Apron Strings

Our Most Fun and Festive Creation of 2011: Flower Power Eggs

We had a blast cooking up recipes in 2011, and as Exhibit A of that proposition, I give you the photo above – our Flower Power Eggs — a idea I created one day when thinking of how to turn eggs into a flower shape and wound up using bell pepper rings, which, turns out, look a lot like flowers when sliced up.

In Januaries past, I dutifully penned my wish list: Lose weight. Exercise more. Read more. Blah, blah, blah.

This year, I’m throwing caution to the wind and centering my resolutions around my passion for food. C’mon. If you’re reading this blog, you must have a few food wishes of your own for 2012, No?

Okay, food fans, I’ll take the plunge first.

1.  MAKE MORE MISTAKES

It is often said that we learn more from our failures than from our successes. This is especially true in cooking. I remember the caramel that turned to cement, the fondue that was a clump of cheesy greasy goo and the souffles that flopped much more than I do the enchiladas I can make in my sleep. I hereby resolve to be willing to make more mistakes rather than going with what is “safe.” Because sometimes, just sometimes, the”mistakes” turn into a whole new door being opened, a new talent being discovered. Heck, who knows? I might even try baking some bread!

Other resolutions are:

2.  Take on a charitable food cause.
3.  Join a CSA.
4.  Try something new every week.
5.  Expand my repertoire.
6.  Clean out my freezer.
7.  Small healthy changes in Baby Steps
8.  Learn how to use my pressure cooker
9.  Stop taking labels for granted
10.  Have more fun in the kitchen!

Read more about upcoming foodie adventures in 2012 . . .

Read the rest of this entry →

It’s a natural inclination at this time of year to look for ways to help others, and for us, those that involve the fundamental, communal connection of food are of special note. This project is particularly inspiring, as it seeks to help youth provide for their own community – an investment that will grow for years. And the impact on nutrition, and thus on their health, is part of the mission as well.

Every little bit counts in their Start Some Good fundraiser. From their site:

This year at Grow Dat Youth Farm, we will hire 20 teenagers to grow 10,000 pounds of food. To make this a reality, we are excited to announce our first annual campaign to “Grow the Green”. Help us employ teenagers to grow food for their community! 

The Grow Dat Youth Farm came to life last year with the mission to nurture a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. The idea for Grow Dat is simple: hire young adults, whose job options are often limited to fast food restaurants, to grow food for their community. In New Orleans we suffer from diet-related disease in numbers even higher than the staggering national averages.  We believe in the ability of young adults not only to change those patterns in their own lives but to be leaders who can affect change throughout their community. At Grow Dat, we give young people the skills to do just that. 

Each youth employee earns $1550 over the course of their 20-week job training program. They learn how to grow, process, sell and prepare fresh food by working on the farm, at farmers’ markets and at hunger relief agencies. Youth employees also receive training in communication, public speaking, cooking and nutrition, financial health and food justice.

We have raised two-thirds of the money necessary to hire 20 teenagers in January. We are launching this campaign to raise the remaining $9,300 we need. During the holiday season we are hoping you will help us by giving the gift of employment. Everyone who donates will receive a downloadable PDF “Thanks For Giving” card which you can share with friends and family on whose behalf you have purchased this gift.

For more information, check out the Grow Dat Youth Farm page. Please consider a contribution to this wonderful project!