Clearing The Table, So To Speak

I know I've been neglecting this little blog for a few weeks. And if you read back over the past year or so, you'll start to see a pattern. I wander off, then stumble back and say I'll do better. For quite a while I've been wanting to give this little place a face lift, but I had been hesitant to dive into the deep end of coding and whatnot. This week though I decided I needed to make it a priority and set today aside to get this task crossed off my to-do list. After several hours spent intimately with Photoshop and Blogger, this is the result. New color scheme, new font, and a new header. I've created handy buttons featured on the left to make it easier to find some of the most popular types of recipes. And a new page button, which I'm happy to share with everyone. Feel free to grab the code and spread the word. Hopefully the new Small Time Cooks is a little easier to read and a little more pleasant to look at. And hopefully I'll keep up with it much more often now.

P.S. If you're reading this through an RSS feed I hope you'll click through to see all the hard work I've done. And if you're not, well then I hope you'll consider subscribing. :)

The Easy Out- What Do You Eat When You Don't Cook?

I have to say that lately, mustering the strength to cook has been a gargantuan challenge. I have some minor chronic pain issues which can severely zap my energy. Sometimes when I get home it's hard enough to make myself take a shower, let alone get out my pots and pans and start stirring. I know I can't be alone in my occasional lack of energy. So, what crutches do you keep in your kitchen to lean on when these times strike? Lately we rely on a few key prepared items for occasions such as this:

• Amy's Burritos- Super fast, reasonably inexpensive, organic, and vegetarian. Oh, and delicious too.
• Frozen Spinach & Feta Pizza- We buy Archer Farms' brand (a Target label). It has a wheat crust, and again the nice combo of being organic and vegetarian. We picked one up on a whim a couple weeks ago and it was so yummy that I actually scheduled a pizza night this week.
• Morningstar Spicy Black Bean Burgers- These are really good, and heat up in a flash. I don't really do the whole fake meat thing (especially since I'm still a meat eater, just less of one), but these aren't trying to be anything other than what they're called, a spicy black bean patty. We like to have them on toasted wheat bread with some Pepper Jack cheese. I usually add mustard, and a slice of red onion if I've got it. We've also done a mashed avocado spread, and when I'm really desperate for a protein fix I'll add a fried egg.
• Chips & salsa- Seriously, I probably ate chips & salsa 5 out of 7 days last week. So fast, so yummy, and if you watch the type of chips you buy and just how many it is you're eating it can be a relatively healthy meal too.

So, that's what we've been turning to lately in a pinch. Is there anything you make sure to always keep in your pantry, freezer, or refrigerator for those evenings when your energy reserves are empty, but so is your stomach?

Happy New Year!

I'll be back in 2010 with some new recipes to share. Tonight, unless we get any exciting last minute invitations, we'll be having a nice evening at home. I plan on making a quick and easy broccoli au gratin rice, roasting some butternut squash and carrots, and making the Eve's Pudding that I wasn't able to get to on Christmas eve. I hope everyone has a great night and wish everyone a delicious new year to come!

Stuffs

I've been so busy editing pics from the DC trip, wedding and my sister's graduation that I haven't had any time to fix up some of the food pics I've got in my queue. But stuff is coming- I swear. And I'm really looking forward to more cooking this summer. Is there anything quite as wonderful as summer produce? It's still a bit early yet, but just this week I've had zucchini, yellow squash, peaches and cherries. Heaven! We've got plans for a nice dinner on our deck this weekend which I will most definitely document, and I've already got ideas swirling around in my head for our planned outing to the Concerts In The Garden for this year.

Also I am super excited about a new food-related blog on the block. I think it's pretty fair to say that I have a bit of a blog crush on Joslyn at Simple Lovely. I often find myself quite envious of her style. And she has just started a second blog, Raising Foodies, to document the task of opening up the food world to her two darling daughters. I'm definitely looking forward to keeping up with their new adventure.

