Help Keep Jolly Time Popcorn at Albertsons

A few days ago, we received a letter from Jolly Time Popcorn stating that Albertsons has decided to pull ALL Jolly Time products from their shelves. I have been an avid consumer of Jolly Time for more years than I can count and this announcement came as a quite a shock. Jolly Time is a fourth-generation, family-owned business and they are asking for our help. If you can please take a few minutes to help them, they will give you two free coupons for you to use. Now, how good is that? You send an email showing your support and they reward you with free popcorn.

(Note, in order for you to be able to read the letter I had to convert it to a text document and I have kept the original formatting).

As A FAN OF JOLLY TIME POP CORN, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Albertsons has recently decided to no longer sell ANY JOLLY TIME Pop Corn products. Albertsons believes they can choose what brand of popcorn you will purchase and that if JOLLY TIME is not on the sheif, you wiii simply switch to another brand.

Unlike our competitors who are owned by large multi-brand corporations, JOLLY TIME Pop Corn is a 4th generation, family-owned business. Our 170 employees are an extended part of that family and are committed to bringing you and your family the highest quality and best value in popcorn products.

We are asking for you to take a moment to send us a brief email simply stating... you prefer and are loyal to JOLLY TIME Pop Corn and will shop at another store to purchase JOLLY TIME if necessary.

Please take a moment and send the email now!

• email: makeadifference@jollytime.com


Please, include the following in your email:


• "You prefer and are loyal to JOLLY TIME Pop Corn and will shop at another store to purchase JOLLY TIME if necessary."


• Your Name and Mailing Address (so we can mail your FREE coupons


• Street & City of the Albertson's store you normally shop


• Your favorite JOLLY TIME Pop Corn product

Please feel free to share the above email address with family and friends as well. Once we have received your email, we will send you TWO FREE coupons redeemable wherever JOLLY TIME Pop Corn is sold as a small thank you. We truly do appreciate your loyalty and hopefully soon there will be a variety of JOLLY TIME Pop Corn products back on Albertsons store shelves in your area!

Due to the urgency of this matter, we ask that all emails be sent by August 15th, 2010 and any emails
sent after that date will not receive the FREE coupons!

Sincerely,

Mike Erdmann
Regional Sales Representative
mikee@jollytime.com
C: 712-251-8198

We have already sent our email in support of Jolly Time and have shared it with our friends. I hope that you will take a few minutes and help them as well. Thank you!

Legal stuff: All opinions expressed are my own and I have not received any compensation for this post.

Friday Fotos: 7/30

I've totally lost it this time...


courtesy of... somuchpun.com

Cool Thoughts for Hot Days

It's hot and humid here, so I figured I'd share something to help cool us down...



Now, aren't you cooler??

Nope. Sorry, doesn't work for me. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

So, what do you do to try and stay cool?

Kroger Add Up the Savings Event‏ and Giveaway

****Updated 8/2 at 12;30 AM ET****

After visiting Random.org, I would like to take this time to congratulate Thecartoonlovinmama for winning the giveaway. I will be contacting her to get her information. I would like to thank all of you for entering and I look forward to seeing you all once again, during my next giveaway.


I have been familiar with the idea of collecting boxtops for our local schools, but I have to admit that I have never really understood how it worked...until now. I did a little research and found out that for every box top you collect and send to your school's Box Tops coordinator, that school will receive 10¢ (up to $80,000 per school per year). I know that 10¢ may not sound like a lot, but it can certainly add-up quickly and every little bit will be greatly appreciated by your school.

Friday Fotos: 7/23

Wait for the pun to come...


courtesy of... somuchpun.com

Making Italian Bread

Firstly, I would like to thank the following for giving me the inspiration to try this. You can find their complete recipes and more on their sites... cookography.com (there is also a handy diagram on how to fold the dough here) and amysbread.com

Okay, now let's have some fun...

Making a Biga

First off, I guess I should explain just what a Biga is. When making traditional Italian bread, the biga acts as a starter and is added to your regular dough recipe. It not only enhances the flavor, but it also affects the texture by giving the bread a lighter texture and giving it bigger holes (instead of the much smaller holes found in other breads). I need to note here that this is not a classic biga, which is taken from the unsalted dough of the bread you would have made previously and Thus can be a subject for another article.

Choosing a Spice Rack

Ever since I started cooking, it seems as if I have been fighting an endless battle. I cannot count the number of times that I will be in the middle of making a dish and I stop to open the door to the pantry and begin a frantic search for an herb or spice. You may ask why I don't just get everything together before I start cooking? Well, when I bake, I line everything up first and then systematically work my way through the recipe, but when I cook, it is no-holds barred. You see, when I cook I very rarely follow a recipe; I like to improvise and experiment with different flavors. This being the case, I usually don't know what herb or spice I will use when I begin cooking. Thus, the battle continues.

Undercover Cat

I've been thinking that I may post a recipe for rustic Italian bread. This is the type of bread that you would see in bread shops: you know, piled in wicker baskets. I have made it several times and it has always turned out great. I would also like to mention that Koko and Yum Yum have gotten "The Big Head" and have gone commercial (smooth transition, huh?). They decided that they have become "too big" to just reside here on my site, so they branched-out and have developed their own product line. If you're interested, here's a link to Koko and Yum Yum's store. I have to admit that I've been having fun playing around with it.


