Menu for Hope III

Although I'm not really a proper food blogger, this is more a personal blog which includes some foodie stuff, I enjoy reading lots of food blogs and am inspired to try lots of recipes I find. This year I've been inspired to give something back and donate a prize to Menu for Hope. First let me explain:-


What is the Menu for Hope?

Menu for Hope is an annual online Fundraising campaign hosted by food bloggers all over the world. Now in its third year, Menu for Hope was created by Pim Techamuanvivit. Food bloggers donate wonderful prizes in the hope that their readers will buy $10 raffle tickets to try and win one or more of the goodies on offer.

Where does the money go?

Over 90 percent of the world's hungry are prisoners of poverty. They are too poor to buy enough food. They spend all their time and energy trying to survive.

This year we are raising money for the United Nations World Food Programme. You can read more about this charity at their website.

My Prize

Now let me tell you about the prize I am offering, Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. This is my newest cookbook and has already become a firm favourite with me. I first set my eyes on it at Marie, my mother-in-laws house where the picture on the front made me pick it up to investigate. Marie explained that she had bought it as a present for her niece who had recently had a baby. I spent the whole afternoon reading the book, every time I put it down I was drawn back to it. The recipes looked delicious, different and easy to make and I would describe them as good family fodder. The pictures and illustrations are beautiful and make me wish I lived in the Italian countryside where my children could run through the fields barefooted (dressed in white of course!). Then there are the hand written anecdotes, many of which I felt were reflective of my life. My favourite one was when Tessa describes shrinking crisp packets by baking them in the oven. Sam and I used to do this as children and make badges by sticking pins to the back. When the time came to leave Marie's house she presented the book to me, 'no' I said 'it's for a present', 'I want you to have it' replied Marie, 'you love it and will get so much pleasure from it, I'll buy another'. Then I suggested it be an early birthday present but Marie insisted it was an August present. Thanks Marie.

N.B. I will ship this book worldwide.

Beg, Beg

So, here's the begging bit. Please, please,please support this good cause, tickets start at $10 , that's less than €10 and if you don't want to bid on my prize, (no. EU12), there are plenty of other fantastic prizes on offer. Here is a list of the bloggers who are hosting sites listing all the prizes for their region.

Europe: David Lebovitz of Davidlebovitz.com
US West Coast: Sam of Becks and Posh
US East Coast: Adam the Amateur Gourmet
US (the rest): Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen
Canada: Jasmine of Cardamom Addict
Latin America: Melissa de Leon of the Cooking Diva
Asia Pacific: Helen of Grab Your Fork

What are all those EU letters and numbers about?

This year, to help with our automated raffle winner-picking software, we have assigned each prize with a four-digit code. Here in Europe, all of the prizes start with a EU. Please make sure you use the code that matches the prize you are bidding for when you visit the First Giving site to make your donation.


So, how do I bid on a Prize?

Here's what you should do...

1. Go to the First Giving donation page.

2. Make a donation, each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 for UW02.

3. If your company matches your charity donation (US only), please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

5. Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the result of the raffle. (The drawing will be done electronically. Our friend the code wizard Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the wicked application that will do the job.)



Remember Christmas is a time for giving and by supporting this cause you help people who have very little and are just trying to survive.