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A Day at Pike Place Market

a-day-at-pike-place-market

Yesterday I was reminded once again of how much I really love where I live (although I think this pretty much everyday). The northwest is so eccentric and adventurous.

Yesterday, this girl from the adventurous Snoqualmie Valley visited the eccentric Seattle Pike Place Market. My friend, Mandy, from Gourmet Mom on the Go blog invited me to a luncheon in her home which was sponsored by this little bottle.

After shopping together at Pike Place and learning about fish from the fish mongers, we went to Mandy’s and made lunch with our fresh ingredients and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! Can I tell you how fun it was not just talking about cooking but instead actually cooking with fellow Seattle foodie bloggers?

Last week Mandy was hangin’ at Paula Deen’s house and this week she chose to hang out with me. She really knows how to make a girl feel special.

You can see more about my day with Mandy, Lindsey, Jamie, & Emme (Emme will be on this season of Master Chef on July 27th on Fox) at Mandy’s blog.

Thank you to our hosts, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and Mandy, for a fun day!

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Homemade Caramel Sauce & Caramel Latte Sundae Recipe

homemade-caramel-sauce

Yay for summer! Yay for ice cream!

I do enjoy my homemade sauces so today I’m sharing this thick & yummy caramel recipe with you!

First, get your participants lined up since caramel is SUPER HOT and SUPER FAST cooking.

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • salt (optional)

Caramel is like the pretty girl you meet that you think is stuck up but as it turns out she’s really sweet. It might be intimidating at first but as long as you stir it a lot, it’s really easy to make.

Using a large, heavy-duty pot. I know, right? By the ingredients listed, you’d think a small pan would be fine but nope. Caramel needs plenty of space for it’s bubbly personality. Place all of the sugar into the pot over medium-high heat. Continuously stir and watch it morph into a sugary liquid. Seriously, this is the best part. Oh, and look – a storyboard.

Once again, out of my love for you, I have taken the liberty of giving each phase a scientific description that you can relate to when you make your own sauce.

1. Sand with tiny particles in it. It’s all I got. I was at the beach recently. Stir! Stir Stir!

2. Tiny particles with sand in it. Okay, this is more difficult than I thought it would be.


3. My 7th grade rock candy science project. That’s the year I knew I would never be a scientist.

4. My very first homemade gravy. Hey, now. No time for giggles. Keep your eyes on the prize!

After the sugar is fully melted, it’s time to add the stick of butter. Remember to keep stirring!


When butter is almost finished melting, remove pot from heat and stir until butter is completely melted.

Next, pour in the heavy whipping cream. After bubbly foam dies down a bit, stir immediately and watch as it swirls into all of its caramel goodness. Stir until all the whipping cream swirls are gone and you see caramel sauce!

Yay for caramel sauce!

Caramel Latte Sundae

Step aside, coffee shop… coffee ice cream, homemade caramel sauce and whipped cream topped with coffee beans are the new cool beans.


*This recipe makes one pint of caramel sauce which will keep wonderfully in the refrigerator in a canning jar.

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