Thanks For Reading! 24

I know that this site hasn't been updated for a while. But readers kept leaving comments & sending me feedback. And following RC - whether it was through feedburner, google friend connect, or Twitter, or via the Renaissance Culinaire facebook fan page , the followers don't quit. I would like to say thanks - I really appreciate it.


I have big plans instore for this blog, and my goal is to update everyday - starting now. So be on the look out for new content. I plan to have some giveaways soon too!

Stumbleupon Lashes Out Against Bloggers 18

What is Stumbleupon? It is a social networking site, which allows people (i.e stumblers) to submit pages, or video or photos on the web that people can review and post whether they like or dislike the content, members can also build up a network of friends or fans that can subscribe to a stumbler's reviewed content.

Stumbleupon.com is one of the more powerful tools used for SEO, and can launch your sites into popularity by giving other stumblers the chance to view your link by referral of another stumbler - if that particular stumbler has allot of subscribers , or is highly regarded on the site - this can mean basically the equivalent to Internet gold for your site in the form of traffic. Search engines seem to love pages that are added to this service. And having your pages reviewed gives your site a better web presence.

By far stumbleupon.com has been one of the more popular sites for bloggers' to social network and get their content known, and helps to increase page views in turn adding to revenue from advertisements placed on blogs. By adding badges, stumble links and merely stumbling the very articles that fill up Stumbleupon's site, this has basically inundated Stumbleupon.com with traffic, which in turn gets them sponsors and huge advertising revenues.

Then WHY you ask is Stumbleupon.com targeting bloggers? These very same people who hurled the SU site into popularity ? How do you ask is Stumbleupon.com lashing out at bloggers?

Apparently it started with Entrecard.com. What is Entrecard? Entrecard is a blogging service that allows a widget to be placed on your blog, where people can give you Entrecard "credit" in exchange for advertising on your site., and vis a versa. Entrecard members signed into Entrecard get credit for visiting other members sites and "dropping" their ad card, by pushing on the widgetbutton that says "drop" - which lands the user's blog ad in the "recent droppers" section of the user's dashboard at Entrecard.com, or by clicking & visit the blog who's ad currently is displayed by the widget and also by adding comments to other Entrecard members' blogs.

Apparently, it started with some nefarious dealings involving bloggers posting to a forum about exchanging Entrecard credits for a stumble of their recent blog posts. Stumbleupon.com reacted by banning ALL posts referencing Entrecard from being stumbled on SU. If you do try to submit a post to stumbleupon.com , you will get redirected to this page of Banned Sites. The below pictue is a screenshot of what it says.

O.k, you may be wondering why am I posting about this? At 8:35 a.m this morning I received an email from Stumbleupon.com:

from StumbleUpon
to renaissanceculinaire (at ) gmail.com
date Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 8:37 AM
subject Your StumbleUpon account has been frozen
mailed-by stumbleupon.com

Your StumbleUpon account privileges have been restricted and the account is under review.

Accounts are placed under review for breaching our Terms of Service, which may be found here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/terms.html

The most common cause for account suspension is a contravention of the clauses which forbid the use of personal accounts for the promotion of a business, product or service, and also with regard to the sending of 'spam' messages to other members.

If you wish to appeal this suspension, having first reviewed the TOS, then you may contact us here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/feedback.php but be aware that we will only have imposed the suspension if we believe it to be warranted.

I immediately responded that I had done nothing to violate the TOS . I was NOT a business owner using SU for promoting a business; Nor was I spamming members with messages, I rarely used the message system.

I couldn't believe it. I had used, promoted and encouraged others to use Stumbleupon.com. Now my account was frozen? I went to twhirl, my twitter client that I use to post tweets to twitter, starting with "I am really tired of Legit, talented bloggers getting bullied by sites like Digg.com & Stumbleupon", because there was a slew of banned bloggers from both sites recently. Here are my typed series of tweets:


My contacts were like What? And sent replies such as "I wasn't aware there was a problem with SU", or "DDOS attack?", Some, not regular users weren't sure where I was going with the tweet.

Then I got a Direct Mail from another contact, who asked "what? Your Su account was frozen this morning?", I answered back and got his reply which said:

"everyone in the comments of my post was banned from SU this morning"

What?! That is right - because I merely posted a comment on a random blog (which was NOT a banned site on SU), I was banned from Stumbleupon.com. I hadn't even stumbled ANYTHING related to Entrecard.com, nor had I participated in receiving EC credits for stumbling any sites. Stumbleupon.com had found that random post and banned every blogger that commented on the post, from the Stumbleupon.com site.

Yes, because I am an Entrecard user, I was targeted this morning by Stumbleupon. Yesterday I noticed a tweet from one of my contacts on Twitter that mirrored the spirit of The Problogger Love-in, a social networking experiment and experience that connected bloggers using various social networking sites to each other.

I thought it was a great idea, retweeted it to my own twitter stream, and then added the first comment for that particular post. I had referenced that I had 2 blogs on Entrecard, and noted that this blog, Renaissance Culinaire, was one of them and proceeded to link to my stumbleupon profile, within the comments. I had NO idea that SU had banned Entrecard.com.

