Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED – WE WILL POST THE NEW DATE SOON!
Dates: June 4-5, 2010
Where: 1847 Blake House Inn Bed & Breakfast,150 Royal Pines Drive, Asheville (Arden), NC, http://www.blakehouse.com/
Tickets are still available!
Davin McCoy & The Coming Attractions are honored to be able to play two days at this festival which is going to be great fun and proceeds from this event go to eliminate Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the #1 genetic cause of death in children under the age of 2. Fight SMA with food and while sampling Asheville’s best beers and listening to GREAT live music!
The event is hosted by Chef Angela McKeller who has been featured on The Food Network and is a great supporter of the band. This event supports Angela’s favorite charity: The Hope and Light Foundation.
If you are looking for a culinary event to spice up your summer then put June 4-5, 2010 on your calender. The “Kick Back and Kook: Feasting with Brew” event is taking over The 1847 Blake House Inn! Angela McKeller teams up with local micro-breweries in Asheville (rated BEST in the country for microbrews!) and offers an exploration of taste featuring seasonal, local ingredients and evening cooking classes as separate events (details below), including an Iron Chef Competition with prizes!
Don’t miss it! Best “Kooking”, Jamming, Brewing event of the summer! For weekend packages that include accommodations, please contact the Innkeeper, Leslie Kimball, at 888.353.5227 or 828.681.5227, http://www.blakehouse.com/. Want to add an extra night or two so you can explore Asheville, the Biltmore, the breweries? Come a day early, stay a day after and you’ll get a 10% discount off the nightly rate for the extra night(s).
To buy tickets (which will sell out fast!) go to http://www.kickbackkook.com/store.php.
Events:
Friday, June 4, 2010:
Beer and Truffles
2:30 – 4:30pm
$29 per person, or attend both Fri & Sat Afternoon classes for the just $47! Limited tickets available, buy tickets in advance to guarantee your spot!
Think beer and chocolate don’t go together? One of Asheville’s most popular microbreweries will come by and explain the ins and outs of brewing, the difference between one brew and another and give a presentation on how to pair beer with chocolate! Angela McKeller of “Kick Back and Kook!” will be offering her recipes for three types of Chocolate Truffles you can make at home, but taste them now, taste the chocolate and beer together yourself to see just how compatible these flavors really are! Think it’s never been done before? Think again! Also, live music by Davin McCoy and The Coming Attractions will make this an afternoon to remember!
Soufflés Made Simple
6:00pm – 9:00pm
$45 per person. Reserve your spot early, limited to just 25 students!
Angela McKeller will take you further down the culinary path, deep into the heart of Paris. Or at least you’ll feel like that is where you are! French for “puff up”, Angela will demonstrate just how easy these seemingly difficult, but impressive dishes are for dinner and dessert! On the menu: Shrimp Soufflé with Creamy Dill Sauce; Spinach and Ricotta Soufflé and Dark Chocolate Soufflé. Bring out your inner Julia Child, get ready for Summer and say “Bon appétit!”
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Simple Summer Desserts Sampling and Brew Tasting
1pm – 3pm
$29 per person, or attend both Fri & Sat Afternoon classes for the just $47! Limited tickets available, buy tickets in advance to guarantee your spot.
Angela McKeller will offer samples of the most delicious summer dessert recipes she’s developed and encountered during her culinary career. On the menu: Chef Mike Carrino’s Cherry and Apple Tart to Angela’s own Flambéd Brandied Peaches to Chef Jerry Solomon’s Zabayon, a simple but delicious Italian custard served with mixed berries, you’ll experience it all! And yes, these all go great with your favorite beer! While this is a sampling of desserts and beers, it is also an opportunity to get to know Chef Angela McKeller, ask her as many questions as you can think of about these delicious desserts and become acquainted with one of Asheville’s best microbreweries and their brews! Again, live music by Davin McCoy and The Coming Attractions will make this afternoon experience even more amazing.
Iron Chef Competition!
6:30pm -9:30 pm
$65 per person. Reserve your spot early, limited to just 25 students!
Who will win? The Salad Spinners or the Wire Wisks?! “Kooky” prizes to the winners!
Paired off into two groups, munching on some of Angela’s most popular dips while you “kook”, two teams will go head to head, competing to see who can create the best meal of the evening! Who judges? You do!
Everyone is given a score card to fill out without anyone else seeing. On a scale of 1-5, you try each others dishes and rate them, putting the score cards in a bowl for Angela to tally the scores while you finish dessert. The winning team gets a prize as “kooky” as Angela is!
On the menu:
Team 1:
* Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs in a Red Wine and Balsamic Reduction
* Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli in a Mushroom Cream Sauce
* Lemon Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis
Team 2:
* Baked Brie en Croute with Caramelized Walnuts
* Chicken Provençale
* Crepes with Strawberries and Rich Chocolate Sauce
With Asheville as the backdrop, who could ask for anything more? Beautiful scenery, delicious food, fun, kooky cooking classes, beer tastings, live music, the Biltmore Estate just around the corner and some of the best microbreweries around.
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Written by, Patricia Harris from Diabetic Menu Blog
While my son was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 17, Patricia’s blog offers very practical tips and menu options for anyone who is at risk for Type II Diabetes. – Leslie
Diabetes type 2 is easily the most common form of diabetes. An incredible number of Americans seem to have been told they have diabetes type 2 symptoms, and more are unconscious they’re at high risk. Some groups have a relatively higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than others. Type 2 diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, in addition to the aged population.
