Food Blogs

The Internet has given us a different set of tools and ideas about cooking that didn’t exist before. Some of these things are a little weird (ahem, cooking salmon in the dishwasher), while others make our lives in the kitchen happier and easier as a result. So let’s take a second to appreciate where our favorite web browsers have taken us. We’re all Internet Explorers, after all.

Websites like Pinterest make it easy to discover recipes from small, lesser-known food blogs — recipes that are potentially more interesting than those from big-name food sites, but also a little more risky. Cookbooks and magazines have recipe testers and test kitchens, but how do you judge the reliability of a recipe that comes from a new-to-you source?

This week I showed you the freezer meal party I hosted with my mom and sisters. We spent an afternoon in the kitchen chopping, prepping, cooking, and bagging up meals for our freezers. It’s a fun and productive way to spend time with people you like, and a wonderful opportunity to stock your freezer. It’s also amazing how many meals you can put in your freezer in one afternoon, if you’re organized. My menu was just one possible way to do it.

It’s cold out, it’s February, and it’s only Tuesday. Let’s take a minute to look at some bright, cheery things that will bring a smile to just about anybody’s face. Enter: Pretty pink cakes! There are so many different kinds of pink going on in this cake: Actual pink cake, frosting, and then macarons with pink cream. I don’t have a birthday coming up anytime soon, so I need to find another excuse to make this elaborate thing.

The only thing more cozy than a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter day is when that soup is ladled into a hollowed out bread bowl. Carbs and soup belong together. And really, why serve a thick slice of bread alongside your soup, when you can dish out your favorite soup in a whole bowl made of bread?! Here are 10 bread bowls that are waiting to be filled with your favorite soup! You’ve got a choice to make. It’s time to match your soup with its carb-filled partner in crime.

When it comes to entertaining, I’m fond of the after-dinner coffee. It’s a relaxing way to keep both flavor and conversation going, stretching a party to its limit in the best way. If you’re looking for a way to branch out from plain drip with optional sugar and cream, here are 12 ideas to make this post-dinner ritual extra fun.

Grilling season and tomatoes – does it get any better? Combined, they are unstoppable. This recipe is all about easy summer cooking. First the tomatoes are marinated, then grilled, and finally placed on some crusty toast slathered with ricotta. Simple? Yes. Blogger duo White on Rice Couple aptly called this recipe grilled cherry “lollipops,” which I love because you could almost eat those skewers for dessert. I can’t wait to give this recipe a spin!

In the spring and summer I love to finish a meal with a tisane, tea made from fresh herbs like lemon verbena or mint. But I had no idea that rose petals can be used to make this as well! Isn’t that a romantic idea? Here’s how Erin at Yummy Supper makes hers. Erin Scott at Yummy Supper says that she gathers rose petals from her own yard, and pours hot water over them to let them steep. You can watch a lovely video of this below. What does it taste like?

Feeling a little burned out on the food bloggers’ version of Valentine’s Day? One too many heart-shaped pepperoni, perhaps? This week we are asking experts to share their ideal Valentine’s Day menus and today the blogger behind the Tumblr and Twitter handle, S— Food Bloggers Say, gives voice to the bitter, the burned out, the ones who just don’t buy into this holiday. No candles. No roses.

Elissa Altman is the author of the blog and the book Poor Man’s Feast, a collection of reflections and stories of her life in and out of the kitchen. She is also a longtime cookbook editor and very well versed in cookbooks and books on food. Clearly she was the perfect person to tap when we got to wondering about which books that have really changed our lives, the books that have inspired not only our cooking but how we view the world.

Oh, did you think you were about to bite into a delicious BBQ chicken wing? THINK AGAIN. Cauliflower has been rising into vegetable stardom the last couple years, and these 12 insane dishes are definitive proof that it has magical powers. What other veggie can morph into sushi rice, tater tots, and tortillas? That’s right – none of them. Prepare to be amazed. All these recipes sneakily feature cauliflower.

Kaffekokarkoboken, which roughly translates to Coffee Boil Cookbook, is a blog dedicated to cooking food in a coffee maker. Katija Wluff created the blog a few years ago and now maintains it with the help of her photographer boyfriend Dan Sorenson. The couple live together with their three cats in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is probably, definitely, the craziest food blog I’ve ever seen.

