My Little Trip Home...

After being sick all week, I decided to go home for the weekend and sleep for a few days. My mom has never really been the “cooking type” so I wasn't necessarily craving some of my mother's cooking. In high school, we almost always ate out- I could probably name every restaurant in the North Metro area. We never ate at home.

My dad let me choose where we ate on Friday night, since I have been at college. Our favorite place had always been a Mexican restaurant called Monterrey- it is cheap, fast, and nearby- the perfect combination. I have actually been craving Mexican since I got here, and much to my dismay, neither my sorority house nor dining hall serve mexican food. Obviously, I chose Monterrey for my dinner with the parental units. The excitement had literally been growing inside me all day on Friday, because I could finally eat mexican food! On Friday night, we all went to Monterrey to eat and I inhaled my Nachos Supremos. I've never been so hungry in my entire life. It seemed as if I had been living in the Amazon or something; I was famished. My nachos at Monterrey were one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

I had missed Monterrey greatly; it actually reminded me of being home. I had missed eating with my parents and my sister. We had eaten there so often that it was the equivalent of most people's kitchen table. It was the perfect homecoming dinner!

Bittersweet: Matt's investigation

I typed this in word, and it wouldn't copy to the blog so this is a print screen image...i'll figure it out next time I promise. I'm sorry.

The image it cut off, just click on it and it will link you to the full view. Again, i'm sorry for being retarded.

My favorite dessert

I just returned from having dinner at Brittain, and I do have to agree that the food has more than its fair share of grease, but on the walk back I was thinking about the food I used to savor in Peru. My grandma loves to cook. She used to enjoy watching me eat her food until I just couldn’t take another bite. But my favorite food, or shall I say dessert, was mazamorra morada (purple pudding). It’s a jelly-like dessert with the main ingredient being purple maize, and its serve with a slight layer of powdered cinnamon. Both the smell and the taste are mouth-watering. But the best part of it is that it brings back memories of a special time when my grandma cooked it for me. I was about seven and it was first time crossing the street by myself, without having to hold anybody’s hand. My mom had sent me on the mission of getting my uncles from the small store across the street. I must have been too excited, because as I was running across the street, I fell and scraped my knee, to this day I have the scar of that incident. My uncle had to carry me back crying to the house. My grandma was there and to make it all better she made mazamorra morada for me. The pain seemed to slip away as I devoured it.

Picture: southamericanfood.about.com

MJ Gatorade

Gatorade has a reputation as the drink of champions. They have a Tiger Woods line of products and put out many commercials highlighting great athletes, but this summer, they paired themselves with the pinnacle of athletic achievement: Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is a NCAA champion, a NBA champion, an Olympic champion, and arguably one of the greatest athletes and fiercest competitors of all time. The man's name is known throughout the world, his basketball prowess unrivaled. Gatorade is selling 3 limited edition flavors of Michael Jordan Gatorade. Each flavor has 2 possible wrappers depicting an image and a story about the legend himself. The flavors are new flavors that taste great and are loaded with the usual Gatorade electrolytes. They will definitely help you regain your energy during a workout, but with the stories they address the other side of being an athlete. They put a focus on the power of concentration and will it takes to become a champion. Call it inspiration or placebo effect, but drinking Michael Jordan Gatorade will pump you up to take on any challenge- even physics. It feels like you're drinking some of his secret stuff from Space Jam. I give this drink 6 out of 6 championship rings. Maybe its just me getting too excited over sports history, but I highly recommend that you check out this limited edition Gatorade to inspire your mind and body.

Writing style of McAllester

I made a comment in class on Wednesday about how I felt that in Bittersweet, McAllester seems to arrive at conclusions too quickly. Personally I would appreciate if he conducted a little more internal discussion before deciding that the only way to connect with his dead mother was by going through her old cookbooks. For example: "I wanted to put back together what had long ago been lost and broken. My mother could help me with that, I decided....I should read her cookbooks" (40, Bittersweet). I understand that McAllester is attempting to convey that discovering the ability to connect with his mother was a huge revelation for him. However, I still found it to be abrupt.

