The Cooking Dish

Summer’s Pepper Jams Review (Part 3)

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This is the third post in a 3-part series where I featured Summer from www.SummersSecret.com. Over the last while I’ve had the opportunity to talk with Summer and take some of her products for a spin. You can read the initial interview here, and the review of her seasoning mix, Summer’s Secret Seasoning, here.

In today’s post we’re going to take a look at two of her pepper jams, the Hot Mango Pepper Jam and the Spicy Green Pepper Jam. Before we start though, here’s the required disclaimer: These jams were provided free of charge by Summer for the purpose of this review; no other compensation is being received. All right, let’s dive in.
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Summer’s Secret Seasoning Review (Part 2)

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In my last post I had the great opportunity to talk to Summer, creator of Summer’s Secret Seasoning and also the creator of some great jams (which we’ll be talking about in the next post). If you haven’t yet read that interview and you’d like to, you can find it here.

During this portion, we’re going to take a look at Summer’s Secret Seasoning, which I have been taking for a test drive on many different foods over the past while. It’s been a lot of fun to do this and experiment.
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Summer’s Secret Seasoning and Jam Review (Part 1)

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Note that this is the first post of three in this series. You can read Part 2 (Summer’s Secret Seasoning review here.

One of the many reasons I love writing this food blog is meeting and chatting with new people. I’ve recently had the delightful opportunity to talk with Summer from Summer’s Secret Seasoning about her entrepreneurial endeavors within the food industry. It seems that a lot of us have numerous business ideas when it comes to food, but so many of us have never really done anything about it. Summer is an exception to that rule. Not only has she produced Summer’s Secret Seasoning, but she has gone on to create a few jam flavors (with more in the works).
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10 Rules for a Happier Kitchen

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After a few years of observing the kitchen habits of myself and others, I’ve decided to put together a little list that I think a lot of us could benefit from. This list briefly details 10 things that I believe will help make cooking less stressful and more enjoyable.
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MacGourmet Deluxe 3 Giveaway (closed)

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**This contest has ended**
The winner was chosen via the awesome random.org, and the winner is Travis Washburn!
Congratulations, Travis. I’ve sent an email to you at the given email address. Please note that if no response is received within 7 days, another winner will be chosen.

Thanks to the generous folks at Mariner Software, I have one full license to give away for MacGourmet Deluxe 3 (a $49.95 value)! Please note that this is a Mac-only application and will not run on a PC running Windows, Linux, or anything other than MacOS 10.5 or higher.
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Is Beeswax the Cure for Allergy Suffering?

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AAACHOOOO!!! My conversation was cut short as I hastily whipped my head to the left and brought up my arm just in time to block my sneeze before covering the lady two feet in front of me with a goobery barrage of Chris germs. “¡Perdóneme!” I said while fervently searching my pockets for anything to wipe my nose with. I had inconveniently used the last of my tissue paper just minutes before. The only option was to keep my arm up in front of my face; to bring it down would mean displaying to the world the inner workings of my nasal cavity.

The sneeze had made my eyes water, adding to their itchy redness. “I’m not sick,” I hastily commented. “It’s just allergies; they’re killing me!”
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A Peach Full of Memories

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Of all the fresh fruits I look forward to eating the most each year, peaches rank the highest (raspberries take a very close second). Peaches are better than candy–and I don’t care how much sugar content they have, I can eat six thousand and one in a single sitting and remain 100% guilt free.

This morning I blended up the last of my second bushel. When only four peaches remained in the box, I realized that if I didn’t eat one of them, I would most likely not have another fresh peach until September of next year. Without a second thought I cut it open, removed the pit and skin and sunk my teeth into its juicy flesh. My taste buds knew exactly what to expect and they weren’t disappointed. But what I didn’t expect was the flood of memories that came rushing into my head with that first bite.
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Book Review: Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

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I’m on a book craze right now and can’t stop stuffing my face with awesome literature. I recently finished reading An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward and immediately after finishing, I picked up Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman which I quickly devoured in each spare minute that I had. In my opinion, Ratio should be required reading for anybody who cooks in the kitchen.
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Book Review: An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward

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This year I decided to spend my birthday money on kitchen stuff that I’ve had my eyes on. I wound up with some awesome kitchen tools and some more books which I’ve been wanting to read and study for a while, among those books was An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives by Chad Ward (affiliate link). Using a 5-star rating method, I’d give it a 4 out of 5; using a 10-star rating method, I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

Chad Ward is a knife nerd, seriously; his kitchen knife expertise makes those of us who frequently use our kitchen knives and already know a moderate amount about them realize that we’ve been playing in the kiddy pool most of our lives. Although his book has quite a bit of “geek speak” in it as it relates to kitchen knives, metallurgy, and whatnot, it’s a pleasure to read and is easy to understand. And, as Chad says, once you learn the terminology you can impress all your friends and the guy behind the knife counter with your wisdom (extra bonus!).

The hard part now is figuring out where to begin…
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Tapatio Doritios, Tapatio Fritos, and Tapatio & Lime Ruffles Reviewed

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Author’s note: Frito lay asked that I review these chips. They provided the chips, but no other compensation was given. Enjoy!

Not too long ago, I received a request from Frito-Lay to review some of their new chips that will be hitting the market this month. Naturally, I’m always curious to know what’s new so I accepted and a few days later, courtesy of Frito-Lay, a box arrived at my door with three bags of their new flavors.
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