The New Pantry

When we bought the house it had your average pantry, typical of most older houses. It was also pretty darn gross. Something, which went unidentified, had been spilled (exploded?) on the shelves and seeped into the wall. That stain even remains after three coats of Killz primer, so it's a real mystery to me what that substance was. But I digress- the point was it was gross and a general cleaning wasn't going to solve anything. This little project was done almost entirely by yours truly. I took the shelves out and removed the slats from the walls that were holding them up. Then I had to sand down some of the paint and muck that had surrounded the slats, clean all that mess up, and fill in the nail holes. Once that was done I painted two coats of primer (and a third over the mystery spot). After the primer I was planning on trying to paint it with some leftover color from the hallway- however I realized that painting a 36" x 36" square box was incredibly uncomfortable. And there was also some question as to how much paint I had versus how much I'd need. So the pantry remains a lovely shade of primer, ha. And I'm fine with that. At this point in the project I brought in my lovely husband to help install the Elfa shelving we bought for the new pantry. He screwed in the top bar for me, and then I put all the shelves up. While I did that Josh put together the cart. And then all that was left was to fill our pantry with all our food! The end result is a much more usable space. With the ventilated shelves the light can filter through, which means no more strange things lurking in the dark corners of your pantry. No mystery cans popping up here! And don't worry, I spared you a close up of the stain. I utilized an Elfa cart to store our snack foods and the microwave. I didn't want that big thing taking up any of my new counter space. An added bonus is that we haven't used the microwave yet since we've moved in!
































As far as organizing the items in the pantry I've got a shelf for baking supplies, one for canned goods, and one for pastas and grains. We store our chips and bread in the cart's large basket and smaller things like granola bars in the shallow drawer. At the top you might just spy a couple of bottles of wine and liquor. Not sure if that will be it's final resting place, but it works well enough for now. Here is a closer look at the shelves. You can also spy some of the fresh ingredients that are best stored in a cool, dry place. This week it was sweet potatoes, an avocado and a tomato.

The New Kitchen

Setting up my new kitchen was a pretty exciting adventure. Since we had plenty of time before we actually moved in I was able to mull over where I would like to put everything. I tried to be logical about my use of the space, placing things close to where I would most likely use them in the space. There are still some things to be done(I still need to create a solution for spice storage, actually hang my hanging baskets), and I'm sure as I begin to work more and more in here that some necessary adjustments will become obvious, but for now this is where we stand.



This is a general outline of how I've organized my kitchen cabinets.



To the right of the cooktop I set up my prep area. I have my cooking utensils, knives and cutting board set up for easy access while cooking. In the cabinet above I will store my spices and currently store my cooking oils, vinegars, the plastic cutting boards that I use for meats, and other prep work tools like my cheese graters and mandoline slicer. In the drawers beneath this area are my less frequently used knives, measuring spoons, vegetable peeler, zester, etc.



This is my mixing area and also where I keep our dishes. I originally planned on storing our dishes above the dishwasher, but the upper cabinets aren't deep enough for our large dinner plates. So instead I arranged our smaller salad plates and bowls in the upper left cabinets and the large dinner plates in the lower left cabinet. These cabinets are still definitely within easy reach of the dishwasher though. The rest of the upper cabinets contain the glass and Corningware serveware and my mixing bowls, measuring cups, etc. I keep my mixer on the counter top for easier access, much easier than it's apartment space- the top of the refrigerator! In the lower cabinets, beside the dinner plates, I store appliances like the slow cooker, blender, and toaster.



This slightly disheveled area is where we keep the coffee stuffs, on a tray to help prevent staining our white counter top & grout. The upper cabinets are filled with our glassware and cups and saucers. I split up our dinnerware this way because it made more sense to me to keep things where they would be used. The lower cabinets are mainly filled with Tupperware and food storage supplies. This area is next to the refrigerator, so it seemed like a logical space for the leftovers tools.

Cooking in this new space has so far been pretty easy. Every space has pluses and minuses- for instance my new oven is smaller than my old one. But this smaller oven also has a window and oven light. I don't have to open the door to check on stuff- which saves me cooking time and energy. It's a give and take with everything I guess, but so far I'm getting a lot more enjoyment out of this kitchen. Soon I'll share my new pantry with you!

Soon, I Hope

If you'd be so kind to take a gander to the right, you'll see that I have once again listed a menu for the week. Things are far from being "normal" around here, but I'm starting back to cooking with some of the easiest recipes from my repertoire. Then it should be just a hop, skip and a jump to getting to all the stuff on my to-cook list, meaning I'll finally have some new things to share. Slowly, but surely, I'll get there. Also, we don't yet have interwebs at the house, so we gotta fix that too, ha.