He continues to reference to this "revelation" throughout the novel, and I think I have started warming up to this abrupt concept of declaring something. Later on, he writes: "It was time to start being a reporter again, to look at my mother's papers, her recipes, the home movies, to make some calls and piece things together. I would have to accept that some of what I would find would be painful" (121, Bittersweet). Again, after considering the paragraphs preceding the one I have included in this post, McAllester seems to quickly arrive at a solution to his problem of not fully being able to connect to his mother. This time though, it seems less abrupt, possibly only because his style of writing is growing on me.

Bittersweet

I know this isn't relevant to anything, but I just have to say that the book is really interesting. McAllester just writes with a certain style that keeps the reader glued to the book with his intricate, detailed descriptions of what he does or feels about any matter of subject. Not only is it detailed, but he also adds an effect that almost seems as if he is telling you his life's story (even though I know he is) right in front of you, and each sentence and phrase is deals with something that is very dear to him. I definitely liked when McAllester tried to recreate his memory he had ,when he was younger, with his mother when they were creating recipes that dealt with strawberries. In the very beginning of that story, McAllester writes first about when he and his mother went to buy the strawberries. McAllester writes in a sense that allows the reader to visualize what he is talking about and see the close relationship he had with his mother. One of McAllester's most precious memories of his mother is her strawberry ice cream. Because McAllester desperately wants to taste it again, he tries to find the recipe in her cookbook and even Elizabeth David's cookbook, but with no avail. Eventually, he finds the recipe in a random article that he found. After he makes the ice cream and takes his first bite, memories filled with his mother's love just rushed back to him. Truly, this book is a very heart-moving book, and I hope for more to come. :]]



picture: http://www.donnabellas.com/image2/family/mommy-boy-blond.jpg

Brittain's Folly

Tonight dinner in the Brittain dinning hall was a little different that usual. The same food unfortunately, but nevertheless, the cooking style in Brittain was not the same. It definitely wasn't a change for good.

For some odd reason, the hamburgers that are usually readily available in the dinning hall moved from the greasy, electric grill that makes me think of short order diners to charcoal and propane fueled grills lining the narrow corridor leading into the dining hall from the quad between Glenn and Towers. Don't get me wrong, grilling out is sacred to me. Some of my fondest memories come from standing over the hot flames, but the cooks at Brittain seemed not to know something that I learned long ago: The people you are cooking for don't want to smell the smoke, so keep it away from them.

The smoke that was coming from the grills was channeled down the occupied corridor and directly through the open doors of Brittain, irritating every occupant of the dinning hall from the diners to the staff. The smoke could not be escaped. Lets just say this is one of the less memorable and pleasant experiences in Brittain.

This Saturday! Alton Brown in Town!

Hey everyone!

Just a head's up on a "foodie" event, if you're interested. Alton Brown is doing two live shows at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center this Saturday. For those of you who don't know who he is, he's the creator and host of a science-based approach cooking show on the Food Network called "Good Eats" AND the host of the competitive cook-off show, "Iron Chef America". (We'll be watching videos of him later in the semester.)

The shows are at 2pm and 7pm. I just bought a $10 (about $17 after extra "fees) ticket to the 7pm show, which is up in the nosebleed section. You can buy a $175 ticket if you want, but I'm too frugal to do so.

Only go if you think it would be fun to go! In no way will *not* going affect your grade. But if you do go, maybe I'll see you there!

http://www.cobbenergycentre.com/shared/event_detail.aspx?EventID=3847850&WebLink=48B.13B2CA98

ICE CREAM

Last night at the dining hall, with the encouragement of my friends, I had my first ice cream cone since being on campus. Just like Matt McAllester said, tasting that rich creamy vanilla flavor brought back memories of eating ice cream on a hot summer day outside in my backyard while watching my dad cut the grass. It made me think real hard about food since that was the topic in this course. So far, this course has allowed me to really appreciate the taste of food.

On another note, I noticed how Matt McAllester has a way of describing food as if it were right in front of me. He also has a way of capturing the reader because I never read books unless it's required, however this book made me want to find out more about McAllester's life. The author also mentioned Elizabeths Kubler-Ross's description of the five stages of grief (denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) which was something we went over in high school. Here is a link illustrating the five stages of grief: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCoaBN6iOu0

I think McAllester goes through these stages as he is faced with his "mum's" death.

The Impossible has Happened!!!

