Freestylin' at Wegmans

Waaaaaay back in November I was lucky enough to be invited to an event to debut the Coca-cola Freestyle at the new Wegmans near my house. I replied immediately because:

1. It was right about the time when I needed a big pick-me-up after losing the campaign.

2. I had already tried out the freestyle and, while I thought it was pretty cool, I was also a bit confused about it.

3. W-E-G-M-A-N-S. In just a few short weeks, I was already a certified Wegmans devotee.

Hot shot Coke exec (and by hot shot, I really mean super nice!) giving us a personal tutorial

I don't think I've mentioned Wegmans on this blog yet. But, let me tell you, it is The. Best. Place. Ever.

Seriously.

The hype started on our town listserv about 2 years ago. Yeah. People were doing count downs. On opening day, people were sending e-mails via their smart phones with traffic, crowd and check-out wait status updates in between their screams of glee that WEGMANS had finally arrived.

Being me, I waited for the hype to settle a bit and went about a week and a half after it opened. Let me just say that I haven't been to another grocery store since. In fact, if the other bloggers at this event didn't know me already, I think they would have assumed I was a Wegmans plant by the way I gushed about everything.

But before we got to learn about Wegmans and have a tasty dinner, we got to check out the Coca-cola Freestyle. It's a sleek, familiar-yet-unique device:

And with it, you can dispense 106 different types of drink. 106. So, I'll admit that I'm a little boring with my (delicious) strawberry Sprite. But, for our next grocery run, Abel and Lucas spent a reported 10 minutes (and so I'm guessing it was more like 15 or 20 as Abel tends to underestimate time!) standing at the Freestyle trying all different mixes. They both LOVE it!

Our doesn't-need-caffiene-to-be-crazy Lucas got to feel like a big kid but actually just tried different versions of Dasani water, like grape, strawberry and peach. Abel mixed it up Cherry Coke, Lime Coke and Peach Sprite.

Needless to say, we're all fans!

So, if you haven't yet been to Wegmans: GO. And if you have been to Wegmans but haven't checked out the Freestyle: GO. Take your time with it, taste different combos and enjoy. We sure are!


Disclaimer: Wegmans and Coca-cola provided some yummy food, free sodas, swag and a giftcard for attending this event. But, I certainly didn't have to write about it and all opinions are my own.

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Cooking Challenges

The photo above is of the almost-completely-devoured peach and blueberry pie I made earlier this week from scratch--including the crust. It isn't the prettiest crust ever, but it certainly turned out to be quite delicious.


I'm not a natural cook. I can't open my fridge and cupboards, scan the contents and come up with a new and delicious meal on the spot. On the nights when I haven't planned for a specific recipe in advance, when I haven't shopped for the specific ingredients, we usually end up eating grilled cheese, frozen pizza or pasta.

I like to say that I can make just about anything if I have a recipe. Because if there's one thing I can do, it's follow directions. Only very recently have I gotten brave enough to stray from or modify recipes, even for things that I've made one hundred times.

And yet, even recipes truly stump me sometimes. There are so many cooking terms I just am not familiar with. Sometimes I wonder, what exactly is meant by "medium saucepan"? Is it what I'm using or some other pot that I don't have? What is a dutch oven? What is braising? When the potato recipe calls says to "boil, covered, in a small amount of water," does that mean that the pot is covered with a lid or that the water covers the potatoes? If the latter, then how exactly is that a small amount of water?

I think this is partially why cooking shows are so popular. They don't just tell you, they show you how to do it. Any teeny bit of "knife technique" I have can be fully attributed to Rachel Ray.

Back in the day (or maybe still for some families) women (yes, mostly women) learned these recipes and techniques at the hands of their mothers over many, many years in the kitchen. And, it is thanks to my mother's great skill at all things pie, and my years as sous chef to her when baking, that I had the courage to attempt the deliciousness pictured above. I mean, how else would I have known what to do when the recipe called for the shortening to be "cut in" to the flour and salt mixture?

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Advice

As a new mom you get lots of advice. LOTS. I can count on my mom for great advice. I've ignored a lot of advice. And, by the grace of God, Lucas started sleeping through the night at about 4 months so we were able to bypass that whole topic of advice from the entire world. (Trying to ensure good karma in the next go-round, I generally refrain from giving sleep advice to those who aren't so lucky. I find Starbucks giftcards and sympathetic looks to be much more appreciated!)

Anyway, I just read the best advice ever. It is from Swistle: People don't notice how cluttered your house is if it smells like cookies baking. And they don't say anything about how cluttered your house is if their mouths are stuffed full of cookie.

Now this is some advice I'll totally take to heart!