When I was talking with my friend Carol about promoting my book, she said, "Why don't you link up with Share Our Strength and give stuff away through them. That way you get to promote your book and help them raise money to feed the hungry, and three lucky readers will get your scale and book."
I loved this idea. Share Our Strength is a great organization, and I've written admiringly about how chefs are able to raise so much money for the hungry through their Taste of the Nation dinners and various events throughout the country. Now I can help too.
Here's the deal: Go to my page at Share Our Strength, donate whatever you wish to this excellent charity, and your name will be entered in the giveaway--doesn't matter how much, winners will be chosen at random. This will go on for exactly three weeks. On April 30, I'll ask my friends on Twitter to help me choose. Those selected will get this excellent scale (it's the newest version of what I use) a signed copy of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, and, this late entry, one of Donna's Doughs and Batters Ratios Charts.
(Fellow bloggers, a quick shout out or tweet to your readers with a link to the SOS page would be very much appreciated by me and SOS if it's appropriate and fits with your site.)
I know everyone is hurting and nervous in this economy, but it's precisely now when hunger relief in is most needed. So if you're hurting a little less than others, please consider this worthy cause. I'm giving. I hope you will, too.
Tamara Mitchell
Great idea - I'm in.
Waiting for my book from Amazon.
Are you going to sell the posters/charts separately?
dadekian
Great idea, thanks, Michael. Is there something we have to do to enter? Looking at my SOS transaction I'm not sure how it's linked to your page.
ruhlman
we will eventually be offering the chart separately, yes.
dadekian: all you do is enter a donation on my page and they take care of the rest.
Victoria
Yes, will go to SOS.
Nice tip on the scale. Will make a fine present for bridal showers, Christmas, etc.
Will post this tonight.
Good luck for a good cause.
Natalie Sztern
can someone explain how people have time to Twitter?
JoP in Omaha
Great idea...thanks for doing it.
Jose
"On April 30, I'll ask my friends on Twitter to help me choose. Those selected will get this excellent scale..."
So, will the scale go the people who were randomly selected, and/or to your friends on Twitter who will be helping you to choose?
In any case.. Great cause. Fun giveaway.
ruhlman
Jose, the way it will work is i will have a spread sheet of names on numbered lines. People on twitter call out numbers and whose ever name corresponds to these numbers will be among the exalted. This way the choices are completely random.
Lynda
Done. Thanks for organizing this.
craig
Couldn't you just have a goose wander over the spread sheet and wherever it drops a load, the person wins. It gives a whole new meaning to "Spread Sheet".
cdelphine
ya know, there's a website called random.org that can pick a number for you...
Judith Greenwood
I recommended your book because I think not understanding these basics is wasteful of food, fuel and time. One can go to culinary school, cook for 40 years or read your book, and the book is by far the easiest answer!
Mathias Eichler
Yeah, the book + scale = happiness idea I had too:
http://1x1olympia.com/1x1/news/2009/04/a-new-approach-in-the-kitchen/
E L
I provided a number of links to your book, blog, and SOS page on my site, and writing about it actually provided a nice jumping off point for what turned out to be a pretty good post about cooking vs. following recipes. Thanks, as always, for the inspiration!
Shelley Ryan
If you're thinking of choosing a winner from among your twitter followers, here's a neat tool: http://twitrand.com/
Maybe you can add another requirement? "Follow me on Twitter, too."
http://twitter.com/ruhlman
Feisty Bourbon Girl
Great idea! I'm attending the Share Our Strength event in Cleveland in August as a blogger. Not only will I donate, but I'll "follow" and blog about ALL of it on my blog - now and in 8/09. NEED this ratio book, as a "follow the recipe" cook who can't seem to color outside the lines...