For San Diegans

The New York Times Travel Section did a feature on the San Diego Gaslamp District last week. Did you read about how fabulous and culture-forward our city’s downtown area is? Who knew?

For All Online Foodies

Have you seen the new Mighty Food web site from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks? If you’re into natural foods and healthy eating, stop by and learn about the wide world of sustenance with a conscience.

Recipes on the Radar

I’ve always wanted to make my own Homemade Ricotta and now, thanks to Becks and Posh, I can!

Another thing I’ve never made before is a frittata. This Garden Vegetable Frittata from Adventures in Food intrigues me and might just be the first one I try.

Hhmmm… interesting concept:Lentil Enchiladas from The Accidental Scientist.

Barley with Dried and Fresh Mushrooms brought to my attention by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen.

Sesame Peanut Noodles from Leite’s Culinaria.

Alicat of Something So Clever says that these Chocolate Chip Angel Cookies are super-soft, so I’m definitely going to try them soon. Yum!

For All Foodies

San Diego’s very own Lisa from Comfort Food has chosen a new focus and a new name for her food blog. It’s now called “In a Nutshell” and she’s highlighting the world of nuts. I’m so glad that Lisa decided to regroup instead of giving up on food blogging. Yeah!

There’s nothing really shocking on this list, but you might as well check out the 10 Habits that Mess Up a Woman’s Diet.

Recipes on the Radar

Three Bean Tamale Casserole and English Onion Soup from Too Many Chefs

Banana-Cranberry Bran Muffins from Seven Spoons.

Hello Dolly Bars from the Domestic Goddess. In my family, we call these magic bars. Either way, they’re amazing!

Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes from a site that’s new to me… 80 Breakfasts.

For San Diego Foodies

Recently, I was in need of ideas for late night dining… basically places that would seat us around 11pm. If you’re ever in the same boat, keep the following links in mind because I’ve already done the research for you. Late Night Dining in San Diego and San Diego After Midnight. In case you’re curious, it turned out that we didn’t need to quite so late, so we ended up munching at Claim Jumper.

I don’t know how active Yummy Diego is, but they claim to have 42,000 readers per week with new restaurant reviews every Tuesday. Anyone use this site?

For All Foodies

The polls are open for the 2005 Food Blog Awards. Be sure to vote by January 18th. I was surprised how many nominees are blogs with which I am totally unfamiliar. I’m excited to discover new reading material, as if I already didn’t have enough!

Alli from Something So Clever has launched an exciting new online magazine of sorts, devoted to the controversial domestic goddess herself, Martha Stewart. It’s called Good Things and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it.

Recipes on the Radar

Good for You Granola from Fallen Souffle.

San Francisco Chronicle’s Super Spinach Raita from the Paper Palate.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Spicy Feta-Olive Salad… an oldie but goodie from The Travelers Lunchbox.

Date Squares from the Domestic Goddess.

That’s all folks! Hope you had a great weekend!

Most Intriguing Recipes

Simple and Wow! The Accidental Hedonist’s Cheese Biscuits.

This is a great recipe to have around:
Mushroom Ginger Potstickers from Rachael at Fresh Approach… because there are so many ways you can customize what you put in the potstickers.

General Food Know-How

Get a schooling on how to make the Perfect Scrambled Eggs. Good to know…

Food Blogginess

See what was cookin’ after a bunch of bloggers dusted off their oldest cookbooks for the Weekend Cookbook Challenge #1.

If you’re interested in Japanese cuisine, fellow San Diego food blogger Angie of Crazy Salad is in Japan right now and regularly sharing photo-laden, detailed posts about her meals. I am so jealous I can hardly stand it!

For San Diego Foodies

Check out this weekly no-reservations-needed wine-tasting opportunity at the Wine Vault & Bistro. So cool!

2005 Food Blog Awards

Who knew there’s such a thing as the 2005 Food Blog Awards? I certainly didn’t know. But that’s ‘cuz I’m a newbie to this whole scene. I’ve been doing it for about 3 months now. Maybe I’m not a newbie any more…. Anyway, I can’t wait to see who’s nominated and how it all turns out. Fun!

Oh and SPECIAL THANKS to Rachael from Fresh Cooking for nominating Zen Foodism for Best New Blog. I’m honored and touched!

Most Tempting Recipes

Joe at Culinary in the Desert’s Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce sounds like the perfect healthy weeknight meal. Thanks, Joe!

I’m all about risotto right now. I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost this whole week. So, Combustication’s Citrus Risotto is definitely going in my To-Try pile.

Love this soup idea from Fresh Approach: Cauliflower Soup with Truffled Cheese.

Head over to Too Many Chefs for a healthy and delicious-sounding recipe - The Redhead’s Tomato Basil Soup.

Just For Foodies

Leite’s Culinaria offers a list of the Top 20 Food Books of 2005. How many of them did you buy?

And the Village Voice ranks their Top 10 Cookbooks of 2005, too. They also list the worst, in their opinion.

The “Not Getting Fat” Section

Maybe this study means that I don’t have to give up wine in order to stay skinny-ish this holiday season…. It says that people who drink a glass of wine per day are less likely to be obese. Cool!

Prevention Magazine offers 50 Holiday Foods That Fight Fat. Good to know…

Have a great weekend, y’all!