Valentine's Treats for Grown Ups

A decadent but easy treat for two is baked brie. We carry a few different brie bakers (including the stainless steel one, above, which is also safe for use on the grill) but you can also bake brie in any kind of casserole dish. Brie is delicious baked on it's own, or with an assortment of toppings (a delicious dessert option is just brie, topped with brown sugar and sliced almonds.)

For Valentine's Day, why not spice it up with some hot pepper jelly?

Baked Brie with Hot Pepper Jelly

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F)

TO PREPARE THE BRIE: Remove top rind of cheese, leaving rind on sides and bottom in tact. Place brie, cut side up, in Brie Baker.

DIRECTIONS: Top prepared brie with 125 ml (1/2 cup) Hot Pepper Jelly.

Place Brie Baker, without putting the lid on, in center of hot oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven (with oven mitts) & put Brie Baker cover on Baker to keep baked brie warm and soft until ready to serve. Place hot Brie Baker on a serving platter and surround with toasted baguette slices. Remove lid just before eating.

For something even easier, try one of our baked brie toppings, such as Cranberry Almond or Maple Walnut. Try serving with slices of apple or pear and an assortment of breads or crackers.

February Tea of the Month

The Provence Rooibos is a top grade herbal tea from South Africa. This delicious tea includes Rooibos, rosehip shells, dried black currants, rose leaves, lavender, raisins, dried red currants, rose petals, and dried blueberries.

Rooibos, meaning Red Bush in Afrikaans, is grown at the altitude of 2000 feet above sea level in the Cedarberg region. Fermentation of the Rooibos turns the leaves from green to deep red and gives a slight sweet note. When brewed this tea produces a reddish orange liquid with a sweet fruity taste and a floral aroma.

Enjoy a cup of loose leaf tea freshly brewed for you!!! Special Tea of the Month price $1.68

PS--This is a red tea, for Valentine's Day. Why not share a pot with someone you love?

Dry prairie winters...

Winter is the season for humidifiers in most areas of the country, but especially here in the prairies. Whether you use gas or electric heat, the air from your furnace will not only keep you warm, it will dry out the air in your home. Humidifiers, by sending small molecules of moisture into the air, can help keep you healthier but also extend the life of your furniture.

The benefits of humidifiers during the heating season are many. The most common are listed below.

1. Can help relieve cold symptoms by making the air you breath moist, which helps keep your lungs more elastic.
2. Reduce susceptibility to infection by keeping the mucus membranes of your throat and nasal passages moist allowing the tiny hairs (cilia) in both to work at expelling foreign objects such as mold, pet dander and bacteria.
3. Relieve and prevent dry, scratchy skin and lips.
4. Keep valuable wood furniture from drying out and cracking.
5. Reduce static electricity, thus reducing the tiny shocks received from touching certain objects and other people.
6. Can help prevent wood floors from buckling and separating.
7. Reduce nosebleeds, as the air you breathe is moist.

We use this puppy, above, at our house. It is easier to fill, and we turn it on at night when we go to bed (helps avoid that "wake up in the middle of the night and can't swallow cause my throat is so dry" feeling.) How dry is our house? We fill up the humidifier every night! Details on it below:

-Humidifies medium rooms
- Easy to fill: clear, removable water tank
- Easy to clean: rinse-to-clean base
- Automatic moisture balance system: naturally adjusts output for maximum comfort and helps prevent water condensation
- Two moisture output settings: high/low
- Continuous cleaning filter pad: traps impurities
- No white dust
- 3 year limited warranty
- Replacement filter HH #3838-280

Great Bathroom Update Suggestions

This article appeared in Thursday's Edmonton Journal and is full of great info for quick and inexpensive updates for your bathroom, a perfect February project. And you'll notice our Porcelain Tub Treatment is mentioned!

Fresh paint, new hardware change the look without breaking the bank

By Karen Turner, Ottawa Citizen; Canwest News ServiceJanuary 28, 2010

Can't afford to gut your ensuite and install a luxurious spa retreat?

Breathing new life into a tired bathroom doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars and take weeks of messy renovation. Here are 10 easy and affordable ways to improve your bathroom's look and efficiency without breaking the bank:

- -Lighting: Bye-bye, ugly light bar above the mirror and hello sleek, streamlined wall sconces. "Updating the lighting is a quick and easy way to rejuvenate a bathroom," says designer Dean Large. Besides adding a stylish look to the room, he says fixtures on either side of the mirror provide more even light, which is useful when applying makeup or shaving.

Cost: from $200

- -New faucet: Often referred to as the jewels of the bathroom, replacing old taps with gleaming new faucets gives a custom, personalized look to the bathroom. The hot, new trend is square, angular, single-lever faucets in white or black matte finishes.

Cost: $100 to $1,100

- -Adjustable shower: A rain shower head may be relaxing, but not a practical choice for daily use because it doesn't provide enough water pressure. Large recommends pairing a fixed shower head on an adjustable bar -- to accommodate the heights of all family members -- with a handheld shower to make it easy to wash down the tub or rinse off your legs.

