Dear Readers,
After eight days of vigorous voting*, this year's winner for Best Home Cooking Blog is:
Gina's Skinny Recipes!
Blogger: Gina Homolka
Location: Oceanside, New York
Blogging Since: 2008
Please check out Gina's great blog and thank you for taking part in helping us to discover and celebrate the best in the home blogosphere. Gina's Skinny Recipes will now join our pantheon of Best Blogs, and we'll see you next year in January.
Best, Maxwell
* Please note that to counter vote stuffers, we removed any instances where we saw an extreme amount of votes from one unique IP address. We did allow for instances like universities, where there could be many people on one IP, and we did examine IP locations. We applied the exact same criteria to each blog and vote entered in the contest.
Go to all other voting posts:
The Final Vote
The Finalists
- 101 Cookbooks
- Gina's Skinny Recipes
- Haute Apple Pie
- Joy the Baker
- Leite's Culinaria
- The Picky Eater
- The Pioneer Woman Cooks
- Stainless Steel Thumb
- Sodium Girl
- Tigress in a Jam
It's link love time again!
There are awards for all sorts of blogs, but no one ever pays enough attention to the shelter blogs, so we started The Homies. It's our way of surveying the blogosphere each year for the best new home design blogs and sharing what we find. It's not so much a competition as a celebration of the richness and awesomeness of shelter bloggers around the world. Join us, share your favorites and check out the ones you don't know.There are five categories: Home Design, Home Tech, Kids @ Home, Green Home & Home Cooking. None of our blogs or past winners are eligible (see below).
The prizes? $50 to the winner of each category and lots of traffic as we publish the five winners in a big congratulatory post across our network on February 4th. We want to elevate good home blogs, see who you love and gain awareness for the home niche.
This Year's Submission List
(in order of nominations top to bottom)
- The Picky Eater
- Stainless Steel Thumb
- Gina's Skinny Recipes
- Leite's Culinaria
- Sodium Girl
- 101 Cookbooks
- Tigress in a Jam
- Haute Apple Pie
- The Pioneer Woman Cooks
- Joy the Baker
- Accidental Locavore
- Three Clever Sisters
- food52
- Love & Homemade Recipes
- Once Upon A Chef
- Seaweed Snacks
- Simply Recipes
- What Katie Ate
- Amuse Bouche
- Homesick Texan
- My Kids Eat Squid
- A Cook Walks Into a Bar
- Cannelle et Vanille
- Crass Cuisine
- Ezra Pound Cake
- Feasts For All Seasons
- Food for My Family
- Globetrotter Diaries
- i am baker
- No Pot Cooking
- Orangette
- Wasabimon!
- Words to Eat By
- Annie's Eats
- Baked Bree
- Dinner: A Love Story
- From Scratch Club
- Haute N the Kitchen
- Live Learn Love Eat
- Lottie & Doof
- Madonna del Piatto
- Shutterbean
- Simple Bites
- Smitten Kitchen
- Southern Belle in Santa Barbara
- Southern Fried Curry
- Sweet Bites
- The Avid Appetite
- The Kosher Foodies
- Whisk Kid
- Amy Bakes Everything
- chinese grandma
- Dana Treat
- David Lebovitz: Living the Sweet Life in Paris
- Gluten Free Goddess
- Good. Food. Stories.
- goodlife {eats}
- Gourmet Recipes for One
- How Sweet It is
- Hunter Angler Gardener Cook
- Kitschy Kitten
- La Tartine Gourmande
- Leite's Culinaria.
