Honored

“You know what I can’t stand?” a food writer recently said over dinner. “How many people feel the need to say they’re honored and humbled whenever they write about all the great things that happen to them.”

The table of creative types groaned and rolled their eyes in agreement.  I sat in stunned silence. What’s so wrong about the words honored and humbled?

Another friend added, “I understand if you’ve got lots of great things going on in your life. But don’t waste our time with honored and humbled when a simple thank you would suffice.” Conversation faded to the background. My mind spun. What about these two words could be so offensive?

The more I thought about it, I realized what my friends were really saying wasn’t that the words honored and humbled are bad. Not at all. What they were complaining about was how those words had become trite. But why had so many people (even people like me) used “honored and humbled” so much? Those questions got me thinking about what might really be going on.

What’s the big deal?

It seems that whenever the words honored and humbled appear online, they tend to be followed by a brief announcement of some personal success. If you’ve ever followed @humblebrag on Twitter, you’ll see my friends aren’t alone in noticing a trend in how people communicate good news online.  Some people honestly mean what they say, while others use words like honored, humbled to subjugate a self-congratulatory agenda. Unfortunately, for those who use this phrase often, the predictability of the combination of words has become so clichéd, honored and humbled hold no truth within them any more.

The struggle between balancing core values and a public persona has many of us bloggers scrambling for words that will protect our sense of identity. But the thing is, no matter how humble we may be, the instant transfer of important and mundane details of our daily lives to hundreds, thousands, or millions of followers on Twitter automatically qualifies us as social media show offs. No matter what words we use to try to ease our discomfort in our situation, the truth of the matter remains, our relationship with social media has many of us experiencing an identity crisis.

The meaning of our words

Now that public missives of 140 characters can reach thousands in just seconds, we’re seeing an entirely new form of information sharing and chit-chatting with friends. Because we are able to talk to thousands of people with just one post or status update, we’ve had to toss ancestral principles of modesty and humility in order to embrace a culture of public expression and self-promotion.

A growing majority of Americans using social media (more than 400 million users) has our nation taking a crash course in the very public art of online communication. People who would have never considered the act of self-promotion an attribute worth cultivating have joined the social media flock. Rather than be left behind, the modest types have ignored the pull of their moral compass in order to maintain their place in the modern world.

George Orwell wrote an essay about the deterioration of language in 1945, entitled “Politics and English Language”. In it he wrote that certain convenient phrases are “a continuous temptation, a packet of aspirins always at one’s elbow.” I believe that clichés and ready-made phrases like “humbled and honored” are just the pill many bloggers depend on to continue. I believe that for many bloggers trite phrases help speed up the process of publishing and help to sugarcoat things when we need to make self-promotion more appetizing.

“Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer.  It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable…The attraction of this way of writing is that it is easy…If you use ready-made phrases, you not only don’t have to hunt about for the words; you also don’t have to bother with the rhythms of your sentences since these phrases are generally so arranged as to be more or less euphonious.

People who write in this manner usually have a general emotional meaning — they dislike one thing and want to express solidarity with another — but they are not interested in the detail of what they are saying…if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better.” — George Orwell

Writing and maintaining a blog is a tricky thing. Though it starts as a solitary art form, everything goes public the moment we hit publish. Our private thoughts, images, and recipes are made available to anyone one who chooses to tune in. Whenever we blog, Tweet,  or update our fan page on Facebook, we engage in self-promotion.

So let’s not dance around the subject or pretend that what we’re doing isn’t a form of personal advertising. We need to talk honestly about what we’re doing, rather than rely on an easy way out through cliché.The essential truth is this: we can’t relinquish our power over words for the sake of ease. To quote Orwell, “The worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them.”

Don’t surrender

Ever since starting this blog in 2007, I’ve worked hard to use the words available to me as best as I can. If I can’t come up with something good to say, I hold my tongue and wait for inspiration to strike. When the good ideas arrive, I spend a lot of time with them. To be truthful, I labor over my words until I have a post I can be proud of. I write and write and write and then slay my darlings* so that reading isn’t a chore. At least, that’s what the hope is.

So when I found out that I had received enough votes to qualify me for the nomination for Best Writing Voice. I was full of joy and gratitude. I felt so grateful to be nominated and happy to know that people within the Foodbuzz community cared enough to cast votes for me. I can honestly say that I’m really proud to have been nominated in this category, especially since I’m in the same category with other great writers, especially Greg of Sippity Sup and Linda of Salty Seattle, who inspire me with their unique writing voices.

So, rather than muck things up with humble bragging, I’ll just say this:

THANK YOU

Algonquin Table by Al Hirschfeld (Algrt.jpg‎)

Going on a summer vacation isn’t a unique concept. But a group of food bloggers vacationing together? It’s a somewhat unusual idea, considering how our friendships all began.

We started as strangers with a common bond. We got to know each other over website pages. We forged friendships over Twitter and the occasional get together. Press trips and conferences followed. But rare are the times when we food professionals come together without an conference or PR event to motivate long periods of time together. Unfamiliar are moments that aren’t devoted to networking, talking technology, and sharing food stories.

We’ve perfected the art of eating together. But a vacation?

The plan was simple. A small group of food blogging friends–Matt Armendariz, Adam Pearson, Maggy Keet, and Gaby Dalkin–would gather together at a retro-house in Palm Springs for a mini-vacation. There would be no agenda and no to-do list. We would be without PR wranglers and our time together would be devoid of “break out sessions”. The only objective was to spend time together and relax by the pool.

Later, I would find out there would be wigs. But more on that later.

#PSSalon

I’ve spent my entire artistic career quietly dreaming of a day when I would be invited to sit at a table with great thinkers, writers, artists and confidantes. I never could find my fellows in the performing world. I failed to locate true collaborators in film school. Was my dreamy ideal of a 17th century salon–a place where great thinkers and artists would come together to inspire, critique, and develop their craft–a pipe dream?

Truth be told, it wasn’t until I joined the food blogging community almost four years ago, that I began to experience a modern academy.  How we food bloggers influence, encourage, and drive each other to achieve great things through our online work and social media maneuvering is something to behold. It is exactly what I had been yearning for all these years.

