I've Moved!

As of March 10, 2011, Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved to www.laurieconstantino.com. Please update your readers, bookmarks, and front pages to reflect my new site address.

What does this mean for readers? If you subscribe to this blog via e-mail or an RSS reader, you should receive all future posts (please let me know if you do not). If you have this site bookmarked, you need to update the bookmark to:

http://www.laurieconstantino.com

Thank you to all you my friends and readers who have cooked with me over the last few years. Please visit www.laurieconstantino.com to see the new site and read my latest recipes for Pasta Flora (Greek Jam Tart) made with Fresh Fig Jam.

The recipes and stories at the heart of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska will continue unchanged. In addition, the new blog has many exciting new features, including:

• An easy-to-read format that allows readers to quickly access recent stories
• Printer friendly recipes
• A recipe index, accessible by main ingredient, meal course, cuisine, special diet, food type, or recipe title
• An easy to use form for contacting me to ask questions, give advice for how I can improve the site, or for any other reason
• Resources for food lovers, including links to Alaska specialty markets, Alaska food blogs, Mediterranean food blogs, and a massive Greek cookbook bibliography
• A calendar of food events in Alaska and a way to contact me to submit events to include on the calendar
• Information of wild edibles, including resource information on wild edible Alaska plants
• Blog of the Week, a feature to highlight and introduce interesting food and cooking blogs
• A running daily feed of Alaska food news, located on my home page
• A running daily feed of Anchorage restaurant specials, located on my home page

All posts from the original Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska will eventually be transferred to www.laurieconstantino.com; I expect that process to be completed in the next two months.

Recipe: Kale Galette with Yogurt Crust (Χορτόπιτα με Φύλλο Γιαουρτιού)

A few days ago we left Athens on a sunny 80°F day, warm enough to welcome airport air-conditioning. Thirty-six hours later, back in Anchorage, the sun still shone, but the temperature was only 40°F. A chill north wind cut through the lightweight clothing I’d donned on another continent.

When we arrived home, the first order of business was inspecting the garden. We’d heard there’d been a killing frost in Anchorage, so expected the worst. Zucchini, peas, Swiss chard, and most lettuce had been taken out by the cold. Broccoli and cauliflower had gone to seed. Cabbages were perfect and ready to harvest, as were arugula, garlic, onion, herbs, and a small second planting of Lau’s pointed leaf lettuce that inexplicably was unaffected by frost.

The garden’s best producer this year was Tuscan/Lacinato/dinosaur kale. The blue-green strappy kale leaves are lush and healthy despite nighttime temperatures well below freezing. Its perfect condition is remarkable; nearly every other garden plant was plagued by a horde of slugs brought forth by this year’s record-breaking rainy summer.

Having a kale glut seemed like the perfect opportunity to try Ayse Gilbert’s sour cream crust recipe. I used Greek yogurt, an ingredient I always have on hand, rather than sour cream. The dough mixed up easily and was a pleasure to roll out. This is a good crust recipe for beginners; it’s much easier to work with than standard pie crust dough.

With the tangy crust, I wanted a little sweetness to complement kale’s earthy flavor, so included dried currants and lightly sautéed onions in the filling mix. Feta always goes well with greens and I’d just brought some back from Greece that’d been mauled by a customs agent (don’t get me started) and needed to be used right away. So feta went in the mix, along with some garlic and Aleppo pepper.

The filling was well-balanced and its flavors worked well with the deliciously crunchy, flaky crust. Best of all, my friends liked it, the true measure of a recipe’s success.

Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to


http://www.laurieconstantino.com/easy-kale-tart-with-yogurt-crust/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

Announcement: Picturing Anchorage

Erin Pollock and Steph Kese, Artists

From Picturing Anchorage

In addition to Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, I'm now writing/creating Picturing Anchorage, a photographic odyssey of daily walks, on city streets and forests deep, in Alaska's largest city. Picturing Anchorage features urban art, natural wonders, and quirky visuals. Please stop by!

Recipe for Lemony Carrot Ginger Soup (Σούπα με Καρότα, Λεμόνι και Τζίντζερ)

I’m sick and tired of my refrigerator being filled to the gunnels. Something must be done; the situation is dire.

