Grilled Asparagus Salad

I had a wonderful pre-valentines day weekend. We went to the movies, out for dinner to a fabulous vegetarian restaurant Carmelita. I got my valentines present early - now my food pictures will be amazing.

Today I plan to make Brent a Valentines dinner. I am not sure what I am going to make, but it will definitely have to contain some sort of cheese. Unfortunately, I am lacking motivation and feeling a little bit down today. The job search is just not going as well as planned. I thought that the challenging part of moving to the US was going to be writing the exam - nope.

On a happier note - lets talk food. Last night I raided the fridge and threw a bunch of things together. Voila, grilled asparagus salad.

Ingredients
1 head red leaf lettuce
8 asparagus spears
1 tsp butter
1/2 pink lady apple
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese
3 tbsp salted peanuts
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

1. Grill the asparagus in a pan with the butter. Combine the lettuce, asparagus, apple, onion, cheese, and peanuts in a salad bowl. Shake the lime juice, lemon juice, olive oil, and oil in a container. Drizzle over salad just before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tofu Wonton Soup

I went to a dinner party on Thursday night, the theme being year of the rabbit.

I brought wonton soup, as it is a traditional chinese new year food. I made my wonton soup with tofu instead of pork. I have to warn you though, it is a very time consuming meal, so if you are attempting to make it, set aside at least 2 hours.

TOFU WONTON SOUP RECIPE

Wonton Ingredients

1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter

1/2 jicama, diced

3 carrots, diced

16 shiitake mushrooms, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp ginger, minced

14 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

4 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp corn starch
2 packages of wonton wrappers

Broth Ingredients 
10 cups of vegetable broth

1 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

1. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch slices. Bring a pot of water to boil, and submerge the tofu for 3 minutes. Take the tofu out of the pot and put directly into a bowl of cold water with ice cubes for 5 minutes. Take the tofu out of the water and crumble it, with your hands, into a cottage cheese consistency. Set to the side.

2. In a frying pan saute the onions in half the butter. Once done, set to the side. Put the remaining butter in the pan and fry the jicama, until brown on each side. Cut into tiny pieces and set to the side. Cut the carrots and mushrooms into tiny pieces and fry for 10 minutes. Then, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes. Next, add the jicama, onions, tofu, rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp corn starch. Saute for 5 minutes and then let cool

3. Bring the broth, 1 tbsp sesame oil, and 3 tbsp soy sauce to a boil. You want to use a very light broth - you don't want the broth too flavorful taking away from the wontons.

4. Take a tsp of the filling and place it in the wonton wrapper. Please see video below on 'How to wrap your wontons'. Use water or egg whites to seal the wonton wrapper. Place 5 wontons at a time into the boiling broth. Cook for 5 minutes. Scoop the wontons from the broth an place in a separate bowl. Once ready to serve, place the desired numbers of wontons in a bowl and ladle soup over it. If wontons are kept in the broth for too long, they will fall apart.

Couscous-Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 cup dry couscous

1 cup vegetable stock

5 mushrooms

1 tomato

2 tbsp Worchestershier sauce

kosher salt

pepper

2 peppers

4 tbsp olive oil

sour cream or plain greek yogurt

1/2 cups grated cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Put 1 cup of broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the couscous, stir, and cover for 10 minutes.

2. Cut the peppers lengthwise or you can cut the tops off. Remove the guts. 

3. In a frying pan fry the mushrooms with 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Once they are soft add the tomatoes. Once done add the mushrooms and tomatoes, Worchestershier, salt, pepper, and 3/4 cup grated cheese to the couscous. Stir the mixture and then stuff into the peppers and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes - if the couscous starts to brown to early, cover with tin foil. When the peppers are done serve topped with grated cheese and sour cream. 

Low Fat Cranberry and Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Today I stumbled upon an amazing ingredient "apple butter", which is just a highly concentrated form of applesauce. It is called butter, because it is a spread. If your grocery store sells carries it, you can likely find it near the peanut butter. Apple butter can replace up to 3/4 of regular butter in most baking recipes (muffins, cookies, cakes). Example: if your recipe calls for 1/2 butter, you can use 1/2 apple butter instead. If your recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, you may replace 3/4 cup of butter for apple butter, but you will still need to add the remaining 1/4 cup of butter. If the apple butter is sweetened, you may want to use less sugar.

