Category Archives: $#!* Sarah Uses

Products I use with my reviews. Links and pictures are also provided.

Jan 24 2012

FAO Schwarz Baby Chef

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When it comes to nutrition, I want the best for my son. So when I saw this baby food maker, I had to have it. Being on sale at Babies R Us was a plus! Originally about $150 bucks, I scored it for about $40. I used it last night and it is amazing. I sliced up some apples and placed them in the steam side, they were done in about 10 minutes. Perfectly fork tender. Then I placed them in the blender side and added some canned pumpkin to make pumpkin apples sauce. Its delicious, although my son is still getting used to the pumpkin taste.

Then for bed time I used the bottle warmer option and that worked perfect as well. The bottle wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t cold.

You have to read the directions though, there are a lot of parts to it. The water in the steam side does get hot so be careful. The blender side is a bit noisy, but it works well. Cleanup was easy. I cant wait to use it again!

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Jan 9 2012

Hershey or Dutch?

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Have you ever been reading a recipe and come across an ingredient called “Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder?” What does “Dutch Processed” mean anyway? Dutch processing involves using an alkali to extract the chocolate. An alkali is the opposite of an acid, it has a high pH instead of a low PH. An example of a very strong alkali is lye. A weaker alkali is baking soda. Cocoa produced with the Dutch process is called “Dutch-processed cocoa,” or “cocoa processed with alkali.” It is a darker brown in color, less reddish. Its taste is smoother and less bitter.

In my experience of using both Dutch and Hershey unsweetened cocoa powder, I prefer Hershey.  I recently baked two batches of chocolate chip cookies, one with Hershey and one with Dutch processed cocoa powder. My husband and I then did a blind taste test to see which one we preferred. Hands down it was the Hershey. But everyone’s tastes are different. When I eat a chocolate cookie, I want that extra POW of chocolate. Dutch processed just doesn’t deliver on that. But if you are looking for a more subtle chocolate taste, I recommend Droste Dutch processed cocoa powder. The taste is very smooth and not bitter.  But for the extra POW of chocolate there is always Hershey’s baking cocoa.

The recipe I used to make these cookies came from Baking with the Cake Boss by Buddy Valastro. You can read my review on the book here. The cookies turned out great! I can wait to try all the other cookie recipes.

 

 

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Jan 6 2012

Book review

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We all know I love to bake, my  husband especially since he gets to indulge, sometimes reluctantly, in my latest creation. I am always looking for new recipes I can try and sometimes manipulate to my own tastes.

For Christmas, my husband got me Baking with the Cake Boss. The book is filled with Buddy’s best recipes and decorating tips. I really like this book. Buddy starts out by telling you how he got started in the bakery and how he developed his skills. He also explains the hows and whys of the way he bakes. Things like why baking soda and baking powder are so important and why to use dutch processed cocoa powder. The style of writing is as if you are sitting in the kitchen of Carlos Bakery listening to him talk. It has a personal feel to it. He then starts out with the easier recipes, such as butter cookies, then works his way to layering and decorating cakes. All the while you are developing skills that will help you on the next recipe and beyond.

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Dec 26 2011

Free cable!

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Free cable, what? Yes that’s right we watch TV for next to nothing. Mind you there are start-up costs, but we dont pay a monthly bill to a cable company to watch movies and TV. We went from paying $80+ a month for some big name, and even no name, cable company to only paying about $30 bucks a month.

First, if you dont already have an account, get Netflix and HuluPlus. HuluPlus is great because you can watch almost ALL of the shows on cable TV. And with HuluPlus you can watch it on YOUR time. Not scrambling to get on the couch to watch your show or paying even more to have your cable box record it for you, or even worse, forgetting to set the timer to record. AND you can watch HuluPlus on just about any device! Check it out.

Second, get rid of your over priced cable company. You dont need all those channels, I mean how many of them do you actually watch? An entire channel devoted to QVC…really?

Third, get on Amazon.com and buy a Roku. Whats a Roku? In a nut shell its a device you can use to access Roku channels like Netflix, HuluPlus, Crackle, Disney and hundreds of other channels. Read all about it here.

Fourth, if you want local channels like ABC and CBS, buy an HD antenna.  We went to Lowe’s and bought the RCA Indoor Digital HDTV Indoor Antenna but you can find one for cheaper on Amazon.com, of course. RCA Flat Digital Amplified Antenna.

So that’s it. Now you can watch all your shows at a significantly cheaper price than with big name cable companies. Total cost = $29.51, $21.52 for Netflix two movies at a time and instant play, $7.99 a month for HuluPlus. Heck of a lot cheaper than $80+ a month.

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Dec 12 2011

Have you met mark.?