Condiments and ingredients with a permanent spot in the refrigerator are a big cause of the problem. Preserved lemons, sourdough starter, 3 kinds of olives, 10 kinds of hot sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, Asian sauces, capers, anchovies, jam, milk, cream, orange juice, eggs, and who knows what else; it all adds up.

Cheese and salumi are always available at our house. And since I buy them at Costco, the single best source of cheese in Anchorage, they come in big packages and take up too much space. There are also the cheeses we bring back from Greece; we freeze what we can, but some can’t be frozen. They’re squatting on valuable real estate in the back of the refrigerator.

Produce completes the trifecta of refrigerator hogs. We eat a lot of vegetables and they take up space. Make that lots of space. When our Full Circle Farm CSA box arrives every other week, I struggle to cram in everything that needs to be refrigerated. I don’t always succeed.

Don’t get me started on the leftovers. They live perpetually on the verge of hurling themselves on anyone who is so bold as to open the refrigerator door. It’s quite a thrill when a yogurt container full of soup jumps out, drenching you and spreading its liquid goodness far and wide on the kitchen floor.

I can’t take it anymore. I’m done. I’ve reached my limit. I need a second refrigerator and I need it soon. I’m officially in the market for a used refrigerator. If you know of anyone in Anchorage who wants to get rid of one, or anyone who knows of anyone who knows of anyone, please let me know. In the meantime, I’m working my way through the produce.

Next up, three bunches of carrots; it’s soup time. Although I make a great Moroccan Carrot and Chermoula Soup, I decided on Carrot Ginger Soup, a recipe from the website of Beth, my partner this month in Taste and Create. Taste and Create is an event created by Nicole from For the Love of Food in which food writers are paired with a randomly assigned partner, and asked to cook and review one recipe from their partner’s blog.

Although I loved the concept of Beth’s recipe, it included orange juice, a flavor I don’t care for in savory dishes. Instead, I used lemon peel and juice. It was a fortuitous substitution; lemon’s tartness pleasingly balanced the sweet carrots and cinnamon. I added sautéed onions to bring out the soup’s savory notes, and crystallized ginger for its multi-dimensional sweet heat.

Sweet-yet-tangy Carrot Ginger Soup was a delicious treat on a snowy winter evening, even though it made only the tiniest dent in my refrigerator problem. We enjoyed the soup with Celery and Olive Salad, and were impressed by how much flavor we found in a simple dinner of carrots and celery.

Lemony Carrot Ginger Soup (Σούπα με Καρότα, Λεμόνι και Τζίντζερ)
Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter
The yogurt or cream stirred in at the end helps smooth out lemon’s sharp edges, but isn’t at all necessary. The soup tastes great without the dairy.

2 cups diced onions, 1/2” dice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon peel
2 Tbsp. minced crystallized ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plain yogurt or cream (optional)

In a Dutch oven, sauté the onions, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in olive oil until they soften and begin to turn golden. Stir in the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock, lemon peel, ginger, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes or until the carrots are soft.

Purée the soup with a stick blender (or in a blender or food processor) until it is very smooth. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the lemon juice, and cook for five minutes. Taste and add salt, freshly ground black pepper, or lemon juice, as needed. If using yogurt or cream, stir it into the soup. Serve immediately.

Recipe for Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce)

Fish and Vegetable Stew with Rouille

The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star. John Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Physiologie du Gout (Physiology of Taste) (1825)

Where do recipes come from? Family, community, tradition, and serendipitous accident are easy but incomplete answers.

The primary source of recipes has always been an individual cook’s imagination and palate. Over time, original recipes are modified by other cooks’ imaginations and adjusted by yet more cooks’ palates, to infinity and without limitation.

The food articles I enjoy most are ones that explain how a dish was developed or why a cook chose to combine certain flavors. Although its authors’ cooking styles and skills are quite different from my own, Ideas in Food is one of my favorite blogs. It focuses on the techniques and thought processes that go into creating unique flavor combinations.

I recently made Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille. Here's how it came into being:

My kitchen counter was overflowing with garnet yams, bounty from more than one Full Circle Farms CSA box. I wanted to do something other than oven-roasting the yams or making oven fries. Looking for inspiration, I randomly pulled cookbooks off the shelves.

Barbara Kafka’s book Soup: A Way of Life had an interesting recipe for Fall Fish Stew that included sweet potatoes. I decided to try it.