Ingredients 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 

1/4 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup apple butter 

2 tbsp butter, softened 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 large egg 

1 cup oats 

1/4 cup slivered almonds 

1/2 cup cran raisins 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl cover the cran raisins with boiling water and let sit until plump.

2. In separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter, apple butter, and sugar until smooth. Next, beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture a little at a time. When all combine, stir in the oats, cran raisins, and almonds.

4. Using a spoon, drop the batter into small balls on the baking sheet. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Recipe makes 16 cookies, 130 calories and 1g saturated fat per cookie. If I had of used butter instead of apple butter than the saturated fat content would have been 5g per cookie.

Shrimp Poppers

Ingredients
1 bag of small shelled cooked shrimp (~100)
2 - 4 cups cooking oil (grapeseed or peanut)
2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs beaten

1. Fill frying pan with oil (2 - 3 inches deep) and turn burner to medium to high heat. You will need 3 bowls -  fill one with flour, one with the beaten eggs, and one with bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and cayenne.

2. Dip 5 - 6 shrimp at a time in the flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Deep fat fry the shrimp until golden brown. Set on a paper towel before serving to drain off excess grease.

Baked Brie with Raspberries served with Whole Wheat Baguette

Ingredients
1 (8 oz) can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1 round (8 oz) brie cheese
1/2 cup raspberries
2 tbsp raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Unfold the crescent dough until you get a large rectangle. Lay the brie in the middle and top with jam and raspberries. Fold the dough around the cheese any way you like - get creative. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until brown on top. Served with sliced whole wheat baguette.

Potato Crisps drizzled with Olive Oil and Sea Salt served with Avocado Dip

Recipe adapted from the Cheeky Kitchen 

Ingredients

4 large potatoes

olive oil

sea salt

Dip

2 large avocados

1/2 cup plain yogurt

salt to taste

1. Wash the potatoes and cut them into slice. This works best when you are using a mandoline slicer Mandoline Slicer.

2. Grease a baking sheet. Lay the potatoes on the sheet and cover with olive oil and sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 F turning every 5 minutes. Cook until crisp.

3. To prepare the the avocado dip, mix ingredients in a bowl. Voila.

Pomelo and Cashew Salad with a Lemon/Lime Dressing

Pomelo and Cashew Salad with a Lemon/Lime Dressing {adapted from Cheeky Kitchen}

Ingredients

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce

1/2 red onion, sliced 

1 english cucumber

1/2 pomelo

3/4 cup cashews

dash sea salt

dash fresh ground pepper

Dressing Ingredients

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

1. Clean the lettuce in a salad spinner. Rip into bite size pieces. Slice the onion. Chop the pomelo and cucumber. Mix all the veggies and cashews in a large bowl.

2. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake. Add dressing and salt and pepper just prior to being served.

Dinner Party

On Friday night, I hosted a dinner party for 12. I find it quite stressful cooking for a large group of people. I'm usually not worried about the presentation or taste of the food, it's more that I'm terrified of timing - planning for everything to be ready at the same time. It didn't help the situation that I tried to make a bunch of small appetizers, that required the oven (at varying temperatures) at the same time. Everyone showed up at 7:30 and I was dripping with sweat. I kept asking people if it was hot in our house, but nope, it was just me, sweating due to shear panic. I should have got drunk, then I probably would have been more relaxed, but the food may not have tasted that good!

I managed to accomplish 6 recipes on Friday night. I'm almost caught up! I started my 365 day recipe challenge on Jan 7, so I was a little behind in the kitchen.

Dinner Party Menu

Pomelo and Cashew Salad with a Lemon/Lime Dressing

Cheesy Pizza Puffs

Potato Crisps Drizzled with Olive Oil and Sea Salt served with Avocado Dip

Baked Brie with Raspberries served with Whole Wheat Bread

Shrimp Poppers

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

- Recipes to follow -

Quick and Easy Banana Bread

I wanted to try another banana bread recipe, but this time without sour cream. They both turned out very different. The one with sour cream was more dense and flavorful. If I had to pick one, I think that I liked the sour cream banana bread the best. Banana bread is one of my favorite foods. It smells so good when baking in the oven. I should try to patent a banana bread scented candle!

I had a bunch of bananas laying around the house that had intentionally gone bad. Besides the banana bread that I made yesterday, I am planning to make a banana cream cheese cake for the dinner party I am hosting tonight. Oh, and if anyone knows why my banana bread falls when I take it out of the oven, I would love to know the answer? The loaf in the picture below came out of the oven really tall and rounded, then when I took it out, it sank around 1 - 1 1/2 inches :( The same thing happened with the other banana bread recipe.

