Try one of our favorite desserts for the holidays.

• 4 fresh eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 can pureed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3-1/2 oz shaved coconut
• 2 cups grated carrot

1. In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. When all ingredients are incorporated, add pineapple.

2. In separate bowl, combine flours, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well. Add coconut and carrots. Fold wet into dry and mix.

3. Spray two 9×13-inch baking pans with spray release cooking spray. Pour half of the mixture into each pan. Bake at 350° for roughly 25 minutes. (Poke a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean and warm, it is done). Let cool.

4. When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting and garnish with candied carrots.

Frosting

• 34 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/4 lb softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1. Slightly soften cream cheese and butter in microwave.

2. Whip all ingredients in a standing mixer.

3. Spread on cooled cake.

Candied Carrot Garnish

• 3 cups thinly julienne carrots, 3 inches long (use a mandoline if you have one)
• 3 Tbsp sugar

1. Toss carrots in sugar and coat well.

2. In a small saucepot or tall sauté pan, bring 1-1/2 inches of oil to 300°. Add carrots and fry until they’re light orange (about 3 minutes). Drain carrots on paper towels or a cloth and pull apart with tongs or a fork to shape the carrots as desired. Place on individual portions of cake.

Local business named one of the Top 100 Bicycle Stores by Bicycling Magazine

Earl’s Cyclery & Fitness, founded in 1953, is a specialty retailer of bicycles and fitness equipment. Earl’s has been selected as one of the “Top 100” Bicycle Dealers in America. Stores were chosen based on customer service, inventory, and advocacy, among other criteria. For the last three years Earl’s has been chosen “Best Place to Buy a Bicycle” by Burlington Free Press Readers’ Choice Awards. Our service department, nicknamed “Home of the Bike Doctors” is certified in the most difficult of bicycle and fitness equipment repairs. Earl’s is counted on by various hotels, fitness clubs, and schools for fitness equipment repairs, including maintaining the University of Vermont fitness equipment.

Show your loved ones how special they are this holiday season with a Bear-Gram from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. Every Bear-Gram includes the handmade Vermont Teddy Bear you’ve chosen, a gourmet candy treat (chocolate November through April), your own message printed on a colorful gift card, and a gift box printed with travel games inside—complete with an air hole so your bear gets plenty of fresh air. Unconditionally guaranteed for a lifetime, Vermont Teddy Bears are available in many varieties for every holiday.

If you’re looking for the ultimate holiday gift, go for a Bear & PJ Combo! Each features a Vermont Teddy Bear plus a pair of fun and comfy pajamas by Pajamagram. Your child will be thrilled to discover that she and her furry new friend have matching pajamas. (Women’s sizes are also available, so you can order a combo for yourself or surprise a special woman in your life as well!)

Visit www.vermontteddybear.com to browse the wide variety of bears and pajamas, and be sure to visit the factory and Bear Shop at 6655 Shelburne Road in Shelburne, Vermont. The factory is open year-round, seven days a week (except for holidays) and tours are popular with kids and parents alike. For more information on the Factory Tour and Bear Shop, visit the website or call (802) 985-3001 ext. 1700.

Local business recognized as Dealer of the Year

Williston-based Windows & Doors by Brownell has been named a 2011 Dealer of the Year by Windows & Doors magazine. The company was recognized for Excellence in a Retail Program for their outstanding showroom.

When he formed Windows & Doors by Brownell more than 20 years ago, Les Brownell married his past experiences and set a goal to build a window and door specialty business with a strong retail presence. The company has built three thriving showroom locations to highlight the flexibility and creative options consumers can find in the Marvin and Therma-Tru products it carries. The displays are true-to-life, with window and door products built into simulated walls, and the company frequently updates its displays to reflect its manufacturers’ most recent offerings.

“From day one, I’ve had the philosophy that a piece of literature is only a piece of literature,” Brownell says. “With people making this kind of investment, they need to touch it, feel it, see it.”

In the beginning, Windows & Doors by Brownell featured a small showroom, but Brownell quickly realized additional space would be necessary to make the facility an integral component of the business model. The company’s flagship showroom, located in Williston, Vermont, was built in 1998 with an innovative approach to displays, and expanded in 2006 to include even more products and displays. Today, the dealer displays various product lines as they would appear built into a wall—showing size, shape, and color combinations as they would look in actual home settings.

With a successful recipe of real-life displays, a flexible product line, and well-trained sales associates, Windows & Doors by Brownell expanded its retail strategy to other nearby markets. In 2007, the company opened a Plattsburgh, New York, showroom, and in 2010 added a third retail location in West Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Brownell believes his company’s welcoming and inspiring showrooms have become an important resource for area home improvement shoppers. “We’re well known here in this marketplace,” he says. “A husband and wife might wake up on a Saturday and decide they want to put a new patio door in. Most will then say, ‘Let’s go to Brownell’s.’”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.wdbrownell.com.

Visit beautiful Lake Elmore

by Elaine Ambrose

With more than 700 acres, Elmore State Park offers camping, hiking, picnic tables and grills (with a pet-friendly area), and rowboat, canoe, and kayak rentals on 219-acre Lake Elmore. Elmore Mountain, elevation 2,608 feet, offers a variety of hiking trails through mostly hardwood. Climb the tower atop the Fire Tower Trail for magnificent foliage viewing. Beaver Meadow and Mountain Brook Nature Trails won’t disappoint leaf peepers either, and dogs are permitted on and off leash on the trails. Check out the historic Civilian Conservation Corps bathhouse, built in 1935 and restored to its former glory this year. New tables, stools, and benches were hand crafted in Alburgh from the wood of a large, old white pine that had to be cut down at Big Deer State Park in Groton, and out of cedar from the Champlain Islands. The park is open from 10am until sunset through Columbus Day weekend, October 11. After that, the facilities close for the winter, but you can still hike Elmore’s many trails, including the Catamount—a cross-country ski trail that has been in the making since 1984 and was fully linked together in 2008. At 300 miles long and spanning the state from bottom to top, the Catamount Trail is one of Vermont’s treasured gems.

Nearby places to visit include the Trapp Family Lodge, Johnson Woolen Mills, and the State Capitol and Historical Society in Montpelier. Check out the leaves from a gondola at Stowe, then get a tour—and a tasting—at Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury.

by Elaine Ambrose

Halloween can be scary—especially for your wallet! Turn spooky economic times into a memorable family celebration. Consider homemade costumes—who wants to look like every other superhero, celebrity, or creepy creature on the street? Hit the consignment or thrift stores to come up with a fab’50s Mad Men or a hippie ’60s look. How about a nerdy geek with glasses, slicked back hair, and plastic pocket protector (add a slide rule if you can find one). Or create your own Lady Gaga costume out of . . . well, just about anything! Oversize boxes make cool robots, Legos, or dominoes, or don purple or light green sweats and add matching balloons to transform yourself into a bunch of grapes.

Don’t forget to deck the halls, porches, and walkways! Create a scarecrow couple or tombstones for the yard. When time is tight, less is more—use a big helium balloon or Styrofoam globe to create one impressive ghost to hang from a tree, porch, or upstairs window. Attach a wire to the “head” for hanging, cut features out of black foam for a scary countenance, and drape in layers of gauzy cheesecloth (recycle later for cleaning cloths). Hang, then hope for autumn breezes.

Set a tall trashcan or basket on the porch with a “broomstick parking” sign. Toss in an old broom. Light the way to your door with lunch-bag luminarias. Cut out simple Jack o’ Lantern or ghost faces on each bag and set a glow stick or LED light in each one. Cover your door in black paper, then tape pairs of sinister eyes, silly eyes, ghoulish, and ghastly eyes randomly over the paper—easy, quick, and fun.

by Elaine Ambrose

Enjoy the journey as much as the destination! These day or weekend trips offer spectacular fall foliage on the way to some cool places. In Stowe, bright, crisp days are perfect for hiking, biking, or meandering around the village. Unique shops offer jewelry; art; handcrafted furniture; artisan cheese, bread, and chocolate; and more. Savor locally produced foods at an eclectic bistro, Italian trattoria, or microbrew pub. Or leaf peep from a carriage drawn by beautiful Belgian draft horses at Gentle Giant carriage rides.

For a foreign feel with your foliage, pack your passports. Montreal offers wining, dining, shopping, and sightseeing. Visit historic Old Montreal’s vibrant hotels, eateries, and shops rich in 17th and 18th century charm. Hike, bike, or drive up Mont Royal, and when you’ve seen enough leaves, treat yourself to a spa or fine art museum. How about a ghost walk? After sunset, spirits are said to haunt the streets of Old Montreal and the wharves of the Old Port.

In Saratoga Springs, New York, you can leaf peep while cruising on Lake George, then relax at the Lincoln Mineral Baths or visit Six Flags Indoor Water Park. Or visit Cooper’s Cave—the inspiration for James Fennimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans—on the Hudson River in South Glens Falls, about 15 minutes north. Check out a winery and tasting room, or bike along the Hudson on the South Glens Falls Trail for great views. In the evening, try your luck at the Racino casino and raceway.

For leaf peeping on high, hitch a ride with Vermont Balloons or Adirondack Balloon Flights and float over some of the most breathtaking scenery east of the Mississippi. For a closer look, try white-water rafting on the Ausable River in the shadow of Whiteface Mountain. Fort Ticonderoga has something for everyone—historical reenactments, hands-on family fun, and a six-acre corn maze that holds clues to the fort’s history. Don’t wait too long—the fort buttons up for the season on October 20.