All in Good Food

Hi everyone long time no see. I’m sorry to have been away for so long. You see I work for a very popular museum in the retail department. I began working there the summer of 2010. Within 3 months of being hired I was being trained to run one of the small stores within the complex. That training set me up for my bigger elevation in 2011 when I was given the responsibility of running a specified store to accompany the traveling exhibit on display at the museum. After that I was asked to do the same for the next traveling exhibit that arrived. You may ask well why are you tell us all of this, well this is the reason I was not blogging for so long. Sometimes life gets busier than expected and some things have to be sacrificed for the time.

Needless to say I am trying to get back into the swing of things and get back to blogging. I did continue to make bentos for my lunches every day although I just did not have the time in the mornings to always take pictures of them. The ones I did I will post up soon in my next blog post. With that said I want to let you know there are some exciting changes that are coming in my life that is going to give me the opportunity to explore more with my cooking and food exploration but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.

I want to thank all the people who continued to follow my blog even when there was no new content for them to read, but I am back now and hope to have more for you in the near future. Please stay with me and thanks for your support.

Speading the Sunshine Award

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers
3. Link the nominees within your post
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award
   

Here is one of my simple “go to” meals that I can whip up very quickly. When I was in school recently working on my bachelor’s degree I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands to cook sometimes, so I developed some go to meals that I could fix quickly with a small number of prepackaged ingredients.

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Turkey
14.5 oz French cut Green Beans
1 pkt Brown Gravy mix
1 cup pasta (your choice)
1/2 cup Shredded Carrots
1/14 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

For Flavor (to taste)
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning Salt
Cilantro

I take a pound of ground turkey and brown it in a skillet adding seasoning to taste. I keep it simple and use salt, pepper, cilantro and Lawry’s Seasoning Salt. The seasoning may see a bit heavy but I noticed that turkey is very bland if not sufficiently seasoned. While the turkey was cooking I mixed one packet of brown gravy mix with 1/4 cup of water. This is less than the mount listed on the package. I wanted the gravy to coat the turkey but not be watery.

Once the turkey is browned I add in a 14.5oz can of french cut green beans and let them heat up in the skillet with the turkey.

Now here is where I vary sometimes. The type of pasta I add depends on what I have on hand or what I have a taste for. I have used egg noodles, elbow macaroni, bow tie or other pasta in the mix. This time I cooked 1 cup (measured before cooking) of spiral pasta according to the instructions on the box.

Then I added the pasta, shredded carrots and shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the turkey and green bean mix.

And there you go ground turkey pasta mix.

I know it’s simple but sometimes simple is the way to go.

Itadaki masu!

I want to give a big thank you to Claudia of What’s Cookin’ Italian Style Cuisine for letting me know about another Food Photography Showcase Site I hadn’t heard of. This site like the others is set up for food blogger to showcase their food creations and check out other bloggers. It is also for everyone to get inspired by what they see. The site is called Photograzing and if you have never been there stop by and explore for yourself. Photograzing is part of the Serious Eats community which appears to be another site dedicated to the exploration and sharing of everything food related. You can not only find recipes but see reviews of restaurants, join in on chats with other food enthusiasts and find out the latest food and entertainment news. So stop by both sites and expand your world of food.

As I wrote in yesterdays post today I will be having a Special Edition Give `Em Props post. It will be featuring our favorite food photography sites and some food blogger portals. I know as a new food blogger I am not familiar with a lot of sites that give me the opportunity to enhance my blog awareness and showcase recipes that I have done. So in an effort of helping myself as well as other blogger old and new I am presenting a few sites where you can go to post your food photography and a few food blog portals where you can join communities.

Food Photography Showcase Sites are basically there for foodies to show off their cooking and or photography skills. Bloggers have the opportunity to submit photos of dishes or foods they have created for other bloggers to see. This idea is very good because it promotes an exchange between bloggers all over the world. We as human beings are visual people in general. We usually look at the pictures in a recipe book before we even read the recipe. If the picture is appealing then we are more likely to try the recipe. Well that is what these sites provide, a visual reference for recipes we may have or may never have attempted before. The photo lineup is ever changing so you will be exposed to many different recipes on a regular basis. Not only that but you will be exposed to bloggers you may or may not be familiar with. In a way they are helping to open up the food blogger community for all of us. Below are a few of these sites. So go visit and see how you like it.

Taste Stopping

Refrigerator Soup

Food Gawker

Taste Potting

Another type of site that is there to help the food blogger is portal sites. These sites are designed to create a community of food blogger not unlike that of Facebook or MySpace. You are able to exchange recipes, befriend other bloggers, post your own blog entries and showcase your own recipes. The purpose of these community sites is to help food bloggers connect with other food bloggers they otherwise may never come across. So if you are not familiar with these sites check them out. If you are not yet signed up on one of these sites maybe consider it. The exposure you will gain to other bloggers could prove invaluable. So here are a few sites to consider.

