Sippin' on some SodaStream: A Giveaway!

This is probably one of my best giveaways ever -- a SodaStream Jet Machine with a Flavor Pack!

First, my love affair with seltzer. There are a few "Jewish" things I've never been able to stomach: herring, white fish, chopped liver (huge barf), and, of course, seltzer. I hopped on the gefilte fish and cholent bandwagon, easy peasy. I make a mean kugel and I'm partial to a good gluten-free kishke, too. I'm willing to try things, and believe me, I have, but most of them just never caught on with my white-bread, meat-and-potatoes Nebraska stomach.

Then, during Passover, we managed to be at a lot of places where the options were largely water, tea, and seltzer. One can only drink so much water before one needs a little pizazz (and this is me about every three days; I have a low low-flavor threshold), and iced tea needs sweetener, which I'm trying to avoid. So I opted to give seltzer another go and the fizz kept me from every looking back. I ended up buying so many bottles a week that Tuvia was growing weary of the bucks and bottles on my newest habit.

Enter: The SodaStream!

I came home one night before my trip to Israel in May to a SodaStream. Tuvia is in charge of the fizzing and flavoring, and I'm in charge of most of the drinking. For the most part, we drink the simple flavors of seltzer like Lemon-Lime, and we avoided a lot of the soda flavors that have most people jazzed about the SodaStream. But then a kind fellow over at SodaStream sent me an amazing package of flavors to try -- including some delicious diet flavors -- and Tuvia and I got to trying.

My favorite? The Root Beer. Okay, everyone at the ROI Summit talked about how amazing the Root Beer was, but I'm sort of a Root Beer purist. Close seconds are given to the delicious Diet Green Tea with Berries and Blackberry Currant with Pear. I like the spritz of fruity flavors with the bubbles; it's a change to the typical fruity soda that's out there.

The SodaStream is incredibly easy to use, and it's kosher for use on Shabbos! So you get your SodaStream, a few bottles, and you can make and serve delicious seltzer and soda over and over again to please even the most discerning tastebuds. (Man, I sound like a food magazine or TV show, right?) I also like that it's all kosher, and it cuts down on the amount of bottles we're using and tossing -- environmentally friendly!

So how do you enter the giveaway? You have three ways to enter. Simply list in the comments what you did -- IN ONE COMMENT PLEASE. When you post multiple times for each thing you do it makes it hard to pick a winner.

• In the comments here on this post, tell me what clean, healthy flavor you would LOVE for SodaStream.
• "Like" my page on Facebook. (Note: This is my Blog Page on Facebook, not my Personal Profile on Facebook -- if we're already friends, this step requires "liking" my Facebook Blog Page.)
• Tweet: "I just entered to win a @SodaStream and flavor pack on @kvetchingeditor's blog at http://www.kvetchingeditor.com!"

Disclaimer: Contest ends August 30, 2011 at 10 p.m. Open only to U.S. residents. And if you didn't know, the products are produced in Israel! So you'll be doing something awesome for Israel, the environment, and your fizzy tummy. 

A Perfectly Purim Giveaway!

With Purim right around the corner, I'm sure you're all stocking up on delicious sweet treats for your mishloach manot baskets (and, of course, some for yourself), so here I am with another giveaway -- this time from the amazing folks at Oh!Nuts.

If you're not familiar with Oh!Nuts, they're purveyors of all things salty and sweet, chocolatey and healthy, fruity and gummy. I even sent a box of chocolates to my parents for the holidays in December! (And, of course, they loved them.) My dear Tuvia loves their Sweet 'n' Salty Cashews, and I'm a sucker for Koppers Coffee Cordials (alas, not gluten-free so I don't eat them anymore) and Mocha & Coffee Lentils.

Are you ready? Here are the details on how you can get a delicious Purim Basket!


To enter and win here on the blog:

• To win $30 gift certificate to use on Oh!Nuts choose your favorite Purim Gift and leave a comment with the name and URL of the gift you like the most.
• A winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, March 10, 2011, at 10 p.m.

To enter and win with Oh!Nuts directly (they will pick the winners):

• Go to the Oh!Nuts Facebook Page, become a fan, and post on the wall the URL and name of your favorite Purim Gift Basket. Also, be sure to write that you're there via www.kvetchingeditor.com.

AND/OR

• Follow @ohnuts and Tweet "Win a Purim Basket from http://bit.ly/aWXLzp. Follow @ohnuts and RT to enter daily.

Good luck, everyone! I can't wait to share some sweets with you.

Cheese Basket Winner!

I am ever-so-happy to announce the winner of what has been called the Best Giveaway Ever, a basket of delicious kosher cheese from Anderson International Foods. The winner's recipe will appear on March 10 on the Sincerely Brigitte blog, too!

So, without further ado ... the winner of this amazing giveaway is ...

DREW!

