Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader.

The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage on a daily basis. Instead, it’s meant for folks who live in the city or burbs and are looking for ways to do a little more themselves. About 3/4 of the book is about food – making, preserving, etc. Want to make your own soy sauce or mustard, or make dumplings from leftover bread? You’ll find out how here. There are recipes for things I’ve never heard of, like Beef Rindsrouladen and Durian. This definitely will expand your cooking routine and show you some techniques you might have been afraid to try (like pickling). The rest of the book has small projects like making a broom, making a quill pen, quilting, and sewing.

If you want to learn to do some projects around the house in an old-fashioned, low tech kind of way, you’ll enjoy this book.

The book was sent to me for review by the publisher without any expectations or requirements.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. You must enter by midnight ET on Friday, December 14, 2012. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering; not responsible for email transmission problems or postal delivery problems or failures. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/14/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. I reserve the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

Here’s a little holiday gift for my readers. The Lost Arts of Hearth and Home: The Happy Luddite’s Guide to Domestic Self-Sufficiency by Ken Albala and Rosanna Nafziger Henderson.  I’m giving away one copy to a lucky reader. The book is not for people who raise their own chickens, weave their own clothes or forage … Read more

I’m giving away a copy of Handwritten Recipes: A Bookseller’s Collection of Curious and Wonderful Recipes Forgotten Between the Pages by Michael Popek, published by Perigee. This is a really fun book. A used bookseller collected recipes he found stuck in the pages of used books in his shop.  For each recipe, he includes a photo of the actual handwritten recipe that he found, the book it was found in, as well as a typeset version of the recipe for easy use. Some of the recipes include photos of the results. It’s a fun and quirky collection and one I enjoyed, kind of like poking through someone’s personal recipe collection.

The book was sent to me for review by the publisher without any expectations or requirements.

To enter, leave a comment on this post. You must enter by midnight ET on Thursday October 4, 2012. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering; not responsible for email transmission problems or postal delivery problems or failures. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 10/4/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. I reserve the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

I’m giving away a copy of Handwritten Recipes: A Bookseller’s Collection of Curious and Wonderful Recipes Forgotten Between the Pages by Michael Popek, published by Perigee. This is a really fun book. A used bookseller collected recipes he found stuck in the pages of used books in his shop.  For each recipe, he includes a … Read more

To celebrate the publication of my new book, The Parchment Paper Cookbook, I’m giving away a copy. To enter, leave a comment on this post.

You must enter by midnight ET on Wednesday October 26. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 10/26/11. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. NoPotCooking reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

And if you’re feeling lucky, you should also enter to win a subscription to Everyday Food Magazine on my MarthaAndMe blog.

To celebrate the publication of my new book, The Parchment Paper Cookbook, I’m giving away a copy. To enter, leave a comment on this post. You must enter by midnight ET on Wednesday October 26. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer … Read more

October 22 marks the third anniversary of MarthaAndMe. It’s been a fun and amazing three years. I started out the first year blogging every single day, and unofficially apprenticing myself to Martha. I learned so much in that year and it ended up being a great bootcamp for me. In year two, I slowed things down and added in my own recipes. The third year was an even bigger change, with more and more of my own recipes. I also wrote and sold three cookbooks in year three! I have Martha and this blog to thank for that!

Along the way I’ve made some great friends, tried new and different projects, and continued to expand my love of cooking and my skills with decorating, organizing and (sometimes!) crafting. What will this fourth year bring? I don’t know for sure, but I do know Martha Mondays continues (click the tab at the top of the blog to learn and to join!), I’ll continue to share my own recipes and my forays into Martha’s world. Cookbook #1 (The Parchment Paper Cookbook – You can enter to win a copy of that on my other blog) is out. The Organized Kitchen and The Muffin Tin Cookbook will be coming soon. I’m contemplating a major site redesign this year as well, so that will be an exciting change.

Mostly I want to thank all of you who have followed me, commented, read along, popped in occasionally, and become my friends. My thank you gift to you is a one year subscription to Everyday Food Magazine. I’m giving away one to a lucky reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post.

You must enter by midnight ET on Wednesday October 26. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 10/26/11. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

October 22 marks the third anniversary of MarthaAndMe. It’s been a fun and amazing three years. I started out the first year blogging every single day, and unofficially apprenticing myself to Martha. I learned so much in that year and it ended up being a great bootcamp for me. In year two, I slowed things … Read more

This is my final Martha giveaway of the year. 10 lucky winners will get a Martha Stewart Holidays double-edged snowflake trim punch (this creates a strip of die-cut paper to use as a decorative strip) AND a set of Martha Stewart Holidays treat bags (each package includes 8 bags, 8 paper boxes/trays that go at the bottom, 8 tags, 8 pieces of ribbon, and 16 adhesive strips). The paper cutter is super fun to use and makes such pretty strips of snowflakes. It’s perfect for scrapbooking, crafts or making cards. The treat bags are a great way to package candy or small cookies. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the bags have tiny white dots on them which are really cute.  The prizes are courtesy of MSLO and they will mail them out. Previous winners of my other contests have written to tell me how much they liked the punches and treat boxes they received, so I know you’ll love them!

Here’s how to win. Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a comment here with your Twitter handle, so I can match you up. If you are already following me on Twitter, just leave a comment here with your Twitter handle. You must enter by midnight ET on Friday December 10, 2010. I’ll randomly and blindly select ten winners by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct  address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/10/10. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winners on the blog. Prizes will be sent by MSLO to winners and MarthaAndMe is not liable for any failure of MSLO to deliver.