It wasn’t until I took my place at that gaping-holed dining room table in Palm Springs with the likes of Matt Armendariz, award winning photographer and designer; Adam Pearson, a professional food stylist; Gaby Dalkin, a personal chef, driven business woman, and online personality; Maggy Keet, a writer, visionary, and co-founder of the non-profit Bloggers without Borders–that I realized that the hashtag #PSSalon was a true representation of what was happening. We didn’t push. We didn’t schedule. We just let things happen. We coaxed each other to investigate our motives and our professional opinions. We explored hard topics, engaged in witty banter, and artistic criticism.

Palm Springs Salon became a 2011 version of the 1920’s Algonquin Table.

Matt Armendariz and his lovely dogs

The refrigerator was filled to capacity with fresh ingredients, beautiful produce, and handpicked wines. The granite countertops held overflowing bowls of avocados and tomatoes for Gaby. We gathered to cook and clean together and dream up the next meal.

The living room became the gathering spot for laptops and iPhone charging. The dining room table was where we ate, played Uno, and tossed witty banter about the state of our craft. We talked about developing business plans and writing cookbooks as we lounged on floaties and paddled in the sky-blue water of the pool.

There were quiet early morning moments before the sun rose, where we silently sipped lattes freshly brewed from Matt and Adam’s Nespresso machine, caught up on our emails and scanned our brethren’s sites. Between tanning by the pool or cooking up the next meal, we took writing breaks and did work.

When inspiration hit, we grabbed wigs. We developed characters and unravelled intricate story lines from our collective imaginations. We shopped at thrift stores and found outfits so outrageous, fat tears ran down our faces as we laughed at the oddity of it all.

Yes, social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram break open whole new realms of opportunity for friendship. Conferences are great for a quick face to face. But if you believe that the work you do online is more than a hobby, then invest in your craft. Work hard and save your pennies. Find great thinkers and artistic confidantes.

• Think beyond networking and agendas.

• Plug in, get quiet, and invest in yourself and others.

• Luxuriate in roomy exchanges.

• Enjoy the great company of inspiring people.

Life By Me

What is most meaningful to you?

That’s not a question most people have the chance to think about on a daily basis. But if you’re Sophie Chiche, the curator of the inspiring website, Life By Me, you get to contemplate that question every day. On the colorful pages of Life By Me, you’ll find readable interviews from contributors from all walks of life. Sophie documents great conversations with Nobel Peace Prize recipients, massage therapists, designers, visionary leaders, teachers, fellow blogger Chris Gillebeau, and people like me.

What is most meaningful to you in your life?

The speed of today’s modern world has many people devoting their time to the daily monotonous tasks. Without an internal compass driving you to find meaning in the small gestures or be useful in all your actions, the daily task of keeping on top of the bills, showing up to work on time, answering emails, and putting food on the table will grind you down. But small tasks can take on a whole new significance if done with the purpose of giving, devotion, and commitment.

Life is a precious commodity. Why fill up all the spaces with meaningless tasks?

I recently had the good fortune to answer Sophie’s big question of meaning, thanks to a friend who put in a good word for me. I urge you to clear a few minutes from your busy day to spend some time looking around this inspirational online resource. If you’re interested in finding out how I answered the big question of meaning, swing by the website and read my interview here.

Do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Life By Me. Sophie and her team have created a beautiful website that sparks hope, creativity, and a desire to find meaning in the small and big moments. Life By Me makes you want to take positive action in your life to create significance.

Is what’s meaningful to you an ever-changing target?
Or does one thing in your life give you purpose?

In just a few short years since food blogging became an established sub-group of the blogging world, an online community of mavericks blazed a path through the wild west of online food writing. Trend setting men and women like Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, David Lebovitz, Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim, and Shauna Ahern of Gluten Free Girl pioneered an entirely new way of looking at and documenting their experience with the food.

Their work began simply. With time, however, they began to innovate, create, and establish the groundwork for an entire genre. Thanks to their early efforts, where there was once nothing but desert, there grew whole communities of food obsessed artists, consumers, and everything in between.

Recognizing the need for modernization, newspapers like the New York Times and Los Angeles Times brought food reporting online. Magazines added internet features. Media sites like Serious Eats and Eater popped up as impromptu news sources and gossip columns.  Businesses that recognized the financial potential of harnessing the power of public opinion, they created online reviewing sites like Citysearch and Yelp.

The internet was the New World and in short time it was colonized with innovative new food writers, food photographers and stylists, online reviewers, Yelpers, gossips, and opinionated commenters. Innovation begat breakthroughs. In very little time the once small community of “food bloggers” multiplied at great speed.

And yet, there was very little talk about responsibility.

The Food Blog Code of Ethics

Back in early 2009, in a little corner booth at a Los Angeles restaurant, my friend Leah Greenstein and I—two food writers and restaurant professionals—discussed our observation of a disturbing trend within the restaurant community. Inside the kitchens and dining rooms of restaurants across the country, owners, chefs, and service professionals seem to have a mounting distrust of anyone calling themselves a food blogger. We recognized that the restaurant professionals’ swelling dislike of the online food blogging community was due in part to reckless and irresponsible conduct from people who published their views and opinions online. Yelpers wrote reviews with the intention of destroying businesses. Bloggers used their websites as a threat to do harm to restaurants or a business’ reputation.

Leah and I were frightened of what seemed to be coming: an inevitable war between a lawless group of online publishers and the establishment (restaurant professionals, food reviewers, and the law). Rather than be damaged by the reckless acts of others, Leah and I set out to write our own set of guiding principles that carved out a path on the higher ground of ethics. We hoped our manifesto would inspire us and perhaps others, to think about the power and responsibilities of online publishing on a daily basis.

Turns out, our manifesto did get a lot of people talking (and arguing). It spread through the internet like wildfire across an open prairie. Along the way we might have gotten a little scorched, but the positive results outweighed the challenges.

Soon after, the FTC stepped in to represent the first arm of the US Law. The Federal Trade Commission threatened suit against businesses that failed to reveal their financial dealings with influential online publishers. Suddenly, blogs, websites, and even profit-driven media sites began disclosing corporate sponsorships and posting their own code of ethics. Food blogging conference halls buzzed with people having heated debates over the limits of language to protect them from being prosecuted, ridiculed, or devalued for not disclosing freebies, trips, samples, give aways, and other gifts.

In many ways, the Wild West of the food blogging world began to seem a little more civil.

That is, until the mavericks became online celebrities. That’s when the trolls arrived. Hate-mongering individuals who spewed spiteful comments and emails from false accounts began popping up all across the internet.