Food Buzz

Food Blogs

The Foodie Blog Roll

As a food blogger I am always looking for sites that will enhance my food and cooking experience and here is one site to be considered.

Here is The Daring Kitchen were cooks can go to challenge themselves and their abilities. The Daring Kitchen is set up with cooking and baking challenges featured each month. According to the site information it was designed to help everyday cooks and bakers improve their skills. You will have to register on the site and follow the rules set forth by the administrators, but in essence the site is designed to help hone and discipline you with in your cooking. Once you’re registered each month you will be presented with a cooking and or baking challenge depending on which group you are registered under. So if you are ready to challenge yourself and your cooking try The Daring Kitchen.

I know that I have only grazed the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the food blogging community so if there are any sites like the ones mentioned above that you believe need to be mentioned post it in a comment or send me an email and let me know who they are. I am always up to exploring new sites and reporting about them.

Thank you so much for coming to this Give `Em Props Special Edition.

So see you next Friday with a regularly scheduled post. Until then Itadaki masu.

Well it is 2010. Today is a new day in a new month in a new year in a new decade. I believe this is the beginning of something wonderful. With everyone so busy with the holidays, cooking and/or traveling I didn’t see too much going on in the food blogging world as far as recognitions, blog changes and/or new blogs. However things did seem to pick up a bit after Christmas. You know the end of the year usually brings changes, wrap ups and awards or recognitions. This year is no different. So without further ado here is a recap for the past two weeks.

If you are looking to find out more about foodies you know or maybe you don’t know go over to Travel Eat Love blog. Meghan’s new series Friday Foodie Feature is really informative. This series allows bloggers to get to know each other in a way that is not always possible. So if you are interested in getting to know many new bloggers check it out every Friday and you can meet a new blogger. Below is the list to date of the bloggers that have been featured.

12/18/2009 Mardi of Eat Live Travel Write
12/25/2009 Julie of Savvy Eats
01/01/2010 Marisa of All in Good Food

As I said earlier there are often bloggers who decide that they want to go into the new year with a redesigned or new blog well here are two such bloggers.

First off is Melody formally of Bouchon For Two. She has changed her blog URL and twitter user name and you can now find her at Gourmet Fury (blog) and she is now @GourmetFury on twitter. If you loved and followed Melody before get over to her new blog you won’t be disappointed.

Another blogger who is putting her blog through a redesign is Jen of My Kitchen Addiction. The new set up is designed to make it easier for visitors to navigate through to find what they want. The redesign so far is really nice and very user friendly. If you are a regular follower I believe you will like the changes. If you have never been to her blog before take a trip over there and check it out.

Let’s give a big congratulation to Bee of Rasa Malaysia who has announced that she finally has a book deal. Personally I have followed her blog long before I became a food blogger myself and I absolutely love it. She brought together recipes from many different Asian cultures into one location. If you have not been to her blog I suggest you take a trip over there. Much success on your book Bee you really deserve this.

This week I will be having a special edition Give `Em Props post on Saturday featuring our favorite food photography sites. I know as a new food blogger I am not familiar with a lot of sites that give me the opportunity to enhance my blog awareness and showcase recipes that I have done. So in an effort of helping other blogger old and new I am presenting a few sites where you can go to post your food photography. So see you on Saturday for the Give `Em Props Special Edition.

Well that is it for today. If I have missed any recognition, blog changes or new food blogs this week I do apologize as I can only go by what I pick up from the bloggers I follow. If you would like to have any recognitions, blog changes or new food blogs posted up just let me know either by direct message on twitter @allingoodfood42 or by email at allingoodfood@gmail.com

So until next Friday Itadaki masu.

Merry Christmas everyone. No post today. I just want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday with your families.

See you next Fiday.

I thought I would give everyone an updated link to the Olympic torch run by Jennifer Finnigan (@Jennigan). If you missed her run with the torch on Friday here is a YouTube link to check her out. She is the second person to take the torch in the video according to her twitter. Again I want to say congratulations Jennifer and great job. I know that had to be an awesome experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PDQEDhSGDw

Hi everyone this week seems like it went by so fast but there was a lot going on so let’s just recap what was happening in the foodie world this past week.

Well as most of us know who follow her on her blog, Twitter or Food Buzz, Michelle of Taste As You Go recently was hired by Scripps/HGTV. What an awesome opportunity for her. Way to go Michelle we know you will do well.

Next, one of our top bloggers is at it again. Mardi of Eat, live, travel, write is always challenging herself in her cooking so she has finally taken the next step and took on the Daring Cooks challenge for December with a Beef Wellington dish that looked absolutely delicious. It doesn’t end there her Beef Wellington also made it on the front page of Food Candy. Awesome job Mardi. By the way she will be going to France for 2 weeks on what I call a food lovers dream. In that 2 weeks she will be in Paris and Brittany and if you would like to learn more about her tentative itinerary you can see it at the bottom of her post here. Mardi have a safe and fun trip and post a lot.

