Finding Myself in Calamity Kate's Kitchen and Blogalicious Giveaway

Calamity Kate's Kitchen turned 1 year old today (not really today, but on August 23rd) I decided to push back this anniversary until today. Many of you don't know this, but I used to have a blog, before CKK. It was called Not Just Vanilla (NJV) and it was a total failure.   After NJV I took a lot of time to figure out what when so very wrong. So  I quit the blog and took a break. I spent the time disappointed about ditching NJV and wondering why I ended up hating the blog I had once loved.  What I figured out is that I was trying to be who I though a food blogger should be, but I wasn't myself.  NJV took all of my energy and even made me hate/avoid the kitchen for a while, it is really hard trying to be someone you aren't.  But after 6 months of figuring what went wrong I decided to try doing it right. And so Calamity Kate's Kitchen was born. 


I have figured out who I am with this blog. Not just who I am in my blog, but who I am in my everyday world. So I am here to tell you that a 1 year later I am the happiest, healthiest and most sure version of myself. Thanks to Calamity Kate's Kitchen and you my very dear friends. Your comments,  tweet emails and notes on Facebook have inspired me and  each one feels like a big pat on the back.  Thank you all for your love and support. Thanks to my family and friends, the awe inspiring SITS Gals and the lovely ladies at For The Love of Blogs. And a special thank you to Chrissy, Courtney, Katrina, Roberta and Sheila the best blog friends a girl could wish for!
                                                        Cheers, Kate


Cuisinart® 3-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor

 Berry Blue, Lemon, Plum, Pomegranate or Parsley

 Compact and powerful unit chops with ease. Features a bright, easy-clean plastic exterior with simple touchpad controls for coarse chop or fine grind; stainless-steel chopping blades. Three-year limited warranty (5-year warranty on motor). Includes spatula and recipe booklet. Bowl and blades are dishwasher safe. Three-cup capacity.

This giveaway is from me and not Cuisinart or Sur La Table.

 The winner will choose the color.

You must leave a separate comment for EACH entry for it to count in each giveaway. Also you must enter into each the giveaways with your email address on EACH comment, otherwise the entry will be withdrawn! 

The Cuisinart® 3-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor giveaway will run from August 30th 2011 to September  7th 2011  at midnight, Eastern Indiana time. The winner will be announced by Friday September 9th and I will contact the winner by email, and the winner will have 48 hours to respond. If there is no reply, another winner will be drawn using Random.org and notified. If you are already a follower of Calamity Kate's Kitchen, Twitter, or Facebook, please leave comments so you can still be counted in for the giveaways!  

Good Luck!

To Enter:

Become a follower of Calamity Kate =  1 entry

Follow Calamity Kate on Twitter =  1 entry

Follow and like Calamity Kate on Facebook =  1entry

Add Calamity Kate to your favorites page on facebook=  1 entry
Write a post about this giveaway on your blog, then leave a comment with the URL where the post is located = 2 entry

Tweet about this giveaway including the URL (a tiny URL is also fine)
Link your blog or website to Calamity Kate = 1 entry
Become a Calamity Kate Sponsor for 1 month = 2 entries

All comments for this giveaway must be left on this post please!

Sweet and Spicy Cupcakes

Welcome friends… I am back and tan (in a slightly raccoon-y pattern)  and ready to bake, 

I have so much to tell you from my vacation and SITS Bloggy Boot Camp. But unfortunately that isn't going to happen today… I still have 721 pictures to sort through along with at least 100 business cards and 15 pages of notes from Bloggy Boot Camp.  But instead of all that I thought I would tempt you with a bit of Cinnamon and  Honey Cupcakes with divine buttercream. (Honestly the buttercream is so amazing and truly luscious that I would most likely skip the cake in favor of a spoon.) But check out what my friend Katrina has deliciously decided to do with buttercream. It is breathtaking and this would be a perfect buttercream to make with it. Check it out here. Oh you are in for such a treat!!! 

Sand Dollar Almond Cookies

Hello from Chicago and SITS Bloggy Boot Camp!


These cookies may look familiar to you. They are actually an updated Harvest Moon Cookie. Remember these? Well I have up dated the recipe a bit and temporarily chucked out the name Harvest Moon for the more beachy title of Sand Dollar Almond Cookies!

Bribe me with Brownies… Please

I spent the few days before my dad's surgery baking. I made cookies and these awesome brownies.  I knew we would all need to nosh (snack) while in the waiting room and the remainder of the treats would make a great gift/bribe for the nurses. As you guys have read, I have spent a lot of time in hospitals and to get an extra pudding its no problem but if you want extra hot blankets or a VCR (remember my references are from 1995) or a different meal a little gift to the nurses goes a long way. In this case all we needed the nurse to do was show us how to change the temperature in the room. But everyone loved these brownies.

Going Going Gone….!

Hi Friends, 


As you read this I am on the airplane winging my way to the east coast and my vacation and will return on the 19th for SITS Chicago Bloggy Boot Camp. I wanted to share some of my favorite summer and vacation recipes with you while I am living it up on the beach in Nantucket.  There are always a few special summertime foods that so I look forward to enjoying every summer, my Mom's Blueberry Crisp is fantastic. 

Awesome August

Good Morning! Today is August 1st and that means I am going to have a very busy month.  In 13 days I (yay) leave for a very needed vacation to Nantucket. I will be joining my parents, brother and cousins for a week in  this lovely cottage. Then I fly  into Chicago to attend the SITS Bloggy Bootcamp on the 20th.  Then on the 26th someone has a blogaversary

 to celebrate…can you guess who that is? Yay its Calamity Kate's Kitchen's 1st blogaversary.

I love the trips to Nantucket. My cousins and their 2 adorable kids rented the house behind us. The kids would wait till our shades were raised in the morning and come in. I got in the habit of making breakfast. I would make pancakes with cut up marshmallows for E and the rest of us would eat my blueberry sauce on our pancakes.  I am getting excited about Nantucket so I decided to make a batch of pancakes and blueberry sauce. Enjoy… this blueberry sauce is so delicious,  fresh and just amazing if I do say so myself.   Cheers!  

Pancakes with blueberry sauce