I love winter food and fashion but could do without the chill factor. All I want to do is stay indoors with the heating on. No wonder there are so many books on my list this month, but first up there is some very exciting news…
(1) Eat Drink Blog 3: the Australian Food Bloggers Conference in Adelaide!
Amanda from Lambs Ears and Honey and I recently received an unexpected email from the Sydney organisers of the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference. Trina, Simon and Jen wanted to know if we’d be interested in organising the next conference in Adelaide later this year. After discussing the idea with the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group we were delighted to accept! So if you’re an Australian food blogger, watch out for an official announcement soon. There will also be a number of excellent sponsorship options for companies keen to partner with Eat Drink Blog 3, so please do drop me a line if you’d like to know more.
(2) Sweet As Pie blog hop
Food blogger? Love pie? Then you must join us for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ blog hop, Sweet As Pie. Hosted by the lovely KC at Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, this month’s blog hop is a celebration of pie in all its glory. So check out KC’s post, put on your thinking hat and get baking.
(3) Bedside table books
I’m reading a half dozen Australian cookbooks and memoirs at the moment thanks to Wakefield Press, Penguin/Lantern, and Hardie Grant. On my bedside table are Barbara Santich’s tome on Australia’s gastronomic heritage, Bold Palates, the charming Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull, Stephanie Alexander’s epic memoir, A Cook’s Life, the mouth-watering French Food Safari by Maeve O’Meara with Guillaume Brahimi, Barossa Food by Angela Heuzenroeder and Seasonal Fare by Susan Johnson.
(4) Hooray for fabulous women!
I first met Shai Coggins a few months ago when I emailed her asking about the now defunct Adelaide Bloggers Group. Shai has been blogging since 1994 and is a high-profile trailblazer for women in blogging and technology. I’m excited that we’ve recently decided to spend some time together exploring life goals and possible collaborations.
(5) Crushing on ruby grapefruit
I can’t get enough of this candy-coloured citrus fruit at the moment. I’m pairing it in salads with roasted beetroot and bocconcini (see above) or proscuitto and honeydew melon and with pomegranate in jellies.
(6) There is no sincerer love than the love of good food
My five year old daughter made me a card recently which said: “I love my mum because she cooks me nice dinners.” Awww. It almost makes up for all the times she refuses to eat my food because it looks “disgusting.” Almost.
(7) Vintage clothes + bubbles + nibbles = fun
My friend Claire recently hosted a Vintage Fox party. It’s like a tupperware party but with racks of vintage clothes, bags and jewellery instead of plasticware. It was a lot of fun and a perfect way to spend a dreary Winter afternoon.
(8) Brilliant Davids
I’m in love with two Davids: rockstar food blogger David Lebovitz and rockstar writer David Sedaris. Weirdly, they are both Americans living in France that write – entertainingly and perceptively – for a living. Both Davids have mastered the knack of making their readers feel so comfortable in their world that you don’t want to leave.
So tell me: what have you been loving this month?
Photo credits: Beetroot, Bocconcini & Ruby Grapefruit Salad, Eat Drink Blog, Berry Ice Cream for About.com, Ms 5 year old mid-flight on a flying fox, moi by the talented Kevin Khaw, a beautiful rose in my neighbourhood, the lovely port-marinated lamb shank at Mount Lofty House’s Piccadilly Restaurant, my bedside table, and some Free-Form Apple Tart inspiration for Sweet Adventure’s Sweet As Pie blog hop.
