Hello, Blake Makers. I’ve got a new type giveaway for you today. A while back, I found some amazingly-fantastic art by Amy Stevens. Her art is food art, and as you can see in the photo above, it’s all about over-the-top cakes. Amy has given me 24 prints to give away. Instead of a traditional claim it, win it giveaway, I’m wanting to play around with the power of facebook.

To win one (1) signed, original print:

1. Friend me on facebook
2. Find the photo above on my profile
3. Tag an asterisk

UPDATE: ZestyCook.com is experiencing a little server trouble today, but it’s happened to me a couple of times, and on giveaway days. You Blake Makers are a loud and rowdy bunch (not to mention there’s a lot of you)! Comment on this post for a chance to win the blog makeover, and I’ll forward your entry to Zesty.

Hello, dear Blake Makers. I brought back the giveaways a few weeks ago, and I’ve been so pleased that we basically picked right back up where we stopped. I promise I have more than giveaways to feed you, but I wanted to get a rhythm going before I moved on to something new. Expect food posts, travel posts and BIG ideas soon.

Today’s Giveaway

I’m teaming up with my buddy, Corey, over on ZestyCook.com for this one. He’s offering a free blog makeover, so I asked him if my dear Blake Makers could get involved and he said YES! He’s going to make you work for it, though.

To enter for a chance to win a free blog makeover, visit ZestyCook.com and read this post.

Zesty picks a winner this Friday. Good luck!

That’s this week’s giveaway, but next week, I’ve got something really special for you. It’s food, but not food you can eat. Not unless you can eat with your eyes.

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! To all the winners! Your yummies should be on the way to you shortly. Remember, blog about your product when it arrives, and then blog about how it tastes. If you like me, and you like these giveaways, I’d LOVE and little link love. Tell your readers to start blogging, and to COME AND GET IT ON BLAKEMAKES!

Upcoming Giveaway News

Next week, you’ll have a chance to win a facelift. Then, the week after that is something entirely new. It’s a BlakeMakes first, and you won’t want to miss it. See what I mean? Stay tuned!

And The Winners Are

The 479 Popcorn winners are (original post):

1. A Southern Grace Blog (Congrats, Grace!)
2. Sushi Day Blog (Yay for Allison!)
3. Tuesdays With Dorie Blog (Hi, Laurie!)
4. My Baking Heart Blog (Love ya, Hornedfroggy.)
5. Steph Chows (Chow down, Steph!)

The Bee Raw Honey winners are (original post):

1. Cake Or Death Blog
2. Oh Baby O Blog
3. I’m Right About Everything Blog
4. Kristy’s Recipes Blog
5. High On The Hog Blog
6. Delish Blog
7. The Bear Growls Blog
8. Apple Pear Peach Plum
9. Three Cheers For Babies Blog
10. Someone’s In The Kitchen Blog
11. Live. Laugh. Grow.
12. Steph Chows
13. Cinnamon Vanilla Blog
14. 5 Forks Blog
15. Good Eat ‘n Sweet Treats Blog
16. Fake Ginger Blog
17. A Southern Grace Blog
18. Scotty Snacks Blog
19. Cupcake Muffin Blog
20. Chef Barbie Cooks
21. Sing For Your Supper Blog
22. Canela And Camino Blog
23. One Imaginary Girl Blog
24. Schleifstein Blog

Hello, Blake Makers. I’ve wanted to go to a fancy food show, any fancy food show, for a while now. Since I haven’t been able to go to one, I’ve being “attending” them virtually by visiting their Web sites and browsing their vendor lists. I know, I know. It’s a little sad, but I’ve been finding some amazing food. Bee Raw is one such food find.

Blake Tastes

I’m sort of a honey lover. I especially like peanut butter and honey sandwiches. I toast the bread, and spread the peanut butter on while it’s still warm. As it melts, I drizzle on the honey. My inner-fat kid comes out when I make sandwiches like this, because I usually make them open-faced so I can have two slices of bread, both with peanut butter, both with honey.