And the great thing about Drew's recipe? It's straight up Passover! Yes, it's a Passover Frittata. Thank you to everyone for entering -- I wish you ALL could have one. Stay tuned for the next giveaway, which will be an Oh!Nuts gift certificate, just in time for Purim!

Enjoy the cheese, Drew. Can't wait to see the recipes with which you'll come up!

Best Giveaway Ever: A Cheese Basket!

As I quipped to my husband a few nights ago, "There are those who need a coffee fix (me), there are those who need a chocolate fix (also me), and then, Tuvia, there are those that need a cheese fix (me!)."

As a perpetual snacker, I've been known to grab a slice of cheese to hold me over before a meal. The  more cheese on my pizza, the better. Grilled cheese? My favorite comfort food. On (Gregorian) New Year's, we dined on cheese and crackers, and for our Super Bowl Party, we prepared a wide array of cheesy treats (including cheese fondue, thanks to some guests). And, of course, my favorite kind of cheese? That which pours out of my husband, Tuvia, who, because of my love of all things cheese, has been deemed the Cheeseball ...

But where am I going with this? Well, a giveaway, that's where I'm going!

The amazing folks at Anderson International Foods, who are behind the delicious lines of (mostly) cholov Yisrael cheeses Natural & Kosher, Les Petites Fermeries, Organic & Kosher, and the new Pure & Kosher, dropped the most amazing basket of cheeses at my front door late last week to review (of course, it arrived right after we'd gone out for burgers so I had to wait three hours before cracking into the cheese, which I did, at nearly midnight). Of course, the variety and amount of cheese had my eyes popping, and Tuvia was more than gracious in helping me in sampling.

My favorites? The Goat Cheese Medallions with Cranberries and Maple Syrup (chalav stam). This is one of those moments when I wish there was taste-o-vision, because this cheese is more like dessert in its flavor. Like eating a thick, creamy sweet drop of yogurt or ice cream. Even Tuvia was a fan of this one. Oh! And? It's gluten-free! Hoo-rah!

There also was the Processed Olives Cheddar (chalav Yisrael), which, let's be honest, sounds a little crazy, right? After tasting it, however, the flavor of black olives emanates from the cheese, and I'm very much looking forward to making a gluten-free pizza with this. How? The cheese is round, so I plan on throwing some pasta sauce on a pita, putting the round cheese on top, and going for it. It's the cheese and olives in one! Brilliant!

Having never had Havarti (chalav stam) before (do I live under a rock?), Tuvia and I were eager to crack the package open. With crackers in hand, Tuvia gave it a go and really liked the flavor, likening it very much to our favorite cheese -- Muenster. The flavor was muted, but it was creamy and delicious. He also cracked into the Sharp Goat Cheddar (chalav Yisrael), which piqued both of our curiosities. Tuvia said the hints of goat cheese were very strong, but he ate half a block on his own anyway!

We have a lot of cheese left, and I'm stoked that a lot of it is kosher for Passover, too. So, I'm not going to lie, we're saving a lot of it for Passover cheese cravings -- including the Goat Cheese Medallions (chalav stam), Goat Mozzarella with Fine Herbs (chalav Yisrael) and Goat Mozzarella with Red Peppers (chalav Yisrael). What I do have to say overall about these cheeses, however, is that they're classy, upscale, and they won't break the bank. I'm no cheese snob, but I'd put out any of these cheeses on my cheese plate any day.


But I'm sure you're wondering -- how can I win a basket of delicious kosher cheeses? Here are the details -- read them carefully!

• The giveaway runs through Friday, March 4, at noon (EST). 
• To enter, you must post a comment on this post with an original cheese recipe from your arsenal -- and if it's gluten-free, you'll make me a happy camper. Original can be a recipe you found that you adapted, I just don't want you to Google "cheese recipe" and put something here!
• The winner will be chosen at random, but must provide an original recipe in order to win. 

The winner will receive an amazing cheese basket from Anderson International Foods delivered right to your door, and your recipe will be featured March 10 on the Sincerely Brigitte blog of Anderson International Foods CEO Brigitte Mizrahi, a French cheese connoisseur and the woman behind the four lines of cheese currently on the market today.

Also, be sure to "like" the Sincerely Brigitte Facebook Page and follow Brigitte on Twitter! Good luck everyone!

A Kosher Super Bowl Sunday Giveaway

Got yer Terrible Towel handy?

I'm pretty bummed that none of my favorite teams ended up in this year's Super Bowl, although I suppose I can rejoice in the fact that the commercials should be interesting and the half-time show has the chance to dazzle. Of course, with the amount of people we have coming over, who knows what madness will ensue Super Bowl style, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

For the third year in a row, we're having a party at our place (although, our abode is much smaller this year than Tuvia's old digs in Connecticut), which actually kind of bums me out simply because I just found out about Stand Up New York's awesome Super Bowl party. Lucky for you, if you don't have plans, or if maybe you want to change your plans, I have a nice little giveaway for you.

