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IMAGINE 2016

February 25, 2016

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Next weekend, March 5th I am honoured to be a part of the IMAGINE, a fundraising event put on by SHARE Family and Community Services Society. I will be a guest judge for their main fundraising event, a cooking challenge – my favourite! I will be taking part in judging the Best Sweet and Savoury categories from 8 local restaurants and caterers. The Hamper Challenge is a Master-Chef inspired competition, where locals chefs will be paired with mayors to create a two-course meal from the contents of a SHARE food hamper. If you’ve ever watched Master-Chef on TV, you’ll love this event. One of the challenges real families face when receiving food hampers is making nutritious meals out of the typical hamper items.

The Food Bank receives no government funding, and relies on the generosity of the community to support them, and those living in their community that use their service. Last year, SHARE distributed close to 19,000 food bank hampers and 650,000 pounds of food with a retail value of more than $1.6 million.

For many of us we are fortunate enough to not need the assistance from others, but there are many families that rely on the Food Bank to help them. A staggering 35% of SHARE Food Bank users are under the age of 19 – It’s hard to imagine young children and youth without enough food to eat, but it’s easy to help.

As a teacher, I’ve taught in many schools and seen many families on food programs. These only help students at school, however, not at home. I can’t help but think about those weeks or months when school isn’t in session and if they are receiving enough food. Thanks to Food Banks, there are options to help those families when they need it.

IMAGINE also supports youth with developmental delays and disabilities, which is so important in our schools. This is just one of the great things they do.

The event takes place at the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver Theatre in Coquitlam on March 5, at 7:00pm. It’s sure to be an evening filled with delicious creative food, live entertainment, prizes, live and silent auctions, an after party, dancing and more!

Tickets are $85 each. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit sharesociety.ca/imagine or call 604-529-5105.

Want to WIN tickets to the Event? Thanks to SHARE, I am giving away TWO tickets to the event!

Simply Comment Below telling me what items you think are most important to include in a Food Hamper. The tickets will be available at will call on March 5.

Winner will be chosen February 29th and announced March 1st.

If you can’t attend, but still want to support IMAGINE 2016, you can donate online.

Marshmallow, Valentine's Day, Wheat Free

S’mores Marshmallows

February 13, 2016

Marshmallows are quickly becoming my Valentine.

It seems every year around this time I make a batch of marshmallows. If you’ve never had a fresh marshmallow, you’re missing out.

I decided I was going to make some s’mores marshmallows for my students for valentine’s day this year, with a tag attached that said ‘we need s’more students like you’ – jokingly another teacher said I needed to make some with a ‘we need s’more teachers like you’ tag as well, and of course – I did. I mean, I had to right?

These are super simple, if you’ve never made marshmallows before I’m here to tell you not to be intimidated. You boil the sugars and water together, then add it to the gelatine and whip for about 10 minutes, then spread it into your pan and let it set up overnight.

I wanted to make s’mores marshmallows, so I made vanilla marshmallows, and rolled them in graham cracker crumbs and topped it off with dark chocolate. No need for a fire!

Simply follow this recipe, here – and instead of coating the pan in icing sugar, spread graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of the pan, add the marshmallow and spread evenly, and top with more graham cracker crumbs.

Once set overnight, turn it out onto a cookie sheet and cover in more graham cracker crumbs. Cut into squares, rotating all sides in the crumbs and drizzle or dip in dark chocolate.

You can also try Peanut Butter Marshmallows.

Hope you all have s’more love this valentine’s day.

Apples, Bars & Squares, Berries, Brownies, Cake, Candy, Chocolate, Dessert, Raw, Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day Recipes

February 7, 2016

With Valentine’s Day coming up, you might be thinking about making a special treat for your sweetheart. I’ve rounded up 14 of my favourite, indulgent – some healthy, but delicious – treats and desserts that you could share this February 14th without the guilt of over-indulging. Since Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday, you have the whole weekend to prep and make these delicious treats.

Adam and I have our usual valentine tradition – sushi ordered in while watching Valentine’s Day, the movie. When Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, this is the ideal celebration. Honestly, even on a Friday or Saturday this is a pretty good situation, since we’re not the ‘going out’ type. This year we’re actually going away for the weekend with four of our friends, but sushi may still be in the cards for Sunday night.

Whether there’s two of you – or four, these Valentine’s Day desserts are sure to please everyone.

Here’s 14 Valentine’s Day recipes to suit your fancy (or un-fancy) plans.

Naked Chocolate Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting

A decadent, yet light, cake topped with coconut cream and sliced strawberries – small enough for two to share guilt-free.

Chocolate Stout Brownies

definitely on the indulgent side, these brownies are made with chocolate stout, topped with a stout buttercream and finished with vanilla beer brittle. your man (and you) will love these.