- Macheesmo
- Meals; for Moderns
- My Communal Table
- My Fave Cooking Blog
- Not Derby Pie
- One Day Before Yesterday
- One Hungry Mama
- RecipeRelay
- Southern Plate
- Spicy Tasty
- Stone Soup
- Sweet Paul
- Tartelette
- The Basic Cookbook
- the bitten word
- The Year In Food
- Unsophisticook
- ::Frugalistic::
- 17 and baking
- 3 B's Baseball Baking and Books
- 5 Second Rule
- A Cozy Kitchen
- A FOOD OBSESSION
- A Red Table
- A Stove with a House Around It
- A Sweet Spoonful
- A Time to Eat
- Alla Madonna del Piatto Cooking Schoo
- Apron Anxiety
- Arugula Files
- Ashley's Cooking Adventures
- At the Farmers' Market
- AZ Cookbook
- Backseat Gourmet
- Baking and Mistaking
- Barefoot Kitchen Witch
- bell'alimento
- Big, Bold. Beautiful Food
- Broke Foodie
- Brokeass Gourmet
- Budget Bytes
- Burnt Lumpia
- Butter Powered Bike
- Cheesy Pennies
- Chef in You
- Chocolate & Zucchini
- Chow
- Christine's Recipes
- Closet Cooking
- Cooking Books
- Cooking Rut
- Cooking While Eating
- Cookistry
- Creative Country Cooking
- Crepes of Wrath
- cucina nicolina
- Deep Fried Epiphany
- Delishhh
- delvious
- Dinner Party
- Dinner With Julie
- Dinners for a Year and Beyond
- Dixie Chik Cooks
- Dog's breakfast
- Eat Drink Garden
- Eat Sunday Dinner... Or Something Like It
- Eating Made Easy
- Eating the Scenery
- Edible Living
- Eggs on Sunday
- Everybody Likes Sandwiches
- FatFree Vegan Kitchen
- Food for the Thoughtless
- Food In Jars
- Food Junta
- Food Loves Writing
- Food Wishes
- Food Your Way
- Foodalogue
- Foodfixe
- Four Seasons of Food
- Fresh and Foodie
- From the Bookshelf
- FunnySpoon
- Get Off Your Butt and Bake
- Gluten Free Appetite
- Grain Girls
- Gran in Training
- Heaven in a wild fleur
- Hide the Cheese
- Hip Pressure Cooking,
- Honey and Jam
- Hungry Desi
- Hungry Sofia
- I Am Baker
- i go right for the blogular
- Impeccable Taste
- In Pleasant Company
- Indian Simmer
- Just Hungry
- Kalyn's Kitchen.
- Kayotic Kitchen
- Kenziepoo
- Kiss my Spatula
- Kitchen & 4th
- Kitchen Desires
- Kitschy Kitchen
- LemonPi
- Lick the bowl good
- Living and Loving
- Local Kitchen
- Lucullian delights
- Madd Hatter's Kitchen
- Manjula's Kitchen
- Martha and Me
- Metalcakes
- Michael Ruhlman
- Modern Domestic
- Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen
- Muslim Wife Kitchen
- My Goodness
- My Life Runs On Food
- Noble Pig
- NoPotCooking
- Nourish Network
- NYC Nom Nom
- Oh No I've Run Out Of...
- Olives and Daisies
- One Hundred Eggs
- One Ordinary Day
- One Small Kitchen
- OneLifeToEat
- Onions and Chocolate
- Our Best Bites
- Our Little Beehive
- PastryPal
- PEACE AND LOVE IN THE KITCHEN
- Peace Love and French Fries
- phytofoods
- Piece of Cake
- Poor Man's Feast
- PostPunk Kitchen
- Recipes from a Normal Mum
- Rosemarried
- Rouxbe
- Sassy Radish
- Savory Sweet Life
- Savour Fare
- Scordo.com - Southern Italian Food and Life
- Seasalt with Food
- She Simmers
- Skinny Fat Kid
- Smith Bites
- smoking whisk
- Sparkling Ink
- Sprouted Kitchen
- Sunday Suppers
- Sweet Amandine
- syntages tis kardias
- The Dinner Files
- The Family Dinner
- The Finishing School
- The Italian Dish
- The Italian Dish
- The Kitchn
- The Kosher Gastronome
- the little kitchen that could
- The Merry Gourmet
- The Naptime Chef
- The Nosh Life
- The Slow Cook
- The Traveler's Lunchbox
- The Zhush
- This Little Piglet
- Thought for Food
- Three Many Cooks
- Thursday Night Smackdown
- tiny bubbles
- Tiny Urban Kitchen
- Tribeca Yummy Mummy
- Tutti Dolci
- Two Peas and Their Pod
- Unspeakable Visions
- use real butter
- Vanilla Garlic
- Veggie Belly
- Veggie Num Num
- White on Rice
- White on Rice Couple
- Whole Grain Texan [in Yankee land]
- Wicked Delicious
- Ya Salam Cooking
- Yummy Mummy
• Past Winners
Home Design
2009 Remodelista
2008 design*sponge
Home Tech
2009 Ikea Hacker
2008 tie: Engadget & Gizmodo
Kids @ Home
2009 WHATEVER
2008 Inhabitots
Green Home
2009 Maya*Made
2008 Green (Goody)
Home Cooking
2009 Smitten Kitchen
2008 Vegan Explosion
• All Past Homies Info
• FAQs
What's the schedule?
1. Add your favorite home blogs
January 18-25 (until midnight EST)
2. Vote on the top nominees
January 26-February 3 (until 6pm EST)
3. Winners announced!
February 4
What happened to 2010?
