Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce Interview and Giveaway!

I have some exciting news! I have been contacted by Mr. Al Malekovic from Country Bob Inc to review on of their products, Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, on my blog. Mr Malekovic also was gracious enough to answer some questions for me for an interview. What makes this even better is he is putting up two bottles of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce for a blog give away! I cant fit all of these wonderful things into one blog post (who would want to read through ALL of that anyway!?) so I am splitting it into two blog posts, one that contains the interview and blog giveaway, and another that will detail the culinary creations my husband and I make and try using Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. First off… the interview and giveaway!



Mr. Al Malekovic answered the following questions for me.


What’s the story behind Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce? What was the inspiration? Country Bob was a carnival barker and a Don Rickles all wrapped into one. He owned a gas station and would BBQ for the cronies that came and gossiped. He came up up with the sauce in 1968. In 1982 Country Bob, his son Terry, (He is my son-law), Reed my son and I stared a Corp and put it on the market. We had to learn the hard way. Trail and Error. He died in 2001 of cancer. You can also look at our web site under story.

How large is the Country Bob’s company? We are a very small company, 14 employees, but we are fully automated and have a fine crew. We use food brokers, who help get Country Bobs in the stores.


How many different products does Country Bob’s make? Do you have any new products waiting in the wings? We have four products, Country Bobs, Country Bobs Spicy, Seasoning Salt and a BBQ sauce. Because of the cost of developing a product we are not coming out with anything new. We use to have a Sloppy Bob sauce but we were having it made somewhere else and that company went under and we could not find another to make small batches for us. It was a great product.



Where can you find Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce? You can find Country Bobs at Kroger, Wal Mart Super Center and about every store in *Cincy! (*Cincinnati, Ohio... for those of you who are not familiar with the area)


What makes Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce unique? What makes Country Bobs so unique, it truly is a All Purpose Sauce. Use it on steaks, a great dipping sauce, bbq sauce and to flavor up soups, stews, casseroles etc.


What’s the most common recipe Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce gets used in? Most people use it as a dipping sauce and with appetizers with little smokies and meat balls.


What’s the most unexpected recipe Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce can be used for? The most unique use is in fudge recipe in our cookbook.

What is the best complement or comment you have had about your products? The best compliment we have had is from the kids. "Gimmie more Bobs Mommy"




Here comes the fun part! The giveaway! It is really simple. First, go to the recipe page at the Country Bob Inc website, pick out a recipe that looks interesting. Next come back to this blog entry. In the comment section, leave a comment with you email address and the recipe you found! That is all you have to do! Incomplete entries will not be entered. This contest will last until the Sunday before Labor Day. September 6th, 2009 at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Two winners will be picked at random and each winner will receive a FREE bottle of Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce. Winner will be contacted via email to gather the needed information to send you a bottle.



So what are you waiting for? Go over to the recipe page and find something yummy! If you try anything and write about it, let me know. I will link it on my blog!


Images used with permission from the Country Bob Inc website.

Second Try at Real Dreads

WARNING: Long and full of pictures!

I have decided to take the plunge again! I have been itching to get my hair redreaded for ages now, but I had to wait until after I got my new job. Then I had to wait until I was sure I could get them in said job (another lady in the office has them, so I figured they couldn't stop me, right?). Then I had to try and find someone to do them (cause, as much as I love my husband, I know he didnt want to dread my hair again)... It is tough moving to a new city in a new state and trying to find someone to put dreads in! I found Nature's Outer Beauty on line, and decided to give them a try. Right on their website they said they use the latch method, and no wax... so bonus! The ladies there were very nice, but it was a long wait even with an appointment (I think they had some walk ins). The salon was a tad small, but nice. Everyone was very chatty, and I got a some work done on my knitting while I waited. The waiting didnt really bother me. I had waited probably close to 6 months to get this done, another hour and a half wasnt going to kill me. Did I mention they have hours on the weekend? Another bonus!

Well, here is a before picture. I know what most people think... why would you ruin your hair?!?! I dont see it as ruining, but improving! If/when I dont want them any more, I will just shave my head like I did last time. I love having my head shaved as well, and the only reason I grew out my hair this long (I HATE this length!) was for the dreads.



All I ever do is put my hair in a pony tail anyway wit it that length! It took about 2-2.5 hours of chair time, but even after they started on my head, I had to give up my seat occassionally so they could finish other people up. I got there for a 4pm appointment and didnt leave until like 8pm or so. I was HUNGRY... but that isnt as important. I was hoping they would do the crochet hook method seen HERE but they just did the latchhook-pull through method. That is okay, it will help secure the roots, but I would have liked a bit more back combing and locking going on.


It didnt really hurt that much, but sleeping that night was a bit tricky. The latch hook method didnt work all that great on the hair at the base of my neck because it is so short... they tend to want to flip around. Wearing head bands to work (for a more professional look until they lock up) isnt helping. I think those will need the most work, and they are the hardest for me to see.



She also didnt back comb or try and dread the ends at all. Go figure. I was a bit miffed, but I figured for the price (which was totally reasonable in my opinion) I could work on the ends myself (and with the help of my hubs). What I really needed help with was sectioning my hair and getting them started.

This last photo is of me 1 day post dread. The stray hairs and loose ends are driving me mad, but I know dreading is a long process. I will try and take a new picture every week or so. If I dont blog about it, I will have it up on my flickr account. I just hope this poofy/messy stage doesnt take too long!

WIP: Felt and beaded double sided headband done!

I had this idea a while back for a felt headband with leather straps for ties. I kicked it around in my head for about a month then decided to try it. In that month, the headband grew a skull and sported some bead embroider. Oh, and it also became double sided. This first one I finished is just a prototype for me to keep.



It took a lot of energy to make it, so I am unsure if I will make more for my shop. I might (and I will probably break out my sewing machine next time instead of doing all of the stitching by hand). I am not completely happy with the quality of some of the felt (hint, dont use craft felt unless it is the thick kind).



I like the way it came out. I haven't gotten dreads yet to test it out, but that is why I gave it braided leather straps: so I could wear it with either 'normal' hair or dreads. I also love that it has two sides. It is more versatile that way. I am definitely going to make templates out of card stock next time!

Big Butter Jesus!

I know this is post is a long time in the making, but I have been super duper blooper busy lately. Last month my hubs and I took a trip back to our native state to visit a super little niece for her birthday party. On the way, we had to stop by a local crazy landmark... Big Butter Jesus!


Well, he is not really made out of butter, but he sure looks like it! It was thundering and lightening quite close to us, and my camera was on it's last bit of battery juice, but I managed to take a few shots. If you want to see a few more shots, just follow that picture to my Flickr page to see them. If you are not familiar with Big Butter Jesus, he was made famous by the great Heywood Banks song you can see here!




Oh, and my niece had a great party with an awesome pink princess cake made by a neighbor!