Links!

What I am supposed to be doing these days: finishing my thesis application; preparing for my new teaching job.

What I am actually doing these days: going on the internet, discovering and then reading food blogs...what may be described negatively, though not unfairly, as procrastination.

This whole blogging phenomena is actually pretty new to me. It's only been in the past six months that I really started reading and following various blogs, specifically, food blogs. Even then, there were only two or three I regularly checked out. It was reading and then sharing them with my blog sister, Dora, that inspired us to start one of our very own. (Truth be told, it was Dora who said, "We could do this. We should do this!")

Recently, we upped our tech savviness and figured out how to add links to some of our favorite food sites on the left hand side of our blog. And just now, I added a few more to the list that have struck me as particularly interesting and fun to read. Have you checked them out? No? Do you need a little push? A little more reason than the fact that they are on our blog to begin with? I thought that might be the case, so here is a little run down of our fave food blogs and a taste of why we think they are so great.

These three are the trifecta of my little world. They are the first ones I actively took an interest in and the ones I check every day to see what's new.
**Adventures of Pie Queen is by a food writer who used to live in SF, but now lives in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. I am a sucker for the Bay Area/Cobble Hill references. And c'mon, she loves to bake! How can I resist that!
**David Lebovitz has been one of my pastry idols since way back when I was a pastry chef in SF. His book, Room for Dessert, is one of my all time favorites and I constantly consult it for inspiration and recipes. He used to work at Chez Panisse but now lives in Paris and conducts chocolate tours. What I wouldn't give to go on one of these...sigh. Aside from food, he also writes amusingly about being an American in Paris. This and the next blog are for you Francophiles out there.
**Chocolate & Zucchini is by a young Frenchwoman, Clotilde, in Paris. She also lived in the the Bay Area at one point (do you sense a bias?). Her writing is charming and I am partial to the photos she posts of her creations and discoveries. She has a book coming out soon that I can't wait to get my hands on.

And here are a few I only just ran across recently:
**Farmgirl Fare: Have you ever dreamed of chucking city life and buying a place out in the country? Well, this lady did just that. She left the Bay Area for Missouri over ten years ago and writes about her experiences on her blog. For all you animal lovers, there are many pictures of her sheep, dogs and cats, as well as of her donkey, Dan.
**Cupcake Bakeshop: If you are in the mood to make cupcakes from scratch, but want to try something a little different, then this site should be one of your first stops. I have to admit, I haven't tried out any of the recipes yet, but damn, these cupcakes look good!
**delicious days is a blog out of Munich. I have just started to explore past posts, but there seems to be a lot on life in Germany.
**The Girl Who Ate Everything: This girl gets around! And I mean that in a goes-out-and-tries-lots-of-new-eateries kind of way. She is an NYU student and maybe the dorm food options push one in this direction. But whatever the impetus is, she is constantly writing about new little places. And taking photos of them. In just the week I have been reading her posts, I already have a list of five or six places that I want to check out.

Finally, being LA born and raised, I do have to represent my hometown. As much as I and most people I know, come down on it, there are some great aspects of the area. (Really. No, REALLY, I swear!) And I do have some peeps who live/visit there and might want some inspiration. The Delicious Life, by Sarah, is a fun read. She's another one who is always trying new places. And while you are being open to what SoCal has to offer, take a look at Matt Bites.

Hey Dora! Do you have anything to add? I know you do your share of food blog surfing. What do you have to say about C'est moi qui l'ai fait? I've looked at it a few times and wish I remembered more high school french!

Is it pathetic of me to say that I want to be friends with all of these people? Hang out with them, cook with them, go out to eat with them? Maybe a little, but they seem so cool. Luckily, I have a lot of people who (whom?) I actually do know who like to explore the culinary landscape.

But I still wouldn't mind spending some time with Clotilde, David and PQ once in a while.

K.