New York Monday
October 4, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Food Blogging Events, New York Monday, World Bread Day | 13 Comments
On the way from the post office, I passed by this discarded sofa chair on the sidewalk. Obviously, the owner didn’t need it anymore but I’m sure that someone would come by and make good use of it. I’ve thrown out many things before (from furniture to books) and within a very short time, found that someone had picked it up. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.
On another note, I’d like to pass along the word that the 4th edition of World Bread Day 2009 — Yes, We Bake is coming up on October 16, 2009. It’s a fun event in which to participate. For more information, stop by Zorra’s blog.
Have a great week, everyone!
Paz
Offline for a While
August 30, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements | 10 Comments
Shortly after my last post, due to lightning during a thunderstorm, I lost all the computers in my home. I also lost access to the internet. The external hard drive where I saved all my photos and other stuff were destroyed, too. When I get a new computer and am back online, I’ll be back blogging and visiting everyone.
Best,
Paz
Help Donate 1,000 Cookies for Mother’s Day…
April 18, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Cookies, Donation, Drop in & Decorate | 9 Comments
… and have fun in the process.
Wonderful Lydia of The Perfect Pantry, founder of Drop In & Decorate® is asking for our help to participate in the latest Drop In & Decorate® holiday event.
Drop In & Decorate® is a fun event where you and your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers (everyone/anyone) get together and decorate cookies (like a cookie-decorating party) then you donate the cookies to places serving people in difficult circumstances during the holiday season — like an emergency shelter, local food pantry, senior center.
Lydia has organized a Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® Mothers Day Celebration, which will take place from May 1-10, 2009. Her goal is to donate 1,000 cookies to agencies across the country.
For example, Lydia is hosting her own decorating party and will donate the cookies to Lucy’s Hearth, SSTARbirth, and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
She writes that "You, too, can honor moms everywhere by hosting (or helping to organize) your own cookie decorating party, with your friends, family, co-workers or faith group. We’ll write about all of the Mothers Day events (and link to your blog) on our site."
The Drop In & Decorate® organization will also give a prize to the host who donates the most cookies. The prize package includes free coupons for organic ready-to-bake cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co.
If you’d like to participate in this Cookies-for-Donation event, contact Lydia:
Lydia AT dropinanddecorate DOT org
She’ll send you more info on how to host your own cookies-for-donation event. In the meantime, she’s passed along some responses to Frequently Asked Questions.
Thanks for your help!
Paz
Ed. Note: Fourteen different Mother’s Day events have started already. You can read about it here.
—————————
Mothers Day Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® Cookies for Donation
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I take part in the Coast-to-Coast Drop In & Decorate® event?
It’s easy — your party can be big, or just you and your kids, or a couple of friends. Pick a date between May 1-10. Bake cookies ahead of time (or ask people to bring baked cookies). Invite a few friends over to decorate, or invite your entire neighborhood to join in. Then wrap your cookies, and deliver to a local agency or shelter.
Where do I donate the cookies?
To your local food pantry, Ronald McDonald House, senior center, homeless shelter, or domestic abuse shelter. For Mother’s Day, why not look for an agency serving women and children? If you don’t know of an agency to take your cookies, we’ll help you find a recipient.
Is there a prize for whoever donates the most cookies to their agency?
Yes! Besides the warm feelings that come from giving a gift of kindness, Drop In & Decorate has a special prize pack for the host whose event donates the most cookies to their designated agency: A reuseable canvas shopping bag, three large cookie cutters, and 5 coupons for free ready-to-bake organic cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co. — enough to bake 120 cookies! Just let us know that you’re planning an event; then, send us the name of your recipient agency, the number of decorated cookies you donated, and photos to share on our site at www.dropinanddecorate.org.
How much does a party cost?
If you already have the ingredients for your favorite type of sugar cookie in your pantry, the party is absolutely free! If you’d like to purchase supplies similar to those used at the flagship event, download our "host your own cookie decorating party" brochure for supplies and sources.
Can I use your logo for my event?
Yes! Send me an email, and I’ll send you a JPG.
Cebollas Encurtidas (Pickled Onions)
February 8, 2009 | Filed Under Announcements, Ecuadorian Recipes, Latin Recipes, Laylita's Recipes blog | 13 Comments
Hi Everyone. I haven’t meant to seemingly abandon this food blog. I know it’s been a while since I’ve put up a new post here. Unfortunately, life is keeping me extremely busy and stressed. As a result, I haven’t had much time to blog here or visit other blogs. Forgive me, please. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me and left messages here to make sure I was okay. I very much appreciate your concern.
Anytime I go to the neighborhood Dominican restaurant and order mangú or one of my other favorite Latin meals, it comes with a typical side dish — cebollas encurtidas (pickled onions). They are tasty sweet/sour-tasting pink, thinly sliced onions. Normally, I have to beg them to add an extra serving of the pickled onions. Depending on who waits on me, I get an amused or annoyed look before they comply.
Thanks to Laylita’s Recipes, I’ve now found out how to make my own cebollas encurtidas. My own pickled onions! Yay! I no longer have to beg for an extra serving of onions. Surprisingly, it’s easy to prepare. All I need are red onions, lime, salt and a little bit of time of patience (waiting three hours or overnight for the onions to turn pink). Oh, Layla’s recipe calls for sunflower oil. I didn’t have that and used olive oil on one occassion and canola oil at another time. And viola! I have my tasty onions. The only thing I need to practice is cutting the onions to produce nice, fine slices. I’m told that it takes a good tomato knife and lots of practice. I’m ready to practice my heart out to make nice, even onion slices. Thanks, Layla!
Before I end my post, I wanted to let you know that I’ve opened a Zazzle Gallery, where I’ve put up a few postcards for sale. These postcards have photos of NYC that you’ll see on my photo blog. At the moment, I have 10 postcards featured. If there’s a photo, in which you’re interested, let me know I’ll see it is possible to turn it into a postcard. Check the gallery when you have a chance.
If any of you miss New York Monday, don’t forget that you can always go here to find a NYC photo.
Paz
Cebollas Encurtidas (Pickled Onions)
Ingredients:
2 small red onions
Juice of 3 limes
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 tablespoon salt + more to adjust taste
Preparation:
- Cut the onion in half, slice very finely (a mandolin is very helpful with this part) and place in a bowl
- Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and a squeeze of lime juice, let rest for about 10 minutes
- Cover the onions with lukewarm water and let rest for another 10 minutes
- Rinse and drain the onions
- Add the lime juice, salt and the oil, and mix well.
- Cover the onions and place in the fridge, the onions will start to turn pinkish after about 3 hours, and will turn very pink if left overnight. Taste again before serving and add salt if needed.
Good News: My Caribbean Cookbook
December 14, 2008 | Filed Under Announcements, Caribbean Recipes, Cookbooks | 10 Comments
Cynthia of Tastes like Home has a cookbook out. It’s called My Carribean Cookbook. What a delectable title! She always makes scrumptious-looking and sounding meals on her blog, so I know her cookbook will produce the same types of recipes. Check out Cynthia’s blog; you can buy the book here.
Paz
