Comments (2)

By Emily, August 19, 2010 7:11 pm

After running around Chicago with Kirstin on Thursday and then touring the Frito-Lay plant and going to the cocktail party on Friday, it was almost hard to believe that the main Healthy Living Summit event was still to come on Saturday.

Because there are a million other HLS recaps out there, because I don’t think summaries of the sessions will do it justice, and because its already Thursday and I still haven’t finished recapping last weekend, I’ve decided to list the top 10 things I learned at HLS.

1.  Bloggers really are normal people. I like to think I’m a normal person, and I’m a blogger, but I was a little scared about meeting some of the better known and more popular bloggers.  The blogger I’m most in awe of?  Caitlin Boyle (full time blogger and author of Operation Beautiful).  Where did I meet her?  In line at Dunkin Donuts, getting breakfast.  She was totally cool and I realized at that moment that all of the HLS attendees were really cool.  We have a lot in common and there was no reason to be shy.

Me and Caitlin

2. “Close enough is good enough.” Christine Palumbo, our keynote speaker, shared “11 Tips for Healthy Eating and Feeling Fabulous”.  My favorite tip was that “close enough is good enough”.  I don’t have to be 100% perfect, 100% of the time.  If I can do 80% some days, that should be enough.  Sometimes I’m too hard on myself.  It’s okay if I don’t post my HLS recap until the following Thursday, at least I’m posting it at all.

3.  It’s okay to eat meat. Or not. Lots of healthy living bloggers are vegetarian.  Lots are vegan.  But not once did I feel like I needed to defend my choice to eat meat occasionally.  It’s just not that big a deal; it’s an individual choice.  And all of the food served at the summit was delicious and nutritious.  I’m still in awe of the fact that we had breakfast, lunch and 2 snack breaks between 8 and 4:00 on Saturday.  Delicious food, all the time?  That’s my kind of summit.

4. There’s nothing like being surrounded by people who take pictures of their food.   Brian knows better than to take a bite of his dinner before I’ve photographed it, and we really don’t eat out much, but it was still incredibly refreshing to be hanging out people who also think it’s normal to photograph their food.

5. Yoga pants and tank tops are the ultimate outfits. Another entry in the “this is my kind of summit!” category: the dress code.  It was decided a week or two before the summit  on Twitter that it was totally reasonable and acceptable to wear yoga pants.  Granted, I didn’t do any traditonal working out during HLS, but it was wonderful to be super comfortable (and I did walk all over Chicago!).

6. Stay epic. During one of our snack breaks (after snacking, of course), I dashed upstairs to get my copy of Operation Beautiful for Caitlin to sign.  Trust me, I was not the only dweeb doing so.  Anyway, that’s the inscription: “Stay epic” (Epic is Caitlin’s favorite word.)  What does epic mean? “surpassing the ordinary”.  Sounds like a plan.

7. I need to get more creative with my cream cheese. Sunday morning’s brunch, sponsored by Thomas’ Bagel Thins, featured a “make your own cream cheese” bar.  At first I thought this was kind of lame, but by the end of breakfast I’d decided it was the coolest thing ever.  There were a ton of mix-ins we could choose from to add to our cream cheese.  Our creations were mixed for us and, though they gave us a lot of cream cheese, I couldn’t help but use all of mine on my bagel thin.  My personalized cream cheese included smoked salmon, green onion and fresh tomato.  There’s no reason why I can’t replicate that at home.

"Make Your Own Cream Cheese" mix-ins

8.  It’s okay to walk.  Another item on my list of concerns: the Sunday morning fun run/walk.  Would I be the only one walking?  Once again, HLS proved my fears to be ridiculous.  Our fabulous walking group:

9.  I ♥ Swag.   I knew there was going to be free stuff at the summit.  I even planned ahead and brought an extra (empty) bag to pack it in.  But did I realize there was going to be this much stuff?  No, but I somehow got it all home anyway, minus the canned beverage and the bags of Doritos.  I’m so excited about trying everything.  (Disclaimer: I bought Operation Beautiful before going to Chicago.)

10.  The Healthy Living blogging community is amazing. As I already mentioned, everyone I met was wonderful: friendly, interesting, unique, beautiful.  I was really impressed when a card for Ashley, who couldn’t make it because of some health issues with her husband, began circulating.  Do I know Ashley?  No. Did I sign it?  Yes.  Because it’s immediately apparent that the Healthy Living community is incredibly supportive.  That, if I needed them to, they’d have my back, just like they had Ashley’s.

