Good Bite and Real Women of Philadelphia
April 2, 2010 by Andrea
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I’ve been keeping a bit of news under wraps, waiting for the right time to announce it, and today is the day…

I recently joined the cast of contributors at GoodBite.com and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Good Bite and Philadelphia Cream Cheese asked me to participate in the Real Women of Philadelphia campaign to promote this fun opportunity. Paula Deen is looking for the next big cooking stars, and enthusiastic home cooks are encouraged to submit videos of you making your favorite dish with cream cheese. I made my own cooking video featuring one of my favorite cream cheese recipes, which you can view below and on GoodBite.com (recipe on Good Bite). Four women will be selected to be the Real Women of Philadelphia and win $25,000 plus a chance to meet Paula Deen. Read more
Menu for Hope VI, December 14-25, 2009
December 14, 2009 by Andrea
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UPDATE: Menu for Hope winners have been announced! Check out the post at Chez Pim to see if you won a prize.
UPDATE: Menu for Hope winners will be announced on January 18 at Chez Pim.
UPDATE: Menu for Hope has been extended to December 31, so you have more time to bid and support the World Food Programme.
It’s time! Menu for Hope starts today and runs through December 25. Each December food bloggers from all over the world work together to raise money for charity, and last year the event raised over $62,000 in support of the U.N. World Food Programme’s work in Lesotho, a model food program that encourages local farming and uses the locally grown foods to feed lunch to local school children
This year the recipient will be a new initiative with the WFP called Purchase for Progress (P4P), a program that enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation. These farmers learn better farming practices and increase their income, which helps their local economies and creates more jobs.
The raffle is managed by First Giving and all money passes through their hands. Tickets cost $10 each and each ticket gives you one chance on the item of your choice. There is a wonderful list of bid items to choose from, and Pim has the master list of bid items on her site. There are also regional coordinators who have helped organize the items and donors, and we give hugs and many thanks to:
US: West Coast
Shauna of Gluten Free Girl
US: East Coast (I’m in this group.)
Helen of Tartelette
Europe *and* the UK
David Lebovitz
Canada
Tara of Seven Spoons
Asia, Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
Ed Charles of Tomato
and, last but not least, our special Wine Blog Host
Alder of Vinography
And now for the bid items I’m hosting…
BID ITEM 1 (Code: UE26)
Stonyfield Farm Yogurt is supporting Menu for Hope with a package of Stonyfield Products:
- Stonyfield Yogurt cookbook
- Coupons for free Oikos yogurt, value US$65
- Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, by Gary Hirshberg (CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm Yogurt), the inspiring story of how Stonyfield Farm built their business based on environmental principles and practices.
- Stonyfield Fleece Jacket
- Oikos Organic Cotton T-shirt
- Oikos tote bag
- Stonyfield hat
TOTAL VALUE: US$202.78
This item can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

BID ITEM 2 (Code: UE27)
I am offering a 2-piece kitchen knife set from New West Knifeworks. These are beautiful and functional pieces of knife art. The set contains a chopper and a paring knife with Fusionwood handles, and the winner gets to choose the color of the handles. Each knife comes with its own leather sheath and a lifetime guarantee. For more information on New West Knifeworks knives, take a look at the review on the New West Knifeworks Santoku knife I wrote earlier this year.
VALUE: US$139.00
This item can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.
If you want a chance to win either of these items, go to First Giving – Menu for Hope 6 and enter code UE26 for the Stonyfield Farm Yogurt gift package or UE27 for the New West Knifeworks knife set. Be sure to check out all the bid items available as there are always some great things to bid on!
To donate and enter the Menu for Hope Raffle, here’s what you need to do:
1. Choose a bid item or bid items of your choice from our Menu for Hope main bid item list.
2. Go to the Menu for Hope donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
3. Please specify which bid item you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per bid item, and please use the bid item code. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02 – 2xEU01, 3xEU02. Don’t forget to enter this information!
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
Thank you for supporting Menu for Hope!
Menu for Hope Starts Monday
December 12, 2009 by Andrea
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It’s that time of year, when food bloggers from all over the world work together to raise money for charity. In years past Menu for Hope, founded by Pim of Chez Pim, has raised money for tsunami and earthquake relief and supported the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). This year Menu for Hope will continue supporting the work of the WFP via a new initiative called Purchase for Progress (P4P). This project enables smallholder and low-income farmers to supply food to WFP’s global operation. These farmers learn better farming practices and increase their income, which helps their local economies and creates more jobs.
We raise money via a raffle, with prizes donated by bloggers, restaurants, chefs, authors, and companies from all over the world. This year I am excited to host two prizes for Menu for Hope, one of which has been donated by one of my very favorite companies, and the other a prize that I selected personally and am sure any cook will enjoy. But I’m not telling what they are just yet! Come back on Monday to get the full details on the prizes and how to enter the raffle!
The Springpad Thanksgiving Menu Contest
November 17, 2009 by Andrea
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Have you planned your Thanksgiving menu yet? I confess it’s just over a week away and and we are still finalizing the menu. Right now we know we are having turkey—we already have the turkey in hand—and some kind of rolls, the rest is still to be decided. We always have a hard time narrowing down from our list of favorites and of course we like to try at least one new dish, so I need to get cracking!
This year Springpad wants to help you with your Thanksgiving meal planning and give you and a blogger a chance to win a little cash. Check out their Happy Springsgiving contest and pick your favorite Thanksgiving dishes from seven different menus selected by food bloggers, including yours truly. Vote for your favorites by springing your favorite recipe(s) to your Springpad account. The blogger whose menu gets the most total springs (votes) will win $500 and one lucky voter will be randomly selected to win $100. And of course I hope that one of my readers wins!
The other bloggers who entered the contest:
Here’s my contest menu with a small family in mind:


Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast and Gravy

Brown Butter Green Beans with Almonds

Roasted Butternut Squash Puree with Ginger

Cranberry Orange Upside Down Cake with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream
I hope you have fun with the contest!
Drop In & Decorate
November 9, 2009 by Andrea
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In December 2008 our family hosted our first Drop In & Decorate event in our home. We opened our house up to friends and neighbors, anyone who wanted to drop by and make one cookie or several cookies to donate to families in need during the holiday season. Our local moms group helped 17 families with food, clothing, and toys, and the cookie decorators made a dozen cookies for each family. We had a wonderful time and hopefully made life a little more special for others with the gift of homemade cookies, and we plan to do it again this year. Read more
Springpad, A New Way to Track Your Favorite Recipes
October 5, 2009 by Andrea
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This has been in the works for a long time, and I’m delighted to announce that my readers now have a new way to organize your favorite recipes from this site and many others. Today is the official launch of springpad, a free service that helps you organize your life, and this site has partnered with springpad, enabling you to easily keep track of the recipes you like.
Here are some highlights of the new springpad for people who love to cook, like you and me: Read more


