Cost: from $200

- -Bathtub liner: If your bathroom is a throwback to the 1960s, the tub is likely a gaudy dusty rose, mint green or mocha beige. Rather than rip out it and all the surrounding tile, Bath Fitter ( bathfitter.com)sells a moulded, acrylic tub and wall liner that fits right over the existing eyesore. The best part: it can be installed in a day.

Cost: $2,200 to $3,200, depending on style, colour and ceiling height

- -Anti-slip protection: Rubber bath mats are designed to prevent nasty spills in the tub or shower, but they're also a breeding ground for mould and bacteria. The Porcelain Tub Treatment from Home Hardware is a liquid you apply to the bottom of the tub or shower to make it slip-resistant.

Cost: $19.97 for one-application kit

- -Quality flush: To save money on your water bill, get rid of that clunky, water-guzzling toilet. Available in low-or dual-flush models, new toilets are smaller, sleeker and higher off the floor.

Cost: from $350 for low-flush; $450 for dual-flush

- -Fresh paint: To make a big impact for little money, try a splash of colour, says bath store owner Cyndie Carruthers. "A good coat of paint is a great place to start -- on the walls or the vanity."

Cost: $30 to $100

- -New hardware: Something as simple as installing new pulls or handles on the vanity can transform the look of the cabinet doors and drawers.

Cost: 99 cents to $20. Some stores, including Lee Valley Tools ( leevalley.com),offer discounts when you buy larger quantities.

- -Curved over straight: Gain extra elbow room in the shower by replacing the straight curtain rod with a curved one. "The shape of the rod gains about (23 centimetres) in the shower so you don't have to touch that slimy shower curtain," Carruthers says.

Cost: less than $50

- -Decorative tile: Dress up the shower wall with tumbled marble or replace the ugly backsplash behind the sink with tiny glass mosaics.

Cost: from as little as $1 a tile

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Valentine's Gifts from Fruits and Passion

Chocolicious Gourmet Duo

This duo contains:

• Nourishing Butter for the body 250 g
• Nourishing Lip Butter 2 ml

Perhaps a foot rub is in order? And then a tasty kiss?
This mild glycerine soap leaves skin lightly scented with a subtle and effervescent apple fragrance. Something cute for a friend or to brighten up your bathroom.

This plant-based Foaming Bath is extremely gentle due to surfactants derived from sugar, which help create thick, stable foam.

• Biodegradable
  
• Natural and plant-derived ingredients - 86%
• Recyclable bottle
• Not tested on animals - no animal-source ingredients
• Enriched with ethically harvested authentic fruit extracts

Valentine's Treats Day for Kids

I think it's sweet to do cute things for Valentine's Day for your kids. Although my daughter is only 19 months old, I still plan on doing something special for her for Valentine's day. I remember when I was little, I woke up one Valentine's Day to find a little package of cinnamon hearts under my pillow.

We have a great assortment of heart shaped cookie cutters, cupcake/muffin pans and cake dishes at the store. You could also make heart shaped pancakes, sandwiches or even eggs for breakfast!

Another neat idea is fondue--chocolate fondue is really easy to make (and we have some really affordable chocolate fondue sets starting at around $12). Your husband or wife would enjoy this too!

This recipe, from Food Network Canada, is super cute. Make fruit skewers for dipping in chocolate fondue, peanut butter and jelly fondue and vanilla yogurt dipping sauce.

Yield: 6

Ingredients

Fruit Sticks with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

• 2/3 cup whipping cream (35%) (150ml)
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (100g)

Vanilla Yogurt Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup plain yogurt (250ml)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (65ml)
• 1 vanilla bean

Directions

Fruit Sticks with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

1. Thread 6-8 skewers with a variety of your favourite seasonal fresh fruit. Here are some suggestions: Strawberries, Green Grapes, Pineapple, Melon, Orange or Clementine Segments, Peaches, Pears, Apples, Bananas. For a treat, you could also include marshmallows or cubed pound cake.
2. Heat the cream in a saucepan set on low until just steaming. Stir in chocolate and continue to heat gently until it melts, about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and transfer to a small fondue pot to keep warm. Serve with fruit skewers.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Chocolate Dipping Sauce

1. Following the basic chocolate sauce measurements and method above, whisk in 1/4 cup/50 mL each smooth peanut butter and strawberry jelly to the warmed cream when adding the chocolate. Heat until melted, stirring to incorporate additions.
   Tip: This recipe could easily be doubled. And remember, the better quality the chocolate, the better the sauce. But in a pinch, baking chocolate or even chocolate chips, works wonderfully. You could “soup up” the sauce by trying flavoured chocolates in place of the plain chocolate.

Vanilla Yogurt Dipping Sauce

1. In a bowl combine yogurt and maple syrup. Cut vanilla bean in half and scrape out seeds and add to yogurt mixture.
2. Serve with fresh or dried fruit.

   Makes 1.25 cups/175ml

Price Match Promise

Pop...pop....pop....

Mmmm cold days like this are perfect for popping corn. We offer a variety of popcorn machines, including our very popular hand-crank Snack Maker.

