Ringing in the New Year with a Winner!

Photo courtesy of ColorcubicHappy Happy New Year! I hope you had a fun time celebrating the new year of 2009 with loved ones! For us it was pretty low key, intimate and cozy in our pajamas. Dinner wasn't anything fancy schmancy... but we enjoyed a fabulous artisanal cheese platter, fruit, salame and king crab legs with drawn butter. Oh, and we didn't forget a nice chilled bottle of bubbly!But I know what you're more interested in... the winner of the Cookie Lovers Giveaway! Thank you to all those that participated and shared your favorite holiday baking memory involving cookies. It was so nice to read them especially after finishing up the holidays an

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A Significant New Blog - Life With A Severely Disabled Kid

This comment is a shout out for a promising new disability blog, one that doesn't subscribe to the feel good ideology that dominates internet blogs and mainstream media features about disabilities. In Canada it is so bad that the CBC outrageously included on one of its recent "autism is beautiful" productions the Toronto mother of an autistic child, art gallery curator, and blogger whose blog "the Joy of Autism" actually promotes the notion that parents should celebrate their autistic children's neurological disorders. Talking about treating or curing autism disorders just doesn't cut it in Toronto's, or the CBC's, trendier social circles. Life W

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CRANBERRY ORANGE WALNUT BREAD & CHOCOLATE LOAF

HOLIDAY GIFT TIME (all wrapped up & somewhere to go!)Who doesn’t love to receive scrumptious, homemade gifts for the holidays? Well, maybe we are still a bit too stuffed from our festive meals, the refrigerator still a bit too overloaded with leftovers to really appreciate the goodness, the love put into gifts from the kitchen. But this is the perfect way to share old family heirloom recipes as well as to offer a bit of ourselves.This kind of gift giving in France is quite easy for an American. Any of my reliable staples, both the everyday and the seasonal, are considered exotic foreign delicacies by the gourmet-minded French. From banana bread to

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My 2009 Promise To Non-famous Persons With Autism Disorders

To the persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders who are not famous this autism dad wants you to know that I will not forget you in 2009. And I am not alone. Parents, family members, carers and professionals across Canada and the United States will continue to fight for Applied Behavior Analysis intervention for autistic children and adults because of the incredible volume of research demonstrating its effectiveness in helping you make real gains in your life. And researchers and parents with common sense will continue looking for answers as to the cause, and possible cures, for the autism disorder that restricts your abilities to participa

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Best of 2008...

I debated whether or not I should do this and in the end decided that I wanted to show case my top 10 favorite recipes from the past year! These are my favorites. Not necessarily the most popular ones but ones that I really loved and have made over and over again and have become family favorites. It was also really fun to look back and see how my blog has evolved in the year and half (411 posts) that I have been blogging.Hope you enjoy...SouvlakiI found this perfect recipe for Souvlaki on my good friend Peter's blog Kalofagas-Greek Food and Beyond. Not only is this an incredible recipe but through the year Peter has become a very good friend of m

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Autism-Vaccine Connection? The Question Is Not Settled, All The Studies Have Not Been Done

In New MMR and autism study: no correlation my friend Kev, at Left Brain/Right Brain, has seized upon an English abstract of a Polish study to state that "there is no correlation between autism and MMR. Neither at ‘general’ ASD level, nor at specific ‘severe’ level." I do not read Polish in which the study itself is written, and apparently neither does Kev, but he felt comfortable in using this study to help justify mocking, in offensive terms, those who believe that there is an autism-vaccine connection. (I personally do not believe a vaccine-autism link has been established on the evidence but I do not think any such connection can be ruled out on

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Cilantro Pesto

Look at that beautiful, vibrant green color! Can't you just imagine it on a big plate of black beans and rice???It is nearing the end of my CSA box week. Because of the holidays I have been picking up on Tuesdays. I looked in my fridge today and panicked. One of my friends is out of town and has gifted me her box. That means I have double the food coming and with New Years and all coming not too many veggies get eaten. I planned dinner to get rid of the bulk of it. I have salad greens and peppers left but I had some cilantro that I had no idea what to do with.I started searching through my cookbooks and hit the Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everyt

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Giveaway for Cookie Lovers!

In honor of the last Tasty Tools blogging adventure of 2008 where we highlighted Baking Sheets, one lucky person will receive this Cookie Lovers giveaway set which includes:Pampered Chef Large Sheet PanWilton 12inch Disposable Decorator Bags - 100 countMrs. Fields Cookie Book: 100 Recipes from the Kitchen of Mrs. FieldsSome guidelines:- Giveaway is only for those who live in the United States. My apologies to my international readers!- Include your email address so that you can be contacted if you win.To enter the giveaway, leave a comment about:- Your favorite holiday baking memory involving cookies. Was it a holiday cookie swap? Baking cookie gifts

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2008 Autism Blog Comment Of The Year

Over the past 30 years, several thousand published research studies have documented the effectiveness of ABA across a wide range of: populations (children and adults with mental illness, developmental disabilities and learning disorders) interventionists (parents, teachers and staff) settings (schools, homes, institutions, group homes, hospitals andbusiness offices), and behaviors (language; social, academic, leisure and functional life skills,self-injury, and stereotyped behaviors) - CARD blogsite, What is ABA?, December 15, 2008Facing Autism in New Brunswick's 2008 Autism Blog Comment of the Year award goes to the Center for Autism & Related D

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Φονιάδες κτήνη Ισραηλινοί

Κάνουν την προεκλογική τους καμπάνια (10-2-2009 εκλογές στο Ισραήλ) στα γυναικόπαιδα της Γάζας με επιχειρήματα εμφανή. Δεν ήταν τόσο πειστικά ως τα τώρα, ο οικονομικός αποκλεισμός και η σιωπηλή καταδίκη τους σε θάνατο με την πείνα...Οτι ακριβώς έκανε ο Χίτλερ στους Ευρωπαϊκούς λαούς το 1941.Γιαυτό ο τίτλος ΦΑΣΙΣΤΑΣ στην σημερινή πολιτική σκηνή του Ισραηλ της έρχεται γάντι. Τη Δευτέρα 29/12 στις 6:00 μμ μπροστά στην ισραηλινή πρεσβεία (Κατεχάκη και Κηφισίας) η Παλαιστινιακή Παροικία Ελλάδας καλεί σε συγκέντρωση διαμαρτυρίας για τη σφαγή στη Γάζα. 1. Χωρις τέλος η σφαγή στη Γάζα.2. Διεθνής κατακραυγή για την σφαγή στη Γάζα.3. Χριστουγεννιάτικη σφαγή στ

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Spinach & Artichoke Topped Chicken

One of my favorite vegetable combinations is spinach and artichoke. It could be in a dip, on a pizza, in a sandwich or better yet, stuffed in pork or chicken... I love how it tastes especially with some cheese mixed in.This dish is one that involves a spinach and artichoke sauce that is served over a seasoned and baked chicken breast. I came across this recipe for the sauce and used it to top my baked & seasoned chicken... yum!Spinach & Artichoke Topped Chickenrecipe inspired by Rachel Ray's Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Tortellinifrom Express Lane MealsFor Chicken:4-6 boneless skinless chicken breastssalt & pepper to taste or seasoning saltgar

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