We’re getting ready for a holiday weekend, with Memorial Day on Monday. We’ll also have an Update for you on Monday evening so be on the lookout for that. (Want to know what’s going up? Madelinetosh DK, Atenti Overnighter Bags, Into the Whirled Pakokku, Shibui Linen, and Rowan’s new sock yarn. Also, bead and needle re-stocks. Check back on Monday night! For those of you doing Camp Loopy with us this summer, we added in the camp t-shirts this week.

Here’s a great recipe that my dear friend Monica shared on her blog, The Yummy Life. I made this this week and it was delicious. I used it in a salad – lettuce, grilled chicken, and this salsa on top. (Trying to replicate Qdoba’s Mango Chicken Salad, which I love.) It would also be a great salsa on top of burgers, grilled fish or chicken, or as a side dish with chips.

Mango Cucumber Salsa from The Yummy Life

1  1/3 cups chopped mango (2-3 mangoes)
1/2 cup chopped cucumber (peeled for regular cucumbers, or unpeeled if using a Persian cucumber)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1-2 Tbl. diced jalapeños (for less heat, remove seeds and membrane. I did!)
1 minced garlic clove
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro (mint or parsley may also be substituted. I used the cilantro.)
1 Tbl. lime juice (from approx. 1/2 lime)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve. You can also chill it for several hours, but be sure to drain any accumulated liquid before serving.

In addition to this Mango Salsa recipe, check out Monica’s Classic Pico de Gallo Salsa and her Strawberry & Red Bell Pepper Salsa. (And if you wonder how in the heck to chop up a mango? She has a post for that, too!)

Have a great weekend and get some knitting done! I’m happy to say my seven day “no knitting” streak is over. I’m working with a new yarn that we hope to have soon at the shop, and it’s awesome.

Sheri ofcoursefiveotherprojectsalsomid-stream,butIHADtostartthisnewyarn,right?

Are you on Pinterest? I think it’s funny that you can tell if a person has a sweet tooth by the kinds of recipes they pin. Me? I pin all kinds of ooey-gooey yummy-sounding desserts. Do I make many of them? No. But I’m always drawn to pinning them, just in case. I tend to make a lot of the main dish recipes I pin, and I’m always looking for good vegetable and salad recipes on there. But my recipe board definitely tips in favor of desserts. (Here’s my recipe board on Pinterest. See what I mean?)

Here’s one that I tried awhile back. Everyone in my family gave it a thumbs up, even the ones who aren’t usually so fond of cauliflower. (I think the original recipe came from Prevention.com, but I can’t find it on there now.)

Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower (cut into 1″ pieces)
2 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss cauliflower pieces in olive oil. Line a large baking pan with foil and arrange pieces in a single layer. Sprinkle Parmesan, and salt and pepper on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

I find that I rarely use cookbooks any more. When I want to try a new recipe, I scroll through the ones I’ve pinned. Do you pin recipes? And do you try many of them? Considering how many recipes I have in that category, I could go a long long while before pinning anything else food related.

Sheri whomightneedtofocusonfindingmorehealthyrecipestopin

I have a new favorite breakfast drink that I wanted to share with you. We tried this on Christmas morning, and I’ve made it several times since. I’ve also discovered that you can freeze it and if you take it out of the freezer in the morning and leave it in the fridge, it is perfectly slushy and ready for a great lunch drink.

Peach Smoothie
2 cups orange juice
1 cup peach greek yogurt
2 cups frozen sliced peaches
1/2 cup ice cubes
2 Tbl. honey

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

(If I had a food stylist, this photo would be garnished with a fresh peach slice or mint sprig, set upon a lovely light colored and enticing background, with condensation gathering on the outside of the glass. But hey – it was Christmas morning. I snapped it quick. The important part is that you make this recipe, because it’s good!)

Sheri whocouldprobablyuseastylistinseveraldifferentareasoflife

It has been so cold here this past week, and it looks like it will continue for awhile. The best thing for a cold day? Surely it’s grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Right? I tried a new recipe over the holidays and wanted to share it with you. The Greek yogurt adds a wonderfully healthy creaminess to the soup. I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as mine did.

Tomato, Basil and Cheese Soup
(found on Pinterest, originally from the More Fruit Please blog.)

2 (28 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped, loosely packed
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a large pot. Over medium heat, add the chopped onion and cook for 3-4 minutes (until tender). Add in the chopped garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Pour in the cans of tomatoes (juice and all) and the vegetable stock. Stir in the basil, sugar, salt, pepper and oregano.  Let this simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on.