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had heard rumors but I had immediately dismissed those stories as nonsense. What I was hearing couldn't be possible. But now it was undeniable; it was staring me in the face. I had managed to eat at the dining hall and not get a cheeseburger. I've been on campus since August fourteenth and according to my calculations I have eaten at the dining hall approxiamately thirty times.
Up to this point every time I went I always turned to "old faithful," a cheeseburger. However, tonight the impossible became possible. I managed to eat without having a cheeseburger. It was a horrible mistake. Now don't get this picture of me being an incredibly picky eater. I am in no way a picky eater. Its just that of the limited menu items available at Britian dining hall, a cheeseburger has always been the most appealing. That is until tonight. Tonight a cheeseburger just was not enough. There was only one food that could end my hunger, and the five pieces of pizza did just that.

(Disclaimer: This is just a practice post)

Dante's Down The Hatch

"That chocolate took eight hours to brew." Those were the first words Dante, the restaurant owner, said to us as he sat down at our table. He did not look 106 years old like our server said. He probably wasn't a day over sixty-five. Maybe they just told the customers that to make them laugh.
I was wondering all of this as I sat at a table with six of my friends on August 17th. I had just finished my first day of college classes and was out celebrating my friend Lauren's birthday with some high school friends. We celebrated at one of Atlanta's most famous restaurants, Dante's Down the Hatch.
Dante's Down the Hatch is a jazz and fondue restaurant and club, designed around an 18th century sailing ship. Yes, there is a huge ship in the middle of the restaurant. It is made even better by the fact that you can actually eat on the ship, which is surrounded by a moat which contains two crocodiles and two turtles, which Dante himself rescued. Katherine Heigl was in town filming her newest movie the week before I was there. She, her cast members, and crew ate at Dante's several times while they were in town. If it's good enough for one of my favorite actresses, it's good enough for me!
The main event of the night was of course the fondue itself. We did not have just regular fondue, however. We had chocolate fondue! For those of you who don't know, chocolate fondue is a BIG DEAL at Dante's. It's the most sought after item on Dante's menu. This is because it is so special. Dante's only does chocolate fondue once a day every Sunday through Thursday. This is because the Swiss-honey chocolate is HAND- FOLDED by Dante's chefs and takes eight hours to brew! Even the beautiful arrangement of fresh strawberries, honeydew melon, bananas, and so much more fruit is hand-picked at the market. They even throw in marshmallows!
Like many other people, I would never say no to a night of taking as many different foods as I can and dipping them in a home brewed, warm, honey-based chocolate. That was my first fondue experience and I can still remember the taste of the warm sweet chocolate on my tongue. It felt like Christmas morning in August. It was a night of great conversation and great food. I know what I'm doing next Valentine's Day. As an anonymous person once said, "Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate!"

David Lebovitz/Appetite for China

When I first opened the David Lebovitz artical, I was immediately drawn in by this massive picture of a bowl of clams. Some were open, some were closed. My first instinct was to say "Ewe! Gross!" But the more I looked at it, I found it different, beautiful, unique. This picture hooked me in to reading the rest of the artical. Honestly, I have to admit I was expecting to read about clams, or even goat cheese, which happened to be the next picture. Instead, I found an artical describing one man's life in France, particularly his favorites foods to eat and cook. This artical, when I was reading, seemed like this man was on Good Morning America giving a tour of the finest recipes in France.

He wrote as if he was having a conversation with somebody; I could even picture him looking into a camera. His writing style was very unique. The way he seemed to be talking to the computer rather than typing on it, made everything he said personable and friendly. Although the fact that the artical was very interesting and informing, throughout my reading I was very distracted. Many might consider this a bad thing, but I thought the random pictures mixed within the story showed some humor and personality. What enhanced this artical even more was the credibility. The ads posted on the sides of the artical were all of French businesses or travel info to Paris, and were not distratcing to me at all. Similarly, when I clicked on the about portion the author provided, it was very helpful. This gave the author fabulous credibility. My only critique is that the links page was very messy and overwhelming. Nothing on this page was very descriptive or detailed. (image: Harter, Jess. 2003. Photograph. Regis and Kelly Live, New York.)

