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Windows Phone 7 Giveaway
Thanks for entering, everyone! Random.org gave me #72. Congrats L. Taylor! I hope you’ll enjoy your new Windows 7 phone!
I have two things woven into one fun posting for you today: a very, very special giveaway from the people over at Microsoft and a recipe.
The Recipe:
I reinstated vanilla sugar after buying a can at the supermarket several weeks ago. I’d forgotten how good it is to use the real deal. No vanilla essence in the world can replace the wonderfully aromatic scent of real vanilla. If you can get your hands on Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla extract, you’re good to go, but for me that’s hard to come by.
Vanilla beans are pretty expensive as well, but can be bought around the world. So can sugar. Only two ingredients, but combined you have a home-made vanilla sugar that will last you quite some time.
Here’s how I do more with less!
Ingredients:
2 vanilla beans
2 cups of sugar
Note:
You’ll need a food processor for this.
Directions:
Simple. Two cups granulated sugar.
And two vanilla beans cut in coarse pieces.
Add the vanilla bean pieces to your food processor along with 1/3 of the sugar and blitz for a while.
After a minute or so you’ll see the black vanilla specks pop up in the sugar.
Sieve the sugar over a big bowl.
The coarse vanilla pieces go back into the food processor bowl.
Along with another 1/3 of the sugar. Blitz, sieve and then repeat the process with the remaining 1/3 sugar.
The coarse vanilla pieces are all used up now, the vanilla is all inside the sugar. Because we used the entire vanilla bean, the sugar turned into a light ash color and smells out of this world good. Stir well and store in an airtight container.
A little real vanilla sugar in your baking, chocolate milk or desserts goes a long way!
The Giveaway:
And here’s the reason for this ‘Do more with less’ posting!
I have the best giveaway ever and had to keep it a secret for so long. Imagine how hard that was for me, the blabbermouth! The world had to wait quite a while, but the wait is over. Microsoft has launched its Windows Phone 7.
The best part? I get to give one away!
(phone features will be determined by Microsoft)
Oh yeah! *does happy dance* But seriously, I get to give one shiny new phone to you, one of my readers. The contest starts today, Monday November 15th.
To enter the contest, answer the question below:
“How do you do more with less?”
Contest ends at Monday November 29th! Winner will be picked by yours truly using random.org. The official rules to enter this contest can be found right here!
Few things to keep in mind:
* Winner must be over the age of 18.
* The contest is open to US residents only.
* You may enter once a day, but the entry has to be different!
* You’re automatically disqualified when using more than one email address.
Good luck, everyone!
This giveaway is brought to you by the new Windows Phone 7. Less tech tired. More tech trendy: Learn about Windows Phone online and see it in person at local T-Mobile stores today.
| Vanilla Bean Sugar | |
| Ingredients |
2 vanilla beans |
| Directions |
* 1 tbsp vanilla sugar equals 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 sachet. |
| Meal type: | baking ingredient |
| Servings: | Lots |
| Copyright: | © kayotickitchen.com |
251 Comments
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En wij Europeanen dan? :)
That is one fabulous giveaway!
Ik zou ook best zo’n coole telefoon willen winnen …
Moet ik eerst emigreren. Maar daar heb ik geen zin in, want *zing maar mee* “ik hou van Hooooooolland”
OOOH Yes I would love to get my hands on that one :))) And yes I qualify I live in the US. Mind you I would love to go back home again (HOLLAND) but that is not going to happen.
Hm, I wish I qualified, but last time I checked, I was still studying in Maastricht, not the US.
Ooh, I’ll play! I make simple syrup with a bit of lemon and ginger in it that keeps in a tightly sealed container for weeks. I use for glazing meat and veggies for stirfry (add soy sauce for savor), or chicken, or fish. It’s great on carrots! I add some to gin and tonic for a fun martini. Or, drizzle over a simple pound cake for a great dessert. It’s the same basic flavor but it gives a little extra kick to so many different dishes.
I’m an LJ friend (lillbet) just now catching up on your site- looks lovely and it sounds like you’ve really grabbed new media by the horns and tamed it! Good on you! :D
Using leftovers to make a new meal or two. I challenge myself to create an even better meal by combining several leftovers. It doesn’t always work out, but I enjoy the creative process.
I save up chicken carcasses (I freeze them) until I have enough to make a big pot of chicken stock. I then freeze the stock in seperated portions.
Interesting method… I’ll have to give it a try and see how it compares to our vanilla sugar. I stick my scraped vanilla beans (used the caviar in cooking) in a container of sugar (usually takes about two weeks to infuse enough to taste a difference). Then, whenever I use a vanilla bean, I’ll pop the pod in the container and top off with a little more sugar to replenish the supply.
How I do more more with less? I use old jam jars (cleaned and de-labeled) to hold homemade sauces and syrups. The largest jar holds simple syrup which my hubby uses to sweeten his iced coffee or I’ll use it to make individual servings of lemonade or limeade on the fly for the little one.
I take the time to plan my shopping list – comparing prices, what’s on sale, etc.
I’m not really one to enjoy a full fledged heat in most of my food. So although I love growing peppers, I hate using a full pepper in my dishes. Instead, I take my peppers and leech out some of the flavor and heat with olive oil, then I do my cooking with the oil.
It’s pretty predictable, but it does leave me with lots of delicious peppers to give out at work to people who appreciate using them more than me!
My son would totally flip out if I won this phone as a Christmas gift for him … keeping my fingers crossed! I do more with less by waiting for the weekly grocery sales ads to come out, then plan my menus around what’s on sale. It was hard at first, but now I look forward to the challenge every week!
I always make sure to save my veggie scraps for stock – and my chicken bones, of course!
The key to doing more with less is planning… no matter what you have “less of”. If you plan how to best utilize what you have, you won’t waste it! :)
I recycle all the kids clothes, when mine outgrow theirs, the clothes goes to nieces and nephews.
I’d love to win a Windows phone! Went to look at smartphones last weekend and decided that it was just too costly right now.
Doing more with less? Well, I repurpose objects for new uses. For instance, my makeup brushes are stored in a glass votive candle holder and I use a gorgeous old sugar bowl that lost its lid years ago as a pretty container to hold cotton balls and swabs on the bathroom vanity.
I plan my meals for two weeks at a time in order to save money on groceries. I also use leftover meat to make casserole dishes the next night. Every little thing helps!!
I always freeze the last bits of a soup and when I pull it out several months later I’ll add different things to turn it into another meal. I also like taking leftovers and making a fritatta on the weekends for breakfast. Almost everything is good in a fritatta!
This is a great giveaway! I do more with less by taking leftovers and making a delicious new meal out of it!
Why, leftovers, of course! What better way to do more with less?
Wow, your giveaway is totally awesome! I do more with less by streamlining my belongings and hobbies to focus on the things and people that are most important in my life.
just don’t go to the store unless you really have to… that way you’ll look around your house and use what you already have!
Being a student, I have to do more with less a lot…as in making the dollar stretch a lot. One trick is to cut up meat into smaller pieces in my dishes so it seems like there’s more there.
By growing my own herbs and veggies!
I grow herbs in my window box. Saves a pretty penny, fresher and so convenient!
I need the new phone to learn how to do more with less!