My first version of the stew was similar to Kafka’s, though I substituted sautéed sweet potatoes for boiled and edamame beans for limas. After tasting the broth, I wanted more flavor.

In my next version, I added sautéed onions and red bell peppers, and used a different Rouille recipe than Kafka’s. I seasoned the Rouille with dried, ground red Moroccan pepper (poivron rouge). This version was tasty, but I thought it could be better.

In my final version, I added crushed fennel seeds and shelled shrimp. This combination was exactly what I wanted. Although inspired by Kafka, the final stew is uniquely my own.

I internet-ordered poivron rouge from World Spice Merchants in Seattle, one of my favorite herb and spice purveyors. World Spice describes poivron rouge as “sweet red pepper … produced from sweet round red niora peppers grown in the lush valleys at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains to the northeast of Marrakech.“

Poivron Rouge and Sweet Hungarian Paprika

Although Moroccan recipes often call for paprika, niora peppers are what Moroccans use for “paprika.” The flavor of ground niora differs significantly from sweet Hungarian paprika. Niora is spicier and has a fruitier flavor than its Hungarian counterpart, which has a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Moroccan niora peppers are likely the same as the ñora peppers used in Romesco sauce and other Spanish and Catalonian dishes. In addition to having similar names, nioras and ñoras look the same. Most texts refer to nioras and ñoras only as members of the Capsicum annuum family; in other words, as domesticated peppers. However, in Catalan Cuisine, Colman Andrews says pepper scholar Charles Perry “thinks the nyora [ñora] pepper is the variety scientifically called Capsicum annuum grossum/provar. Pomiforme/sub-var. Conc. Humilirotundum Haz."

No matter what its scientific designation might be, poivron rouge has wonderful flavor and a permanent place in my spice cupboard. Its mildly spicy and fruity tastes make distinctively delicious Rouille and a mouth-wateringly good Seafood and Vegetable Stew.

Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce)
Serves 4
The stew may also be made with just fish or just shrimp; if so, use 1 pound of either ingredient. Although not necessary, steamed rice is a nice complement to the spicy, aromatic broth. Serve the rice on the side so eaters can stir the amount they desire into the stew.

1 cup peeled, diced garnet yams or sweet potatoes, 1/2” dice (1 garnet yam)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced red bell pepper, 1/2” dice (1-2 peppers)
1 cup diced yellow onion, 1/2” dice
1 tsp. freshly crushed fennel seed
4 cups fish stock or clam broth (nectar)
1 recipe Rouille (see below)
1 cup shelled edamame beans (thawed) or fresh fava beans
1/2 pound skinless fillets of halibut, rockfish, cod, or other white-fleshed fish, cut in 3/4” pieces
1/2 pound shelled and cleaned shrimp, 16-20 count, halved crosswise
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
Minced parsley for garnish

Sauté the garnet yams in olive oil, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until they start to brown around the edges. Stir in the red bell peppers and onions, and continue to sauté until the onions soften. Add the crushed fennel seed and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the fish stock, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. (The recipe may be made ahead to this point.)

In a small bowl, whisk one cup of the hot broth into the Rouille. Stir this mixture into the simmering stew pot, along with the edamame beans, fish, and shrimp. Do not let boil or the Rouille may curdle. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the seafood is cooked through. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and add salt or lemon juice, as needed.

Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve immediately with steamed rice and wedges of lemon.

Rouille
Recipe adapted from In the Hands of a Chef by Jody Adams
Rouille goes well with all fish, and is a tasty addition to fish salads. The recipe may be doubled or tripled and keeps for a week in the refrigerator.

1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup best quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. poivron rouge or sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Put the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a blender and mix well. While the blender is running, add the vegetable oil drop by drop so that it emulsifies with the other ingredients. While the blender is running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the Rouille is very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
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This is my recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Dee from The Daily Tiffin.

Recipe for Pear Pecan Cake with Lemon Glaze (Κέικ με Aχλάδια και Πεκάν)

When I was growing up, cupcakes were a homey lunchbox treat. They weren’t seen in upscale bakeries or on fancy tables.

That all changed in 1996 when New York City’s Magnolia Bakery started making cupcakes with extra cake batter. After Magnolia’s cupcakes were featured on Sex and the City, it set off a nationwide cupcake craze. Cupcakes’ popularity continues; Barack Obama recently gave Joe Biden a dozen for his birthday.

