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And the winner of the Vita-Mix is…

post from The Hungry Mouse on 19 December 2009 10:58:00 PM. © The Hungry Mouse

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http://www.thehungrymouse.com/home/2009/12/19/and-the-winner-of-the-vita-mix-is/

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Chateau Verde in U.P. Diliman

post from Pinoy Cook: Home cooking rocks! on 19 December 2009 10:26:00 PM. © Pinoy Cook: Home cooking rocks!

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http://pinoycook.net/chateau-verde-in-up-diliman/

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Only one more sleep!

post from Roast Duck and a Big Gooey Cake on 19 December 2009 06:39:00 PM. © Roast Duck and a Big Gooey Cake

Haven't posted for a while - we have been in a whirl of activity getting ready for tomorrow's Open House. It promises to be record attendance, and we are ready!

Cookie baking and decorating complete: check.

Agonising over, selecting and then cooking what will end up being way too much food: check.

Getting the house beautiful: a given!

Now it's time to sleep and pray for a green Christmas.

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http://duckandcake.blogspot.com/2009/12/only-one-more-sleep.html

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

post from Ya Salam Cooking on 19 December 2009 02:51:00 PM. © Ya Salam Cooking

Reese cup candies are one of my favorites and I just so happened to be craving some today so I thought I would make a cupcake that has the same flavors for all of us chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there. Not only are they pretty and fun for kids but for big kids as well. These dynamite cupcakes will crave anyone's sweet tooth.

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Frosting:
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
chocolate sprinkles for garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, cocoa, peanut butter, milk, vanilla and eggs. Mix well with an electric mixture until smooth. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners or spray with oil. Fill cups half way full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

2. Meanwhile, In a large mixing bowl add powdered sugar, shortening, peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well with an electric mixer until smooth and a thick consistency. With a Wilton tip # 30 add frosting to bag and carefully pipe frosting onto cupcake. Sprinkle frosting with chocolate sprinkles.

Yields: 1 dozen

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http://themiddleeasterncook.blogspot.com/2009/12/peanut-butter-chocolate-cupcakes
.html

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Bits & Bites With Joanne Weir

post from Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond on 19 December 2009 01:55:20 PM. © Kalofagas - Greek Food & Beyond

Today’s post is a new feature for my blog…Bits & Bites.On occasion, I will feature someone, be they Greek or a Philhellene who loves Greek food.In each edition of Bits & Bites, I’ll introduce our guest, fire off ten food and[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kalofagas/~3/z1fCQC7JKTI/

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I H.A.V.E a fresh perspective…

post from Cook. Eat. Love. on 19 December 2009 12:55:00 PM. © Cook. Eat. Love.

I had always wondered when I drove past Oppenheimer Park what the big Culinary Institute sign on the front of one of the building was. It seemed so out of place to me that I thought maybe it had formerly been a cooking school but had uprooted to a new location. A location that better suited the sophistication that culinary artistry truly is. I say this because I think people often connect Culinary Arts with high-end restaurants and foods that are unpronounceable on a menu. A connection that leads to a sad misconception of the history of food, the passion of a chef, and the common ground that all chefs share no matter where they work or how successful they have become. At the grass roots of being a chef is a passion, desire and love of cooking that transcends all boundaries of class and race. A chef can rise from anywhere. It can rise from the downtown east side of Vancouver, to the kid at UBC who throws away his degree because his heart is begging him to cook and create. So having thought about it, the Culinary Training Society sign by Oppenheimer Park is exactly where it should be?a place where anyone who loves to cook and create food belongs.

In the book ?The Last Chinese Chef? by Nicole Mones she describes Chinese food history. For the early chefs there was no social status or class that barred one from becoming a great chef and rising from nothing to notoriety and fame. Chefs were highly respected, as the act of eating food in China was more that shoving food in your mouth. It was intertwined with poetry, music, and involved all the senses. One could learn the technical skills to make food but not everyone could cook in a way that created a transcendent experience to the diner.

CTS-sign

When I walked through the doors of the Culinary Training Society I discovered another world behind the sign. This building hosts the H.A.V.E Café. The acronym stands for ?Hope Action Values and Ethics?. The mission of the program is ?to develop a program that will train “employment barriered” people from the downtown eastside and surrounding neighborhoods, and to place them in entry level jobs in restaurant kitchens of the BC Restaurant and Food Association?. The atmosphere of the place is professional but there is also a sense of caring and community.

cts kitchen

CTS inside CTS inside 2

I asked if I could interview someone who is in the program and how it has affected them. I was then introduced to Jackie who in her 4^th week of an 8 week program. Sitting across the table from me was a very wise and passionate trainee who shared with me some of her story.

Jackie is a survivor of the residential schools that displaced thousands of aboriginal children from 1920-1996. The last 3 years of her life were spent on the down town east side drug addicted and having lost everything. The day that changed her life was when she went to a job fair at the corner of Hastings and Main. She met Chef Glen who was fully clad in his chefs uniform and the idea of being a chef stirred long lost dreams of cooking professionally in a kitchen. Up until this point she had been a dishwasher in many restaurants in Vancouver but never promoted beyond that. She wanted a fresh start to her life now and took the first steps to that by joining the program

During our conversation it was so evident that this was a woman with a passion to cook. She was glowing as she talked about cooking and food. When I asked what H.A.V.E meant to her she responded with ?it has changed my life?. The 4 weeks spent there has already boosted her self-confidence and she hopes eventually to be at the end of a prep line. During the end of our conversation she said something that I will remember every time I cook. ?Everything you cook needs TLC. Cooking comes out of love. If you are angry when you are cooking the food doesn?t turn out right. I have learned to leave all the anger over my life to God, only he can truly take care of it?. And this is no angry woman rather compassionate, wise, and talented.