QUICK AND EASY BANANA BREAD RECIPE 

makes 1 loaf

recipe adapted from Copykat Recipes

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cup flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 medium ripe bananas

2 tbsp milk

1/3 cup softened butter

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With a hand mixer, beat in mashed bananas, milk, and butter on low speed, until ingredients have combined. Turn the speed to high and continue beating for 2 more minutes.

Add the eggs and remaining flour and mix until blended.

Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan, and bake for 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire wrack.

Coconut Cashew Red Quinoa

I am still on a quinoa kick. This time I made a recipe using red quinoa. There is no taste difference between the white and red, the red just looks prettier. 

COCONUT CASHEW RED QUINOA RECIPE

adapted from Dish by Trish

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 shallots, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups red quinoa, uncooked
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
1 cup fresh pineapple, chunks
1/2 cup salted cashews

Put coconut milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once milk has boiled add shallots and red onion. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Add water and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, brown sugar, salt, and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the lime juice, pineapple, and cashews. This recipe can be served hot or cold. Personally, I prefer it cold.

North African Coriander Bread

Don't you love those lazy Sunday afternoons. Lazy Sunday afternoons are a perfect time to make homemade bread. You can spend the whole day lying about, while the yeast does its magic! My lazy Sunday afternoon was spend making North African coriander bread. This recipe has been passed down from my friends mother, and I excited to share it with you.

NORTH AFRICAN CORIANDER BREAD RECIPE

(print)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter, unsalted

1/2 cup honey

2 tbsp dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 tsp honey

6 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

2 eggs

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp coriander

1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp grated cloves

1 tbsp grated orange peel

In a saucepan, on low heat, warm the milk, butter, and honey until the butter has melted. Remove from heat and let cool. It is important to let the mixture cool before adding to the yeast, because a high temperature will kill the yeast.

In a separate bow, proof the yeast by mixing 1/2 cup warm water and 1/2 tsp of honey. Let the mixture sit until it starts bubbling and foaming.

In a large bowl, or in a stand mixer bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk and butter mixture, 3 1/2 cups of flour, eggs, salt, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and orange peel. Beat for 2 minutes with either the dough hook for a stand mixer or with a wooden spoon. Gradually add 3 more cups of flour.

Once the ingredients are combined, take the dough and knead it on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, approximately 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in size, approximately one hour.

After one hour, punch the dough down and divide into 3 balls. Place the dough onto a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 10 minutes. Place each dough piece into 3 separate well oiled loaf pans. Brush the tops with melted butter and let rise again for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until top has browned.

Sweet and Sour Tempeh

When I was traveling in Thailand, I survived on sweet and sour tofu. I was sad when I left, because I didn't think that I would see my sweet and sour tofu again. But fortunate for me, I arrived in Indonesia and was so excited because they served sweet and sour tempeh, which is so much better.

It is worth mentioning that I will be travelling to South America in May for 3 weeks. I have not yet decided what to do about my recipe challenge. I can either start banking my meals now or blog about new foods that I try in South America. Though, I am not sure how this will work out, because we (husband and I) are planning to visit Argentina, and I'm pretty sure their diet is 70% beef and 30% dulce de leche. What do you think (about the challenge)?

[edit: we are now going to Peru and I hear the food is vegetarian friendly and amazing]

SWEET AND SOUR TEMPEH RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown rice, dry
8 oz tempeh
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 sweet onion, sliced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 cup tomatoes, quartered
1 cup pineapple, diced
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water

Place 1 cup of dry brown rice and 2 cups of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. I like to add a bit of butter and salt to my rice, which is optional. Once rice has boiled, reduce the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until tender.

While the rice is cooking, cut the tempeh into bit size cubes. Pan fry in canola oil on low heat for 20 minutes, or until browned. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Next add the green pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Finally add the tomatoes and pineapple.

Next, add the remaining ingredients to the stir fry mixture and cook for 5 minutes.  Serve with rice.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

I needed an ego boost this week, therefore, I made banana bread. It is so easy to make and almost impossible to mess up.

SOUR CREAM BANANA BREAD RECIPE
makes one 9 inch loaf

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup flax meal
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 ºF. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter with a hand mixer (2 minutes). Next, add the eggs, then the banana, and mix well.