Then Twitter came along. Twitter opened up whole new territories like a speeding train through the early gold mining towns of the Wild West. Those who did not have time to blog, had time for Tweets. Suddenly, anyone with a thought about food or restaurants could express themselves with lightening fast results. As the speed of everything online increased, the attention to responsibility and accountability dwindled.  Who had time to think about the responsibilities of what they had to say? It was just 140 characters. How much trouble could they get in?

Friends, I see before us another turning point. Though the Wild West of the blogosphere may look a lot less untamed than it once was, many of its inhabitants are still feral.

No matter how much a person might say they don’t have to play by anyone’s rules, one thing is clear: No one is above the law.  It doesn’t matter if you are a commenter, a blogger, a Twitter star, or even an editor of a gossip rag, eventually you will be held accountable for your actions. Courts and government agencies are building cases against the uncivilized. We are expected to be civil.  We should take it upon ourselves to be responsible, accountable, and honorable before someone takes that right to self-govern away from us.

Consider this, if you create anything that goes online, you have power.  If you have power, you have responsibility.

So, in hopes up giving the original Food Blog Code of Ethics a bit of a sprucing up, Leah and I got together to make it a little bit more contemporary (and short).

Please swing by the Food Blog Code of Ethics 2.0 to see if the code we wrote works for you.

Today I am moderating a panel at the Western Foodservice and Hospitality Expo with Brad Metzger of BMRS, to speak about the relationship between online food writers and chefs. If you happen to live in (or near) San Diego, please come by and join in on the conversation. See you there!

“I was thirsty you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

When many of us in the food blogging community learned of the tragic loss of Jennifer Perillo’s husband, Mikey, we felt the compelling need to give something of ourselves. We banned together in great numbers and reached out to each other and to Jennie with prayers, words of hope, and images of compassion.  Thousands of us followed Jennie’s simple suggestion of baking a peanut butter pie in remembrance of her beloved. The baking and sharing words of support via the #apieforMikey Twitter meme, soothed our collective ache of grief.

Late Friday night I received an email from my big-hearted friend, Shauna from Gluten Free Girl. She asked via a moving letter if a handful of trusted friends would be available to help participate in an effort to raise money for Jennie. Her email explained that with Mikey gone, Jennie faces some rather significant challenges in the not-so-distant future. Their medical insurance will end in December. The policy’s monthly renewal rate will cost more than the family’s monthly mortgage.

Shauna suggested we offer up gifts of ourselves–a service, a food item, a piece of art–for a fund raising auction. Thanks to the assistance of a non-profit organization called Bloggers Without Borders, every item auctioned off will result in real dollars to be donated into a fund created specifically for Jennifer and her two little girls.

In case you haven’t heard of Bloggers Without Borders yet, it’s because it is a newly formed non-profit organization for bloggers, by bloggers. Co-founded by my friend and accountability partner, Maggy Keet (Three Many Cooks) and Erika Pineda-Ghanny (Ivory Hut), this non-profit organization strives to use the diverse resources of bloggers to help other bloggers and people in need.

You can follow what’s happening on Twitter with #AFundforJennie. #AFundforJennie is a call to action for anyone willing to give generously of themselves via donations of money or of items of self. This fundraiser is our chance to step beyond what feels comfortable and give in a more substantive way.

To make a direct donation now, click that big BWOB DONATE button above.

A piece of me for a friend in need

As a restaurant consultant, I am in the business of service. I help restaurant owners and leadership teams focus on their long-term vision for their business, empower staff, and educate teams on how to give great service to customers. The more I teach the art of customer service, the more I realize that the work I do has roots in the ancient teachings of compassion and generosity. Great spiritual teachers throughout the ages teach the need to make a purposeful effort to improve the conditions of others. The lesson is simple: if we want to have happy and fruitful in business and in our lives, we have to be generous of spirit and give of ourselves authentically.

So when you live a life of service, there isn’t space for hesitating when you are called to be of assistance to a friend in need. All there is room for is YES, WHEN, and HOW MUCH. You just do it.

Finances are tight right now for lots of us. I know. I’m right there with you. Perhaps a generous donation is just far too much than what your bank account can handle. But if you do want to get involved, please spread the word via Twitter, or sign up to auction off something you care about on your blog. Donations will be sent via Pay Pal to Jennie through Bloggers without Borders.

Fish Sculpture in Steel Wire by Brooke Burton

I am auctioning off two items for Jennie’s fundraiser: art and service. First up, a wire sculpture. This fish is one of my original wire sculptures like the kind I sell on Etsy, constructed from a single strand of steel wire (reinforced with galvanized steel). This fishy measures 8.5” x 10.”

Bidding to start at $40. Shipping not included.

If you would like to bid on any of my auction items, please leave the amount you are bidding, and for what item you are bidding, in the comments section of this post.

Visioning Workshop helps you know what direction your life/career is going

Next offering is a mini-Visioning Workshop. If you are looking to take your blog or career to the next level, then this is the workshop for you. I will lead the highest bidder through a structured, three-phase process that will help you get clear on what actions or steps will need to be taken in order for you to achieve your goals and aspirations for your blog or career.

I will help you see beyond the obvious goals of making money (or getting lots of blog traffic) and lead you to explore what unique skills/products/services/talents you have in order for you to work towards a compelling and satisfying future. I’ll help you see what you need to do in order to draw a dedicated customer/readership base and give them what they’re looking for. If you’re ready to start doing the hard work of exploring your goals and aspirations for your business or blog, then this is the workshop for you.

This abridged workshop will be conducted in three over-the-phone sessions (or in person if you live in LA). Each session will last about an hour. This workshop will require  the participant be committed to doing a fair amount of homework.

Minimum Starting Bid: $200

Please leave the amount you are bidding, and for what item you are bidding, in the comments section of this post.

Important notes about my #AFundforJennie auction:

• Auction item payment method will be discussed independently between the winning bidder and myself via e-mail.

• Full payment will be made to Jennie via the Bloggers without Border’s Paypal account.

• Please be sure to put a correct email address with your comment so I can get in touch with you!

• These items will be available for auction until Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 12 pm.

• The winning bidder of the Visioning workshop will have until 2/28/12 to claim their session. Please note that advanced scheduling will be necessary for the three visioning sessions. Missed sessions can not be made up.

 Thank you for your generosity!

Creole Tomato Salad from Covey Rise Farms

A great trip lingers with you long after you return home. A successful vacation is one where memories are unpacked long after the suitcase is emptied and the laundry is done. For me, the best journeys are the ones that get inside my heart and rearranging things.

