TEXAS COOKING ONLINE * September, 2003 NEWSLETTER *

Great jackets, jerseys, shirts, caps and watches for fans of the Texas Longhorns, Texas Aggies and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Visit today to find these and many other fun items. Perhaps September excites me because I associate it with the new school year, even though my school days are far behind me. But September brings so many changes that I can't help feeling a little thrill. There is little or no change in the weather -- not in Texas anyway. Most years, September heat feels pretty much like August heat. But to me, September is the jumping off place for the rest of the year. There's the new school year, the harvesting of crops, and the promise, if not the reality, of chilly mornings. There are high school homecomings to think about, the State Fair of Texas and Halloween, not to mention the warm and sparkling year-end holidays. So that puts us right on the edge of the rest of 2003. We have a lot of good things ahead of us. This newsletter reflects many of the new items and articles to be found this month at Texas Cooking Online. We're welcoming a new writer -- Trish Bales, Austin caterer and Food Writer for the Austin Review. Her article, Tex-Mex Never Tasted So Lean, is sure to grab the attention of those of us who wish to have our cake and eat it, too. Sidney Carlisle knows her way around the kitchen, and she proves it once again in Gourmet Pizza. Her ideas are great, her instructions sound, and these pizzas can easily form the basis of many a simple yet delicious lunch or dinner. This month John Raven heads all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley to gather inspiration for Grapefruit from The Valley, his tribute to Texas citrus. He reminds us that all those trees are soaking up the sun right now so they can give it back in the form of that delectable fruit when winter comes. He manages to include some of his favorite recipes along the way, too. Dorothy Sibole's classic article, Making Apple Desserts is enjoying an encore appearance, and our featured recipe, Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, will have you checking to see if you have enough peanut butter to get started. Add to that our book reviews and other sundry items, and we think there's enough to keep you busy for a while. One more thing: One of our sponsors is Michigan Bulb Co. If you're thinking of planting bulbs this fall, this would be a great time to visit their site. Their selection is excellent, and you'll find shopping their site very satisfying.

Brighten your table with the newest Fiestaware color - Tangerine We also have popular colors like sunflower yellow, sea mist and cobalt. Visit the new Texas Cooking Fiestaware Store today to find these, and many other pieces, most on sale. Special Features Gourmet Pizza by Sidney Carlisle Get ready to use your imagination to create homemade pizza. And if your own imagination is lacking, check out Sidney Carlisle's special creations like Grilled Chicken Pizza, Cowboy Pizza, Baked Potato Pizza and Meatloaf Pizza. Tex-Mex Never Tasted So Lean by Trish Bales Are you on a diet? Low Carb? Low Fat? Low Sugar? Well, if you're cookin' up your favorite Tex-Mex meal for dinner tonight, you may just be following that diet you're on without even knowing it. Grapefruit from The Valley by John Raven Ph.B. All through the hot Texas summer, the human inhabitants of the state seek a cool spot and complain about the heat. While the complaining is going on, down in the very bottom tip of Texas, millions of grapefruit and orange trees raise their branches to the sky soaking up the sun. In October, all the sunbeams they have gathered will be concentrated in their round and colorful fruit. Don’t miss John Raven's advice column, Ask Dr. John. This month's column includes, among other topics, marinades, cast iron skillet maintenance, barbecued chicken, crab balls and pickling jalapeños. Talk about variety! Texana Book Review: I'm Not Slowing Down Winning My Battle with Osteoporosis by Ann Richards & Richard U. Levine, M.D. Texas women always have great stories to tell. This new book by former Texas Governor Ann Richards shares her personal struggle with osteoporosis in an inspirational, eye-opening memoir that will help other women to triumph over the disease. Texana Book Review: Fort Worth: Then & Now by Carol Roark with Rodger Mallison This beautiful coffee-table book explores the changes that have taken place in Fort Worth by comparing a historic photograph with a contemporary image taken at the same place. We see how things change, and stay the same over time. Read more original book reviews in the Lone Star Bookstore Shop Krupp's Home & Garden Decor - 5% Discount Arbors | Waterfalls | Wheelbarrows | Garden Beds Bird Baths | Bridges | Mailboxes | Trellis Beautify your home and