The location: Stand Up New York at 236 W. 78th St. btwn Broadway and Amsterdam, which is outfitted with LEDs and an amazing sound system, on Sunday, February 6, 2011. Game starts at 6:30 p.m.

The goods: The "Stand Up Sit Down Special," which features two tickets (an $80 value) to Stand Up New York to watch the Super Bowl, plus a bucket of four beers, and an unlimited supply of the delicious kosher wings of Carlos and Gabby's.

How to win: Simply comment below and let me know your most favorite Super Bowl commercial (from any year), and a winner will be chosen at random using an online, unbiased auto-picker.

Contest ends tomorrow, Thursday, February 3, at 10 p.m.


So Tweet this, Facebook it, and find someone special to sit down with for Super Bowl Sunday. I mean, come on, it's free food, free beer, and a great venue. What's not to love about this giveaway? Feel free to enter and gift the tickets to someone in NYC, too!

A Chanukah Giveaway from Oh! Nuts!

Chanukah is the time of year where we overdo it on oily goodies like latkes and sufganiyot, among other things. I'm going to be in Israel for part of Chanukah, and I was elated to find out that there's a shop in Israel that sells gluten-free sufganiyot -- color me happy! But my favorite part is all the gelt. Yes, gelt. I love, love, love gelt. But only the dark chocolate kind (keep that in mind).

Want to fill your candy dishes with some chocolatey treats? Maybe jonesing for some delicious granola or some gummy yummies? Then keep reading!

I've been doing a lot of giveaways lately, and I know that y'all love them. So here's another! The winner of this giveaway will receive a $25 gift certificate from Oh!Nuts, the fine purveyor of all things kosher and delicious. And you know what I love most about Oh!Nuts? They might be all kosher, but they offer goods and deals for every holiday -- Jewish or not!

Here are the details. You have three ways to enter. One here, and two elsewhere.

1) Go to the Oh!Nuts Chanukah gifts page, choose your favorite Chanukah Gift, and leave a comment here with the name and URL of the gift that you like the most. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate.

2) Go to the Oh!Nuts Facebook Page and post the name and URL of your favorite Chanukah Gift from Oh!Nuts and write "I am here via Just Call Me Chaviva, aka www.kvetchingeditor.com."

3) Follow @OhNuts and tweet: "Win a free Chanukah Gift from http://bit.ly/6nIsCi | Follow @OhNuts and RT to enter!"

Good luck! The contest closes in a week (that is, Friday, November 26, 2010). Yes, I'll be in Israel, so it'll close before Shabbos in Israel :)

Announcing a Winner.

I'm ever so happy to announce that the CoverYourHair.com giveaway winner is

LEAH SARAH (aka @enfini)

Mazal tov and Shabbat Shalom to all! Stay tuned for ... yes. Another giveaway. From my good friends at Oh!Nuts, as well as a blog post on the upcoming awesomeness that is Shalom Sesame!

Hair Covering Giveaway!

Yes, it's that time of year. The time of year to buy new head coverings! Why? The weather is changing, the leaves have all but disappeared, and, well, who doesn't want or need new, beautiful head coverings? Thus, I give you a giveaway from CoverYourHair.com (aka CYH)!

First, I have to tell you about the cute hat they sent me to get you guys excited about what's in store for the colder-weather months (and for those of you in Texas or Israel or countries where it doesn't get so cold, there are plenty of beautiful tichels and headbands available). Called The New Fashionable Beret on the site, this knit hat is a wonder. I buy a lot of knit winter hats at places like K-Mart and Conway (in NYC), but they tend to be plain, and I often wish that they had just a little something to jazz them up. Thus enters these hats. With a simple bow, the hat really does give off a different vibe than if it were sans the bow. And, believe it or not, adult bows are in fashion this season (so sue me, I saw it on TV). The hat is actually a lot thicker, which plays into a serious high-quality look and feel. Overall? I'm loving this hat! Can't you tell?

Here are the details:

• One winner will receive a box of surprise hair accessories worth $25!
• You have many ways to enter the contest, and for each thing you do, please mention it in the comments (honor system!) in a single comment, please. Here are the ways to add entries to your comment.
• Post a comment here telling me about the best hair accessory in your collection. 
• Join Google Friend Connect by going to www.hairaccessoryblog.com, click "Join This Site" in the Google Friend Connect box.
• Subscribe to CYH on at www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/coveryourhair.
• Follow CYH on Twitter.
• Add www.hairaccessoryblog.com to your blog roll. 
• Add CoverYourHair.com to your blog roll. 
• Follow CYH on Networked Blogs by clicking here and choosing "Follow This Blog."
• Bookmark CYH on Delicious. 
• Fan CYH on Facebook. 
• And, last, but not least, subscribe to the CYH feed on YouTube!
• Remember: Post a comment on MY BLOG with all of the things that you did to enter. 
• The contest will close at 10 p.m. on Thursday, November 18. The winner will be chosen at random! Men, enter for your wives, too!