Blog Vacation

I'm going to take a little blog vacation. I know what you're thinking- "Isn't that what you've been doing already?" Ho, ho, ho- clever lot you all are. Things are getting a bit hectic around here and between all the soft food diet, attempts to control the grocery bill and find time to get all the things done I need to this blog hasn't been getting the attention I could once give it. So, going to take a little sabbatical so I can come back with a refreshed palate. And I will actually be on vacation the first week of October, so I wouldn't be able to blog then anyways. But I'll be back shortly with some new recipes- I promise! Thanks to everyone who stops by my little corner of the world wide kitchen, I really do appreciate all the comments and feedback that you all share with me.

No Pictures :(

I very regrettably forgot to take my camera with me for our Christmas dinner at the Pop-in-law's last night. I wish I had pictures of the totally awesome and delicious pheasant and duck kabobs we had. So good, tender bites of meat skewered with bell pepper and onion chunks, fresh from their garden, and wrapped up in always-awesome bacon. Oh, for the love of flavor, why did I forget my camera and why am I not eating more of those kabobs right now. Hunting season is far from over, so hopefully I can look forward to some more before too long. I just had to mention them because it was such an enjoyable departure from the typical turkey or ham. We more or less noshed through the evening, also enjoying some barbecue meatballs, spanikopita, veggie and cheese assortment, delicious mississippi mud cake, pound cake, and brownies. I love grazing. :)

Running Behind

This week hasn't turned out exactly as I planned. I had to empty the kitchen cabinets for the pest control to come by for the yearly treatment. And then I had to put it all back. I've got everything back in order except for the pantry, which I will probably procrastinate on until Friday. It's put a bit of a crimp in my cooking plans. But I'll be trying out two new recipes this weekend, so I'll have something more entertaining to post about than my dishes. They're pretty though, aren't they. I like nice clean, crisp white dinnerware.

Thinking

Feeling a little low in the inspiration department. There seems to be fewer and fewer vegetarian recipes in my Everyday Food issues, and my list of recipes to try seems to contain an increasing amount of meat dishes. Trying to balance things out is getting a little hard. And taking into consideration that half the time Josh will be eating the meal the next day can complicate things. I need to start pushing myself to move out of my comfort zone. There are so many different things I've never cooked with. So many vegetables out there that I've never even tried. How do you convince yourself to push your food boundaries? As soon as I figure that out I might actually have something interesting to put here.

My Local Farmer's Market

I know, I know- I've clearly been slacking on posts lately. But Thursday night I ate leftover Broccoli Spaghetti, then there was Chipotle Friday, and Saturday we had old school chicken tenders and mac & cheese. So as you can see there wasn't much worth elaborating on. Well, I could go on for hours about Chipotle, but I don't cook it, I just eat it.

Yesterday we stopped by our local farmer's market. Also known as the In-Law's backyard. I know that I have mentioned several times before about the goodies we have gotten, but recently I realized that the rewards I was reaping from their hard work deserved more attention. We stopped by to borrow the Pop-In-Law's truck to move some furniture and I started snapping some pics of the garden in all it's mid-day glory. In the spring there was plenty of greens and the like- romaine, spinach, broccoli, snap peas, carrots, cabage, etc. Early summer was marked by very large zucchini and squash. And now here we are in late summer, or mid-summer in Texas, and we have all these pretty things:







Bell Peppers- these are red ones, but they are growing yellow and green too.









Poblano Peppers- grown especially for chiles rellenos, mmmm






A basketful of okra, some of which are currently residing in my refrigerator and have an appointment with my skillet later this week.






An ear of sweet corn enjoying the summer sun. That's right, my pop-in-law is successfully growing corn in his suburban backyard.






And here's Josh beside the corn to give some perspective. Josh is 6'. I didn't measure the corn, but you get the idea.

