Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Uh Uh go round
Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Hi Ci Ya Hold Tight
Colours of the world
Spice up you life
Every boy and every girl
Spice up your life
People of the world
Spice up your life
Aaaahh!!!
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Uh Uh go round
Slam it to the left
If you're having a good time
Shake it to the right
If you know that you feel fine
Chicas to the front
Hi Ci Ya Hold Tight
Colours of the world
Spice up you life
Every boy and every girl
Spice up your life
People of the world
Spice up your life
Aaaahh!!!
- The Spice Girls, of course!
Food is sensual; press your hands into silky, soft bread dough, breathe in the sharp bite of yeast. Or slide a spoonful of shimmering, pearl-tinted panna cotta into your mouth and let it melt on your tongue, caressed by vanilla sweetness. Chocolate makes many of us swoon and the faint prickle of pepper or the heat of a good curry excites. Smells, texture, flavors, colors, food is an all around sensory experience infused with emotions and memories that, to many, is an inspiration, a driving force, a passion. And one must truly be passionate to the point of obsessive to become a food blogger. We wake every morning wondering what to cook and bake during the day, the words for the perfect blog post flit through our heads as we flip through well-thumbed cookbooks and draw up that shopping list. Cameras are flung over shoulders as we head out to the newest must-try restaurant and days, evenings and well into every night are spent dashing between kitchen and computer. Our talk is peppered with food words, our bookshelves heave and groan under the weight of so many cookbooks, a walk down any city street is nearly impossible as our noses are pressed against so many pastry shop windows, strolls lengthened as we dash in and out of butcher shops, bakeries, Aladdin dens of spices and cooking utensils. We travel light, suitcases half empty, as we head off to our destination or a trip back home, yet we return with bags straining under the weight of jars and bottles and boxes bought at grocery stores, pans and whisks and yet more cookbooks. Most of us have hidden chocolate drawers, our secret, coveted stash, and we love nothing better than to stare at and handle our precious ingredients, breathe in their heady odor, concoct, brew, create and share, basking in the sighs and groans of pleasure our food elicits. We are used to the strange, sideways glances, the looks of disbelief and confusion as we prattle on about food, and we shrug our shoulders and sigh for this is more than just a passion, an obsession, it is our life.
Now, imagine 50 such together, gathered around tables, plates in hand, cameras poised, feeling a lightness, a freedom to express our passion, share the excitement, act just as we please. There is a strange connection between the food passionate, food bloggers, an understanding that everything, or most things, revolve around food. That was Food Blogger Connect: laughter, information, networking, planning, gossip and more laughter. Friendships formed, friendships reinforced and intensified. And it’s all about the food.
But a conference like Food Blogger Connect is indeed more than just about the time spent together laughing, talking, networking. It is a learning experience and did we all learn! With pen and notebook in hand, I listened to the darling and exuberant* Jaden of Steamy Kitchen talk about monetizing one’s blog, earning money from not just advertising but from writing, speaking, actually turning our passion into a full-fledged career. Hilda, my wonderful, generous, funny friend of the stunning Saffron & Blueberry dissected a camera for us and explained how to adjust for speed, light, focus in such a clear, intelligent way that even I understood, taking information that will help me work my photography better. Add to that a brilliant, informative talk by fabulous, talented Meeta of What’s For Lunch Honey? and Mowie of Mowielicious on perfect food styling and food photography and I may not even have to read the manual! Meeta, such a true, wonderful friend, also spent much time late at night helping me, advising, and with much patience explaining what I shouldn’t be doing and what I should do that I am now actually excited about working and improving my food photography rather than feeling beaten! Wonderful Jeanne of Cook Sister! spoke about Copyright and Plagiarism, so important to any blogger and fascinating to boot, and then about Effective Recipe Writing, which was brilliant and truly food for thought.