That said, there’s a new site to encourage the awesomeness of the HL blogger community:

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. If you’re interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.com and check the site out for yourself!

• Email subject line: MEMBERS
• Any specific labels (i.e. vegan, gluten-free, weight loss, running, etc.)
• Your name (please share if you prefer to go by first name, first and last, or however you prefer to be known on the Internet)
• Blog Name
• Blog URL (please start with http://, not www.)
• Your twitter handle, if applicable
• Your location (if you prefer not to disclose this information for privacy’s sake, that is completely understandable. We’ll simply include your blog listing in the A-Z listing, not by location, too)

Chicago was fabulous, the summit was fabulous.  I’m already looking forward to next year!

Comments (4)

By Emily, August 3, 2010 7:30 pm

It was such a cool and exciting day last spring when we got an email from our friends asking if we’d like to take their CSA share for the first part of the summer while they were traveling.  Would we?  My semi-newness to the area and unsure job situation, plus general procrastination meant that we hadn’t signed up for a CSA share, even though I wanted to.  What could be better than doing a CSA trial run?

And so, for 8 wonderful weeks we traveled to Caretaker Farm on Tuesdays and picked up all the organic veggies we could fit in our bag.  Perhaps I’m overly dramatic, but it may’ve been life changing.  Our friends are back now, and we’re glad (really),  but they’ll be collecting the food from now on.  It’s kind of sad, though it’ll certainly give me reason to start frequenting the farmer’s market.  If nothing else, I definitely learned a lot from the CSA.

5 Things I Learned from Being a [temporary] CSA Member:

1.  Vegetables have seriously short seasons.  The first couple weeks at the farm yielded greens, radishes, spinach…and not a whole lot else.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed, not being a big fan of salads.  And then, a few weeks later, no more spinach.  Why?  Because vegetables actually have growing seasons!  It was fascinating to escape the “everything’s always available” mantra of the supermarket and eat produce that was actually locally in season, not grown in a greenhouse halfway across the country.

2. “Real” vegetables don’t look perfect. I actually hesitated to pick up “imperfect” looking food.  Why?  They’re plants.  They’re not going to look perfect.  There’s something freeing about eating food that looks natural, not perfect.

3.  Food naturally comes in some really cool colors.  There’s a lot more to salads then green.  ”Purple haze” carrots, kohlrabi, purple peppers (did I mention I love purple?), nevermind red radishes and striped beets, red leaf lettuce, yellow squash.  Beautiful, really.

4. Fresh, organic lettuce tastes better.  Maybe it’s all in my head, but prior to hanging out at Caretaker Farm, I rarely bought lettuce.  I am not a salad person.  And yet, we’ve consumed an awful lot of salads around here over the past 2 months.  And I liked them.  Some of the credit for that goes to my husband for his awesome salads and delicious dressing, but the rest of the credit goes to the lettuce.

5. It’s fun to try new things. Beets, bok choy, kohlrabi, turnips, garlic scapes.  I loved them all, with the exception of the beets, which I’ll tolerate in small doses.  Without the farm, I’m not sure I ever would’ve tried them.

My one regret is that I definitely wasn’t as creative with our bounty as I thought I’d be.  I could make excuses (I’m good at that!), but it doesn’t really matter.  Hopefully next summer we’ll be CSA-ing again on a more permanent basis and I’ll be more prepared to make some creative dishes.  At any rate, I got really good at roasting vegetables :)

On an unrelated note, congratulations to Caitlin! The Operation Beautiful book was officially released today, she’ll be on the Today Show on Thursday and is living the healthy living blogger dream.  I’m so happy for her (and so excited to meet her at the Healthy Living Summit in 10 days!)

Comments (3)

By Emily, January 18, 2010 1:05 pm

Fabulously Broke did a post a few days ago featuring her Confessions of a Foodaholic, which she got from eemusings and Asian Pear, who got it from Not Quite Nigella.  (I love the internet!)

I thought it’d be fun to share my own.

I go through phases where I don’t eat any breakfast

I know that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” and I believe it.  But when I get up at 5:15, I’m really not hungry.  Of course, by the time we’re headed out the door, I’m starving, but the thought of food when I first wake up just isn’t appealing.  At the moment, I’m trying to make sure I eat a bagel or something before I leave, but we’ll see if that lasts.

I am a tea addict

Even if I’m skipping breakfast, I never skip my tea.  I usually start the day with a cup of black tea, but as the day progresses I’ll consume a few more.  Brian and I have a whole drawer full of tea.  I don’t think the caffeine has much of an effect on me…I just love the taste.  And the warmth.