Cool Kitchen

Well, after trying to put together a menu that would work for Josh we pretty much scrapped everything. I just let Josh eat what he feels like eating, which is mostly crackers. And I've been noshing on a Middle Eastern Platter, so the kitchen has been pretty quiet this week. I did make dinner Monday, along with some cupcakes for my mom's birthday on Tuesday. But those were from a box mix that I had in the cupboard, so not anything to brag about. And we'll be going on a little trip this weekend to Galveston to visit my sister Nicci & her husband Bryan, and our friends Destiny & Will. So, the kitchen will be very still this weekend too.

And when I get back, the attempt to cook for Josh's new stomach will continue. No onions(!), no tomatoes(!), no citrus, no caffeine, no chocolate(!), no spicy foods(!)- I am in big trouble people. That covers about half, if not two-thirds, of my repertoire. I mean, when you try to eat half vegetarian meals onions and tomatoes suddenly become important, not to mention spiciness. Hopefully he'll be mended and can eat these things again, but in moderation. I can deal with moderation, I can handle moderation.

I'll try to post a recipe that I've been hanging onto before we hit the road early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see my sis and friends!

Scarcity

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. I made a macaroni & cheese Thursday night that just didn't come out at all. The night before I was supposed to make Mexican Lasagna, but that had to be shelved because Josh can't eat anything spicy. He's had a really severe case of acid reflux since late Sunday night. He went to the clinic on Wednesday and they gave him a GI shake and told him to start on Prilosec in the morning. He had already tried Tums and Pepcid AC to no avail. And he's still not feeling much better. He'll be going back to the doc on Monday. I'm a bit concerned, but trying to just concentrate on helping him feel better. It's especially hard feeding him because anything he eats hurts. I've been looking up acceptable foods for an acid reflux or GERD diet, and only come up with a handful of ideas really. But, here's what next week's menu is looking like.

Scrambled Eggs (2 whites to 1 yolk) & Yogurt Banana Splits
Baked Potatoes topped with Broccoli & Feta
Trout with Brown Rice & Mixed Veggies
Rotisserie Chicken with Brown Rice and Green Beans

Anyone who stops by here have acid reflux issues? I do, but mine are usually due to medications instead of a sudden attack, so I'm not sure how to cook for him right now. Most of the stuff above seemed to be okay according to all the different websites I looked at. Any suggestions?

Blogger's Block

Lately I am feeling uninspired in the kitchen, which explains the lack of posts around here. I'm not sure what is really missing, but I just can't seem to think of really great ideas. My cooking is feeling a bit stagnant. Josh has no complaints, just something I'm feeling. Tonight I baked some trout in lemon juice, fresh black pepper, and lemon pepper seasonings, with some brown rice. And to be truthful I popped a frozen bag of veggies in the microwave for steaming. Everything tasted great, but not a lot to make a post out of. I do have some ideas for my next batch of brownies, so that's a bit promising. I think part of it is I don't feel like I've got any great summer recipes. I've got the warm winter food pretty much covered- a good arsenal of soups, stews, and casseroles that we really enjoy. But I guess I wasn't really into the cooking thing last summer, so I feel pretty lacking in that department. So, what makes a good spring/summer recipe? For some reason all that really comes to mind is strawberry shortcake. And while I do love me some strawberry shortcake, I just can't allow us to eat that for every meal, ha. I have some ideas for our outing to Concert In The Garden this weekend, but then again we might not be going if the weather outlook stays as it is. I'm beginning to think that our town has somehow been transplanted in Seattle- rain, rain, rain. Although I guess it mostly just rains in the Northwest. We've had the lovely rumble of thunder and lightening on an almost weekly basis. Maybe the rain is affecting my cooking mood? Hmmm....I just don't know.

Blogger Interview

Peabody was recently interviewed on her blog, and offered the opportunity to be questioned to her readers. I figured what the heck! So, here are my replies to her interview queries:

1. How long have you had your food blog?
I originally started my blog in September of '06, but in retrospect, starting a project right before my wedding wasn't a brilliant plan. I never did anything with it, other than setting it up, until January. So, it's about 8 months old, but didn't really exist until the past 5 months or so.

2. What is your most favorite post on your food blog?
I guess my favorite post is probably my Taste of Yellow entry. It gave me a chance to talk about my grandmother, who I miss a lot, experiment with a new recipe, I got some lovely comments, and I think the pictures are probably the best I've taken of my cooking exploits. Also, that cake was yummy!

