Making Good on New Year's Resolutions

My husband and I at The Crab Shack in Newport News

Did you think I was gone?  That I abandoned the internet?  That I stopped cooking for my family and succumbed to daily fast and processed foods? Or that I abandoned Play with Food and the concept that started me writing in the first place?  Well, none of these is true. I am not sure myself what happened but after Project Food Blog, preparing for my son's wedding and hosting the rehearsal dinner, and general pressures of work and home,  I was in a bit of a blog funk.  I needed to take a break, get away, and rediscover the fun and passion that made me start this blog in the first place.

So I took some time, focused on my family and my jobs, all the while still cooking and experimenting, trying to create food and fun that would lure family and friends away from the hustle and bustle of modern life, electronics and cyberspace to spend time and break bread together.

I think this was Take 75- Clearly I am not top model material

With the beginning of the year, like many of you I made, not resolutions, but commitments to myself for the coming year.  I want to be kinder to my body- eat better, take vitamins and supplements as prescribed regularly, exercise more, relax more.  I want to reach out more- to family and friends, and to others in need to my community. And I want to rekindle my love for food, blogging and connect with others who enjoy sharing food experiences with others.

Family- Toughest critics you'll ever love!!

What does this mean for Play with Food? That I will be posting- perhaps shorter pieces, but on a more regular basis. That you will see me visiting your blogs, commenting and trying your recipes and getting inspiration from you.  I will be using my Play with Food Facebook page to share quick tips, advice and impressions. I am going to improve my photography and use more video on my blog to change it up, make it more interesting and fun - and not just for you, but for me!

So I hope that my old friends will return to my cyber-kitchen table and that new friends will discover that cooking is not a chore, but a creative outlet and one that can nourish not only your body, but your soul.  Happy New Year, and don't be a stranger!

If at first you don't succeed.... My Project Food Blog Journey

Well, my journey with Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog is over- I am not advancing to round 3 of the competition. Besides the thrill of competing against other foodbloggers, what did I gain from competing?  After all, there was the pressure of developing and writing posts on a tight timescale, the time spent planning, preparing, photographing, writing and editing.  And for what?

I became familiar with so many new bloggers whom I hope to continue to follow.  I have read so many posts with different styles, and voices and perspectives.  I learned about new dishes and cuisines and ingredients. I had a great time being primped and posed like America's Next Top Model by my daughters who helped with the concept and the taking of my PFB profile picture.  I enjoyed support from family and friends and readers.

Am I disappointed? Yes of course.  Competing successfully and having your blog assessed by judges whom you respect as worthy is very validating, and as a Type A personality, I keep second guessing, "What could I or should I have done differently?" What can I do to make my blog better?  How can I connect with more readers, increase my appeal?  I will have to experiment, and stretch, and polish.

So now that my time as a competitor is over what will I do?  First I will support my friends who are still competing in PFB !  I will turn my immediate focus on getting ready for my son's wedding on October 16 and the rehearsal dinner that I am hosting at our home. I will make new dishes and work to share the stories that go with them.  I will share with my readers  new restaurants, new ingredients, new experiences and I hope that these shared experiences will make my food and my life richer and full of flavor!

Project Food Blog Challenge #1-Getting to Know Me

What makes a food blogger? In the time since I began Play with Food, I have met and spoken to so many bloggers from all over and each one has a different answer. There are those who are writers who love food and use their craft to share their passion with others. Some are talented photographers who capture food as art, and can make your mouth water with their images. There are ethnic cooks who strive to share their culture, and specialty blogs reaching people with special dietary needs. There are humorous food blogs and even food blogs that rant and rave.

And then there is me. I am just an ordinary woman who grew up in Winchester, a small town in the Shenandoah Valley where apples are king. My dad died when I was very young, but my mom met and married a wonderful man who raised us as his own. Both my mom and dad worked, so once I was old enough, I was often the responsible one, watching my younger brothers until our parents were home. And thus began my passion for cooking. Encouraged by my dad who would eat anything I made with great gusto and endless approval, I explored and experimented. Some things, such as the time I made a giant biscuit to go with hamburger Stroganoff because I thought it would be more dramatic (you can guess the center was pretty doughy), or the time I heated milk on top of the stove in a Pyrex dish (I definitely wouldn�t recommend, since the dish shattered- luckily, I wasn�t hurt) were failed experiments. But each time I cooked something new, whether it turned out or not, I gained skills, and confidence. I learned how to plan, prepare, combine, cook, and serve food that would nourish the people I loved. I learned to love that feeling that came when someone asked for seconds, or savored each bite, or asked for a recipe.

