My Other Family

Like Indiana Jones braving a pit of snakes, my courageous critique partner Liz has traveled to the lair of Data Retrieval Inc. and reclaimed my damaged flash drive for me. The saga will continue tomorrow, when the flash drive makes its way to the cleanrooms of Space Exploration Technologies, where it will undergo a perilous dissection... 

In the meantime, here's something totally off-topic:

You guys know I love you, right? I have you all tucked away in a special folder in Google Reader, and I read your posts whenever I can, even if a busy week means I'm playing catch-up on a Sunday night. I have never been so motivated to write in my life as I have been since I started blogging.

But you should know, there are these...other blogs. These seductive blogs that beckon, siphoning away some of my free time.

The food blogs.

I am a huge sucker for a good food blog with tantalizing pictures and reliable recipes. Here is a secret: If I am going to try cooking a new dish, I usually go to food blogs to find a recipe for it. I trust the bloggers' advice more than I trust Allrecipes or Epicurious. Plus, they have better photos.

But it takes more than just nice photography for a food blog to end up in my reader--it's the writing that accompanies it, and the personality of the blogger. Today, I share with you some of my favorites:

Smitten Kitchen: If I could choose only one food blog to visit for the rest of my life, this would be it. Deb's photos are amazing, her writing is hilarious, and sometimes, when we're very very lucky, she throws in a picture of her adorable baby boy.

The Wednesday Chef: I love Luisa. I wish she lived next door, so I could go over to borrow a cup of sugar and sit in her kitchen while she makes braised cabbage and talk about the world in general. Only her apartment is in Berlin. And before that it was New York. I appreciate the openness with which she shares her life, and her almost sentimental approach to cooking. In another dimension, I'd like to think Luisa and I would be best friends. Is that creepy?

Steamy Kitchen: Alright, I'm going to link right to the recipes page because in the aftermath of her recent successes, Jaden's blog has become pretty commercial. Lots of giveaways and product posts. But her Asian-fusion recipe posts are still funny. And her photos have always been some of the best.

Almost Turkish: This blog might be more particular to me, since I am always trying to recreate my husband's favorite Turkish meals. Burcu's recipes are all solid, and she's hit most of the main traditional dishes by now. My favorite place on the web to look for Turkish recipes.

If you're into cooking, you should check these out! (Actually, if you're into cooking, you probably know most of these.)

Do you frequent any other kind of blog besides writing blogs? If so, what sort?