3. Who is the biggest influence in your life? In your cooking life?
I've had a lot of big influences in my life overall, but at this point in my life I would say it's my husband. He's my best friend and I love him to pieces. Every night when I go to sleep and every morning when I wake up I am so, so glad that I married him. Neither of us may be perfect, but we're perfect for each other. In my cooking life, he has also been a big influence. His request to start eating healthier is what got me started really cooking in the first place. But the biggest influence in my cooking life is definitely Martha Stewart. Honestly, at least 90% of the recipes I make have come from Martha. I bought my first issue of Living magazine when I was 16, and I still have it to this day. And now Everyday Food is my favorite resource for recipes and ideas.

4. What cooking trend do you hate right now? What cooking trend do you love right now?
Hmm, I don't know if I'm really in touch with what the cooking trends are. Perhaps pomegranate? That's not just a trend in food and drink, but it's popping up in soaps and lotions too. I guess it boggles the mind that a fruit is suddenly trendy and needs to be a part of my body in every way possible. I do however like that the trends seem to be with fruits- Meyer lemons, key limes, blood oranges, pomegranates, etc.

5. What would your last meal consist of?
Really the meal would just have to have bacon, ranch dressing/dip, and chocolate involved. Not all together though. Probably a BLT, stacked incredibly high with perfect bacon- crispy, not chewy. Ruffles with ranch dip, a big salad with plenty of croutons, and then some type of chocolate dessert- nothing too sweet though. And beer, I love beer. Obviously I'm not a foodie, just an eatie.


Do you want to be interviewed? Here are the directions:
1. Leave a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Beware, I may ask personal questions! Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

What a week

Seriously, this week was created by Hades or something. I have cooked a bit, I just haven't had time to post. And I need Josh to show me again how to hook the camera stuff up to my laptop. I just wanted to say that I've got some stuff coming up, and sorry it's been awhile since I posted. The Sugar High Friday Roundup is up over at Seven Spoons. Big thanks and compliments to Tara for a wonderful event!

I have barely given next week's menu any thought and I HAVE to go grocery shopping tonight. I think I'm gonna have to do some really easy recipes next week, especially after slacking some this week. But before I get to making grocery lists, I've got to finish my cleaning list. Well, the kitchen portion at least. So, I'm gonna have me a cup of coffee, piece of toast, and get stuck in.

Blue Monday

Tonight's dinner didn't happen. You can read why at On This Harvest Moon.

Bolognese beating

I know I still need to post about Tuesday night's dinner, but last night was so rough I gotta vent about it now. In fact, this week has been rather rough in total. I went grocery shopping Monday night after work. I needed some ground pork for Wednesday's dinner, but there was none to be found. And then when I got home I realized I also forgot the zucchini I needed for Tuesday's meal. So, Tuesday after work I went to a different grocery store for the zucchini and pork. There I was informed by the very young man behind the meat counter that they had just a day or two prior marked the ground pork down because it was about to go bad. It sold out, so I was just a day or two late. Sounds to me like I was right on time. Anyway, last night I made the third trip to a store in search of ground pork. I got it, but for a quite unreasonable almost $6 for barely over a pound. But I was making one of Josh's favorite meals, the one thing he requested when I inquired during my menu planning last week. So, I got it and hurried home, later than usual because of the grocery trip. And then I needed to start on the 5 loads of laundry that didn't get done over the weekend. When I got to the fridge to start gathering ingredients I discovered my ground beef was only partially thawed. Awesome. So, I Googled fast and safe thawing methods. I am typically very paranoid about thawing meats- fridge only for me. Ended up immersing it in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes and it worked. At least I got a valuable tip out of this whole thing. So, between prepping ingredients, starting the sauce, and running to the laundry room to move loads from washer to dryer, and start washers again, the sauce wasn't ready for it's hour long simmer till 8:12. Yeah. And then it goes 15 minutes after that. Josh and I actually ate dinner together. That almost never happens Tuesday through Thursday. I didn't even finish eating till after 10. I still had laundry to get out of the dryer, too. Oh gosh, it was a long night.