This honey is superb because of its lightness. It’s really mild and delicate. Bee Raw describes it as “a light and floral honey, with a unique raspberry finish intertwined with the aroma of warm cocoa butter. Light yellow in color and mellow and smooth on the palate. Raspberry’s honey components lend themselves well to being paired with the following ingredients: champagne, chocolate, framboise, peaches, pears, sour cream, sugar and vanilla.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m dying to see how you guys will eat it!

The Giveaway

You’ve got all day to enter for a chance to win one of 24 jars of Bee Raw’s Wild Raspberry Honey. Twenty-four winners will be announced on Friday (along with the 479 Popcorn winners). Good luck!

Wowsers, Blake Makers! I knew things had been quiet for a while, but this giveaway felt like old times. I told you with the tea giveaway that I wanted to gear up slowly, but you just weren’t having it. Ha ha! I received over 100 entries for this amazing 479 Popcorn!

As I was browsing the entries, and narrowing down to some winners, I realized that the Oscars are like 2 weeks away. Nothing goes better with a great movie than a great bag/bowl of popcorn, so here’s the deal. I want to narrow the entries down to 20 semi-finalists. Those 20 will have another week to comment on this post, and I think we should have a little Oscar-fun with the commenting.

If you are a semi-finalist (I’ll be e-mailing you this weekend), you have until next Thursday (2/25) to comment and tell me which 479 Popcorn flavor best represents one of the Oscar-nominated movies or actors. Sound ok? Sound like fun?

We’re still doing another (new and different) giveaway next Wednesday (it’s going to bee sweet), so next Friday two sets of winners will be announced. And, there’s no rule saying you can’t win two things at once.

Just to be clear. I’ll e-mail you this weekend if you’re a semi-finalist. Comment on this post by next Thursday for your chance to win. Good luck!

Hello, Blake Makers! Ok. Another week, another (slightly larger) giveaway. Today, I’ve got some 479 Popcorn for you. Five (5) lucky winners will win one of their Globetrotter samplers. The flavors will really knock you socks off, and just because this popcorn will come to you in the mail, doesn’t mean it won’t taste absolutely fresh. I bet  you’ll be just like me and will tear into the sampler, and eat it all…for dinner…all by yourself.

Globetrotter Flavors:

1. Chipotle Caramel + Almonds
2. Ginger Sesame Caramel
3. Pimentòn de La Vera (Paprika, Tomato, Onion)
4. Black Truffle + White Cheddar (My Favorite!)
5. Madra Curry Coconut + Cashews (My Other Favorite!)

The Giveaway

You’ve got all day to enter for a chance to win one of five (5) Globetrotter Samplers from 479 Popcorn. Five winners will be announced on Friday. Good luck!

Sign up by completing the form below:

MegansCookin.com wins the tea! Next week, I’m giving away 479 Popcorn. Stay tuned!

Hello, Blake Makers. For some of you, this may be your first time back here in some time. Things got a little quiet, but I’m back. I’m planning to do free food giveaways every Wednesday, and I’m starting them back up with this little giveaway from Adagio Teas.

Blake Tastes

I’m sort of getting into tea lately. I’ve been drinking Nettle tea for a while, because I’ve read extensively about how it pulls toxins from your body. It may all be in my head, but I feel way better when I drink a cup of tea a day. I discovered Adagio a couple of years ago, and I love their site. They have every tea imaginable (not nettle, ironically), and I’ve enjoyed getting their little tin containers of loose tea.

I’m on their mailing list, and I got an e-mail from them a couple of weeks ago. They were promoting the blooming teas you see above, so I e-mailed them back, and asked if I could share with my dear Blake Makers.

This tea is special. First, it puts on a little show in the cup. The bloom starts as a tight little ball, and it fizzes and hisses as you pour in the boiling water. Over the next couple of minutes, the flower blooms in your cup. It’s aroma is deep and exotic. The red bloom smells like roses, and its flavor is delicate and subtle. I hate when tea tastes bitter (there’s nothing worse than bitter tea face). This tea is mild and delicious.

