{cherry} EVERYDAY

So have you jumped in on the latest craze? Yep, it’s Trader Joe’s Cookie Butter which everyone I know is raving about. Don’t tell me you haven’t. Well, you’re missing out. Seriously. So what is it, anyway? No, it’s not peanut butter. No, it’s not animal butter. How can I best describe it? Are you familiar with Speculoos Cookies? It’s made of that. And as brilliant and delicious as the Speculoos Cookie itself, somebody just thought about making it into a spread. How clever, right?!!!

Here’s to best describe it, straight from the horse’s, I mean, Trader Joe’s mouth…

Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter is, in its most simplistic terms, spreadable Speculoos cookies. Speculoos cookies are classic Belgian cookies with great crunch, and a slightly caramelized, almost-but-not-quite-gingerbread flavor. (Try our Bistro Biscuits for a close approximation.) After the cookies are baked to a fabulous finish, they’re crushed into a fine powder and mixed with magical ingredients (read: vegetable oils) and turned into a smooth, spreadable substance we call Cookie Butter. It resembles peanut butter in color and consistency. Make no mistake, though; this is a treat through and through. Spread it on toast, bagels, pancakes or waffles. Use it as a dip for hunks of dark chocolate or pretzels or (gasp!) veggies like carrots or celery. You could keep it really simple and just use it as a dip for a spoon.

 

So now you’re asking how one can get hold of it…especially when you’re miles away from the US. Well, well, well. You need not look any further as you, yes YOU, can get it from our online store, joeandcherry!!!! While everyone else is selling it at a ridiculously high price, you may find our price very reasonable. Go visit our site and find out. Like us on Facebook and even follow us on Instagram. As Christian Grey clearly says it, “We aim to please.”

joeandcherry 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joeandcherry
Instagram: joeandcherry
Email: joeandcherrymanila@gmail.com

With the economy in rough shape, and people understanding the need to cut back on expenses, one of the most common areas that people have been looking into is saving money on grocery shopping. The reason is that food expenses tend to make up a large part of every household’s budget. Here are some simple ideas to save money when grocery shopping.

Coupons

This is probably the most popular and the most talked about way to save money grocery shopping. With shows like Extreme Couponers, cutting coupons and using them has essentially become a sport for people.

However, for normal shoppers, coupons can still be a great way to save. Look in your local paper and find the inserts for coupons each week. Only clip the coupons you will use – don’t just go buy a new product because there is a coupon. This will just lead you to spend more money than you need.

You can also look for coupons in store (i.e. from the retailer), or even directly on the product itself. You can also look for net voucher codes, which can be used in some grocery stores.

Shop Online

The other option is for you to shop around online. More and more places are offering grocery shopping online, and even places like Amazon offer a huge variety of dry goods online that can be shipped to your house. You can be saving money online at Asda or other shops by using vouchers or other coupon codes.

Use Rewards Clubs

Finally, make sure that you are taking advantage of rewards clubs or other store programs to save. At many grocery stores, the best savings are only offered to those that have a rewards membership or club card. These cards are usually free, so make sure that you are signing up and taking advantage of the savings offered by these programs.

Don’t forget that you can typically combine multiple ways to save, so don’t just think you can only use one or the other to save money on your next grocery shopping trip.

When visiting friends in their new place it’s always nice to bring a gift and if it’s a housewarming party you’d like to give something that will be appreciated and used for years to come. Cutlery is an often overlooked gift idea – something like cheese knives accompanied by a nice selection of exotic cheeses and a box of crackers can be made up into a gift basket; long after the cheese and crackers are gone the knives will be used again and again. Chef’s knife or cutlery sets are another great gift which will be treasured for years to come.

Every home needs paring knives – it’s the sort of food preparation tool you can always find a use for so a good set of paring knives is a thoughtful gift as well. For a shower or wedding gift you may wish to offer something more formal such as a carving set which will be used on holidays and special occasions and serve as a lasting reminder of your thoughtfulness. Steak knives are another appropriate gift with more significant meaning than everyday knives and cutlery.

There are some superstitions related to giving knives and cutlery as a gift so it’s often said a penny should be taped to each knife so the recipient can use the penny to “buy’ the knives from you; should you be concerned but still wish to give something useful a knife sharpener or a knife block is a great gift idea. The Kapoosh® knife block is an innovative twist on the standard knife block – instead of having specific slots designated for certain knives the entire unit is filled with flexible plastic rods which resemble blades of grass. Knives and cutlery of all shapes and sizes cam be stored in the dishwasher-safe insert.

First things first, I need to get door kick plates for my front door.  My kid and her friends almost always kick our front door whenever they want to go inside.  I mean, why do that?  Haven’t they heard about the concept of knocking?  Oh well, better to get one than have the whole door replaced.

Second, I need to get pancakes out of my mind.  Remember when I wrote here how I was not into pancakes and that I only make them for my kids. Well, well, well.  Guess who’s making and eating them almost everyday.  Yep, it’s me.  I’ve had a change of heart and mind over these round things.

And why not especially when you have Stonewall Pancake & Waffle Mixes to create pancakes that are filled with great aroma and flavor?!  I love eating them in the morning with my coffee or as a snack with green tea in the afternoon .

And top that with Stonewall’s Maine Maple Syrup.  YUM!  I can practically have this everyday without getting tired of it.  But you know me, I’ll get tired of it eventually but not in the very near future, that’s for sure.

Stonewall Specialty Food products are available in Rustan’s Supermarkets for a limited time only.

I rarely make my tomato sauce from scratch.  In fact, I haven’t even made one.  What for when there’s an abundance of tomato sauces around.  You can even find the homemade kind in the grocery.  They normally come in bottles and priced much higher than their mass-produced canned counterparts.  So just a few weeks back, I got Good Housekeeping Olives & Capers Tomato Sauce.

I try to have tomato pasta sauce in stock at home because there always comes a time when I crave plain tomato sauce and pasta and I get so bummed when I find out I have none.  But I really have to learn to make my own tomato sauce from scratch.  But I still have to find a tried and tested recipe for that.