Okay, vent over, on to the recipe. Like I mentioned, Spaghetti Bolognese is one of Josh's most favorite meals. When I attempt to press him to say which his favorite is he says he likes everything I make. But this is the one he mentions the most to other people when talking about my cooking, the one he requests the most, and the one he seems most happy to gobble up. I have mentioned this sauce before, because you use the leftovers to create Bolognese Pie, which I think Josh likes even more than the spaghetti version. As long as this sauce is involved he seems to be a happy camper. It is an Everyday Food recipe, as are most things I make if you haven't caught on to that by now, ha. Oh, and the pic is from the Martha Stewart website. We got new laptops and I haven't installed the camera's software on mine yet. And to be honest I have no idea how, so I've got to get Josh to do it. Not that my pics are that great anyway, so I'm not really depriving you of anything spectacular.

Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4- plus 4 cups for Bolognese Pie
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped (3 cups)
3 carrots, finely chopped (1 cup)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup tomato paste
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 cup milk
12 ounces spaghetti
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

• Make sauce: In a Dutch oven (or 5-quart saucepan), heat oil over high heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add beef and pork; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Add wine and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a simmer; cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour. Add milk; simmer until completely absorbed, about 15 minutes more. Season again with salt and pepper.
• When sauce is almost done, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions; drain. Toss pasta with half the meat sauce; save 4 cups for Bolognese Pie. Serve sprinkled with cheese.

My notes: Sometimes I use Parmesan, sometimes I don't. My husband puts Parmesan on any pasta dish, so there is plenty on his. Since there's just the two of us I typically freeze 4 cups of the sauce to make the Bolognese Pie at a later date, and then freeze any sauce leftover after that separately, for an additional quick meal with spaghetti. The Bolognese Pie serves 4, so with this one pot of sauce we get anywhere from 8-10 meals, depending on how much sauce we each use on our spaghetti.

And don't forget to come visit me at my new blog On This Harvest Moon!

Blogs

I've been thinking about how to approach this post for a while now, but I hadn't really come up with any thoughts. Lindsey had asked me to write about how I find all the great food blogs I read. I wish I had some cool skill to brag about, but the real key is boredom. I think the first food blog I was probably aware of was Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. I found her through a cooking message board on The Nest. I checked out some of the links in her sidebar to other food blogs, but didn't really commit any to memory. The second blog I remember reading is Everybody Likes Sandwiches. And I read through the blogs in her link list. And after checking out some of those blogs, I checked out the blogs they were linking. And then it becomes like that old television commercial- they linked two blogs, and they link two blogs, and so on, and so on. I didn't become a compulsive reader of all of the blogs I was exposed to, but there were some that I did keep going back to to read. And eventually I had a good sized list of pages I was checking habitually. They had that certain something(s) that kept me interested, returning to see what was new in their kitchen.

Qualities I look for in blogs I read:

• Pictures- I am a visual learner, so pictures are a big thing for me. Unless I feel really familiar with the style of a recipe, I need pictures to know that this is something that looks appetizing. And I also like to know what the final outcome is supposed to look like. Most of the time I probably won't make a recipe if there is no picture. This is also why I almost always put pictures up, despite the fact that my food photography skills are severly lacking and I only have a little Kodak Easyshare camera.
• Frequent updating- This again relates to the boredom. I love doing anything but working while at work, so my long blog lists keep me entertained early in the morning, when I'm the only one here. Also during lunch while eating at my desk. And basically any other time of day, ha. Not all of the blogs I read update as frequently as I wish, but that's their prerogative as a blogger. I can just be happy to have something fresh to read when they do. And, obviously I don't always blog enough to live up to my high standards, so I can't cast any stones, ha.
  
• Recipes- Duh. Granted, I've actually only made a few recipes that I've gotten from other blogs, but even if I don't make the recipes I read, they inspire me to try different things. And I can often times pick up tips from their notes on recipes and how the cooking process went.

One of the other keys to finding new blogs for me are blog events. Blog events are a lot of fun to participate in, it gives people the opportunity to be exposed to your blog, and you to all their's. I also find a lot of interesting blogs through blog events, whether I participate or not. A great place to hear about current events to participate in is Is My Blog Burning?".

So, that's my key to finding food blogs I like- a whole lotta boredom, ha. There are so many fabulous blogs out there that I enjoy stopping by, I just don't have them all listed in my sidebar. Because I would probably need a whole other blog for that list.