Mix wet ingredients into the dry.  Do not over mix. Add in sour cream and vanilla. Stir lightly. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Eggplant Parmesan

I went to the grocery store and bought an eggplant, because they are so pretty.  I love the deep rich purple color, which is also a sign that the eggplant is a good source of anthocyanin (an antioxidant). A good eggplant with be firm, heavy, and free of bruises or blemishes. I brought the eggplant home and sat it on my counter.  Eggplants are kind of scary -  I never know what to do with them.  I always buy them with good intentions, but they almost always sit on my counter for days until they eventually go bad.  But, because I am committed to trying new recipes and blogging about them, I put on my thinking cap and came up with a recipe.  A recipe that I have always wanted to try, but never got around to it - Eggplant Parmesan.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
2 large eggplants
2 cups tomato sauce (or more if you desire)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz (450 g) fresh mozzarella cheese

TOMATO SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1 large can of stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato puree
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white sugar

A half an hour before preparing the meal, cut the eggplant into 1 inch slices.  Cover each slice with a generous amount of salt, and place in a strainer over the sink.  This will allow the bitterness and excess water to drain out of the eggplant. It is surprising how much water will drain.  Let the eggplant sit for a 1/2 hour and then rinse and pat dry.

I decided to make my own sauce, as you are probably aware from previous posts, I hate pre-made pasta sauce in the can.  I put all of the tomato sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor and blended.

Next, take the eggplant slices and dip into flour.  Fry the slices in canola oil over medium heat, 3 or so at a time, until golden brown on each side.

In a casserole dish, spread a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom, followed by a layer of eggplant, fresh mozzarella slices, and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  Continue in the same manner until all the eggplant has been used.  The top layer should consist of Parmesan and mozzarella.  I also sprinkled some corn meal on the top for crunchiness (optional).

Bake in the oven at 350 ºF for 20 min and then turn the oven to broil and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  

Butter Tarts

During the Christmas holidays, I was fortunate enough to come across the most amazing butter tart in existence, from the Sweet Oven, in Barrie Ontario. It had everything I look for in a butter tart - sticky on top, gooey in the middle, super sweet, and the perfect crust to filling ratio. I am super picky about my butter tarts, as are most Canadians, and this one really lived up to my expectations. After I tried this butter tart, I was convinced that this was going to be the new cupcake.  Eager to jump on the entrepreneurial band wagon, I started experimenting with different recipes. So far, I have made two batches this weekend, and unfortunately, I wasn't quite fond of either. I think it's because my expectations are now to high from my Sweet Oven experience.  I have decided to give up my butter tart career, and stick to blogging. It is much more forgiving on the hips.

BUTTER TART RECIPE
inspired by Erica's Edibles

PIE CRUST INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1 stick) of salted butter, cold
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg + 1 egg yolk

FILLING INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt

Cut butter into small cubes and chill in the freezer until ready to use. You want the butter to be super cold so you can see the pieces in your pastry when mixed.  When baking, the butter will melt creating tiny pockets in the dough, while the steam will lift the pockets to create flakes.

Mix the sugar and flour in a large bowl.  Mix the frozen chunks of butter into the flour and sugar mixture, making sure you don't over mix.  This can be done with a hand-held pastry blender or pulsed in a food processor.  When the butter cubes are the size of tiny peas, stop mixing.

Gently whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and then add to mixture.  Gently fold the ingredients until the dough comes together, and then knead into a ball.  You do not want to over knead, or you will flatten the butter which will lead to a less flaky pastry. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Remove the dough from the freezer and roll out flat. With a round cookie cutter or the bottom of a glass, cut out small circle shapes. Place the dough rounds into tiny pie tins or a muffin pan. With your fingers, form the dough to the wells. Place the tray into the fridge to stay cool.

Mix butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup with a hand mixed until butter is whipped.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs.  Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt to the mixture and beat until blended.

Fill the pastry shells 3/4 full.  Bake in oven at 400 ºF for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven a let cool for 20 minutes before removing from pan.  I prefer to eat my butter tarts cold.

Tossing Pizza Dough

I've come up with a few tips on how to toss pizza dough.

1. Generously, sprinkle your counter with flour.

2. Roll the dough into a 10 inch circle.

3. Drape the dough over your right fist and left hand.

4. With a spinning motion, spin the dough into the air and let fall onto your right fist. Use your left hand to guide the dough.