It’s that time of year again where the internet in inundated with pumpkin recipes – I can’t seem to escape it on Pinterest and Food Gawker. While I love cooking with pumpkin, what do you do with all the seeds? I mean, there’s only so many times you just roast them and eat them as a snack. These seven recipes take pumpkin seeds to new, glorious heights by adding them to fall desserts. In turn, these sweets take on a subtle savory quality and crunch that is totally awesome.

As it is, a poached egg on toast is a pretty special thing. But Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has an elegant variation that sounds like the perfect quick fall dinner: eggs poached in white wine, served on a piece of avocado toast. Um, yes please. The wine is simmered with minced shallots and herbs for a flavorful, unexpected poaching liquid that can be used to make a quick sauce after the eggs are done cooking.

It happens all the time: You see that seriously awesome lookin’ kale salad online or in a magazine or wherever and you really want to make it for dinner. The only thing that stands in your way to cooking nirvana is, of course, the grocery store. Now in the grand scheme of things, the grocery store isn’t bad at all (and can be enjoyable!) but there are certain things that can just drive you crazy.

Obviously not by accident, National Candy Corn Day is the day before Halloween. And if your office is anything like mine, you’ve been sneaking handfuls of the sickeningly sweet treats on a daily basis the last couple of weeks. The only way to celebrate such an important food holiday, of course, is by gobbling ’em all up. Some of these treats actually have candy corn in them, while a lot of them honor the candy with sugar and food dye (which is basically the same thing, right?).

Ice cream is the perfect dessert for busy hosts and there are so many ways to fancy up a simple scoop. Here’s a tasty, seasonal idea that would work for an autumn dinner party, or even as a Thanksgiving dessert: serve scoops of pumpkin ice cream in no-bake gingersnap cups! This recipe comes from The Merrythought, who make their pumpkin ice cream from scratch, but you could easily adapt the idea with good-quality store-bought ice cream.

The first recipes that come to mind for slow cookers are usually meat heavy — lots of hearty stews and chilies. There have, however, been quite a few cookbooks that have come out recently that highlight a vegan diet for slow cookers. These recipes generally focus on wonderful beans, grains, and vegetables. Here are some ideas to get you started cooking vegan in the slow cooker. I especially love the idea of making vegan overnight oats.

Manipulating food into adorable designs is not new on Instagram, but these Halloween-related plates by Lee Samantha are definitely inspiring. With well over 300,00 followers on Instagram and 26,000 likes on Facebook, Samantha has grown in popularity over the last four years, and with good reason. The Malaysian mother of two started making these creative dishes four years ago for her older daughter, who was two at the time.

Step up your slow cooker game with this relatively new channel on YouTube called “Cooking with Phyllis”. Phyllis Pellman Good is the co-author of the celebrated Fix-it and Forget-it series, and is prepping for the launch of her new book with these fun, accessible videos. Most of the videos are between three and five minutes, and are super comprehensive.

In all the history of cakes that look like other stuff, this cake is truly the most insane. Mhmm, that’s right, what you see pictured above is not actually ramen, but in fact a cake made to look like ramen. It’s OK if you need to cry. But wait! It gets even better – there’s a video of how to make the actual ramen cake.

Yesterday we asked about your best “stone soups” — surprisingly tasty, satisfying soups that makes the most of a handful of unpromising ingredients — and we posed the same question to a few of our favorite food writers.

It might only be the middle of the month, but Pinterest is swarming with Halloween DIYs and creative treats. Have you started planning for the occasion yet? These spooky cocktails definitely got me excited for the weeks ahead. Here are a few to get you into the ghoulish spirit. I particularly enjoy the black rimming salt and the vampire teeth garnishes. It’s the little touches after all, more than the drink itself, that make a Halloween cocktail great. TOP ROW: 1.

Eating your lunch at your desk is a common, mostly depressing topic. But these photos by Stephanie Gonot show something new –– a humorous, and dare I say beautiful take on lunch at the office. Baloney sandwich, anyone? The photos were done as a project for NEON magazine. It’s the colorful background and tiny, silly details that make these photos stand out. My personal favorite is the Lo Mein take-out box with the pencils for chopsticks.