It’s been more than a week since I came back from Louisiana and I’m starting to realize that my trip reorganized a few things in my life while I was away: I’ve got new beautiful friendships to foster and a whole new set of cravings to grapple with.

Since my return to LA, my imagination whirls over gems of stories of the Louisiana food world. My daily routine is peppered with flavored memories of diners, ice cream shops, a water-side bar where the locals cook up craw fish outside under a tent, and the all-night beignet restaurant littered with empty plates covered in powdered sugar.

Those memories have been just the reason why I’ve been spending so much time in my  Los Angeles kitchen (the other LA), trying to recreate some of my Louisiana culinary experiences.

Covey Rise Tomato Stand

One dish in particular that stopped me cold in my tracks (which is rather hard in the sweltering New Orleans heat), was a tomato salad I discovered at the Tomato Festival from Covey Rise Farms. Covey Rise is a relatively new 25-acre farm located in Husser Louisiana, that’s dedicated to growing specialty, small-production produce for restaurants and Community Supported Agriculture in the Louisiana Area.

Unlike commercially grown tomatoes, Covey Rise doesn’t gas their tomatoes in order to extend their shelf life. Covey Rise grows Creole tomatoes and other heirloom varietals that are so incredibly delicious, you can’t help yourself but devour them the moment you get your hands on them.

Sandy Sharp is the man behind the successful small farm and oversees planting and production. Sharp works directly with chefs like John Besh, Susan Spicer, Emeril Lagasse, and other prominent restauranteurs to grow produce that meet their culinary specifications.

YouTube video from DocNOproductions

Crawfish Boil in Violet Louisiana

Food isn’t just a meal in New Orleans, it’s a way of life.

Of all the states I’ve visited, I have never been to any other American city where its inhabitants are so closely aware of their cultural history and culinary traditions.

New Orleans is a mélange of spicy cultures (French Canadian, Spanish, Africans, English, German, Italians, and Native American) that has created a uniquely colorful people with strong ties to family, food traditions and a shared heritage.  I was charmed by the stone-lined sidewalks, Creole townhouses with iron-worked balconies, and hotels like the French Quarter’s Bourbon Orleans Hotel that have marketing materials that tout ghoulish history more than amenities. Brass bands paraded through the streets as second-liners [see glossary, below] danced a two step and waved handkerchiefs over their heads in celebration of marriage.

New Orleans after a rain storm

Always, the locals repeated this constant refrain: indulge in the city’s most famous dishes and forget about the caloric aftermath.

Regulars at Camillia Grill

The food tour

For almost one full week, the food blogging tour of Louisiana was given unlimited access to culinary professionals and abundant samples of the state’s culinary bounty. Luckily for our bellies, our itinerary of eating started slow. But as the days went on we managed to shock even ourselves–professional eaters that we are–by the sheer amount of food we were able to consume.

On our first night in the city, Blake Killian, the man behind BlakeMakes, summoned us to our first dinner at Bistro Maison de Ville. Bow-tied waiters served a multi-course dinner dedicated to the theme of showcasing the best of Louisiana seafood. Course after course, we marveled at the freshness of the seafood and the firm texture of the perfectly cooked shrimp.

Camillia Grill

Camellia Grill's exterior signage

The following morning I joined a small, ambitious group of professional eaters (Chichi Wang, Maggy Keet, and Daniel Delany) to sneak in an extra meal before our first official eating excursion of the day. Daniel lead us to Camillia Grill, an all-day favorite with the locals since 1946. We ordered a few classics, including a show-stopping stack of pecan-studded pancakes. I don’t often shorten my words here at Food Woolf, but OMG.

Pecan pancake with maple syrup

After polishing off a Manhattan Omelet (corned beef hash, cheddar cheese and potato stuffed eggs) and pecan pancakes, we staggered through the oppressive heat with swaying bellies. We gathered together under the watchful eye of Blake for a festival celebrating Creole Tomatoes, Cajun Zydeco music, and Louisiana Seafood.

Our fearless leader, Blake

Creole Tomato Festival

Covey Rise Farms:

I discovered another local food treasure at the Creole Tomato festival: Covey Rise Farms, a chef-friendly farm located in Husser, Louisiana. The 200 acre farm grows produce for chefs like John Besh, Susan Spicer, and Emeril Legasse. Their jewel-colored tomato salad was simple, flavorful, and truly remarkable. (Stay tuned for an upcoming post for my version of their recipe!)

Covey Rise Farms

Commander’s Palace Restaurant: Jazz Brunch and Impeccable Service

Commander's Palace has been serving customers for over one hundred years

The next day the group was gathered up to have a fancy jazz brunch at The Commander’s Palace. Located in the Garden District, Commander’s Palace has been a local’s favorite since the 1880’s. The restaurant’s great food and impeccable service proved 1) restaurants really can have longevity 2) hospitality really does have the ability to make customer for life.

Jazz Brunch at Commander's Palace

Menu items like Brandy Milk Punch, turtle soup–finished table side with a flourish of sherry–or Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé, gave guests a taste of the way Louisiana natives have been eating for decades.  The restaurant’s southern hospitality shone through in all the little things they did–from pulling out a chair, to telling local history, or attempting psychic service for a guest unable to make up their mind. The quality of the James Beard award-winning service and pleasantly attentive staff was so good, I think I may end up writing an entire post about the service.

Hansen’s Sno-Bliz

Hansen's Snowbliz--my favorite new food from Louisiana

After a full brunch, we boarded our bus and drove across town to  Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, for my first ever snowball–an icy, sweet concoction that was a perfect for a blazing hot summer’s day. More than just a simple snow cone, this handmade icy treat was created in 1939 by Ernest and Mary Hansen.

Orangeade with Vanilla Ice Cream Snow-Bliz? Yes, please!

What made this special shaved ice concoction so special? The Sno-Bliz team used an ice-shaving machine invented by Ernest himself that created a fluffy, snow-like ice that was drenched in a homemade syrup and, in my case, was packed up with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. The multitude of toppings, fillings, syrups and flavors had everyone’s mind reeling with the possibilities. I decided to go for a classic creamsicle-type flavor combination of Orangeade and vanilla ice cream. Of all the new flavors and tastes that Louisiana had to offer, Hansen’s Sno-Bliz was by far my favorite. It’s definitely a sweet treat you can’t help but immediately start craving once you’ve tasted it’s chilly, sweet goodness on a hot and steamy day.

