Our family gets a little silly around the holidays. We like to have fun, and now we have a lot of fun choosing a new theme for the holiday coming up! We've done Pirate's Thanksgiving, Mustache Easter, and had a train themed birthday for Goonie. So of course, Father's day had to be something fun - something we could all enjoy! This year we decided to have a Father's Day Luau! 
 

The invites were sent out, guests were told to wear their best (or worst) Hawaiian shirt and we would provide the food. Thankfully Oriental Trading has a huge selection of Luau themed products for us to choose from. 

Michigan is a bit of a distance from Hawaii, and while some people do grow palm trees here, we weren't going to venture that far! Instead the first thing I ordered was a Palm Tree Cooler. It was cute, festive and held 2 twenty pound bags of ice plus a bunch of Hawaiian fruit drinks and water for the guests.  This was just the beginning of our decorations and we had a lot of fun choosing favors and items for our guest.  

We spent a couple days cooking and preparing for the party - but drinks were easy. Besides finding Hawaiian fruit drinks and water, the bigger (of age) kids were greeted with cocktails. Of course no cocktail is complete without an umbrella straw. It wasn't just a straw and an umbrella stuck in with a toothpick, the umbrella is built into the straw so it wont get in the way of your drink. For the little kids there were blow fish straws so they could kiss the fish to get their drinks. 

While no Luau is complete without some Leis so we had a large selection for the guests to choose from, and matching flower hair clips. Guests could also wear pineapple sun glasses to complete their outfits and add just a little bit of fun! 

While not everything was exactly authentic, and I'm sure I'll get yelled at by some friends that we didn't have spam sushi and POG juice (we did look for it). We had an absolute blast. 

Overall we had 16 guests at the party and with everything we ordered the favors, the snacks and decorations our total cost out of pocket was under $100! That is fantastic for the size party we had and the amount of people we hosted. 

We even ordered some special Tootsie Rolls for my Uncle who use to serve in the military. They would be a great addition for any upcoming 4th of July parties as well!  

In our party budget we made sure we had every last detail taken care of - including Luau themed cupcake wrappers and decorative pins. The cupcakes were tropically flavored including coconut cream and lemonade flavored. 

While we may not have the most traditional parties, we do know how to have fun! I love having our themed parties for each holiday or event we have. Not only do we end up getting some pretty awesome pictures out of it, but we also end up making great memories. How often do you get a picture of your grandfather in pineapple glasses? (Or a pirate's hat, or fake stick glasses). I can't wait to start planning our next party! 

Find Oriental Trading Online:

The kids are out of school, and now it's time to kick back and enjoy a drink. You remember those dog days of summer that you just enjoyed the sun, playing in the sprinkler or laying out chatting with friends? Now they may be filled with chasing kids, family functions or your own parties you're hosting and on occasion you may need a drink to take along with you! 

Earlier this spring I reviewed the Vino2Go and the VinoCaddy which are perfect accessories for your on the go summer parties, or just lounging in your yard. But the designers at The Product Farm have been busy! Not only did they just release the Vino2Go XL, for when 

you need more than a small glass on the go, but they also released the Brew2Go - perfect for your beer drinker! 

The Vino2Go, Vino2Go XL and the Brew2Go are all BPA free, have lids to keep bugs out of your drinks, break proof and double-walled so your drink stays chilled. The double walls keep any condensation out of your drink and makes sure your drink is the optimal temperature for enjoyment. 

Besides being the perfect accessory for the summer months when we're always on the go, both the Brew2Go and the Vino2Go XL make fantastic gift options. But my favorite part is the simplicity of the design. Not only do they work fantastically, but when they are filled they visually create a filled inverted beer bottle or a large 12 oz wine glass inside the cup. 

Like the regular Vino2Go, I had a bit of a problem getting the last sip out of the Vino2Go XL with the lid on. However my friend Erin had an awesome solution - just refill it! 

Now you can get your own and save 10%! Use coupon code Week99erVino When you shop at The Product Farm! 

Coupon code expires 7/21! 

You can also try your chance at winning a Vino2Go XL or a Brew2Go! The Product Farm is giving one of my readers a Vino2Go XL and one a Brew2Go! Make sure you read how to enter below! 

How can you win?

