Food Bloggers Support Sandy Recovery #FBS4Sandy
I am proud as ever to be a New Yorker and Brooklynite. I live just a few blocks away from flooded Red Hook and Gowanus and just a few miles away from some of the worst of Hurricane Sandy's devastation in the Rockaways and Coney Island. I can report from the field that the outpouring of support--goods, money and hands-on help--has been truly inspiring and almost overwhelming in this time of great need for our city.
One of the most pressing needs has been to help deliver hot foods to serve to flood-stricken survivors, to the elderly that are without electricity, to evacuees that are in shelters around the city and to the many volunteers who have been on hand to dig out, bail out or help out in any way they can. Something as fleeting and precious as a warm cooked meal has served to both feed hungry bellies and to show that people, strangers no less, really care.
I love #FBS4Sandy idea from Barbara at Creative Culinary's and Jenn from Jenn Cuisine to build food blogger support to raise money and awareness for Sandy Recovery efforts. I believe in the power of our online community. We can help with thoughts, prayers and dollars so that the "real-life" communities of New York, New Jersey and all the affected areas on the East Coast have the tools and support they need to rebuild.
Give to the Red Cross, or considering giving to one of the local on-the-ground sources I list below. Our local Brooklyn communities have doing tremendous work and have been in many ways more nimble and earlier on the scene that FEMA and the Red Cross.
Today I present my family recipe for Carrot Tzimmes; it is a wonderful, healthy comfort food that is a staple at our Thanksgiving and Passover dinners. I wanted to use a vegetable dish because unfortunately vegetables have been sorely lacking from the hot-food donations. If you are making or giving food locally, consider a vegetable dish like this or a healthy soup.
Carrot Tzimmes
Tzimmes means "with a lot of fuss" but this recipe is actually very easy. You can also use sweet potatoes or a mixture.
1-2 lbs of sliced carrots (depending on how many people you are serving)
2 Tbs of each Butter and Olive Oil
1/2-1 cup Orange Juice, enough to fill pan by 1/3.
2 Tbsps. Honey or brown sugar
1/2 cup Raisins or currants, more or less to taste
1 tsp Cinnamon, more or less to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parboil carrots. Melt butter in microwave, add equal amount of olive oil. Then mix in orange juice, honey, and cinnamon. Drain carrots and arrange in 9x12 baking dish. Pour in orange juice mixture, adding more liquid if needed. Toss in raisins and cover with foil. Whenever the oven is free, place pan in oven for about 30 minutes or until hot. If you like the carrots to be more golden brown, remove foil and heat for another 15 minutes or more, until desired color.
(Oven Temperature can vary, though 350 degrees is ideal. If oven is hotter than 350, decrease time and check more regularly so that it does not burn.)
Check out Creative Culinary's List of #FBS4Sandy contributors here. Remember these virtual posts of comfort foods for #FBS4Sandy will only help actually feed people if you give generously. Below I've listed links of local organizations as well as national ones. More details on the local resources are in my post from earlier this week.
Local Resources:
Occupy Sandy Wedding Registry on Amazon
National Resources:
