It's not every day that a humble baker sees her name on a Jumbotron, but that was the case last evening at the Sweet Lemonade event to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises funds to fight childhood cancers mainly through parties and lemonade stands. The event was hosted by Michael's Genuine Food and Drink's Hedy Goldsmith at Marlins Park.
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ALSF was founded by a little girl with big dreams. Alexandra "Alex" Scott wasn't even a year old when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. The determined little girl beat that cancer, only to have it return before her fourth birthday. It was then she told her mother, Liz Scott, she wanted to start a lemonade stand when she got out of the hospital to raise money to help her doctors find a cure for childhood cancers. Instead of raising a few bucks, little Alex raised $2,000 that first day.
Over the next few years, as Alex grew sicker, she grew more
determined to raise one million dollars. In August 2004, the eight year old reached
her goal. A few weeks later, she lost her battle.
Since
then Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised millions of dollars
through a series of parties and events called Sweet Lemonades. Last
evening's event featured sweet and
savory treats by Goldsmith paired with cocktails and prosecco.
Guests
walked through different themed "suites of sweets and treats", finding
different edible treasures in each one -- like candied bacon, pumpkin
bread pudding, buttered popcorn gelato, and Hedy's Junk in da Trunk
cookies.
Each person took home a personally autographed copy of
Goldsmith's new book "Baking Out Loud", while honoring the legacy of a
little girl who cared more about others than herself. Here are some of our favorite treats:
Candied bacon was particularly popular.
Chocolate and peanut butter are two great tastes that taste great together!
Mini cinnamon rolls with plenty of icing.
Buttered popcorn gelato was perfect for the ballpark setting.
Which dessert hit it out of the ballpark? The basil panna cotta. Creamy, savory, and sweet, with flavors of the season.
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