Enter to win with the form below. The mandatory entry is leaving a comment on this blog post telling me which color and product you would choose if you won! If you do not do this entry - you will not win! So make sure you leave a comment and then enter using the form linked below!

Find The Product Farm Online: 

Finding a good recipe for a homemade gluten free bread has always been hard for me. I have a few store brands I'll pick up when I want a sandwich but sometimes you just want that warm fresh bread. I found a recipe online for a 5 ingredient no-knead peasant bread and had to try it, being gluten free it does add a few ingredients but it was worth a shot. The resulting bread wasn't the prettiest, but was warm and yummy. 
 

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups white rice flour
  
• 1 1/2 cup tapioca starch (flour)
  
• 2 tbsp xanthan gum
  
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  
• 2 cups lukewarm water
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
  
• room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
  

Directions:

1. In a small bowl add your water, sugar and yeast. Stir lightly and let sit for about 10 minutes. 
   
2. In a large bowl mix together your flours, salt, xanthan gum set aside. 
   
3. Add in your yeast mixture to your flour mixture and sir until combined. Your batter will be loose and sticky. Cover with a damp tea cloth and allow to rise for 2 hours. 
   
4. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
   
5. Butter the inside of two medium Pyrex bowls (approximately 1.5 L or 1 quart bowls. 
   
6. Beat down your dough and separate into two equal loafs - you may need to use your hands or forks to do this, it's still a sticky dough. Place in your prepared pyrex bowls
   
7. Allow your loafs to do a second rise for about 30 minutes. 
   
8. Bake for 10 minutes at 425, reduce your heat to 375 and cook for an additional 25 minutes. You can add extra time if you your bread to be a bit darker. 
   
9. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and eating. 
   

This recipe is part of the Food Challenge with nine other bloggers. You can check out the recipes below for this challenge! Each month we'll be doing another challenge - let us know if you try any of the recipes!

Jack the Giant Slayer is now on BluRay and DVD! Warner Brothers wants to give away a copy to one of my lucky readers. Take the quiz on the app below and post your answer for your chance to win! 
 

What can you win? 

Enter below to win a copy of Jack the Giant Slayer on BluRay/DVD Combo! Take the How Brave Are You Quiz and enter below! 

How can you win?

Enter to win with the form below. The mandatory entry is leaving a comment on this blog post posting your results of the How Brave Are You Quiz! If you do not do this entry - you will not win! So make sure you leave a comment and then enter using the form linked below!

Find Jack the Giant Slayer Online: 

June is National Dairy month! The Michigan Dairy News Bureau wants to make sure my readers get enough dairy in their diet and you can do it easily by making small changes. With the last giveaway I did for them (now closed) we learned that milk is a much better drink for you than most of the other options.

Dairy is something you can enjoy all day! It's not just a glass of milk, or something to be put in your cereal. I personally use it a lot in cooking, but you can also use your yogurt to make great smoothies that will not only give you energy but are a delicious treat as well! 

Check out the great peach smoothie recipe below: 

By adding just a little more dairy to your diet you can make sure you stay healthy! It's small changes, but trust me their quite delicious! 

Michigan Dairy News Bureau is giving one of my readers a very necessary tool for making delicious smoothies for their busy on-the-go life: A Magic Bullet 17 piece blender set. The winner will also get a Got Milk insulated tote and a yogurt recipe pamphlet!  Be sure to read how to enter to win this great prize!

How can you win?

Enter to win with the form below. The mandatory entry is leaving a comment on this blog post telling me what you would make in your new Magic Bullet blender if you won! If you do not do this entry - you will not win! So make sure you leave a comment and then enter using the form linked below!

Find Michigan Dairy Online: 

Earlier this week I did a post on ways to find out where your food comes from and a way to track it from the codes on your packaging. But what about where it comes from as far back as the farm? I'll admit it - I'm a city girl, I know there are farms out there but I don't usually visit them. 
 

I was invited with other local bloggers to tour Reid Dairy Farm in Jeddo, Michigan. We were joined with Dietitians, Veterinarians and other dairy farmers to answer any questions we may have before, after or during the tour. Not being a farmer or know much about their day to day processes we had quite a few! 

Reid Dairy farm is a family farm that currently have 220 dairy cows as well as 190 calves and young cows. The farm is currently run by the Reid family as well as their son Jeff. It is also an eco-friendly farm, using solar panels to provide a portion of their power, grow their own feed and use the manure as their own fertilizer. 