ImpNerd owner Gary Hess, the original blog where the post I had commented on, is here. All the previous comments of the recently banned members have been removed. You can view what SU's support said in response to Gary's questioning here.

Stumbleupon has gone too far. Bloggers are the life blood of SU. I was unfairly targeted, for commenting on a post related to Entrecard. I, like many other bloggers are being unfairly punished for a sketchy forum post that included a few participants. Most people do NOT even know about the ban. How long will SU be combing the Internet for linked SU profiles that are randomly, somehow by coincidence, tied to a post that references Entrecard?

2nd Place for Best Hobby Blog at the 2007 BOBs Awards 7

Some of you have been wondering if your vote(s) made a difference for BOBs results. And I would say a resounding, YES! Renaissance Culinaire placed 2nd in the Best Hobby Blog Category.

I really am appreciative for everyone who rallied for me on digg and Blogcatalog and stumbleupon, and some of the mom blogging sites I am apart of - your willingness to help another blogger was great! It made being nominated for this award a whole lot sweeter! And for everyone who voted for this site - You are awesome and THANK YOU!

I am awaiting my official winner button from them, and once I get it, I will add it to my sidebar. It's cool to think that my relatively small blog had a chance to win a Best of Blog Award.

2008 started out very well and my momentum was really good, even with things going on in my personal life - I still put out some great posts, that attracted some great comments.

But if you have been wondering why the posts have started to get spaced further apart, and the foodie aspect of this site has been lagging - well I am experiencing some health problems right now that are very debilitating, and down right frightening.I have an appointment to see a doctor on the 8th.

I have been debating whether I should note this, but I decided you readers should know I haven't lost my passion for blogging or for food, I just am feeling so terrible most of the time - it hasn't left me wanting to talk about food.

Lately I haven't been social networking except for twitter. I have been twittering allot lately - to keep my mind off my symptoms, so if you'd like you can follow me and chat a bit...about geek stuff, movies, music or whatever!

Food Blogger Blogoversary Calender 16

I had an idea I thought would be a fun way to support our fellow food blog authors. And help create a even closer community.

I started a calender for listing food blogger blogoversary dates. The date of your food blog's official launch or first post, is your blogoversary.

The calender will allow for clickable links in the description, so you can put your blog's title in the event title, and a description of your food blog, then any links you'd like such as : your blog's link, twitter account, face book page etc. If you click on the image below, you can view an example calender event.



I used google calender to create it. It's easily searchable in the google calendar database. So your readers can follow all of their fav foodies. All public calenders are indexed by google.

You can view it by clicking this link - food blogger blogoversary. There is a small button at the bottom right you can click to subscribe/ add it to your google calender account.

You don't need to have a google account to view the calender, or get updates for upcoming or newly added food blogs :

Click on this link to subscribe with any calender that supports iCal format. Here is a list from wikipedia of apps that support iCAL.


I also burned it through feedburner. So you can subscribe or use it to add to another feed you are aggregating on your sidebar etc.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FoodBloggerBlogoversaryDates

If you would like to be added to the calender, please fill out this form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pqxVEg3ssIfUbtGXjEx8DEg

If you have more than one blog, please fill out form for each blog.

I will set each event to continue to be celebrated yearly, so you will get updated every year.

I hope this can be something that is fun and usable for everyone . It gives another way to celebrate and promote your wonderful food blogs.

Reader Comment Carnival 9

Readers have left some great comments lately and I wanted to give thanks - In appreciation I will post some of them here, and continue to do it as a regular feature of the best comments every 2 weeks.

I am sorry I haven't kept up with my comments, I have been sick and the kids have been sick and we are dealing with a lot of personal stuff right now.

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to comment, so I have linked to your sites/profiles under your comments quotes. If you post and use a blogger profile - please make sure your blogger profile is enabled for public viewing, some of yours weren't - so I couldn't visit your sites.

Reader Comment Carnival

"These are some really high quality pictures, I especially like the one of the oil mixed with water on the ground."

David Spiele on My Photographic Mind

"Looks delicious...much nicer than what I used to watching on Edible Incredible!"

Amabaie on Food Photography : Banana - Midori Strawberry torte

"This is really great, I love the way you decorated the plate! I almost thought it was painted on :). BTW, I read your about section and I can completely relate :D!!! I have a BA in English (have a poetry blog too!), currently work as a food blogger, and plan on attending culinary school in the near future (only thing is, I can't decide if I want to be a pastry chef or a savory chef :D).

It's nice to meet you :)"

Sophie on Food Photography : Banana - Midori Strawberry torte

"Your plated desserts ROCK...stunning, each one of them!"

Passionate baker...& beyond on Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte

"Your dessert was absolutely delicious! Also David & Lee did a fine job capturing the image. Taking photos of food sounds easy, but it is a fine art just as creating the dish is."

teeth whitener on Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte

"I look here again and again in different times by and am pleased about the interesting and well written contributions. Cordial thanks and many greetings from the center of Germany."

