Taking Chances
July 21, 2009 by Andrea 
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Being a Type A planner, I tend to map out what I want to do and how I want to get there, taking fairly predictable steps along the way to my goal. When I decided to leave my K-12 teaching career and transition to instructional design and information technology, I set a plan for myself and followed the plan.
Food blogging and food photography have been the total opposite for me. I started this site on a lark three and a half years ago and had no idea what I was doing when I picked up our little point and shoot camera and snapped my first food photo. I didn’t sit down with a photography book in an attempt to cram all the knowledge I could into my brain, I just experimented with mixed success. It was a hobby, after all, just something fun I did for a creative outlet without any professional aspirations. Never in my wildest dreams did I think someday I would have food photos published in a cookbook, so I now find myself at a loss for words to express my delight that some of my food photos were chosen to grace the pages of the newly released The Gilded Fork Entertaining At Home: A Year of Dinner Parties by Jennifer Iannolo and Chef Mark Tafoya.
When Chef Mark tweeted about looking for recipe testers for the book, I threw my name in the hat. Over the course of a month I tested four recipes and sent in my feedback as well as photos of the food, all the while thinking how much fun I had doing the testing (and tasting) and wondering if any of my photos were good enough for the book. You can imagine my surprise when Jennifer and Mark said they wanted to use three of my photos! When I received the published book in the mail yesterday and saw the kind notes Jennifer and Mark had written inside the cover and my three photos in the book as well as one on the back cover, I got a little lump in my throat.
None of this was planned, I just jumped in for the fun of working on a cookbook, and for taking a chance I got a lot of personal satisfaction and a little recognition. The project boosted my confidence and motivated me to continue improving my photography and writing. To Chef Mark and Jennifer, hugs and thanks for opening this project up to bloggers and for giving this amateur a chance.
Grow Your Own #31
July 1, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Announcements, Grow Your Own
Our summer garden is off and running with zucchini blossoming, beans growing, tomatoes hanging on the vines, peppers sprouting, little eggplants budding, herbs getting taller, as well as bunnies, squirrels, and chipmunks trying trying to eat it all before we do. While we only have herbs to cook with so far, the rest of it is doing well and we’re getting excited about the coming harvest.
It’s time for the next round of Grow Your Own, the blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. Many thanks to Graziana of Erbe in Cucina for hosting our last round, Grow Your Own #30. Read more
Recipe Testing for The Gilded Fork Cookbook
March 20, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
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In the last few weeks I’ve been busy testing recipes for The Gilded Fork Cookbook, the upcoming book from Chef Mark Tafoya and the folks at The Culinary Media Network. After perusing the cookbook contents I sent in a list of about eight different recipes I wanted to test, and believe me it was hard to narrow it down to eight. Mark asked me to tackle the first four on my list, which you see below.
Milk and Honey Lavender Sorbet. I like using lavender in desserts, and this sorbet is delicious. Very refreshing, a perfect after dinner lift. Read more
2008 Food Blog Awards, Go and Vote!
January 20, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
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I have some very happy news to share. Today the Well Fed Network announced the finalists in the annual Food Blog Awards, and Andrea’s Recipes made the finals in the Family/Kids category! I’m surprised, delighted, and honored to be nominated by Karina (one of my blogging heroes) and selected by the judges panel.
Congratulations to my fellow nominees in the Family/Kids category: Foodie Tots, Picky Palate, Under the High Chair, and The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Please stop by their blogs and offer some hearty congratulations.
Voting is open from now until January 24th 8 pm EST, and the winners will be announced on Monday January 26. There are 14 categories of wonderful food blogs, and if some of your favorites received nominations, I know they would appreciate your vote.
Thanks especially to my readers. Your comments and emails never fail to bring a smile to my face and you’ve made the last three years of blogging even more enjoyable.
Happy New Year!
January 1, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Announcements
Menu For Hope V, December 15-24, 2008
December 16, 2008 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Announcements
Menu For Hope is a great charity raffle started by Pim of Chez Pim. The annual event has supported Pakistani earthquake victims, tsunami victims, and Word Food Programs. The raffle has grown each year, and last year the raffle raised $91,188.00 for the WFP’s work in Lesotho, Africa. The program is a model food program that encourages local farming and uses the locally grown foods to feed lunch to local school children. Menu For Hope V will continue to support the Lesotho program.
The raffle is managed by First Giving and all money passes through their hands. Tickets cost $10 each and each gives you one chance on the item of your choice. If last year is any indication you will have a wonderful list of prizes to choose from. Pim has the master list of prizes running on her site and updated daily. If you would like to offer a prize, please contact the coordinator for your region:
Europe *including* the UK
Sara of Ms.Adventures in Italy (sara.rosso@gmail.com)
US: West Coast
Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites (matt.armendariz@gmail.com)
US: East Coast (I’m in this group.)
Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen (jaden@steamykitchen.com)
Canada
Meena Agarwal of Hooked on Heat (meena@hookedonheat.com)
Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
Ed Charles of Tomato (edcharles@mac.com)
Wine Blog Host
Alder of Vinography (alder@vinography.com)
Bloggers and businesses can offer prizes, just contact your coordinator for details.
And now for the prize I’m hosting…
PRIZE CODE UE29
A paella kit from Tienda.com, which includes a 15-inch paella pan (feeds 4-6 people), Calasparra Rice (2.2 lbs.), hand picked select grade Saffron, pimenton de La Vera smoked paprika, fire roasted Piquillo peppers from Lodosa, shrimp bouillon to add to the flavor, a bottle of excellent extra virgin olive oil, and the Paella! by Penelope Casas. The kit is a $99 value and has everything you need to get started on a fantastic paella, just add your own seafood. Due to customs regulations, the kit can only ship to the U.S., Canada, and APO/FPO addresses.
If you want a chance to win this paella kit, go to First Giving – Menu for Hope V and enter prize code UE29. Be sure to check out all the prizes available, as there are always some great things to win!
How to Bid
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope prize list at Chez Pim
2. Go to the donation site at First Giving and make a donation.
3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