Note: This CAN be shipped worldwide -- so, no matter where you are, enter enter enter!

And, just so you don't walk away empty handed if you don't win, you, my lucky blog readers, have the opportunity to receive 20% off at CoverYourHair.com through December 31, 2010 using promo code "blog1231." Enjoy!

A Winner is Chosen!

My father always told me, Life isn't fair. Just a thought before I announce the winner of the Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes Giveaway.

I do a lot of giveaways here, and although I change up the "how" of entering, it doesn't tend to affect how I choose my winners. I either use a random number generator in which each number corresponds to a different person who has commented or I type all of the names up (doubling up for those who entered in multiple ways) and throwing them into a random picker. I'd like to pick the "best" or my most "favorite" of the entries, but it doesn't seem fair or objective, especially because I know many of the entrants personally. What do you guys think about this -- am I thinking too much about it? Or does my way make sense?

At any rate, thanks to the awesomely funny random generators at ClassTools.net (it's geared toward teachers who want a fun way to pick names from a class), we have our winner! Mazal tov to ...

Mara of Kosher on a Budget!

Please email me at kvetching dot editor dot com with your mailing information! I hope Mara will add some of Jamie Geller's awesomely quick and budget-friendly 

Jamie Geller Goes Quick & Kosher ... Again!

Quick and Kosher. These are two words that I live by. I keep kosher, and I prefer that keeping kosher not keep my calendar in the "rush" formation. When I cook kosher, I want to cook quick, but thoughtful. Quick, but healthful. Quick, but delicious. Can it be done? Is it possible to cook quick and kosher? To set aside generations of slaving over a hot stove for two days for Shabbat meals? Yes, yes it is. And Jamie Geller shows us how (and she makes it look incredibly easy).

I first heard about Jamie's work from the beautiful personality behind In the Pink, so I ordered the book immediately off Amazon, tabbed a bajillion pages, and got cooking. Aside from a few gripes about recipes coming out tasteless (which, to be honest, I can't blame on Jamie -- I am a super taster, if you are familiar with the term; I need lots of spice in order to taste anything), I was incredibly pleased with the ease and speed with which her recipes could be completed. Yes, there were opponents who scoffed at her Duck Sauce Chicken recipe (jar duck sauce, chicken, cook), but that's because people don't get what Quick & Kosher means.

Quick & Kosher means easy meals that pack a flavorful punch with minimal ingredients that won't have you multi-tasking on three different devices. Quick & Kosher means giving you the options for meals that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise. Duck Sauce Chicken? Sure, it seems simple, but when you're scrounging for the easiest possible Shabbos dinner dish, would you, off the top of your head, just think about throwing some sauce and chicken together? And if you have a beef with the health issue (onion soup mix and what have you), then you, as the consumer, need to think: look for low sodium options, look for all natural ingredients, and find a way to make the recipes work!

Thus, with Jamie's new installment in the Quick & Kosher series -- Meals in Minutes -- we have a boatload of options that come adorned with side dishes! Jamie offers a main dish and a side dish on every page, so you don't have to think about what to make with your protein. Can you mix it up? Who's to stop you? But the nice thing is that you can stick to one page and have a healthy, quick, delicious meal. In the back of the book, Jamie offers a variety of meal options for every Jewish holiday from Shabbat to Shavuot, and, to be completely honest, I'll probably use the festive meal menus for a regular Shabbat in the future. Why? Because I'm the kind of person who starts building a menu and ends up with two main dishes, six side dishes, and three desserts plus a soup or salad or fish. I overdo it. I kill myself cooking for Shabbat, when I know that -- in reality -- a few side dishes with a main course, a delicious dessert and a hearty salad are all a meal and the guests need to be complete and satisfied. I also love that Jamie offers wine pairings and gives short and sweet explanations of the questions you know you're asking, like, what is lemongrass (check the Thai Chicken Soup recipe)? Or how to pick cheese or wine or why Kosher.com is awesome (for all intents and purposes, Jamie's their spokesperson).

Pumpkin cookies! FTW!

I know what you're thinking -- they gave me the book for free. I'm worshiping at the altar of Jamie Geller and the Quick & Kosher team. To be honest, aside from the spice/flavor issue, I haven't had a problem with any of the recipes from either book, and I've made probably a dozen or so in the past few months. And, as a gluten-free consumer, I've been able to fix up all of the recipes I've made for a gluten-free twist, including the Pumpkin Cookies in the new book. (Easiest cookies out there after, of course, an unhealthy pre-packed mix). I also am a huge fan of the Lamb Meatballs in Pita, which I made for my Israeli friends and paired with an abundance of Israeli salads (they loved the meatballs). I'm super eager to make the Greek-Style Chicken with Lemon and Dill, paired with Tomatoes and String Beans (okay, so I'll have to make Tuvia something else), as well as the Pumpkin Black Bean Soup (what a combo, right?). Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Fruit Salsa? Yes, please! The list goes on and on.

