A Menu for Hope

One of the most vexing aspects of "eat, drink and be merry" hedonism is the knowledge that many of our neighbors simply don't have the opportunity to participate.

Delightful food blogger Pim has taken the initiative to organize the second annual A Menu for Hope raffle — a benefit for the victims of the recent Kashmir earthquake.

Food folks from across webland have ponied up prizes ranging from custom wine and food tours to cookbooks and chocolates. Donations starting at $5 get you in the game. I'd go a step beyond that and recommend that you calculate the amount you generally spend on a night out. Just stay in, eat light and donate.

I'm offering:

a t-shirt (your choice of color and size) with the sleek, snazzy chefbunny logo (be the first on your block to get one!) as well as

a copy of James Peterson's Essentials of Cooking — a top-notch technique guide that (had I read it earlier) might have saved me the $20,000 I dropped on a culinary school education.

Inform friends forthwith... A Menu for Hope II runs through December 23, 2005.