Congrats Courtney!

You were the lucky number in the Food Network magazine giveaway!  Woot!!  I’ll be sending you your magazine soon.   I hope to have more giveaways as time goes on so stay tuned.

I will be updating this blog more frequently once things settle down.  I just got a new a job and found a new apartment.  I’ll be in the midst of moving and starting a new job in the next couple of weeks and may have a lull in posting.  After I get settled, I have lots to talk about.  I’m so excited for these changes in my life and know that they are just leading to more good things like Bil coming here!

Food Blog Inspirations and Giveaway

I don’t remember when I first discovered food blogging, but when I did, I remember being very excited about the prospect. It’s such an interesting community that has really boomed in the last couple of years. When we discussed food blogings in my Food Writing class at school, I was the only one who had ever read one and was able to share a whole list with my classmates. I’m sure they thought I was a complete dork, but I’m ok with that. I thought it would be fitting to have one of my first posts include the blogs that have inspired me to start Lemons and Oranges.

The first is a blog is Culinary in the Desert written by Joe who actually lives in Minnesota. When I first started reading his blog, he was living in the desert (hence the name of the blog), then moved East, and now is back in Minnesota. He gathers his inspiration as I do from food blogs and food magazines and cooks real recipes (and tons of them each week, I’m always amazed at his weekly wrap up posts) that anyone would want to cook in their own home kitchens. He also made one of my favorite meals ever, Thai Beef Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw. I saw the recipe in Cooking Light magazine, Joe made it a short time later, I made it a short time after that and totally loved it (and the changes he made to the recipe). I thought about the slaw while living in Italy quite a few times. Isn’t that weird?

Everybody Likes Sandwiches caught me with her catchy title (because who doesn’t like sandwiches?) and her interesting and healthful recipes. She lives in Vancouver, a city I’ve wanted to travel to since I started meeting some blogging friends through my personal blog that live in the city. She’s fun, funky, and real…and I love her blog!

The day that I decided to really start this blog, instead of just thinking about starting this blog, was the day I won a book from Erin Cooks. Erin’s blog is the perfect mix of conversation, recipes, and photos and is what I strive to have in my blog. And, I can’t wait to get the book! Woo!

In honor of my inspirations, I’m going to do a giveaway! I just picked up the brand new Food Network Magazine and I’m enjoying it so far. I’d like to share, so just leave me a comment by the end of next Tuesday and you could win! I’ll randomly pick a comment and send you the magazine right away!