And if you know that you only have 40 minutes or 60 minutes, all you have to do is go to that chapter and get cooking. Organized, quick, and kosher. Bravo, Jamie!

So now, what you're really here for, the giveaway. Here are the rules:

• There will be one winner who will receive one copy of Jamie Geller's new Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes.
• The contest closes Sunday, November 7, 2010, at 10 p.m. 
• To enter, you must write a fall/winter food haiku (or limerick, just for you M.E.) OR tell me (and, in turn, Jamie Geller) what recipe or food you love for which you wish there was a "quick and kosher" recipe. 
• Tweet this, Facebook this, and spread the word. Let me know where you've thrown up a mention (honor system here, folks) for an extra entry into the contest.

Good luck, and happy cooking!

Kosher by Design Winner!

I am happy to announce that the lucky winner (via random number generation) of my Cooking w/Giveaway, Susie Style is ...

Dena of Oh! You Cook!

Everyone wish her a grand ole mazal tov, but stay tuned. There's another giveaway in the works. It'll probably go up tomorrow night and last through Sunday night. People usually stop entering after four days, so we'll keep it short, serious, and sweet. The next giveaway will be of Jamie Geller's Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes. 

Cooking w/Giveaway, Susie Style!

Ever since Pesach 2008, I've been in love. The love affair has taken me to flavorful heights and through disastrous experiences. No, I'm not talking about my life since meeting Tuvia, I'm talking about my falling in love with the kitchen and cooking. I've always loved baking -- for me, it was easy to throw together cookies or a cake or some brownies. But cooking? It required knowledge of recipes and vegetables and spices and oils and other things I had zero experience with. Home was not a place where I was prepared for the big, bad world of food, so I took it upon myself to learn. I never wanted to learn to cook. After all, my original desire in a spouse was for him to be completely kitchen trained. I dated a few guys with skills that would put Martha Stewart to shame (Manishewitz in a pasta sauce? you bet!), but in the end, I need to figure it out for myself.

More than two years later, I consider myself pretty skilled in the kitchen. I've cooked for a few people, for two families with kids, for my in-laws ... you name it. I'm confident in the kitchen (except when it comes to serving, and then I sit on the edge of my seat waiting for pleased responses). But I didn't get here alone. I've had the help of my favorite Kosher cooks: Jamie Geller, Susie Fishbein, and the Internet! Thus, here begins an ode to one of my chef partners, Susie Fishbein.

I promise you, at the end of this post, there will be a giveaway for the book I'm about to discuss, so keep reading!

I received a copy of Susie Fishbein's upcoming (as in, today's its release) cookbook, the newest in the Kosher by Design series, Teens and 20-Somethings, and upon receipt I 3M flagged the heck out of it. Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself. At first, I was amused by the cover design -- a spaghetti squash with headphones ... how silly. But I wasn't completely sold on the concept. I flipped through the cookbook and the first thing I noticed was the layout and design, which, to be completely honest, I wasn't jazzed about. As a proverbial "20-something," I felt sort of ... talked down to. I know that this cookbook is geared toward a variety of ages and that the goal is for the book to appeal not only to the title's demographic but also to those cooking for them ... but the design just rubs me the wrong way. It reminds me of 1980s teen style. Bright colors, paint splatters, quirky phrases. It's just trying to hard. Susie gives party ideas in the back of the book with menu suggestions, and the party suggestions seem very, well, geared toward a 5-year-old. Again, I felt like the book was talking down to me. But is the point of the book the layout and design? Probably not. But aesthetics are big when it comes to appeal and selling points. But let's move on to the food. That's why you're here, right?

I decided to make a few things straight out of the book to get a feel for this edition and whether it rocks my world as much as the others I have purchased since moving to Teaneck. I opted for the Mexican Chicken and the Blondies, both which surpassed my expectations in ease of preparation, cooking time, and taste. The great thing about the new edition is that Susie took the time to label each recipe with its "free-ness." That is, nut free, gluten free (GF), dairy free, etc. Although the number of gluten-free recipes is minimal, I'm a firm believer that just about anything can be made gluten-free. Neither of these recipes were labeled as such, but some simple replacements made for an easy cooking experience.


The Mexican Chicken was a breeze (once my husband chopped up some chicken thighs because, well, we're in the Poconos and the chicken selection is limited in the kosher department). All I had to do was crush some tortilla chips (corn = GF), some corn flakes (GF), and put in some taco seasoning (of the GF variety), throw it in a bowl, then toss the chicken pieces in some salsa to coat and then in the chip/corn flake mix to coat, in a pan, bake at 350 and blamo. Twenty minutes later I had some nommy eats. I mixed up the sauce offered with it, which my husband used to mask the seeming "salsa taste" that the chicken had. He doesn't dig salsa, I do. We compromised. It looks yummy, right? It was, believe me.

