Monday, July 6, 2009

Give Oh Give Away

I went to a home for disabled adults yesterday. It was a humbling experience and one I wish I could repeat everyday. I got assigned to a sweet little man named Nielson. He couldn't speak and hardly moved, but I fell in love with his amazing spirit. His hands and legs where withered and he struggled to move. We got to sing quite a few songs together. Many of you know that I've been a singer for a few years. I loved how he responded to music. His face would light up and his eyes would roll around like he was trying to sing. The only sound he could make was a kind of gurgle, but I could tell he was really happy. We got to one of my favorite songs called "Give Said the Little Stream". He started smiling and the look he had was absolute joy. It filled my heart. I know that he gave something wonderful to me. He gave me gratitude. So, in honor of Nielson, I wanted to show my gratitude to all of my sweet readers who fill my heart with joy as well. I hope you all know what a pleasure it is for me to hear from you. This week I want to have a give away. I will be sending 4 spice blends out at the end of the week to 4 different readers ( Chef Tess Bakeresse Etsy ). If you would like to participate in the give away, just leave me a little comment telling me what you would like to see more of on my blog or just share your love. That is always appreciated. Then you'll need to send me an email with your personal email address (chef-tess@hotmail.com). Please do not put your email address in your comment on the blog, as I would like to publish every one's words and I don't share email addresses. I will only use it for the contest (so don't worry about getting a ton of newsletters or something.) Have a wonderful week.

19 comments:

Shellee said...

Ohh, Steph, if I leave 4 comments can I get them all? You know how I love the spice blends. I still need some Greek Spice from you.

Emily Ruth said...

Stephanie,
I love everything you post here--sometimes I even get brave enough to do them!!! (That's a lot considering I rarely cook or bake. I buy cookbooks for the pretty pictures; )
Anyway, love when you do recipes for kids. I am trying to give my 2 year old more finger foods he can eat by himself.

Unknown said...

i love it when we see a little of the personal side of the recipes..and i love the words with the recipes..not just the recipes themselves.you have a way with words.
and i love your sunday posts.
although i have been mia most of june i have gone into your blog and read everything i have missed..
because i love our blog.

Chef Tess said...

Thanks guys! Gramee, be sure to send me your email address okay? Thanks for sharing your love! It means a lot!

Heffalump said...

You know I read every post even though I don't comment on every one. I like what you do, so just keep on doing it!

Goob said...

Totally loved the cooking with kids themed week, and would love to see more themes! Can I link your contest on my blog?

Chef Tess said...

Themes! Great idea! Please feel free to link my giveaway to your blog! I'm totally flattered!

Salsa Mama said...

I love everything you post on your blog! You are so creative and I love the mix of topics - from treasure rocks to refrig. pickles. (both of which I am going to try!) LOVE it all!!!! :)

Kira said...

I love that your recipes are so beautiful! You take cooking to an art, that makes it more enjoyable. If you have any more main course ideas I always could use more of those. You are great, I have told many people about you!

Jeri said...

thanks for the reminder to enter. I meant to enter right away, and then I got distracted - who know by what... (that happens to me WAY WAY WAY too often.

I love the blog - just keep it up. I'm learning so much.

one thing I do want to learn: Tell me exactly how to prune the tomatoes to make them grow up so high. It's too late to do it this year, but I want to try it next year -

(I believe you already have my real email... maybe I'll go send it again, just in case - cause I REALLY want to win!!!)

Wenonah said...

I just stumbled onto this post from my search on baking chicken legs and just love what I've read & seen so far! We love "Give Said The Little Stream" too.

Would be thrilled to win some spices from you if I'm one of the lucky 4 winners!

Midodi said...

O.K. though feeling graspish, it would be cool to try the spices. So...I love the variety you post. It would be nice to see a full meal here and there themed . . . Oh, and since I'm not a real chef, I love to learn basic things like, how do you really butterfly or what is the proper hand position on a pan, or any other techniques like that.

Olivia said...

I'm a firm believer that you can never have enough spice in your life.

Let me win!

Erin said...

I am so excited to just see what you have been up to since highschool. I feel even luckier to get to read your posts. I love cooking! I am so impressed and hope I get to try some of your spices.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! What a good idea. I am all out of my "All Purpose" spice, so I hope this is my lucky month. I don't know what to request for future blog recipes -- maybe food storage recipes? I was so glad you posted pickles this week as I would have requested that.
--Shae

Darkblue said...

I love your site. I stumbled upon it a while back, and have looked forward to your posts ever since. I have tried many of your recipes and adored them. I have read all of your Sunday posts, and to be honest-at first I was nervous, I have struggled with my faith, but I have come to love The Bread of Life posts best...which is a truly unexpected surprise...so keep up the good work!!

Chef Tess said...

Thank you so very much for telling me about the Sunday posts. At first I was a little nerveous about them myself, only because I don't ever want to offend anyone. However, it is comments like yours that keep me going. God is so aware of all of our needs. Isn't it wonderful?!

Angela said...

Sign me up! I've been so crazy busy lately it's a good thing this contest ran this long! I love to try the recipes and also the kid recipes. You make it look easy to make delicious lovely food--mine is usually ugly and edible :) Also enjoy the commentary, so keep up the good work!

Kathy said...

Hey Steph! Thanks for the opportunity to win some spice!!

The best recipes are the quickies for me. By the time we get home in the evenings, nothing over 30 minutes is do-able (including prep and cooking).