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Who is mark. you ask, well let me tell you. Mark. is a magnetic, sassy, unexpected, fresh new line of cosmetics, fashion and jewelry. Everything is inspired by the hottest trends of the season. With color palettes customizable to your own taste to fashion and accessories for every style, you will love what mark. has to offer.

 

I am just getting started being a mark. representative, but let me tell you I am loving it! Some of the cosmetics I have already tried are the Glow Baby Glow hook up lip gloss. I love this lip gloss because it doesn’t feel sticky on my lips and has a lasting shine.  And if you purchase any two hook up products you get a FREE mark. connector! *Let me explain the hook ups. I wasn’t sure what they were at first. You buy the hook up products, with the tiny lid. Then you buy the connector and snap it on to get a longer handle. You can connect it to lip gloss, mascara, eye liner, perfume, tons of stuff! 

 

Another great little product is the Super Flip Color Kit. This thing is so cool! Its a neat little compact that lets you flip back and forth from lip gloss to eye shadow for on the go touch-ups.

 

 

Another genius little product is the custom pick color palettes. You can pick any colors you want then snap them in the little compact and throw it in your purse for on the go touch-ups.

 

 

 

 

And last, but definitely not least, the Scanda-lash hook up mascara. All volume without the clumps!

 

 

 

 

[warning] I hope you find these reviews helpful when choosing what products to purchase. I will be posting more reviews as I use more mark. products. So in the mean time feel free to browse my e-boutique, fill up your shopping cart and spread the word! Photos courteous of www.meetmark.com[/warning]

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Mar 9 2011

New Gadgets

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More Gadgets!!!

Here are some of the new gadgets I received from Amazon, oh how I love thee…

I can’t wait to use my new gadgets!

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Jan 19 2011

More Gadgets

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Here is just a list of some of the baking gadgets I use.

Baker’s Secret Basic Non-Stick 8in Round Pan

Wilton Springform Pan

Wilton Performance Cake Pans Round Pan Set

Wilton Performance Pans Square Pan Set

Wilton Decorative Preferred 12-by-18 Sheet Cake Pan

Wilton Decorator Preferred 10-Inch Heart Shaped Cake Pan

Kitchen Elements Silicone Baking Mat, 15-Inches by 11-Inches, 2-Pack

Wilton 13 Inch Angled Spatula With Black Handle

Mrs. Anderson’s 5-Cup Stainless-Steel Crank Flour Sifter

Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups

KitchenAid 4-Piece Measuring Cup Set with Scraper, White

KitchenAid 5-Piece Measuring Spoon Set, Red

Taylor Classic Candy and Deep-Fry Analog Thermometer

Cake Slicer with Adjustable Wire, 12.5″

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Jan 15 2011

Other Gadgets

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For Christmas I got my husband this awesome Oster wine bottle opener. It opens any wine bottle, cork or plastic, with ease. Just make sure you follow the directions and it has a full charge. It will even put the cork back in the bottle!

Something else I love is my Breville Juicer my husband got me for Christmas. It has a pulp separator so I can make home made apple juice and use the pulp in muffins. Its super easy to use and super easy to clean. It comes with a nice little brush to scrub out the extractor. I can make my own baby food too, when we get to that point…thinking ahead here. I can freeze the pulp in ice trays and pull them out as I need them. Genius!

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Jan 15 2011

Baking Gadgets

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One of my most favorite things in my kitchen is my KitchenAid Stand mixer. I have made so many awesome things with it, from cakes to pizza dough and beyond. I also mastered the art of making butter cream from scratch. The best thing ever! The bowl holds 5 quarts, thats 20 cups of batter!!

I also love all the Wilton products. That list is endless but I will try to cover them all. Couldn’t create all my amazing cakes without the Wilton Cake Decorating Kit. Comes with everything you will need to get started.

Oh and how could I forget my Cricut! I love this thing. Once I figured out how thin I needed the material to be, make sure you put Crisco on the mat otherwise the material will tear when you pull it off, I was cutting all kinds of stuff out for my cakes. Its so cool!

Anyway, back to the wonderful world of Wilton. I use my Wilton Fondant 9 inch Roller for small projects. I bust out the heavy duty Calphalon rolling pin for bigger projects like covering a cake with fondant. Wilton Trim-N-Turn Ultra Rotating Cake Stand works great for getting an even smooth look all around your cake. The Wilton Cake Lifter works great to get the cake off the stand. Its not suitable for larger cakes as the metal will bow a little and the cake might slide off…its happened to me.

I use Kaiser Bake-ware adjustable cake rings and plastic cake wrap when I want to use the same size for several layers. I will go over that in a tutorial section.

And lest we forget Cake Decorating for Dummies and this book is my bible, Baking by James Peterson. I try not to overwhelm myself with too many cook books, but it is good to have some variety.

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