Published: February 29, 2008 02:52 pm            

My Fascination with food and the internet

Every Tuesday, I sit down at my desk, plug in my I-Pod and get down to the business of writing this column. My main goal is avoid boring you to tears. My second goal is for no one to think that I am a eccentric journalist with pens sticking out of my hair.

I would like to say that all of my column ideas come to me in a flash, in the middle of the night or as I am running in the park. Not a chance. Instead, I sit at my computer and stare into space, which does nothing but make my contacts want to pop out of my eyes.

After realizing that I have spent 30 minutes staring at nothing, I know that I need a little inspiration —via the Internet. I have really good intentions, but I usually just get lost in random websites, online newspapers and guilty Hollywood gossip. But every now and then, a tiny spark will ignite a flood of words — and pouf, a column is born.

And the spark of the day is a a new fascination in online blogs, but not just any blogs — food blogs. It is the perfect combination because I like to cook, eat, read and search the Internet. And a blog is much like a column or an online dairy, with topics on everything from gourmet culinary masterpieces to diaper-changing Moms who can change a light bulb and make dessert at the same time.

A blog is an open door that invites friends and strangers and often creates a following of readers comparable to a newspaper. Combine a daily blog and food and, against my better judgment, I will probably waste the next hour drooling over chocolate cake, blackberry cobbler, chicken spaghetti and bread pudding. None of which are in this building.

I am sure that you are thinking, “It is just a blog.” Oh my friends, it is much more than a blog of random pictures of homemade goodness. The food blog called “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” is more or less a cookbook online.

The creator, Ree, takes a step-by-step approach to the recipes. And where a cookbook just supplies one picture, Ree supplies a high-quality photo with every task. She even takes a picture of the ingredients, leaving no room for error.

What adds to this fascinating blog is that Ree is not a celebrity chef, Martha Stewart wannabe or a culinary school dropout. Instead, she is the mother of four, wife of a rancher and a city girl trying survive the country life in Oklahoma. Her recipes are tried and tested; kid-proof friendly, husband worthy and best of all, look amazingly good on my computer screen.

With the pictures, instructions and ingredients, she writes commentary beyond simple cooking instructions. It is the commentary that creates the blog and makes me feel that I am in her kitchen watching her cook. And with goofy and sometimes off-the-wall comments, she creates a persona that is both natural and fascinating. Her food blog is the perfect escape from the noise in the newsroom, the ringing of the phone and my grumbling stomach.

But Ree is not the only blogger on the Internet with food and pictures to make your mouth water. To actually decide which ones to read is more overwhelming than picking out my clothes for work each morning. Thankfully, someone on the Internet had the insight to create the website www.bloggerschoice awards.com, that allows readers to vote for their favorite blog.I t is the perfect place to begin poking around in someone’s life.

Not everyone is an aspiring cook looking for an interesting twist on cookbooks, but there is a universal guarantee that no matter what your interest, someone out there is writing about it.

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Speaking of looking for a spark, I need your help. I am looking for prom pictures and stories from the 1950s through the 1990s. The pictures and stories will be featured in the upcoming summer edition of Prerogative. To submit a story and pictures, you can e-mail me at jparsell@bdtonline. For more information, call 327-2814.

Jamie Parsell is Lifestyles editor of the Daily Telegraph. Contact her at jparsell@bdtonline.com.

        

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