Deidre Pujols hits a HOME RUN in the kitchen Upcoming calendar/cookbook will raise money for charities that are close to her heart.(Eat, Drink, Live)

Byline: Judith Evans Post-Dispatch Food Editor

When Deidre Corona married a man from the Dominican Republic, she fell in love with his country and its cuisine. Now she's drawing upon her passions for cooking and for helping others to create a hybrid cookbook/2010 calendar, with the proceeds going to charity.

"It will be about Dominican woman and their cuisine," she said.

Deidre is married to Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, a Dominican native. "I don't want people to open the book and feel sorry for them," she said. "I want them to open the book and celebrate what they do have."

Proceeds will benefit the Pujols Family Foundation (pujolsfoundation.org), which raises money for impoverished Dominicans as well as for people around the world with Down syndrome. Their daughter Isabella, 11, has Down syndrome. They have two other children: Sophia, 3, and A.J., 8. (A.J. stands for Alberto Jose. His dad's full name is Jose Alberto.)

Pujols, who grew up in Kansas City, has always loved to cook: Mexican food from her father's side and Irish food from her mother's side.

Her husband's favorite dish is Pollo Guisado (chicken stew), a Dominican favorite that Deidre has dubbed "Home Run Chicken." "Since he hits so many home runs, I like to think I have something to do with it," she said.

During baseball season, she gets up early on game days and prepares food for Albert to bring to the ballpark in a big insulated bag.

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