The next artical I read was Appetite for China. I personally am a huge fan a Chinese food, thus I had an immediate interest on this topic. I loved seeing the familiar Chinese meals that made me hungry, even though I had just eaten, and being acqainted with new visuals of foods I have never encountered. The short and sweet stories that came with each food image added a very nice personal touch. It is most pleasing when an author relaxes from the standard professional writing and ventures deep within herself to find a story or a meaning to her topic. This is something that the best of schools and occuaptions cannot teach. The layout was also very pleasing, with its vibrant colors, mouth-watering pictures, and easy navigation. This is particularly attractive, as the links on the right side of the page take the reader right to the place he needs to go.

With the author's various encounters and stories with food inside and outside of her own home, it is easy to see that she possesses a very strong background in foods and their preparation. With this amount of exposure and experience, one can easily understand how the author landed up writing for major newspapers and magazines on travel and food such as Time Out New York and Boston Globe.

After reading this artical, I found myself hungry for Chinese food, even though I had recently eaten!

appetite for china & davidlebovitz

appetite for china http://appetiteforchina.com/

The first article that I read was the "appetite for china." This instantly appealed to me because well, I'm Chinese, and I really miss my mother's cooking ( :[[[ ). The first thing I saw that was really interesting was the headline "1.3 billion must be eating something right." The article also doesn't seem to only portray dishes from China, but rather from other countries as well, such as Vietnam; though I am really surprised that the author didn't post up Pho as one of the food items. I liked the article because the author had stories behind each dish, but the story was short, sweet, and to the point. The site is easy to navigate: the links on the right side takes the reader directly to the subject, and the layout of the web page is really appealing to the reader and will always keep him/her interested. The author has had many experiences with food ever since she was a child, for her parents worked in restaurants. Due to that influence, she ended up writing for many food and travel such as "The Boston Globe, Food & Wine, US Airways, TimeOut New York, and World Hum, among other publications" as well as featuring in many television programs: CBS Early Show, KGW, BBC Good Food, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Blogher, and Serious Eats. The author also teaches a cooking class in Beijing.

All this talk of Chinese food reminded me of the time when I was in Taiwan this past summer and just pigging out with my cousin.
Funnn times :]]






davidlebovitz http://www.davidlebovitz.com/

The headline of the article was really interesting and it caught my eye: "living the sweet life in Paris." After seeing the headline, I thought to myself, "Awesome! I've always wondered what people from France eats!" As I went down, the food didn't not seem to appeal to me, for instance, "Warm-Baked Goat Cheese." That kind of overturned my stomach; however, as I got closer to the bottom, the author started getting into the desserts, which was quite appealing to me. Especially since I saw earlier that the author had written at least three books, one was about food in Paris, the other was a book of desserts with a picture of ice cream on it, and the last one was a book about chocolate. The books about desserts were legit, for Lebovitz was even named “Top Five Pastry Chefs in the Bay Area.” Other than the food, the site is really easy to navigate, it reminded me of the layout for the "appetite for china" article. Both articles had links on the top of the page that had his recipes, his autobiography, and even his books. Both authors have a really nice background which helps them attract more people to their blog or website.

David Lebovitz / Organic To Be

I first visited David Lebovitz's blog. The first thing I noticed was the large image of cheese accompanying the first blog post, which immediately grabbed my attention and drew me to the post. Unfortunately, after a few seconds, an ad popped-up and starting playing music, which distracted me from the content of the post.

After closing the ad, I went back to reading the first post. Titled "Warm Baked Goat Cheese," silly me expected to read about warm baked goat cheese. However, most of the post is about living in France, which I found pretty boring. It's not until the recipe at the very end does the author even mention warm baked goat cheese.

Before continuing on with the posts, I took a minute to look over the rest of the website. The right half of the page, divided into two narrow columns, is very cluttered. The images linking to the author's books on Amazon are too small and are hard to read. There are even more ads mixed in with the category and recent entries links and other potentially useful information. If the author is selling books and possibly getting kick-backs from Amazon for saying he uses the featured products, it's very unprofessional to have third-party ads at all.

On a more positive note, the other pages, such as "About" and "Links," are very helpful. The About page is very impressive, and really boosts the author's credibility. The Links page could be useful, but is overwhelming. It would be much more useful if the author provided descriptions about each blog.