Ice has never tasted so good (If you don’t believe me, check out what Adam Roberts has to say about Hansen’s).

The New Orleans School of Cooking

Anne Leonhard of The New Orleans School of Cooking

With our stomach’s stretched to the limit, the group gathered together for a cooking demonstration at the New Orlean’s School of Cooking. None of us could have ever expected that the cooking school teacher Anne Leonhard would end up serving us one of our favorite meals. Equal parts Paula Deen and Julia Child, Anne wowed us with her food knowledge, charm, and history of her beloved city–all while she cooked up decadent shrimp bisque, crawfish etouffée, and pralines.

“While you’re in N’awlins y’all gotta forget about the calories,” Anne said. Thanks to Anne, we all did.

Anne Leonhard, You should be The Next Food Network Star

It didn’t take long for Anne to win our hearts and kick-start our appetites. With just a few y’alls and a couple of salacious Cajun jokes, Anne had us going back for seconds (Blake had dibs on picking the praline pot clean) and whispering casting suggestions for Anne to be The Next Food Network Star.

Outside of New Orleans at De Pope Launch and Tavern

The next day was spent on the road. We were surprised to discover our off-road destination: De Pope Launch and Tavern. Located off a short dirt road, the bar was a local’s haunt.

Bartender and regular at De Pope Launch and Tavern

I was amused by the odd charm of the bar, which was owned by a football “super fan” known as The Pope. In his bar the big screen television played the pivotal 2010 Super Bowl match up of the Saints vs. the Colts on a continual loop. Outside the locals boiled up a spicy crawfish boil with soft-boiled potatoes and tender sweet corn on the cob.

Crawfish Boil at De Pope Launch and Tavern

Other Great Culinary Finds in New Orleans: Napoleon House

If you’re looking for a great atmospheric bar and a killer muffaletta, I suggest you swing by Napoleon House. A historic, sepia-washed bar off Bourbon Street, this charming bar mixed antidiluvian libations and served gargantuan muffalleta sandwiches the size of hub caps. The staff and the decor of the room had me day dreaming of the bar’s early days back in 1821.

Stanley Restaurant (and the little next door)

Stanley's Make-your-own ice cream sandwich

Stanley had one of the best iced coffee’s in town and a crave-worthy make-your-own ice cream sandwich that included a variety of cookie choices (chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate chip) and classic ice cream flavors (chocolate, strawberry, peanut butter chocolate chip). For me, no day was complete without an ice coffee from Stanley’s.

I’m amazed at how much food I was able to consume in such a short time, and yet, I was able to miss out on dining at some of the city’s most important restaurants. I’m honestly disappointed I wasn’t able to fit in a meal at August or Cochon before I returned home. New Orleans’ has without a doubt made a lasting impression on me, so I’m quite certain I will be back. I hope, for my sake, soon!

NEW ORLEANS GLOSSARY (as defined by the New Orlean’s Visitor’s Bureau)

Cajun: Cajun’s are the French-speaking Canadians who migrated to Louisiana from Nova Scotia, starting in 1755

New Orleans (noo aw-lins)

Second-line: the people who follow a brass band on the street while swinging a handkerchief in a circle over their heads. The second-liner’s do a special shuffle step when they follow the band.

Cajun vs. Creole: Cajun food is the spicy and earthy creation of bayou fishermen and country farmers of the Southwest. Creole food is the cuisine of the multi-ethnic city of New Orleans–finding influences from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

Etouffée: means suffocated in French. As a dish it means that shrimp or crawfish are smothered in tomato sauce and poured over rice.

Gumbo: A Creole signature dish. Gumbo begins with okra (nkomba a vegetable of African origin), ground sassafras leaves (known as filé by the Native Americans), roux (a mother sauce base made by slow-browning flour in fat), rice, and a locally available protein. In the South of Louisiana, the roux is dark and the ingredients tend to come from the waterfront: shellfish, sausage, and rice. Northern Louisiana roux is lighter and tends to be made with venison, duck or squirrel.

Jambalaya: Similar to a Spanish Paella but tends to contain quite a few more ingredients, including: sausage, seafood and Cajun spices.

Full Disclosure: My trip and some of the meals I enjoyed were provided by the Louisiana Seafood Board. I was not paid for my opinions.

“When you think of all the news you’ve seen about Louisiana, what images flash through your mind?” asked Mike Voisin, a seventh-generation Louisiana oysterman. Voisin, the CEO of Motivatit Oysters, paced around the air-conditioned conference room as he spoke to his visiting guests.

An assortment of bloggers and food writers from across the States–hand-picked to observe Louisiana’s seafood industries and partake in the state’s diverse food culture–sat around the conference room table conjuring up images: submerged homes, flood-stranded dogs, desperate men and women on rooftops waving white sheets for help, oil-slicked wildlife, and tar-soaked birds.

“We are not what the perception of what the media has made us,” Voisin said. Despite the fact that almost one hundred percent of the state’s fisheries are open and functioning and have passed national and state testing for health and safety, much of the seafood buying public fear the Gulf-state’s products aren’t safe to eat. According to Voisin, the unprecedented attention of the media has given Louisiana’s seafood industry a bad reputation.

“It’s kind of hard to get that image of an oil slicked pelican out of your mind when you’ve seen it a million times, isn’t it?” Voisin said. “Louisiana has a branding problem…We have shrimp, crabs, and oysters but what we don’t have are people willing to buy.”

The uniquely difficult challenge facing the Louisiana seafood industry is exactly why Louisiana Seafood Promotions and Marketing Board decided they needed to reach out to consumers in a revolutionary way–through food.

An Invitation to see the real Louisiana

When it comes to news headlines, a couple of things sell really well: natural disasters, tragic loss of life, celebrity gossip, hero stories, and adorable animals.  When one single news event touches all these aspects with one soaring narrative, it’s a media goldmine.

Blame it on the perfect storm of natural disasters that’s befallen Louisiana over the past seven years, but the state has certainly been the source of a lot of headline news. With Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Deep Water Horizon’s oil spill in April of 2010, international media teams swooped into the coastal state to document the disasters. Stories of tragedy, redemption, faith, hope, celebrity interest, and distress were easy to find in this Creole/Cajun state.

Thanks to a huge influx of money to the state of Louisiana, much progress has been made in just one year since the oil spill. Houses and businesses have been rebuilt, fisheries and rice fields are producing again, and tourism is improving (According to the tourism board, the state earned 5.3 billion dollars in tourism last year). Yet despite the positive changes and commitment to becoming a strong and successful state, Louisiana’s seafood industry is struggling.

