Live to Bake

When I attended the Boston Foodie Social last month, I met a remarkable young girl with a vision. She made it her Bat Mitzvah project to raise money for a charity known as FutureChefs. Samantha Cooper has put together a beautiful cookbook of bake-worthy recipes, and mouthwatering photos, all in the name of fund raising!

This 12-year-old foodie has been baking since she was 2, and has big goals in mind for her project! She has already reached her goal to raise $5,000 for her charity, and she plans to keep going! She's already sold over 250 books! FutureChefs' mission, as stated on their website, is to "prepare motivated, low-income Boston area youth for quality early employment and post-secondary education in the culinary field, where the demand for skilled professionals is consistently high." This program is privately-funded, so Samantha's contributions can make a huge difference in the curriculum that they can offer their students. Many restaurants and establishments in the community also contribute to this organization!

Samantha's mother, and totally awesome PR rep, was kind enough to give me a copy of the book so that I could try a few recipes before writing a post. The first thing I tried was Samantha's recipe for pancakes, from scratch. No mix involved here! I had all the ingredients on a cold, Saturday morning, so I gathered them, and concocted the batter while my pan was heating. These were some great pancakes! I served them with some heated Blood Orange marmalade, from Stonewall Kitchen, but my husband wanted syrup - he loves maple syrup!

There's so many recipes in this book that I want to make, but the second one I chose were the Ricotta cookies. I had some ricotta in the fridge, and all the other ingredients in the pantry. Samantha's recipes are really easy to understand and follow. Even an amateur baker would be hard-pressed to mess these up! Her writing is clear and concise, and the measurements are perfect! She even suggests ways to decorate your final products!

So far, the response to Live to Bake has been fantastic and exciting, and she's in the home stretch of her project, culminating with her Bat Mitzvah. However, I'm sure that this won't be the last you see of Samantha! She is so dedicated to her cause that she sought FutureChefs out after another charity she had been involved with closed its doors last year.

Live to Bake can be purchased by sending an email to Live To Bake. Each book costs $25 and 100% of the proceeds are donated to FutureChefs! I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this wonderful collection!

Next up on my list: the biscotti with cranberries soaked in vodka. What could POSSIBLY be bad about that!?!?!

A Foodie Social and Some Other Announcements

I just got home from the Boston Foodie Social, an event that I heard about through a deal on Bloomspot, and decided to take advantage of. As we walked into the venue, I was a bit underwhelmed, at first glance, to the amount of vendors in the room, but I ended up meeting a bunch of really great people, with amazing products to offer. I treated my visit as a networking opportunity and spoke with vendors about blogging opportunities, and I was greeted with a wonderful response. I'm happy to report that I've gotten quite a few business cards, been introduced to many new products, and hope to offer reviews of these products in the very near future.

I learned of some healthy new products on the market, met some innovative chefs, new to the Boston scene, and even spoke with a 12-year old girl from the area who has released a cookbook to raise money for the charity, FutureChefs. Impressive, right!? I'm excited to get in touch with all of these new friends, and hopefully partner with them to bring you information on the latest and greatest on the market! So, stay tuned!

As another annoucement, I've made a decision. I'm going to culinary school! Okay, well, not in the literal sense. I have a version of the Culinary Institute of America's textbook, and I've decided that, as a project, I'm going to read it, from front to back, chapter to chapter, and take myself through the curriculum that a culinary student would face. Be on the lookout for posts from each lesson that I learn, and join me on my journey through my own version of "culinary school." It's going to be an exciting ride!