Wondering how to please everyone on your gift list?

Make it easy and delicious this year with gift pairings featuring fabulous Epicure products!
For the newlyweds: Epicure’s Top 12 Collection is the perfect start to their pantry

For the teachers: Instead of another candle or poinsettia, spoil them with Pinot Noir Wine Jelly or a beautiful Dipping Bowl Set with Tray

For the green thumb: Help the avid gardener get rid of the grit with Epicure’s all-natural Gardener’s Liquid Soap with our signature Mint, Bergamot & Orange scent

For the super mom: Help moms make mealtime a fun family event, not a chore – they can get the kids cooking their very own pizzas with our Mini Pizza Pans and Pizza Seasoning

For the vegetarian: Give salad-lovers the Sensational Salads Collection for great new ways to toss up their leafy favourites

For the grill guru: Serve up a sizzling set of VE Chef™ Steak Knives that he (and she!) will love. Add our Beef & Steak Rub to make the meat even tastier

For the sports fan: Let them enjoy more game day tube time with feisty Mexican Fiesta Collection dips and snacks that are ready in seconds

For the seafood lover: Help fish fanatics make the most of the catch of the day with Tyee Fish Rub and Seafood & Fish Seasoning

For the health nut: Help heath nuts eat smart for less and get couch potatoes off the couch with our A Healthier You lifestyle guide – all the tips and tools they need to stay (or get!) healthy

For the domestic diva: Help her create delicious holiday treats with the Baking Collection

For the hostess with the mostest: Help her take home-entertaining to the next level with sparkling Rim Trimmers™ and crowd-pleasing appies with our Extraordinary Cheese Dip Collection

For the movie buff: Give their movie night essential a delicious new twist: popcorn topped with Epicure’s Popcorn Seasonings

For the chocolate lover: Satisfy their sweet tooth with Dark Belgian Chocolate and Indulgence Hot Chocolate

For the socialite: Help her match the perfect hors d’oeuvre with the perfect party using our Brie Topper Collection

For the professional: Help them save money and precious morning time by making specialty coffees at home with our Luscious Latte Collection

For the college student: Help them clock those late hours with Epicure’s Insulated French Coffee Press and a pound of gourmet coffee

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is more than just turkey and the trimmings. It is a good time to reflect on our good fortune, health and relationships with family and friends. I think we all recognize that times can be tough in the current economic downturn so please remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. It is a great time to donate food to your local foodbank or a toy to Santa's Anonymous so that someone else may be uplifted this holiday season. By giving a toy to Santa's Anonymous, you are not just putting a bright smile on a child's face, but you are also relieving the stress of gift giving from a parent whom otherwise might not be able to provide a gift for their child. God bless all of you this holiday season!

Epicure's Top 12 Collection

This versatile collection of our most popular products ads a kick to any cooking. You could virtually cook chicken 50 different ways with a set like this. For only $89.95 you could ad these top 12 sellers to your pantry along with a fantastic cookbook highlighting all of these products. This collection comes nicely packaged in a botanical design box and would make a great wedding, shower or Christmas gift for the cooks on your list.

Bryce Pallister

I had the opportunity to see a new and rising musician in the Canadian Country Music scene. He is a 21 year old farm boy from Portage La Praire, MB by the name of Bryce Pallister. This guy had amazing vocals. You can check him out online at www.brycepallister.com

I like to support Canadian talent so I picked up Bryce's CD today and am going to give a good listen.

Meals in Minutes

Epicure, on a monthly basis puts out a "Meals in Minutes" Menu. The menu includes a recipe for every day of the week, a grocery shopping list and more. You can save time and money by planning ahead. Try try out November's Meals In Minutes copy and paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.epicureselections.com/Meals%20in%20Minutes09/Nov%2012/site/mim_nov1209_english.html

The Beauty of the Mature Figure

I receive this in my email today and just had to share it. Enjoy a good laugh!

Not so many years ago, the bathing suit for the mature figure was boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered. They were built to hold back and uplift and they did a good job.

Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip.

The mature woman has a choice-she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus who escaped from Disney's Fantasia or she can wander around every run of the mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of florescent rubber bands.

What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material. The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which give the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you are protected from shark attacks as any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately suffer whiplash. I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place, I gasped in horror - my boobs had disappeared!

Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib.

The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups. The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump. I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment.

The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fit those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom, and sides. I looked like a lump of play dough wearing undersized cling wrap.

As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, 'Oh, there you are,' she said, admiring the bathing suit.

I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me. I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two piece which gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring.

I struggled into a pair of leopard skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.

I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.

Finally, I found a suit that fit -- a two-piece affair with a shorts style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it. My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured.

When I got home, I found a label which read: 'Material might become transparent in water.'

So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too -- I'll be the one in cut off jeans and a T-shirt!

Remember: 'Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!'

Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty. They merely move it from their faces into their hearts.

Healthy and Tasty in a Snap

Learn to make healthy AND tasty meals in a snap with Epicure Selections extensive line of gourmet dip mixes and spice blends. Stop by on a regular basis for tasting tips and great ideas to enhance your culinary experience, share your favoritie recipes or use for a product and have fun!