Cooking
I'm so sorry... I fully intended to write about my plans for after Mondays with Maida two weeks ago. But between Thanksgiving and being rather lazy, it just didn't happen. Part of the problem may be that I'm not feeling quite ready to get started on it, so let's consider this just a little sneak peek to tide you over until the "official" announcement - OK?
I've been thinking for several months that I'd like to examine American regional cuisine by looking at one state at a time and trying to figure out what foods are typical of each state. I started looking around some on-line and reading a little and quickly came to the conclusion that in order to get a grasp on the nature of a particular state's cuisine, I would also have to learn something of its agriculture and history. Throw in there an interest in food festivals, state fairs, and a wish to include food blogs, and you might begin to see my problem... maybe scope creep?
I obviously still need to sort out some details, but here's the general plan... I will focus on one state per month starting first with the states where I have lived and then moving on to those I have visited and finally on to those that are completely new to me. I'm calling the project "State by State" (and if you're familiar with Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, you'll know why). I plan to end each month with a post that is sort of a reference for the state, including a directory of food blogs based in that particular state, books I used, etc.
I'm going to start in February with Maryland. After that will come Massachusetts, North Carolina, Vermont, and New York. After that? We'll see :)
Between now and then I'm going to enjoy the Christmas season and I'm planning to take Zarah up on her invitation to "join the madness" as she calls it. I won't be posting daily as she is, but I would like to do a few seasonal posts. Then in January I hope to finally do a little redecorating around here: switch to a new Blogger template so I can take full advantage of tags, etc., and get a new look.
So that's what's coming - guess I'd better get busy :)
- No Excuse...
So I tell you I'm going to post twice a week and then I disappear... completely... for a month. Sorry. I have no excuse - just an unexplainable reluctance to sit down and write lately. So no more promises. Please keep me in your reader and I'll...
- State By State - Maryland: Smith Island Cake
I'm afraid you might begin to think I should have called this series State by State Sweets, but let me regale you with one more sweetie from Maryland - the Smith Island Cake. On Smith Island, these cakes are simply called layer cakes. They can come...
- Lenn's New York Wine Club
Originally uploaded by Lenn Thompson. New York's wine regions have received good press, but it can be difficult to find the wines outside that state. Our friend Lenn, who champions the Empire State's wine regions in print and from his blog...
- Wine Shipping
One piece of news jumped out at me as I started to catch up on headlines and email: the Supreme Court has made a decision about inter-state wine shipping. Despite the many corks being popped across the country in celebration, I can't imagine too many...
- Food News For The Day
Here's a bunch of interesting snippets from food news. A packing plant in Pennsylvania had to recall beef from 11 states. If you haven't yet, go find a copy of Fast Food Nation at your local independent bookstore and read it. The practices of...
Cooking
Finally...What's Next
I'm so sorry... I fully intended to write about my plans for after Mondays with Maida two weeks ago. But between Thanksgiving and being rather lazy, it just didn't happen. Part of the problem may be that I'm not feeling quite ready to get started on it, so let's consider this just a little sneak peek to tide you over until the "official" announcement - OK?
I've been thinking for several months that I'd like to examine American regional cuisine by looking at one state at a time and trying to figure out what foods are typical of each state. I started looking around some on-line and reading a little and quickly came to the conclusion that in order to get a grasp on the nature of a particular state's cuisine, I would also have to learn something of its agriculture and history. Throw in there an interest in food festivals, state fairs, and a wish to include food blogs, and you might begin to see my problem... maybe scope creep?
I obviously still need to sort out some details, but here's the general plan... I will focus on one state per month starting first with the states where I have lived and then moving on to those I have visited and finally on to those that are completely new to me. I'm calling the project "State by State" (and if you're familiar with Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, you'll know why). I plan to end each month with a post that is sort of a reference for the state, including a directory of food blogs based in that particular state, books I used, etc.
I'm going to start in February with Maryland. After that will come Massachusetts, North Carolina, Vermont, and New York. After that? We'll see :)
Between now and then I'm going to enjoy the Christmas season and I'm planning to take Zarah up on her invitation to "join the madness" as she calls it. I won't be posting daily as she is, but I would like to do a few seasonal posts. Then in January I hope to finally do a little redecorating around here: switch to a new Blogger template so I can take full advantage of tags, etc., and get a new look.
So that's what's coming - guess I'd better get busy :)
- No Excuse...
So I tell you I'm going to post twice a week and then I disappear... completely... for a month. Sorry. I have no excuse - just an unexplainable reluctance to sit down and write lately. So no more promises. Please keep me in your reader and I'll...
- State By State - Maryland: Smith Island Cake
I'm afraid you might begin to think I should have called this series State by State Sweets, but let me regale you with one more sweetie from Maryland - the Smith Island Cake. On Smith Island, these cakes are simply called layer cakes. They can come...
- Lenn's New York Wine Club
Originally uploaded by Lenn Thompson. New York's wine regions have received good press, but it can be difficult to find the wines outside that state. Our friend Lenn, who champions the Empire State's wine regions in print and from his blog...
- Wine Shipping
One piece of news jumped out at me as I started to catch up on headlines and email: the Supreme Court has made a decision about inter-state wine shipping. Despite the many corks being popped across the country in celebration, I can't imagine too many...
- Food News For The Day
Here's a bunch of interesting snippets from food news. A packing plant in Pennsylvania had to recall beef from 11 states. If you haven't yet, go find a copy of Fast Food Nation at your local independent bookstore and read it. The practices of...