Kitchen Jam

In mid-February, Wendy over at The Local Cook gifted me with “The Beautiful Blog” Award. I have to admit – I’m still new enough at writing online that stuff like this makes me feel pretty amazing. Yeah, I get a little Sally Field – I’m still hearing echoes of ‘you like me, you really like me’ in my head and it’s been almost two weeks. So, thank you, Wendy; I really do appreciate it!

When you’re named a Beautiful Blogger, you need to tell your readers seven interesting things they may not know about you. Then, to share the good feelings, recipients point their readers to seven other bloggers whose work they appreciate.

Wow. I can only name seven beautiful bloggers in return? There are so many wonderful bloggers that I read every week, so I had to really work hard on that part. Like others have remarked before me, I’m pretty sure that The Pioneer Woman doesn’t need another recommendation.

And to be honest, coming up with seven things you might not know about me that I wanted to post on the internet was a bit of a challenge, too. But here goes:

• I work in pharmaceutical research – in drug safety evaluation. Yeah, with the group that does the kind of stuff PETA hates. My thought? Who better than someone who loves and respects animals to work with them in research? My other thought? Well, that would be political but hey – PETA and their ilk can bite me.
• I’m a six-year survivor of stage IV rectal cancer, a cancer that (at my stage) usually kills within three years of diagnosis. I’ll be heading to Washington DC this year to participate in C3′s Call on Congress advocacy training and meeting with my representatives – and I’m a little scared and a lot excited at the opportunity.
• I’m going to be laid off at the end of 2010 – when I’ll be switching to freelance writing and dog training for a living.
• Poetry is my secret sin; now and then I enter the poetry contest sponsored by the local chapter of the National Pen Women. In 1968, at 13, I won my age division with a poem about an abandoned amusement park in our town. In 2008, at 53, I placed 3rd in the adult division with a poem about the first thing in the morning. Since I only win once every 40 years, I don’t know if that will ever happen again.
• Since 1981, I’ve trained my dogs in obedience and other AKC activities. Because of my dogs, I’ve met some of my oldest and dearest friends. Right now I have two English Cocker spaniels. My first dogs were random-bred mixes. I’ve also owned Gordon setters and English Springer spaniels.
• I speak Latin, Spanish and Italian – but the language I’m proudest to know is sign (finger-spelling and American Sign Language.) I firmly believe that if a kid is only going to learn one other language in addition to English, s/he should learn how to sign. Signing has helped me communicate in situations where I couldn’t speak aloud more times than I can count.
• When I was 13, I began singing the mezzo-soprano lead in our church’s knock-off of an Up With People ‘folk choir’ (remember the 60s?) I’d been playing guitar and writing songs for a few years, and performing with the youth group meant that some of my compositions saw the light of (Sun)day. I also performed in musical theatre in high school and did summer stock in college. From 13-23 I did at least 3 performances and solos every weekend. Now I mainly just sing in the car.

But ENOUGH about me! Here are seven beautiful blogs and bloggers that I read every time they publish:

My friend Shawn, aka Azahar, has two wonderful blogs: casa az and sevilla tapas. Without Shawn’s help, I wouldn’t be here on WordPress today. Her photos of Seville, Spain, food, things that catch her fancy and her adorable cats never fail to inspire me. Her words never fail to remind me about the importance of valuing the beauty that surrounds us…even when her subject isn’t so beautiful.

The ladies of The Sister Project: Marion Roach Smith, Margaret Smith, Paige Smith Orloff and Anastasia Smith – share separate blogs on one website (and no, they’re not all related.) She Said, She Said; Hey Little Sister; and Claiming Sisterhood are only part of what makes me come back to their site over and over. Their writings, impressions, collages and art in the name of sisterhood always make me think and want to explore – me, and them, and then me some more. And maybe, like Pioneer Woman, they are not so much a hidden treasure, but just in case you haven’t met them, I wanted to share them – all of them.

Toni over at Dutch Oven Madness is a stay-at-home mom of seven (yes, 7!) who decided to teach herself dutch oven (DO) cooking by making one DO recipe (and posting about it, with a photo) every single day. No, folks, we’re not talking LeCreuset (although those are fine *French* ovens, and I would love a 3.5qt. blue oval…) Toni is cooking every day in seasoned cast iron *camp* ovens, which have legs and a lid with a rim, and a bail handle – like what an old-time chuck-wagon cook used. To cook in DOs, you put X number of hot coals on top and Y number of hot coals on the bottom to simulate a modern oven. Outdoors – unless, of course, you like it when your kitchen smoke detector starts screaming. Those of you who know how during canning season, I struggle to get three posts up each week, with art, will understand my awe. I’m a DO cook, too. A DO, a cast-iron skillet and pie irons are my main cooking vessels when camping. Outdoor cooking is a lot of fun, but it’s a far cry from open-and-heat cooking. So while I truly appreciate Toni’s recipes, I also appreciate her stories and her trials (and successes.)

Jen over at Fresh Cracked Pepper has lived in several places. I found her blog when she was living here in central New York. Although the transplanted Canadian has moved on to D.C., I still enjoy following her musings and love reading her recipes. Jen’s blog has a dark background, unlike most bright-white food blogs, and I think the background really emphasize her photos. I tend to bump up the text view for readability on my teeny tiny netbook screen – but it’s a beautifully written and photographed blog that I love to visit, with recipes that inspire me.

Now, by my count I’ve either given out four BB awards or seven – the jury’s still out about how to count multi-author blogs or two blogs from one author. What I know is that seven awards were not near enough to cover all of the wonderful bloggers I read each week. So I might just have to gift out some more in the future. I don’t know if I can do that, but I’m not sure how strict these rules are – and this is the improvisational blog. For now, do go exploring to these bloggers’ sites, and enjoy what you find there. I hope I’ve given you a good peek at some very special bloggers you may not have seen before.

And Wendy – did I say thank you?