food & drink Archives | Page 2 of 2

Mixology Research: Cocktail History and Tools

October 11, 2019October 12, 2019badgesforall

Mixology Badge, Step 1

We had a great time learning all about wine in our first Badge! It upped our wine knowledge immensely and tastings have been more fun as a result. We knew another alcohol-based badge was in our future. We are excited to learn all about cocktail history and how to master the art of mixology!

This badge is a natural fit with my love for hosting gatherings. A gathering with cocktails automatically elevates the event and makes it a bit more special! In this post, you will learn some basic cocktail and mixology history from our research. We will look into common mixology tools (is shaken really better than stirred?) and share fun facts about other cocktail accessories!

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Mixology Badge

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019badgesforall

We are very excited to announce our next badge… Mixology! Mixology is “the art or skill of preparing mixed drinks.” Join us over the next two weeks as we learn the history of cocktails, figure out what various bar tending tools are used for, take a cocktail making class at a local distillery, and host a cocktail party!

If you are interested in earning the Mixology Badge, follow along and complete the steps with us. The Mixology Badge taught us tips for making delicious cocktails and showed us the history of cocktails from Europe to the US and the Caribbean.

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Earn your Pasta Making Badge in a Weekend!

August 22, 2019August 22, 2019badgesforall

The Pasta Making Badge has you learn about pasta history and make fresh pasta from scratch. We’ve outlined a way for you to complete the badge in a weekend. Grab some friends and learn something new!

But first, here is a quick rundown of how earning a badge works. We use “Badge Guides” to lay out what it takes to earn the badge.

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Ravioli and Fettuccini Pasta Making Dinner Party

August 19, 2019September 3, 2019badgesforall

Pasta Making Badge, Step 3

Step 3 of any badge is to share what you’ve learned with others. To complete Step 3 of the Pasta Making Badge, we taught our family members to make pasta from scratch and shared a delicious meal! Research and learning from others was Step 1 and 2 of the Pasta Making Badge. You can read about the pasta history we learned and the pasta making class we took here.

Below, we’ll walk you through how we made ricotta stuffed ravioli and fettuccini noodles with the help of a noodle making machine and ravioli stamps. We also offer tips on making pasta with simple kitchen tools you probably already have on hand like a rolling pin and knives.

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Pasta Making Research: History and Tips

August 15, 2019August 14, 2019badgesforall

Pasta Making Badge, Step 1 and 2

Now that we learned all about wine in our first Badge it’s time to think about some food. What better food to tackle than pasta?

Who doesn’t love a warm nourishing plate of noodles? They are so versatile. They come in hundreds of shapes and can be topped with almost anything! Here you will learn some basic pasta history from our research and join us as we take a pasta making class!

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Pasta Making Badge

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019badgesforall

Everyone loves pasta! It is the ultimate comfort food. Fresh pasta is next level delicious but can feel like an undertaking to make from scratch if you’ve never attempted it before.

Join us as we learn to make pasta at home and earn the Pasta Making Badge. The Pasta Making Badge taught us (and can teach you) the history of pasta, why there are so many shapes – and some of their names – and how to make pasta at home with either a pasta making machine, inexpensive ravioli stamps, or just a knife to cut the dough.

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Earn your Wine Tasting Badge in a Weekend!

July 25, 2019July 26, 2019badgesforall

The Wine Tasting Badge has you dip your toe into the vast amount of wine knowledge out there. We’ve set out a way for you to complete the badge in a weekend. Grab some friends, and grab some wine… and get ready to learn something new!

But first, let me give you a quick rundown of how earning a badge works. We use “Badge Guides” to lay out what it takes to earn the badge.

Badge Guides are printable “recipes” or ideas for learning something new and sharing it with friends. Do something to satisfy each of the three steps to earn the badge:

Step 1. Research
Step 2. Learn from others
Step 3. Share your knowledge

The steps in the Badge Guide are designed to be flexible, so if you want to watch different YouTube videos or listen to different podcasts, feel free! Just make sure they are fairly equivalent in length and information shared. You can use our worksheets to take notes, plan how you’ll complete each step, and record your reflections on earning the badge.

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Wine Tasting Party with Paired Snacks

July 22, 2019July 26, 2019badgesforall

Wine Tasting Badge, Step 3

Step 3 of any badge is to share what you’ve learned with others. To complete Step 3 of the Wine Tasting Badge, we hosted a wine pairing party that consisted of 4 curated wines and appropriately paired snacks. When I hear “wine pairings” I usually think of a full 3-course dinner, but we wanted to keep the party lighter and a bit easier on us. Below you can see the pairings we chose. We were inspired by the research we did in Step 1 and by the many beautiful infographics about wine pairing on Pinterest. We found cute mini chalkboard signs to display our pairing information.

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Wine Tasting Research

July 18, 2019July 26, 2019badgesforall

Wine Tasting Badge, Step 1 and 2

wine facts, wine tasting, wine badge, badge

Ah, wine! Wine tasting seemed like an obvious badge to start with because we both really enjoy wine and were eager to learn some fun wine facts.

You can see the Wine Badge Guide, or “recipe” for the badge here. Each Badge Guide contains three steps to be completed in order to earn the badge. These steps can be done on your own, but we encourage you to grab a few friends and learn together!

Step 1 is always focused on research. Look up the topic online, watch videos to learn a skill, or visit your local library. You can read about the resources and fun wine facts we found below.

To complete Step 1 of the badge, I dove into the research.

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Wine Tasting Badge

July 15, 2019October 22, 2019badgesforall

Join us as we complete our first ever badge! The wine tasting badge is meant to expose you to the wide world of wine. Learning about wine can be overwhelming and wine tastings can feel intimidating or pretentious. Completing this badge will show you how to get your feet wet with wine knowledge without drowning in the sommelier-level expertise out there.

We sifted through the information to share what we found most interesting (we hope you find it interesting too!). Over the next two weeks we’ll share interesting wine facts, the resources we found most helpful, and tell you about our own experience completing this badge. Head over to our Instagram or Facebook to get wine facts in short snippets and be sure to follow our blog posts for more in depth reporting on our badge-getting experience.

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