We usually run the Homies from December into January, but due to technical work we needed to get done, we pushed this year into January, which means we lost the 2010 window. We're going to call the winners this year the 2010-11 Winners.
What happened to the fancy interface we had last year?
It will be back next year, but we had to give it a break while we rebuild the backend of our system. We're doing a lot of track work right now.
How does it work?
Nominations for the best blogs in these categories are collected all week, we then choose the top six favorites, and then you all get one powerful vote starting next week.
Who is eligible?
Any blog, amateur and professional in the homespace in the five categories listed below. Past winners and Apartment Therapy blogs are not eligible.
What is the homespace?
It's the media space dedicated to folks who love their homes, and it concerns decor, cooking, entertaining, raising kids, working at home and a whole host of green issues. We're willing to think broadly, but, remember, we're not concerned with things like cars, restaurants, the stock market and Hollywood gossip.
How many blogs can I nominate?
As many as you wish.
How many new favorite blogs can I discover?
As many as your brain can handle before bursting.
When do we vote?
After a week of nominations, we'll collect up all your input and sort them down to the top six contenders. On Wednesday, January 26th we'll post these top six for a week so that you have plenty of time to see them and vote. With one week of nominating and over one week of voting, we should have a good turnout.
Can we vote more than once?
Not in any one category, but you certainly can vote in all five categories.
Can we encourage our friends to vote (for us, even)?
Yes. Not only can't we stop it, we know that the web is a community and word of mouth is how it works.
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The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Bacsac Bacsquare 04...
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
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Please use the form above to vote. It's labeled "Which is your favorite Home Cooking blog?"
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I would have voted for "The Kitchn" if I could have. I chose Sodium Girl because I now have to limit my sodium and thanks to you I was able to sign up for email. I love Apartment Therapy and all the information it gives me.
Thank you very much.
Go Pioneer Woman! Yay!
I'm sad, depressed and feeling terrible because I didn't nominate the absolute BEST food blog-poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com.The week got away from me and I feel like I let Amy down (even though we've never met). It's absolutely the best,most comprehensive food blog out there. I'm shocked that Amy and her blog haven't been nominated. I'll do my part next year-I promise. How about a mid-year Best Of?
is something wrong with me or the site. can someone please let me know? i want to vote for tigress in a jam.
Go The Picky Eater!
Amuse Bouche! Right now! This instant! Vote for the most amazing Food Blog ever! Not only does it provide unique and innovative recipes for the heart and soul, but the author is genuinely hilarious and brings you into her kitchen every time.
VOTE FOR THE PICKY EATER!!!! SUCH AN AMAZING BLOG!
CHECK ..... THE STAINLESS STEEL THUMB,you will feel IT DESERVES YOUR VOTE.
It's not allowing me to vote.
Go Picky Eater! (will have to remember to nominate myself next year :)
Love Pioneer Woman! First discovered it in a blog writing class I took 2 years ago.
Stainless Steel Thumb...GO KAT!
Stainless Steel Thumb has it all !
inspiring posts, humor, delicious and inspired flavors and thoughtful composition, good,clean healthy goumet recipes for everyone
Vote for mazing Food blog .Go.......Kitty cat
Go Isa Chandra @ PostPunk Kitchen! She has my favorite recipes.
Stainless Steel Thumb site is awesome! She had a very good teacher- her Mom!!
I love the mouth-watering pics and vivid detail!
Go KAT!!
Stainless Steel Thumb rocks!
There is no way to vote in this category. Please fix it so I can vote for 101Cookbooks.
Stainless Steel Thumb is my hero!
WoW can't get enough of Stainless Steel Thumb!!!
Gina's Skinny Taste has changed my life!! Nothing like delicious, nutritious, affordable and easy meals (she is full-time working woman and mother to a teenager and a one year old! Whew!!!) and bonus is they are guilt free!!!! Go Gina!!!!!!!
I LOVE Gina's Skinnytaste!!! Gina has given me the best year ever...lost all my baby weight, and enjoy shopping, and eating healthier. Her recipes are healthy, easy, affordable, and taste great!!! Go Gina!!!!
Keep that Stainless Steel Thumb at the top! What shall I cook tonight, Kat?
Gina's Skinny Recipes is Amazing - Her recipes can convince anyone to eat healthy.
my favorite online recipe blog is by far Gina's Skinny Recipes! they are all low fat and soooooo delicious!
Is there a place where you have a list of the nominees with the sites linked? That would be lovely.
Joy the Baker, you lightened my day.
Way to go Kitty Kat, how bout' a dish from 'Nawlins !!..
Well, there goes my productivity for the work day. I'm going to be way too busy reading through the Archives of all these blogs!