Bernhard on Uncommonly Cute : Infant & Toddler Clothes

"In the first picture I see a ship struggling against a stormy sea, water spraying, wind tossing.

Great pic & thoughts, love your blog!"

Colleen on Saterday Soul Search : Food Poetry

"That look absolutely wonderful. It's amazing what you can create with a little bit of handy and imagination."

Fudge on Saterday Soul Search : Food Poetry

"Great post - we had a store down the road from us (I'm on the other side of the planet to you) selling loads of cute shirts like that.

We bought our friends two shirts when their son was born - Dad was a web developer, so his says "1.0" and the kid's says "2.0"

:)"

Jonathan on Uncommonly Cute : Infant & Toddler Clothes

"This is a very detailed review. All I can say is WOW!"

NDS Games on Game Review : The Tuttles Madcap Misadventures

"I wouldn't worry so much about getting the "right" picture on the blog. For me, a REAL plate with a meal on it is often better than all these "leaning tower of Piza" creations that no one in their right mind would create at home on a thursday night.

Your writing is excellent, and i would love to see what you are creating.

Anyone can make a Mignon taste decent, those that can make something good for less than $10 are the real chefs."

Erik Johnels on On Taste Memories and The Economy

Thanks soo much for contributing. And keep it up - read my posts and share your thoughts, your comment just might make it into a future Renaissance Culinaire's Reader Comment Carnival. It doesn't matter if you comment on newer or older posts - I will post according to the dates the comments were submitted.

Uncommonly Cute : Infant & Toddler Clothes 18

Uncommonly Cute is an infant and toddler clothing e-store run by a husband & Wife team hailing from New York. They pride themselves on cute & cool apparel that is unique, which expresses your baby's individual personality. I am especially enamored with the site because they support two great causes :
R Baby Foundation (proceeds of 50% from this page go directly to R Baby Foundation) and Room To Grow. It is great when businesses give back to their community or country.

...Got A Bun
In your tum?
...soon to arrive

Freshly Baked?
Get this tee for your New Arrival.

This website is what the name implies.
A fabulous line of newborn, baby onsies and toddler
tees, that will make you smile. Baby clothes come
in size newborn - 2T. In a choice of gender
specific colors.

I especially liked the newborn onsie that has
"freshly baked" across the chest. For a baker
such as myself, not only is it funny but very cute.

Many a joke has been had at a pregnant
girl's expense referencing her "bun in the
oven". This simple statement is both endearing
and laughable. Your child is an Artisan made
creation, after all. Celebrate your handy work!

And for the geek in you - why not
check out this "famous on facebook"
tee, Deck your child out in some Social
Networking vanity goodness.

The funniest tee I saw was the"Elmo is my homeboy" shirt. Hilarius. This would go great with some Infant / Toddler Adiddas or maybe Infant / Toddler K-swiss .Teach your baby to embrace his or her's dopeness.

And for those political types, infant and toddler tees & onsies that say "I'm a Democrat" or "I'm a Republican". 2008 is an Election Year after all , babies may not talk - but they sure can scream and what is better than a screamer ? A screamer who supports his or her political party! Aww the magic moments of parenting.

To see the above tees and more...Visit the website to view all the baby goodness.

It's Official - This Blog is a BoB Award Finalist! 0

Hi everyone, I was nominated for a "BestofBlogs" Award in April and I just got word that my blog Renaissance Culinaire has been chosen as a top 10 finalist.

...Support

Small Bloggers
Vote
for me..

This is a really big deal for me - I just found
out today.

Usually the biggest names in the blogosphere are
the only blogs to be seen representing
the top ten finalists
for each category - but this year I was initially
nominated and accepted for a special
"under appreciated blog" category for smaller
blogs. I made a long list of finalists - but the
final list of top ten nominees has been decided
by a panel of judges and Renaissance Culinaire
made the cut!!


If you have visited my blog and like the content,
if you want to see one of the little guys represent
bloggers in a good light --- please show your support
and vote for my blog in the "Best Hobby Blog" category.

This is truly a "people's choice"award!

Voting Ends June 2nd, 2008

So Please visit the link below and on the voting widget: Select 'Abstract2Collective' and click 'vote', to make sure your vote is counted.

http://www.thebestofblogs.com/2008/05/12/best-hobby-blogvote-here/

It would really mean allot to me! If you can help spread the word I would be truly thankful.

Thanks,

The Sweet Melissa Baking Cookbook Giveaway - Deadline is TODAY! 2

Which 5 RANDOM contestants will emerge victorious and win the ultimate prize? A FREE Cookbook? We will find out Tomorrow!


Thanks to everyone who participated! The contest is going smoothly. If you haven't entered The Sweet Melissa Baking Book Challenge yet, you need to do so before Midnight 04/30/2008 , tonight!

To enter the contest - just bookmark http://abstract2collective.blogspot.com (click on the links) to : (stumbleUpon ) (add it to del.) (Digg it!) (add to technorati favs ) or (blogroll it) . You can also see the original post.