This is my final Martha giveaway of the year. 10 lucky winners will get a Martha Stewart Holidays double-edged snowflake trim punch (this creates a strip of die-cut paper to use as a decorative strip) AND a set of Martha Stewart Holidays treat bags (each package includes 8 bags, 8 paper boxes/trays that go at … Read more

Are you excited? Another giveaway of Martha swag for my blog readers. Sad that you didn’t win last week’s treat boxes? Well cheer up. This week MSLO is giving away 10 sets of Martha Stewart Holiday Compartment Treat Boxes. These are smaller than last week’s, but just as cute. It’s the same snowflake pattern. Each set comes with 6 boxes, 24 compartments, 24 sheets of tissue paper, 6 pieces of ribbon, and 6 labels. I used these last year as well. They’re really great for small cookies and for candy. Brownies and bar cookies fit well in each compartment also. They are super cute. Last year I used these to give an uncle a “tower of treats” like you see in those food gift catalogs. I stacked all 6 boxes (each filled with different things I’d made) and tied it all with a big ribbon. He was thrilled. Good luck!

Here’s how to win. Leave a comment on this post, then visit No Pot Cooking and leave a comment on any post. You MUST comment in both places to be eligible. Please use the same name so I can match you up! You must enter by midnight on Friday December 3, 2010. I’ll randomly and blindly select ten winners by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct  address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 12/3/10. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winners on the blog. Prizes will be sent by MSLO to winners and MarthaAndMe is not liable for any failure of MSLO to deliver.

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Are you excited? Another giveaway of Martha swag for my blog readers. Sad that you didn’t win last week’s treat boxes? Well cheer up. This week MSLO is giving away 10 sets of Martha Stewart Holiday Compartment Treat Boxes. These are smaller than last week’s, but just as cute. It’s the same snowflake pattern. Each … Read more

This week I’m giving away 10 separate Martha Stewart Holidays treat boxes kits. Each package contains 6  matchbox style boxes, 6 sheets of tissue paper, 6 self-adhesive labels and 6 ribbons.  Dimensions aren’t given but they seem to be 6 inches wide by about 8 1/2 inches long and about 3 inches tall each. I used Martha Stewart treat boxes last year and they are fantastic. I gave away lots of cookies using these. It’s perfect to have the tissue paper, labels and ribbons all provided for you. I also found the boxes to be of high quality. They held together, kept their shape, and could hold as many cookies as I could fit. MSLO is providing the prizes and sent me a sample to try as well.

Here’s how to win. Leave a comment on this post, then visit the NoPotCooking fan page on Facebook and “like” it before Saturday, November 27, 2010. I’ll randomly and blindly select ten winners by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of subscription time). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct  address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 11/26/10. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog. Prizes will be sent by MSLO to winner.

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This week I’m giving away 10 separate Martha Stewart Holidays treat boxes kits. Each package contains 6  matchbox style boxes, 6 sheets of tissue paper, 6 self-adhesive labels and 6 ribbons.  Dimensions aren’t given but they seem to be 6 inches wide by about 8 1/2 inches long and about 3 inches tall each. I … Read more

I have some fun, fun, fun news! First of all, I am proud to announce my new blog: NoPotCooking. This is my latest endeavor and is all about parchment paper packet cooking.  This new, revolutionary way of cooking allows you to seal in flavors; produce moist, low-fat,delicious food; and do so without using any pots or pans. That means little or no clean up. I don’t know about you, but the bane of my existence is those pots and pans that pile up in my kitchen waiting to be washed. Ugh. This cooking method avoids that completely. I am LOVING it. Please stop by and visit me there! There’s lots of info on the “about” and “technique” pages as well as the blog posts.

Now for the giveaway. MSLO has been kind enough to send me some Martha Stewart Crafts product samples to try and will be giving away TEN of each item to my readers.  These are all holiday themed items that you totally are going to love. I’m going to be spacing the giveaways out, so check back regularly.

Today, to get things started, I have TEN Martha Stewart Crafts Punch Around the Edge Sets in Snow Flurry, so I can select TEN winners. How cool is that? These are incredible. With the two pieces, you can completely punch around a piece of paper. They’re easy to use and I love the snow flake pattern. It’s perfect for making holiday gift tags, cards, or scrapbooking. Here’s how to win. Leave a comment on this post, then visit NoPotCooking and subscribe to the blog via email (on the right hand side, click on the email link under “follow this blog” before Saturday, November 20, 2010. I’ll randomly and blindly select ten winners by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of subscription time). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct  address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 11/19/10. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog. Prizes will be sent by MSLO to winner.

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I have some fun, fun, fun news! First of all, I am proud to announce my new blog: NoPotCooking. This is my latest endeavor and is all about parchment paper packet cooking.  This new, revolutionary way of cooking allows you to seal in flavors; produce moist, low-fat,delicious food; and do so without using any pots … Read more

cupcake coverIt’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for.

The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or S’mores Cupcakes to name a few), some great standard cupcakes, gorgeous holiday cupcakes and totally insane decorating ideas if you want to be a cupcake artiste. It is totally FUN.

And because it is so much fun, I want to share a copy. If you’d like to enter the drawing, just post a comment to this post before Thursday, June 10. I’ll randomly and blindly select one winner. Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email, not responsible for email transmission problems. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog.

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It’s here! Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes has been released and what a gorgeous book this is.  I’ve made some of the recipes already and I can tell you the Boston Cream Pie Cupcake is to die for. The great thing about this book is that it has lots of really unusual cupcake recipes (Roasted Banana or … Read more

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