Raving.

I like to read reviews on products on Amazon. I really should write them more often. So it makes sense that I like when friends tell me about stuff they like... it gives me an idea for a gift for someone or it makes me a smarter consumer or it just makes me want what they have.

So I decided to tell you about some of the things I'm raving about this week:

1. Chokecherry Honey. My lovely Mom K gave me two bears of this stuff and it is SO GOOD. It is just deliciously sweet. If you live in ND, this company sells it in stores with local products. Actually they ship it but shipping starts at $11 so I don't think I'll be buying any unless I get desperate.

 

I just realized no one down south has probably heard of the Chokecherry Tree before. Growing up we had a chokecherry tree in our front yard.... but I don't think anyone actually ate the berries because they sure are bitter. I recall the shelves and shelves of chokecherry jam and syrup that my mom would make growing up that I snobbishly thought were gross and rarely ate. I thought all that work we did with the cheesecloth and the huge caldron of canning stuff just didn't make sense for this burgundy not-as-good-as-strawberry jam. But now, oh now I wish I could have those shelves and shelves. And then maybe I could figure out how to make this chokecherry honey.

2. Wusthof Knives. I am learning the importance of a good knife in the kitchen. I bought a Wusthof chef's knife on clearance at TJ Maxx awhile back and I actually enjoy chopping vegetables now. It's that good. Granted our old knives are really dull and horrible. I also have a paring knife that gets used daily. Wusthof are one of the top brands and they are spendy. My plan is to have just a few good knives versus a load of bad ones. But if you want to rock the socks of someone, buy them a set of these knives (in their classic or gourmet lines).

3. Shutterfly. I'm making photo books like a mad woman. There was a little learning curve to their Custom Path photo book maker but I'm a fan overall. If you want to make a photo book, this is the main popular site I'd go with over the others.

4. Plaid. It's just so stinkin' cute on kids.

5. Southwest Salad. I pinned this recipe and made it last week. It's pretty tasty and totally worth trying if you are into chicken/corn/beans/lettuce/avocado in a creamy/taco/rancy dressing mix. I actually cooked a batch of chicken in the crock pot with taco seasoning and salsa and used it for this recipe plus another. Raw chicken grosses me out so I'm a fan of quickly putting it in the crock pot and then forgetting about it. Call me a wuss, I just don't like pinky, slimy uncooked chicken.

6. Kids Placemat. I love this thing for going out to eat with Eli. It has suction cups so you stick it to the table in front of your kid and they can grab their food without you having to worry about the nastiness of the table underneath. It also has a little catch area for food that drops... and then the whole thing rolls into that when you are done (you roll the mess inside and hope not to forget to wash it and leave it in the diaper bag for a week). I got ours brand new at a consignment sale for $3 but they are on amazon for $9-10. I'd consider it one of our most used items, especially good for traveling.

Sorry, dear husband, for this not so attractive photo but it's the only one I could find with the placemat! You can tell we like our DQ cones in this family!

Well this has gotten long. I'll do another installment of My Favorite Things soon.

-Heather