After 10 minutes, remove from heat and stir in the greek yogurt and cheese, mixing until blended. Use an immersion blender (these things are the best – I use it to slightly thicken all of my homemade soups) or food processor to puree the soup. Garnish with additional chopped basil and grated cheddar cheese if desired.

As for the grilled cheese sandwiches, I think the best ones come from Mimi’s Cafe. I found a copycat recipe (which I shared here) that comes pretty close to those. But we generally simplify things for regular grilled cheese eating. (Like not using that many different kinds of cheese.) I like sourdough bread for our grilled cheese, and I always butter the outside of the bread and lay that butter side down into a pile of grated parmesan so that it forms a wonderful cheesy crust on the outside of the sandwich as it grills. YUM.

Have a great weekend and be sure to check the blog next week, as we have new things to share with you, including the First Quarter Challenge for 2013!

Sheri hopingformoresnow,aslongasit’sgoingtobecoldanyway

We sure seem to have a lot of geese here in Fort Collins. They fly overhead in the mornings, honkinghonkinghonking trying to figure out who is supposed to be at the head of the V formation. They waddle up and down the sidewalks in different spots. And they swim in the local lakes and ponds. Paul (WH) took some great photos that I wanted to share with you. (Does anyone cook a goose for Christmas dinner? Never mind. I probably don’t want to know.)

And just so the ducks don’t feel left out:

We have had two Loopy Elf parties in the past two weeks. The first one was a dinner that included spouses, and that was a lot of fun. Then we had a fun lunch with everyone bringing something, earlier this week. Cathy brought a warm beverage called Cranberry Bog that we all enjoyed. I’m going to have a pot of this simmering on the stove on Christmas day. Yum.

Cathy’s Cranberry Bog

3 cups boiling water
2 tea bags
2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar

Steep tea for 3 minutes in the boiling water. Combine all other ingredients and heat. Serve with cinnamon sticks.

It’s time for our final RAK Reporting day. Did you do something fun for someone else this week? Leave a comment and tell us about it below and I’ll draw the winners and will announce them on Monday’s blog. If you need ideas so that you can squeeze in a Random Act of Kindness before I draw winners on Monday, check out our first two blog posts here and here. The randomly drawn winners will receive a skein of The Loopy Ewe Seasonings Series of their choice. Thank you for all of your participation this year in our RAK’s!

Do you have guests arriving this weekend? My mum-in-law arrives today and we always love having her here with us for the holidays. I really lucked out in the mother-in-law department. Have a great weekend!

Sheri hopingyougetallofyourlastminuteknittingdone,too

Our Loopy Ewe Solid Series line has been used in another published pattern and we wanted to give you a peek! This crocheted scarf looks like it would be fun to do in a lot of different colors. The designer, Kathy Merrick, used Iron, Butterscotch, Dove, Pesto, Mocha, Silver, Sage and Slate Blue for this one. This pattern appears in Interweave’s Crochet Winter 2012/2013, available online today and on newsstands December 18th. (Photo by Harper Point Photography, used with permission.) Wouldn’t this be fun in shades of one color (like blue), going from lighter to darker? Like Whisper Blue, Ice, Cornflower, Cerulean, Royal Blue, Slate Blue, Indigo, and Navy? Or browns? Or greens? How about a quick Christmas scarf with Strawberry, Cardinal, Spring Green, Kelly Green, Evergreen, Surf, Caribbean and Turquoise? (Or just pick a Loopy Cake set or two – those are fun colors that all go well together!) I like the multi-color idea for a scarf. It goes with everything that way.

Today’s recipe is a long-time family favorite and I hope you and your family and friends enjoy this one as much as we do.

Congo Bars

Mix together:

1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 cups flour
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix well and press into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle 1/2 bag of chocolate chips on top and lightly press into batter. You can also add a half-bag of butterscotch chips as well, but we like the chocolate chips in ours.

Beat 2 egg whites until stiff and then add 1 cup brown sugar. Beat until combined. Spread over chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool and cut into bars.

Hasn’t it been nice to have one full week post-Thanksgiving before the month of December hits? Have you decorated for the holidays yet? (Or do you do that?) I think that’s on my list for the weekend.

Sheri betteraddthattomyhusband’sto-dolistthisweekend,too…