In 1999, the owners of Magnolia Bakery, Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel, published The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes from New York’s Sweetest Bakery. The slim volume is filled with old-fashioned recipes for cake, cookies, and other desserts, all made with the best possible ingredients.

Last week, I had ripe pears that needed to be used immediately. Magnolia Bakery’s Pear Pecan Cake seemed a wonderful way to use them. I modified the original recipe by adding grated lemon peel to the batter and finishing the cake with a light lemon glaze. The clear lemon flavor balances the pear cake’s richness.

Pear Pecan Cake with Lemon Glaze is moist and delicious. With a cup of hot coffee or tea, it makes a decadent breakfast or mid-morning snack.

Pear Pecan Cake with Lemon Glaze (Κέικ με Aχλάδια και Πεκάν)
Adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
The batter for this cake is thicker than normal cake batter, so don’t worry if you can't pour it. Apples may be substituted for the pears, and walnuts may be used instead of pecans.

Cake:
2 – 3 ripe pears (2 cups chopped)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. freshly grated lemon peel
1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 – 4 Tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Thoroughly oil a Bundt or tube pan. After it’s oiled, if the pan isn’t nonstick, lightly flour it to ensure the cake will properly release from the pan.

Peel and quarter the pears. Remove the core, cut each quarter in half lengthwise, and then cut each slice in crosswise pieces.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir the oil, eggs, and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients. Fold in the chopped pears and pecans. Evenly spoon the batter into the prepared pan, lightly smoothing out the top. Bake for 60 minutes or until a thin skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, turn the cake upside down onto a wire rack to release it, and finish cooling the cake.

Mix the powdered sugar and 3 Tbsp. lemon juice in a small bowl. If the glaze is too thick, mix in the remaining lemon juice. Spoon the glaze over the very top of the cake so that it drips down the sides and center of the cake.

Slide the cake onto a serving plate. To store, cover the cake with aluminum foil.

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Nuria, who writes Spanish Recipes from Barcelona, Spain and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita from the state of New York are two of the world’s nicest people. Both are excellent cooks. At their requests, I’ve completed a know-your-fellow-bloggers meme. For those whose blogs I’ve named below, if you want to complete the meme on your blog, feel free, but please don’t feel obligated, to do so. Here goes:

Who are the last 10 people who commented on your blog?

10) Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul
9) Joan from FOODalogue: Meandering Meals and Travels
8) Maria from Organically Cooked
7) MAG from Hommus & Tabbouli
6) Lydia from The Perfect Pantry
5) Maryann from Finding La Dolce Vita
4) Mariana from History of Greek Food
3) Bijoux from Keep It Simple
2) Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen
1) Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook

Now answer the following:

1. Has number 10 taken any pictures that moved you? Peter at Souvlaki for the Soul takes some of the best pictures in the food blogosphere. His moody pictures of the Acropolis may be the best I’ve ever seen of this well-photographed site.

2. Have you ever tried something from number 9's blog? I only recently learned about Joan’s blog. As someone who grew up eating Pigs in a Blanket and who loves greens of all kinds, I want to try Joan’s recipe for “This Ain’t Yo Mama’s Pigs in a Blanket.” It looks wonderful.

3. Do you wait excitedly for number 8 to post? Yes. Maria of Organically Cooked is one of my favorite writers; as a storyteller she is without peer among food bloggers.

4. If you could give one piece of advice to number 7 what would it be? MAG’s Lebanese recipes at Hommus & Tabbouli are mouth-wateringly good. She doesn’t need any advice; MAG knows what she's doing!

5. Does number 6 reply to comments on her blog? Yes, Lydia does reply to comments left on The Perfect Pantry. She also gives us a weekly peek into other people’s pantries, a series I find endlessly entertaining.

6. How did number 5's blog change your life? When Finding La Dolce Vita had its first anniversary, Maryann did a drawing for an anniversary present that I was lucky to win. The package included a pizza chopper that has revolutionized how I cut up pizzas and tarts. Thanks Maryann!

7. How often do you comment on number 4's blog? I comment on most, if not all, posts on Mariana’s blog, History of Greek Food.