Once you have added Renaissance Culinaire to any one of these 5 sites, email me at renaissanceculinaire [at] gmail [dot] com with :

1. your name
2. user name on the bookmark site you used

There is a link at the bottom of this post, which reads "contact me" -you can also use that.

All contestants will be assigned a number, and those numbers will be entered into a processor at random.org to create truly 5 random winners.

GOODLUCK!



Related Posts:

• Contest : Cookbook For 5 Lucky Random Winners

• Review: Sweet Melissa Baking Book
• Hot Pepper Gingerbread Muffins with Orange-Maple Butter

Contest : Cookbook For 5 Lucky Random Winners 3

I am having a contest! The first one in a series of many to come. The winners will all receive a new copy of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. You can read the review of this book here.


Once all emails have been submitted to me, I will use Random.org , to choose the final 5 winners. This will create a true random selection. For the sake of your privacy , I won't enter your email addresses into this sites form, because it is not secure, I will assign numbers to each email I receive. Then use the numbers to draw the random winners.

The rules are simple:

1.) You must click on the links below to submit this site to any of these 5 bookmarking sites:

del.icio.us Digg.com Technorati Favorites

Blogroll Me Stumble Me

2.) Once you have submitted Renaissance Culinaire using one of the above links, please email me with an email that you check often:


renaissanceculinaire [at] gmail [dot] com
Email me :

• Your real name (first name is fine)
• User name of the bookmarking site you used.

The Deadline is April 30th

Once the results have been collected, I will email the 5 winners to get their name and address information. This will then be sent to the publisher who will ship them right out to you.



Good Luck!



Related Posts:

• Review: Sweet Melissa Baking Book
• Hot Pepper Gingerbread Muffins with Orange-Maple Butter

On Blogging : The Active Digg'r Blog Roll 0

Inspired by a recent thread on Blog Catalog that I read this morning., I thought I would start an active digg'r blogroll.

On many blog community sites, the topic in most forums is social networking. Social networking sites connect people with like minded interests, and introduce new content that other members of theses sites have bookmarked or posted about. Popular sites with bloggers include digg, del.icio.us, StumbleUpon , twitter. These sites can boost your readership and traffic. because not only do you have links to your posts submitted - but you can add a link to your blog within your profile. If people like what you are submitting, or just want to view the profiles of other members who have given their content a boost - the gives you a potential visitor.

In the blogosphere, links are very important. Potential visitors can view links to your content they otherwise might never have been exsposed to.

Many social networking sites also allow you to add widgets to your blog, or blog post footer, which allow readers to bookmark and promote your content within each specific social networking site.

As bloggers it is very important to reach out to as wide an audience as possible. Most blog posts get very minimal exposure. Even if the content is excellent and informative - if you do not work to promote your content then the effect on readership or traffic is not seen as positively reflective of your blog. The less exposure - the least amount of readers will stumble upon your blog content. If you are trying to gain traffic then this can be a real no-win situation. Especially if you are not a frequent participant in forums or part of a Publisher / Ad network. There is however a very fine line between promoting your content and seeming spammy.

In this post I am mainly referencing digg. Members of digg submit content that they like, which is then publically displayed in different categories - so that other members can "digg" or vote for the items they like. Members may also comment on , or add each item to their favorites, or "bury" the item if they don't think it is worthy, or stupid.

If you have a blog and frequent blog community sites such as entrecard , blogcatalog, or Mybloglog , you will see many groups devoted to social networking. There are alot of forum threads posting about digg exchanges. And I am all for promoting my fellow bloggers, I will digg a post if I believe it is well written and the content is believable and informative., even if it doesn't pertain to me or my niche. I will add someone to my digg friends if they will exchange diggs with me.

But the problem with digg exchanges is that many members will post their link, expecting everyone to friend them or digg their post, but then will NOT reciprocate. This creates a rift in the digg network. Not everyone understands what or how to participate in a digg exchange. That is fine, but I am talking about the chronic non-reciprocaters.

A lot of these non-reciprocaters will post "shouts" or messages , alerting their digg "friends" un-mercilessly, about content that needs a digg. The worst offenders post shouts sometimes 5-10 times a day - all the while ignoring friends shouts and NEVER digging something shared with them. These chronic offenders can turn off a new member to the digg exchange very quickly. It is also frustrating to have to remove these people from your own digg friends lists.

So inspired by these events, I am starting a blogroll listing bloggers who actively support their blogging peers through dig exchanges and digg friending. The Active Digg'r Blogroll
not only will provide a sense of community within the blogosphere, but will also be a way of promoting member's blogs and content.

Here is the button all members will display:

Renaissance Culinaire Available Via Mobile Devices. 1

The importance of mobile feeds in the blogosphere. Steps on how to optimize your wordpress blog via the plugin – or how to use a third party provider if not on wordpress.


Get Updates sent right to your mobile device! Learn how now. Also other Renaissance Culinaire related links.

To Subscribe to Renaissance via Your Mobile device :
Subscribe here


Renaissance Culinaire Links :

Feed | Amber (personal) On Twitter | Updates Via Twitter (Feed) | Subscribe Via Email | Community On BlogLog | Get Recipes Feed

"What’s needed is a version of your blog that is designed for display on a mobile phone and other small-screen mobile devices.