Once the chicken was in, I got to work on the Blondies, which, I learned, are basically chocolate chip cookies in brownie form (note: this is my first-ever blondie attempt). It was a quick and easy substitution of Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose GF Flour with some xanthum gum, mixed in with the other bits and pieces of the recipe (you'll have to buy the book for this, folks), and ta-da. Blondies. Oh, and don't worry if you messed up -- I put (on accident) probably two to three times more vanilla that I should have. And? Even still: soft, moist, scrumdiddlyumptious. And I guarantee a stranger wouldn't know they're gluten free, either.

Evan really enjoyed the blondies. Really.

Overall, I'm excited about many of the recipes -- which range from drinks to desserts and include a variety of cuisine styles -- in this cookbook, including Orange Butternut Squash Soup (p. 56), the Pizza Soup (p. 62), the Amalfi Chicken (p. 102), and, especially, the Confetti Spaghetti Squash (there's a squash at home calling my name; p. 160). Oh, and, of course, there's the Cappuccino Mousse (p. 210) and the Molten Deep-Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies (p. 214) -- gluten-free-ified, of course!

So now you know there are good eats, are you ready for the giveaway? Read carefully!

1. This giveaway starts now and ends on Tuesday, November 2 at 10 p.m. 
2. One winner will receive their very own copy of Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings.
3. How do you enter? I'm giving you two options. 
1. Pick your favorite recipe from the Kosher by Design series and post it to the comments, and tell me what you love about it. 
2. If you don't happen to have the Kosher by Design series on-hand, pick your favorite go-to recipe and post it to the comments and tell me how you found it and why you love it.
4. BONUS entry for those who also post a link to a picture of their favorite Kosher by Design recipe! (Note: you have to have made the food in the picture, no taking pictures from Susie's cookbooks.)

I'll post the winner late Tuesday night. And if you don't win? Never fear. Following this giveaway will be another giveaway of Jamie Geller's new cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes.

Also, probably the coolest part of this post and the giveaway? Your access to the Kosher by Design Recipe Index! Seriously, the best invention ever! No need to look through all of your KbD books, just check out the index if you can't find a recipe.

Rocking Kosher Fest with Susie Fishbein!

Finally, a little ditty with goods and details: Preorder your copy today at ArtScroll.com – enter the coupon code KBDBLOG at checkout to save 10% and receive free shipping in the continental U.S. Join us online to find more reviews and giveaway contests! Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings: cooking for the next generation is aimed at the young and digital-savvy fast-food generation and those who cook for them. Susie Fishbein is an everyday cook who loves to share her passion for cooking and entertaining with friends and family. Her enthusiasm for food and entertaining led to the creation of her best-selling cookbook, Kosher by Design, published in 2003 by ArtScroll Shaar Press. For more recipes and updates, visit our blog or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

[Singing] It's Shabbos Now!

But modestly, of course. Because, after all, this is the interwebs and I am an Orthodox Jewess. So pretend I'm in a closet, and no one can hear me. (I am in the Poconos, and it's quiet here. Oh, except for the five burly construction workers banging and sawing and talking about women while putting up the new windows. It's cold. Very cold. Because there are holes in the wall where windows go. But back to our regularly scheduled blog post ...)

Just a note that in a month and a couple days, I'll be rocking Shabbos in Jerusalem. That's the appropriate way for a Chaviva to rock Shabbos, in case you didn't know. Every day, I grow weaker, I think, being here. Almost a feeling of detachment from the world. In Israel? I feel alive. So I'm super stoked to be heading toward Jerusalem soonish. Let's just hope I can survive the coming weeks. (Hat tip to Elianah for her inspiring Israel ROCKS Shabbat post.)

Speaking of the coming weeks, I have a lot in store as far as blog posts go. I just have to get all of my schoolwork done so I can write the blog posts. In no particular order are ...

• TWO, yes, TWO cookbook giveaway contests. There will be some action involved (get your chef's hats ready) and two lucky winners will receive (one person for each book) Jamie Geller's new Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes or Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design: Teens and 20-Somethings. There will be two contests, two blog posts, two winners. The first will start on Wednesday, October 27. 
• A blog post on the hair situation. Yes, hair covering. These happen to be some of my most-read posts, so I'm eager to write another one now that I'm nearly five months into being married and covering. Have I piqued your interest? I might also go all mikvah on you!
• An interesting thing happened in class last week. It involves a class full of Jews with varying observance and self-identification, a kugel, a gefilte fish, and some kale. I know, right? I'll be asking your advice. Feel free to guess where I'm going with this. 
• Tuvia's been helping organize his great aunt's and great uncle's house, and he's found some serious gems of photography and memory. Me, being obsessed with genealogy, took on the task of looking into the photos, the people, the locations, and more. I am looking forward to letting you all know the details, including an interesting revelation about Tuvia's mom's family maybe being Sephardic! As a teaser, here's the photo that got me really going. I believe (and through a variety of checking with living relatives and others) this is Evan's grandmother's immediate family in the early or mid 1930s in Oradea, Romania. This, folks, is a gem, and if it's what we all think it is, it's probably the only surviving photo of a family that (save three sisters) perished in the Shoah. 