Hey, I'm sleepin' over here...

I've Switched to Disqus

You may notice something different here the next time you comment. You see, I've become fed-up with Blogger and their constant problems, so I have decided to give Disqus a try. I have also decided not to import my old comments over to their system, so you will see old Blogger comments on the older posts and Disqus on all of the new posts. I know it may sound weird to do that, but let's just say that I don't want to take any chances.

Now, onto the commenting part: I realize that all of you comment on other sites that use a variety of different commenting systems, so I won't go into a lot of detail on how to leave a comment, but for those that may be new here, I'll go over it briefly...

Yum Yum's a Fan

Firstly, I would like to announce the winner of the Cheerios "Do What You Love" Giveaway. After visiting the random number generator at Random.Org, the winner is... Barbara Monty.


Congratulations Barbara and I would once again like to thank all of you who entered.



In order to cool the house down, we usually put a fan in the back door. Note, this fan is ON and set on high...


This fan is actually sucking air out of the house, while fans in other windows are blowing air in. I learned this little trick from one of my HVAC friends.

Friday Fotos: 7/16

Prepare for a ton of pun (clue is under the photo)...

Clue: how can you protect yourself from harmful UV rays
courtesy of... somuchpun.com

Disqus or CommentLuv

This is going to be a rather short post, because I need some advice. I have had it with the Blogger commenting system and want to try a more reliable one. Is there anyone out there who uses either Disqus or CommentLuv? What are your thoughts on these systems?

How to Make Soft Pretzels

I have been experimenting with different pretzel recipes to try and get a pretzel that tastes like the kind we get in the mall and the following recipe seems to come pretty close. Although a majority of the recipe comes from Alton Brown, I did do a little tweaking to the salt and sugar ingredients (just click Alton's name to view the recipe as he wrote it). As you can see from the photo, I still need some practice folding the little guys.



What you need

• Active dry yeast...3tsp.
• Water...1 ½ cups (110° to 115° F)
• Brown sugar...1 Tbsp. (this substitution made all the difference)
• Salt...2 tsp.
• All-purpose flour...3 - 3 ½ cups
• Butter...4 Tbs unsalted, melted
• Water...10 cups (enough water to fill a big pot to be used to boil the pretzels)
• Baking soda...2/3 cup (no, this is not a typo: it's cup)
• Egg yolk...1 large, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt (if you don't have pretzel salt, use any coarse salt you have on hand: Kosher or sea salt)

Putting it together

1. In a mixing bowl add the yeast, brown sugar, and water. Let the yeast swim around and have fun for about 5 minutes. When it is foamy, they are ready to go
2. Add a cup of flour, the melted butter, and salt. Stir to combine
3. While mixing, begin adding the flour one cup at a time. This is a stiff dough, so when you test it, the dough will not stick to your fingers. Once you reach this desired consistency, continue kneading by hand until the dough is shiny (I don't want to risk over-mixing the dough with the machine)
4. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Leave in a warm location until doubled in size (about an hour)
5. Once doubled, grab a large pot and fill with water (this is where the 8-10 cups of water come in)
6. Add the baking soda and bring to a boil
7. While the water is coming to a boil, remove the dough from the bowl and separate into 8 equal pieces
8. Roll each piece into a ball and set aside
9. On a floured surface, take one ball and roll it into a 18-20 inch long rope
10. Taking each end, make into a U shape and loop one end around the other
11. Place both ends in the middle of the U and press well to seal
1. Better yet, avoid my badly worded instructions and view this great step-by-step instructional photo gallery at...The Kitchen You see, once again I didn't have the foresight to take my own pictures
12. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough
13. Pre-heat oven to 450°
14. Once the water comes to a boil, place 1-2 pretzels (you don't want them touching each other) in the water and boil for 30 seconds
15. Remove and place on a drying rack and repeat until all pretzels have had their bath
16. Take your egg yolk solution and brush each pretzel
17. Place pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet (or oiled baking sheet) and sprinkle with the Pretzel salt
18. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until nicely browned (I check after 12 minutes and then recheck every minute or so)
19. Remove and let cool for at least 5 minutes
20. Enjoy

I have been asked by A Beautiful Mess to participate in my first Blog Hop. I hope you enjoy hopping around to these fine sites...

Friday Fotos: 7/9

Here's a fun one...

courtesy of... somuchpun.com

Everything Butt the Kitchen Sink

What does NOT belong in this picture...

Cheerios "Do What You Love" Contest and Giveaway

Many of us strive to maintain a heart healthy diet, but in this hectic world, it can sometimes be difficult. Many, myself included, are tempted by just grabbing the first thing that catches our eye and call it breakfast. After all, it's much easier to just grab a donut while ordering that cup of coffee, than to try and think of a healthy alternative. Well, I'm happy to say that it got much simpler (which is a good thing in the mornings), because Cheerios cereal, which is made with 100 percent whole grain oats, is an easy way to help maintain a healthy heart. Now, since I'm one who likes to tinker, I usually like to add a banana or some blueberries to the bowl and let them swim with the cereal.

Cheerios has come up with a fun idea to help us all start thinking about making heart healthy choices,

Friday Fotos: 7/2

Okay, this one's well, you know...

courtesy of... somuchpun.com