Seeing a problem, Louisiana’s Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board did some research and quickly realized the general public couldn’t get over the horrifying images of the past so easily. So, in order to change perceptions about the seafood and motivate people to start buying Louisiana seafood again, they began devising a different sort of plan to get the word out.

Rather than coming up with slick slogans, cunning advertising, or a give away contest, the Seafood Board decided to call upon a handful of trusted voices in the food world to come and experience Louisiana from a culinary and cultural point of view. Who better to get the word out about a food crisis than a bunch of hungry and inquisitive food bloggers?

Bloggers (Amateur Gourmet, Serious Eats, Family Fresh Cooking, and Three Many Cooks) observe the day's blue crab catch.

The ever-gracious Blake Killian assisted the Seafood Board to create an itinerary that included tours of fisheries and seafood processing plants, restaurants, food festivals, interviews with chefs and culinary professionals, and day trips to observe the state from a local’s point of view.

They asked people like Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites, Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim, Adam Roberts of Amateur Gourmet, Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks, and a handful of other top food voices to report back to our millions of readers just what we learned. So when Blake Killian asked me to join this incredible group, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I was honored to be asked to attend this week-long event based in NOLA.

Post Katrina Crabbing

I flew to New Orleans for the first time. I was immediately struck by the city’s rich history and incredible culinary past. I was anxious to learn about the French-Quarter, the city’s rich past, and taste the culinary treasures of the city. After a weekend of relentless eating* the group was bonded and ready to explore the factual aspects of Louisiana seafood.

We rode west to Slidell, Louisiana where Pontchartrain Blue Crabs fisheries were located. Lake Pontchartrain was an area hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. Along with the destruction of homes, businesses, estuaries, boats, docks, and wildlife, the storm destroyed the fishermen’s only true link to income: crab processing plants.

Lake Pontchartrain Blue Crab Meat

A handful of us grabbed our cameras and headed out via boat onto Lake Pontchartrain to observe a fishermen catching pots of crabs. As with any fishing endeavor, catching crabs is time a consuming and body-taxing job. There are pots to pull from the water, crabs to sort through (be careful of their claws, the really can hurt you!), and baiting to be done with each and every trap. Though the work may seem appealing for anyone who loves the sea, the only sexy thing about crabbing was the guy catching the crustaceans.

Maggy Keet of Three Many Cooks photographs something beautiful

After grabbing a small pot of crabs, the group returned to see the next step in the fishing process.  We were introduced to Gary Bauer, owner of Pontchartrain Blue Crabs, a no nonsense man with a thick Louisiana accent. Bauer told us how his modest processing facility was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The lake’s water raised up over 18 feet and washed everything away. Everything, that is, except a concrete slab.

“I built this dock around this slab, just to remind me,” he said laughing.

Gary Bauer, Owner of Lake Pontchartrain Crab

A friendly man with a clear understanding of his business’ integral role as a commercial link between fishermen, their catch, and the consumer, Bauer was compelled to quickly rebuilt his facility after the hurricane. If he didn’t rebuild, he explained, the local fishermen and crab-pickers wouldn’t have work.

“I rebuilt as soon as possible to keep my workers,” Bauer said.

It was quiet outside on the dock, save for the sound of boats pulling up to unload their catch.  Before stepping through the doors into a temperature controlled processing center, we nervously chuckled and snapped photos of ourselves wearing not so flattering hairnets.

Once inside, many of us were surprised to find tables lined with men and women . There were not machines, here, only hard working men and women doing the monotonous work of cleaning each and every Lake Pontchartrain’s blue crab of its meat. There was no music or news reports playing inside the processing room. In the sterile white walled space,  crab pickers pulled tiny shards of soft crab meat from cracked shells.  Hardly anyone spoke as they used plastic-gloved fingers to pick out the delicate meat.

Quiet industry

“Buenos dias!” Bauer said to his workers. They hesitantly looked up from their work. They couldn’t help but notice the flock of men and women with cameras trained on them like paparazzi. A woman with a serious face spontaneously smiled at the folly of food photographers like a movie star. The group of workers burst out laughing.

Relieved of the awkward tension, the group responded. “Buenos dias,” the workers said in a sing-song unison voice.

Once the group was outside, Bauer spoke to me about his business. “I put ads out all the time for local help,” Bauer said. “But no one in the states want to do this job.”

“Each year it gets more difficult to get government permission to bring in laborers from Mexico.” Bauer said. He currently employs workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries using the H1-B work visa program which allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations like crab picking. Bauer is proud that most of the people working in his processing plant are returning workers from other countries.

As we loaded onto the bus I felt a new kind of gratitude for every morsel of sweet crab meat I previously only  appreciated for its flavor.  I was attune with the cost of making a high-cost seafood item available at the market. Machines weren’t responsible for what was inside those plastic buckets. People–beautiful, hard working people with families and big dreams–were behind each and every aspect of the delicate, sweet crab meat. I felt a connection to the fisherman, the crab picker, and the committed business man. From now on–I promised myself–every bite of crab meat will come with it a promise to appreciate its history and the many hands that brought it to me.

Humble oysters

Oyster shells at Gold Band Oysters

We pulled off the Delacroix Highway in Hopedale Louisiana in search of Sam Slavich, a fourth-generation oyster man who is facing another difficult year following a long string of hard times. We stepped up to the dock and went aboard his humble oyster boat. Slavich and his crew were quiet as we swarmed their boat and pointed our cameras at their weary faces. We snapped pictures as Sam described his day (it started at five o’clock that morning) and what difficulties he was facing.

Sam Slavich, Oyster Man

“We’ve got a few minutes before we have to unload,” warned Slavich as the sacks of oysters waited to be unloaded by three strapping teenagers with a fork lift.

Slavich explained that the recent weather disasters have significantly depleted the local bayous of their previous bounty. At its peak, Louisiana produced one-third of the nation’s raw oysters. Now, only time will tell if men like Slavich will have the chance to keep oyster farming.  “It will take three years for a crop of new oysters to properly seed,” Slavich told us. Until then, Slavich and his crew will have to tough it out through the lean financial times and wait for their oyster beds to grow into a harvestable, market size. Before, the money was fine. Now, Slavich explained, there’s not much to be made.

Are the waters safe for the oysters, someone in the group asked. “Absolutely,” Slavich said. “These here are high quality cooking oysters.”