The other blog I visited was Organic To Be. Reading the title at the top of my browser ("Organic Recipes Blog, Organic Food, Small Organic Garden Farms, Edible Landscapes"), I expected the content to be similar to the other blogs we've evaluated over the last few days. However, the posts seemed to be personal stories rather than information about organic foods. I'm not saying that's a bad thing - the authors seem to be very good writers - it just doesn't go with the theme of the blog. If that is what you are looking for, then I think this blog is very good.

I can't say much about the site itself. It seems very well put together. The links on the left and along the top give the site instant credibility with lots of useful information about the authors. The website is simple: it doesn't have resources or links to books like David Lebovitz's. Again, this isn't a bad thing - this blog is simple and does what it is trying to well.

Today after church, my grandma cooked me this steak that she calls country style. Basically, it is this chunk of moist, tender steak smothered in gravy with small bits of sauteed onions and peppers. This was served over rice, which acted as a good, solid foundation and contrast towards something so heavy. It was absolutely phenomenal!

This is the closest picture I could find to the real thing. This is really close, and I promise it tastes so much better than this picture looks, especially the home cooked meat.

Gluten-Free Girl/Belachan

The first blog I read was "Gluten-Free Girl". The title itself was acted as a hook, as it made me curious as to the topic of someone actually living a gluten-free lifestyle. My sister was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease. She is still, six months later, struggling with food choices and has lost alot of weight because of this new diet; thus this topic had a very personal effect on me. So, for me, I found this blog very interesting with all the foods and that can be prepared. The author did a wonderful job with providing exquisite pictures and descriptions, that I forgot at some points throughout my reading that this woman was actually restricted in her diet. The blog itself was an easy read because of the pictures and white spaces, but to me it was fascinating. Diseases and medical conditions intrigue me, especillay ones that I can relate with. The author's satisfactory attitude throughout was so encouraging to me that I actually called my sister and told her to read it after I was done. The positivity and wondrous pictures of all that was possible with the gluten-free diet, was very persuasive that this was not depriving at all.

I honestly did not even try the linked sites until my sister called me back about the site. We explored them together and this way we found so many more links to gluten-free foods. We both got very excited and hope to try them soon.

The second blog I read was "Belachan". This article was very unique, as it seemed like the author was writing in a diary. This personal touch was like a breath of fresh air. When in highschool, and in college I presume, it is common to read the in depth, complex, themed novels. This piece was laid back and very casual. It was calming and peaceful to read and even interesting in learning about someone's favorite foods and why they enjoy them so much. Personally, I enjoy reading other people's opinions on various topics because it allows for discussion and comments on why someone feels the way they do. This blog was simple and to the point. Although it was not the most fancy and probably not the most credible, I found it very attractive with its easy read and delicious pictures, and homey tone.

Brittain dining hall experience

I noticed how most blog entries have been relevant to the G5 Foodies articles; I want to give a perspective on another food source that I'm sure you all east campus roomies are familiar with, Brittain.

                Georgia Tech is pushing the “green” lifestyle on campus in hopes to improve the environment.  This is great and all, but if we don't go green for ourselves and improve our physical state then what good is the environment?  We won't be healthy enough to enjoy it to its fullest potential!  My first breakfast experience at Brittain was not green; at all.  I had a personal experience with the health issues of a sausage that turned me against a popular food line called The Grill.  I sat down amongst newly found friends and decided to perform an experiment.  I cut off one bite of sausage and squashed it between a napkin; the grease drenched a total of 4 napkins, for one normal sized bite of the sausage!
                The amount of grease from that single bite of sausage was more than enough needed to cook a pack of sausages on a flat top grill.  I have since then made it a personal choice not to eat from the The Grill or dine on any foods prepared on a grill from Brittain.  I now have found healthier alternatives such as an Apple in the morning before class, which further research has shown that it will give you an energy and focus boost without any crash.  I recommend you all to try this as well as comment about your own personal experiences from the Brittain dining hall.

Giovanni Mannella

Use of Foods in Green Alternatives

My pre-lab assignment for Chemistry 1310 requires a short essay (<~ 250 words) on Biodiesel. Because of its association with renewable lipids and foods (animal fat, vegetable oil, etc.), I thought it would be a good idea (its relevant, I promise), as well as break from evaluating Online Texts, to post this short essay. This is my rough draft, so I may come back and edit later.

