After the earthquake in Haiti I was feeling both incredibly depressed and helpless. The images I was confronted with every night on TV were devastating. Like many of you, I donated money and encouraged others to do the same but felt like there must be more we could do to help. Then an email from the lovely Julie Van Rosendaal arrived asking me to participate in Blog Aid, a cookbook she was compiling to benefit Haiti. It seemed like a wonderful idea (although I will admit I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of producing a cookbook in 3 weeks!) But it happened! And it is lovely! Julie assembled such an amazing group of food bloggers/writers that I am very anxiously awaiting my copy of the book, and proud to be in their company!

Details: ALL of the proceeds from the cookbook will go directly to the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to assist in their efforts in Haiti.

It’s a POD (print-on-demand) system, meaning the books are printed and shipped as they’re ordered and arrive at your doorstep in about 8 days. You can purchase yours in softcover ($25US) HERE or as a hardcover ($50US) HERE.

Both West Canadian Printing AND Blurb are  supporting the project in many ways and even matching the dollar amount of the proceeds raised (up to 10k), to TRIPLE those dollars going to Haiti. AND until February 12th, the Canadian government will match that!!!! It is a great effort by all!

For more on the book, including a complete list of contributors, click HERE.

Thanks all! xo

UPDATE: Blog Aid has already raised over $18,000 in one day! Thanks to all who bought a copy and please help spread the word!

I have been promising you pictures of our new place ever since we moved in. This week’s Time Out Chicago features a nice story on Lottie + Doof and our new apartment written by Jessica Herman. I love her series on Chicagoans homes and am happy to be a part of it. The beautiful photos of our space were taken by the very talented Lizz Sisson, who also keeps a blog. Lizz very kindly sent me some additional photos that didn’t make it into the magazine for me to share with you. Thanks to Jessica and Lizz for a good time and to Bryan for playing along. Click HERE for many more pictures and click through for some bonus photos. read more+++

First of all, I have some good news. I get lots of emails from readers asking me where they should eat when they visit Chicago. While I’m not in the business of restaurant reviews, I am always happy to suggest some of my favorite places. I have finally gotten around to creating a guide to Lottie + Doof approved sources for good food in Chicago. You can find it HERE or through the menu on the left. I’ll add to the guide as I remember favorite places or find new ones. The page also links to a very useful Google map with the same information. Thanks to Bryan for his help getting this up. It is just the beginning of a bunch of exciting improvements around here. Next up- that recipe index which is woefully incomplete and out of date.

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After all of those cookies, I need a break. I’m going to take a little time to relax, visit some friends and family in Los Angeles and get my kitchen in order for another year of fun here on Lottie + Doof. Thanks to everyone who has been writing to say they are baking cookies, I love hearing that. If anyone is looking for another delicious edible gift to make for their friends or family, I highly recommend the caramel corn recipe over at Orangette. I am kind of obsessed with it. I have made it 3 times in the last week and ate my fair share of the stuff. It is pretty perfect. And if you’re looking for a last minute gift or a way to spend some cash from Grandma, check out the L + D Gift Guide.

I hope everyone is enjoying time with friends and family and looking forward to 2010! Be back in a week or so with some good food. xo

Hanukkah is here! Christmas and the New Year are right around the corner! Here are some suggestions for kitchen-related things you might like to give or receive! 10 things I love. I hope you do too! Check in later today for the 11th cookie!

These salt & pepper shakers from Heath Ceramics are one of my favorite things—beautiful and really nice to use. They have a good weight to them.

Fennel pollen! Peggy Knickerbocker wrote, “If angels sprinkled a spice from their wings, this would be it.” read more+++

Strange things are occupying my mind lately. For a couple of weeks at the start of September I was obsessing over wall sconces. Our new place is in a beautiful early 20th century building but somewhere along the way some seriously ugly wall sconces were installed. I was on the lookout for a suitable replacement, and I gotta say- the options are slim. Well, the options are actually vast, but I wasn’t finding anything even close to what I was looking for. Then, one day I stumbled across the work of Yael Erel and Avner Ben Natan at Lightexture and fell in love.
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I just returned from a week in Montreal and thought I would share some photos before I resume the normal programming here at Lottie + Doof.  I am really growing to love Montreal and feel a strong connection to it beyond it being Bryan’s home town. It is so vibrant and exciting during the summer months and if you are interested in eating good food, Montreal is the place for you. I am by no means an expert, but in my experience there are three restaurants that have really captured my heart. They are all perfect at what they do and manage to combine outstanding food, beautiful design and some of the best service I have ever experienced. I already raved about Au Pied de Cochon, so I now present Cluny Art Bar and Olive & Gourmando as well as some photos from the rest of the trip: read more+++

Things don’t always work out for me. Sure, it seems like everything I make turns out perfectly and tastes delicious, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes things fall apart— literally. read more+++

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