8. What is your favorite post from number 3's blog? Bijoux of Keep It Simple helps keep me current on modern design trends. Her latest post on a cutting-edge Japanese product is my current favorite.

9. Where is number 2 from? Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen is from Salt Lake City, Utah.

10. Has number 1 blogged something that inspired you? Pretty much everything Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook puts on her blog is inspirational. Her photographs jump off the screen and her descriptions of food are smoothly creative.

11. Do you know any of the 10 bloggers in person? Yes, I know Maria from Organically Cooked.

12. Do any of the 10 bloggers know each other in person? Yes, Kalyn and Lydia met at this year’s BlogHer conference. Maria from Organically Cooked and Mariana from History of Greek Food are friends. If others know each other, it’s news to me.

13. Out of the 10, who updates her blog most frequently? Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen, Queen Mother of Weekend Herb Blogging, updates most frequently.

14. Which of the 10 makes you laugh? Maria’s quirky sense of humor is just one of the reasons I keep going back to Organically Cooked.

15. Which of the 10 makes you cry (good or bad tears)? Cry? Why in the world would I cry when reading about good food and looking at pictures that make my mouth water?
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This is my recipe for Bookmarked Recipes, hosted and created by Ruth of Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments.

Recipes for Mango and Feta Salad & Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Salsa (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα & Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)

Fruit and cheese pair beautifully.

Pears and blue cheese, apple and cheddar, watermelon and feta: all are wonderful combinations.

When I came across Mango and Feta Salad on Feeding Maybelle, I started craving it immediately. Feeding Maybelle is my Taste and Create partner this month.

Taste and Create is an event created and organized by For the Love of Food in which food writers are paired with a randomly assigned partner, and asked to cook and review one recipe from their partner’s blog. Although there are many wonderful recipes on Feeding Maybelle’s blog, I had to try the Mango and Feta Salad.

As is usually the case in Alaska, the grocery store mangos were rock hard. I bought them anyway, and ripened them at room temperature in a brown paper bag. Mango is ripe when it yields to a gentle squeeze (similar to testing avocados for ripeness).

Mangos have a very large, flat seed. The easiest way to remove the seed is to cut off half the mango flesh as close to the seed as possible. Cut off the second mango half as close to the other side of the seed as you can. You’ll be left with two large pieces of mango and a seed encircled by mango flesh.

With the proper technique, cutting up mango is easy. Cut crosshatches in the flesh of each mango half, being careful not to cut through the skin, and push up from the bottom so the mango half is inside out. Cut off the mango chunks and discard the skin. Peel the flesh surrounding the seed and cut off as much mango flesh as possible (or chew it off as a chef’s treat).

The mango is now ready to eat or use in a recipe.

With my mango ripened and cleaned, I turned to the Mango and Feta Salad recipe. Sweet mango, salty feta, herby basil, and spicy pepper dressed with best quality extra virgin olive oil made a wonderful salad and a perfect lunch.

I liked the salad so much I made it again for dinner, only this time I diced the ingredients to make a salsa and added minced jalapeños and red onions. I served the Mango Salsa with Pan-Fried Scallops for a light and delicious summer supper.

Mango and Feta Salad (Μάνγκο και Φέτα Σαλάτα)
Serves 1 as a meal and 2 as a side salad
Adapted from Feeding Maybelle

1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1/4 cup crumbled feta
1 tsp. minced basil
1 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Lightly toss the mango, feta, basil, and olive oil together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

Pan-Fried Scallops with Mango Saltsa (Χτένια με Μάνγκο Σάλτσα)
Serves 2
It you don’t like spicy food, use only 1 Tbsp. jalapeño.

Mango and Feta Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2” dice
1/3 cup crumbled feta
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 – 2 Tbsp. minced jalapeño
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp. best quality olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Scallops:
12 large scallops (about 1 pound)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash the scallops, removing any tough muscle clinging to the scallops' sides. Dry them well and season on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Make the Salsa: Lightly toss all the ingredients together. Taste and add salt or freshly ground pepper, as needed.

Cook the Scallops: Heat the olive oil over high heat in a frying pan large enough to hold all the scallops. When the oil is very hot, add the seasoned scallops, and cook on the first side for 2 – 3 minutes, depending on the scallops’ size. Turn the scallops over and cook for 2 minutes more. Except for turning them over the one time, do not move the scallops or fidget with them while they cook. The scallops will brown better if they aren’t repeatedly turned.