In diabetes type 2, either your body will not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary to the body to be able to use glucose for energy. After you eat food, the entire body breaks down the sugars and starches into glucose; that’s the basic fuel for any cells in your body. Insulin takes the sugar from your blood to the cells. When glucose builds up inside blood rather then going into cells, it can lead to diabetes complications.
Each person has the capability to improve and protect their present health. With proper nutrition and physical exercise and also making good lifestyle choices (like not smoking), you could feel better, stronger, and healthier, and can lower your risk of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart problems and cerebrovascular accident.
What exactly is Healthy Weight?
There’s a simple way to discover if your current weight puts you in danger of developing serious diseases. Visit www.diabetes.org/bmi and consider the Body Mass Index (BMI) test. The results will help you decide if you need to stress about your weight.
The Better You Eat, The Better You are
Below are a few basic guidelines that can help you and your family make healthier food decisions:
- Eat numerous fruit and veggies.
- Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products.
- Try brown rice instead of white. Substitute whole wheat grains bread for white.
- Eat fish 2 – 3 times per week.
- Select leaner cuts of meat like those that end in “loin.”
- Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
- Eat low fat dairy
- Drink water and calorie-free non-carbonated beverages.
- Use liquid oils for cooking as an alternative to solid fats.
- Cut back on junk food like chips, cookies, cakes, and regular ice cream.
- Find baked chips and reduced calorie snacks. Or have a bit of fruit instead.
- Watch your serving sizes. Even too much “healthy” food could potentially cause weight gain.
Tips:
- Compare labels of similar foods, then opt for the one with smaller amounts of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
- Adults should consume lower than 2400 mg. of sodium daily. In case you have hypertension, it is best to prefer even less.
- Try adding spices and herbs in your own cooking to take the place of salt for enhancing flavor.
A little bit of training goes a long way
Anything that gets you up and moving will work for you. Here’s what it can do:
- Reduce your risk of developing diabetes type 2 symptoms
- Reduce your risk of coronary disease and stroke
- Lower hypertension and cholesterol
- Reduce blood glucose (sugar) levels if you have diabetes, which can lessen your risk of developing diabetes-related complications
- Decrease anxiety
- Help you to lose fat
- Provide you with more energy
- Allow you to sleep better
- Build stronger bones and muscles
You do not need to go to a gym, play sports or use fancy equipment. Certainly, it’s best to discuss with a medical expert before starting any exercise regimen.
If you have Diabetes
Maintaining a healthy diet and staying active are much more important in case you have diabetes. Well-balanced meals can help keep your glucose (sugar) level as near to normal as it can be. Being active likewise helps you reduce blood glucose. In case you increase your level of physical activity, you might be able to take less insulin or diabetes pills. In case you are inactive, have heart disease or maybe a history of foot ulcers, consult your doctor about safe exercise for you.
Check your blood glucose before exercising. If it’s under 100 mg/dl, eat some fruit, crackers or drink glass of milk or juice.
Check it again after exercising to understand how your blood glucose reacts to workout. Bring a snack if you’ll be active for a couple of hours.
About the writer
Patricia Harris writes for the http://www.diabeticmenus.org, her personal hobby web site aimed at guidelines to eat healthy to prevent and manage diabetes.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
In just a few weeks, the 1847 Blake House Inn B&B will be proudly hosting the Kick Back & Kook Culinary Event: Feasting With Brew. The dates of the events are Friday, June 4 & Saturday, June 5. We almost changed the date due to another event going on in Asheville the same weekend: Beer City Brewfest. However, there are some major differences between the two events:
- The Beer City Brewfest is ONLY on Saturday, June 5th while our event is on Friday AND Saturday. So people can attend both!
- The Beer City Brewfest is a beer-focused event. Our event is primarily a culinary event with beer pairings. The focus of Feasting With Brew is not on the Brew; it’s on the FOOD with the BREW!
- The Beer City Brewfest is not pet-friendly, but we are!!!
- Ticket prices for the Brewfest are $35/each; our ticket prices are only $29 for each day, with cooking classes offered Friday & Saturday nights for $45 & $65 each respectively.
- Feasting With Brew is a FUNDRAISER! All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Hope & Light Foundation (information below). Eat, drink & mingle while supporting a great cause!
- Feasting With Brew will include raffles and silent auction items including a FREE night stay at the Inn, the cookbook: Passion on a Plate and apron from Chef Angela McKeller, items donated by local Asheville shops, plus other local arts & craft items. This event is about so much more than beer.
Of course I have a bias for the Feasting With Brew events, but I am in no way dissing the Beer City Brewfest. The timing of our events still allows people to attend both! Following are the full details of our Kick Back & Kook Culinary Event: Feasting With Brew:
Tickets can be purchased HERE as well as on the day of the event at the Inn. There is a DISCOUNT if you buy tickets for Friday & Saturday! If there are any Asheville businesses that would like to sell tickets, please contact Angela McKeller. Ticket sellers can make a little $ for each ticket you sell!
Book a room at the Inn for the weekend (at least 2 nights) and receive a 10% discount off the ticket price of ANY event you attend! Plus, the FIRST room reservation for that weekend will receive a FREE 1847 Blake House Inn B&B soup mug. The mugs just arrived this week!
Hope to see you there!
