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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Menu for Hope V Raffle: Autographed book by Amy Goldman

Want to win an autographed copy of "The Heirloom Tomato : From Garden to Table" by Amy Goldman?

heirloom tomato book

Amy Goldman, author of the beautifully done books "The Compleat Squash" and "Melons for the Passionate Grower" finally came out with a book to please every tomato lover. "The Heirloom Tomato" is an encyclopedia of information on hundreds of varieties of (you guessed it) heirloom tomatoes. But beyond just information and recipes, this book features the delicious photographic artwork of Victor Schrager.  We were fortunate to meet Amy in person when we attended the TomatoFest in Carmel Valley back in September, where we got her to autograph a copy of her book. And we're giving it away to one lucky winner!

Of course, what good is an heirloom tomato book without any heirloom tomatoes to grow and cook? So, IN ADDITION to the book, Annie will help the winner choose seeds of 10 varieties of tomatoes out of Annie's library of over 200 heirloom tomatoes. Annie will mail seed packets of these varieties out to the winner along with the cookbook in January.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

If the winner of the book is in the San Francisco Bay Area, we will deliver 10 starts of heirloom tomato plants, ready for planting, in late April or early May; or they can come to the House of Annie in San Jose in late August or early September to collect a basket of ripe tomatoes from our organic garden.

How Do You Win?

menu-for-hope-V The House of Annie is participating in the Menu for Hope campaign fundraiser for the World Food Program created by Pim of the fabulous Chez Pim food blog. The proceeds raised by this fundraiser go toward buying food for a school lunch program in Lesotho Africa, from local farmers. For every $10 donated to the fundraiser, you receive a "virtual raffle ticket" which could win you an awesome prize.

In addition to our prize, some of the other prizes offered this year include:

  • a two-day, Master Food Styling Class Workshop in Los Angeles
  • a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker
  • a full tasting menu dinner for 2 plus wine at Michelin-rated Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, plus a personal tour of the kitchen gardens at Love Apple Farms by Chef Kinch
  • a 2-day stay at Meadowood Resort in Napa Valley, with a dinner for 2 at Michelin-rated Meadowood Restaurant.

Check out the master list of Menu for Hope V prizes.

It's Easy to Enter!

  1. Choose a prize from the master list.
  2. Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope5 and click the Give Now button to make a donation.
  3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code.

    Enter our prize code of UW39

  4. Enter your correct email address so they can contact you if you win the prize.

Hurry and enter now! There's very little time left to contribute to this great cause.

Aloha, Nate

Continue Reading: "Menu for Hope V Raffle: Autographed book by Amy Goldman"...

Labels: Posted by Nate @ House of Annie at 3:25 AM 3 comments

Friday, December 21, 2007

Roasted Tomato Soup


Here's another recipe using some of the heirloom tomato bounty that came out of our yard this past summer. We doubled the Roasted Tomato Soup recipe on Epicurious because we had so many tomatoes.

Roasted Tomato Soup

INGREDIENTS

8 lb tomatoes, halved lengthwise
12 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
4 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup heavy cream

Cut the heirloom tomatoes and whole garlic cloves in half, arrange them on a foiled sheet pan, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with s&p. Roasted for at hour at 350*F.

Cook the chopped onions, oregano and sugar with butter in a heavy stock pot. Add the roasted heirloom tomatoes and garlic, then 6 cups of chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.


Buzz the soup with a hand blender until smooth. Then strain the soup through a sieve to remove all the remaining solids, skins and seeds. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream, then s&p to taste.


Ladle into bowls. You're supposed to top it with a Parmesan crisp but I just put on some grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley if you have some.

This roasted tomato soup was another pretty easy and tasty dish, and a good way to use up a ton of homegrown heirloom tomatoes!

Aloha.

Other favorite tomato recipes: Gazpacho, Strawberry and Tomato Salad with Maple, World's Best Lasagna, and Lomi Lomi Salmon.

Continue Reading: "Roasted Tomato Soup"...

Labels: , , , , Posted by Nate @ House of Annie at 4:00 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Menu for Hope IV

The House of Annie is participating in this year's Menu for Hope IV, which is is an annual campaign by food bloggers to raise funds for the United Nations World Food Programme to help fight global hunger. Last year, Menu for Hope raised almost USD$63,000 in donations to support the WFP. This year, funds raised will go to a school lunch program in Lesotho (a country surrounded by South Africa) that purchases food from local farmers rather than relying on grains shipped in from overseas.

The idea for Menu for Hope is simple and fun: food bloggers around the world offer food-related prizes for raffle to raise money. Some of the amazing prizes up for raffle this year include a personal tour of the el Bulli kitchen laboratory with Ferran Adria, a private tour of Love Apple Farms plus a dinner for 2 at Manresa , an autographed copy of "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan, a "Best of the Ferry Building" gift basket, a KitchenAid stand mixer, and a wine vacation in Napa. WOW!

In keeping with Annie's tomato madness, House of Annie's contribution to Menu for Hope is "The Heirloom Tomato Cookbook" by Mimi Luebbermann. The cookbook is a collection of recipes by different chefs, showcasing heirloom tomatoes from appetizer to dessert, along with wine pairing suggestions. There is also a photographic glossary of heirloom tomatoes, as well as information on cultivating them.


Of course, what good is an heirloom tomato cookbook without any heirloom tomatoes to cook with? So, IN ADDITION to the cookbook, Annie will help the winner choose seeds of 10 varieties of tomatoes out of Annie's library of over 200 heirloom tomatoes. Annie will mail seed packets of these varieties (10-15 seeds per packet) out to the winner along with the cookbook in January.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

If the winner is in the San Francisco Bay Area, we will deliver 10 starts of heirloom tomato plants, ready for planting, in late April or early May; or they can come to the House of Annie in San Jose in late August or early September to collect a basket of ripe tomatoes from our organic garden.

So, how can you participate? First check out Chez Pim for the complete list of prizes. Make a note of the prize code for each prize you are interested in. Then go to

http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope4

and click on the Give Now button. Follow the prompts for how much you'd like to give to the campaign. Specify the prize codes you would like to bid for in the "Personal Message" section of the donation form. To bid for Annie's prize, use prize code UW24.

For every USD$10 you donate, you get one raffle ticket and a chance to win a prize. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and use the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UW01 and 3 tickets for UW24. Please write 2xUW01, 3xUW24.

That's it! The donation will be deducted from your credit card and forwarded to the World Food Programme, and the results of the raffle posted on January 9 on Chez Pim. Be sure to tell all your friends about the campaign, and good luck to all who enter!

Aloha.

Continue Reading: "Menu for Hope IV"...

Labels: Posted by Nate @ House of Annie at 4:00 AM 4 comments

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