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Hot News from Soup Central at E.D. Foods
           November 26th, 2004
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             TABLE OF CONTENTS:
                         For
            All you wanted to know 
             (And some you didn't)
           About Thrifty Holiday Ideas

A. Monthly Specials
B. Holiday Happenings on a Budget 
C. Creative Holiday Gift Giving 
D. Fast & Easy Holiday Recipes
         Cheese Ball
         Spinach Balls
         Christmas Punch
         Christmas Eggnog
         Tiramisu Toffee Dessert
         Eggnog Cookies
E. Holidays-on-a-Dime Websites
F. People Pleasing Soups 
G. People Pleasing Gift Giving 
H. Customer's recipes corner 
I. Short and Sweet 
J. Quote of the Month 
K. Politically Correct Santa

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A.  Monthly specials
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please follow this link: http://www.ed-foods.com/special.html

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B.  Holiday Happenings on a Budget
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The holiday season is a time of getting together with family, close friends, long-lost friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and sometimes even complete strangers. While all these parties, gatherings and events are fun and make the holiday season what it is, they can also become very expensive. So here are some suggestions to help you get through this festive season debt-free!

Christmas Parties - So after being invited to other people's 
Christmas parties year after year, you've decided it's time to throw your own party! There are 3 major categories that have to be considered - Food, beverages and decorations.

Food - Don't make a dinner, make a party and start at 8! This will allow you to serve small finger foods, veggies and dip (see recipe section for easy and inexpensive holiday recipes), and 
some desserts. If you are cooking-challenged or just like a lot 
of variety, you might want to consider doing a potluck. Ask 
everyone to bring their specialty or favorite holiday treat - 
everyone gets to try a variety of different foods (and maybe 
even get ideas for their own parties).

Beverages - This is a hard one to get around, as most adult 
holiday parties do have alcohol, and any way you cut it, unless 
you're making moonshine in your basement - and we hope 
you're not - alcohol does cost money. What you can do is ask 
your invitees to bring a small bottle/case of their favorite 
wine, liquor or beer instead of a gift. If each person brings 
something to share, everyone should have enough to drink 
throughout the night, and you can be sure everyone will be 
happy with at least one beverage choice (the one they 
brought!).

*Note - This is the University version of a Potluck =)

Decorations - You can make your own decorations for very 
little money. Go to a craft store and buy a roll of red and 
green crepe paper (or whichever colors you prefer) to create 
festive streamers. Once you've hung your streamers, you can 
use the remaining crepe paper to make cut-out confetti (you 
can cut-out stars, trees, gifts, etc.) to decorate your food and 
drink tables. 
You could also consider a Thanksgiving theme - you can get all 
your decorations on sale! =)

Thank You Gift - Instead of the usual wine or fruit cake, why 
not give them something completely original (and easy on the 
pockets)? Some ideas:

	- A Swiss Cheese Candle (search on the link below for 
detailed instructions - and don't worry, it's not actually made 
from swiss cheese).
http://www.familyeducation.com

	- Gourmet Chocolate Covered Spoons for coffee or 
cocoa. Buy a package of sturdy plastic spoons, preferably in 
festive colors. Dip them in chocolate (melted chocolate chips 
work well) and shake off the excess. Place them on wax paper 
and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy. After they dry, 
wrap them in cellophane and tie with a ribbon. Put a few 
spoons in a coffee mug along with some individual hot cocoa 
or coffee packets

Catching up with long-lost friends - Instead of meeting over a 
meal at a nice restaurant, or trying to 'whip up' a 5-course 
meal at home, try to think of other meeting places where the 
focus will be on catching up with each other, not on the daily 
specials. 

A cafe is a great place to meet and catch up, or go somewhere 
with sentimental meaning - a community center you used as 
kids, a special park (if you're in warmer areas), or maybe even 
a mall hang-out for old times sake.

Another great idea is to get together for a common purpose, 
such as doing some holiday shopping or making your own 
homemade gifts. It gives you both the chance to finish up 
more of your holiday to-do list, while having fun and catching 
up!

Gift Exchanges - I'm sure most people have come across these 
at some point in their lives - maybe at your workplace or a 
social group. A typical gift exchange is when a group of people 
decide on a certain amount of money to spend and then put 
all their names in a hat and draw someone else's name. I used 
to be a somewhat reluctant participant in these, probably 
because I found it difficult to find that 'perfect gift' for 
someone I didn't really know that well, for under $5-$15 (not 
that I would want it to be higher - let's not get carried away 
here =). But there are a ton of unique and fun gift ideas that 
would make anyone happy

Under $5
- Not to toot our own horn, but we have a really great giant 
free sample offer that would make the perfect gift exchange 
gift! For the cost of shipping ($3.50), you can give your 
exchangee 3 full-sized pouches of our warming, yummy soups!