Once I was married and had a family of my own, there were different challenges-very tight budgets, feeding children at varying ages and stages, and father-in-law who was a very-non-compliant diabetic. I also went back to college to finish my degree- no easy feat with 4 small children (I have 6 now!). I learned how to make a pound of ground beef spread out over five people, how to cook a flank steak to make it tender and delicious, or make a pot roast that could masquerade as Sunday dinner, Wednesday beef and noodles and Friday�s carnitas. I collected cookbooks by the score, recipes from friends and neighbors, tore pages from cooking magazines, always looking for ideas.

That brings me to what makes my blog, Play with Food, special. While food is an important centerpiece of my blog, it is folded into family, friends and fun. One can eat anything to survive. Food and mealtime is a time to get everyone together so I am always looking for a way to make a meal an occasion and to build occasions around food. During football

season, we all gather for �football food�, cheering on our team. We started a tradition- Chinese New Year�s Eve- in order to entice our teenage children to choose to stay home on New Year�s Eve, with chopsticks, homemade eggrolls, and my famous �hot beans� or twice-fried beans. We celebrate the Olympics by having food from a different country each night (we are not above the American hamburger, or Italian pizza to get through the games!). We check out markets and restaurants, and food producers, and wineries everywhere we go, expanding and extending our knowledge about food and ingredients. Every recipe that has become a family favorite has a story behind it (like the pimento cheese recipe my husband got from a nurse while I was in labor!) .

It is those stories that I capture and share that make my blog special because it communicates that every cook, every family has a story to tell, to save to share. I�ve not taken a class at Cordon Bleu, nor have I traveled to Europe nor have I tasted shaved truffles (though I would really love to!). But I have made an amazing Peking duck, drying the skin by hanging it on my cabinet knobs over the sink. I have cooked a venison tenderloin kissed by a sauce of cherries and chocolate and brandy. I have made my own bison jerky, and served ~20 people dinner every night for fourteen nights with no power after Hurricane Isabel. My blog allows me to include others beyond my own family and friends, encouraging them to realize that every time they break bread with others is a special occasion and an opportunity to make a memory. Sharing food is a powerful thing- it can bring enemies together, it can bond us, it can soothe our hurts, it can make us remember, and make us forget. Family, friends, fun, those are the not-so-secret ingredients that take food that is ordinary and makes a memory, and a meal, that is extraordinary!!

My Inspiration!

Julie and Julia... Newport News Style (Part 1- The Preparation)

Okay,okay, I know that every food blogger in the world has already posted on Julie and Julia and I am probably the last foodie to post on this movie.Originally, like the rest of the foodblogging world, I had plans to do a dinner and go with my daughters to see the movie, but time and other responsibilities interfered and there was such a dearth of posts, that it seemed superfluous. So last week when Julie and Julia came out on video, Bridget and I wanted to make our own try at mastering the art of french cooking and watching the DVD in the comfort of our own home.

First of all I have to tell you that my copy of MTAoFC came from a garage sale at our church. While I had plenty of cookbooks, I did not have this one and it seemed almost sacrilegious for any self-respecting foodblogger not to have a copy, and so for $4, the two volumes came home with me.I have to admit thought that they have been on my bakers rack since then, in a place of honor, seeming a bit daunting for me to even open up. However, the release of Julie and Julia and my promise to my daughter that we would cook from MTAoFC was my inspiration to pull these volumes off the shelf to do exactly what Julia had hoped- educate the average American on French cooking. The first challenge was to find a recipe to make - I wanted something that would be challenging but not so hard that I had little chance of success. I also wanted to not have to go out and buy a lot of ingredients. I had some lobster tails in the freezer, so I decided on lobster quenelles au gratin, a light, French dumpling with white sauce and cheese. Bridget decided to make crepes with a beef, mushroom and spinach filling and bearnaise sauce.Frankly,I thought we were both reaching but we were excited and our plan was to have dinner ready by the time the Redskins finished losing so we could start the movie and enjoy our own French masterpieces.