That means a focus on displaying the content (the text) in a way that’s easy to read on a small screen, easy to navigate it using a typical phone’s small buttons, and display hyperlinks in a way that makes it easy to spot them.


It also needs to be quick to load over the comparatively slow connection speed of a cellular network, or even the comparatively faster speed that you might get with a wi-fi-enabled mobile phone.


All this needs to be available in an easy-to-create way that doesn’t require you to spend hours coding and creating a mobile-specific version of your blog.


You’re in luck if you’re a WordPress user – there is such a tool. It’s a plugin called WordPress Mobile Edition, created by Alex King (one of the most generous contributors to the WordPress user community).


This plugin is simplicity itself. Upload the files, activate the plugin, and that’s it – the mobile version of your blog is done. It works (and looks) a treat as the photo suggests. Download the zip file and follow the simple instructions.


Having an easy-to-use version of your blog for small-screen mobile devices is becoming more important if you want to make your site easily accessible to visitors no matter what device they use to connect to the net."—-Quoted from Neville Hobson

Don’t have a Wordpress blog?? Don’t know where to start, but want an easy method to turn your site mobile accessible, without coding?


Turn your feed into a mobile site with FeedM8, You just need to give them your url or feed url, and within a few seconds you have a moblog link to offer your readers!! Cool.

Renaissance Culinaire Nominated for 2007 BOBs 0

Congratulations!!! You have been nominated for a 2007 Best Of Blog Award!! Especially designed to bring attention to lower profile bloggers, The BoB’s as we like to call them are currently taking nominations in over 20 different categories. To find out more about how your site has a chance to become one of this year’s Best Of’s and how to nominate other bloggers, visit us at www.thebestofblogs.com. Remember voting begins May 5th so make sure you pass the word to your friends, family, and faithful followers.

Sincerely,
Bill Beck
Project Mgr.
www.TheBestOfBlogs.com
Email:Bloggerbeck@aol.com

How cool? I am very excited to be a nominee. It's nice when the little blogger's can get in on the action. Apparently the Best of Blogs had some technical errors and decided to allow more time for nominations .

Below is a new schedule :

• Nominations end April 21st
• Two weeks later on May 5th the Top 10 in each category will be announced and voting will begin.
• May 26th marks the date that a winning blog in each of the 23 categories will be announced.

If you are wondering how the BOB's work here is more info from the BOB site:

After the nomination period, the panelists assigned to each specific category will weed through the nominations and pick what they think are the 10 most deserving blogs in that category. Panelist decisions will be based first on blog content and second on user-friendliness; a blogs visual design will only be a minor consideration.

The fans will then vote on a their favorite in each category. 100% of the popular vote will be used to pick the winner.

I am so happy to be nominated. It is an honor. I had taken a break from blogging, and let this blog remain parked and not updated while I took care of a host of personal business, but people still visited and left comments, and linked. It was great to receive reader emails asking if I was o.k, or mention how they liked my site. It makes my day when I get feedback. It makes me want to blog more.

I have appreciated all the subscribers and fellow bloggers who have supported this blog for the long haul. It has gone through many metamorphosis's , but my interest to share foodie tidbits has been ever increasing. I think about culinary ALL the time...I am such a foodie.

I will be adding more updates about the BOBs in the future. I would appreciate any support when it comes time to vote for BOBs . So if you like this blog and what it stands for --- please consider posting a vote.

If you have other favorites --- there are 23 categories to choose from to nominate your favorite blogger, but you must visit the site and put your nominee in comments under the appropriate category . Make the content that you love soo much , get the exposure it deserves - Vote for your favorite bloggers.

The Culinary School of Thought : Why Food Blogs should not "tickle-me-emo" 1

Should food blog authors talk about drama in their personal life , in their posts ? What separates a foodie post from an average blog post? Is it the willingness to obsess over food? Or is it the absence of teenage angst?

Something keeps me from describing my year. A year I will never forget. I could divulge the sketchy details...let them consume the page until your eyes grow watery and strained --- but something tells me to move on to less polluted and more food oriented subject matter.

I am really torn on posting events of my private life on this blog. Especially since in 2008, I have committed to being a better food blog author. It is kind of like I've taken an oath to blog food - and nothing but the food.

2007 was a year that did not slip quietly into the realms of ordinary. Not a chance, there was no meager repose. Topsy-turvy. Not only for the rest of the world, these indeed are strange times. Elections. World in Crisis. Fashion disasters. Inventions aimed at making people more lazy. Uncertain economy. Dollar value plummeting.


So I digress. This is a food blog after all, not a "tickle-me-emo ^w" teenager-on-Myspace sob-fest. As Jim Rome ^w would say:

"That IS NOT a reason to GO!" --- Jim Rome

So on a lighter , more nostalgic note - I have had a lot of time to think about blogging and what I am wanting to do with my food blog in the future. I have had this blog since Dec. of 2004 (WOW!) and in that time the blog has gone through many stages of metamorphosis - from template design - as I discover new info on html design ; to advertisements; to the content its self.