What you see pictured above is a corn dog that has an alarming amount of vegetables inside of its fried shell. It would be one thing if you made these or already knew about the sneaky insides (they might taste good!) — but what if someone just handed you one and didn’t tell you a thing? HORROR. These are some of the worst offenders on the road to building trust.

Thanks to Instagram filters and powerful smartphone cameras, taking a great food photo doesn’t require much time or effort — which is what makes the food blog Pen & Palate so special. Instead of relying on photographs, writers Lucy Madison and Tram Nguyen use hand-drawn illustrations to accompany their recipes and stories, creating an online space that feels like a respite from the frenzy of the digital world. Both women write posts and Nguyen provides the accompanying illustrations.

If you’re an occasional PSL drinker, then move along. Only diehards are welcome to purchase this fantastic loot. A quick search on Etsy will result in the swag of your dreams –– and here’s the best of it all. What would life be without a notepad made of recycled pumpkin spice latte cup holders? NOTHING, that’s what. I’m also really diggin’ the cool prints that you can decorate your house (or office!) with.

A few people have asked me this fall about pressing their own apple cider and juice. This is a little more complicated than making, say, apple sauce — but if you have a bumper crop of apples and want to make cider yourself, this is how you do it, brought to you by Aimée of Simple Bites. When I was in Montreal a week ago I visited Aimée at her lovely house outside the city, and she made me the most amazing apple cider I’ve ever had.

Reader Pamela of the blog Sweet Peach wrote us today to share some “cute chickens” she recently photographed, and when I opened up the link, my jaw dropped. My friends, this chicken goes so far beyond cute. Here’s your dose of Friday chicken splendor. This chicken, people, is a diva, and she is named Izzy-Belle, which seems to suit her glam style.

When it’s too cold, and it’s still dark, Honeycrisp apples are the reason I get up in the morning. I’m sure some of you can relate. Oftentimes instead of making anything with apples (not just Honeycrisp) I get antsy and just eat it plain, but this fall I want to explore the apple’s potential. These Pinterest boards have inspired me to step up my game. 1. If you’re looking for more apple-heavy breakfasts: FOLLOW: Apples Board – Baked by Rachel.

The Kitchn Cure started yesterday -– 2 weeks, 10 assignments to help you get your kitchen clean and organized. If you haven’t signed up for the Cure, or are worried that it might be too hard or take too much time, have no fear –– these dogs are here to hold your hand through the process. They know what’s up. STEP 1: Admit you have a problem. Gross kitchens are The Worst –– who wants to cook in a nasty, disorganized kitchen? NOBODY. Not even cats.

This series finale of AMC’s Breaking Bad is this Sunday – are you prepared to say goodbye? After what has arguably been the best season of the show, the series deserves to go out with a bang. Bakers and boozers alike have been inspired to cook some interesting things to celebrate. WARNING: There are a lot of blue pop rocks ahead.

When you want something for dessert that’s more than a chocolate bar or ice cream, but still easy enough to make that you can eat it ASAP, mug cakes are your friends. Most of these take less than 2 minutes to make in a microwave. Yeah, that’s right. Just because these desserts are made in a microwave, it doesn’t mean the cakes can’t be made from scratch and taste good.

Classic banana pudding is comfort by the spoonful, but Nilla wafers and boxed pudding mix aren’t exactly foods you want to eat every day. That’s why I love this “cheater” banana pudding from Melissa of The Faux Martha, which is made with three simple ingredients and takes just five minutes to assemble.

I am decidedly pro-meat and cheese. Nothing gives me more joy than thin slices of prosciutto and creamy goat cheese. But sometimes when I’m feeling a little bogged down during the week, I like eating something that will give me energy and won’t throw me into a midday food coma. Step in: vegan sandwiches. These aren’t just any vegan sandwiches though — they are heartier than your average veggie delight. These things mean business.

The genius of the Tumblr Sad Desk Lunch is immediately obvious to anyone who has ever had a job that involved a lot of lunches eaten in front of the computer at work, mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest or food blogs while trying to ignore ringing phones and loud co-workers. It’s hard to have a happy lunch at your desk. This week we are talking to experts about their best lunches to pack for work or school.