Under $10
- A homemade gingerbread house - if you're feeling 
adventurous or have a special talent for making these (if 
you've never made one, you might want to buy an inexpensive 
pre-made one to decorate). This is a really unique, fun gift 
idea - no matter how it turns out!

Personalize it:
	-Make a little doormat in icing (you can just ice an 
outline) and write their name on it.

	-Make a little gingerbread 'pool' and fill it with their 
favorite candy, or make them a candy garden.

*** Tip - try to avoid overusing candy canes - I don't know 
anyone who feels candy cane-deprived during this time of 
year.

Under $15
- A new best-selling novel (these are usually 30-40% off at big 
book chains and you can include a gift receipt as everyone 
knows how much everyone spent anyway). Most people shy 
away from buying books for people they aren't close to, but 
best sellers are usually the 'people-pleasers' and even if they 
don't like it, they can always exchange it for one they do!

- See our next section, 'Creative Holiday Gift Giving' for more 
ideas.

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C.  Creative Holiday Gift Giving
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As festive and fun as the holiday season can be, it can be (and 
usually is) very expensive. But with a little imagination and 
minimal funds, you can create gifts that are personal and truly 
from the heart. I had a bit of help from other sources for this 
section, so I've added in the web sites after their tips.

Gift Baskets - Gift baskets make the perfect holiday gifts, since 
you can make them personalized or nonspecific, cost-friendly 
or extravagant - and who wouldn't like to receive a gift basket 
made just for them? All you need to start is a cute basket-type 
item (depending on what 'theme' you'd like your basket to 
have). And fill it with whatever items you wish. For example, 
you could bake some homemade holiday goodies and on the 
tag write 'baked with love and a sprinkle of holiday cheer'. Or 
for the hot beverage enthusiasts in your life, you can buy a 
simple coffee canister from the dollar store and add some of 
their favorite teas and coffees. You can dress up the canister if 
you'd like by tying a ribbon around it or painting a cafe-
inspired theme on it.

Potpourri Bottles - Fill some glass bottles (from the dollar 
store) with things like potpourri, artificial flowers or cute 
plastic fruit. Fill the bottle will baby oil and then a few drops 
of fragrance oil. Tie a ribbon around the bottle and add a gift 
tag. A great gift, and very cheap! 
http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net/recipe038.html

A Personalized Calendar - a very simple but effective Christmas 
gift to make. All you need is a wall calendar (which are often 
handed out to customers by banks or insurance companies) 
and 12 pictures of friends and family, one for each month of 
the year. It would be ideal to select pictures that represent an 
event in the month, for example choose one of Halloween in 
October or a Christmas picture for December. Use rubber 
cement to stick the pictures to the calendar making sure that 
you cover the original illustration. If you cannot find any 
appropriate photos, try drawing your own pictures and 
illustrations. This will give the calendar a strong personal 
touch; a great home-made gift for Grandparents.
www.christmas-gifts.us.com/homemade-christmas-gifts.htm

**Another idea on the same theme - you can use Microsoft 
Excel to generate a calendar and paste your pictures on the 
body of each page.

Gourmet Flavor-Infused Olive Oil - A very easy and inexpensive 
gift idea that looks and tastes equally as impressive. Buy some 
dark colored oil bottles (you may even be able to find some at 
your dollar store - the dark glass helps the oil stay fresh 
longer). Make sure to wash them out carefully before using 
them. Choose the flavor you'd like to infuse your oil with - my 
personal favorite is garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, so I'll use 
this to illustrate - slice up 5-7 cloves of garlic and sun-dried 
tomatoes, depending on how 'flavorful' you want it. Put your 
garlic and tomatoes in the oil bottle and add your olive oil to 
the bottle (you can buy larger bulk-sized bottles at your 
grocery store). Seal and refrigerate until you are ready to wrap 
and give your gourmet gift! 