Such a seriously good looking frum Jewish family, right?!

So keep your eyes peeled. I promise I'm going to get to these. I have to. This blog is my life force, and maybe that's why I've been feeling so dead and detached lately. Poke me. Prod me. I'll get to it.

Until then? A gut Shabbos. Shabbat Shalom. Peace, health, and lots of cholent to you!

Life As We Know It ...

We here at Just Call Me Chaviva ... er ... that's just me, I mean ... love Oh! Nuts, the awesome purveyors of nuts, sweets, and other goodies that are, happily I add, kosher! There are a variety of stores (the husband and I have frequented the Monsey locale), and their online ordering is super fast. The husband loves the Sweet and Salty Nuts and I'm a huge fan of anything chocolate covered (the lentils? oh yeah), not to mention the dried fruit goodies.

So what's this all about? Oh! Nuts is partnering with Warner Bros. Entertainment to promote the upcoming movie Life As We Know It, and as such, Oh! Nuts is hosting an online sweepstakes for the chance to win a family trip for four to Hollywood, CA! Yes, you want to win (I know I do, who would be my other two?), so head over to the website and enter!

Never heard about the flick? Here's a quick rundown:

In the romantic comedy “Life As We Know It,” Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, the only thing they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Messer are forced to put their differences aside. Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find some common ground while living under one roof.

Let's Try This Again ...

Okay folks. You know how I announced that the awesome Sophia won the My Favorite Things giveaway? Well, Sophia lives in a faraway land I know little about and that is quite expensive to mail to, so I've opted to pick another winner while also sending something small Sophia's way (I was actually thinking about doing TWO winners to begin with, so this has worked out marvelously).

Thus, the winner of the package of My Favorite Things (by this I mean Sophia is going to get an envelope or something like it with My Favorite Things) ... is commenter Suburban Sweetheart! Mazal tov to SS (who has a real name, but, you know, for the sake of privacy I'll just link you to her blog).

That means I need your address, toots. And to everyone else? Thanks for entering. I might make this a few-times-a-year giveaway, because as the seasons change, so, too, do My Favorite Things change!

Also: I hope your Rosh Hashanah was filled with meaning and awesome reflection, not to mention some napping (but not too much) and that your Shabbos was filled with light and joy!

My Favorite Things: A Winner!

You can print this out AND color it!

So, the saga of "no internet at home" continues. Supposedly some buff studs (ha) from Cablevision will be coming out today to try and fix it, which, unfortunately, is of no help to us because the next three days are Rosh Hashanah + Shabbat. The light will be blinking green while I'm davening. A lot of good that'll do me!

As a result of this internet lag, I'm very behind in everything. Yesterday was my first day of classes, and I have to say of the two classes I've been to so far, one (teaching a second language) will be challenging because of the teacher's very interesting teaching style (don't take notes!) and the other will be fascinating (sociology of education) if only for its first-day class discussion of what a society is and whether stratification is necessary and happens sort of on its own. I have a lot of reading to do, however, which is never fun. Hopefully, though, I can make waves in my teaching a second language course by finding some scholarship on using social media in the teaching of a second language. Anyone have any materials for me?

At any rate, Rosh Hashanah starts tonight and -- like every year -- my head is exploding and my mind, body, and soul are ill prepared. Am I ready to hear the shofar? Am I ready to experience newness and renewal and the excitement of 5771 and all of the awesome holidays that come after? Have I considered what 5771 will hold? No, I haven't. I haven't had time to breathe. Oh, and I've come down with a cold. The rest over the next few days will be excellent, but what does that say for my reflection and rediscovery? I wrote a Jewels of Elul blog post at the beginning of Elul, and I reflected on past years' posts. But all of the cooking (I was up until 2 a.m. last night) and running around has made me weak and exhausted. Thus, I only hope that at some point over the next few days it clicks, and I figure out where I'm going. I'm all about fresh starts and new beginnings, and this Rosh Hashanah should provide a much-needed refresh on my browser. So I want to wish you all a SHANAH TOVAH and may your new year be sweet, filled with all that you deserve! I'm so excited to start another year here on the blog with such an amazing crop of readers. You guys are awesome!

But now why you're really here: the winner of the My Favorite Things Giveaway! I took a nod from An Extended Vacation who uses the random number generator to signify the winner, as opposed to my typical method of typing EVERY name into the random picker (which is time consuming). The winner?