CTS jackie

One name also came up during my conversation with Jackie and that name was Amber Anderson. A woman who is truly respected and loved at the school. Amber has spent 30 years in the food business of Vancouver and now runs the H.A.V.E institute. During our conversation she teared up a few times just talking about her commitment and care of all her trainees.

CTS trainee CTS kitchen 3

The program this talented chef runs is an 8 weeks course that covers all of the cooking basics such as soups, stocks, cold line, hot line and food safe to name a few. She is also partnered with ?The BC Restaurant Association? and is a member of the BC Chefs association. This program is fully funded so every potential trainee has a full scholarship. She said to me ?its tough out there (the down town east side), they come in having been beaten down. Before I even start to teach them to cook I begin to build them back up. To let them know they are loved and have value?. The feeling of community in this place is palpable.

CTS eggs

When a trainee has completed the program they are provided with all the basics to be successful as they begin to work in the restaurant world. They receive the following

A new uniform
2 knives (a paring knife and a French knife).
Food Safe Certification is given at no charge to the students.
Students receive bus tickets to and from the venue, breakfast and lunch, uniforms, tools and a $100 honorarium per student on successful completion of the training.
Graduates are given jobs in the restaurant kitchens of the members of the BC Restaurant and Food Association, subject to a probationary period.

I asked Amber how we could support H.A.V.E best. She gave me some options.

1) Anyone can financially sponsor a student.

2) They are in need of equipment.

3) A cash donation.

4) Small wares that are required in the kitchen.

I also asked her what is on her wish list, she hesitated for a moment and then said ?a dishwasher?. The one they have now is continually breaking down. An industrial dishwasher is anywhere between $5000.00-$9000.00. With more support this is a feasible goal. Contact Stephanie for donation option at stephanieorr@shaw.ca.

I tried to get some recipes out of Jackie and she said no one know the secret to her fabulous spaghetti sauce. If she told me she would have to kill me. She did however share how she makes garlic bread.

Bannock Garlic Bread

Make the bannock

Sauté some minced garlic and then add to real butter

Grate some cheese (whatever kind you have)

Mix the butter, garlic and cheese into the bannock dough

Shape dough into buns or any shape you want

Bake in the oven until they are golden brown

The H.A.V.E café is open every weekday from 8:30-2:00. I had a wonderful Cobb salad and all of the ingredients they use are FRESH. Next time you are in the area, try the H.A.V.E Café.

Technorati Tags: amber anderson, culinary school vancouver, downtown eastside cooking, H.A.V.E Cafe, H.A.V.E Culinary Institute

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http://cook-eat-love.com/2009/12/fresh-perspecive/

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Santacon 2009

post from gracenotes nyc on 19 December 2009 10:04:37 AM. © gracenotes nyc

Last Saturday, I woke up super early to dress up like Santa Claus and run through New York. Here are some pictures from the day (in case you can’t tell, that Saturday was absolutely FREEZING and my Santa outfit was underneath my jacket the entire day). I thought we would spend the majority [...]

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http://gracenotesnyc.com/2009/12/19/santacon-2009/

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Oh, those golden oldies...

I am back to say a quick hello and share with you a small piece of my great love: a melodious Hindi[...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/Jmdl/~3/QXmB6rjCF6g/oh-those-golden-oldie
s.html

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Make a sugar cookie tree

cookie-tree

Sugar cookies are the workhorses of the Christmas cookie world! Need to entertain the kids? Make sugar cookies and decorate them. People coming over and you’re out of chocolate {shudder}? Make sugar cookies. Need something quick to go with the afternoon tea? Sugar cookies to the rescue.

And they also make an adorable tree. I’m sure the kids and grandkids will love this idea. About $9 for the Cookie Tree Kit, containing 10 star-shaped cookie cutters, frosting bags, and the decorating tips you’ll need. Baking and frosting ingredients are not included.

Image: TheHomeMarketplace

Post from: Cooking Gadgets

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http://www.cooking-gadgets.com/make-a-sugar-cookie-tree/

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Tree Trimming

When John pulls the ornament boxes out of the attic each year, I'm filled to the brim with excitement. There is nothing quite like the feeling I get when I pull back that tissue paper and a thousand memories come flooding back to me.

I "ohhhh" and "ahhh" and say "remember this??" a lot.

I get teary eyed, I reminisce, I recollect and "awwww".

In that box there are bits and pieces of my life.

Pieces of him....

and him.....

and places....

like John's first visit to New York City....

or the town of Bled, where Tati's sister lives....

....and the land of chocolate, other wise known as my mecca!

A teeny tiny sweater from Iceland, where John lived for some time....

and New Mexico which was his home for so very long.

There's reminders of the very little boys whose used to stand on a step stools to hang ornaments. Those same little boys now tower over my head.

Handcrafted ornaments for my favorite dog in the whole wide world, the one who snuggles with me when my teenagers don't have the time.

There are many, many handmade ornaments that I've made over the years.

Lots and lots of time spent creating.

My favorite ornaments of all are the ones that were carried home in lunchboxes and backpacks....

...presented with fingers still sticky with glue, toothless smiles beaming up at me.

"I made this for you Mama". I can still see those moments.

The hours spent at the kitchen table with paint and yarn.

Some from right where we live.

This one melts my heart. John's nickname for me is Sweet Pea, which he says with a over exaggerated southern accent. It makes me smile every time he says it. I almost cried when I saw this sweet pea ornament. Just perfect.

Like him.

Read The Full Article:
http://thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com/2009/12/tree-trimming.html