A Plant Grown With Love (the Martha Stewart approach to 
Christmas)- Ok, so this idea is actually a little too late for this 
holiday season, but is perfect to start for next year! First, you 
need to buy some seeds for the plant you'd like to give - this is 
where you can personalize it - choose a flower or plant that 
you know is their favorite, grows to be their favorite color, 
etc. Buy some fertilizer and potters (you can buy the small 
square plastic ones for a minimal amount) and plant your 
chosen seeds. Over the year, make sure to give your plant(s) 
lots of water, food and love and when the holidays roll around 
next year, your 'homemade' present will be ready to give. You 
can be sure that next year, you will be giving the most unique 
and touching gifts they'll receive.
**Quick Fix - Assemble a 'grow-your-own' kit with the 
materials listed above - they might even grow it! =)

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D. Fast & Easy Holiday Recipes
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Since there are so many great holiday recipes, and very little 
room, I had to narrow it down to one or two recipes per 
'genre' (and have kept mainly to party and gift foods). I've 
also added in the web site links after each recipe so you can go 
and look for more!

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Cheese Ball
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This recipe serves 32 and can be served at any party or 
gathering or can be given as gifts!

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (1 ounce) package Ranch-style dressing mix
2 cups chopped pecans
4 pecan halves

1. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, 
and dressing mix. Form into one large ball or two smaller balls. 
Roll in chopped pecans to coat surface. Decorate the top with 
pecan halves. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

http://christmas.allrecipes.com
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Spinach Balls
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Makes 30-40 spinach balls

2 cups seasoned stuffing mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 onion, chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Roll into 2 inch 
balls with your hands and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 
degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

http://www.recipezaar.com
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Christmas Punch
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Serves 20

1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups orange juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, with juice
1 fluid ounce triple sec liqueur
1 (750 milliliter) bottle light rum
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks
1 liter carbonated water
Ice

1. In a punch bowl, combine sugar, orange juice, and lemon 
juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add cherries, triple sec, light 
rum, orange slices, lemon slices, and pineapple chunks. 
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours to allow flavors to blend.
2. Pour in carbonated water, and add ice just before serving.

Recipe Variations:
- If you find the punch a little too strong, you can dilute it with 
an extra liter of carbonated water

http://beverage.allrecipes.com
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Christmas Eggnog
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*** Author's Note: This recipe contains raw eggs. Pregnant 
women, children and the elderly would be well advised to stay 
away from this particular holiday beverage.

1 dozen eggs
12 tablespoons sugar
1 pint of Bourbon
1/2 pint Jamaica Run
1 pint heavy Cream
Nutmeg, to taste

1. In a very large bowl, beat the yolks of the eggs, gradually 
adding in the sugar. When the eggs and sugar are smooth, add 
the bourbon and Jamaica run, stirring while adding. Next, add 
the cream and blend well. 
2. In a separate bowl, beat the whites of the eggs very stiff. 
Fold into the egg yolk mixture and beat with egg beater.
3. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and keep in refrigerator till 
serving.

http://www.foodfunandfacts.com
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Tiramisu Toffee Dessert
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Serves 12

1 (10.75 ounce) package frozen prepared pound cake, thawed 
and cut into 9
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered English toffee, chopped

1. Arrange cake slices on bottom of a rectangular 11x7 inch 
baking dish, cutting cake slices if necessary to fit the bottom 
of the dish. Drizzle coffee over cake.
2. Beat sugar, chocolate syrup, and cream cheese in a large 
bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. 
Add whipping cream; beat on medium speed until light and 
fluffy. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with chocolate-
covered toffee candy.
3. Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with toffee candy. Cover 
and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 
hours to set dessert and blend flavors.

Recipe Variation:
-Instead of the chocolate syrup, you can substitute Bailey's 
Irish Cream or syrup flavor of your choice

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Eggnog Cookies
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2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup eggnog
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 tbs nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon 
and nutmeg. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter with an electric 
mixer to form a grainy paste. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg 
yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until 
combined. Do not overmix. 
5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets, 
1" apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg.
6. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown. 
Transfer to cool, flat surface immediately with spatula.

http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net
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E.  Holidays-on-a-Dime Websites
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http://thrifty.lifetips.com/TipSC.asp__Q__id__E__70944
The 'Thrifty Guru' gives his advice on a variety of Holiday 
items

http://www.ivillage.com
type in "Christmas Budget" in the search bar (make sure 
you're searching iVillage, not the Web). Many great articles on 
getting through Christmas on a budget.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf923517.tip.html
This is a reader's forum, where people ask for tips and other 
readers give their suggestions - a great way to find new and 
interesting ideas on how to save!

There are so many sites that I couldn't possible list them all. 
Use your search engine and type in any keywords that come to 
mind, such as 'thrifty', 'frugal', 'budget', 'crafts' or 'make-
your-own' plus 'holiday', 'christmas', 'Hanukkah' or whatever 
occasion you are looking for. 