5. Continue tossing, spinning, and stretching the dough evenly until you have a desired size.

6. If you would like a video demonstration of this process please follow this link. Tony Gemignani is the eight-time world pizza-tossing champion. He has mad pizza tossing skills.

Chocolate, Chocolate, and Chocolate, Oh My!

The chocolate festival was amazing. I started the day with a feeling of anticipation and left with an enormous theobromine buzz. The festival ran from 10 - 6 pm, but I decided to show up at 2:00 pm, because I knew it would be dangerous to spend 8 hours around free chocolate, that was the dietitian in me talking.  I recruited a couple of close friends to share in the experience and they were truly thankful. When I arrived at the festival, I was directed to a room with 4 or 5 chocolate booths. I started my first tasting at Hot Cakes Confectionery based in Seattle. Their salted caramel sauce, molten chocolate cake in a mason jar, and dark peanut butter truffles were to die for. I then moseyed over to Forte Artisan Chocolate , also based in Washington, for their amazing salted caramels. They had a few other tasty treats including the orange jazz bar and white bar. I also sampled their Aztec Soul bar, but the jalapeno and chipotle peppers were a little to spicy for me.

As I scurried around the room trying to take in as much information and free tastings as I can, one of my friends, ever to so kindly, reminded me that there is not one but two rooms full of chocolate. I think to myself, how can I possibly eat more chocolate. You must understand, this is not because I am full, but because I am running on a huge theobromine high, please refer to my blog post on Theo Chocolate for a description of theobromine. Ninety-five percent of the chocolate I sampled was between 75 - 90 % chocolate. I enter the second room with hesitation but knew I had to conquer. I start my first tasting with a pomegranate Lime Bar from The Chocolate Conspiracy that sent me through the roof and unfortunately had to stop sampling chocolate at that point and take a rest.

Once I regained consciousness I marched on like the chocoholic that I am. I moved on to Taza Chocolate. Taza Chocolate is unique in that they are the only producer in the US of 100% stone ground, organic chocolate. They roast, winnow, grind, temper, and mold their chocolate in house by hand. Pretty darn amazing.

Next is Fresco Chocolate, who by far had the most tastiest chocolates (loved the Ghana and Jamaican) and the most enthusiastic chocolatier around. Absolutely a joy to talk to!

Next I learned how to make chocolate with Cotton Tree Lodge.

Finally, I ended the day with Claudio Corallo chocolates. Claudio spends his time in Sao Tome and Principe, 2 tiny African Islands were he makes his chocolate and ships it to Washington to be enjoyed by people like me.

I would like to thank the Northwest Chocolate Festival for providing me with the most amazing chocolate experience imaginable.

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No Warranty or Condition; Links. The Author makes NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. If you choose to access the Blog, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. To the extent links and external content are based on or displayed in connection with the Blog, THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE DISPLAY OF SUCH LINKS AND SEARCH RESULTS, whether this external content is breaking the law in this or other jurisdictions. YOU AGREE TO USE THE BLOG AT YOUR OWN RISK, and that You will not consider the Blog’s content to be a suitable substitute for professional advice.

Limitations of Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES. Each party acknowledges that the other party has entered into this Agreement relying on the limitations of liability stated herein and that those limitations are an essential part of the Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing, the Author shall not have any liability for any failure or delay resulting from any condition beyond the reasonable control of the Author.  The Author is not liable for the content of any comments the Commenter might leave on this Blog (see Comment policy).

Obligation to Indemnify. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold the Author (collectively “Indemnified Person(s)“) harmless from and against any and all third party claims, liability, loss, and expense (including damage awards, settlement amounts, and reasonable legal fees, brought against any Indemnified Person(s), arising out of, related to or which may arise from Your use of the Blog and/or Your breach of any term of this Agreement. 

Applicable Laws; Venue. The Author operates the Blog from Washington USA and makes no representations that materials in the Blog are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Access to the Blog from any location where the content is illegal is prohibited. Any claim related to the use of the Blog or to the Blog materials shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington. Any action related to the access, use, content, or existence of this Blog shall be filed only in the appropriate court located within Washington. The use of this Blog constitutes 

Legal notices and Contact information. If You are intending to carry out legal action of any kind against the Blog or the Author, you are required to contact Heather Hands SEVEN BUSINESS DAYS before any legal claim is made. Please remember that the Author means to DO NO HARM to You or anyone else by writing this Blog. If You feel that your rights have been infringed, please contact Heather Hands and allow seven business days for the reply to be received. The Author will do whatever possible to address Your concerns

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