I'm attending the IFBC (International Food Blogging Conference) next weekend in Sacramento, and am so excited about it. Over the years, I've attended a bazillion conferences, and haven't always made the most of my time there. Frankly, I'm not super-comfortable with rushing into a crowd of strangers and immediately starting up scintillating conversation, and am in awe of people who can do that. I finally realized I needed a plan. Below are some of the things I try to do in advance of conferences ...
Join the Ugly Food Movement with Eden Juices
Meet Eden. Eden is a new environmentally friendly company that makes fresh, cold-pressed juices from 'ugly food' -- imperfectly shaped fruits and vegetables that don't meet strict appearance requirements for a discriminating public. What’s the big deal with ‘Ugly Food’? It may surprise you to learn that 30 to 40% of food grown around the world is discarded. Some for spoilage, but much of this waste includes bruised fruits and misshapen vegetables containing the same nutrients ...
Holding Life a Little Closer
Life unarguably goes on, even in the face of horrific tragedy. Tomorrow the alarm will blare, we will go to work, stop at the grocery store, and run some errands; and I will resume with a new recipe. But even in this world where wars, murder, and violence have become frighteningly more commonplace, the horror of 20 first graders senselessly murdered in their schoolroom stands out. It doesn't take much effort to find reams of articles and interviews politicizing this horror to rant on larger ...
Food Bloggers Support for Sandy – #FBS4Sandy
With every fresh wave of photos I see from the devastation left in the wake of Sandy, I'm stunned anew by the images. It's hard to grasp from 3000 miles away how much people have lost, and how long it will take to recover. It's hard to know how to help in an ocean of need. Denver-based Barb Kiebel, author of the wonderful food blog Creative Culinary, put out a call yesterday on her blog to this amazing community of food bloggers, which I first saw on my friend Suzanne's blog, another wonderful ...
Learning Something New
What would you like to learn how to make in 2012? It could be something complicated like puff pastry. Or something more practical like canning the vegetables from your garden. Or baking your own bread. For me, I love yogurt and would love to develop a recipe for making my own. It's a rare day I don't start my morning with a bowl of yogurt and some fruit. It makes me feel good; like I've started my day on the right foot, even if I slide a bit later with a brownie. There are different ...
Thanksgiving: An Invitation To A Global Feast
Every once in awhile, a book will show up unannounced on my doorstep, thoughtfully selected by my cousin for me. It sometimes arrives unexpectedly, and is always a welcome surprise. Earlier this year, one of her gifts was 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement, and if you haven’t read it, I heartily recommend it. The book traces the lives and food of five immigrant families newly arrived in the United States who, at different times, lived at 97 Orchard ...