If you have seen the post Big Mac: Make Your Own, Have a Party on Local Lemons you would know that not only did the food look delicious and inviting but that one post has spurned, by it’s overwhelming popularity, a new series for Allison in Fast Food Slow… The news doesn’t end there her Big Mac post also made it on the front page of Lifehacker. Way to go Allison with the 2 for 1 this week. Check out her second post for the series Fast Food Slow: Homemade Chicken Nuggets. What will she come up with next? Follow her to find out.

Let’s give congratulations to Jen of Tiny Urban Kitchen who made it on the Food Buzz Top 9, for the first time, with her Oven Roasted Kale "Chips". Great job.

This week we saw an addition to one our favorite Bento blogs. Pikko at Adventures in Bentomaking announced that you can now find her on Facebook. So stop by and become a fan.

This announcement popped up today but I decided to include it on today’s post because next Friday is Christmas.

Meghan from Travel Eat Love also one of our top food bloggers also made it to the front page of Food Candy with her Wednesday food and wine post. I must say I have to really thank Meghan because she and her new website were the catalyst for this new series. Thanks Meghan.

I wanted to leave this item for last. It’s not food related but it does involve a member of our foodie universe. Today Jennifer Finnigan who goes by the twitter name @Jennigan will be carrying the Olympic torch in Canada today at 1:39pm PST. This is the link she posted http://www.ctvolympics.ca/ to watch! I just recently became a follower of Jennifer on twitter and I think this is going to be an awesome experience for her. Let’s give her our support.

Well that is it for today. If I have missed any recognition, blog changes or new food blogs this week I do apologize as I can only go by what I pick up from the bloggers I follow. If you would like to have any recognitions, blog changes or new food blogs posted up just let me know either by direct message on twitter @allingoodfood42 or by email at allingoodfood@gmail.com

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Be well, safe and happy.



So until next Friday Itadaki masu.

Well it is Friday and we have a lot to recap on for the past week. We have see a lot of activity in the food blog world from new bloggers to existing bloggers being recognized for there efforts. So let’s get started. This week we begin with recognition that came about a few days before the inaugural post of this series under the name of Foodie Blog Updates.

Food blogger Michelle of Taste As You Go is no stranger to being recognized to her excellent writing. This time Taste As You Go has been added to the Blogroll for Citizen NYC that recognizes who they feel are the best blogs around NYC. Taste As You Go was also voted as one of the Best of the Week (December 4, 2009) on Sweet Foods Blog for the post Samsung “Skill It” Event with Food Network’s Melissa d’Arabian. Way to go Michelle keep up the good work.

Thanks to Michelle of Taste As You Go for introducing us to a new food blog From Seed to Stomach by Andrea D. According to her blog she wants to explore real food from its source to the plate. Check out her blog I really enjoyed reading her posts. They are written in a straight forward and non-pretentious manner. You can tell her heart is in what she is writing about. So visit the blog and see for yourself.

Most of us know Taste Stopping as a place were bloggers can go to post their foodography and get a fair and objective assessment of their photos. Well Taste Stopping will also be heading to Camp Blogaway in May 2010 as a presenter showcasing the very foodograhpy that many blogger have submitted. Keep up the good work.

Again one of the veteran bloggers Dara of Cookin Canuck has had some of her recipes featured in Saveur Magazine’s newsletter and holiday guide. Congratulation and hope to see more.

Food blogger Mardi of Eat, Live, Travel, Write is also no stranger to being recognized for her writing. She has been asked many times to attend various food related events and report on what she finds there. Her assessments of these events are very informative and the writing takes you right to the event as if you were there standing right next to her. So it is not a surprise that she would be picked to be on the front page of Food Candy with her recipe Chocolate Chili Con Carne. We look forward to seeing a lot more from you in the future.

This past week several food bloggers have been recognized by Oprah.com in their Food section under Deck the Blogs. These bloggers have been participating in the Share Our Strength 12 Days of Sharing Campaign. For those who do not know Share Our Strength is in their own words “A national organization that works hard to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.” The following blogs were recognized for their participation:

Jen Schall – My Kitchen Addiction
Michelle Stern – What’s Cooking
Gina Rau – Change Becomes Change
Diana Bauman – A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa
Jaden Hair – Steamy Kitchen
Kate Miller – Cooking During Stolen Moments

Check out their blogs if you haven’t already.

Again I have the pleasure of introducing you to a blogger Brad at Eat n Listen. I have corresponded with Brad several times and he is a very nice person. Brad has a very interesting blog with colorful writing and delicious pictures (My fave is the bacon bowl salad). He is what he calls a self proclaimed baconholic and he and his friends love all things pork. He has some very interesting recipes so go and see what happening on his blog.

Well this brings me to the conclusion of my first official post of “Give `Em Props” and I hope you liked it. I hope to improve over time as I really get to know my fellow food bloggers more and more. If I have missed any recognitions, blog changes or new food blogs this week I do apologize as I can only go by what I pick up from the bloggers I follow. If you would like to have any recognitions, blog changes or new food blogs posted up just let me know. So until next Friday Itadaki masu.