I deconstruct my sandwiches

Whenever I’m eating a sandwich, I stop eating it normally when there’s somewhere between a quarter and a couple bites left.  Then I take apart whatever’s left and eat just the filling, leaving the bread behind.  I don’t know why, it’s just one of those weird habits.

I get bored of food easily

One of the reasons I started cooking was to escape the boring lunches I’d been taking to school every day.  I like eating left overs, but I can only eat the same meal 2 or 3 times before I can’t eat it again for a month or so.  I don’t understand people who’ve eaten the same thing for breakfast or lunch for years.  I just can’t do it.

I really don’t like salad

I love vegetables.  I love healthy eating.  But I really don’t care for salad.  I can’t remember the last time Brian and I bought lettuce.  I’ll eat it if it’s served to me, or comes with a restaurant meal, but I never make it for myself.

I get really frustrated when I don’t plan an awesome menu for the week

Cooking and blogging are my hobbies.  People know this is what I do.  I’m really Type A and set really high standards for myself.  Between the internet, magazines and my cookbooks, I have tons of recipes.  So when I don’t have a lot of time during the week to plan a great menu or cook impressive meals, I get frustrated.  Sometimes I wish I had a job that didn’t require prep outside of the work day so I could spend more time in the kitchen.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

I’ve always said that I don’t like PB&J, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had one.  Nevertheless, the idea grosses me out.

I would rather eat lunch/dinner food for breakfast and breakfast food later in the day

That’s just the way it is.  Give me a sandwich, pizza or pasta for breakfast and I’ll be happy.  Eggs and pancakes make great dinners.

I get annoyed when people at the supermarket have carts full of processed foods

Over the past year I’ve realized how easy it can be to make healthy, cheap food at home.  It makes me sad to see people with carts full of TV dinners, packaged snacks and soda.  I wonder if they know what they’re eating and how much better tasting and healthier food can be.

That said, what I think I should be eating and what I actually eat don’t always line up.

Nevertheless, I’ve still got processed food in my pantry.   How could I not?   I still eat meat, though I frequently debate with myself about whether I should go vegetarian.  I have to keep reminding myself that I’m doing better than I used to be (Soda is an extreme rarity in my life, we almost never eat fast food, I do cook at home every night of the week, many of our meals are vegetarian).

What are your food confessions?

Comments (0)

By Emily, January 9, 2010 7:58 pm

Alternate title: In which my posting schedule gets further out of order, resulting in two “links” posts in a row and a lack of real posts.  Also, a New Years Resolution fail because I didn’t post twice this week.  Sad truth: I have another post ready to go, but we’re doing this one today, because it’s Saturday, and Saturday is Highlights from My Reader day. (But that title doesn’t fit in the Title box)

Highlights for January 3-9: Numbers Edition

Every week, I feature a collection of links from the blogs I follow.  If these aren’t enough for you, check out the “What I’m Reading” widget on the right sidebar.

This week’s theme: numbers and lists.  You know I love lists.

The NY Times featured a Q&A with the author of the recent book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.  In the article, Michael Pollan Offers 64 Ways to Eat Food.

Change.org has 5 Ways to Savor Your Food.  Because if you’re not taking the time to enjoy what you’re eating, what’s the point?

5 Food Films Everyone Who Eats Should See, (more than 5, actually, since more are mentioned in the comments) is also from Change.org.  I’ve only seen Food, Inc. Clearly, I need to update my Netflix cue.

Ironically, on a less serious note, Serious Eats has complied a list of 25 Things To Do With Hot Sauce.  Especially tempting: #8, 10, 13.

The Atlantic is trying its hand with predicting the future with its list of 5 Cocktail Trends for a New Decade.

Just what I need: Epicurious just added a new post announcing that they have 1,644 (and counting!) professionally created and tested soup recipes on their site.  Clearly, I don’t have enough soup recipes yet…

Love peanut butter?  Planet Green has 15 recipes using peanut butter–and none of them are sandwiches.

Finally, if you’re still trying to get started on your New Years Resolutions, Huffington Post has a list of 10 Kick in the Pants Fitness Tips for 2010.

Finally, to make up for my failure to post, I offer this video of squirrel monkeys eating jello.  I think it’s pretty stinkin’ cute.  Enjoy! (via Serious Eats)

Comments (4)

By Emily, December 31, 2009 1:39 pm

My husband thinks New Years Resolutions are silly.  He think if one wants to change something, they should just do it, instead of waiting for the new year to make a commitment.  There’s probably some validity to that, but I like making resolutions.