Biofuels

The transition to biofuels from petroleum-based fuels, sustained by a small, dedicated following, is emerging due to increasing economic and environmental concerns. Companies such as Propel Biofuels are facing increasing resistance, yet they remain optimistic of an economic environment in favor of ‘green’ alternatives. In my lifetime, I hope to see many problems solved by intuitiveness. Biodiesel is a step, not a solution, in the right direction. In terms of engineering, the greatest environmental impact is to have none.

Competition against well established and funded companies such as Big Oil is a major barrier for the pre-mature biodiesel industry. However, time appears to be its largest ally. The lipids in biodiesel, such as animal fat or vegetable oil, are renewable energy sources. Though petroleum is naturally occurring, its non-renewable status means that its reserves are only going in one direction.

The secondary problem associated with this is the public’s willingness to adapt. Historically and fundamentally, large changes within society take much time, effort, and money. Without local government assistance, regardless of location, establishing a market would prove highly difficult. In the United States, the cost of biodiesel is slightly higher than petroleum-based fuels. Many people would be slow to adapt to an alternative that cost them more, even if it proved to be environmentally beneficial in the longer run.

Even as a small following, I believe a merger is realistic in the future. Though currently clouded by tedious paper processes, strict competition, and funding assistance, biodiesel has the environment on its side.

Picture taken from (http://dieselnews.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/biodiesel-soybeans.jpg)
Last edited: August 23, 2009

Appetite for China & Organic to be

The first of the food blog sites I visited was “Appetite for China”. It instantly appealed to me especially due to the fact that I have always loved Chinese food. Starting from the caption “1.3 billion people must be eating something right” on top of the page to the interesting pictures, everything about this site was impressive. As the title suggests, this is a site based on Chinese food from various regions of China as well as various regions from around the world. The writer of this blog – Diana Kuan – has always been obsessed with Chinese food mainly because of her family. She seems to be well recognized in the field of food. Other than the blog she has written several food publications such as “Food & Wine”. She also teaches Chinese cooking in Beijing.

The site is well organized and is very easy to navigate. The articles are based on very personal experiences and never tend to be boring. They are short, precise and to the point. The food in the pictures look delicious even though they might not be in reality. Hence it creates a lasting impression on the viewers. The space around the page is utilized perfectly with adequate space for ads on the right side of the page. Overall it’s a very professional piece of work and has been featured in shows such as “BBC Good Food”, “Blogher”, “Serious Eats”.

The other food blog site I visited – Organic to be – was rather boring and uninteresting. It lacked the creativity displayed in “Appetite for China”. The page was an endless sequence of words and facts. I must agree that the title on top of the page was a good start but the exciting factor faded as I scanned through the rest of the page. This site is mainly about organic food, farming skills and has a scientific point of view to it. The font size is extremely small and the site lacks pictures which usually attracts viewers. On both sides of the main text, ads have been added ineffectively because none of the text can be distinguished from the other. I think the main objective of this site is to raise awareness concerning food and farming. Overall the lack of colour and interesting topics prove to be the site’s undoing and readers would immediately become uninterested after the first few sentences.

Starting my homework early...

     The first “food blog” I explored was An Appetite for China. I found this particular blog to be very eye-catching, fun, and exciting. This is, in part, because I love Chinese food, but also because the pictures were exquisite! The food in the first picture looked so tasty that it actually made me want to try it. The spinach picture (a few blogs below the first) made the spinach seem so decadent that I briefly forgot how much I hate vegetables. The links had catchy names, such as “i nom food” (the word “nom” means “eat,” by the way) and I found myself exploring all over the blog.

     The writer of this blog, Diana Kuan, is interested particularly in Chinese food all over the world. This is because she grew up watching TV shows about Chinese restaurants in other countries. She is a freelance writer and a cooking instructor who has written for The Boston Globe, Food & Wine, US Airways, TimeOut New York, and World Hum, and many others. Her story was very interesting to me.