Every day each of the 220 dairy cows on the Reid farm produce about 10 gallons of milk each, that means a total of more than 2000 gallons daily! Since the cows produce so much milk they have to be milked three times a day. 

Put that image of the farmer on a stool milking a cow out of your head, everything is now done on an automated system. After a test squeeze is done to make sure the cow's milk is clean, and a sanitation of the udders the cows are hooked up to the milking machine. That is the last time the milk will touch human hands until you receive it at your home, and the whole process only takes about 8 minutes! 

Once the milk leaves the cow it is instantly pumped between cooling plates and put into the large tank to wait until it is picked up every other day. The milk coming from the cow comes out over 100 degrees, but has to be cooled to under 40 degrees for food safety reasons. 

Every two days a large 10,000 gallon tanker truck comes and picks up the raw milk product to deliver it to the processing plant. Between pick up and your table the milk is tested 12 times for any chemicals, contaminants and hormones making sure your milk products are as healthy as you hope. All tests and processing equipment are cleaned and sterilized daily. 

So what about those cows? Besides being quite cute and quiet social animals, they're actually quite pampered. The cows on the Reid Dairy Farm are separated in groups by their age and are well treated. The cows live in an open air barn with large cooling fans so they wont get over heated during the hot summer months (and it keeps bugs away). The barn also has walls that can be dropped down during cooler months to keep the cows warmer during the winter - but we were told they tend to like the cold weather! 

Their diet consists of wheat, soybean and grains all grown on the farm with added supplements. They are constantly visited by their Vet and their health is one of the biggest concerns of the Reid family. Making sure their cows remain healthy is one of the goals so they can keep providing healthy milk for years to come. 

A farm tour would not be complete without a visit to the babies. The Reid Dairy Farm have calves as new as a week old, and all were ready to greet us with kisses and adorable big eyes. The calves are bottle fed until they learn to eat from buckets and are big enough for the larger barn. They're just at the beginning stage of their dairy farm journey! 

You can find Reid Dairy Farm on Facebook! 

To find out more about Breakfast on the Farm and the chance to tour local dairy farms check out my post here! 

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Savers Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

To find out more about my relationship with Verizon Wireless - http://bit.ly/VZWVoices

Over the weekend I went to my favorite Farmer's Market - Eastern Market. I go about every other week to stock upon goodies for recipes and things to stand in until my garden starts producing. Fruits, Veggies, fresh goat cheese and even a trip to the butcher! It was a great trip and I scored big on some fresh tomatoes - a farmer was selling flats of them (15 lbs each) for only $8. I grabbed two with the intention of making more ketchup, but realized quickly I'm out of a lot of other tomato based basics! 
 

Yes, the ketchup is delicious, but we also quickly ran through the pizza sauce, I was out of tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce.. So instead of making a specific type of sauce I decided to make a basic tomato sauce recipe, that I could add to to fit my needs while cooking. 

Remember how I said I bought two of these 15 lb boxes? My boyfriend walked by them at least once a day and asked what I was going to do with a "crapload" of tomatoes. Well.. here we go! :)

Ingredients:

• 35 lbs of tomatoes
  
• lemon juice
  
• salt 
  

Directions:

1. Remove the skins and cores from all of your tomatoes. You can either blanch them (you can find blanching directions here) or you can roast them. Because of the amount of tomatoes in this recipe I roasted them under the broiler for 15 minutes. Line your cookie sheet with foil and line up your tomatoes. Broil for about 7 minutes and turn them over with tongs. 
   
2. Allow your tomatoes to cool for about 10 minutes before working with them. Either method will result in them being hot to the touch still. Remove the skin and discard it into a bowl. Use a paring knife and cut the core out. If you broiled your tomatoes pour any juice collected on the foil into a large stock put - a LARGE stock pot. I had to switch part way though since my 9 quart pot wasn't large enough. 
   
3. Cut your tomatoes into quarters and place them into your large stock pot. Repeat until all of your tomatoes are done. Periodically pour the juice from your cutting board into the pot as well. 
   
4. Boil your tomatoes on medium-high heat until they begin to reduce. Reduce your tomatoes down 1/3 for a thinner sauce or 1/2 for a thicker sauce. 
   