The Schneider's Theater II Snack Maker reaches 475° F, the same temperature as commercial poppers. The thru-the-handle stirring paddle keeps kernels moving and evenly heated. This prevents burning and 97% popping of extra-crispy popcorn. The steam escapes through the vents allowing the kernels to explode.

Did you Know Popcorn has:

• more protein than any other cereal grain;
• more iron than eggs, peanuts, spinach or roast beef;
• more phosphorous and fiber than potato chips, ice cream cones or pretzels.

And at 1 gram of fiber per cup it is similar to 1/2 cup of bran flakes or a large apple with skin.

Don't forget to spice it up with one of our flavored seasonings such as ketchup, dill pickle, salt & vinegar, nacho and 5 more! Yum! Sounds like a movie night in the making.

Update: Jeff and I finally bought one of these puppies after carrying them for years. OH MY it was the BEST popcorn ever! First of all, it was done in like 2 minutes flat and it all popped. Secondly, it was so soft and fluffy, the way popcorn was meant to be (not hard and dry and crunchy). It was melt in your mouth delicious. Jeff, a skeptic who did not want to even try it, was sold. He said it was the best popcorn of his life. PLUS, you can add Theatre Spice to the mix while popping, and then it tastes just like movie theatre popcorn. YUM!

Seeds for your little sprout

While flipping through the Edmonton Journal today I came across this article which talks about the lost art of sowing seeds. In it you will find tips on how to start seeds indoors (a fun little project to get past the winter doldrums).

Harking back to "simpler times" when the company was started in 1896, McKenzie says, "Everyone knew their neighbour, evening meals were about family time, and a dollar went further."

Growing your own vegetables and flowers from seed was all anyone had, says McKenzie. "Gardens were as much about survival as about enjoyment and beauty."

The article also mentions McKenzie Seeds new seed program for kids. Last year they brought us the little Jiffy Cups with gourds and other wonders, and this year they have expanded to include a whole line of seeds, designed to be appealing to children.

This series features an assortment of easy-to-grow vegetables and flowers in humorous packets with quirky titles and colourful, cartoon-style graphics.

There's Squash Moonbeam with a squash-head space alien in a flying saucer, Cucumber Green Dragon, featuring a happy green dragon in a vegetable patch, and Radish Rudolf, a reindeer with giant red radish for a nose.

Others in this imaginative seed series are Pumpkin Spookie, Carrot Little Finger, Cosmos Candy Stripe, Lettuce Tom Thumb, Pea Knight (a very cute peapod in a knight's helmet), Tomato Lady Bug, Bean Rattlesnake and Watermelon Moon and Stars,

McKenzie says that using these lively seed packages will start children on the road to learning more about where food comes from, as well as how to grow beautiful flowers.

I think these are super cute. And watching a seed grow is so neat for kids. I still remember watching a bean grow in paper towel in school. Hannah also has a favorite book, The Small Seed, which shows the progression from seed to sunflower. At the end, the sunflower grows right out of the book and she LOVES it.

Even if you have no intention of sowing seeds, it's fun to come in and browse. There are SO many varieties of food and flowers, and it's nice to dream of warmer days...

Mommy & Baby Days Sale

It's Mommy and Baby Days at Home Hardware, Jan 18-24th!

SAVE 20% or more on Robeez, Squeaky Shoes, Bearington, Baby Legs, Lamaze,

Bumbo, Books, Clothes, Toys, Gifts and Accessories

SAVE 30% on Robeez Boots, Stonz (boots, mitts and hats) & mimiTENS

SAVE 20% on Bella Bands, Maternity shirts and tanks, Preggy Pops,

Hooter Hiders & Ergo Baby Carriers

FREE Mommy Special Hot Chocolate for all Moms-to-Be!

January Sales Continue!

This week save:

40-75% off Select Silk Plants

50-75% off Select Art Prints

It was so, so nice out today and it is supposed to be tomorrow, too! Come by for our Tea for Two (a french press of loose leaf tea, enough for you and a friend) and check out our sale items and new arrivals!

Side note: we are reformatting our website, so please standby for some great new improvements!

Warm up at Gingersnaps!

Candle of the Month

Florals take a spicy twist with cinnamon and pink pepper. Patchouli, cedarwood and vanilla complete this jewel of a fragrance.

January's Candle of the Month is 25% Off!

January Tea of the Month

Tea of the Month

Popcorn Green Tea

~Japanese Style Tea – Genmaicha or brown rice tea is made by adding toasted rice kernels to Sencha or Bancha tea leaves. The result is a refreshing green tea with nutty flavours. The popcorn is just rice kernels which have popped during the roasting process~
Enjoy a cup of loose leaf tea freshly brewed for you!!!

Special Tea of the Month price
$1.68
SKU: TM (single serving)

PS--This tea is DELICIOUS. I can personally attest to it--it's not to strong, and is sure to be a new favorite. Green tea has numerous health benefits and is used for anti-aging, anti-cancer and even as a metabolism booster, as recommended by Dr. Oz.

Perhaps your New Year's Resolution should be to drink more green tea!