First, the quenelles. Quenelles begin life as pate a choux, the same pastry that is used for cream puffs . With the simplest ingredients- butter (of course), eggs, flour- and a lot of elbow grease can transform a bland paste into a light as a cloud dumpling that is just amazing. I added three pureed lobster tails, but you could use salmon, or other fish. After the pate a choux is made , it had to chill, and then cream was beat in half-tablespoon by half-tablespoon (not as easy as it sounds). Then the fun part. Julia said to poach the quenelles in water that is just barely simmering, another thing that is not really as easy as it sounds. When they we done a laid them in a bed of white wine white sauce and sprinkled them with swiss cheese. Then they were baked in the oven until the top was brown and bubbly.

Now Bridget's crepes. I have made crepes before, but honestly they have been so much trouble and either they are too thick, to thin, fall apart, etc. so I was a bit skeptical when Bridge said she was going to make them . The truth - I was blown out of the water! She was a crepe-making machine. See what I mean?

Part two: the food and movie....

Recognizing Home Cooks- the Fun of Food52

There are always new food sites popping up - new food blogs, product sites and food communities- just waiting to be discovered, and it is often hard to stay on top of your old favorites while exploring new and exciting sites. But sometimes the old opens up the new and that happened for me today and so I want to share my new find with you as well..  Today, I saw a post update by one of my favorite bloggers, Susan of Food Blogga, asking for votes for her oatmeal topping in the Quaker Oatmeal Challenge for charity as well as her chocolate cookie recipe on food52. As a blogger who is loyally devoted to my fellow blogger, I voted for Susan's topping (Cinnamon Comfort in Round Three for those of you who want to support Susan's charity as well!),  and then travelled around until I found food52. The brainchild of Amanda and Merrill, both prolific food writers with the New York Times, the site has as its mission celebrating the  best cooks in the world- home cooks, definitely a sentiment I share. Food52 offers a place for cooks to share recipes and tips, and a blog, as well as contests, pulling recipes that will eventually be included in a book. What a great idea!!

With the lofty goal of being the one site on food that you will need, food52 is a fun new site that is worth checking out (and make sure you take a look at my mother-in-law's stuffing recipe which is the cornerstone of the Dowd family Thanksgiving-you won't be sorry).  Before you know it, food52 is bound to be an old favorite!

NOT Julie and Julia!

Since I started blogging, now almost two years ago, foodblogging has exploded as a medium for chefs and home cooks alike, giving a voice to those who love food in all its forms from Boise to Boston, from Manila to Marseille, from Dehli to Dusseldorf. The food blogging trend started in the big cities that are full of unique and diverse food experiences, but soon, family cooks in small towns around the world found that blogging gave them a way to capture their own food traditions and to share those experiences and insights with other "foodies" around the world.

And what a rush! I was so excited the first time I got a comment from a reader in Scotland who worked in a lab as well and confirmed that scientists and engineers swarm food at the coffee pot in Scotland too! And being listed on Epi-Log in the same list with food luminaries like Ruhlman- I still have to check periodically to make sure that is real. I now have foodblogging friends all over the world. I share not only in their recipes but in their lives. I know who has had a baby, and who has lost a loved one, which one knits hats and booties for preemies, and which one has moved or renovated their kitchen, and which one is a photographer, which one makes their own sausage, which one loves baking and even which ones have turned their blogs into books! Foodblogging is like having an extended family in cyberspace.

Which brings me to Julie and Julia, which is causing a stir across the food blogosphere. Julie Powell's story,on the surface is a food blogger's dream - to have a blog that turns into a book and then a movie is amazing validation of what began as a labor of love, not to mention financially desirable. But it is Julie's personal journey that parallels what many of us "invisible" bloggers enjoy and endure every day. We have full-time jobs, families, responsibilities,but find that making time to cook and to share that with others is rejuvenating, rewarding. We get up at 5:30 AM or stay up with a Coke or coffee after the family is asleep to post our latest dish or visit our "regular" sites. We can't eat a dish without snapping a picture whether it is with a cell phone or a camera, to the consternation of our family and guests. We spend hours when we could be reading the latest hot novel or relaxing poolside searching for the perfect bread recipe, or the best pimenton, or a tip for poaching eggs.