Oyster man

After the British Petroleum Oil Spill

The next day we took a two hour drive outside of New Orleans to visit Motivatit Seafood–the company known as Gold Band Oysters around the world–processing plant in Houma, Louisiana.

Once we stepped off the bus into the blazing heat of Louisiana, the group was lead to a chilly conference room at the heart of the Motivatit oyster processing plant. Mike Voisin, the CEO of the company and seventh-generation oyster man, didn’t waste much time getting to the heart of his story.

Mike Voisin, CEO of Motivatit Seafoods

This was his family’s business–eight generations’ worth–of men and women who have built a business around Louisiana’s rich natural resources. Of the many family members working for the company, Mike introduced his son Kevin and his daughter’s husband, Jason Gilfour, to the group.

The Voisin family’s oyster farming lineage includes Mike’s father whose love for invention lead him to invent a system that revolutionized oyster processing. Through much trial and error, Mike Voisin’s father invented a machine that uses a high pressure water system to clean the exterior of oyster shells and consequently kills spoilage bacteria (giving it 7-14 more days of shelf life) and shucks the oyster in one fell swoop.

An oyster worker at the dock

Technological progress aside, Louisiana’s oyster industry is struggling. Since the oil spill, Louisiana’s oyster production fell 50 percent. As a result, Voisin’s family business lost 40 percent of its revenue. The company had to let go of about 30 processing employees and 40 to 60 boat captains and deckhands.

Beyond the physical effects of hurricanes and oil spills, people like the Voisin’s are fighting hard to assuage consumer fears about their products.

What are the risks?

According to reports, scientists from NOAA and EPA have done two-tiered tests (sensory and chemical testing for hydrocarbons) and have found Louisiana oysters to be safe for eating. According to many in the seafood industry, including Dr. Jimmy Guidry a Louisiana State Health Officer, oysters have received more testing for hydrocarbons now than ever before in the history of Louisiana. Louisiana will use $18 million from oil company BP to test 400 samples a month for the next 20 years to step up testing and monitoring Gulf seafood .

“People don’t want to believe what the government says, when they say that everything is alright,” said Kevin Voisin, a Marketing manager at Motivatit. “People understand when there’s something wrong.”

Workers at Motivatit Seafood

Much of the devastation that rocked Louisiana continues to threaten the livelihoods of many within the state. Yes, billions of dollars have been spent rebuilding, cleaning up the oil spill, and getting families and businesses on track. But Louisiana’s brand has definitely been tarnished.

Chef Brian Landry of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board noted that once people see Gulf seafood and taste it for themselves, they understand just how good it is. “Putting a plate of seafood in front of someone goes a long way toward changing minds,” said Landry.

As a food lover and health advocate, I definitely had my concerns about the safety of Louisiana’s seafood. In going to Louisiana I was given a much better understanding of the place, the people, and the history of this historic culinary destination. Honestly, when I was invited to attend this trip, I had no idea I’d be introduced to so many culinary professionals and be given unlimited access to the humble men and women of Louisiana’s seafood industry.

From the struggling oyster farmer, the handsome crab fisherman, the helpful server in a tiny neighborhood diner, to the outspoken businessmen–each and every person had a story to tell about the importance of Louisiana’s food culture. I can honestly tell you based on what I observed is that Louisiana is not only producing healthy agriculture and farming fresh seafood, they’re doing it in a much safer way than ever before.

“That’s why we want to show you this unique place,” said Mike Voisin. “[Louisiana is] tied to its roots. It’s culture. It’s land. Our resources are rich.”

“What can you do to help the Louisiana Seafood industry,” one blogger asked. Without skipping a beat, Mike Voisin had an answer.

“Buy Louisiana seafood.”

Seeing (and tasting) really is believing.

*There were so many great eating excursions on this trip I will be writing an entirely separate post about the food. Stay tuned!

Full Disclosure: My trip was furnished by Louisiana Seafood Board. I was not paid to write or to furnish my opinions. My opinions are solely my own.

My iPhone Short on YouTube

Shooting New Orleans on my iPhone (Photo Credit: Matt Armendariz)

I’m a film school grad, but you wouldn’t know it from reading this site. You’ve never read any drafts of my screenplays, I don’t rant about movies, and you’ve certainly never seen any short films. But the times they are a changing, my friends.

Don’t worry. I’m not looking to change the way I do things around here, but when I realized I could shoot and edit great photos and even make a short film with my iPhone, I started to re-think my Luddite ways. Why not take advantage of all this new-fangled technology that’s at my finger tips (literally).  I can not and will not slip into default mode of being a slow adopter of new technology. No sir!

So taking a cue from all my tech-savvy food blogging buddies, I join the world of amateur video. And it’s about time.

Now before you spend the two plus minutes watching my humble video post, I should mention that the subject of this short is about a five day trip to New Orleans I just got back from. Thanks to the generosity of Louisiana Seafood Board, I was flown to Louisiana (along with a handful of this country’s top food bloggers) for a tour of New Orleans’ culinary scene and Louisiana’s fisheries and seafood processing plants. The excursion was designed to show us (and give us tastes of) all the great seafood that Louisiana has to offer.

It was an incredible trip that has my mind spinning, stomach extended, and photo library brimming with so many incredible photos I’ve been struggling to figure out where to begin. So rather than start off with an extra long essay on the subject of Louisiana seafood, I thought I’d start you off with a brief visual teaser of what’s to come.

So without any further ado,  I present to you my first iPhone short film.

Food Blog Masters trip to New Orleans

*Full Disclosure: My trip was furnished by the Louisiana Seafood Board. I was not paid to supply any opinions or material on the behalf of the organization or the state of Louisiana.

Something I would never expect happened to me today. I was browsing in the baking section at one of my favorite cooking supply stores and day dreaming about baking. I know. It’s a miracle. Or maybe it’s the Food Blogging Bake Sale for Share our Strength that’s got me thinking about something other than getting over my fear of baking.

Today is a day dedicated to all things baked because I’m helping with all sorts of preparations for tomorrow’s nation wide bake sale. The second annual Los Angeles Foodblogger Bakesale—organized by the fabulous and extraordinary Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking—is the flagship city for the nation-wide event that gathers the nation’s top bloggers/food writers/and chefs to raise money for Share our Strength, an organization striving to eradicate childhood hunger in America by 2015. I’m excited to be part of this talented pool of food lovers who are gathering up all their best baked goods to bring awareness to this very real problem that’s happening in your city and, more than likely, in your neighborhood.