This is a sham. Stainless Steel Thumb deserved to win.
Apparently The Kitchn decided it should choose the winner, not voters. What a joke! I will no longer be visit the site in protest.
I don't get it ..how did Stainless Steel Thumb's votes go down from last night?
Quote from your explanation of voting:
"Can we encourage our friends to vote (for us, even)?
Yes. Not only can't we stop it, we know that the web is a community and word of mouth is how it works."
how did this happen? the community voted!
If the web community voted for the STAINLESS
STEEL THUMB,do you really think, you have the
right to change those numbers.Most likely there were no "observers" to check what you are doing.
What a freaking JOKE. Stainless Steel Thumb worked hard to get lots of people to vote for her and you changed the results anyway? I think you need to demonstrate [READ: PROVE] where the problem lies or how your system failed.
@NoMorePie @lethbri1 @zcook1945 @momcilo:
Before announcing the contest we did a final check for votes that appeared to be fraudulent (many votes from the same place) and removed them from the tally. We removed fraudulent votes from 4 of the 5 categories, and applied the same criteria to everyone. In the Home Cooking category, this put Gina's Skinny Recipes in the lead, with Stainless Steel Thumb a strong second place.
@Matt Royal: Did you ever check to see what IPs those were? Ever consider large universities, apartment complexes, etc. share single external IP addresses? Judging by your response, I'm going to go with no, you did not.
Stainless Steel Thumb deserved to win... this is ridiculous. I've known her since elementary school and she is someone who has always had many friends, and tons of support. She is passionate about food and has channeled that passion into her blog - everyone who voted for her believes in her and supports her endeavors. She had the votes - she should have the victory.
...so that means all the votes from her alma maters .. MSU and Albion are fraudulent? because they come from the same place?
@StefPohl and @ZCook1945 Exactly!
It would also appear that they have had "voting problems" in the past as well: http://twitpic.com/3wjhwm and http://twitpic.com/3wji0b
thank you for the answer,but it still does not make it right,the requirement was..a registerd
E_mail,and not "different place and/or a computer
what happened to Romania????
There is a reason that we check and audit votes in these contests. Last year the Homies initial winner confessed to cheating and ballot stuffing. It's very easy to set up (and validate) multiple email addresses, which is what that person did. It is our responsibility to guard against that, as we have done here.
@zcook1945 on the specific issue of university addresses, most university systems have far more than just one IP address in circulation. So usually there isn't a problem. It's only when multiple votes are sent from the same computer that we begin to see these issues.
We are sorry that you are disappointed in the outcome, but it is not fair to the other entrants if one entry has multiple votes from one person. We are committed to running fair contests for everyone, and making sure everyone has an equal chance when their friends and family vote for them.
@momcilo the rules clearly state that an individual may only vote once:
Can we vote more than once?
Not in any one category, but you certainly can vote in all five categories.
Albion College is a campus of less then 1800. The college has one standard IP address (due to low number of students / cost of having numerous IP addresses) which requires students to log in each time. Therefore when a student (or staff) members logs in, there IP address is the same but rather individual to the schools Tech Department. An email was sent out to the entire campus to vote for "Stainless Steal" along with an email sent to current members of her sorority / alumni of that sorority. Therefore it may look like numerous votes have been confirmed from one IP address while in fact they are different individuals.
YAY Gina! You've turned me on to a lot of great stuff!
Campaigning for votes by emailing an entire college campus is disingenuous as well as sophomoric to say the least.. Anyone can rig an election to make it appear that they have the most unbiased votes, Mubarak in Egypt was great at that too.
Quite frankly I believe its stealing from the entire premise of the award as well as everyone who dedicates their time and energy into building their blog readership by providing valuable unique content....I would think that the blog with the most votes from people who actually read, enjoy and benefit from the blog should win..If that person is Gina then Hooray for her!
Bringing up political issues are unnecessary and do not apply to this sort of vote. Asking your friends and community to vote for you is a perfect way of campaigning any sort of vote. 95% of the people will just push your thoughts to the side, while the other 5% will support you. It all comes down to the person, if you feel having a support system behind you (e.g. schools and national recognized organizations), then votes from family and friends should not be applicable.
Are you running a Homies for 2012? If so, when do nominations begin?
I'm sad, depressed and feeling terrible because I didn't nominate the absolute BEST food blog-poorgirlgourmet.blogspot.com.The week got away from me and I feel like I let Amy down (even though we've never met). It's absolutely the best,most comprehensive food blog out there. I'm shocked that Amy and her blog haven't been nominated. I'll do my part next year-I promise. How about a mid-year Best Of?