With the holiday season underway, we love getting the chance to point out some of the fun, socially distanced things going on in Goodyear and our own neighborhood. This is one example!
This weekend, December 12th and 13th, the Estrella Foothills High School Performing Arts Center is hosting a holiday variety show in partnership with Ghostlight Theater! Six holiday-themed acts will be performing, with an emcee to host and surprise guests during set changes. There’s limited in-person attendance, but it will be live-streamed online from Estrella Foothills High School over the weekend, making it fairly easy (and safe!) to enjoy from home!
There will be four performances over the weekend, including a December 12th dress rehearsal at 3:00 PM, a December 12th performance at 7:00 PM, and December 13th performances at 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. The whole show is slated to last around an hour and a half each time, and if you don’t have the time to check it out this weekend, don’t worry; after the fact, a recording should be available on Vimeo, our Goodyear City Website, and the Goodyear Parks and Recreation Facebook page. You don’t have to catch it live to enjoy it, so you can save it for later in the month to watch with family! The show features Broadway show tunes from James Gish, and a Night Before Christmas retelling, among other acts.
Register and get more information here !
Whether it’s hot or cold outside, there are just some drinks that are a fun part of wintry celebrations. Some of these gems are simple enough to make from home, and we recommend it! We’ve compiled a list of recipes for a few delicious hot drinks to try on nights when you feel like having something warm.
Maple Chai Tea Latte
Ingredients:
1 and ½ cup of milk of your choice, including non-dairy milk replacements
1-2 chai tea bags, two if you’d prefer a stronger chai flavor in your tea
1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired
Directions:
First, heat your milk (or milk replacement!) in a small pot on the stove until it’s steaming, but not boiling. Place your chai tea bag into a mug. When the milk is steaming, pour it into the mug over the tea bags, and steep for 3-5 minutes, before removing the tea bag. Then, stir the maple syrup and vanilla into the mixture in the mug, and serve hot. If you want, you can add ground cinnamon or nutmeg, to taste. To do this for more than one serving, just multiply the ingredients by how many people you’re serving!
This milky tea is delicious, sweet, and provides a little bit of a caffeine boost.
Easy Blender Eggnog
For this sweet winter drink, you need a blender. However, it’s fairly simple to make for yourself, and definitely tasty!
Ingredients:
2 cups of heavy cream
4 large eggs
½ a cup of granulated sugar
¼ a teaspoon of nutmeg
Directions:
In a medium saucepan on the stove, combine the heavy cream, nutmeg, and sugar. Bring them to a simmer. In your blender, blend all the eggs on a low speed for about a minute. Keep the motor running, and slowly add the hot cream mixture from the stove. Blend it around 30 seconds, until frothy, and drink warm!
French Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate is always a classic, and it’s fun to put a twist on those from time to time. This rich, chocolatey drink will definitely make for a great winter night dessert!
Ingredients:
½ a cup of milk
1 ounce of chopped dark chocolate -- this should be at least 70% dark chocolate, as you’re going to be adding sugar
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
Whipped cream, if desired
Directions:
Start by chopping your dark chocolate into small pieces. Then, heat your milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When the milk is warm (not boiling), add your dark chocolate and brown sugar, and stir until the chocolate is melted and all ingredients are fully combined. Bring the hot chocolate mixture to a low simmer for around 2-3 minutes, until thickened, stirring constantly as it simmers. Finally, pour the cocoa into a cup and top with whipped cream, and drink!
The holidays are a wonderful time of year to take a little extra time to think about how to give back to your local community, and though some things are out of the ordinary, this year is no exception! With the holidays approaching quickly, we have a list of a couple of local ways to volunteer safely, largely from the comfort of your own home.
Agua Fria Food & Clothing Bank
The Agua Fria Food & Clothing Bank is always accepting donations of food, clothing, and hygiene products, so it’s a good option year-round! They’re located at 405 East Harrison Drive in Avondale, Arizona, they accept food and clothing donations Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There’s more information at the link above, including a list of their most-needed items for donation!