I couldn’t think of a better reason to spend all day in the kitchen.

Several months back I shared a deeply personal story about a difficult time in my life when I was a hungry kid. Luckily, childhood hunger wasn’t something I had to face for a very long time, but those early experiences of asking for help and being denied assistance changed me. Having a door slammed in your face when you’re a hungry kid has a way of affecting your relationship with food and the rest of the world. It’s taken me a long time to feel comfortable sharing my story, but I knew it was important to reveal the honest truth to bring light to a subject matter that many people believe only affects a marginal group of people in our country.

But the fact is, at least one kid in ten is hungry in America. Not just in the cities. Not just in the poor rural areas. In just about every school in America, there are kids struggling to find food to fill their empty bellies.

There’s more hunger in the classrooms than you’d care to believe. In rural and urban schools, a majority of kids (65%) aren’t getting fed well at home and must rely on school lunches for their main source of nutrition. Considering the fact that many children must rely on schools to feed them, SOS has a number of summer lunch programs in place to make sure summer vacation is something all kids can look forward to.

So whether or not you are in Los Angeles or are near another city that’s hosting a Food Blogger Bake Sale, you can donate a few dollars here to support the cause.  And if you are in Los Angeles and have something of a sweet tooth or want something healthy and good, I highly recommend you swing by BLD (7450 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036) for a treat. You will not be disappointed.

Alabama
Hosted by Alison and Jason of Ingredients, Inc and The Messy Epicure (Birmingham)
On the corner of 18th Street and 29th Avenue in downtown Homewood (10:00 – 3:00)

Alaska
Hosted by Laura of What’s for Dinner Mom?

Arizona
Hosted by Janet of La Due Crew (Scottsdale)
Scottsdale 5th and Wine (7051 E. 5th Avenue Scottsdale, AZ 85251)

Arkansas
Hosted by Christie of Fancy Pants Foodie (North Little Rock)
6th and Main, North Little Rock – Adjacent to Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market

California
Hosted by Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking (Los Angeles)
BLD Restaurant (7450 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90036) (11:30am – 2pm)

Hosted by Anita, Annelies, Shauna and Irvin (San Francisco)
18 Reasons, 593 Guerrero St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (10 AM – 6 PM)
Kiehl’s, 2360 Fillmore St, San Francisco CA 94115 (12 PM – 4PM)

Hosted by Marie of Meandering Eats (San Diego)
Great News! Discount Cookware and Cooking School (Pacific Plaza – 1788 Garnet Avenue San Diego, CA 92109) 10:00 – 2:00

Hosted by Veronica of Muy Bueno Cookbook (Valencia)
Westfield Valencia Town Center Shopping Center – Sisley’s and TGIF entrance (24201 West Valencia Blvd. Valencia, Ca 91355)
3pm – 7pm

Hosted by Charlie of Charlie Bakes (Palo Alto)
Town and Country Village (in Palo Alto) near Peet’s coffee (10am – 4pm)

Colorado
Hosted by Yvette of Muy Bueno Cookbook (Littleton)
Highlands Ranch Music Arts Festival at Civic Green Park (11 a.m.-8 p.m)

Florida
Hosted by Renée of Flamingo Musings (Miami)
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables FL from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m

Hosted by Julie of The Little Kitchen (Central Florida)
Cork and Olive Wine Bar & Store (storefront) located at 4247 W. Lake Mary Blvd in Lake Mary

Georgia
Hosted by Tami of Running with Tweezers (Atlanta)
Phipps Plaza – in front of the Williams-Sonoma store during the Luxury Living Show. (10 am – onwards)

Illinois
Hosted by Maris of In Good Taste (Chicago)
The Poison Cup 1128 W Armitage Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60614 (Time: 12:00 – 3:00)

Kansas
Hosted by Nikki of Adventures in Baking (Lawrence)
1729 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, KS, 66044 (8am – 1pm)

Massachusetts
Hosted by Kathy of Mother May Have (Somerville/Boston)

Minnesota
Hosted by Kate of Kate in the Kitchen (Minneapolis/St.Paul)
Midtown Global Market, 920 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, MN 55407 (11am – 4pm)

Missouri
Hosted by Stef of Cupcake Project, Kimberly of Rhubarb and Honey and Andrew of Andrew Mark Veety (St. Louis)
Sappington Farmers’ Market (8400 Watson Road St. Louis) from 10-2

Nevada
Hosted by Julie of Peanut Butter and Julie / Julie Anne’s All Natural Granola
Kiehl’s at Forum Shoppes at Caesars 3500 Las Vegas Blvd. South 89109 (12:00 – 5:00pm)

New Jersey
Hosted by Amanda of Our Italian Kitchen
Heaven Hill Farm and Garden Center (451 New Jersey Rt 94 Vernon, NJ 07462) 10:00 am – 4:00pm

New York
Hosted by Maggy of Three Many Cooks (New York City)
Kiehl’s 109 3rd ave New York, NY 10003

Hosted by Shelby of The Life & Loves of Grumpys Honeybunch (Albany)

North Carolina
Hosted by Matt of Green Eats Blog and Johanna of Johanna Kramer (Durham)
Vega Metals, 214 Hunt Street, Durham, NC (right around the corner from the Durham Farmers’ Market)

Ohio
Hosted by Rachel of Pearl Strings (Dayton, Ohio)
The Greene Shopping Centre in at their community booth from 12pm-4pm

Oklahoma
Hosted by Ashley of Cinnamon Vanilla (El Reno)
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Red Barn @ Canadian County Historical Museum 300 S. Grand El Reno, OK 73036

Pennsylvania
Hosted by Julie of Ella Rose Entertaining (Philadelphia)
A Full Plate Cafe – 1040 N. American Street – Philadelphia, PA 19123

Texas
Hosted by Bonnie of Sweet Life Bake (Edinburg)
Edinburg Texas Market Days. (8am to 2pm)

Hosted by Stephanie of Sunny Sweets (Houston)
Kiehl’s 4076 Westheimer Rd., Houston, TX 77027

Washington
Hosted by Keren of Frantic Foodie (Seattle)
Uptown Metropolitan Market 100 Mercer St, Seattle (9:30 Am to Noon)

Hosted by Rachel of The Fromagette (Bellingham)
Village Books 1200 11th street Bellingham WA 98225 (10am – 12pm)