5. Optional - After about 40 minutes - Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Reduce for another 20 minutes. 
6. Ladle into your prepared Jars (steps 1-4 below). Before lidding your jars add 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp lemon juice to each jar. 
7. Add your lids and process with the steps below! 

If you want to pressure can your sauce? Recommended Pressure Canning Time and Pressure  

Canning Instructions: 

1. Place 7 clean quart mason jars on a rack in your stock pot. Fill the jars and stock pot with cool water until it completely covers the top of the jars. Cover and put on medium heat. Simmer but do not boil. 
   
2. Prepare 7 lid sets, put the bands aside and put the flat lids in a small sauce pan and put on medium heat. Do not boil, but keep warm through the whole process. 
3. Prepare your sauce according to the directions above. 
4. Now, remove the jars from the warm bath. Tip them as you pull them out and pour the water back into the pan. Place them on a towel on the counter with the opening up. Do not dry them! Just put them down and put the funnel in. Ladle the sauce into each jar until there is about 1/2 inch of space in the top. Once all jars are full, take a plastic or wooden utensil and move it around to get extra air bubbles out.
5. Add in the salt and lemon juice before adding your lids! 
6. Take the small magnet tool and remove flat lids from their hot bath. Place over top of each jar. By hand screw on the collars, but not too tight! Remember some air still needs to get out of each jar. 
7. Place the jars back into the hot stock pot and replace the lid. Turn your temperature up to high. When it starts to do a rolling boil, start a timer for 40 minutes. 
8. After the jars have processed for 40 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the lid to the pan. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove all the jars without tipping them and place them back on the towel. Remember - don't towel them off! 

The original recipe I found and based mine off of said that this would make 7 quarts... however, it made 15! I guess it's in how much you reduce it down. I decided to keep mine sauce instead of tomato paste, and we're stocked up for a long time now. I even used it as a pizza sauce tonight for dinner and it was delicious. 

You can prepare 7 quart jars or I'd suggest doing pints for use-ability. Have extras on hand if you don't reduce your sauce a ton! I used 14 pint jars, and 4 quarts, plus had additional in a bowl to work with tonight. 

This recipe is part of the Food Challenge with nine other bloggers. You can check out the recipes below for this challenge! Each month we'll be doing another challenge - let us know if you try any of the recipes!

Since 2009 Michigan Farms have opened their doors to over 40,000 children and adults and not only fed them, but provided them with knowledge of where their food is coming from. 

Breakfast on the farm events are free and are happening throughout Michigan at five farms from June through September. You can attend for free and learn about the farming

industry, animal care and food safety. 

Free tickets can be picked up at local points near the farms up until the date of the event. You can find where tickets are available online on the Breakfast on the Farm website. 

The 2013 Schedule for Breakfast on the Farm is below! Go meet local farmers, ask any of your food questions and learn about one of Michigan's biggest industries! 

June 15: St. Clair County Breakfast on the Farm hosted by Reid Dairy Farm LLC, Jeddo, Mich.

July 13: Ottawa County Breakfast on the Farm hosted by Walt Dairy Farm, Coopersville, Mich.

August 17: Gratiot County Breakfast on the Farm hosted by Humm Farm LLC, Breckenridge, Mich.

September 7: Montcalm County Breakfast on the Farm hosted by Black Locust Farms LLC, Stanton, Mich.

September 21: Hillsdale County Breakfast on the Farm hosted by Ferry Farms LLC, Litchfield, Mich.

We all see the news stories and the posts on facebook about what chemicals are being dumped into the food we eat daily. It's out there, and I can't say it's all true or not, because I honestly don't know. However I am a big supporter of know what is in the food you're eating, as well as where it comes from. The only way to make the best decision for you is to know how to find the information right? We eat mostly clean in our house due to allergies, but if you eat boxed food mostly and it works for you that's awesome. 

Despite what I try, there are a few things you can't buy straight from the farmer or butcher in the city. Well, that may be a lie - I could probably find most of these items downtown at the market if I knew where to look. However some items are easier to buy at the grocery store - and I'm mostly talking dairy products. We go through a lot here, and this week I spoke with some dairy farmers who say they do the same thing - go buy that gallon of milk at the store. It's easy, it's convenient and it's priced to move. 

