For the coming months, I invite you to visit me here where I will be blogging as the new Spice Islands Flavor Explorer. I am honored, humbled and excited to be part of the team. I have some big shoes to fill. Past Flavor Explorers include David Lebovitz, Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites, Alice Currah of Savory Sweet Life and Pim Techamunavivit of Chez Pim.  I encourage you to click through the archives and drool over the recipes that these talented bloggers have shared thus far.

When I was first contacted by Spice Islands, they described their customers to me as people who are adventurous in the kitchen, enjoy traveling and consider themselves life long learners. Check, check and check – sounded like a perfect match. As I continued to learn about Spice Islands and their products, my ideas began flowing and my eagerness to get started grew.

Shortly after finalizing my plans to be a Flavor Explorer, a large box arrived in the mail. My in-laws were visiting and together, we gathered around the heavy, mysterious package. Inside, we discovered over 100 glass bottles individually protected with bubble wrap.  One by one, my Dutch mother-in-law, Greek father-in-law, my husband and kids and I unwrapped each bottle and excitedly announced what treasure we had discovered: Organic Sweet Basil, Red Thai Curry, Louisiana Style Cajun Seasoning, Pure Vanilla Extract, Snipped Chives…. like a mad scientist who had just received her ultimate chemistry set, I nearly threw back my head and let out a delighted, satisfied bellow as I imagined the concocting that was to come.

Through March, I will be doing a lot of baking (I’ve already been through nearly 3 bottles of Spice Islands Pure Vanilla Extract) and I will devise a number of recipes using other Spice Islands spices, herbs and blends. Keep your eye out for a few videos and find fun facts and conversation on their Facebook page here. If you have Spice Islands favorites or recipe ideas, send them my way.

A note for my swimming pals – I’ll scare up some other books for you two to read :)

From looking at this unassuming facade, it is hard to know that miracles are happening just inside the door. My family visited the LakeView Pantry last week to drop off a donation and we are still in awe of all that is done in this small building to help those in need.

Writing a food blog is so enjoyable for me and I know I am fortunate to have the resources to do it. Sometimes, I feel a bit of hestitation about how much time is spent cooking, photographing, talking and sharing about our abundance of delicious foods when I know that so many people do not know where their next meal is coming from.

In the same way that I am drawn to the consumption of food and drink, I am drawn to food-related causes. Our family began donating to money to the Lakeview Pantry a few years ago. With two little kids, we have not been able to volunteer as I would have liked. This holiday, Mini Whipped is 3 1/2 and we decided that it was time to introduce her to charity and help her understand our good fortune.

The kind people at the Lakeview Pantry agreed to give us a tour when we dropped off our donation. My husband and I explained to Mini Whipped what a food pantry is and that we were going to give some of our money to them to help those that are less fortunate. We had Mini Whipped bring her purse with some of her money (piggy bank funds and birthday gifts) but we told her that she could decide if she wanted to give money to the pantry or not.

Inside the bustling pantry (it was a food pick up day), we all found more wonder than we ever could have imagined. We learned that the Lakeview food pantry gives away more than 1.8 million pounds of food a year! Volunteers were moving to and fro stacking food, cleaning and helping pantry customers.

What really touched me was how this organization is not just offering nourishment to those without food, they are offering a serving of dignity along with it. Bouquets of flowers laid on the counter along with the groceries. A room filled with non-food items was set up like a store – clothing and toys hanging neatly for easy browsing. Dog food is available so that people can keep their pets during their hard times. Baby care necessities were stacked up in the lower level.  There is even a special storage shelf designated for food items that don’t require any cooking equipment for those who have no access to simple kitchen tools like can openers.

At the end of our visit, we wrote a check and gave our donation. Though Mini Whipped was a typical 3-year old and somewhat antsy during part of our tour, something clearly sunk in. She opened her Hello Kitty wallet and produced a $20 bill that she handed over to our new friend June who works at the pantry.

It is nice when your parenting turns out the way you hoped! We have continued to talk about the Lakeview Pantry and Mini Whipped has explained to a few people what she learned. We were also invited to volunteer since children as young as 3 can help sort cans of food. In 2012, we will make it a point to continue to visit and lend a hand.