I’m a big tea drinker and so when friends shared a post from Food Babe on what’s really in the tea that we drink, I was very interested. I took a look at the post and according to Food Babe and her sources, depending on the brand, there might be a lot of chemicals and pesticides not only in tea, but in the tea bags as well. Have you read about this? Do you pay attention to the ingredients in your tea?

Sure, you could quickly make a sandwich or wrap up some leftovers for lunch, but then you’d be missing out on crafting these badass bento boxes. The fact that these lunches are centered around Super Mario Bros. makes them even better. A lot of the lunches appear to be made with simple foods –– rice, small sandwiches, cut up fruit and vegetables. How much would you have wanted these as a kid? Or, lets be honest, as an adult?

Where I live, fall is not in the air. The late summer heat is relentless and there will be no hot apple ciders or spiced cakes in my near future, which is why I love this idea from the blog Will Cook For Friends: chai-spiced tea cubes served in a glass of icy-cold milk. It’s a way to enjoy the warm spices of autumn in a cool, refreshing treat! The ice cubes are made of strong black tea steeped with whole spices and ginger.

If we eat with our eyes before our mouth, Pinterest has only exacerbated this experience. We are able to share what we make with others, organize what aspire to do or make, and drool over beautiful photos. Whether you’re new to Pinterest or a veteran, these 13 Pinterest accounts are worth checking out –– imagine lots of decadent pies, cooking tips, and dreamy lookin’ kitchens.

Kale. Quinoa. Blueberries. Salmon. These have all been called superfoods at one time or another, along with pumpkin seeds, walnuts and other foods from the plain (beans) to the exotic (goji berries). But what is a superfood? Are there any hard and fast rules for what makes a berry or seed a superfood?Not really, according to a recent article on Mother Nature Network.

We’ve been introducing you to our judges in the finalist round of Small Cool Kitchens 2013. Today, meet our final panel judge: Matt Armendariz of Mattbites! Matt writes one of my long-time favorite food blogs. He is a pro photographer, writer, and terrific cook who lives and blogs in Southern California. I’ve always loved his sense of humor and vibrant photography. When I found out that he had just finished renovating a home too, I knew he would be a great addition to our panel!

Last week Faith shared how to throw a seriously delicious s’mores party – complete with birthday cake marshmallows with sprinkles. I’ve had flavored marshmallows before at restaurants, but in a s’more? That is so next level. The possibilities are endless — beer marshmallows! Bacon marshmallows! Get crazy with these ideas and stuff them in between that chocolate and graham cracker with pride.

Flavored ice cubes are such a great and easy way to spruce up a cold drink. This is especially true during the summer when you can use seasonal fruit — berries, stone fruit, watermelon, etc. These ice cubes would be great in a cocktail or to add some light flavoring to your water. Have you ever made interesting ice cubes before? If so, please share in the comments! TOP ROW 1 Berry Ice Cubes – Just Putzing. These are perfect for savoring the end of berry season.

Want to make the astronomy-loving person in your life very happy? Bake this spherical cake modeled after Jupiter, complete with layered insides representing the planet’s rock and ice core, layer of liquid metallic hydrogen and outer layer composed of molecular hydrogen. So cool!The concentric layers are made from the inside out. First you bake the tiny core layer, embed it into the batter for the next layer, bake and proceed.

For awhile now I feel like Pinterest has been swarming with eggs baked in avocados. Some of these recipes are plain, some have bacon, others are topped with cheese or even guacamole. For the most part they all look super pretty, as Pinterest photos are ought to be, but I just don’t get the appeal. Isn’t it just a hot pile of mush? Why would you ever want a warm avocado?

Do you have an Instagram account? Of course you do. The Kitchn got one a couple months ago and its been fun playing around with what kind of content we want to share. I admire these 15 food oriented Instagram accounts for their beautiful photos, quirky comments, and being able to tell a small narrative within the confines of the app. These food Instagramers come from all over the food industry –– some are bloggers, professional photographers, authors, or chefs.