There are about a million things I’d like to change in the coming year, but I tried to keep it to a reasonable few.  Hopefully by posting them, I’ll be more motivated to actually keep them!

Specific Goals for 2010:

• Go to the gym at least twice a week

Brian and I are members at our local gym, but as winter has progressed and I’ve begun teaching full time (yay!) it’s been harder to get ourselves there.  Ideally, I’d like to get to the gym every other day, but I’m hoping that by setting a goal of two days a week, I can be successful.

• Drink more water

This probably could’ve been my New Years Resolution for the past 15 years.  I have never consumed as much water as one is supposed to.  I could probably go through an entire day without drinking much more than my morning cup of tea (actually, I’m sure I have).  In terms of specificity for this goal, I’d like to make sure I empty my water bottle at least once during work and consume a big glass of water in the afternoon.  Again, the ideal would be even more liquid than this, but I like to start small.

• Add new posts to Relishments at least twice a week.

My recipe pile keeps growing, and my cooking’s getting better, but sometimes it just doesn’t translate to the site.  Again, I’ll blame working for the drop in posts.  Hopefully I can make this site more of a priority and keep you “posted” on what’s happening in my kitchen.  Maybe I can even bring back Links of the Week (which would also help me stay on top of my reader!)

Not so specific goals:

1. Learn to bake really good bread  (recipe suggestions welcome!)
2. Learn to cook with tofu (recipe suggestions welcome!)
3. Learn to make more things that I usually buy (bread, crackers, yogurt, etc)
4. Maximize my freezer space
5. Create original recipes

Happy New Year! Wishing you and your families a great 2010!

Comments (0)

By Emily, December 9, 2009 9:04 am

My Christmas shopping was done almost a month ago (!), but in the event that you haven’t finished yours yet, I’ve put together a list of the 10 gadgets and tools in my kitchen that I love the most.  If none of my favs strike your fancy, check out the links to gift guides at the bottom of the post!

1.  Bottle Stoppers

There are a lot of types of bottle stoppers out there and, for what they are, a lot of them seem pretty expensive.  Brian and I are huge fans of these cheap lever bottle stoppers from Zyliss ($9.99 for 6, Amazon.com)…they don’t look like much, but unlike a lot of bottle stoppers, they actually create a airtight seal.

2.  Oil Bottles

Similar to bottle stoppers, oil bottles ($4.99, Bed Bath and Beyond) are a dime a dozen in stores lately.  I never knew how much I’d use one until I had one though (actually, we have 2–one for olive oil and one for vegetable).   One of the best perks: it’s easier to buy big, cheaper bottles of oil when you have a smaller container to dispense it from.

3.  Flexible Cutting Boards

At my bridal showers last spring, I received not one, but two packages of flexible, plastic cutting boards.  Frankly, I was not impressed.  I didn’t even want one package.  I wanted “high quality” cutting boards.  That said, Brian and I almost always use them.  They’re a great size for cutting a lot of things (big pieces of meat, a soup’s worth of veggies) and the flexibility really comes in handy.  I can’t find the exact set we have, but these cutting boards from Norpro ($5.99, Amazon.com) look pretty good.

4.  Dry Erase Board

No list is complete without one item that seems a little random.  This is that item.  A couple months after moving into our new place, Brian had the idea to add a small dry erase board to the door of one of our cabinets.  It’s super helpful for writing to do or shopping lists, but mostly it’s used for hanging up recipes so they stay clean while I use them to cook. ($9.98, Amazon.com)

5.  Garlic Press

My knife skills are pretty bad and we go through an awful lot of garlic.  I’m sure there are folks out there who disagree with the notion of the garlic press, but our Oxo Good Grips Garlic Press has definitely saved me a lot of time. ($13.00, Amazon.com)

6.  Pyrex Bowls with Lids

Another wedding gift we got but didn’t ask for was a  Pyrex 8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set.  In addition to being 4 different sized mixing bowls (who doesn’t need mixing bowls?!), they’re Pyrex so I can use them in the oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher (in my fantasy life where I have a dishwasher).  Best part: each bowl has a lid, perfect for storage and travel.  ($19.88, Amazon.com)

7.  Zyliss Cheese Grater

For those times when you just need a little cheese…or just don’t feel like getting out and then cleaning the food processor, this (as Brian would say, manly) Zyliss Cheese Grater is awesome.  It comes with 2 drums for fine or coarse grating.  Perfect for adding cheddar to the top of a bowl of chili. ($19.99, Amazon)