The readership has grown (THANKS!) and I think the blog template has become a more mature version of former ones . I have always tried to distance myself from blogging the same content as food blogs that fellow foodie Mahanandi says are:

"....traditional "always-all things-all-purpose flour" corporate promoted cooking..."

and in a way that suits my style of writing very well.

The thing that stays constant is my love of writing and the insatiable passion of learning everything I can about culinary : whether that means food / technique / history.

Merriam Webster lists the term Disciple as :

Main Entry:
dis·ci·ple
Pronunciation:
\di-ˈsī-pəl\
Function:
noun
1: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines ^MW of another: as b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual.

That is one reason I leave "student" in my blog description --- I will and continue to be a life long disciple of the culinary school of thought.

I author this blog not only to give me an outlet for my writing, but also to make note of things maybe other foodies can relate to, or to offer some info on certain techniques or info that may be more in depth than say that page on "recipes-gone-wild.com", all the while documenting and archiving my school notes for reference at a later date.

I do interlace my love of photography and music throughout this blog and can't help throwing in a smidgen of sarcasm or poetry or irony, it's my nature.

I am here to let you know my food blog is here for the long haul. I will be introducing more content, more frequently in 2008 and hope this is a year to awaken more creativity and foodie fabulous.

Happy New Year!

Blogosphere blurb / Recipe: Pear Chocolate Belle - Helene 2

Culinary Revival --- That is what Renaissance Culinaire translates into to English. Now that my template is updated in "new" blogger, and it looks o.k I can now get down to the business of baking. After recoding the html and going through each post to label them individually, I realized that 2005 was the "golden" year of this blog. That this was a model for the blog that you readers loved so much --- and in all fairness I plan to deliver my posts in that spirit, once again. ---lets say VIVA BLOG CONTENT!

O.k I haven't a picture for this dessert... But I plan to bake it next week, so I will update the post with some assembly & finished dessert pics later.


Pear Chocolate Belle - Helene
This was adapted from an editorial in The Columbia.

Cake Ingredients:

¾ Cup butter or Margarine+ , softened
2 ½ Cups flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar+
½ tsp. Baking Powder
½ tsp. Baking Soda
4 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate , melted
1 Egg , slightly beaten+
1 cup milk+
4 small, ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut in half. (or substitute for canned halves --- drain, and pat dry w/ paper towels)

++For Vegan/ Vegetarian :

Substitute Earth Balance (( in the block form)) in place of the butter.
Use 2 oz of Extra Firm Silken Tofu in place of egg.
Soy or coconut milk can be substituted for milk.
Substitute your natural sweetener ( I.\e Turbinado) in place of sugar --- adjust accordingly, more or less depending on the sweetener.


Cake Mix Directions :Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat butter with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.
Add flour and sugar; beat on low speed until crumbly. Remove 1/3 cup of
the butter mixture; set aside. Add baking powder, baking soda,
chocolate, egg and milk to remaining butter mixture in bowl. Stir just
until dry ingredients are moistened.

SPREAD one-third of the batter into greased 9-inch spring form pan. Place pear halves,
cut sides down, in a circular pattern over batter. Drop spoonfuls of
remaining batter over pears; spread to evenly cover pears. Sprinkle
with the reserved crumb mixture .

BAKE 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

Cake Finishing:
Using a pastry brush, brush the cooled cake with *Brandy Simple Syrup. Spoon slightly cooled **Spiced Carmel sauce onto the cake, allowing the caramel to drip over sides.



*Brandy Simple syrup
2 cups water
1 cup white sugar ( Or vegan sugar)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup brandy

DIRECTIONS:
In a saucepan, combine water, sugar and lemon zest. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Strain into airtight container, removing the lemon zest. Allow to cool, then cover and store in refrigerator. When ready to use, mix in brandy. Brush onto cake

*Spiced Pecan Carmel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ nutmeg
Toasted Pecan halves

DIRECTIONS:
Put granulated sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and crumble brown sugar over. Melt sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until granulated sugar is mostly melted. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until a deep golden caramel. Carefully pour in cream (mixture will bubble up and caramel will harden slightly) and stir in nutmeg, cinnamon . Simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved and sauce is reduced to about 1 cups, about 10 minutes. Cool to just warm.

++Vegan Spiced Carmel Sauce:

2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
½ Cup soy milk
½ Cup vegan sugar
¼ tsp Nutmeg
¼ tsp Cinnamon
¼ Cup water + 1 tsp water
Toasted Pecan halves

DIRECTIONS: Stir cornstarch into soy milk and set aside. Place Vegan sweetener , spices and one tablespoon water in a non-stick saucepan. Over medium heat, stirring constantly color will appear light brown, add 1/4 cup cold water, allow the syrup to come to a low boil. Reduce heat and add soy milk while stirring. Once incorporated , gradually return to boil, stirring constantly until thickened & glossy / smooth. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Add toasted Pecans. {if too thick/sweet, add additional soy milk , stirring constantly.}

Foodie links/photog : Red Currant Mini Cakes 2

Wow. What a beautiful picture, I found this while browsing the flickr group I manage : Artisan Artistry , a group for photographs that feature handmade breads/confections/desserts. SO far there are 122 members.