Everyone has their tried-and-true hangover foods, but throughout history there have been a few cures that were so good, they were embraced by the general population, not just those nursing a headache from the night before. Smithsonian’s Food & Think blog recently shared the history of five favorite foods that got their start as hangover cures.

Have you heard that whole grains and whole grain flours should be stored in the fridge or freezer? Keep them in the pantry and they’ll go rancid or be infested with weevils, right? Anyway, that’s what I tell myself every time I try to cram a bag of whole-wheat flour into my already-crowded freezer. But author and whole grains expert Maria Speck has a different opinion, one that makes storing whole grains a whole lot easier.

One doesn’t generally think of French cuisine as being vegetarian-friendly, yet vegetables are front and center in Clotilde Dusoulier’s French Market Cookbook. In this charming new vegetarian cookbook, the Chocolate & Zucchini author highlights seasonal, meatless dishes that anyone can love.

Sent by TracyEditor: Tracy, as far as copyright goes, the photos and explanation of steps accompanying a recipe are protected under copyright law, but the list of ingredients for a recipe cannot be copyrighted, so technically you could post a rewritten recipe that uses the exact same ingredients without crediting the original source, and not be in violation of the law. You probably wouldn’t make many friends in the food-blogging world, though.

Do you know of any great food blogs designed for those who have no idea what they’re doing in the kitchen, have limited time, and rely only on readily-available ingredients? Bonus points if there are photo tutorials!Sent by JenEditor: Jen, you may find some helpful tutorials (with step-by-step photos) among our how-tos here on The Kitchn.

Sometimes food can be so beautiful. These beet and goat cheese “jewels” are simply made by layering those two ingredients. The trick is that the beet coloring — from both golden and red beets — seeps into the goat cheese, which is what gives the terrine that beautiful, varied shading.

These 7 vegetarian cooking blogs are a few of my favorites. Some are narrative, while others are more informative or educational. Taken as a group, they are pretty much all you need. 7 Inspiring Vegetarian Cooking Blogs The First Mess: Laura’s photos will be the first thing to draw you in, but it’s her unique and impeccably-tested recipes that will keep you coming back for more.

I love washed linen napkins. They are incredibly soft and absorbent and their rumpled look suits my casual style. They can be ironed if you want a crisper look, but they are truly beautiful if you just smooth and fold them when they come out of the dryer (or off the line). Their only downside is the price, which can run as high as $30 each. But if you’re like me and also appreciate frayed edges, then you can have six linen napkins for half that price, with no sewing involved.

Some days you want a dessert that goes all out. Some days you want — scratch that, need — a rainbow sprinkle cake in your life. And The Cake Blog has an easy-to-follow tutorial to make it happen.How does one coat an entire cake in sprinkles? Well, you need a couple cardboard cake rounds, a generous coating of icing, and a shallow tray filled with one kilogram of rainbow sprinkles. (Add one unicorn and we’ll be living out every dream I had at age eight.

Looking for more feel-good recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out Healthy Desserts, the newest iPad and iPhone app from the food blog Green Kitchen Stories, which is full of gorgeous photos and recipes for an assortment of sweets, many of which are grain-free, vegan, or raw — and totally tempting.The app collects all of the dessert recipes from the blog, along a few new recipes, and will be continually updated with new desserts as they go up on the site.

Citrus and poppy seeds go hand in hand, as do muffins and spring. So what better way to welcome in March than with these scrumptious orange-infused poppy seed muffins? The bright and sunny flavors are guaranteed to lift your winter spirits, even if the weather is not ready to comply.I have pretty strict requirements for the perfect muffin, and it’s taken me some time to nail my favorite down.

Joshua Weissman isn’t your typical 17-year-old boy. A few years ago, overweight and bullied in school, he finally decided to take his health seriously, but packaged diet meals and quick fixes didn’t help. Instead, he started cooking — and in the process changed his life.Now 100 pounds lighter, Joshua has won the respect of the classmates who once teased him and even inspired some of the teenage boys around him to eat a little better.

Done just right, crispy roasted potatoes are an almost-perfect side. We know potatoes pair perfectly with rosemary, but this variation takes it one step further by coating the potatoes in cornmeal and parmesan and roasting in a bed of rosemary and garlic. Don’t mind if we do!