garden with over 2,200 decorations. Enter Rebate code: cj3579 and you will receive 5% off your next order. Classic Article: Making Apple Desserts It's the time of the year when the triple-digit temperatures start to dwindle here in Texas. September always makes me think of apples. When we think of apples as a dessert, we usually think of pies and tarts. But, the fruit is so versatile that I want to suggest some different ways to enjoy them. Read the entire article - Making Apple Desserts. Texas Cooking Reader Special Get 20% OFF at MexGrocer.com with a min. purchase of $25. Enter special coupon code: MEX7CJ Valid through 9/30/2003. New Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies These are great for school lunch boxes, but who are we kidding? The kids will be lucky to get the crumbs. ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon cocoa powder Pinch of salt ½ cup creamy peanut butter 4 tablespoons butter, softened ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar ½ cup brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ cup coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan or pyrex dish. Stir together the flour, cocoa and salt, and set aside. With an electric mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and brown sugar, and continue beating. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, then gradually add the flour mixture and continue beating until well incorporated. Stir the peanuts and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until firm. Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the surface of the hot brownies. Wait a few minutes, and then spread the softened chocolate evenly. Cool completely before cutting. Makes 16 2-inch brownies. Michigan Bulb has a huge assortment of great bulbs to choose from and now’s the time to place your order. Our prices are as competitive as ever and these quality flowers are sure to provide a dazzling show next spring. Order Now... Plant them this fall... Enjoy a Burst of Spring Color in 2004! Stop Spyware! Kazaa, Gator and other similar programs have been sneaking their way onto people's computers wreaking havoc to their systems. This malicious set of programs are difficult to remove. They flood the screen with their own pop-up ads, and they open the computer up to a host of viruses. If you have programs like Kazaa, TopText, Gator, WhenU and others on your system, take a moment to learn about the problems these programs cause. We have written a useful and quick tutorial that informs you about them, and how to uninstall them from your computer. Free Catalogs Get Great Savings From These Free Catalogs Clothing Bridal / Wedding Wine & Brew Sporting Goods Hobbies / Crafts Pets _________ Click here for MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Town & Country Food & Wine O (Oprah) Country Living House & Garden Ellé Decor The best prices! Buy as gifts! T-Shirt Contest We award T-shirts to ten readers every month. The winners are announced in the first newsletter of the month. August Contest Winners Linda B. of Pine Bluff, Arkansas Stephanie F. of Dayton, Ohio Marilyn H. of Madison, Wisconsin H.T.H. of Greensboro, North Carolina Rayelyn J. of Beaumont, Texas Mark L. of Boston, Massachusetts Terry R. of Lubbock, Texas Richard S. of Austin, Texas John S. of Chattanooga, Tennessee Penny W. of Scottsdale, Arizona Congratulations winners! We are frequently asked if we award T-Shirts to non-US residents, and the answer is Yes. We have had quite a few Canadian winners, and have also sent T-Shirts to winners in England, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany. The Rules Since we began our T-Shirt giveaway five years ago, our contest rules remained unchanged. Readers have been able to enter as many times as they like, and their entries were retained in our database. As you can imagine, our contest database has become very large (which is good), BUT much of it consists of old email addresses that are no longer valid. Therefore, we are making the following change in our contest rules: Readers can still enter as often as they like; however, each contest entry will expire three months following the date it was entered and will disappear from the database. This will greatly reduce the number of "names in the hat" and improve the odds of winning. We think this change will result in an even better contest. Subscription / Unsubscribe Help This newsletter is sent to you because you, or someone on your behalf, indicated you would like to receive it when you signed our Guest Book or entered our T-Shirt Contest. If you wish to stop receiving the Newsletter, click here or point your browser to http://www.texascooking.com/unsub1.ihtml If you would like to change your email address, please send an email to txmailbox@texascooking.com. ©2003 Texas Cooking Online. All rights reserved.