Red Currant Mini Cakes, originally uploaded by La tartine gourmande. 

Here are the most recent group stats:

La Tartine Gourmande  has a tantalizing photo stream.

Visit the food blog for luscious Recipes ---
Red Currant Mini Cakes can be found here .

Flickr has over 4,500 groups which are food related. Yikes...foodie heaven or hell ? You be the judge...

Glimpses 0

Here is a collage of pictures over the recent year, I took. If you click it and are a flickr member, you can follow the notes made on the collage and be taken to each individual picture page.

Glimpses, originally uploaded by Amber *.

I am sorry that I have been away from the blogosphere since spring...I have lot's of things happening right now. I moved away from the Portland area and that has taken up a lot of my time, with the packing and everything. But it was quite liberating too --- as I was able to sort through things I had packed away which I had been hanging onto, sentimentally since I was 17 years old...Needless to say if you browse a goodwill in Portland you may purchase one of mine or my families' former possessions. It is amazing what one can accumulate over 10 years, whether it be paperwork or just odds and ends. I also was able to locate my old letters written by old friends that I miss...Hopefully our paths will cross again someday soon.

I promise I will be keeping up with my food blog once I settle in --- Until then, fare thee well!

Photography : On the rails along the Columbia 3

I took this on the way home, traveling I-84. We pulled over and I got out with no fleece to take as many shots as I could in 2 minutes...brrr. It was very cold and the wind was a frigid guest.

on the rails along the columbia, originally uploaded by Amber *.

I am back home. I have some better shots in my photo stream of this sunset. I took some from my car window --- had I charged my camera battery I might have gotten more. Oh well.

I haven't a culinary gem to pull out of my chef hat at this moment --- but more will follow I promise.

I did the math recently as I looked at my feedburner stats since April 2004 --- I have over 130 readers by rss aggregation! Plus like 15 by email.

Wow! Thanks for reading! I wasn't trying to create a pretentious food blog, nor was I claiming to be some culinary wizard. I wanted to write my thoughts and I admit I haven't been the most regular poster. Balancing your life when your a blogger and single is one thing --- but when you have a family to take care of with a young child and are going to school full time it is a lot harder to be consistent when blogging...atleast for me.

It has been a struggle, as I have suffered a writing ship wreck --- I am surely caught in The doldrums:

Early sailors named this belt of calm the doldrums because of the low spirits they found themselves in after days of no wind. To find oneself becalmed in this region in a hot and muggy climate could mean death in the era when wind was the only motive force.

Writer's block. No creative thoughts, like a blank stare into a calm sea. Frustrating, as there is no change ...Just a sour awareness you are not creating anything new.

Cook Book Meme - Long over due! 0

I have been devoting my time to school and other things, like Blogs That Flickr ,
sad to say even my photoblog has gotten more attention than RC. I'd like to say thanks for those that have added me to their links, and even deb has featured me as "site of the week" (*blushes*).

Thanks for the comments on my photography. My camera has broken recently, so it may be a while before I can collect funds to repair or buy another camera to take new pictures. If you wish to help out , visit my photoblog (link above) and click on "about" , there you will find links to donate or purchase pictures.All proceeds go to camera repair.

I was tagged in July with a cook book même by Food Chronicler. This is my first même. Sorry I am so late in delivery.

1. Total number of cookbooks I own: Well not nearly as many as I'd like. Only 30, I have just started collecting them in the last year or so.

2. Last cookbook I bought:

Bugalli on PastaOk ,I am a thrifty person when it comes to everything (I am a poor college student) so I frequent dusty little used book stores searching for deals. I bought this for $10 a couple weeks ago. To quote Jamie Oliver (a.k.a Naked Chef) on his thoughts on pasta, more specifically ravioli :

" They are sexy special little things, they're like little presents..."

I feel Pasta is rustic, simple and palate pleasing. For a pasta artisan to create the perfect zen like experience it must involve care and the right ingredients. I love pasta books.
3. Last food/cook book I read:

Bugalli on Pasta

4. Five (cook) books that mean a lot to me:

Cooking The Indian Way (1967) I found this book for $1 and It was such a find. There are a lot of traditional Indian entrees; desserts and appetizers. Plus it offers translations of Indian cooking terms. I love Indian food! I can envision the people who purchased this book in 1967, into a minimalist pad draped in and overflowing with orange color schemes with brass accents, no funiture just floor pillows and ambiance provided by soft citar music on the record player.




The Cake Bible
The Cake Bible .This book is fabulous and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in cake assembly/design- especially wedding cakes. The author offers really great tips for assembling wedding cakes and trouble shooting; her formulations in this book offer several types of buttercreams and ganache; even poured fondant. It was the book I referred to when doing my first wedding cake.




