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sugar until its dissolved. Next, drop in your tea of choice from earlier and let it steep until the water has cooled. Since this can take a few hours, you can also place the pot in an ice bath to speed up the process a bit. Finally, once the tea has cooled, take out the bags or strain out any loose tea and add in your starter tea to make your base acidic. Transferring to Jars Once youve added the starter tea, you can pour the liquid into a one-gallon jar with your scoby using clean hands. Wed recommend covering the jar with a couple layers of tightly woven and clean cloth and securing it over the jar with a rubber band. This will help keep fruit flies out of the mix. Next, youll want to move the jar to a room temperature area that will be out of sunlight, and an area where it wont be moved, for the next seven to ten days. Note that its okay and normal for the scoby to move around a bit. After about seven days have passed, pour a bit into a cup to taste test. Once its reached a blend of sweetness and tartness thats to your liking, youre ready to bottle. Bottling Your Kombucha Finally, youll want to transfer your kombucha to plastic bottles with a filter. Be sure to leave a half inch or so near the head empty. Store in a room temperature area again for one to three days until it reaches a healthy carbonation level. It should feel solid in the plastic bottle once its ready. Transfer to the fridge to stop fermentation and carbonation and drink within a month. You can also save a bit of starter tea before you bottle, along with your scoby, to make another batch.

Homemade Kombucha, part 1

For those that have made resolutions this year to eat a little healthier, its the little things that can influence other bigger decisions regarding healthier eating. Take the kombucha craze for example. By opting for a drink thats known for its abundant probiotic benefits, youre more likely to pair it with other foods that are just as good for you. Since kombucha can cost a pretty penny, making your own can help you with your financial resolutions this year all the same. In two posts, well outline what youll need to do to make your own in the comfort of your apartment this winter. Homemade Kombucha Ingredients + Equipment Outside of the tea starter, youll need a few things to get the job doneand either a storebought or homemade scoby. As alien and gross as scoby might look to the untrained kombucha eye, its what gives kombucha is signature taste. You can learn more about making that over here . Make sure you also have the following in tow to make a gallon: - 3 quarts of water - 1 cup of sugar - 8 bags of black tea or green tea or a mix - 2 cups of neutral and unpasteurized storebought kombucha starter tea You can also have about one or two cups of chopped fruit, three or four cups of fruit juice, or flavored herbal teas and honey to flavor your kombucha as desired. To make it all come to life, youll also want to make sure you have the following equipment on hand: - Stock pot - A gallon glass jar or two two quart glass jars - Tightly woven cloth such as clean napkins or tea towels, coffee filters, or paper towels to cover the jar - Six sixteen ounce glass bottles with plastic lids, swing-top bottles, or clean soda bottles - Small funnel Once youve gathered everything you need, youre ready to follow along with the steps outlined in our second and concluding kombucha post. Which means kombucha is just around the bend. And youll find its a whole lot less intimidating than you mightve thought.