Many foodbloggers I follow have been lucky enough to turn their blogs into books, and I celebrate that with them, and I am truly in awe of Julie Powell's journey to the big screen ("I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!) But other than the few bucks I make from the hits on my blog or the free sample I get to review now and again, my blog will likely never make me money. However, I have made lifelong friends, I have captured the foods and experiences that make up my life and my children's memories so that long after I am gone they can recreate Grandma Dowd's Sausage stuffing, or my "Fricken Chicken", and remember and share the story behind each of those dishes. I have learned about foods from around the world, the struggles and triumphs of farmers and bakers and waiters, all who share a common love of food. So, like many of you, as I wait to see Julie and Julia, I know that even if my blog doesn't make me a dollar, every day it still makes me very, very rich.

Catching up...

You know that old saying that when it rains it pours? Well, this summer has been off to a bang, which is why I have been absent from both my own blog and yours over the past few weeks. Before I get back into the swing of things and share some great food, let me clue you in.

First of all, we had a great vacation at the beach. Our house, which we rented through Sun Realty was amazing- great views, expansive decks, and a great pool and hot tub. The owners really knew what they were doing when they named it A Perfect Escape, because it was exactly that. We had family and friends throughout the week and had some amazing food which I will be sharing in several subsequent posts.


We had just gotten back from the beach (depressing enough) and were putting everything away when I heard my daughter Bridget yelling for me from the kitchen, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I went in. My husband was seated on the cooler we had just brought from the Outer Banks squirting (no exaggeration) blood from his leg. I called 911 and applied pressure trying to stop the bleeding and figure out what happened. While the fire station is only about two miles from our house it seemed like an eternity before the paramedics got there, and once they took over, the rest was a blur of moving furniture to make way for the stretcher, locking up the house and following the ambulance to the Emergency room. The paramedics were incredible using two trauma packs to finally stop the bleeding and Gavin was continually conscious, so I felt that he would be fine, but since he is a diabetic and had already seen a surgeon for really bad circulation, I was really worried about his leg.

It turned out that he bumped the cooler and caused a skin tear above a large varicosity that was close to the surface, so even though it took only two stitches to close, he lost nearly a liter of blood, making my kitchen look like the Manson family murder scene (Bridget snapped a picture on her phone when we came back from the hospital, but I will spare you!) An ambulance ride and two (can you believe it!) stitches later we were on our way back home to clean up the bloody mess. To make a long story short, this made the doctor move up his scheduled VNUS Closure procedure that uses RF (radiofrquency) energy to close veins that just aren't doing their job anymore. This takes the place of the old "vein stripping" that requires a hospital stay and long recovery with an office procedure that uses only local anesthetic and the patient walks out of the office in about an hour. My husband walked two miles the next day. Now two weeks later, his bad leg is about half the size it was, and ultrasound shows that he has very little venous reflux in either leg. Awesome,huh?! A big thanks is due his surgeon, Dr. John Newman, who is an expert in the VNUS closure and one of those rare doctors who takes time for his patients.

Now the bad news. In the midst of all this,our dear friend and neighbor Calvert lost his long battle with cancer (that is him at his birthday wearing one of his wife's famous homemade party hats!). He was an incredible friend and neighbor and a surrogate grandpa to our children since we moved to this neighborhood, and his loss will be felt so much by family, friends, and neighbors. We will be celebrating his life at a memorial this weekend, remembering his sense of humor, his fun-loving nature and warm heart.

Between taking care of Gavin, working, finishing a freelance proposal that was due, and helping our neighbor prepare for the post-service wake there has just been no time to post. But hopefully, we are past health issues and surgeries and any other bad news, and can begin bringing you up to date on the great food that we have enjoyed in and around these crises, and I will be stopping by your cyber-kitchens to check out what you have been up to!

Benefits of being a Foodie

Sorry I have not been posting, in fact, I didn't even realize how long it had been, but I have been totally caught up with preparations for and enjoying the holidays. Jefferson Lab shuts down for the time between Christmas and New Year's and so it is wonderful to not have to be anywhere unless you want to be. So what is new from Christmas?

Molly got a Wii fit for Christmas, so I am Wii-fitting doing yoga and trying to reduce my Wii-age from its current 44. I am really enjoying the yoga exercises and the strength-training is kicking my butt, but it is a lot easier to get in the fitness habit when it is actually fun!

We had a wonderful family Christmas with everyone but my daughter from Florida here (she is moving up here in a couple of weeks and so is saving her money for the move). There was a hole in our celebration, though we were on the phone constantly. Colleen loves Christmas, and so when she is around, she adds an almost child-like appreciation of all of our traditions and of each other. Katie and Gavin, Jr were able to make it, and both of their "significant others" shared Christmas with us as well, so we had lots of noise, food and fun over the holiday.