United Nations Online Volunteering
The United Nations offers an online volunteering program, which is easy and effective, accessible from anywhere and on any device with access to the internet. Their volunteer program strives to “contribute to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide,” and they’re consistently accepting new volunteers! They strive towards sustainable development goals, and provide more information, including the link to sign up to be one of their volunteers, at the link above.
Pillows For Kiddos
Pillow for Kiddos needs volunteers to help create pillows for every kindergartner in the Pendergast Elementary School District, in Avondale, Phoenix, and Tolleson! They want the volunteers to cut fabric and sew pillows with a pocket that will then hold a book for the kids. The sewing can be done off-site, so in your own home! If you’re handy with a needle and thread, this is a great way to give back very locally, and help make some kids happy.
With the upcoming holidays, we’re wishing you warmth and light! If you do end up volunteering, at any of these suggestions or others, we’d love to hear about how you’ve given back to the community in the comments.
Caramel Apple Bites
Ingredients:
2 green Granny Smith apples
1 package of Rolo candies
1 package of mini pretzel twists
Toothpicks
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. On a baking tray, lay out all of your pretzels, and place a single Rolo candy on each. Heat these in the oven for 4-5 minutes, until the candy is softened but not fully melted.
Then, chop your apple into small chunks. You want them to be large enough to hold the pretzel and the Rolo, so don’t make them too small. If you’re worried about your apples browning, you can squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over them (which is a great tip for apple slices in general!)
Place one apple chunk onto a toothpick, and spear the pretzels with Rolos onto the toothpick on top, until it’s pushed through both your apple chunk and the candy with pretzels. The apple chunk should be at the top, with the end of the toothpick sticking out of it, and the candy and pretzel underneath, so the pretzel can form a solid base and keep them upright. Repeat this until each chocolate pretzel has an apple attached. Then, eat! This recipe is simple enough that you can easily make it with your family as a fun group activity.
Crustless Apple Pie
This is a slightly more complicated recipe, but sure to be a delicious dessert for autumn nights that will warm you to your bones!
Ingredients:
3 large apples, cored and halved vertically. You want a firm species of apple, because the softer ones aren’t great for baking.
⅔ a cup of rolled oats
6 tablespoons of melted butter
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
¼ a cup of granulated sugar, with some extra to sprinkle
Warm caramel, for drizzling
Vanilla ice cream to serve with
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place each apple half face down, and use a paring knife to cut thin slices across the rounded half of the apple. You want to stop slicing before the bottom of the apple, so it all stays together as one coherent piece. Transfer your apple slices to your baking tray.
Brush your apple tops with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, and sprinkle all of them with sugar. Then, bake your apples for about 25 minutes, until they are soft and caramelized. Remove the softened, caramelized apples from the oven.
In a small bowl, mix together the remaining melted butter, and your sugar, cinnamon, and rolled oats. Spoon your mixture inside the slits in your cooked apples. Then, return them to the oven, and bake for ten more minutes.
Remove the tray once more. For serving, top with a scoop of ice cream, and drizzle with the warm caramel. Serve warm.
Warm Spiced Nuts
Now for a savory recipe, to finish off our list! These warm spiced nuts will be a tasty snack for movie nights with the family.
Ingredients:
1 cup of raw almonds
1 cup of unsalted roasted peanuts
1 cup of halved pecans
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons of melted butter
½ a teaspoon of garlic salt
¼ a teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of chili powder
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all your types of nuts. In a smaller bowl, you should mix together the melted butter and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour that mixture over the nut mix, and toss it to coat them fully in it. Spread your nuts and sauce mixture in a single layer over a baking tray, and bake until browned, stirring occasionally. This should take around 30 minutes.
Remove the baked nuts, and transfer them to a bowl. Combine your garlic salt, chili powder, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture over the baked nuts, stirring to coat them with the seasoning. Serve warm, and store once cooled, in an airtight container.
We hope you enjoy these fun, fairly simple fall-themed snacks! Let us know if you have another favorite seasonal snack for this time of year.
Exciting news for any residents with a fondness for rock and roll: Goodyear is partnering with Alice Cooper and his Solid Rock Teen Centers to host Goodyear Rocks, a live-streamed concert for the people of our city (and elsewhere in the world, if they’d like) to enjoy from the cozy comfort of their own homes! That, of course, includes our residents here at Acero Estrella Commons, who will have the wonderful opportunity to experience a live concert in a time when those types of events can be exceedingly difficult to come by.
