About Me

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Cleveland, Ohio, United States
I am a retired teacher with time on my hands. I love to cook and bake. For the past eight years my hobby has been entering recipe contests. I have done very well and have been to several cook/bake offs although I have never won a grand prize. The ititials of my blog CCC are the same as the site where I get contest information, Cooking Contest Central (CCC). While there are 1000's of food blogs that post recipes this blog will review other cooking blogs.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

JUNGLEFROG COOKING

Junglefrog Cooking http://junglefrog-cooking.com/ is hosted by Simone who lives in the Netherlands. She combines her love of cooking and photography on the blog. If you look at her recipes and photographs you will be delighted.



ITALIAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Monday, September 28, 2009

OCTOBER GIVEAWAY

Anna Ginsberg of Cookie Madness (www.cookiemadness.net ) was kind enough to send me an autographed copy of Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado to use as the October giveaway on this blog. The book is part memoir and part cookbook. I am sure the winner will enjoy it.
From 12:01 AM (eastern) on Thursday, October 1, 2009 until 11:59 PM (eastern) on Sunday, October 11, 2009 leave a comment under this post. On Monday, October I will draw the winner.
Next month (November 2009) I will post my holiday giveaway. It will be a GC and it will be a large amount. I am doing it in November so you can purchase gift(s) in time for the winter holidays. You will have to come back at the end of October to get the details.

THE CUTTING AGE OF ORDINARY


Hosted by Lisa in Rhode Island, The Cutting Edge of Ordinary http://thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com/ is a nice blend of sweet and savory recipes. Lisa is a working mom who lives with her children.

PROSCUTTIO PINWHEELS

Sunday, September 27, 2009

I AM HOME

We just returned from a sunny week in CA. I am much too tired to post. In the next day or two I will post the October contest.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

HONEY AND JAM


Honey and Jam http://www.honeyandjam.com/ is hosted by HANNA in FL. Besides cooking and baking Hanna enjoys photography. If you get to her blog by tomorrow you can enter her sweep for a $40.00 King Arthur gift certificate.

HOMEMADE BUTTER

Monday, September 14, 2009

WE NEED YOUR HELP

14 September 2009
2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
It’s finally time for the 2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month here and at Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy!
We were so pleased with the response to last year’s contest, which raised $425 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund and rounded up 45 outstanding (ottimo!) “O Food” recipes.
And we need your help to top that this year!
We started the O Foods tradition in honor of our friend, award-winning pastry chef Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen; Gina has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year and a half, and in addition to physically battling the disease, she has also started the Cowgirl Cure Foundation to raise awareness and money for research as well.
As a special treat, this year Gina will also be picking the grand prize winner of the O Foods Contest! And speaking of prizes, check them out–signed copies of Gina’s book, Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano, and Joseph Bastianich’s Vino Italiano.
Molto cool, no?
Speaking of the contest, just like last year, you can participate either by submitting a recipe or by simply posting the announcement below. Our goal is to spread information about ovarian cancer and its symptoms to as many people as possible, so feel free to tweet, post on Facebook, or whatever you have to do to help us make enough noise to stop this silent killer.
CONTEST RULES
O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.
There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:
ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
PRIZES for recipe posts:
1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
OR
TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
Awareness posts PRIZE:
One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
———
From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.

AND THE WINNER IS

WOW!! This was my best giveaway ever. I had 246 comments.

It is now Monday, September 14, 2009 so I can post the winner.

I entered 246 in my random numbers generator asking for one number. The magic number is 132. The name assciated with number 132 is CC. CC has said she wants the amazon.com certificate.

I have emailed CC.

Stay tuned!! My October and November givaways will be special. I can't tell you about the October giveaway but the November giveaway will be my holiday gift to all of you. It will be a gift certificate. I am doing it in November rather than December so you can have holiday gifts shipped in time for the winter holidays.

So, as I said before check back at the beginning of October and November. I will also post on OLS.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

PURPLE COOKIE

Gala who hosts Purple Cookie http://gala-purplecookie.blogspot.com/ lives in Israel. She loves to bake and cook. She has purple hair, hence the Purple Cookie.

DULCE DE LECHE MUFFINS


SOMETHING SWEET BY KAREN

Karen hosts Something Sweet by Karen http://somethingsweetbykaren.wordpress.com/ Karen loves to bake although you will find all types of recipes on her blog. Her photographs are beautiful. She also has a new puppy who demands much of her time.



TYLER FLORENCE'S UNTIMATE CHEESECAKE