I then shared the stage with brilliant fellow writers and passionate bloggers Jeanne of Cook Sister! and Kerrin of My Kugelhopf speaking about Writing Style & Finding Your Voice for the food blogger. Three different voices, three different writing styles, we shared our secrets, our tips and advice on writing, whether personal story, restaurant review or simply a lead in to a favorite recipe. Emotions, memories, atmosphere, descriptions, each blog post is an experience to be lived by the reader and one must create the perfect atmosphere, serve the best food on a platter of well-chosen words and satisfy the reader with a joyous, emotional, mouthwatering experience. We hope that our presentation, our words, touched our listeners and inspired them to rethink their blog and find their own writing style, the style that expresses who they are.
On Sunday Kerrin was joined by the lovely, delightful Julia of a Slice of Cherry Pie and together they presented How To Get Published & Get Feature Work: from Blog to Book (or Magazine). As a blogger just starting on my path towards professional food writing, this talk was particularly informative for me (I may have asked the most questions) and both of these talented women opened up and generously shared all of their knowledge and advice. Outside of the presentation, both Kerrin and Julia very kindly shared even more information with me, encouraging me to take my writing “career” to another level, to take the leap and be confident in my talent and I thank them both enormously!
I met so many wonderful people, all kind, fun, generous people with whom I do hope to stay in touch, but I also had the great luck of meeting and remeeting some wonderful friends I feel particularly close to: Sarah, Aoife, Adrienne, Julia, Katherine, Giulia, Sarka, darling Bruce, Heather, Catty and Eunice and hope that I will be seeing each of them very soon.
Thanks to a wonderful FBC Organizing Team (myself, Meeta, Hilda, Mowie and Sarka) lead by vivacious Beth of Dirty Kitchen Secrets.
* thank you Meeta for handing me the perfect word for Jaden!
Sunday night, Meeta whipped us up a fabulous chicken curry dinner, which I immediately made for JP and Clem when I got home. I ad libbed, using what I had on hand, added a bit more tang with a squeeze or two of lemon juice and served it over basmati rice. It was stunningly delicious! This is such an ideal dish because you add the ingredients more or less to taste. Fantastic curry, fantastic recipe and I’m betting that it is even better reheated the next day! So here is my take on Meeta’s Chicken Curry and sending out a hug and a clink of the wine glass to my very Spicy Spice Girls and the wonderful weekend we shared. Which will be covered in my next blog post.
CHICKEN CURRY as Spicy as you like
Chicken pieces for 4 to 6 (I used 4 leg/thigh pieces, separated)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jars or cans (about 14 oz/400 g) tomato pulp, chopped tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps garam masala or to taste*
1 tsp turmeric or to taste
¼ to ½ tsp Cayenne pepper or chili powder/flakes or to taste
Several tablespoons Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, sour cream or quark (fromage frais) to taste
Juice of about half a lemon
* I had run out of coriander and cumin
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil and then lightly brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
Add the chopped onions to the hot oil in the pan and sauté, stirring often, until tender and golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and, stirring, continue to cook for another minute or two until the garlic is tender. Stir in the tomato pulp, add the spices and the salt and pepper, stir until blended and then return the chicken to the sauce. Push the chicken down into the tomato sauce to cover. If you need to, top it up with a small amount of water.
Allow to simmer on low for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and starting to pull away or fall off of the bone. Now remove the chicken to a plate and stir a 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons of the yogurt into the sauce, depending on whether you want the sauce more tomato-y or more creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper, Cayenne or garam masala as desired to heighten the flavor. Squeeze in enough lemon juice to taste. One or two squeezes should do it!
Return the chicken to the pot, turn off the heat and cover. Allow to sit so the flavors meld a bit while you make the basmatic rice. Before serving, gently reheat the Chicken Curry. If you like, you can add a handful of chopped fresh coriander/cilantro.
Serve the Chicken Curry over the rice. You can serve it with a side of vegetables and cool yogurt Raita if desired.
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