Dessert : Tiny Bites

Three more prize winners announced for Blogathon 2009

1 Comment Karen HamiltonJuly 27, 2009

Did you help Team Tiny Bites raise $2365.01 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society during Blogathon 2009 this past weekend?

Jason Lau did, and he not only won the Tiny Bites Grand Prize, worth $450, but a batch of Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies to boot.

After I shared the good news with him yesterday, he pointed out a few things:

He is already a happy Lifetime Member of Rouxbe and its Online Cooking School
He is already getting a batch of Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies as part of the Grand Prize
He’d like to bake a bundle of goodies himself to give away to a fellow Blogathon 2009 contributor.

That means that we have 3 more draws to do from our pool of donors!

Jason’s baked goodie bag

Congratulations to Mark B. for winning 3-4 varieties of baked treats from Jason Lau, who I can attest to be a baker extraordinaire. We’ll share pictures and recipes here once Jason passes them along.

Winnipeg Folk Fest cookie bag

Congratulations to Scott W. for winning a batch of Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies, baked by yours truly. I’ve posted the recipe for those of you that wishes to try it in your own kitchen.

One-year premium membership to Rouxbe

Congratulations to George F. for winning this 1-year premium pass to Rouxbe’s Online Cooking School, worth $99. We hope you get as much value out of it as Jason and I already do.

Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Culinary Resources, Dessert, Food, Recipes

My mother-in-law’s recipe for Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies

3 Comments Karen HamiltonJuly 26, 2009

My mother-in-law in Winnipeg is an amazing cook, and I am so thankful that she shares her recipe trove with her family and friends. One of my favourite cookies that she makes in the summer is her Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies, so named for the music and hempy festival that occurs in the city around this time of year.

As she says, “These are not the official cookies of the Winnipeg Folk Fest, but they are so wholesome and hippy-like that they should be!”

I baked a batch of these to share with our fellow Blogathoners at The Workspace, and another batch will be made for the Tiny Bites Grand Prize (that you might win if you donate before 6am!)

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flax
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup grated coconut

Directions

Mix butter with sugars.
Add eggs, water & vanilla and mix well.
Add all the dry ingredients and stir.
Chill dough for 30 minutes.
Drop by the spoonful onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350F for 12–15 minutes.

When done, they should be lightly browned and firm to the touch. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Giveaway alert!

Another unannounced giveaway for all you generous Blogathon 2009 donors. Please give a round of applause for Jason L., who has won a batch of these Winnipeg Folk Fest cookies, made with love by yours truly.

It’s not too late to get in your donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and for the last 2 prizes left to draw: the $450 Tiny Bites Grand Prize and the Top Donor dinner for 2, traipsing through the culinary excellence of Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, and West!

Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Dessert, Food, Recipes, Sweet

Rogers’ Chocolates Soda Shoppe and days of yore

1 Comment Bruce NguyenJuly 25, 2009

Located in prime tourist real estate at the base of Government Street, approaching Victoria’s Inner Harbour, Roger’s Chocolate Soda Shoppe has set up shop.

The layout is split into two physically separated areas, soft serve ice-cream sundaes in the larger corner space, and hard, scooped ice cream in the smaller adjoining space. Also served are ice cream floats, malts, cookie ice cream sandwiches, splits, and a host of other related treats.

The store sign itself promotes “Olde Fashioned Ice Cream Concoctions” and I haven’t quite made up my mind whether the interior décor is ironic, an avant garde take on retro, or just confused. Old time charm is attempted to be blended with modern design ethics; LCD screen menus are side-by-side with stained glass light fixtures and signs in “Olde English” at the same time that wooden accents merge into bold granite fixtures. Although I have to admit, I am a fan of the uniforms. It’s the hat that does it, really.

I tried one of the more conservative sundaes on their menu. Yes, the drooling beast in the image below would be considered conservative in terms of number of toppings – vanilla soft serve ice cream rimmed with nuts, a Rogers’ chocolate medalion, and finished with caramel, whipped cream, and a marachino cherry.

My favourite part of the sundae was actually the nuts. But I’m an odd fellow who claims his tongue is abnormally full of too many sweet receptors. It wasn’t until after I was happily crunching on my sundae toppings that I noticed a sign advertising cookie ice cream sandwiches. That’s one childhood indulgence that has stayed with me all these years.

Looks like I’m going to have to make another trip to ye olde soda shoppe sooneth.

Rogers’ Chocolates Soda Shoppe
801 Government Street | Victoria
(250) 382-4249
Official Facebook Page