Monday, August 25, 2008

Brand New!!

Greetings!
I discovered food blogs just a few weeks ago and have had an amazing time reading several that I have found to be entertaining as well as informative. How I came to read my first food blog was an article in an issue of Bon Appetit written by Molly Wizenberg about Mixed Berry Jam.
I live on 7 acres in Northwest Ohio and there are a ton of wild blackberry brambles growing here. This year we had a huge crop and though I normally don't pick them, Molly's article motivated me to go out and pick berries despite the hideous mosquito horde we have had to deal with this year.
You see, the part of Ohio I live in used to be called "The Black Swamp" so when we have the kind of rain and snow that we had from January to July, about three quarters of our property is truly a mucky bog and the perfect incubator for growing horrible biting mosquitos that do not care if it is 9AM or 9PM. They are hungry and they will eat.
To get an adequate amount of berries for Molly's recipe, I had to douse myself with a pint of insect repellent and still move REALLY, REALLY fast. With all of that, I still donated at least a half pint of O negative blood to the local winged beasts. I had never done any caning so I was determined to make this recipe a success and I really did!! It is wonderful jam and I will be enjoying it for at least a few weeks to come. You MUST try it if you haven't already.

Given this is the very beginning of my blog I hope that I have not put you to sleep. Bear with me as I learn how to make this interesting.
Today I made the roasted tomatoes that Molly wrote about in the September issue. I am planning on using then on top of the Pizza Bianca from Cooks Illustrated tomorrow. I will let you know how they taste.
I will also work on letting you know how I became interested in food and cooking. I am a late bloomer to this hobby but I guess it is better late than never.

Enjoy the evening,
Janis