Anyone who works for Amazon might want to thank me personally for helping make this their best year ever! I did almost all of my Christmas shopping there and I consistently got outstanding prices and with Amazon Prime, two-day shipping for free- it is really the best way to shop for a busy working woman!

Being a foodie makes it so much easier for people to shop for you and I got a lot of things that will make cooking, eating and food blogging better and more fun. First of all, I got a new and smaller camera!! It is an Olympus FE-370 with 8 megapixels and 5x optical zoom. Even though my old Olympus digital takes great pictures and works fine, it is too large to pull out at a restaurant or shop and does not have the capacity to make videos. I am just learning how to use it, but my favorite feature is the culinary mode for taking food pictures!! Great for a person who is a better cook than photographer like me!! Mine is even that beautiful blue color (Bridget got a pink one!)

My daughter bought me a Gel pro mat to help minimize back and leg strain since we have ceramic tile in our kitchen. I consider this a luxury since they are expensive, but since many professional kitchens use it, and Katie got me the large one that covers the area from my sink to the stove. It feels like you are standing on a cloud and it looks great in my kitchen, almost like woven leather. It is nice to get something that you like but would never buy for yourself- a perfect gift! I also got tons of cooking related tools like a salad spinner (I know, can you believe I didn't have one?), bamboo salad "hands",three new cookbooks including Made in Spain by Jose Andres, a Finger Food cookbook that I have already cooked from (another post), and Turkish cookbook that has some great recipes. My sister in law Cindy, who is a frustrated chef and loves to cook, outfitted us with a paella pan and other goodies to support tapas night, including sangria and a sangria pitcher from La Tienda. She always gives the best gifts, and this year was no exception.

After a long day in the kitchen, when you need to relax, there is nothing like a hot bath and a little pampering. Bridget got me a Towel Spa that heats your towel while you are in the bath,which is a welcome luxury, and Molly got a pedicure set,and she has already given me a pedicure, which is really a luxury for me. So you can see that I have had a wonderful holiday and you know I will be sharing more with you, including some movies taken with the new Flip video recorder Katie got for her dad.

What great food items or special gifts did you receive this Christmas that you will not be regifting? And, to all of you who visit this blog, a very happy, and healthy new year, with lots of love and laughter, and friends and food to enjoy it with!!

Foodbuzz Publisher Community Launches

Being part of the food blogging community is in and of itself, very exciting. I have received emails and comments from Scotland, Italy, Turkey. I have made friends from sea to shining sea and beyond. I have read about new restaurants, new recipes and discovered new cuisines and ingredients. But being part of the Foodbuzz community has been not only fun, but has added a new dimension to food blogging. For those of you who are not familiar with Foodbuzz, it is a blogger community with more than 1,000 blog partners, a global food blogging event and an online platform that captures the real-people, real-time power of food publishing in every corner of the world. At its official launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.

I am proud to have been a Foodbuzz featured publisher for awhile at a site that recognizes the power of food bloggers and validates their culinary experiences. Foodbuzz is the only online community with content created exclusively by food bloggers and rated by foodies. The site offers more than 20,000 pieces of new food and dining content weekly, including recipes, photos, blog posts, videos and restaurant reviews. Members decide the �tastiness� of each piece of content by voting and �buzz� the most popular posts to the top of the daily menu of submissions. Foodbuzz currently logs over 13 million monthly page views and over three million monthly unique visitors. Need to find a restaurant in a strange city or a recipe for the summer bumper crop of zucchini? Check out Foodbuzz. If you love food, it is the place where other food lovers gather!

Congratulations to the Foodbuzz launch team, and to all the rest of the Foodbuzz community for making this a place where foodies want to be....and keep buzzing!

The Omnivore's Hundred - I've Got a Lot of Eating to Do

In checking out blogs this morning , I came upon this list at Chocolate and Zucchini that sent me to the website of Very Good Taste. There, a list has been compiled of foods that any self-respecting omnivore should try in his/her lifetime. You will see that I have a lot of work to do (I have bolded all the ones I have tried). I also have to admit, that some of these items were unknown to me (I have italicized those that I had to look up). I have also highlighted in red those things I think I would not try.

This is a fun way for bloggers to interact, so go to VGT and paste this list into your own post and let others know what you have, haven't and wouldn't eat, and then let VGT know you have posted the Omnivore's Hundred.

