I’ve also had a crash course in the world of food blogs; there are thousands. I struggle to make time to read my favorite blogs; the frustrating truth is there aren’t enough hours in the day to read all those I love.
The writing, the photographs, the recipes, all inspire me. From different countries and backgrounds, different ages and genders, different tastes and sensibilities, the width and breadth of culinary writing on the web never ceases to amaze.
In recent months, I’ve been honored to receive several awards from my fellow food-bloggers: Gay from Cakelaw in Australia (Excellence Award), Ivy from Kopiaste in Greece (Nice Matters Award), Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul in Australia (Arte y Pico Award), Manuela from Baking History (You Make My Day Award), and Manju from Three Tastes in Hawaii (Excellence Award). I’m humbly grateful. Gay, Ivy, Peter, Manuela, and Manju: Thank you so much!
All who gave me awards also deserve them, but I’m not allowed to give the same awards back. Instead, I’m making some new awards: to Cakelaw for Inspired Baking, to Kopiaste for Top Chef: Greek, to Souvlaki for the Soul for Outstanding Food Photography, to Baking History for Best Use of Historical Recipes, and to Three Tastes for Kitchen Creativity and Spiritual Healing.
With each award came a request that I pass it on to others. Instead of parsing out who gets which award, I’m awarding a combined Excellence-Nice Matters-Arte y Pico-You Make My Day (ENMAPYMMD) award to a few of my favorite food writer-photographers.
The ENMAPYMMD Awards go to:
Maria from Organically Cooked in Hania, Crete. Maria cooks traditional Cretan fare, and entertainingly describes the scenes and characters that make up her daily life. I’m drawn to Maria’s wry sense of humor and unique role as an insider-outsider in Crete (Maria is a native New Zealander of Cretan heritage.). Her stories are endlessly fascinating.
Susan from The Well Seasoned Cook in the New York area and Lucy from Nourish Me in Australia. I read today they are friends, which is fitting, as Susan and Lucy are the two best writers among all the blogs I read. I dream about having their abilities to evoke moods and flavors. Their recipes are always interesting, and their photography beautiful.
Riana from Garlic Breath and These Days in French Life. Riana lives with her French husband and daughter in the south of France and works harder than anyone I know to avoid consumerism and live life consciously. Riana and her family haven’t shopped since August 2007 except for food (and not even food in January and February). Though her choices may not be for everyone, Riana’s infectious enthusiasm is a welcome balance to the consumer-oriented world in which we live.
Lulu from Mama’s Taverna in California. Lulu makes me laugh. She’s a good cook with a great ear for dialogue. I eagerly anticipate her new posts.
Mag from Hommus with Tabbouli. Mag is Lebanese, but lives in Virginia. I ended up at Mag’s blog one day by accident and in it discovered one of the best English-language Lebanese cookbooks available. I love Lebanese food and Mag more than does it justice.
Núria from Spanish Recipes in Barcelona, Spain. Núria is one of the nicest people in the blogosphere and her traditional Spanish recipes are mouth-wateringly good. Núria’s extensive and very clear pictures make it easy to recreate her recipes in the US.
Ronell from My French Kitchen in France. Ronell is a skilled painter and her art and creativity inspire seasonal recipes and gorgeous photographs. Ronell’s blog has taken me from her herb garden and atelier to the banks of the Loire; visiting My French Kitchen suffuses me with a sense of peace and well being.
There aren’t any rules for the ENMAPYMMD awards, so I encourage awardees and readers alike to give them out freely to their favorite food writers and photographers. The more credit and encouragement we give our peers, the stronger all our blogs will be.
Bob the Bird-Watcher
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