Blake Makes

Yay! The 16 people (below the picture) are about to ’sauce’ it up! Thanks, Chef Bradley, for sharing your amazing creations with us! If you want to play (and get some free food), make sure you’re sooper and keep reading Blake Makes. There’s another giveaway coming soon!

Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce

1. Lexi
2. Nina
3. Columbus Foodie
4. Carrie

Lean Mean BBQ Sauce

1. Sarah
2. Laurie
3. Kelly
4. Gretchen

Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce

1. Lindsey
2. Sarah
3. Allison
4. April

Lean Mean Ketchup

1. Paula
2. Carrie
3. Carrie
4. Amy

Congrats, winners! We can’t wait to see what you think (and what you make)!

..and now, anyone in the mood for a float? Stay tuned!

UPDATE: This giveaway is officially closed. We only had 16 jars to give away, and got 60 comments today. Thanks for your interest. We’ll announce the winners at the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Why do we love fried foods so much? Once fried, the food almost never tastes like itself any more, so what do we do? We get some yummy sauce to re-flavor the food. Frying is bad for us, but most of the time, the sauces we use for dipping only make matters worse. That’s what Chef Bradley hopes to change.

Chef Bradley has developed a line of healthful, better-for-you sauces that, I must say, are quite tasty. They sent me four jars, one of each of their flavors.

Remember the shrimp (left) we blogged about a few weeks ago? Well, I dipped my shrimp in the Lean Mean Ketchup and the Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce.

I had the sauces in two, little bowls, both of which were licked clean by the end of the meal. I will admit that they lack the depth that you’ll get from more conventional (sugar-filled) options, but for me, the good-for-me component outweighs any flavor loss.

The BBQ Sauce is zingy and sweet (just like the name says), and the ketchup is rich and tomatoey. I know I have a lot of moms who read this blog, so I’m always happy when I find food that’s good and good for us. I bet kids will never tell the difference.

Surprise! Another giveaway!

Chef Bradley would like to share a few of its jars with our readers. Here’s what we’ve got to giveaway:

1. Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
2. Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
3. Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
4. Lean Mean Ketchup: 4 jars

This is a first come, first served giveaway (that starts now!). Comment on this post to claim a jar (make sure to include which sauce you’d like to try in your comment). Limit one (1) jar per Sooper Hero. There’s a limited supply, so these jars will go fast.

Like with all of our giveaways, you have to:

• Be a registered Sooper Hero
• Be interested in the product (and not just want something free)
• Be willing to blog about what you get (and link back here and to Chef Bradley)

Good Luck and GO!

This giveaway is over, and all of the chocolate has been claimed. If you missed out, check back soon as we do free food giveaways almost every week. If you’d like to participate, remember you have to be Sooper - join our SOOPZ network.

UPDATE: Hello, Soopers. It’s going to take a little longer to announce the winners. Amano’s shared with us a bit of last-minute good news, so we’ve got a little more work to do behind the scenes before we’re ready to announce. We’ll announce tomorrow, but believe me, it will be worth the wait!

Ok, Sooper Heroes. Here’s your post. If you’d like a chance to win three (3) bars of amazing Amano Artisan Chocolate, comment on this post. We’ll announce the 50 lucky winners tomorrow. You’ve got all day, so GO!

Qualifications:

1. Must be a registered Sooper Hero
2. Must like (love) dark chocolate
3. Must have a (food) blog
4. Must be interested in blogging about it and linking to Amano (and us)

Read our Amano review for more information.

Comment and tell us how much you love dark chocolate. You can write a haiku, compose a song or just say, “hey.” We don’t require anything specific, but we do value enthusiasm and creativity (so keep that in mind… wink, wink).

Good luck!

Update: For those Blake Makers who want some Amano now, they’ve offered our readers a 15% discount code for purchases made on their site good through the end of May. Comment on this post if you want the code and I’ll email it to you.

Hi. Just to be clear, the giveaway is this Thursday. This post is just the announcement so you can get to know Amano.

Yay for my (Bridget’s) first giveaway! Despite being a major chocoholic, I am picky about how I indulge in my addiction. Although I will admit to sneaking a Hershey’s Kiss now and then, I love nothing more than high quality dark chocolate that’s rich and smooth.

That said, the chocolate lover in me was so happy when I took my first bite of Amano Artisan Chocolate. It’s wonderfully dark, but I didn’t taste any strong bitterness as often happens when I have chocolates that are 70% cacao.

I tried three varieties of Amano chocolate over the course of a week, and I loved them all so much that they were almost all gone before Blake got to take photographs (what you see below is what was left and it lasted about 5 seconds after Blake snapped the last pic).

Amano is one of only around a dozen manufacturers in the U.S. that makes its chocolate from the raw, natural bean. It strives to make the highest-quality product possible by creating the chocolate in small batches with the best ingredients (After talking to one of the Amano owners, Blake said they even get out in the fields to help with the harvest from time to time). The hard work definitely pays off because this is some truly yummy chocolate!

We know what you love about Blake (and Bridget) Makes…the free food! Well, here we go again! FREE CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY, Thursday, April 24.

Note: I know we seem to be giving away a lot of free chocolate lately (almost exclusively), but we decided to squeeze this one in before the weather gets too warm. We have tons of free food, but chocolate ships best in cooler temperatures (and gets twice as expensive to ship with cool packs in warmer weather). We would have moved on to our other great food finds, but I had to get Amano in your hands first. It’s THAT good.

