Saffron and Blueberry

http://saffronandblueberry.blogspot.com

Saffron and Blueberry blog image

Creating a life with beautiful pictures of the world coupled with drool worthy food

I’m preoccupied with all things food these days. Maybe because it is the dead of winter in my home town of Minneapolis. Recent nights have been spent indoors with high heat, the Winter Games from Whistler, and food and drink. After following Hilda of London on twitter (you can find her @saffronberry) I took a look at her blog. She tweets about the most amazing food and her blog is no exception. It makes me want to leap to the kitchen, preheat the oven, and dismiss the measuring spoons from their indeterminable sentence in the drawer. But what Hilda has been hiding, at least from me on twitter, is her photography skills-not just of food but of life. These worldly snap shots match delicately well with her recipes. When I look at her pictures I too believe I can be just as good, just not anytime soon, which is my disappointment. Nonetheless, please visit Saffron and Blueberry they may seem like an unlikely pair, but they are not. They surely will not disappoint, only inspire.

Chez Pim

http://chezpim.typepad.com

Food has never looked this good or achievable

Chez Pim blog image: Thai Cucumber Salad (Yu Tang Gwa)

I love food. If you were over my home during Thanksgiving (or follow me on Twitter) you would know that by the sheer volume I inhaled. But more than anything I love cooking and eating good food. You know good food. It’s looks beautiful, tastes beautiful (yes, that’s possible) and feeds all the senses. Chez Pim provides foodies a true foodies perspective on food and recipes. Chez Pim was developed by Pim Techamuanvivit a former Silicon Valley employer who quit her job in 2005 to pursue her passion for food. Since, she has published a book, a blog, and has been a contributor to the New York Times and Food & Wine to name a few. Her pictures are delectable, her recipes are to die for, and her blog features video. While I have been a follower of Ms. Techamuanvivit’s blog for a while, I have been hesitant to revue Chez Pim due to her on average once a week posts with some appreciable gaps. But when something is good you have to share it with the world. Chez Pim is good…I highly suggest you make a frequent reservation.

Last Night’s Dinner

Last Night's Dinner blog image: Spoons

www.lastnightsdinner.net

 I Know What they Had for Dinner Last Night, and it Looked Good: but Receipes Usually not Included 

What can I say about food? For starters, it’s present during all momentous occasions, good and bad. It makes you feel good when you have the “mean reds” (as stated by Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s)…which reminds me, it’s referenced in classic movies.  It’s great to eat, and fun to make. More importantly, we have to have it everyday. Because we have to have food every day, it’s easy to get lazy about the time, quality and quantity of our food. However, Last Night’s Dinner reminds us that good food does not have to take a lot of time. Quality of our food does not have to be the sacrificial lamb. The better the food the less quantity of it we need. Ms. Jennifer Hess has created a delightful blog with an refreshing bent, which is simply showcasing good food she and her husband have for dinner. Unlike other food blogs, providing recipes is not a prerequisite to posting on Last Night’s Dinner.

Bell’Alimento

www.bellalimento.com

Mostly Italian southern style

I love Italian food. Sometimes I feel guilty for loving Italian food because of the bum rap it’s been given by our carbohydrate obsessed culture. But if carbs lead to weight gain, then why was it that I only saw and met skinny people while in Italy? So bum rap be damned! I believe this is how Ms. Jones, an American southern bell and the creator of bell’alimento probably feels. Not only has she created a blog that gives homage most of the time to the Italian art, but she has created many of the dishes herself. We, the viewer, can’t help but want to make and dig in to these lovely creations because her photography serves as a visual aperitif to the cooking process. She goes a few steps further by also providing what she calls “Rants Raves and Reviews” of Italian restaurants and products. While bell’alimento appears to be a relatively new blog (and who am I to discriminate against new blogs) the web design is great.  Plus it has the organizational prowess that any food site should have (just find recipes under the offered categories), and she posts every other day. So give the newbie with the quaint commentary a chance, especially if you like beautiful food (the meaning of bell’alimento in Italian).

101 Cookbooks

http://www.101cookbooks.com/index.html

Why 101 Cookbooks Should be Your On-line Cooking Source

I stumbled on 101 Cookbooks over a year ago. I wish I could say I saw the potential in this unknown “cooking journal” as she calls it (is “cooking journal” code for “blog”). But alas I can’t. Potential I saw, yes, unknown…well not quite. This on-line cooking journal has won awards and been written about in the New York Times and in the  Telegraph.co.uk to name a few, and rightfully so. Ms. Swanson has created such a delectable assortment of healthy vegetarian, good tasting recipes that you want to try them all. How do I know this? Her pictures are magnificient (must be her photographer background) and her recipes are good (based on actually having cooked them for a myself and my fiance a self described “lover of all things meat”).  While Ms. Swanson does not provide recipes on a daily basis she post frequently enough during a week (at least three times) that you will never run out of material. Here is the best part about her site (besides the good tasting recipes, the visual appeal, and constant material…whoa talk about perfectionism) it’s the organization. You can look up any recipe via category (like: soups, drinks, gluten free) or via ingredient. I’m getting excited just thinking about it. Which reminds me…dinner is coming up, I’ve got no idea what to cook…I’ll find something from 101 Cookbooks because when it comes to cooking journals this one is one of the best.