     The second “food blog” was Organic to Be, a blog written by multiple passionate bloggers to inform readers of organic recipes, food, and gardens. Although I am a full supporter of organic food, I found this website to be dreadful. The text seemed crammed between the two outer columns, and I had to really focus to get any reading accomplished. The font was way too small and difficult to read, and the topics were boring to me. The whole website seemed a little too heavy on gardening for my taste. Even when I clicked on the link “organic recipes” I was still disappointed with the lack of pictures and the absence of color. Everything seemed so... neutral, bland, boring. I was too bored at that point to even try to continue reading.

Gluten Free Girl/Little Corner of Mine

Gluten Free Girl’s blog seeks to share the joys of food with a world that is full of instant rewards. The opening lines of her blog titled “sliced tomatoes (and smoked tomato salsa)” ask the reader to recall the feeling of winter—something which many of us can relate to in part, but fail to comprehend in full. She then contrasts the lack of color and scent to what her subject is—tomatoes which are in their best behavior around this time of year. Even the photographs are placed tactfully—a large photo of luscious orange tomatoes is placed directly after the statement “I wait all year for tomatoes,” causing the reader to feel the anticipation as he or she pauses momentarily from reading while gazing at the photograph which takes up the screen.

Continuing onward, she uses examples of the effects of tomatoes on those she has known to bring credibility to her argument—her approach to tomatoes is not just a personal phenomenon, but a trend among others as well. This statement makes the reader think, if subconsciously, that there might be something to this love of tomatoes!

Gluten Free Girl then provides a step of action to this thought by providing a recipe so that the reader, to, may experience that same joy of tasting fresh tomatoes. She even makes provisions for the reader who might not have all the tools needed to make it, and provides other methods to achieve a similar result with more common household goods.

There are many ways that she could have arranged her blog, including just posting her recipe, but instead she provided an introduction and got the readership curious about her subject before providing the means of sharing in her love of tomatoes.

Little Corner of Mine has a much less formal approach to cooking than Gluten Free Girl’s blog, instead providing a more diary based blog where she notes different approaches she used in creating various concoctions and how they affected the end result. It uses very informal language, even resorting to using online slang such as “*fume* ß me” to describe her reaction to her “hubby”’s reaction to a cantaloupe based drink. This blog would be a valuable resource to someone already interested in creating food similar to her tastes, as she is quite a regular blogger, usually posting every few days. However, someone stumbling across her blog uninterested in food would not be drawn into trying out her recipes as much as they would by Gluten Free Girl’s blog.

Accidental Hedonist v/s Gluten Free Girl

I visited the two food websites www.accidentalhedonist.com and www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com which not only made me think about food in a different way but also caught my attention with regards to the style of writing in each of the websites.

The first of the two websites-www.accidentalhedonist.com- portrays a style of writing which has a more serious tone to it but at the same time has moments of sarcasm. The reviews are in the form of a report displaying facts and figures. The reviews are written from a worldwide perspective and display certain forms of interdependence between states and countries. For example, one of the articles states that most of the beer produced in North America comes from places such as Bavaria and England. According to the article beer can be categorized into four unique regions of origin - Bavarian, Belgian, British Isles and North America. As the article states, most of us only know beer by their respective brand names such as Budweiser, Carlsberg etc. but it’s interesting to know where the beers are originally from and what ingredients go into the making of different types of beers. Personally, beer is a topic I thought I would never discuss . Can beer be described as a type of food? I don’t think so because people usually don’t look for beverages like beer to satisfy their appetite or hunger. Anyways, this article forced me, even if only for few moments, to look at beer in a different point of view.

The next website - www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com – has a more relaxed tone and the encounters with food are more personal when it comes to the writer. She starts off the article slowly by visualizing the inactive and subdued nature of the winter season. Then she looks at tomatoes as a ray of hope which springs the article into life and all of a sudden there is an energetic feeling to it. As stated earlier, the writer mentions personal experiences by describing the look on people’s faces when they have a bite at a tomato. All this was the prologue to a recipe for smoked tomato salsa. At this point the article tends to get a bit boring as it becomes more descriptive.

As a whole, the writing pattern in the first website is more monotonous with few twists here and there. The latter seems more appealing mainly due to the presence of pictures which emphasizes the importance of media. Another reason is that the second website has a more casual writing style and is better perceived by people. The most striking difference, however, is the fact that the first article mainly stated facts while the second article described a recipe. The target audiences are same as far as the two websites are concerned but the approach is different.