Elwood enjoying a warm meal

Email From Happy Customer

This week I received a very nice email from Sherry in Georgia who had purchased two Dining Stones as gifts for her parents.  Her dad, Elwood, likes his food warm during the meal and usually it would get cold by the time he finished eating.  Sherry hoped that a Dining Stone would solve that problem.

Both Elwood and his wife Amy, now in their 90′s,  were happy to report that the heated stone radiates up through their plate all during the meal and even the last bite of food is toasty warm.

Elwood and Amy from Georgia

Thank you for sharing your story with us and allowing your photos to be posted on the blog.  It warms my heart (pardon the pun) to see happy customers enjoying their Dining Stones.

Best regards,

Deb Chance

Chicken Chili

I enjoy visiting the Epicurious website for recipes and feeling a part of the foodie community.  This chicken chili recipe comes from Steve Delaney of West Chester, Pennsylvania, and he says, “My recipe reflects the Caribbean influences in the foods of Miami, where I lived for many years.”

For fun, I recommend you set an elegant table when you are serving this delicious chili.  Place your Dining Stones in the oven after you set your beans aside and before you start your stock of onions, pablano peppers and sausage.  They will be heated properly when the chili is ready for serving.  This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings … enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds chicken thighs
• 1 onion, halved
• 2 carrots, halved
• 3 celery ribs, halved
• 3 bay leaves
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 pound dried red kidney beans
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup each chopped (1/4 inch) onion and poblano pepper
• 8 ounces diced (1/2 inch) andouille sausage
• 1 tablespoon each ground coriander, cumin and chili powder
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 4 ounces tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons each red-wine vinegar, molasses and chopped chipotle pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

For garnishes (optional):

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup snipped chives
• 1 each ripe mango and tomato, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Grated Monterey pepper Jack cheese, optional

Preparation:

1. Place chicken along with next 8 ingredients in a large, heavy pot; add water just to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken to a bowl. Strain the broth, return it to the pot and reserve. Shred the chicken and reserve.

2. Add the beans to the reserved broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes, skimming any foam. Drain beans, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid; set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, poblano pepper and sausage; cook for 8 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, and chili powder; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, molasses, chipotle, sugar, and the reserved bean liquid. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Add diced tomato, cilantro, reserved beans and chicken. Cook for 10 minutes longer.

4. Prepare garnishes: Combine sour cream and chives in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the mango, tomato, and cilantro, salt and pepper. Serve the chili topped with chive-sour cream, mango salsa, and cheese, if desired.

What happens when I place an order from the Dining Stones website?

1) An email confirmation is sent to the customer who details the order.  This email acts as the invoice and should be kept on file.

hi

Orders are processed within a few days after the credit card settlement report is confirmed by our Dining Stones customer service staff.

Putting Order Together

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2)  The next step is putting the order together:  stone, wood tray, instruction sheet, and a special “Thank You” card made out to the customer, or to the person receiving it as a gift.

3)  The order is checked twice for accuracy!

4)  Our folded shipping boxes are securely fitted to prevent the stone set from shifting while being transported to its destination.

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Securely Packed Box

We currently use the United States Postal Service (USPS) because of the great rates for businesses.  Customers are able to track their shipment through the USPS website.

5)  We carefully pack orders in the official USPS boxes and arrange packing material around the Dining Stones box firmly.

6)  A label is placed on the shipment box and sent Priority Mail.

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Priority Mail

Best regards,

Summer Porch

It started with the idea of building a few flower boxes to place between the log posts on the porch.  The hubby and I did not have a pattern to follow, just a concept.  We built the first one as a prototype, based on what we could afford to buy at Menards®.   After filling the weather treated wood boxes with dirt, we spaced plants and flowers inside with care.

Flower Box

After reviewing our work, we decided that the next step was placing potted plants next to the posts, and that meant another trip to the garden section of the store — my favorite shopping spree.  To finish it off, I had a few stone tiles in the garage and placed them under the pots to protect the porch from water drainage stains.

Stone Tiles Under Pots

One flower box was dedicated to herbs and veggies … it was a small start – basil, cilantro, chives, green peppers, yellow peppers, and poblano peppers.  I’m into peppers, what can I say!

