Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino, MC Hospitality Group was our headliner and closing act for Kids Eat Miami's inaugural fundraiser event for Common Threads! I'll be posting the chef's individual posts soon. Also, all the recipes will be posted on Kids Eat Miami site soon.

I can't wait to hear the tally on how much this event raised. For a first, I think everyone did a FANTASTIC job of pulling together for a great cause! 

Thanks to Jungle Island for hosting this event and to all the participating sponsors, auction donors, organizers and especially to the volunteers. The kids love ya! Please visit Common Threads to see how you can get involved in this community project. And let's not forget Chef Michelle Bernstein who started the Miami chapter.

Common Threads Chef instructor and Nutrolution, Rachael Richardson, RD, LN/D made a delicious, very fluffy Tabbouleh using quinoa instead of bulgar wheat.

Kelly Saks, Miss Earth Florida teaches adolescents success through ecology (T.A.S.T.E.). A vegetarian herself, she does a great job promoting healthy eating and the kids related to her.

Wok Star Eleanor Hoh gives monthly cooking classes in Miami. I made a sizzling beef with baby bok choy and bell pepper. I wanted to show a tasty, one-dish dinner for busy weeknights can be simple and easy.

Chef Shawn Fralin, Rakkasan Chef and his teenage kids made Conch Soup from the Overtown CookBook. As he says, can be served hot and sassy or chilled and spicy, umm.

Great turnout for the chef demos even though the other activities were way out in Jungle Island. What I noticed was the minute people smelled food, they were THERE!

I couldn't resist doing the celebrity chef photo op.

During yesterday's Common Threads chef demos, there was no time to eat lunch! When I'm hungry, I prefer a savory snack to a sweet one. All "protein" bars are sweet and carb laden. Little Red Dot Kitchen came out with this Asian jerky (Bak Kwa), in pork & turkey, it's a protein packed snack, even has "lite" version. I was so thankful.  It was satisfying and tasty, just what I needed to boost my energy!

Thumbs up for well packaged snack, comes 2 slices in a pack, I can fit it snugly in my handbag! Unlike the western dry, chewy version, when Bak Kwa is slightly heated, it becomes juicy and moist, YUM.

Here's the first of the chef demos post.

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Eat at Gastropod, sit at one of my favorite restos, Chow Down Grill in Surfside AND raise funds for Common Threads! Run, they're still there. This was a cute idea.

We were even roping folks for Saturday's KidsEatMiami.com on Jungle Island, you must buy tickets ahead. See schedule and lineup of chef demos here, myself included.  Looking forward to wokking with the kiddies! We also snagged an Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino who'll be headlining and closing the event.

Here's the post of my recent cooking class with them, so enjoyed it. Love cooking with kids more than adults! They're more attentive and enthusiastic, truly.

Bahn mi - stuffed full of pulled pork & pickles, ummm.

Short ribs slider with pickled red cabbage, yum.

Gastropod & Chow Down Grill gang, sorry with flashy eyes!

Chow Down Grill let us eat at their tables, it was a lovely evening.

The Brana Group was cooking a sit down dinner at Chow Down Grill, part of a series of furndraising for Common Threads. 

 

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Excited to announce chef lineup for Common Threads healthy eating demos at Jungle Island! Iron Chef contestant, Chef Dena Marino will be headlining this Saturday at 2pm. Posting schedule soon.

The Common Threads kids and I will be wokking up a healthy, easy, sizzling one dish dinner for busy weeknights: beef with baby bok choy. And if they can do it, so can you!

Bring the kids, head out to Jungle Island, there'll be lots to see and do. $10 off usual entrance of $35 for a good cause plus you can visit Jungle Island!

Kudos to all the organizations for joining up to help on this important issue to fight childhood obesity and nutrition.

You must buy your tickets AHEAD, click to KidsEatMiami for details and find out more about Common Threads and why you should get involved!

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I love setting the tone and mood for this Common Threads class I gave to 8-12 yr. olds earlier this week. Just a few decorations and a few goodies. Also brought them some Fiji Water and San-J Intl. Tamari samplers to try, lit up their day! They really enjoyed their moment frying! More about their day here, I am all for getting kids cooking at a young age.  Many of my fondest childhood memories are of cooking & giggling with my sisters and mother in the kitchen. Plus I learned how to be organized, methodical and tidy, things that shaped who I am today!  These as well as the obvious ones like learning about the history of food and its uses.

There are many ways you can get involved, just visit their site CommonThreads.org

There are many upcoming Common Threads fundraising events like a fun day at Flipper's Truck Stop this Sunday, March 27 as well as many restaurants who will donate a percentage! More details here.

Hope to see you out there!

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The amount of hands that shot up when I asked 'Who wants to stir fry?' It was great to see them cooking up Pineapple Stir Fried Rice with some to take home! Will post more photos & my experience later. Glad to be part of their day, thanks for inviting me Common Threads and Chef Alicia Cabase Toledo of Onceuponathyme.

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