8.  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

It’s no secret that How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food is the most important book in my kitchen.  Anytime I have a question about how to make something, or how to use an ingredient, I consult this book.  If you know somehow who cooks, or has a kitchen, they could definitely use this book (or the original version).  ($20.47, Amazon)

9.  Slow Cooker

As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t grow up with a slow cooker.  In the (almost) six months we’ve been married, I’ve only used my Rival 5 qt. Crock-Pot a few times,  but I know I’m going to love it this winter.  What’s better than throwing ingredients in a pot and having dinner ready to eat when you get home from work? ($24.99, Target)

10.  Food Processor

Of the few things I had to have for my kitchen, a Cuisinart Food Processor was at the top of the list.  Pricey, yes, but such a time saver.  ($177.45, Amazon).

Still need gift ideas?  Check out these gift guides:

From Serious Eats, a collection of gift guides, including gifts for the gluten free, the coffee lover, the chocolate lover, stocking stuffers and more.

Slashfood has a list of The Best Cheese Books of 2009.  (♥ Cheese)

The Atlantic has posted their Holiday Gift Guide: Kitchen Edition.

If you need something unique, check out A Food Coma’s collection of Gifts We Want.

Change.org has a Sustainable Food Holiday Gift Guide.

A Year of Slow Cooking has a list of Holiday Gifts to Help Bloggers–why not buy a book written by a blogger for someone on your list?

Merry Christmas!

Comments (0)

By Emily, October 31, 2009 10:45 am

Happy Halloween! It’s become pretty clear to me between talking to friends and family and reading blogs that I’m not the only one with a pumpkin obsession.   Folks have been sending me pumpkin recipes and it’s been really fun (and tasty!) trying them out.

Recap: Recipes tested thus far:

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Pumpkin Soup with Mexican Cinnamon Creme Fraiche

Curried Pumpkin and Apple Soup

Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

Unfortunately, I’m just not able to make all of the pumpkin recipes that have come my way lately (plus my cooking was pretty bad this week since I was sick for the better part of it).  For those of you who are still trying to satisfy your pumpkin cravings, here are some intriguing recipes which I haven’t tried out:

Beverages:

DIY Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash (Serious Eats)

Soups:

Spiced Pumpkin Bisque with Pumpernickel Soldiers (Serious Eats)

Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew (Gourmet)

Sides and Snacks:

Brown Sugar Spiced Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) (Portland Press Herald via my mother)

Pumpkin Risotto with Roasted Seeds (Beekman 1802 via Planet Green)

Cheesy Pumpkin Biscuits (Slashfood)

Pumpkin Dip (Cooking Light, via my mother-in-law)

Main Dishes:

Pumpkin-Spice Oatmeal (The Atlantic)

Robert Irvine’s Pumpkin Lasagna (Food Network Magazine, November Issue)

Pumpkin Tortellini with Sage (Slashfood)

Desserts:

Pumpkin Five Spice Sweet Rolls (Coconut and Lime, via Slashfood)

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Pumpkin Pudding (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, via $5 Dinners)

Pumpkin Carrot Cake (Portland Press Herald via my mother)

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake (Portland Press Herald)

Maple Mushroom Pumpkin Creme Brulee (Portland Press Herald)

Pumpkin Praline Trifle (Portland Press Herald)

Heirloom Pumpkin Apple Pie (Yummy Local via Serious Eats)

Pumpkin Apple Crumb Cake (Everybody Loves Sandwiches)

Pumpkin Seed Brittle (Gourmet)

Dairy Free Pumpkin Pecan Bars ($5 Dinners)

From my husband’s sister-in-law (my sister-in-law, in-law?): “Low Brow, Low Fat” Pumpkin Mousse: one can pumpkin, one container fat free, sugar free cool whip (I’m sure real whipped cream would also work), 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, one box instant, sugar free vanilla pudding. Mix. Chill. Eat. Especially good with ginger snaps

In addition to my list, $5 Dinners just pointed me in the direction of a really amazing list of Pumpkin Recipes from Amy’s Finer Things.  And Kevin from Closet Cooking posted a list of his top 10 Pumpkin Dishes.  A Year of Slow Cooking is featuring a collection of Slow Cooker Fall Favorites, including several with pumpkin.

Again, I haven’t had the chance to sample the dishes above.  I’m just sharing them with my pumpkin-obsessed audience! Enjoy–and please let me know if you try any of them out!

