For the Love of Food

I’ve been around the food blogosphere for over 5 years now, and what made me a food blogger 5 years ago is quite different from what makes me a food blogger today.  To be honest, I was quite skeptical of blogging back in 2005, and my photography skills were, to be nice,  boring!  I have come a long way, and I have not done it on my own.

Could you imagine being the only food blogger out their?  …with no inspiring recipes and posts from your fellow foodies?!  Just think back to how many of us almost had a panic attack when we found out that Tastespotting had shut down – to our relief only temporarily.

And, because there are so many of us out there with so much to share for so many different reason, I thought I would share with you today who I am and what makes me a great food blogger.

Instead of filling this post with my favorite food images that define me as a food photographer blogger (we’ll save those for another day), I decided to pick the 3 that say it all:

Maraschino Cherries, Baker’s Coconut, and Cheeseburger Pizza.

Now, when it comes to food blogging, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not all in the recipe or the pictures.  Yes, those are very very important aspects of food, but more importantly, it’s the ideas behind them that make the recipes and pictures what they are.

Anyone can buy a jar of hot pink “Maraschino” cherries at their local grocery store – well, almost anyone.  Some of us are not so privileged to have access to such food or be in top health to not be allergic to certain ingredients  such as corn syrup, preservative, and red 40.  That’s where I like to come in.  I enjoy being creative with the seasonal fruits and vegetables that I have around me to make all those delicious things we take for granted – like Maraschino cherries and even Ketchup!  Did you know that the sour cherry that is used for making the traditional Maraschino cherry is only in season for 3 weeks of the year!!

As I mentioned earlier, not all of us are lucky enough to be in top health.  A few years ago I was unable to eat sugar (table sugar, molasses, dextrose, brown sugar), and if it wasn’t for that 2-year “health issue”, I would not be the food blogger that I am today.  Yes, there are plenty of recipes out their for homemade ketchup or agave sweetened ice cream, but what about homemade baker’s coconut?  There’s just not much out there.  Because of my love and perseverance in cooking, I don’t let something like that stop me.  I never see anything as being impossible to accomplish – somethings just take longer to figure out than others.

So, what does cheeseburger pizza have to do with Maraschino cherries and baker’s coconut??  Quite a lot.  Good cooking (and good blogging) require a lot of ingenuity – as well as some trial and error.  Sometimes you spend hours (or days) searching for the right recipe – you know what you’re looking for, but you don’t really know how to make it, but when you see it you’ll know it’s the one.  Well, sometimes you never come across that perfect recipe and you have to get your creative juices flowing.  That is where cheeseburger pizza comes into play.  I spent days looking for a recipe that promised the flavor of a cheeseburger in pizza form more than the flavor of a pizza with cheeseburger toppings.  And, since I never found the recipe I was looking for, I made my own – and to everyone’s delight it was absolutely divine.

What really sets For the Love of Food apart from much of what’s out there is the homemade recipes that we’re often looking for, but just aren’t out there.  I try to avoid ingredients that include “can of Cream of Mushroom Soup” since that’s not available to me. Food needs to be made from scratch here.  I “cater” to a lot of American ex-patriots in the same situation.  Nothing makes someone feel less homesick than some good home-cooking – like a truly homemade Green Bean Casserole!

And, while all of this makes me a great cook and food blogger, does it make me food blog star?  YES!  My readership is increasing, a true sign that star-dom is the next step, and I hope to be moving into the ranks of some of my favorite food bloggers (Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen, La Tartine Gourmande, MattBites) that have inspired and taught me the most.

In all the excitement of the past few weeks I never got around to sharing with you that I signed up for the Project Food Blog challenge hosted by Foodbuzz.

The challenge gives us a chance to prove ourselves as foodies and food bloggers by conquering 10 assignments. And, the person who wins in December not only has a chance to be featured on Foodbuzz for 1 whole year, but that person (oh I really hope it’s me!) will win $10000! Now, I don’t know about you, but I can think of plenty of productive ways to use $10000: boost my kids’ college funds, open my own bakery (commercial kitchens are so expensive!), expand my food styling props, save it…

What would you do if you won $10000?

So, many people are in it for the fun. I am definitely in it for the fun, but a serious sort of fun. I want to win. And, NOT for the $10000. No, I’m not crazy – there’s just more to take into account. I blog because I want people to read what I have to say and make my food and be happy. I want to win for the love of food

The challenges will start in about the second week of September and as each challenge is posted on my blog there will be a second post after then telling you guys that voting is open. And, I want all of you to vote for me!! So, keep your eyes open for my posts!  And, check out my profile here.

Sorry that this post is a bit later than I had planned on writing it. I spent the better half of Saturday in the hospital from dehydration from the nastiest stomach flu that I remember having and then spent until now just sleeping. Luckily, it was a quick stomach bug and I am perfectly fine now.

Ok, so on to the winner. I used a random number generator that I came across on the internet and the winner is:

Jeff Blackwell.

I will be sending Jeff my copy of Cooking Green as soon as I get his shipping address.

To the rest of you who would like to read this, but don’t want to spend the money to buy it, I highly encourage you to borrow it from your local library. Or, pool together with some friends and buy it together and take turns reading it.

Ok, Iḿ back to vacation time!

Happy 2009 everyone!

I decided to analyze my blog from January 2008 – December 2008 to see what you like.

Why?
I want to see more of you around my blog more often. And, that means finding out what you like.

How?
I looked at all my posts and saw what you commented most on and I learned quite a lot.

What? Continue Reading »

So, I am back, kind of. I finally have a tiny bit of time to share with my blog, and I really want to address this contest.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who participated! And, thank you for your patience for waiting until now for my answer. It has been a rough last 3 weeks – I have a cold again – but I am back to my blog until Thursday when I go on vacation to Ireland! I am very excited!

So…before I tell you who the winner is, I’d like to tell you what I thought about all 39 suggestions that came in: Continue Reading »

I am a very visual eater/drinker.

I like pretty food…as do most of you. And, I will rarely try a recipe I have never seen a picture of before – unless it’s been served to me and I know the exact final product.

So, when I told my husband that I loved blue drinks, he came up with the perfect tropical-looking drink for me. It looks like the ocean, a swimming pool, a blue sky, Spring, an Summer all at once. Although the floating crushed ice in it reminds me of floating icebergs (and the Titanic), it reminds me more of lapping waves in a tropical coral reef (yes…Fall is beginning and my mind needs to travel to a sunny tropical location).

This is a very simple drink – two ingredients – 3 if you count the ice.

But, it has no name. I couldn’t find an exact recipe online, but I didn’t scour the inernets for hours looking either. If the drink already exists in the exact recipe bellow – who cares, we will have fun anyways.

So, on to the CONTEST: I would like some help naming this drink.

What you need to do: Leave a comment bellow with a drink name by Sunday, September 14th. Continue Reading »