Belmar Groves Homeless Vet Program is in need of donations. Please contact Becky Sanders @303-648-1227 for more information.

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GreenScene

Did you know that all MWHS properties are within a 1/3-mile walk of a light rail and/or bus stop? Proximity to transportation options other than driving oneself offers clients and staff an alternative and often cheaper form of transportation, while limiting pollution.

By Ryan McCaw

Rena Clark 12/10/2007Becky Weidhaas 12/16/2013Christi Santi 12/17/2012Kevin Ashby 12/23/2013Cristina Bailon 12/31/2011Jerrica De La Rocha 12/31/2011Ricardo Rodriguez 12/31/2013

December Anniversaries

Big Congratulations to Leigh and Rena who are changing positions. Leigh is moving into the newly created position of Financial and Asset Management Specialist. She will work closely with Carl and Bren in a variety of work related to both accounting and asset management.

Rena will be stepping into the position that

Sophie Hickman, Melanie’s daughter, was accepted into the All County Orchestra for Jefferson County. Fifty cellos auditioned and Sophie was one of only twenty cellists accept-ed. Sophie is a sophomore at Ralston Valley High School and has been playing the cello for six years.

Leigh is vacating –General Ledger Specialist. The change will offer Rena a completely new job description with plenty of opportunity to learn and grow as an Accountant.  She is leaving behind some big shoes to fill in her old position which will be posted soon.

All of us on the Accounting team are excited for both Leigh and Rena! 

CONGRATULATIONS!

Metro West Mixer

About Me Staff members divulge their favorite seasonal dishes. Pg 2-3

Anita Braver shares her background and a few surprising tidbits. Pg 2-3

Holiday Recipes Budding MusicianMelanie Hickman’s daughter earns prestigious honor for her cello talent. Pg 4

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It’s the

SeasonHoliday

?

We have new employees!

Lauren O’NealBusiness Support Specialist

Mario DelgadoProperty Maintenance Worker Paloma Villas

December24 Noon closure

25 Christmas Day - Paid Holiday

26 Day after Christmas - Paid Holiday

January01 New Year's Day - Paid Holiday

02 Day after New Year's - Paid Holiday

19 Martin Luther King Day- Paid Holiday

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

1¼ cup butter¾ cup sugar½ cup Drostes Cocoa or a Dutch cocoa2 cups flour¼ teasp. Salt1 teasp. Vanilla

Chill overnight.  Roll in small balls. Place on cookie sheet and take the bottom of a glass covered with a piece of cloth, and press down slightly.

Bake for 15minutes. Cool and roll in granulated sugar.

Favorite Recipes

-Tillie Wright

-Anita Braver

About Me

Pumpkin Swirl Cake Drostes Cocoa Cookies

By Anita Braver

Ingredients:

¾ c all-purpose flour2 t pumpkin pie spice1 t baking powder1/2t baking soda½ t salt2 lg eggs1 ¼ c granulated sugar½ c melted unsalted butter,

½ c buttermilk2 t vanilla1 c canned pumpkin3 oz dark chocolate, melted2 T unsweet. cocoa powder1 ½ c powdered sugar1 t shredded orange peel2-3 T milk orange juice

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Coat 9x 5 loaf pan 2/ non-stick cooking spray. Line pan w/parchment; coat w/ non-stick spray; set aside.

In large bowl, whisk flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In med bowl, whisk eggs & sugar. Add butter, buttermilk & vanilla. Whisk until combined. Fold in pumpkin.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once. Whisk just until no lumps remain.

Divide batter in half. Add melted chocolate & cocoa powder to half the batter. Stir to combine.

Alternately, add batters to pan. Using a knife, swirl through batter. Bake 55-65 min, until cake has risen and crackled and toothpick comes out clean. Remove; let cool 20 mins. Invert onto wire rack; cool completely.

For glaze, in small bowl stir together powdered

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. We lived above my maternal grand-parents who immigrated to America from Sweden. I am lucky enough to have those original papers and was able to place a plaque at Ellis Island, with their names and the date of their arrival. My grandmother was radical for her time and instilled in me that education is important, but just as important is being non-judgmental. My dad’s parents lived a few

blocks away, so I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by grandparents during my early years. Now I know how the saying “It takes a Village” came about.

I went to Northwestern University and became a Dental Hygienist, of which I practiced for years. I retired from that profession and ven-tured into others. I was a board member of Chicago Foundation for Women and kept busy doing site visits. I was appointed

by Illinois Governor Ryan to run his Women’s Commission. I had eight different working

groups under my wing that ad-dressed issues affecting women in Illinois. I am proud to say that I added another: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. There was such a need.

President Barack Obama and I worked together on my “Wel-fare to Work” group for two years,

back when he was a junior senator. Once, I was at lunch with Obama and looked at him

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Staff Recommends

-Brendalee Connors

-Stephanie Baiotto

Almond Bars Cheesy Meatloaf Minis

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Ingredients:

½ c butter¾ c sugar1 egg½ teaspoon baking powder¼ teaspoon salt1 ¾ c all-purpose flourMilk1/3 c sliced almondsGlaze:½ c powdered sugar¼ t almond extract

Preheat oven to 375°Makes about 48 bars.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter or margarine with electric mixer on med-high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat well. Beat in egg, baking powder, almond extract and salt. Add the flour; beat till just combined. Cover and chill dough till easy to handle, about 1 to 3 hours.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough, half at a time, to a 12x6-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 12x3-inch strips. Cut each strip of dough crosswise into 1-inch bars. Brush with milk. Sprinkle with almonds, gently pressing almonds into the dough. Transfer to a cookie sheet, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 8 to 8 minutes or till edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned. Remove bars from cookie sheet; cool on wire racks.

Glaze: In a bowl, stir together powdered sugar and almond extract. Add enough milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over bars.

and said, “You are going to the first African American President of the United States.” On another note, Michelle is smarter than Barack.

I have two children, Erika Grace and Chad Walter. Erika is a Corporate Recruiter here in Denver with her own company, Braver Staffing. She specializes in the security sector. Chad is a graduate of Purdue and is a Mechanical En-gineer, currently working in Miami. Purdue, his alma mater asked him to stay and get his Masters and teach, but he opted for a warmer place to live. His work takes him to Dubai, Germany and all over the world. He just turned

29 years old and is quite an interesting young man. They are both great kids and I will still claim them!

When the kids were growing up, my former husband and I had to travel to Hong Kong on business. I grew to love the orchids there, and I decided to start my own orchid business in Chicago: Orchid Scents. Not an easy feat, but I built a greenhouse and had a thriving wholesale business selling Hawaiian-grown orchids. I found out I have a “green thumb” and I now am involved here with Denver Urban Gardens and their food banks. I had to re-educate myself

on Colorado growing practices since this is such a dry climate.

I decided to try a new hobby to add to the Orchids, and so I learned to sculpt marble. I would spend a week each summer in Marble, Colorado and learned the craft in a symposium taught by a local, Madeline Weiner. It was called Marble/Marble. I loved sculpting and did so for 10 years. I have a piece in the Aquarium in Chicago. It is a manta-ray.

I arrived in Colorado 10 years ago to get out of the cold weather and I love it here!

Ingredients:1 oz fresh breadcrumbs Cooking spray 1 cup chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup chopped parsley 2 T Parmesan cheese

1 T horseradish

1 T Dijon mustard 3/4 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 3 oz white cheddar cheese, diced

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Over medium-high heat, cook breadcrumbs; for 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.

3. While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Coat pan w/ cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 c ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated w/ cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at for 25 minutes or until done.

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