Yes, we're going to talk about dairy here - it's a staple of our every day diet and it's also National Dairy Month! You will be getting a lot of milk facts and information over the next week or so, including information I learned on a dairy farm just the other day. I will also put a quick code guide at the end for those fruits and veggies - trust me you'll be reading everything soon.  

When you go the store pick up your milk, your butter, or cream what is the first thing you look for? Or you should be looking for? That expiration date right? I never knew that the rest of the printed information on the container could let me know so much more about my food! 

If you're like me I always grab the gallon and check the date and plop it in the cart and don't worry about it until it's sitting empty in the recycling bin at home. I try to find brands that I know come from Michigan, they usually are stamped right on the front. Why not buy local if you can? But not every brand does that, and where you're milk traveled from might actually shock you. 

Do you see that number code right under the sell by date? I always thought that was just a packaging code and didn't know I could actually find out what it meant! That is until the other day someone explained to me the first two numbers are the state code and the last 2-5 numbers are the plant the product was processed in.

So how do you know? What the heck do those codes mean? Well, in Michigan look for the code to start with a 26. We're the 26th state alphabetically. If you see that, you know your milk came from Michigan! Neat right? You can actually find all of the state codes for dairy production on the FDA website. They even break down other codes on that page - it's really interesting and a bit technical. 

Now let's go a step farther - where is my milk processed? There is a great website I found called "Where is my milk from?" You type in the code and it will tell you the state and the processing facility used. 

With just those two sites you're armed with enough information to figure out where every dairy item you get is from! I, of course, went to the fridge and pulled out my milk goods to see just how "local" I had been buying... Milk, cream and whole milk for ice cream... how did they stack up? Keep in mind these are all Kroger brands, the whole milk is their Organic Simply Living brand. 

Milk code:  26-784 - Facility: Meijer Distribution, Holland, MI
Cream Code: 21-031 - Facility: Morningstar Foods, Murray, KY
Whole Milk Code: 20-283 - Facility: Jackson Milk Plant, Hutchenson, KS

Just this quick check shocks me and one makes me laugh just a little bit. I'm amazed at how far some of my dairy products have traveled to make it to my table. And while it doesn't actually surprise me, to see Meijer's name come up on a Kroger product just makes me giggle. But other than knowing if you're buying local or not, this is extremely informative if you want to know where things are coming from! 

Keep in mind that a lot of major brands cross process and package with store brands and "off" brands. You're getting the same product just at a lower cost. The best way to check this out: find the major brand in your area and check the code, then find the store brand. If they're the same the milk product inside came from the same plant and therefore the same dairies. You may reconsider buying the lower cost one right? Packaging codes are an amazing thing! 

So what about those fruits and veggies? 

We've all seen those stickers on our fruits and veggies we buy at the store. They're not just there to tell the cashier what to type in (although they do that as well). They also are full of information you can use while shopping! 

For example this watermelon I grabbed at the Farmer's Market yesterday. I know it's not locally grown, if it was I wouldn't eat it - our season has just begun. Not all tags have as much information on them as this one. This tag tells me what it is, it's code, where it was grown and where it's "processed" or labeled. 

If you ever wonder what those 4 digit codes mean you can always look up the PLU codes here. They're basic names for the fruit or vegetable you're purchasing. If you ever were as lucky as I was to be a cashier at a store you may still know half of the codes and can tell your cashier what is when they get stuck! 

But there is a bit more to them!

If you're code is a 4 digit code like the one in the image: 4032 it means it is a conventionally grown product. That means standard farming, standard chemicals etc FDA approved processes. 

Now if you have a 5 digit code and it starts with a 9 that means your fruit or vegetable is organically grown. 94032 would be an organic watermelon - they have those I'm sure somewhere. This means they use organic growing processes, less chemicals and stricter guidelines to grow that fruit or vegetable. 

Finally if your 5 digit code begins with an 8, your food has been grown with genetic modifications. The GMO are grown with genetically engineered. You wont see them too often but check your food before you buy. If you're worried about GMOs in your food you can check out the "non-GMO shopping guide" 

To purchase your food locally, organically or to consume GMO's is a personal choice. You make the decisions that you feel are best for your body and your family. Just be sure to make those decisions informed and know what and where you're food is coming from! 

Happy Shopping!