Back To School & Raising Funds

Tomorrow morning is a monumental morning. It marks the first day of my 8th year of teaching Spanish! I can’t believe it, honestly. It seems like just yesterday I was getting my student teaching assignment.

It never ceases to amaze me every year, though, the abundance of “new” that comes with the new year. New supplies, new furniture, new books… and it all comes relatively easily. Sure, we might have our budget cuts here and there, but generally, we get what we need.

Last year, I brought your attention to an organization spearheaded by my friend Mal called the A to Z Literacy Movement. Since then, the A to Z Literacy Movement has sent hundreds of books to Zambia to help their school maintain a curriculum. However, the mission is never complete. These kids will keep growing up, and keep needing new books to read and learn from.

This video, made for the A to Z Literacy Movement, helps explain the mission and vision:


You can also learn more by visiting the A to Z Literacy Blog, which features posts from Mal’s last visit to Zambia this past summer.

I’ll probably never come to you for money for running a race, but I’m enlisting your help here. Trust me, you’ll get something out of it besides the knowledge that you’re helping these beautiful people learn.

We’re asking for your donations. Dig in your couch and count up the change, then donate that. Families in Zambia live on less than $1 a week, so every little bit helps. If you have a dime, donate a dime. The donations page takes PayPal, which makes it even easier!

What will you get in return? You’ll be entered to win an A to Z Literacy Zambia Prize Pack, hand picked out by my friend Mal for one lucky winner. All you need to do is forward your donation confirmation e-mail to me at mara@imadedinner.net and you’ll be entered.

The prize pack contains:

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One handmade bowl featuring the image of a game bird, hand-painted

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One hand-made, hand-painted rhinoceros figure

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One A to Z Literacy Movement t-shirt

In addition, I’ll be donating my blog proceeds from the month of September to the A to Z Literacy Project, so click away and tell your friends to do the same! Any links back to this post would be extremely helpful as well.

It would be so fantastic to say that my little blog earned a chunk of change to help the kids in Zambia.

Just remember, every little bit helps!

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, August 24th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in contest/giveaway, friends, giveaway

Duckie Bites

Every summer, my campers are nicknamed the “duckies” because they follow me around like a mama duck. At any given time, my girls can be found walking behind me in a line. If I turn, they turn. Sometimes, they take their nickname seriously and quack while walking to the bus!

When I found these mini cupcake liners at the Wilton tent sale back in May, I knew they had to be mine, especially for a treat for my campers on my birthday.

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My original plan for these was a white cake, blue frosting, and a small duckie decoration, but duckie decorations for mini cupcakes are hard to come by. When my friend Kristin came over, she suggested what ultimately became my birthday cupcake theme: blue cupcakes with yellow frosting and white sprinkles.

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These delicious two-bite cupcakes were tinted with gel food coloring, and had a great sweet vanilla flavor. They’re adopted from this TLC recipe.

Sweet White Cupcakes

Ingredients

* 2-1/4 cups cake flour


* 1 tablespoon baking powder


* 1/2 teaspoon salt


* 1/2 cup butter, softened


* 1-1/2 cups sugar


* 4 egg whites


* 2 teaspoons vanilla


* 1 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two mini cupcake tins with papers; lightly grease paper. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, two at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until blended. With electric mixer at low speed, add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen edges and invert layers onto rack to cool completely.


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The icing was a masterpiece, if I say so myself. I’m very proud of how it came out, and everyone who tried it absolutely loved it!
Mara’s Marshmallow Icing

Ingredients

* 1 c. white sugar
* 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
* 1/4 c. water
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 3 egg whites, room temperature
* 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
* food coloring, if desired
special equipment
* candy thermometer
* electric mixer
Directions
Mix together the white sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pan, and heat the sugar mixture to a boil, and then boil rapidly until the thermometer reads 246* Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks and set aside. When the sugar has reached the appropriate temperature, slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites while whipping them at a high speed. Add the vanilla, and coloring if you’re using it. Continue whipping the egg white mixture until it is completely cooled. Pipe onto cupcakes, or eat with a spoon.


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In addition to making 24 duckie cupcakes, I also made about 40 cupcakes in what are called “nut and party cups”, but I just call them “ketchup cups”. I may or may not have gotten these from a fast food restaurant…
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Granted, these are a bit harder to open and eat than standard cupcakes, but since they stand up on their own and don’t require a muffin tin for baking, I’ll be making them again and soon! I loved the look of them. These cupcakes got rave reviews from everyone who tried them, and I’m looking forward to experimenting more with the marshmallow frosting… possible whoopie pies methinks?
Seriously… I made a lot of cupcakes, and still liked the icing after licking the bowl clean. That bodes well for another project!
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Now that I’ve made it through my actual birthday day, you’ll have to come back tomorrow for the photos of my incredible birthday celebration!
A couple of reminders:
  • Have you entered to win the incredibly cool Chavrie Prize Pack? Just tell me about your favorite birthday!
  • Start collecting your cute food photos! I’ll be hosting a Cute Food Saturday contest over Labor Day weekend!

Have a great evening and a fabulous Tuesday!

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Mara @ What's For Dinner?, August 2nd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Baking, giveaway, vegetarian
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