Here is my version of the list-I can't wait to see yours.

The VGT Omnivore�s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich(Is this American street food?)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle(I hope I have the opportunity!)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes(One of my favorite Virginia wineries, Hilltop Berry Farm and Winery offers several!)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper(I love spicy, but not self-torture!)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (And I hopeto eat many,many more!!)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas (I love these- actually anything with wasabi)
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float (A drink and a dessert-yum!)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Do I have to have the cigar?!)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (Jello shooters!-I was young once!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Depends on the bug!)
43. Phaal
44. Goat�s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth �60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (I have had this in sushi)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut(When the red sign is on!)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer (Can't wait to make my own)
55. McDonald�s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S�mores (These are required food when camping!)
62. Sweetbreads(I actually used to make these when Icould find them!)
63. Kaolin (Isn'tthis in Kaopectate?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs� legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (never!)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie(in my school lunches!)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict(My favorite breakfast dish!)
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.(I can hope!)
85. Kobe beef (As soon as budget allows!)
86. Hare(I wasn't sure I ever would after a traumatic childhood incident, but a couple of years ago, I tried it and it was great- can't haveit whole though, only pieces!)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (Don't think I could do it)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (As a young married on a budget!)
92. Soft shell crab(I have had this a couple of times, hoping to enjoy it, but it is not my thing)
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Pick a Country, Any Country!

Our little parade of nations is making its way around the world as the Olympics begin to wind down. We still have a few nations in the queue - Italy, Japan, Germany - but we have several days still to fill so I am asking, you, readers and lurkers alike to suggest a country or even a recipe that we can include.Remember, we cannot make anything heavy in carbs (unless they are complex), and you can check the list (or the picture of the bouquet of nations we have on our table) to see what countries we have already done. Can't wait to see your suggestions!!



Countries already featured: Greece, China, US, France, Spain, Korea, Thailand, Great Britain, Sweden, Mexico

Busy... and dieting!

You may have noticed that I have not been posting as regularly as I usually do. Part of it is that I have been incredibly busy with lots of freelance work that is both fun and exciting (and it pays!) The other part is that my husband and I have been on the south Beach Diet Phase I. As a diabetic my husband was told to lose some weight and his doctor recommended the SBD, and we all know it is easier to diet together. Besides, over the last 10 years my weight has slowly increased, and at 5 ' 1", the extra 15 pounds I have been carrying makes me look about 6 inches shorter and a foot wider, so this was an excuse (opportunity) for me to get back into a single digit size.

I am sure that I don't need to tell you, though, that any diet does not usually lend itself to blog posts and photos of lamb chops, and mashed potatoes or homemade ice cream. And here at the peak of summer bounty, watermelon, and corn on the cob and fresh peaches are verboten (at least for the remainder of Phase I). So I guess now you aren't surprised that I haven't felt like posting about food.

However, I will not be cheating since in 2 weeks I have already lost 6 pounds, so I need to find the bright side. Luckily, I have the inspiring Kalyn's Kitchen with lots of ideas for enjoying food that is healthy and will help stabilize blood sugar and keep your body from storing fat. And frankly, staying on Phase I without eating the same thing every day takes more creativity than cooking with foie gras and sweetbreads.

So what am I missing (besides 6+ pounds)? Bread and crackers are the thing I would still kill for. Watermelon and corn on the cob at their peak are quintessential summer to me and so I am really missing them. I miss rice, and noodles, and of course, potatoes. Let's face it, I am a carb addict, and I am really having a hard time going "cold turkey". It is particularly difficult during this first phase since fruits like raspberries and strawberries are also not allowed, but I know that will not always be the case.

So what am I eating? Eggs, lots of eggs, both real whole eggs and egg substitute cooked with veggies and cheese, soft boiled, and baked in canadian bacon. Luckily for me I like eggs. I use avocado to dress up a salad, or on the side of my eggs, since avocado has a rich, luxurious taste that seems decadent even if it is healthy fat! Lots and lots of veggies - I have made my eggplant parmesan since it has very few carbs, as well as my chorizo, kale and white beans. A shrimp salad served in a half an avocado is delicious on a hot day. A hamburger without the bun brings a taste of traditional summer to the diet, and flank steak served with a salad and mashed cauliflower, is great when you feel like meat and potatoes. Snack time is most difficult for me , but I have been introduced to Laughing Cow cheese with celery and pistachios in the shell satisfy that "hand to mouth" craving I often get in the evening. If I am dying for something sweet I can have sugar free Jello, or a sugar-free Fudgesicle.