No. 4, which is Sophia! 

(I had a screenshot but it appears my computer ate it, so you're going to have to trust me on this one, folks.) So, Sophia, if you're reading this ... email me. I wanted to get the box sent out today, but because of the madness of preparing for the holidays, that's not going to happen. It'll go out on Monday, I hope. But believe me, it's worth waiting for :)

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ...

I like giveaways. Why do I like giveaways? Because I get to hand cool stuff over to cool people. Usually, my giveaways involve products like coupon codes emailed to winners or products sent from companies. Sometimes, however, I get the pleasure of sending a giveaway item to an individual myself, which, for me, is all sorts of fun. It creates a sort of "hey, people on the internet are real" atmosphere. And who doesn't like real mail?

I'm currently hosting a Gluten-Free giveaway over on www.kosher-critic.com, so be sure to check that one out. I think that everyone -- gluten free or not -- should keep some gluten-free treats in their freezer in case friends or kids come over who have an allergy or sensitivity. And, to be honest, Katz Gluten-Free stuff tastes like normal food (I put some icing on their cinnamon rugelach, and I was floating ...).

But again, the winner gets stuff direct from the company -- not me. I don't get a say in the packaging or the contents or the sentiment behind the winnings. Sure, it's nice getting free stuff, but who wants something packaged without love?

So, inspired by the lovely Baker Girl, who is behind An Extended Vacation (who, by the way, was inspired by Brown Eyed Belle), I'm doing a Favorite Things Giveaway! You see, I won Baker Girl's giveaway and the package came today, and I'm just oozing with good feelings for not only having received real mail, but for the great things she included (which, as it turns out, are my favorite things, too!).

How do you win a cool box like this with my favorite things? Simply make sure you're following me here on the blog (there's a button over there in the right column) and then post a comment that you are, indeed, following me! Easy as pie. 


What will come in the package? Well, Unlike Brown Eyed Belle, and more in the vein of An Extended Vacation, it'll be a surprise. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time might have some idea of what kind of goodies will come inside, but hopefully I can surprise you. 

This giveaway will close on Tuesday at 11:30 p.m.! 

(Just in time for me to get the package to the post office before the holiday, hah). 

And The Winners Are ...

We have winners for the giveaway of free $$ to donate to a project on DonorsChoose.org, and I have my handy-dandy "Random Line Picker" to thank for this. So, without further ado, the winners, who each will receive $10 to donate to the project of their choice, are ...

Gerard Dypiangco

and

Carolyn

Congrats, and use your $10 well. You could just push a project over the top in meeting their goal. And blog about it! Spread the word about DonorsChoose and the good it is doing for teachers the country over!

Note: Carolyn, please email me (kvetching dot editor at gmail dot com) so I can send your code for DonorsChoose.org! I can't find your email address!

Who Wants Free $$ (To Donate, That Is)!?

I wrote very recently about my awesome experiences at the Future of Jewish Nonprofit Summit in New York City, which was hosted by Social Media and Nonprofit guru Dave Weinberg. Most specifically, I wrote about DonorsChoose.org, which helps classrooms all over the country to meet their financial goals for projects on such things as salmon, the Holocaust, and the Great Gatsby (to name just a few, of course). DonorsChoose provided those of us in attendance with $10 to use on the site, so we could get started and really feel the goodness of giving (it's easier to give when it isn't your own money, right?) and hopefully inspire some of us to continue giving (I helped a friend meet his classroom's goal of math supplies!).

So I'm here to pay it forward, and hopefully, I can inspire some of you to start giving, too. I truly think that giving once (in this case it's free money) can really spark your neshama into a constant effort of tzedakah (charity).

GIVEAWAY: I have TWO $10 DonorsChoose gift cards to TWO individuals. The winners (that is, GIVERS!) will be chosen at random from individuals who comment below. You will get the gift card information via email, at which time you'll head to DonorsChoose, pick a project, and give your $10. The result should be a feeling of great pride, mitzvah awesomeness, and hopefully, as I said, an urge to give again and more often.

TO ENTER: When you comment, to fulfill your chance at $10 to give at DonorsChoose.org, you have to write about either an experience in which you gave (whether charity or time) that truly impacted you OR about a project on DonorsChoose.org to which you plan to give your $10. 

GIVEAWAY ENDS ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2010, AT 6 PM EST. 

Nu? What are you waiting for? Spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, and everywhere else. 

The Lucky Winner of Javaz Is ...

I am proud to announce that the winner of my Kosher.com/Javaz confections giveaway for a week's supply of Javaz confections is ....

MARK!

Mazal tov, Mark. I'll send your information on to the kind folks at Kosher.com, and your week's supply will be on its way to keep your buzz going during Shavuot! Enjoy!

Mad props to Random Line Picker for picking a random winner among the several entrants. More of you should have entered ... shame on you!