While the scallops are cooking, warm the plates (this is easiest to do in a microwave; put the dry plates in the microwave for 1 minute on high). Place equal amounts of mango-feta salsa in the center of each warmed plate. Arrange the scallops around the salsa. Serve immediately.

Announcing the ENMAPYMMD Food Blog Awards

It’s been seven months since I started writing regularly for Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. From fall’s end, through a late April snowfall, and now in spring, I’ve cooked and photographed and written, and learned a lot in the process.

I’ve also had a crash course in the world of food blogs; there are thousands. I struggle to make time to read my favorite blogs; the frustrating truth is there aren’t enough hours in the day to read all those I love.

The writing, the photographs, the recipes, all inspire me. From different countries and backgrounds, different ages and genders, different tastes and sensibilities, the width and breadth of culinary writing on the web never ceases to amaze.

In recent months, I’ve been honored to receive several awards from my fellow food-bloggers: Gay from Cakelaw in Australia (Excellence Award), Ivy from Kopiaste in Greece (Nice Matters Award), Peter from Souvlaki for the Soul in Australia (Arte y Pico Award), Manuela from Baking History (You Make My Day Award), and Manju from Three Tastes in Hawaii (Excellence Award). I’m humbly grateful. Gay, Ivy, Peter, Manuela, and Manju: Thank you so much!

All who gave me awards also deserve them, but I’m not allowed to give the same awards back. Instead, I’m making some new awards: to Cakelaw for Inspired Baking, to Kopiaste for Top Chef: Greek, to Souvlaki for the Soul for Outstanding Food Photography, to Baking History for Best Use of Historical Recipes, and to Three Tastes for Kitchen Creativity and Spiritual Healing.

With each award came a request that I pass it on to others. Instead of parsing out who gets which award, I’m awarding a combined Excellence-Nice Matters-Arte y Pico-You Make My Day (ENMAPYMMD) award to a few of my favorite food writer-photographers.

The ENMAPYMMD Awards go to:

Maria from Organically Cooked in Hania, Crete. Maria cooks traditional Cretan fare, and entertainingly describes the scenes and characters that make up her daily life. I’m drawn to Maria’s wry sense of humor and unique role as an insider-outsider in Crete (Maria is a native New Zealander of Cretan heritage.). Her stories are endlessly fascinating.

Susan from The Well Seasoned Cook in the New York area and Lucy from Nourish Me in Australia. I read today they are friends, which is fitting, as Susan and Lucy are the two best writers among all the blogs I read. I dream about having their abilities to evoke moods and flavors. Their recipes are always interesting, and their photography beautiful.

Riana from Garlic Breath and These Days in French Life. Riana lives with her French husband and daughter in the south of France and works harder than anyone I know to avoid consumerism and live life consciously. Riana and her family haven’t shopped since August 2007 except for food (and not even food in January and February). Though her choices may not be for everyone, Riana’s infectious enthusiasm is a welcome balance to the consumer-oriented world in which we live.

Lulu from Mama’s Taverna in California. Lulu makes me laugh. She’s a good cook with a great ear for dialogue. I eagerly anticipate her new posts.

Mag from Hommus with Tabbouli. Mag is Lebanese, but lives in Virginia. I ended up at Mag’s blog one day by accident and in it discovered one of the best English-language Lebanese cookbooks available. I love Lebanese food and Mag more than does it justice.

Núria from Spanish Recipes in Barcelona, Spain. Núria is one of the nicest people in the blogosphere and her traditional Spanish recipes are mouth-wateringly good. Núria’s extensive and very clear pictures make it easy to recreate her recipes in the US.

Ronell from My French Kitchen in France. Ronell is a skilled painter and her art and creativity inspire seasonal recipes and gorgeous photographs. Ronell’s blog has taken me from her herb garden and atelier to the banks of the Loire; visiting My French Kitchen suffuses me with a sense of peace and well being.

There aren’t any rules for the ENMAPYMMD awards, so I encourage awardees and readers alike to give them out freely to their favorite food writers and photographers. The more credit and encouragement we give our peers, the stronger all our blogs will be.

Bob the Bird-Watcher