Tonight I am trying out a recipe for pasta-free lasagna, and I will let you know how it works, and hopefully will feel inspired to post more as I add back foods to my diet and drop pounds, and look for new and exciting ways to eat healthy without feeling deprived.

What's the Buzz??

In the world of Myspace and Facebook, I guess it was only a matter of time before there was a community just for foodies. You may have noticed that I am now a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher. In case you haven't checked it out, Foodbuzz provides a place for both bloggers, and people who love food to check in and check out the latest recipes, blog posts, and reviews. Like Myspace, on Foodbuzz you can make friends, vote for your favorites, and subscribe to feeds. It is a great place to interact with other food-lovers.

One of my favorite features is restaurant reviews. You can review restaurants in your own city or check out restaurants in a city you are travelling to rated by foodies who have eaten there.

So come on over to Foodbuzz and check out the buzz!

Finally Meeting a Fellow Blogger...at the 17th Street Market

Part of the fun of being a food-blogger is the sense of community that you get corresponding with people from all over with a passion for food. We may come from different cultures, different socioeconomic backgrounds. We write from different perspectives - some humorous and irreverent, some instructive and detailed, some poetic and lyrical, but we all share a love of food and the power it has...to nourish, to celebrate, to comfort. And while we learn a lot about each other from our profiles, and reading posts (and memes), unless we live in a metropolitan area with a large food-blogging community (like you luck bloggers in Columbus or DC), we don't often get the opportunity to meet each other in the flesh. That is why, when I heard that Veronica of Veronica's Test Kitchen and Petite Bouchees was going to be at the 17th Street Farmer's Market in Richmond, where I had research for an upcoming article, I couldn't let the opportunity to meet her (or taste her macarons!) pass me by.

We got up early and made the trek to Richmond (a little over an hour's drive) on an otherwise dreary day. Since it is still early in the season, there was not much produce yet to be had at the market, set in the heart of Shockoe Bottom. Even the parking lot was cool, underneath the highway and complete with its own cool sculpture, which my girls loved. We wandered around for about two and a half minutes before I spied the Petite Bouchees banner, and under it, were the divine, much anticipated macarons. Oh, and Veronica and her husband were there too. I went over with the "Core Four" (Gavin, Bridget, Molly and myself) to introduce myself (You can see us left - Veronica is the young, skinny one!). Veronica is just as sweet as she sounds on her blog. We had samples of the incredible macarons and heard about the Farmer's Market . Our conversation was punctuated by customers looking for Veronica's delicious baked goods. Veronica and her husband (who is as nice as she is) were great hosts giving us directions to our next two Richmond stops, but not before we bought some macarons for the road.

As the booth got busier, we decided to make our way to our other two stops for the day, Penzey's Spices in Carytown and Millie's Diner. It was great to finally have a chance to meet a fellow blogger and an excellent baker(and a genuinely nice person!). Oh, and Veronica, if you read this, my girls loved your apron!

Back in Business!!

I finally got a new laptop and I am so excited to catch up with my blogging. I have so much material in the pipeline, it is hard to decide where to start. While I have been relegated to semi blog silence, a lot has happened. We came back from our double birthday beach trip (I still have great pictures and recipes from the food to post), I judged a cooking contest sponsored by Certified Angus Beef in Williamsburg, and we all helped Katie move to her new apartment in Shirlington, in the DC area (believe me, this was an adventure that is at least one post!),where I got to sample some great food at Cakelove, and Capitol City Brewing Company. I have had another article on farm markets local to the Hampton Roads area in our local paper, and am planning a road trip to Richmond for a story where I hope to catch Veronica of Veronica's Test Kitchen , who is selling her macarons from Petites Bouchees at the Richmond 17th Street Farmer's Market and to check (buy) out the new Penzey's Spices store that has opened there. I am also scheduled to do a series on ethnic markets in June, including La Tienda in Williamsburg, that I will expand on here at Play with Food.

So thank all of you faithful, who have been hanging around, and hang on, it's time to play with food!!

P.S. Any of you DC foodies who know great places to shop and eat, cool things to do or food-related events, let me know so I can pass the info on to Katie! She is just trying to get her bearings in the big city!