The concert will be taking place on November 21st, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and will be streamed here . Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit begun by the rock legend (and Arizona resident!) Alice Cooper to help create support systems for teenagers through the medium of music and art, and is an incredibly worthy cause. Their web page describes their mission in the following way: “We believe a renewed sense of self-worth and purpose provides a meaningful foundation for the youth in local communities. At Solid Rock our goal is to provide a landing place for all teens. This local sanctuary is provided to support an exciting and creative journey for teens.” If the enticement of a rock concert isn’t enough of a draw, you can know you’re supporting an important movement at the same time! You can learn more about the charity on their website .
Four bands are scheduled for the Goodyear Rocks concert, all made up of teenagers who have made use of the Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center in Phoenix, Arizona, making this a rock concert fully made up of local bands. These bands include Summer, SunKissed, Conrad Varela, and Retro-Active. As the concert isn’t taking place until the 21st, there’s plenty of time for you to research these bands and give them a listen to feel out your opinion on each! Don’t worry, though; the bands have defined playtimes, so if one of them isn’t up your alley, you can tune in for the rest of the concert and avoid anything you’re not interested in. The current schedule is Summer at 5:00 PM to 5:50 PM, Sunkissed at 6:00 PM to 6:50 PM, Conrad Varela at 7:00 PM to 7:50 PM, and Retro-Active at 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM. You and your family could take in an entire concert without ever leaving home, and still go to bed at a reasonable time!
The goal of the concert is to provide an event of “inspiration, hope, and great music,” according to a representative of the Teen Center. We fully agree: Goodyear does rock, and we can’t wait to rock out with them!
See the Goodyear city event page here for further information!
What a sweet national holiday this is! National Vanilla Cupcake Day is on November 10th, and we thought it would be a fun opportunity to highlight some local Goodyear bakeries we haven’t mentioned before, and fill you in on some of their best items so you can celebrate properly with a pastry.
Purple Elephant Cakes
First on our list is Purple Elephant Cakes, a whimsical name matched by their playful style and goals! They aim to make delicious, cheerful desserts using all-natural and largely local ingredients, with some imports from France and Belgium for their chocolate. But don’t worry -- this nearby bakery isn’t overly stuffy. They like to have fun, and sell delicious cupcakes, cake pops, macarons, and gelato in a variety of flavors. Their cupcakes include, of course, the classic vanilla this holiday is named for, as well as flavors like honey lavender, caramel marble, mocha pecan, and more! They also sell some gluten free cupcakes, for those among us that need the option. They do both delivery and takeout, and their online menu makes it easy to decide beforehand exactly what you want to order.
(Image from Purple Elephant Cakes)
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Okay, so on the most technical of levels, a bundt cake isn’t exactly the same as a basic cake -- but just as cupcakes are tiny versions of full-sized cakes, Nothing Bundt Cakes’ miniature bundt cakes (called bundtlets) are the cupcakes of bundt cakes! They do delivery, takeout, and curbside pickup, and even have an online ordering option on their website. Their menu boasts individually sold bundtlets, bundtinis (which are bite-sized), and even full-sized bundt cakes, if you want to get really crazy. They have flavors like classic vanilla, pecan praline, and white chocolate raspberry, and their signature cream cheese frosting is sure to satisfy.
(Image from Nothing Bundt Cakes)
Abbie Cakes
The last suggestion on our list, Abbie Cakes in Litchfield Park focuses on custom cakes for special occasions and celebrations, but they also serve individual pre-made treats in their Sweet Kitchen! They focus on consistency and quality, and definitely sell more than just cupcakes, with cookie sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, and banana bread also on their menu, among other things. When it comes to their cupcakes options, they have delicious options like birthday cake with strawberry buttercream, salted caramel mocha, and churro salted caramel.
(Photo from Abbie Cakes)
Happy National Vanilla Cupcakes Day, residents! We hope you enjoy yourselves, and maybe give one of these nearby bakeries a taste test.
