{"id":267,"date":"2006-12-21T22:12:12","date_gmt":"2006-12-21T22:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sararosso.com\/index.php\/2006\/12\/21\/holiday-baking-kama-sutra\/"},"modified":"2008-08-20T09:01:19","modified_gmt":"2008-08-20T09:01:19","slug":"holiday-baking-kama-sutra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2006\/12\/21\/holiday-baking-kama-sutra\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Baking Kama Sutra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My post-a-day is coming to a close, as is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.firstgiving.com\/menuforhopeIII\">Menu for Hope<\/a> &#8211; can we push the donations <strong>past $50,000<\/strong> in these last two days? Bidding closes at 6PM-PST tomorrow (Cali time, baby).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Here&#8217;s a post listing all the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kungfoodie.com\/menu-for-hope-prizes\/\">internationally-shippable prizes<\/a>. Notice mine&#8217;s on the list (<strong>EU15<\/strong>) but make sure you check with your country&#8217;s restrictions before bidding. A recap of the European offerings is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.davidlebovitz.com\/archives\/2006\/12\/40000_1.html\">here<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sam from BecksPoshNosh calculated the odds of winning a West Coast prize <a href=\"http:\/\/becksposhnosh.blogspot.com\/2006\/12\/odds-of-winning-menu-for-hope-prize-on.html\">here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The positions I get myself into&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>The holidays to me are all about over-extending yourself, dreaming too much, doing too much, fitting too much in and that&#8217;s part of the fun! It&#8217;s also a familiar sensation to me &#8211; when I don&#8217;t have enough commitments, I get exceedingly lazy in the other direction and become a hermit in my house. So it&#8217;s good to give myself a push.<\/p>\n<p>This week I took all the goodies I baked this weekend (except for the banana nut bread which didn&#8217;t make it past my front door).<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/323980810\/\" title=\"Photo Sharing\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/131\/323980810_27a94266f8.jpg?resize=500%2C375\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" alt=\"Peppermint Bark\" \/><\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p>At work, I have been bombarding them with holiday-inspired things because <strong>TIS the Season to be Jolly<\/strong>, darnit! I feel a bit withdrawn after not doing a single thing for Thanksgiving. I&#8217;ve been playing my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pandora.com\/\">Pandora<\/a> Holiday radio station at a low volume and switching to my Lounge station when it gets too much.<\/p>\n<p>Tomorrow, I will bring back the <strong>Babbo Furfante Gift Swap<\/strong> that I love so much, a game I grew up playing many years in Michigan with my stepfather&#8217;s huge family. With so many people, the only way to exchange gifts was to do a creative exchange that didn&#8217;t empty your pockets and kept the children entertained. Of course, it wasn&#8217;t called the same name, but the stealing method has remained true across the ocean. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2006\/04\/13\/can-i-get-paid-for-this\/\">Last year<\/a> we played and it was a big hit in the office. Everyone was talking about the gift they bought in anticipation for tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to participating in the <strong>Menu for Hope<\/strong>, I also organized a last-minute raffle for some products sent to us by a client, and we will then donate the money to one of our non-profit clients. It&#8217;s not much, but it was better than trying to figure out how to share things in the office without a full-size meat slicer. Aren&#8217;t we sweet? <\/p>\n<p>Speaking of sweet, here&#8217;s the classic fudge I like to make. This holiday favorite comes second only to the chocolate-covered peanut butter balls that I used to make and I&#8217;ll have to see if I can bring the recipe out of retirement here in Italy. I had to get the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marshmallow_creme\">Marshmallow Creme<\/a> smuggled in special.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/328877528\/\" title=\"Photo Sharing\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/138\/328877528_2f4f6c27ce.jpg?resize=500%2C375\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" alt=\"Blocks o' Fudge\" \/><\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Between getting a new computer tomorrow morning at work (good timing, don&#8217;t you think?), going-away lunches, our gift swap and then the informal &#8220;Pane e Salame&#8221; (and Spumante) get-together, tomorrow looks like a <strong>low productivity day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>But it will be the last day of the <strong>Menu for Hope<\/strong> and therefore I will be blogging! Won&#8217;t you help me give a last push for the fundraiser? Put a link in your post, pretty please!<\/p>\n<p>These cookies were a new try this year but they were the first to go &#8211; coconut and cranberries and shortbread, oh my!<\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<p>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/324795765\/\" title=\"Photo Sharing\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/142\/324795765_295573ddf3.jpg?resize=500%2C375\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" alt=\"Cranberry Coconut Bars\" \/><\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p>The Holiday Baking Kama Sutra isn&#8217;t over&#8230;I just took a cake out of the oven at 10.30pm tonight. Yes!