Our trip to the Lakeview Pantry was much more powerful than I anticipated. I am working on plans for the new year to forge partnerships with organizations that tackle food-related problems. And, I have decided that regularly exposing my children to things outside their circle of comfort is a priority.

If you are in the Chicago area and interested in helping the Lakeview Pantry, you can find information on their website here. If you would like to volunteer, contact Erin Stephens, Director of Volunteers (erin @ lakeviewpantry.org, 773.525.1777 x15). To donate money, you can make a secure transaction through our website or send a check payable to Lakeview Pantry. Additionally, they always accept non-perishable goods Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm.

I am humbled and honored to be featured this week as Saveur’s “Site We Love.”  Cooking and baking, writing about food and family, connecting with people and taking photos are all things I love to do. Thank you to all who visit this site and take an interest.

p.s. JUNE – the email on your comment didn’t work. Please email me at caroline AT whippedtheblog.com to claim your prize!

Mini Whipped started preschool this week and I have felt sappier than an oozing maple. Time goes too fast. I know it is cliche to bemoan how quickly your children grow up but I really can’t believe it was nearly  3 1/2 years ago that she clutched this little whisk.  Not long after, she enjoyed her first bites of food and a year after her birth, she ate cake for the first time. Today, on her second day of preschool, Mini Whipped ate only two bites of her breakfast before she excitedly asked to be excused so she could go pack her backpack. She is ready and eager for her daily flights out of the nest.

I always assumed that when I was a mom and “older” that I would FEEL older. But, my own memories of childhood are still so clear. I can remember my own initial days of preschool. I can picture the classroom and I remember meeting my first best friend during registration. When I look at this old photo, time folds back flexibly like a ribbon and I can smell the rain on my lawn and see my back door through the eyes of the child in the yellow polka-dot rain coat.

There are times that I ache to return to the past. If I could just swim in my back yard pool one more time (my parents no longer live in the house and it has been filled in.) I want to sit on my Dad’s lap at the head of the formal dining room table after a big Thanksgiving meal. I want to find my secret, daily note in my lunch box from my mom. I want to have a sleepover in my brother’s room while my parents host a dinner party. I want to hold tiny, little Mini Whipped in my arms.

No matter how hard we try to slow or stop the metronome of time, it will keep on ticking at the same pace. It’s best to accept it, appreciate every day and be thankful for every minute we have. I’ll get back to that place soon but for this week, I’ll continue nurturing my nostalgia.

Harness some squirrel energy and hoard the last flavors of summer! Tuck away berries, beans and corn so you can enjoy the flavors this winter. Though autumn is my favorite season, the summer flew by this year and I am feeling anxious about the cool air. We meant to buy a new upright freezer so I could store away loads of summer fruits and veggies but we never got around to it. Though I don’t have much room in my small freezer drawer, I have made space for a few bags of blueberries and some fresh corn.

If you can find sweet corn that is still good, buy a dozen. It is so easy to prepare it for the freezer. Shucking the corn is the most time consuming part. I unclothed my cobs on the porch so that all the “corn hair” could be easily swept away. (Does anyone have a fast, easy trick for getting every last thread off the cob?) Then, put the cobs in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove them and after they have cooled enough to handle, stand each cob on the end and holding the knife at an angle, cut the kernels off.

Make sure you get all of the delicious kernel off the cob but do not cut into the cob.  To keep the corn from freezing in one big mass, you can spread the kernels on cookie sheets and freeze them for an hour or two before putting them in freezer bags.

When you are ready to thaw the corn, just put it in some warm water or boil it briefly until warm. The frozen corn is wonderful in chowder, corn bread or atop Mexican salads with black beans and cilantro dressing.

Buy corn. Shuck it. Boil it. Cut it. Freeze it. You’ll thank me this winter.

For those who didn’t win, if you can no longer imagine your life without a Camelbak Groove, you can find where to buy one here.

On February 14th, we welcomed Baby Whipped, also known as Juliet Jayne, into the Whipped family. We are all home and doing well. Luckily, she is a good eater! Phew… we wouldn’t know how to handle a fussy eater around here. For now, we are enjoying the food and kindness of the many wonderful people in our midst. We will all be back in the kitchen soon, sharing recipes and tales with you. Three ladies in the kitchen? Should be interesting… We will see if Mini Whipped is eager to share her whisk.