Emile Henry Giveaway Winner!

The randomly selected winner of the Emile Henry loaf pan is:

Entry #1 - Kayris

Thank you to everyone who entered and stay tuned for future giveaways.  I have other cooking-related prizes for the near future.

Kayris, please email me at keeleycancook (at) gmail.com to set up delivery of your prize. 

Carrot Bread + Emile Henry Giveaway!

I am so excited about this post and this giveaway!  First, the recipe.  Carrot bread?  I know, I know... you've heard of carrot cake and you may or may not like it.  Well, this is kind of like carrot cake, but not as sweet and it has a perfectly smooth texture, not a chunky or stringy texture that you find in some carrot cakes.  Does that make sense?  Think pumpkin bread and you're in the ballpark on this one.  Hesitant to give it a try?  It's worth the extra effort.  My coworkers devoured this bread both times I brought it to the office.  People have been begging for the recipe.  Here it is.

Before you click away and assume that this recipe is way too non-conventional to be good (and easy), let me tell you that if you like the warm, fall-spiced and moist taste of Sweet Potato Pie or Pumpkin Bread, this recipe is right up your alley.

First, you need to puree some carrots.  It's the most annoying part of this recipe and you may want to do it the day before you bake the bread because it will take a full hour of cook time, mashing, etc.  But, I promise, it's worth it.

You take a 1 pound bag of baby carrots (or 2 bags if you're making 2 or more loaves... you'll want to double this recipe).  Put the carrots in a big pot with about 1 1/2 cups of water and simmer on medium/high for 45 minutes or until softened.  Then, you need to whip those carrots into a smooth puree.  I used an immersion blender.  Maybe you have a blender of a food processor that can do the job.

 At this point you have some beautiful, orange, smooth puree that you can store in the fridge until you need it (up to 3 days or so).

 When it's time to make the bread, you'll be using 1 1/2 cups of puree per loaf.  You should be able to get a little more than 1 1/2 cups of puree from one pound of carrots.

I add plenty of wintery spices to this bread and I also use half whole wheat flour.  This bread is hearty, not too sweet, and pretty healthy.  Make sure you sift your dry ingredients (yes, the wheat flour may separate during sifting, just mix it back in).  You don't want any big chunks of baking powder in your bread.

 Then you mix together your wet ingredients (butter, sugar, puree, vanilla).  Introduce the wet to the dry...

 Stir until just combined.  Then, the best part... the raisins!  I know there are some raisin haters out there, but I love me some raisins, especially golden raisins.  If you're a raisin hater you could add some nuts... or if you love both, add both!  I like to toss my raisins in a tablespoon of flour before stirring them into the batter.  I think it keeps the raisins from sinking to the bottom of your loaf of bread... or at least that's what they say on television.

After the loaf takes a trip to the oven, you get this goodness...

This bread makes me very happy at 7:00 am on a 35 degree morning in traffic on I-95.  Oh yeah, it's the good stuff.

Now, you're probably thinking, "Keeley, this bread looks so good, but I don't have a loaf pan!"  My dear readers, I have your back.  Since it's almost Christmas and all, I have a giveaway.  I picked up this lovely Emile Henry Loaf Pan last weekend and I'm going to give it away to one lucky reader:

Sorry for the mediocre photo... it's late!

The rules?

• Contest is open today (Friday, December 16, 2011) and ends at 11:59 on Monday, December 19th, 2011
• To enter, please leave a comment telling me your favorite type of bread.
• I'm only shipping this prize to the U.S., so please keep this in mind as you enter.
• This giveaway is not sponsored by Emile Henry, it's just me showing love to my readers. Thanks for reading!
• I'll announce the winner on Tuesday.  Please email me directly to claim your prize and arrange shipment.

This contest ended.  A winner was selected for this giveaway on 12/20/11.

Okay, here's the recipe:

Carrot Bread
a Keeley original
yield 1 loaf

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups carrot puree (instructions in this blog post for making puree)
1 T. vanilla flavoring
3/4 c. raisins tossed in 1 T. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until well mixed. Stir in eggs and carrot puree until well mixed.

Make a well in the dry ingredients (flour mixture) and stir in the wet ingredients (carrot mixture). Do not overmix. Gently stir in raisins and pour into prepared loaf pan (batter will be thick). Wrap pan on the counter a few times to even out the mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 75 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove bread from pan immediately after baking and place on a cooling rack.

Pretzel Crisps Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who submitted entries to the Pretzel Crisps giveaway!  The randomly selected winner is...

Entry #5:  Becky!

Becky will receive two bags of Pretzel Crisps, a Pretzel Crisps shopping bag and a coupon toward her next purchase of Pretzel Crisps.  Becky, please email me at keeleycancook (at) gmail.com to claim your prize! 

Thanks for reading and participating in the giveaway.  I'm planning at least one more giveaway this fall, so stay tuned!

This giveaway is a promotion sponsored by Snack Factory.  I received complimentary samples of Pretzel Crisps as part of a Breast Cancer Awareness Promotion.  All opinions are my own.

Giveaway! - Pretzel Crisps

image from here

Drumroll, please!  For the first time in the history of My Life on a Plate I am doing a giveaway!  Today's giveaway is sponsored by Snack Factory.  Their latest snack innovation is Pretzel Crisps, thin, crunchy pretzel crackers.

I've been a pretzel lover for as long as I've had teeth, so I've been buying Pretzel Crisps for the past few years.  We like to dip them in flavored cream cheese or peanut butter, but they come in a lot of flavors that can stand alone:  Original, Everything, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Wing, Sesame, Jalapeno Jack and Chipotle Cheddar.

image from here

Snack Factory sent me samples of several flavors of these crisps and I appreciate the opportunity to try out different varieties since in the past I had only purchased the Original flavor.  I'm in love with the Everything flavor crisps and I've also enjoyed topping the Sesame with chunks of cheese... it's a perfect after-work snack!

Pretzel Crisps are a nice alternative to higher-calorie potato chips (not that I'm hating on potato chips, but everything in moderation).  I appreciate keeping a crispy, lower calorie snack around the house or in my office for those times when I get weak and want something salty and crispy.


October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  In support of this cause, Snack Factory changed the packaging on 14-ounce Pretzel Crisps packages to include the iconic pink ribbon and Snack Factory will also be donating a minimum of $100,000 to the Susan G. Koman Foundation.  In addition, local market teams of Snack Factory representatives will compete against each other to raise money for the cause.

Wondering how you can get your own Pretzel Crisps?  They're sold at grocery stores and big box stores in many locations.  One lucky reader will get a bag for free just by leaving a comment on this post. Please leave a comment with your name and I will randomly select a winner.  Want to enter more than once?  Here are your options (leave a separate comment for each entry):

1.  Leave a comment (including your name) on this blog post.
2.  Follow me on Twitter:  @KeeleyPowell
3.  "Like" My Life on a Plate on Facebook:  facebook.com/mylifeonaplate

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 28th 2011.  Please contact me via email to claim your prize.
This contest ended. Thanks for playing!
This giveaway is a promotion sponsored by Snack Factory.  I received complimentary samples of Pretzel Crisps as part of a Breast Cancer Awareness Promotion.  All opinions are my own.