Fall Baking with Bob’s Red Mill
‘Tis the season for stretchy pants, sweaters and firing up the oven! We love fall not only for the fact that it marks the start to our apple harvest in the Northwest, but we also love it for all the recipes we know will soon be underway, cozying up people’s homes with that spicy and sweet holiday aroma. When we think of holiday recipes at home, we love to aim for something easy and achievable, delicious (duh), and something that’s great to save for later so nothing goes to waste!
As soon as we whipped out our planning hats for the big feast, we immediately thought of our friends over at Bob’s Red Mill because well, their products are always our go-to when it comes to baking. We decided on our tried-and-true Salted Caramel Apple Pecan Galette and a new holiday favorite – Caramel Crumble Baked JUICI Apples. Both easy, decadent and truly reminiscent of the holiday season. The Baked Apples alone literally make your home smell like a festive fall scented candle – it tastes and smells that good. I loved the idea of Baked Apples too because while they may be an ‘overdone’ dessert, they are for a reason – they’re easy, tasty and come with a side of less guilt than a Costco apple pie! The Bob’s Red Mill oats gave them the yummiest texture and subtle crunch – almost like a crumbly oatmeal apple pie cookie! Both recipes combined took about 1 hour total to make, and thanks to Bob’s Red Mill – the caramel crumble topping was out-of-this-world and the galette dough was a baked to perfection.
Caramel Crumble Baked Apples made with Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour & Old Fashioned Oats
What else should you add to the Thanksgiving menu you ask? Feel free to stray away from tradition and bundle up for a mini-giving outside with your friends, or even bring your dessert plate outside to watch the sunset by the fire pit. Grab a cozy blanket, some pillows and bring the party outside to switch things up. We love snacking since this is the holiday of gratitude and grub, so we stock up on lots of fun cheeses, nuts, seeds (pepitas are the best, tell us we’re wrong!), a vibrant, bold and fruity sangria, colorful fresh produce and even better company to share it with.
Salted Caramel Apple Pecan Galette made with Bob’s Red Mill White Flour
How are you celebrating the holiday? We have so much to be grateful for this year, and can’t wait to toast to an evening with friends, family, food and festive decor. Tell us your Thanksgiving traditions below, or better yet – ways you’re starting to create new traditions as we navigate new seasons of change and fresh beginnings. For the next two days we’re teaming up with Bob’s Red Mill and are giving away a fresh box of JUICI, a $100 VISA gift card and a big bundle of Bob’s Red Mill goodies to gear you up for the holiday season of baking! Be sure to head to our Instagram and enter to win here – one winner will be announced this Sunday, 11/21 via Instagram stories. Good luck, and we wish you a safe, happy, and delicious Thanksgiving holiday!
Fall in Love with JUICI
Ah, our long-awaited apple harvest season is here and in full-swing which means lots of things – bustling, busy orchards, colorful trees, lots of fruit and best of all – more JUICI! Our JUICI is a Starr Ranch Growers exclusive apple and what we like to call – the lifestyle apple for everyone and every occasion. JUICI offers a wonderful balance of sweet and tart flavors, plus an amazing crunch. It’s a thinner-skinned apple with an incredibly long shelf-life , which means lots of different usages and recipes. Between its ease of storage, delicately balanced taste, JUICI is truly the perfect apple! To celebrate the season, we’re sharing all the ways to Fall in Love with JUICI this fall – from cocktails to desserts, to game night and entertaining. We love the variety of ways to incorporate JUICI into our day.
For week one of our Fall in Love with JUICI Giveaway, we thought we’d cheers to the season with Heritage Distilling Co. – a premiere Washington-based business and top craft distillery in the United States. HDC makes a variety of whiskeys, vodkas, gins, aquavit and rums from as many local ingredients as possible. They are also one of the largest craft distilleries on the West Coast and the largest independently owned craft distillery in Washington. Not only that, they’re also a majority women-owned enterprise and is proudly named the most awarded craft distillery in North America by the American Distilling Institute for the past eight years out of more than 1,500 craft distilleries. We truly couldn’t think of a better brand (and products!) to team up with as we toast to JUICI season. We can promise that not only will you Fall in Love with JUICI, but you’ll fall in love with these fall-inspired cocktails below created with a variety of exclusive spirits from Heritage Distilling Co.
Gimme S’more JUICI Campfire Cocktail
Boo-zy Blackberry JUICI Bourbon Mule
Vanilla Chai JUICI White Russian
What cocktail are you most excited to try? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to enter our Fall in Love with JUICI Giveaway on Instagram between today and November 12th. Each week, we’ll be giving away a JUICI Harvest box equipped with Society6 Fall Mug, Homesick Apple Orchard Candle, Apple Cider, fresh JUICI Apple, a Heritage Distilling Co. Gift Card and a $200 VISA Gift Card. Follow the link here to learn more and enter! Good lucky and happy JUICI season!
Bring on Back to School!