First Growth of a Poblano Pepper

The basil and cilantro was used in our salads and as seasoning herbs on my grilled meats throughout the summer.  While preparing the meals, I would just step outside my front door and cut the leaves right from the flower box.

The peppers were placed right on the grill and added an additional veggie to our meals.

Green Pepper

We enjoyed the changes that took place all summer as the plants grew and bloomed.  Beautiful color, lush green leaves, and such an attraction for bugs!

Favorite Attraction for Bees

I had to remember my fly swatter every time I planned to sit on the porch.  It’s not just for flies, it keeps bees away too!  I promise I didn’t disturb the bees that were pollinating the plants, just the ones that mistook me for a flower.

The weather was beautiful in Iowa all summer.  It is typically scorching hot with thick humidity 24 hours a day but we had hot or warm days (very few were humid) and cool nights.  The windows of our cabin were open all the time to enjoy the unusual weather.

Sitting on the porch was a treat after a full day of hard work.  It is amazing how refreshing and energizing it is to be completely relaxed, set worries aside, and just be present in the moment.

I have also been enjoying using my porch as a stage to take blog photos for Dining Stones!

October Issue

It will be available in stores September 15th, and I plan to purchase a number of copies.  I promise to leave enough on the shelf for potential customers of Dining Stones!

I have been dreaming of having my own business for as long as I can remember having a dream about what my life would look like.  Numerous ideas on paper sit neatly in folders in my home office drawer.  Some I knew pretty quickly they weren’t viable or lucrative but others I spent of lot of hours playing out each detail until the end.  So it only makes sense to me that I pursue and follow my idea for Dining Stones when it came to me.

The genesis came out of my own frustration with food getting cold on the plate during a meal.  I wondered if there was something on the market that would keep my plate warm on the table, something without cords, something that looked good as well as being functional.  Google didn’t present anything that fell in that category so I set my mind to the task of creating one myself. 

I remembered my dad telling me the story of his childhood where his mom would put stones on the wood burning stove and placed them in his bed at night to keep him warm.  I had a broken piece of stone tile in the garage which I cleaned and placed in the oven as a test.  Within 15 minutes the stone was piping hot.  After setting the stone on a hot pad and placing my plate on it, I could tell right away that I had a solution.

That was two years ago and today I was propelled back to that very exciting time in the beginning when my spare time was spent researching every detail and setting Dining Stones into motion.  I was trying to relax and watch a reality cooking show on the Food Network and a number of times the new movie “Julie and Julia” was advertised.  The movie features Meryl Streep as famous television personality and chef, Julia Childs, and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, a young woman trying to make a change in her life.  I loved what Meryl Streep said about the message of the story, “Sometimes it takes outsized messengers to deliver the goods to us.”  Her words in the movie, played as Julia Childs, “don’t be afraid”, struck a chord with me.  My inspiration of someone who lives this motto fully is Paula Deen!  She paved a clear path through her own raging fear and provides a perfect recipe for my life:  Laughter, kindness, passion, and “no fear!”

Some days I just need to step back from the overwhelming responsibilities of life and be reminded of these principles.  I momentarily forgot this because I have truly been so busy working full-time at a financial firm during the day and spending every moment in the evenings and weekends working to make Dining Stones a successful business.  Paula Deen had the same kind of pressures when she was starting out, and I’m sure she still struggles to find time to relax and truly enjoy the moment!  Paula, if you are visiting my blog, please contact me!  I have an innovative product for your show!

My recipe for today is “success at life”:

Mix in equal parts laughter, kindness, pursuit of your passion, and serve with “NO FEAR!”

Christmas is a nostalgic time so I will take this opportunity to share the excitement from this past year and how this venture of the creation of Dining Stones™ played out.

Last Christmas I received a book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I enjoyed every word and started using the concepts.  Just a couple weeks later on January 15, 2007, hubby and I were sitting at the dinner table talking about our frustration with food getting cold on the plate before we are done eating.  I wondered if there was something available for us to buy online to keep the plate warm while we were eating. We searched but didn’t find anything. I started remembering a story my dad told me when I was a kid about the cold, damp Missouri winters of his childhood.

To warm up the winter nights, my grandmother would heat stones on the wood stove and slip them between the blankets for him. I had the thought: if a stone could heat your blankets, couldn’t it heat a plate of food as well?