Unbaked #3 - Gifts in a Jar...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was really excited to make "sand art style" food mixes as Christmas gifts.  Here is my practice run with a pumpkin muffin recipe.  I'm really excited about this one having read that article on using my muffin tin more often!

Since pouring all the ingredients into the jar wasn't as pretty as I hoped, I grabbed a butter knife & pushed the spices down the sides of the jar to drag them into a "drippy" pattern.  I stuffed cranberries into the top, printed out the directions on card stock, and used a piece of paper ribbon to tie it onto the mix.  I am going to place the can o' pumpkin in some tissue paper & stick the two items into a nice brown paper bag...  That wrapping project will probably also result in a blog entry.

I liked this project since it didn't take long.  I am already envisioning an assembly line in the kitchen & roping my husband into helping!

A Cup of Tea

I have been absent from the blog world for the past few days partially due to studying for finals for nursing school, and mostly due to a massive cold that has taken over my entire body.  I will not go into the details, because let's face it...  this blog is about eating & happy things, right?

Well, here is a special tea recipe that supposedly helps with colds (I say supposedly because I'm a skeptic, but I'll try anything when I feel this terrible).  I got it from friend in nursing school who got it from one of our instructors:

Butt Kicking Tea for Butt Kicking Colds
from:  Betho's Kitchen
1 teacup/mug/container of Boiling Water
1 teabag of your favorite herbal tea (my favorite is Calm by Tazo)
1 lemon wedge
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp minced ginger
1 dash cayenne pepper

I just dump all the ingredients into one of my favorite mugs (pictured above), and drink it down.  If you don't like things floating in your tea, wrap up the ginger & cayenne in some cheesecloth.  The cayenne pepper feels really good on a sore throat, and the warmth of everything really clears up the sinuses!

Check out this article about using a muffin tin for cutting energy costs and enforcing portion control!  I'm excited to get well & try a few recipes :)