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My post-a-day is coming to a close, as is the Menu for Hope &#8211; can we push the donations past $50,000 in these last two days? Bidding closes at 6PM-PST tomorrow (Cali time, baby). Here&#8217;s a post listing all the internationally-shippable prizes. Notice mine&#8217;s on the list (EU15) but make sure you check with your&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2006\/12\/21\/holiday-baking-kama-sutra\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10,2,16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-food","7":"category-holiday","8":"category-italy","9":"category-work","10":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-4j","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":258,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2006\/12\/08\/london-a-menu-for-hope-the-tour-del-gelato\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":0},"title":"London, A Menu for Hope, the Tour del Gelato","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm in London for the long weekend, and it's shaping up to be a great one. Friends and more friends, and a --little-- bit of shopping. Just a little. More pictures later. Menu for Hope III This year I'm participating in the Menu for Hope III, which is basically the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Menu for Hope&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Menu for Hope","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/menu-for-hope\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Big Ben...Parliament","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/101\/316990896_e2cf6bcb68.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":432,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/10\/menu-for-hope-4-artigianale-basket\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":1},"title":"Menu for Hope IV: Artigianale Basket &#8211; A Taste of Italy!","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"So, it has begun! Today is the first day of the Menu for Hope 4! For the next 10 days, I'll be talking to you about my prize, highlighting others' prizes and of course, talking about great food! Note: Thanks to everyone who commented on the Dolce Italiano contest -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":746,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/09\/the-best-holiday-cookie-swap-ever\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":2},"title":"The Best Holiday Cookie Swap Ever","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 9, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, maybe not ever, but in my time in Italy, yes. And we've only just begun...(cue music). Now that I've waded into the waters of cookie swapping and dragged some Italian friends with me, I know that next year will be even easier! So many cookies, so little time. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cookies on the Table for Holiday Cookie Swap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3233\/3094335275_868d7d335b.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2717,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/22\/passports-with-purpose-help-travel-bloggers-build-a-village-in-india\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":3},"title":"Passports with Purpose: Help Travel Bloggers Build a Village in India","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"November 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Part food blogger, part travel blogger, that's hopefully what you've come to expect from my site, Ms. Adventures in Italy. I felt lucky to attend the first ever TBEX, travel blogger conference organized in 2009 in Chicago, and I found some very fascinating travel bloggers to follow as they bounce\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.passportswithpurpose.com\/wp-content\/donate\/2010\/widget.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":437,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/12\/13\/3-cheese-pesto-vegetable-lasagna-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":4},"title":"3 Cheese Pesto Vegetable Lasagna Recipe","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"First a few announcements: For those of you who just read my feed and never visit my site - you probably didn't notice: I did a site redesign this weekend! Take a look and tell me what you think! A Menu for Hope is in full swing, and the bids\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Entree&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Entree","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/entree\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lasagna Bolognese pasta sheets","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2373\/2107430751_a7220ba1ab.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2005\/12\/13\/a-menu-for-hope-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":267,"position":5},"title":"A Menu for Hope II","author":"Sara, Ms Adventures in Italy","date":"December 13, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, We're close to the holidays, but not too close to prevent experimenting with some holiday treats!!! I'm calling it a Holiday Treat Meme...and I'm tagging a bunch of you to share - Gia-Gina, American Girl in Italy, Re-boot, Whatever it Takes, Better than Ice Cream, Writing To Reach You,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Food&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}