Paramount Granite Blog

Recipe: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Here’s a recipe I got from a friend by our cabin. She made some for my birthday a few months back. It is easy to make and delicious.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2-1 oz. squares chocolate
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two loave pans. Microwave the chocolate in a microwaveable safe bowl until melted. Stir until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, zucchini, vanilla, and chocolate until smooth. Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold in the flour. Add the chocolate chips. Pour the batter in the two loave pans. Bake at 350 degress for approximately 60 minutes, or until a toothpick in center come out clean.

Enjoy!

Barb

Posted in Uncategorized on August 20th, 2010 by Barb | | 0 Comments

Tips For Making Your Days Great…

The other day, I came across, “Day By Day Greatness,” an article found in July/August 2010 issue of Experience Life magazine, that had some good tips on making each day a good one by life coach, Robin Sharma that I enjoyed. Following are some of her tips I wanted to pass along:

Read More—”Reading from a great book is really all about having a conversation with the author. Sit back, enjoy some tea, and take in some wisdom from Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, or some other person you respect, or enjoy. Let some of their brilliance rub off on you.
Take Some Chances—We all need to get out of our skin at some time or another and try different things. Sure you mail fail at some things, but failure is an essential ingredient for achievement.
Be Happier—Do more things that make you happy. Most of us stop doing things we enjoyed doing in our childhood. Take some time to write a list of 10 of your greatest passions, or things you really and enjoy and then make time to start doing them. You’ll be surprised at the results.
Listen Twice as Much as you Speak—When is the last time that you really listened to someone speak to you? Most of us are already concocting our replies in our heads, or doing some other activity, while trying to listen. Listening intently to another, creates a connection and shows respect, and a more caring attitude.
Be Enthusiastic—You will naturally attract more friends and encourage more positive vibes.
Prioritize Your Schedule To Your Values—If family, or friends are important to you, make sure you allow ample amount of time to be with them and enjoy their company.
Practice Self Care—Take time for yourself. ( e.g. exercising, massage, alone time, reading, etc.) When you feel good about yourself, you are more apt to be positive and upbeat, which will rub off on others.

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Uncategorized on July 1st, 2010 by Barb | | 0 Comments

Stick To It…

Besides some prayer and exercise, I like to start my day off with some positivity. I usually go for a walk and listen to my Philosopher’s Notes on my ipod for my daily dose of inspiration. Then I get another blast when I check my e-mail, and read my daily “Big Idea,” (also from Philosophers Notes by Brian Johnson.)

The other day, I received a “Big Idea” email on the concept of “Stickability,” taken from the Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz.

Here’s the quote:

“Just enough sense to stick with something—a chore, task, project, until it’s completed pays off much better than idle intelelligence, even if idle intelligence be of genius caliber.” According to Schwartz, “stickability” is 95 percent ability.” Wow—now that’s a concept.

I can think of many examples where that would be true. Here are just a few examples:

Sales—Persistence, persistence, persistence. Make the calls and stick to it, and you’ll make sales! The more you tell the more you sell!
Business In a Down Economy—Go back to the basics and stick to it, and your business will grow and again through persistence, and determination.
Diet—Strive to eat right, and exercise and stick to it. If you fall off a day, so what. Get back on your plan and stick to it and the results will come.
Etc.

I don’t know about you, but I think we could all use a good dose of stickability in our lives!

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Posted in Marketing, Uncategorized on June 24th, 2010 by Barb | | 0 Comments

Education, Facts, Tips, Recipes And Opinions = Paramount Granite Blog

The other day, while browsing the internet looking for ideas for more blogs, I happened to come across a fellow bloggers site that just happened to be commenting on one of the blogs I wrote, (Is granite just granite?), which took me a little off guard. While my blog must have sparked a conversation about how granite shops can be so different, this blog mentioned that my blog post was written a little Snarkily. “Snarkily,” I thought—Hmm? After pondering the comment and term for awhile, I had to agree.

I was being a bit sarcastic in that blog, but that was my point. (That not all granite fabricators are the same.) Many ideas are hard to get across to the general public without using some terminology, or examples that hit home.

Anyway—if you follow my blog, you will find blogs that educate, blogs that give facts & tips, blogs that share recipes (under the Category, Cooking In Your Kitchen), and of course—blogs that give my opinions—snarkily or otherwise.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Barb

Posted in Granite, Uncategorized on June 15th, 2010 by Barb | | 2 Comments

Granite Countertops—Removing Oil, Or Butter Stains

While granite is the hardest material available for countertops, and is easy to maintain, there are some granites that are more porous than others because of their mineral compostion. It is the more porous stones that may be more suseptible to stains, when care is not taken in the clean up process. Again—I want to point out that staining is rare, but should a stain occur, do not panic! Most stains can be removed, as long you know what caused them. (What did you leave sit on your countertop for a period of time?)

For stains caused from olive oil, butter, etc.:

You will need to purchase a poultice paste, from a granite fabrciator, a local tile shop, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Most poultice paste is sold in a 1 lb. tub.
Follow the instructions on the tub, except cover it with Saran Wrap and tape it down, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, remove the Saran Wrap. Allow the poultice to dry completely. This may take 24 hours.
Note: In most cases it is the drying process that pulls the stain out of the stone.
When the poultice paste is completely dry, remove it from the stained area.
If the stain is still present, you will need to apply the poultice paste again. Note: It may take several applications to remove the stain.
Upon completion of removing the stain, clean and rinse the stone and buff dry with a clean cloth, or use a blow dryer.
Seal the stone with a silicone impregnator (sealer), which can also be purchased through a granite fabricator, a local tile shop, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.