So, this is how the giveaway will work this week. We’ll post Thursday morning, and you’ll have all day to express your love for dark chocolate. Fifty (50) lucky winners will each receive three (3) bars of Amano Artisan Chocolate! You lucky Sooper Heroes.

Qualifications:

1. You have to be a registered Sooper Hero
2. You have to love dark chocolate
   
3. You have to have a blog, preferably a food blog
   
4. You have to be interested in showing Amano some love if you enjoy your free sample by blogging about it (and linking to their site).

Well, we made Blake Makes history. The chutney giveaway post got more comments than any other post in our history, so you all get a pat on the back, and a WOWSERS from me.

We had a really tough time deciding the winners. Bridget and I printed out all the comments, sat in our living room, and discussed them back and forth.

All of your ideas were great. They ranged from just plain yummy, to the innovative and creative, and some were quite unexpected.

We came to a decision late tonight, and were finally able to agree upon the final 24, which are listed below. The winners will be notified by e-mail over the weekend, and the chutney will be shipped out next week.

As we move forward, this post will shift down the page as it’s archived, but I’ll post an update to this post as the winners blog about their winnings.

THANK YOU to everyone that participated. If you didn’t win this time, don’t be blue. We’ve got tons more free food on the way. To all the winners, CONGRATULATIONS! Post when you can, and make sure you’re a registered Sooper Hero.

Check out the winners after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »

Great day! Really great day! And the fact that we got more comments on the chutney post than any other post in Blake Makes history is so incredibly exciting (btw, you Sooper Heroes still have a few more hours to comment).

I’m not going to spill the beans, or reveal too much, too soon, but the wheels are already in motion. In the coming weeks, I’ll be planting seeds, dropping clues and leaving you a trail of bread crumbs to the new things I’ve got cooking.

LOOK FOR FOUR BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT COULD HAPPEN AT ANYTIME… ANYWHERE… BAG BOY + BOX BOY + 007 + PURPLE CENTIPEDE …no, I haven’t lost my mind. Figure it out. I know some of you already know.

We’re getting a lot of attention…A LOT. Some are even calling it a kingdom.

I like the sound of that…

…stay tuned.

BTW, I’m trying to build a massive following on twitter. If you’re not on twitter, twit to it! Pretty soon, we’ll be doing some Sooper Exclusives for Blake Makes Twitter Bugs.

What is twitter? Finally, a sooper helpful video to explain it in plain english.

Twitter in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

Ok, Sooper Heroes. You’ve got all day to sign up for a free jar of McQuade’s Celtic Chutney. Alison McQuade told me that the Fig ‘N Ginger is one of her most popular flavors, and she’s given me 24 jars to give away. I’m excited to see what you all come up with.

Comment on this post, and tell us what you’ll do (make) with the chutney. You don’t have to have a recipe. You don’t even have to have ever eaten chutney before. Tell us what you’re thinking; what you’d like to try; or that you’re just dying to try some of the good stuff.

We’ll pick 24 winners tomorrow night, and post them then.

Can’t wait? Buy McQuade’s Chutney on Blake Makes!

This payment gateway is a little something I’m testing (for a BIG little something we’ll be announcing soon). Stay tuned!

Hello, Sooper Heroes. Check your e-mail inboxes (and spam folders, just in case). We just sent you a message concerning this week’s free food giveaway.

BTW, I love clues, secrets and surprises….

Hello, Blake Makers, and a very special hello to you, Sooper Heroes. Why so special? There’s a giveaway this week!!! That’s right, they’re baaaack!

So, what are we giving away? More chocolate? Something sweet? Actually, no. In fact, this time, it’s something savory. It’s chutney!

Alison McQuade has been a loyal Blake Maker since the beginning. She makes some amazing chutney, and we’ve actually blogged about it before.

She wanted to share her most popular flavor with all of you, so she sent me a jar of the Fig & Ginger to try.

Like with all the free food we get to consider for the giveaways, I needed to taste it, cook with it and photograph it.

We’re always going to tell you the truth (whether good or bad), so I have a confession to make about chutney. I don’t have a lot of experience with chutney.

I rarely cook with it, and have eaten it less. Actually, I’ve only had it twice (and both times were from McQuade’s). That being said, I’ve enjoyed everything Alison’s sent me!

I made a crostata with it (here’s the recipe), and it turned out nice. It tasted like a big fig newton. I’m curious, however, to see what you guys will be able to do with it.

That brings us to this week’s giveaway.

Instead of a feeding frenzy, we’re going to do things a little differently this time. I’m going to post on Thursday, April 3, and you’ll have all day to sign up. We have 24 jars to give away, so here’s how you get one.

Tell us what you’ll do (make) with it. You don’t have to have a recipe, or any experience with chutney. Just give us what you’ve got; what you’re thinking of; what you’d like to try.

The 24 best ideas (chosen by us) will get a jar.

Keep an eye out for a Sooper Secret E-mail for further details. Comment with questions! Stay tuned!

Hello Sooper Heroes. We just sent out a Sooper Secret Email. Check your inboxes (and spam folders) for the message. It’s important. It’s about the good stuff. You know what I’m talking about.

If you’re not Sooper, do something about it. Stay tuned!