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F.  People Pleasing Soups 
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"We tried your potato chowder soup, we added clams like you
suggested. It was by far the best clam chowder we have ever 
had, so creamy and hearty, your soups make a great dinner for 
us!! Thanks for another great meal!!"
     Laura Scott, ON

"I made the chicken noodle soup that fed 17 people. It was 
great tasting and not salty like alot of other soups. It's 
appearance and color was so healthy looking and appealing. 
Fantastic soup!"
     Mary Gregor, MN

"This may a LITTLE more complicated to prepare than opening 
a can, but boy is it worth it! I had forgotten the taste of 
homemade soup, but this brought it back. Overall I would have 
to say your soups are one of the best buys around today!!"
     Jacqueline Poppell, GA

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G. People Pleasing Gift Giving
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"I love your soups so much that I recently sent several 
packages of the individual chicken soup to my mother-in-law. 
She loved it. She called me the next day and said she wanted 
more! Thanks for helping me please a hard-to-please person."
     Ann B., WI

"My son gave my wife and me a large supply of your soups as a  
Christmas gift [last year]. We tried them during January and 
we found them souper. They were soupremely delicious, and 
we have not found one we did not like yet. The flavour is 
wonderful and satisfying. We will definitely order more and 
recommend them to all our friends."
     Wain Humphrey

"I am extremely impressed with your soups! The packaging
was appealing, the cooking was simple, and the 
flavor...unbelievable! I will be placing another order very soon 
for Christmas presents! Thanks!"
     Amber Barnum, CA

"Hi, I just had to send you a quick E-mail to let you know how
well your soups went over for Christmas [last year]. I bought 
your Sampler Pack of soups for my parents as a gift. Well, they 
can't say too many good things  about them! My sister even got 
into the act, and she's a tough critic. Many thanks for 
producing excellent products and for making my family so 
happy with their gift."
     Penny Finn

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H.  Customer's Recipes Corner
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Share your recipe with us - just go to 
http://www.ed-foods.com/feedback.html 

"I made the vegetarian chili the other day and added a can of 
diced tomatoes. It was delicious! Thank you"
     Judy Congleton

"I made an amazing jam with your maple syrup.  I wanted to 
share the recipe with you:
3 quarts finely chopped apples (about 6 lbs)
6 cups sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp cinnamon, allspice AND nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves

Combing in a large pot and slowly bring to boil. Cook till 
jelling point, stirring regularly. Remove cinnamon stick and 
pour into hot jars and then process jars. (makes 8 half pint 
jars)

I sold them at a fundraiser for my kids school and they were 
very popular! I gave out taste tests first and then when the jars 
were up for auction there was a bidding frenzy! I'm sure one of 
the main reasons it turned out so well was due to your great 
maple syrup.  Thank You!!"
     J. Palmer, MN

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I.  Short and Sweet! 
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"Received, tried, GOOD SOUPS, thank you."
     Marty Rubenzahl

"Preparation was extremely easy to result in such good taste!!"
     Kimberly Swartz, PA

"M-m-m-m-m, it was so very good!!"
     Elizabeth Moon

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J.  Quote of the Month
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"I'll admit I was skeptical at first. I figured how good could a 
soup really taste that was mixed with only water. Not only was 
I proven wrong, but I loved it so much I placed another order 
before I was even close to going through my previous order! I 
love the soups, and the pasta sauces were wonderful! And it's 
all so easy! I don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to get a 
soup that tastes homemade! Keep up the good work!"
     Melissa Mills, IN

K.          ========The Last Word =======
==============Politically Correct Santa=============

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?

His workers no longer would answer to "Elves,"
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.

And labor conditions at the north pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.

And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.

So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.

And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.

Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.

Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.

Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's war-like or non-pacific.

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.

No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.

Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.

So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you've got to be careful with that word today.

His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.

Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;

Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.

So here is that gift, its price beyond worth...
"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth." '

(c) Harvey Ehrlich, 1992
========================================

If you enjoyed this newsletter - or ever just parts of the 
newsletter - of course we want you to send it on to your
friends! That's what makes the internet so much fun! And don't 
forget to let them know which of our soups is your personal 
favorite! It's just too good not to share!
Thanks again!

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Keep good things happening in your life, and we'll try to keep 
good things happening on our site!

************************************************************
          Leslie, Kelly, Denis
    (and all the other Folks at E.D. Foods)

                1-800-267-3333
              6200 Trans Canada
       Pte-Claire, QC H9R 1B9 Canada
         http://www.ed-foods.com
             mailto:edinfo@ed.ca
************************************************************

Kelly

********************************
(and the Folks at E.D. Foods)
 The Home of Simply Soup'r Soups!
    {*<*}   {*>*}


Looking out for our customers