M: Shake 'n' Bake Winner and Other Cool Food Stuff

Congratulations to Heidi of Basil Vodka! You have won our Shake 'n' Bake Giveaway! Please e-mail us at itzyskitchen at gmail dot com with your address so we can get you all of your cool stuff!

Ok, onto a couple of other things that are pretty cool. Well, at least I think they are cool. First of all, can we talk about how ridiculously cool this cookbook is, Alice's Tea Cup by Lauren and Haley Fox (disclaimer: we received this product for free).



These two sisters own these adorable tea shops in New York and have put out this cookbook with a bunch of their recipes. Since we're on the topic of cool stuff, this cookbook has some pretty cool pictures of prep (which most cookbooks don't have) and a lot of cool tidbits about the sisters and how their franchise grew and stories on each of their recipes. There is everything in here from baked goods, brunch recipes, and sandwiches to "Mar-tea-nis", brewing tea, and menu pairings. Seriously, I could probably sit in bed and read this thing.

Ok, since they are most famous for their scones, I knew I had to try that out. And, of course, what better recipe than the one that's on the cover? The mixed berry scone.



I like their stance here that they don't want scones to be "hockeypucks" or dry, tough little things you can't chew through. Their scones are light and fluffy and almost biscuit-like. Seriously, go out and get this cookbook. It's dang cool.



So, here is something else that is the COOLEST. I'm going to share with you my Mom's pea salad recipe. Yes, I know, it's pea salad. How cool can pea salad be? But I have been eating this pea salad ever since I was little and my Mom shared the recipe with me after I moved out so I could make it for myself.

There is nothing complicated about this recipe, it is actually really easy, but this salad is SO good. I normally don't like peas by themselves, but mixed together with pimentos, celery, and onion...oh man...that is really friggin cool. I have never really measured the amounts of what I put in this salad, but I tried to get it down this time around so I could give you an idea. FYI, I can pretty much eat the entire recipe by myself. Ok, here you go:

Drain 2 cans of early peas and put into a medium size bowl. Drain 1 small jar of diced pimentos and add to peas. Chop up about 1/2 medium onion and 2 stalks of celery. Add to the peas and pimentos.



Next add in 1 heaping Tablespoon of mayo (I use Whole Foods Canola mayo), 1 Tablespoon of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix everything well and you are done! The longer it chills the better, but you can still definitely serve immediately.



Pea Salad
From Mandi's Mama

2 cans small/early peas, drained
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small jar diced pimentos, drained
1 heaping TB mayo
1 TB vinegar
1 tsp. sugar

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well! You may want to taste test if you want to add more vinegar or sugar, etc. The longer it chills the better it tastes =)

Yum Yum...I think all those things are pretty cool.