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Hello

Hello again, How is everyone this Halloween season? in good spirits?

Ok, enough about you, now on to me. There's so much to talk about. It's all about feeding...but not much about food...what?  you say...isn't feeding and food the same? Read on, you'll see...

Let's start with feeding our souls....giving back. We're at it again. We will be heading downtown to serve Thanksgiving dinner to our friends at the City's winter shelter and the Metro Hotel.

Email me if you would like to be on our volunteer list. Volunteering can mean any number of things.
You can volunteer your time or your resources. We also need cash donations and food donations as well as donations of good quality used winter coats, blankets and sleeping bags.

Jaq from Jaqdwear, a clothing designer & one of our long time volunteers, is speer heading a project to make blankets to donate. She needs your help too! More info on all of this can be found in the "It's time to give back" article below.

The next big news feeds my soul and helps me feed the tax man. (-:

Just Call Us Catering is expanding! I am building out a commercial kitchen that will be a 24/7 365 shared use kitchen. There is a huge need for affordable commercial kitchen space where young growing businesses can test their products, stretch and grow without the huge capital investment needed to build your own kitchen.

I'm calling it Just Call Us Kitchen Rental. I am so very excited to realize this project after dreaming about it for 4 years. Stay tuned as there will be more announcements and open houses to follow. We anticipate being open for business by Feb 1, 2010.

     
IT'S TIME TO GIVE BACK
  HALLOWEEN FUN FACTS

It's that time of year again, we're heading downtown to feed our less fortunate neighbors. I've spoken with the Alpha Project and we are a GO to serve Thanksgiving dinner to the Metro Hotel and the city's winter shelter. Our friends at St Mark's Methodist and Holy Cross Lutheran Churches have again graciously donated their kitchens to us for the prep and cooking!

And here's some more exciting news.
The Hyatt Manchester has sent a memo suggesting that any employees not wanting their holiday turkey to re-gift it to us!!! Thank you so very much Hyatt. We and our dinner guests so appreciate your employees' generosity.

So again we are looking for volunteers, monetary donations and good quality used winter coats, sleeping bags and blankets.
Speaking of BLANKETS one of our dedicated volunteers who also happens to have a clothing design company, Jacqueline Berry of Jaqdwear has come up with a fun project...
make a blanket to donate!!!!

Here's how you can get involved:
You do not need to know how to sew to make a blanket, we will show you how
Or
-You can help us by purchasing supplies to make blankets or you can donate and we'll purchase the supplies.

Supplies we need are:
Fleece fabric 1 ? to 2 yards & thread. The cost of this yardage varies between $3-10 a yard depending on what you want to purchase.

You can buy fabric that is a solid color or that has patterns and appliqu?. it's up to you!

E mail Jaq if you're interested in helping out with blankets!  [email protected]
All questions are always welcome!

This promises to be a very fun filled rewarding event. Our tiny little project is gaining community support and we want YOU to jump on the bandwagon too!
email me if you'd like to be on my volunteer e mail list. Thanx!



Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. It began as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to deceased relatives and friends. For these friendly spirits, they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world.

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.



KITCHEN TIP: KEEPING CARROTS FRESH
When storing carrots, cut off the tops. The carrot tops draw the water out of the carrots which results in them wilting sooner. If your carrots do begin to wilt just cut a fresh end and  stand the carrots up in room temperature water with the cut end in the water. The carrots will absorb this water and get nice and crisp again.
 
 

Chef Julie

Chef Julie

Chef Julie

RECIPES OF THE MONTH:

ALIEN COOKIES
Ingredients:
?   1/2 cup butter
?   1/4 cup shortening
?   1cup granulated sugar
?   2 tablespoons light corn syrup
?   2 large eggs
?   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

?   1/2 teaspoon almond extract
?   1/8 teaspoon salt
?   2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
?   1 teaspoon baking powder
?   2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
?   1/3 cup cream
?   Black decorating gel or black gumdrops
  

Preparation:
1. Cream butter, shortening and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in corn syrup, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts and salt; mix until fluffy. Sift together 1-3/4 cups flour and baking powder and stir into sugar mixture; blend well. Cover dough; refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375?F. Sprinkle flat surface with remaining flour and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out faces with oval or egg shaped cookie cutters. Use edge of a teaspoon to form teardrop-shaped eyes. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until sides begin to brown slightly. Cool on cooling rack positioned over sheet of waxed paper.

3. To make glaze, sift confectioners' sugar and add cream, tablespoon by tablespoon, until smooth and thin. Pour glaze over cooled cookies on rack. (Waxed paper will catch drips.) Once glaze is dry, decorate faces with black gel or use sliced black gumdrops to make eyes.

Yield 36 cookies

   

CARROT FINGER DIP

Ingredients:
?    vegetable dip
?    4 long carrots
?    1 medium carrot
?    softened cream cheese
?    sliced-almond
?    baby carrots

Instructions:
1. To prepare them, just fill a serving bowl with your favorite vegetable dip. Wash and peel 4 long carrots for fingers and 1 medium carrot for a thumb.
2. With a paring knife (a parent's job), cut a flat, shallow notch in the tip of each carrot. Then use a dab of dip or softened cream cheese to glue a sliced-almond fingernail atop each notch.
3.Stick the fingers in the dip, as shown, and serve with plenty of peeled baby carrots for dipping.
HAVE A GHOULISH HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
 
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