Labor Day weekend came and went, and now we can officially bid farewell to summer vacation and welcome the fall season ahead. While sure, the summer season isn’t necessarily over quite yet, most of us have wrapped up our final family vacations and summer getaways, will soon store away the grill and welcome sweater weather and all things fall decor.
For a lot of us, we’re also welcoming back to school. I think we can all agree last year’s fall semester was a bit of a drag because well, it didn’t really exist! At least, not in the way we all know and love. This fall, most schools are safely re-opening with new protocols in place, and while things may look a little different – school is back in session and the familiarity and normalcy of it all feels SO refreshing.
A huge milestone for some involves moving away for the first time, taking on newfound independence and beginning life as a college student! There are so many unknowns and exciting challenges that come with attending college – with lessons and experiences of growth kept, stored and used for a lifetime.
College comes with so many firsts – the first time having to really grocery shop, cook, live with a complete stranger or even share a bathroom (yikes!) But in all seriousness, it’s these moments that help shape the college experience and teach us about stepping out of our comfort zones, taking risks, inviting new challenges, relationships and learning about accountability and discipline.
One of my favorite aspects of college was the opportunity to actually PICK what I wanted to eat, grocery shop all by myself, meal plan for the week and be in complete control of what, when and how I wanted to eat my food. Before college, it was always mom’s menu (which, luckily, she was a great cook!) But college allowed me to use the notes I had been taking when I was younger in my childhood kitchen, and help apply them in my own life (thanks, mom!) I loved selecting my own produce, planning grocery shopping dates with my girl friends, inviting friends over for dinner or simply choosing when and where we wanted to go out – the ultimate freedom!
One thing I learned, or at least had to learn quickly – was grocery shopping on a budget (because well..college student bank accounts look a little bleak). That said, I knew I had to get creative and only buy what I needed – that means no extra, interesting snacks or splurging at speciality stores. So long are those days! I began meal planning every week all the way from breakfast, to lunch, dessert and even snacks in between. I had to get savvy about planning ahead, and learned how to save, store and freeze things that I just didn’t get around to eating when last minute plans popped up. This really helped eliminate food waste, and also kept my dollars spent from going to waste too! I started looking at grocery shopping as a game to search for the best deals, coupons, and BOGO options.
I also prioritized scanning the parameter of the grocery store and always started off with my produce items – these items are NOT expensive or scary like folks tell you, trust me – and you can mix and match so many different items in a variety of ways. For instance, I’d purchase a whole bag of Starr Ranch Growers apples and stretch them as far as I could – in my morning breakfast bowls, to an apple and PB snack, all the way to chicken apple tacos – nothing goes to waste when you’re in college and purchasing food is now totally up to YOU. I built my weekly menus around fresh options because I knew color on my plate meant less room for the junior-year pounds later – ha! But to be fair, eating fresh always made me feel better – and that is what matters most.
What I would say to today’s college students is to plan ahead, make lists, only grab what’s ON the list (tempting, I know), keep your eyes peeled for deals, and turn grocery shopping into a game. Your wallet will thank you, and so will your stomach – and who knows, you may even have some fun in the process!
For the next 7 days we are Celebrating the Fall Semester with new recipes, hacks, tips, and a BIG back to school prize for one lucky winner we’ll announce next Wednesday 9/15 via Instagram stories. Head on over to our Instagram and be sure to interact with us on every #B2S post – good luck, happy back to school and happy grocery shopping!
Cherry Summer Splash Sweepstakes
Ah cherry season is here and it’s our favorite times of year! Well, ok..we lied, it’s tied with apple harvest 😉
The real beauty of cherry season is that it’s so exclusive – they’re here for a few weeks and then it’s the nail biting waiting game all over again until next year. Nearly 10 months of anticipation makes it all worth while!
What I personally love most about cherries is of course, their flavor (but that’s a gimme), but I also love how easy they are to incorporate into my day. I can pit, slice and dice them into my morning oatmeal, top them in my afternoon salad, snack whole and fresh in-between meals or even make cherry popsicles, ice cream or cocktails to top off a warm summer day.
Not only that, they’re a super fruit that slides under the radar! Why don’t we all talk about the outstanding health benefits of cherries more often?! Move over blueberries, there’s another summer super hero in town that’s larger, more fun to eat (who doesn’t like a good challenge?) and boasts so many health benefits – from antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, potassium, melatonin and more – it’s truly a good tasting AND good-for-you snack that can be used in a variety of dishes.
To celebrate cherries all season long, we’re sharing a few of our favorite easy summer snacks below and giving each of you the opportunity to enter to win our Cherry Summer Splash Sweepstakes so you can win your very own summer prize package equipped with a custom RTIC Cooler, Yeti Wine Tumblers, Cherry Pitters, Beach Towels and a FunBoy Floatie – our biggest prize package yet!
To enter to win, just head over to our latest Instagram post here and follow the simple instructions. Our week 2 winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday 7/15. Good luck, and happy cherry season!
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