Month: May 2014

C.A.K.E. by Chewsy Lovers – Culinary Arts for Kids Empowers!

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cakeprogrambycl Last year we helped our daughter “Koko” participate in the Great American Bake Sale. She was watching TV and a commercial came on about the sale and how the proceeds feed hungry children and she immediately asked if she could have her own bake sale to participate. She did really great and raised $80! We have not yet organized another one but she has expressed this is something she wants to do every year. BakeSaleTable Cooking with our children has allowed us to teach them so many things beyond the food itself. Helping Koko with her bake sale was a lesson in philanthropy, time management, creativity, social skills, and math fundamentals! We love to teach the kids and allow them to explore life through food. When we lived in Florida their friends loved to come over and cook with us too. bakesale-ingredients We talk about it all the time,especially here on the blog, but a few weeks ago the question came up amongst ourselves that stopped us dead in our tracks. “What are we DOING about it?” So now it’s time to DO! Our hearts desire to take these same principles, knowledge, and activities that we use on our own children and bring them to children who live in areas where such programs either do not exist or are too costly. We believe that we can empower kids through culinary arts to excel in school and excel in life. chewsykidsgotowork This past weekend at the barbecue stand we brought back Koko’s Konfections, but this time for a new cause… our C.A.K.E. (Culinary Arts for Kids Empowers) program. All proceeds from the Brown Sugar Pound Cake and Banana Pudding we sold went directly to our fund to begin this program.We have so many plans for this initiative from after school programs, summer enrichment programs, to job training, sustainable gardens, and so much more! We are just filled with excitement about this project and we can’t wait to see it blossom into something awesome! Please email us at for more information about our program or if you would like to help. You can also make a donation here.

Thank you for your support! Your donation today will directly help us launch our C.A.K.E. program empowering kids in underprivileged populations through culinary arts education.

M.W.A.H.,

Chewsy Lovers

Buckaroo’s Funky Barbecue Playlist

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Buckaroo-barbecue-playlist One of the best ways to enjoy summer barbecue is with family and friends. There is nothing better than “shootin’ the breeze” with the people you love, trash talkin’ around card tables, eating good food and listening to good music. Buckaroo is our live in D.J. We don’t get to pick what’s played, we just listen and enjoy. Ninety percent of the time we don’t care though because he always plays the jams.
He is old school to the heart so I will warn you now if you are younger than forty you may not be able to appreciate his vibe. He has an old soul. Tonight we were on the porch watching our dinner —->these guys, and it was just the perfect evening. The perfect company, the perfect meal, the perfect music. So we thought it would be cool to share with you some of the music we listened to today while we were grillin’ and chillin’. Now you can and get your jam on for your next backyard barbecue! There’s some Frankie Beverly on here, The Gap Band, and Kool and the Gang, and we’re Chewsy Lovers so you know we had to give you a little Isley Brothers! Buckaroo made this playlist for you, but it really speaks to our personality as a couple. We really hope you enjoy this funk!Make sure you have a account so you can access the playlist. It’s free to sign up. Just click .

M.W.A.H.,
Chewsy Lovers

What are some of your favorite songs to listen to at a cookout? Drop them in the comments!

How to Use a Charcoal Chimney for Grilling

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Charcoal Chimney Have you ever used a chimney to light your grill? This is something Buckaroo put me on to. I had grown up always seeing the grill started with charcoals doused in lighter fluid. After learning how to use one and what it was for, I will never go back. Our favorite is the The Weber brand is really just the gold standard in barbecuing and we will cosign on just about anything they make. Check out their book for some great grilling tips and ideas. I mentioned it and some other awesome grilling books in this post. weberchimney The purpose of this chimney is to eliminate the need for lighter fluid. Lighter fluid makes the charcoals or wood bitter, and it will come out in the smoke and food. You may not be able to tell in your food if you currently use lighter fluid, but if you switch to using the chimney you will be able to taste a difference. Using the chimney also saves you money by not having to purchase lighter fluid and it ensures you use the right amount of coals each time. Cool right!?

So here’s how to use it:

1. Stuff 2 or 3 sheets of newspaper into the bottom of the chimney. paper-in-chimney 2. Fill the chimney with your charcoal of choice. (We use .) Royal oak coals-on-top-chimney 3. With a match or stick lighter, light the newspaper. If you use a stick lighter you can also reach the holes along the side of the chimney to help your fire catch.
4. Set your chimney on a non-flammable surface like concrete or on the grates of your grill for 20-30 minutes. smokeout-chimney 5. The fire on the newspaper will catch onto the coals and they will be bright red. readyfire-chimney 6. Remove the grate from your grill and pour the coals in. hotcoals-chimney 7. Place the grill grate back and get cooking! full-grill-barbecue

**We have a smoke box on the side of our grill shown in this post. You can use the same method with any standard charcoal grill.**

If you try the chimney this summer come back and drop us a comment and let us know how you liked it.

The affiliate links in this post will add to our food truck fund. Thanks for your support!

M.W.A.H.,
Mandi

Are you a grilling fanatic too?

Chewsy Lovers Know: Oven Roasted Corn

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Chewsy Know Roasted Corn We always get inboxes and emails with all kinds of cooking questions. Our normal practice is to send responses to them via email but that’s usually as far as it goes. We’ve now decided to answer your questions right here on the blog, because sometimes other people have the those same questions but are too afraid to ask! Don’t get scared. We won’t tell anyone it’s you. ;-) Your secret is safe with us. Continue Reading →