Not Gonna Get Rich Bloggin'...

Yes, it's made out of a screw-top, gallon-sized wine jug. My parents are beaming with pride right now.

So you might notice some changes to the blog today. The good news for you, Dear Readers, is I got shot down from Google AdSense. Once I finally waded through about a dozen links, and their help forum, to figure out why, it looks like the powers that be don't want any alcohol in blog posts. Seriously? The Temperance Movement rears it's ugly head ... in 2013? Riddle me this, Batman:  exactly how is a gourmet cooking blog supposed to avoid alcohol, when Vanilla Extract is 70 proof? Oh, wait, "that doesn't count because.. um... well.. just we say so! We want to have our cake but not admit to eating it! Waaah!"

If I plan to write with any kind of integrity on cooking, I can't pretend I never use alcohol based ingredients. Poach a fish? Court Bouillon has wine. Zabaglione? Wine. Risotto? Wine, or even fortified wine on occasion. Bananas Foster Flambe? Dark rum and banana liqueur. Egg Nog at Christmas? You BET I'm killing off all that salmonella from raw eggs with copious amounts of ethanol. Sheesh. I'm not editing out wine and spirits from this blog. Period. I'm over 21 and I'm a grownup. I will say, I expect that if you are consuming alcoholic beverages, YOU are also a grown up, and doing it as a mature, responsible adult, of legal age, and in enough moderation not to risk the health or well being of yourself or anyone else. Exactly the same way that many of the recipes I make include the use of butter, heavy cream, bacon, and other various forms of delicious saturated fats, and if you don't employ some kind of moderation and nutritional sanity in consuming them, and also eat more green, healthy plant based foods more often than the delicious saturated fats, you will clog up your arteries and you will die. And when I talk about using basic kitchen tools and equipment and cooking food, you won't go sticking your hands down the garbage disposal while it's running, or putting your face over the burner to see if fire is hot, or test if your knife is sharp enough to chop through a chicken carcass by testing it out on your own fingers. There. That's my disclaimer.

And I've added it to the widgets on the sidebar, with a Pay Pal tip jar for those who might want to support my writing. The Tip Jar probably looks familiar to anyone who's been to my house in the last 4 years: we keep it as the Disney Bank to save up for our family vacations. As you can see, we have a lotta savin' to do before we'll be Hoop-Dee-Doo'in it again. Hint, hint.

I've also added a little Gift Shop over at Cafe Press. Nothing profound. Just some T-shirts, hats, a big-sized mug and an apron with the blog name and tagline.

However, I will (nervously) say... I'm working on a frozen food project right now. The idea being people could actually BUY my Hot Mama's Hot Dips, frozen, online. And at the Farmer's Market, and the Co-Op, and the Grocery Store, and Costco... lol, obviously, it won't be from Cafe Press, when that happens! I've been working on finding just the right packaging all week, and I've found an eco-friendly product I really, really like that I think would be a VERY nice presentation, and also keeping in line with my own business ethics and the mission of the company. Hot Mama Tarditi's Gourmet-To-Go-Go proudly supports "Buy Fresh, Buy Local"  and firmly believes in sustainability and responsibility to the future. I can cheerfully cut into my profit margin for packaging that is healthy for the planet. I might have to wait a few extra years to buy my first Tesla Roadster,  but I'll spend those years sleeping like a baby every night.