The Giveaway

You’ve got all day to enter for a chance to win one (1) box of red bloom tea blossoms, one (1) box of jasmine bloom tea blossoms and Adagio’s Jumbo Glass Teacup and saucer so you can achieve maximum bloomage. Each box contains 10 tea blossoms. One winner will be announced on Friday.

Sign up by completing the form below:

This is the last giveaway for 2008, and it’s a good one. What I’ve got for you is Amano Artisan Chocolate. You may remember Amano since I’ve given it away before. I love this stuff, and it’s still some of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted (including the Vosges I just got for Christmas). This batch of Amano is actually very special, and quite rare.

JEMBRANA is the name they’ve given this bar. Jembrana is a small regency on the southwest coast of the Indonesian island of Bali. Why am I giving you this geography lesson? Well, my buddy Art (he owns Amano) is the only guy in the U.S. that’s importing cacao from Bali. That means that if you win a bar, you’ll be part of an exclusive group of chocolate lovers who are lucky enough to savor Balinese chocolate.

Taste and giveaway notes below.

Tasting Notes

Amano is known for dark chocolate – we’re talking 70% cacao here people. Good dark chocolate is nothing to be scared of. Exquisite dark chocolate (like this) is not bitter, but smooth and enchanting and not at all intimidating. The Jembrana bar has a smart snap, and mild citrus notes. It’s divine.

Giveaway Instructions

I’ve got 100 bars to give away (1 per Sooper Hero). To win, comment on this post AND click the following link and complete the form: CLICK ME TO WIN A FREE BAR OF CHOCOLATE

This giveaway is first come, first served. Once I’ve received 100 valid Sooper Hero sign ups, it’s over! Good luck! Happy holidays! Enjoy your chocolate!

There’s more…

The rest of this post was written by my buddy Art (he owns Amano) in remembrance of the Rio Grande Cafe.

The Rio Grande Cafe is a family owned cafe that serves authentic regional New Mexican food. Started in 1948, the Rio Grande Cafe catered to the natives from Espanola as well as the physicists and other scientists from on “on the hill” who would often pilgrimage from Los Alamos. Some of the world’s most famous physicists (and my childhood heros) such as Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Richard Feynman, Neils Bohr, Hans Bethe, Enrico Fermi and other great minds who either worked at or visited the Los Alamos National Laboratory would make the 30 minute trek to the Rio Grande Cafe for Taco’s Green, Pasole, Green Chile Stew, Sopapillas, and other regional fare.  The food wasn’t fancy — but it was comfort food — New Mexico style — done right.  One Los Alamos scientist and friend pilgrimaged to the Rio Grande Cafe every Tuesday since 1952 for a plate of Tacos Green.  But the Rio Grand Cafe was not only a haven to those from Los Alamos and Espanola but also to the great artists from the local Pueblo’s (most notably Maria the Potter whose pots are now highly treasured and collected).

I started eating at the Rio Grande Cafe when I was very young — in fact, I don’t even remember the first time. I made a point to eat there almost every time I visited Los Alamos and the friends I grew up with.  I always ordered the same thing — Tacos Green with extra sopapillas and it always brought me back to my New Mexican roots. The Rio Grande Cafe most definitely formed a huge step in my culinary career teaching me that food does not have to always be fancy to be good as long as it is made with care and the heart of the chef.  Just recently, the Rio Grande Cafe closed and the chef who has cooked for some of the greatest minds in the world as well as the local Hispanic, Native American, and Anglo communities has retired.  Clearly, there are some big holes to fill — not by upscale “Southwest” or “Santa Fe Style” restaurants but simply by those who truly care about the food they cook no matter how humble.

-Art

Can you believe this cake is peanut/dairy/egg/nut free? I always thought (what I’m calling) “allergy aware” food would taste a lot like sugar-free food, horrible. Well, maybe not horrible, but no where near as gooey-yummy as the real stuff. This stuff made me a believer. You should try this stuff.

Curious? Wondering who makes it? Want some? Go to BlakeBakes.com (today only) for a free sample.