Comments (0)

By Emily, September 8, 2009 5:48 pm

On Saturday, Brian and I headed just west of downtown Bennington to attend the 14th Annual Southern Vermont Garlic and Herb Festival.  Dorky as it may sound, I’d been looking forward to it for months.  We had a great time and I definitely learned a lot of things I didn’t know before spending the day sampling delicious Vermont treats (garlic, maple syrup, salsas, dips, breads, sandwiches…it was pretty amazing).

1.  The Garlic Festival is really popular

We drove to Vermont on the morning of the first day of the festival and it was pretty crowded.  Of course, the fact that the majority of the vendors were distributing free samples didn’t help cut down on the crowds.  According to the event’s website, over 6000 people attending the 2008 festival.  That’s a lot of people for a two day event.

2. There are many different kinds of garlic

I know I’m not the only person who didn’t already know this because I was eavesdropping on other people, but it never occured to me before that there are all different types of garlic.  It seems odd to me that supermarkets only seem to carry one kind (and sometimes elephant garlic) if all these local farms are growing so many varieties.

3.  Garlic makes a great decoration

Brian and I opted not to purchase any garlic artwork to decorate our apartment, though I’m sure it would’ve smelled nice.  I just wanted you to be aware that the option is out there.

4.  There exists such a thing as maple liqueur

Along with several Vermont beer and wine vendors,  Sapling Maple Liqueur had a booth with samples available.  We couldn’t think of when another opportunity might arise to sample maple liqueur, so we got some.  Pretty, isn’t it?  Pretty strong is more like it.  We had couple sips and then used the rest to top some vanilla ice cream (though they did have garlic ice cream too!)

5.  There exists such a thing as garlic fudge

I expected that the Garlic Festival would have some bizarre garlic flavored foods and this is definitely my top pick.  Of course, I had to try it.  The sample was pretty microscopic, but it tasted fine to me.  I suppose it helps that cherry can be a pretty strong flavor.

Comments (0)

By Emily, July 31, 2009 4:13 pm

Denny’s Sued Over Sodium Content from Atlantic Food Channel & Denny’s Going the Way of Phillip Morris from Change.org –Finding out the amounts of sodium in Denny’s food makes me want to stay away from there for a long time…not that I really wanted to go to begin with…

Pie Lollypops from Luxiare–Not that I would ever make them, but the photography is absolutely amazing! (via The Food Section)

Blue M&Ms May Treat Spinal Cord Injuries from Hungry Beast–I always knew that M&Ms were amazing, but who knew they were that good?

Ree of the great blog, The Pioneer Woman, recently created a new website.   Tasty Kitchen is “a happy little place on the web where people who love to cook can easily share recipes.”  With thousands of members already, it’s definitely worth checking out next time you need a recipe (or if you want to submit one of your own!)

What Britain Eats: Three Decades of Grocery Shopping is an impressive chart/graph of British shopping habits broken down by time and food groups (via The Internet Food Association)

Check back next Friday for more of my favorite links from the week!

Comments (1)

By Emily, May 7, 2009 1:27 pm

My Man is notorious for asking me hypothetical questions which make me crazy. They range from “If you had to move to another state forever, where would you move to?” to “If you had to live on a deserted island with a celebrity, who would you choose?” I don’t like being forced to choose one thing. I’m too indecisive. I like variety. I hate the “if you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life” question more than anything.

Despite that, I was intrigued when Serious Eats posted yesterday about the H1N1 quarantine in Hong Kong and asked what readers would put on their “Quarantine Food Wish List”.  I’m pretty sure my list can include more than one thing, so I don’t feel so penned in by it.  If my consulate was bringing food for me while I was in quarantine, I’d request black tea with sugar and milk, peaches, chicken picatta with spaghetti and a good bottle of pino grigio. Maybe not a meal that makes complete sense but…it sounds good to me.

And, immediately, I feel strange about choosing something with meat. Which brings me to my next point: No Meat Athlete (my favorite blog du jour) posted a great piece called “I Shouldn’t Be Eating This But…” It’s very much along the lines of what I was saying about summer restaurants opening the other day. It’s so refreshing to be reminded that my life’s not going to end because I choose to not be completely strict all the time.   That’s why I’m flexitarian, and not full fledged vegetarian.  (My guiltiest food is red meat, by the way)

If I’m in quarantine, I’m not going to worry about eating vegetarian. It’s not the rest of my life. Good food would make me feel better about being stuck while people recover from H1N1.  I’m not going to make myself miserable sticking to a strict diet 100 percent of the time.