A clean giveaway*!

(Please tell me you got the pun!) Anyone who knows me in person knows that I'm obsessively clean about certain things: floors, sinks, toilets, and bathtubs. I could let windows go until it appears to be perpetually foggy outside and it wouldn't bother me much. The things I obsess about are things that we're in constant contact with the most. Window?! Pu-lease.

So, you can imagine my giddiness when my order of Laundry Soap from Under the Willow came with a  sample of Carrie’s newest creation: Cottage & Castle, an all-purpose cleanser.

Regular readers may remember – if you’re not forgetful like I am – that I’ve raved about Under the Willow’s products, in particular her Laundry Soap, which come in a range of scents.

Anyway, I’m always game for trying new cleansers, especially earth-friendly ones. So I used Cottage & Castle on my bathroom sinks, bathtub, and Corian kitchen sink.

Cottage & Castle comes in a powder form. The directions are simple: sprinkle, then scrub with a wet washing cloth, rinse. Carrie also sells microfiber cloth; I used a sponge and that worked great too.

I don’t have granite bathroom sinks and my tub is just fiberglass, but Castle & Cottage did a fantastic job on all those surfaces. It also made the tap and spigot shine, shine, shine! And a little bit went a long way.

The ultimate test was on my Corian sink. The instructions that came with the Corian countertops said to use only non-abrasive scrubbers and Bon-Ami cleanser. Well, guess what? Cottage & Castle worked at least as well as Bon-Ami, plus, it has an incredible scent!

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a scent gal. Scents calm me, make me smile, or transport me to a far-away time or place. So having that lovely, but not overpowering, scent in Cottage & Castle definitely did it for me. I don't normally smile while I'm cleaning, but Cottage & Castle put a smile on my face.

In honor of Small Business Saturday, I’m offering one of my readers a chance to win a package of Cottage & Castle. You can see for yourself what a great product this is!

If Laundry Soap is more your style, you may choose to get a package of that instead, if you win.

To quality for this giveaway, just leave a comment as to whether you’d like the Laundry Soap or Cottage & Castle.

For an extra entries into the drawing, do any or all of the following:

~follow @CarrieGarvin on Twitter, and let us know your Twitter handle in your comment here

~re-tweet this giveaway to your followers on Twitter; again, let me know your Twitter handle in your comment here

~blog about this giveaway – this will net 2 extra entries - give me the link to the post in your comment here

~LIKE the Under The Willow Page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Under-the-Willow/201527673599 - and comment on her Wall that you’re entering this giveaway

I’ll put all the entries into a random drawing on Tuesday, December 6^th. If I have a way to contact the winner – through Twitter handle, or on the Under The Willow Facebook page, or if you left a contact in your comments - I will get in touch with you. If I have no means of contacting the winner, you will have one week (Dec. 13) to get in touch with me to let me know your mailing info.

*Giveaway is only open to those living in the U.S.

Good luck!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

I won!

My Kids Eat Squid (I know, what a great blog name, right? And, it's always fun to read...great recipes too!) had a giveaway for a gorgeous handmade cutting board a couple of weeks ago - you can read the post here. Anyway, lucky me, I won!!

The board arrived today. The wonderful folks at Cutting Board Art sent it to me via FedEx.  You should have seen hubby's eyes light up when I opened the box. :)

It is a solid, well-contructed work of functional art. I think the kids will be fighting over who gets to inherit this. If you're in need of a great cutting board, pop over to Cutting Board Art and check out their products.

So, thank you again, My Kids Eat Squid and Cutting Board Art!

Speaking of giveaways, don't forget to come back on Saturday. I have one of my own to do. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Creamy Apple Kuchen

In honor of apple season (even though our apple harvest this year is non-existent), I'm sharing this Apple Kuchen recipe that I originally got from Family Fun Magazine.

I'm having a total senior moment, and can't remember if this is the recipe I brought to a neighbor's Oktoberfest party. The apple dessert that I baked for the party got rave reviews, so I hope it's this one. :}

But before I give you the recipe, I just want to announce that since I now have over 100 followers, and also because November 26th is Small Business Saturday, I'm going to have a Giveaway on that day that will let you have a chance to win a terrific product from one of my favorite small biz! Be sure to come back and enter. :)

Creamy Apple Kuchen

3 C apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 T lemon juice
1 1/4 C sugar, divided
1 t cinnamon
1 C butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t baking powder
2 C all-purpose flour
1 C light sour cream
1 egg

Heat oven to 350F and coat a 9x13" pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine apple slices, lemon juice, 1/4 C sugar, and cinnamon, stirring to mix. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter and remaining cup of sugar. Add the 2 beaten eggs and vanilla. Stir in the salt and baking powder, then add the flour. Spread the better into the pan (it will be thick), then top it with the apples/lemon juice mixture.

Combine the sour cream and remaining egg in a small bowl, then pour the mixture over the apples (won't fully cover them).

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is lightly browned around the edges and the topping is set. If you like, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on top.

Store leftovers covered in fridge. Serves 12.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Linzer Thumbprint Snowballs - a recipe

I realize I've been sporadic with my posts. As all of you busy folks know, that's what happens when life gets in the way. I will try my darndest to post once a week on a set date...haven't decided what the best day of the week is yet. Any suggestions?

My friend Michelle requested the following recipe from me. She thought they were really tasty. :)  I'm just thrilled when people enjoy my baking!

Linzer Thumbprint Snowballs

2 1/4 C flour
3/4 C walnuts, finely ground
1 t ground cinnamon
2 t grated lemon peel
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/2 C raspberry jam [I had no raspberry jam in the house so I used Trader Joe Organic Strawberry Jam]
powdered sugar

Lightly grease cookie sheet. Stir together flour, walnuts, cinnamon, and lemon peel. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large bowl on medium speed until creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Press thumb in center of each to make indentation. Fill each indentation with 1/2 t jam.

Bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Makes about 4 dozen.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

Chemistry - it's what life is about

Chemistry is on my mind a lot lately since I'm running a high school chem lab course for my kids (using the Prentice Hall text by Wilbraham, Staley, Matta, and Waterman and the accompanying Small Scale Chemistry Labs manual that I bought from my friend Meg (Get In, Hang On), to whom I'm forever grateful for her guidance).

To go with the course, we're also watching the excellent High School Chemistry series with Frank Cardulla as the instructor from The Great Courses.

I actually meant to post this during National Chemistry Week, which I thought was in November. I totally missed it because, this year, NCW was back in October. Go figure.

I never liked chemistry much when I took it in high school and university, but now, re-learning it with my kids, I discovered that I love it!  Homschooling is so cool that way. On my own, I never would have re-learned chemistry and found out just how much I enjoy it.

And in case you think chemistry is dry and dull, here are a couple of really funny chemistry jokes:

Water versus....

and a version of the sulfuric acid joke from a commenter on this site: http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/07/05/

Sir John Minnes was a chemist…Sir John is no more.

For what he thought was H20…
Was H2SO4…

Heh heh...morbid but funny.

So if you hated chemistry when you were growing up, I highly recommend you re-learn it! You may be pleasantly surprised.

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams