Aventura Mall Hosts 7th Annual Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale

Aventura Mall will "bake a difference" when it hosts the 7th Annual Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale, a culinary benefit to end childhood hunger in America. The event takes place  Sunday, May 22, from noon-4pm at Aventura Mall's Center Court.
                                    
Local bakeries, restaurants, marketplaces, and hotels will offer samples of sweet treats for $2 to $5. Tickets for all bake sale items will be on sale at the event for $1 each or $10 for 13 tickets - a baker's dozen. Proceeds will be distributed to local organizations that feed children and assure them access to good nutrition.

The 2010 bake sale

Participating vendors include: Grand Lux Café, Nordstrom Café Bistro, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Ocean Prime, Alisa’s Painted Bistro, Turnberry Ocean Colony, The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Spa, Chef Allen's, Florida International University, Edda’s Cake Design, Hot Cookies, Cookies by Shar, The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Caramel Swirls, Chocolate 4 Charity, Forever Sweet Cakes By Design, Jennifer's Homemade, Joe's Stone Crab, Nestle Waters, and Whole Foods Market.

The event will also include raffles for great prizes, a cupcake decorating station for kids and several pastry demonstrations.

One in almost four children in America goes to bed hungry each night – that’s 17 million nationwide and more than 637,000 kids in Florida alone. Proceeds from Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale will be distributed to local organizations that feed children and assure them access to good nutrition; past recipients have included Feeding South Florida, Florida Impact and FLIPANY.

Chef Allen Susser of Chef Allen's

Event Chairman is Chef Allen Susser of Chef Allen's Restaurant and Co-Chairwoman is Jennifer Behar, of Jennifer’s Homemade.

South Florida's number one shopping destination among locals and international visitors, Aventura Mall ranks as one of the top five highest grossing malls in the country in sales per square foot. Anchored by Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and Macy’s, Aventura Mall boasts 300 specialty stores, ranging from chic, internationally renowned names such as Herve Leger by MaxAzria, Burberry, Faconnable, Henri Bendel, Michael Kors and Hugo Boss to many of the most popular and recognized retailers, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Apple, Calvin Klein, Forever XXI, True Religion and Diesel. Aventura Mall is also home to 10 full-service restaurants and an exclusive contemporary art collection featuring 10 installations positioned throughout the shopping center. 

Located at 19501 Biscayne Boulevard, the mall is open Monday through Saturday, 10am-9:30pm, and Sunday, noon-8pm. For more information call 305-935-1110, visit online at www.aventuramall.com, Facebook and Twitter.   


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2nd Annual Ability Explosion Happening Now On South Beach

A weeklong showcase of the abilities of people with disabilities blasted off, for everyone, at the second annual Ability Explosion on sunny South Beach yesterday. Besides last night's musical performances, Ability Explosion will feature a dining-in-the-dark event, a comedy show and much more.

"The purpose of the Ability Explosion is to gather all of us, and to share and enjoy our experience together," says R.David New, Chairman of the Miami Beach Disability Awareness COmmittee and Ability Explosion organizer. "We also want to exhibit the vast and varied abilities of people with disabilities, while providing viable solutions for challenges, whether physical, visual, hearing or intellectual."

"The Ability Explosion is a celebration like South Florida has never seen," New said."It's a way of fostering understanding and having fun, Florida-style, at the same time!" Many of the people featured in the events have physical, visual, hearing or intellectual disabilities. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters will be available at all events.

Schedule
Lights Out Miami Beach
A Dining in the Dark Experience Oct. 20; schedules vary by restaurant.
Lights Out Miami Beach is a unique simulation that teaches people what its like to experience the tastes, the sounds and the energy of a great restaurant without ever seeing it. Everyone from the guests to the wait staff will face their own challenges while discovering how they would all adapt to losing their sense of sight in a dynamic environment. (Wait staff will be using night-vision goggles for safety!) Participating restaurants include 660 at the Angler's, BLT at the BETSY Hotel, Catch 10, Escopazzo, Gotham Steak at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Indomania (Sold Out!), Joe's Stone Crab, The National Hotel, Ola at the Sanctuary Hotel, Quattro, Red the Steakhouse and Smith & Wollensky. Contact each restaurant for availability and reservations.

Resource and Technology Expo at the Convention Center
Oct. 21, 11am-4pm
Hundreds of exhibitors representing corporations and the public sector will converge on the Miami Beach Convention Center, showcasting the latest technologies and products designed to improve the lives of people living with disabilities. The expo includes an art exhibit and events geared especially toward children.

Comedy Festival
Oct. 21, 8pm
The Colony Theater, Lincoln Road, Miami Beach
Enjoy some of the amusing perspectives that people living with disabilities are able to share based on how they interpret the world around them. The Comedy Festival is a lighthearted way for the community at large to see the world through the lens of the disabled, fostering better understanding and acceptance. The Comedy Festival will include performances by Lonnie Bruhn, Kyle Grooms, Brian Fischler, Art Metrano, Jerry Rosenberg and Tim Grill.

Taping of "Cooking Without Looking" TV Show
Oct. 22, 3pm
The Betsy South Beach
"Cooking without Looking" is the first TV show ever produced especially for blind/visually impaired people. Guest "chefs" who are blind or visually challenged crate their culinary specialties, giving tips on how to cool/bake, stay safe and have fun in the kitchen with visual impairment.

Crunch 5k Run
Oct. 23, 8:30am 13th and Washington Ave., Miami Beach
Everyone is invited to compete in the Crunch 5k Run taking place in beautiful South Beach and managed by Split Second Timing. Enjoy the sun and the sites while helping people living with disabilities.

Celebrity Gala and Fashion Show Extravaganza
Oct. 23, 7pm-10pm
Miami Beach Golf Club
Celebrate the close of Ability Explosion at a gala cocktail reception and fashion show at the beautiful and centrally located Miami Beach Golf Club on Alton Road. The Cocktail Party and Fashion Show is the climax of Ability Explosion week, featuring designs from Petit Pois by Viviana G. Complimentary hors'deouvers and cocktails will be served at 7:00pm and the fashion show will begin at 8:30pm.

Aquabilities Explosion- A Watersports Extravaganza!
Oct. 24, 1pm-4pm
Shake-A-Leg Miami, 2620 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove
Set sail on a wet and wild adventure at the Coconut Grove water sports center of Shake-A-Leg Miami. Celebrate freedom in the sparkling waters of Biscayne Bay with youth and adults with special needs. Enjoy fun boating activities for everyone!

Stone Crab Season Is Almost Here!

The best part of fall in South Florida is the start of stone crab season, which runs Oct. 15 to May 15! Unlike lobster, which was enjoyed by European royalty in the 16th and 17th centuries, stone crabs are a relatively new delicacy. 

Although they were plentiful in the waters around Florida, no one ate them because, when cooked, their meat gave off an unpleasant iodine flavor. A hard-working Miami Beach restaurant owner named Joe Weiss and a curious ichthyologist put their heads together in 1921 and cooked the crabs, then chilled them, ending that iodine flavor and putting what became Joe's Stone Crab on the map. Served with mayonnaise or Joe's famous mustard sauce, which has been imitated many times, stone crab claws have become a desirable item on menus all over the country. Stone crabs are often served with simple sides such as hash browns, corn-on-the-cob and garlic spinach, allowing the crab claws to shine as the centerpiece of the meal. 


Stone crabs have an unusual built-in safety device. Their claws detach so they can get out of traps or from between rocks! Fishermen discovered this quirk of the stone crab and realized that they could trap the crabs, remove one claw and release each one safely to the wild. The claws regenerate in a year to 24 months, and the crab is not harmed by the removal. The state of Florida now allows both claws to be removed, but some fishermen still only take one so that the crab can better defend itself. To help the species sustain itself, no females with eggs are allowed to be de-clawed. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that there is no issue with over-fishing of stone crabs! 


There are lots of great places to enjoy stone crabs in South Florida, including Monty's at the Miami Beach Marina and in Coconut Grove, as well as home delivery by George Stone Crabs. To this day though, the original is still king: Joe's Stone Crab has long lines and no reservations from October to May, so get there early! 


P.S. Don't forget the Key Lime pie! It's the perfect finish to a stone crab dinner.