In The Sweet Kitchen
In The Sweet Kitchen One of the first baking books I have seen that isn't filled with a lot of what I call fluff (author quotes, full page photographs etc). It is filled with formulas that have great ingredients, and a good offering of history and info on the ingredients. When I think of baking for Christmas or other holidays, I search through formulas here first.


Professional Baking
Professional Baking This book is definitely a great one, with plenty of reference material; formulas and techniques. I will never get rid of it. All formulas use bakers percent. I really want the newest edition though --- it's even better!


The Professional Pastry Chef
The Professional Pastry Chef I received the 3rd edition as a graduation present from my uncle. He always supported my baking dreams whole heartedly. This book is indispensable. There are so many formulations and techniques outlined here. This has to be my favorite pastry book. The photographs are superb ---

5. Who would you like to see fill this out in their blogs:

J.T of Pastry Life. He has frequented here since I started this blog. He is always picking up some new culinary book...and now that he has graduated I wonder if this will start a new surge of buying needs ; )

The 2nd Annual International Weblogger's Day 0

This blog is apart of the celebration. Blogs From all over The globe are participating. We are relishing the weblog movement. We know That our words can accomplish something --- move our readers into tears, anger or joy. Not only are our words powerful, but they can ignite a torrent of activists, creative voices and effect how the media views global events. No longer is there a cyber grey area of wasted space --- webloggers are here, and will be for a long time!

To Help spread the word & Celebrate fellow webloggers --- Tag your blog post today with this tag! Then ping your blog using Ping-o-matic.com So your blog post will register with technorati.


<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/International+Weblogger%27s+Day" rel="tag">International Weblogger's Day</a>




Click the graphic below to read more about The 2nd Annual Webloggers Day! There are links to other blogs Participating.


587 blogs. 43 countries. 1 day.

Fraudulent Emails - Where to Send them! 1

I recieved this wonderful news today. Seems I am a winner, and when I win - I win REAL BIG money:

Subject: congratulations..........................
Date: 4/3/2005 5:37:14 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
From: jjhen@i12.com
Reply To:
To:
CC:
BCC:
Sent on:


Sent from the Internet (Details)
Internet Address Card Attached

FROM: ALFA CONSULT BV. PROMOTIONS/PRIZE AWARD DEPARTMENT.

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

RESULTS FOR THIRD CATEGORY DRAWS
Congratulations to you as we bring to your notice, the results of the Third
Category draws of ALFA CONSULT BV.PROMOTIONS We are happy to inform you that
you have emerged a winner under the Third Category, which is part of our
promotional draws. The draws were held on the Match 2, 2005 and results are
being officially announced today April 3 2005. Participants were selected
through a computer ballot system drawn from 40,000 names/email addresses of
individuals and companies from Africa, America,Asia,
Australia,Canada, Europe, Middle East, and New Zealand as part of our
International Promotions Program.You/Your company, attached to ticket number
1811-5-742, with serial number 89-63 drew the lucky
numbers 19, 21, 25, 30, 41, 44 (22), and consequently won in the Third
Category.

You have therefore been awarded a lump sum pay out of
US$1,500,000.00 (One Million Five Hundred Thousand
United States Dollars) in cash, which is the winning
payout for Third Category winners. This is from the
total prize money of US$6,000,000.00 shared among the
4 international winners in the Third category.

CONGRATULATIONS!
Your fund is now deposited with ALFA CONSULT BV. GROUP insured
in your name.In your best interest and also to avoid mix up of numbers and
names of any kind,we request that you keep the entire details of your award
strictly from public notice
until the process of transferring your claims has been completed,
and your funds remitted to your account.
This is part of our security protocol to avoid double
claiming or unscrupulous acts by
participants/nonparticipants of this program.
We also wish to bring to your notice our mid year
(2005) high stakes where you stand a chance of winning
up to US$1.5 Billion, we hope that with a part of your
prize you will participate.

Please contact your claims agent immediately, to begin
your claims process;

MR Henry Ford
ALFA CONSULT BV. Blakelands House, Yeomans Drive,
Milton Keynes, MK14 5HG.uk
EMAIL : henhill4@yahoo.com

For due processing and remittance of your prize money
to a designated account of your choice.
Remember, you must contact your claim agent not later
than 31st June 2005. After this date, all funds will
be returned as unclaimed.
NOTE: For easy reference and identification, Find
below your reference and Batch numbers, remember to
quote these numbers in every one of your
correspondence with your claims agent.
REFERENCE NUMBER: MCL/FLW/12-A782881207 BATCH NUMBER: 1811-TH

Congratulations once again from all our staff and
thank you for being part of our promotions program.

MR Henry Ford
ALFA CONSULT BV. Blakelands House, Yeomans Drive,
Milton Keynes, MK14 5HG.uk
EMAIL : henhill4@yahoo.com

N.B. Any breach of confidentiality on the part of the
winners will result to disqualification.
Please reply to this email or Contact your claims agent

I quickly googled "BV. Promotions" and I found this site : 419 Legal.org - Law Enforcement
Which is home for South African Police Services. This site is great, I strongly urge anyone to check out their services. Plus the more of us out there who contribute this "spam" to their archives, the better evidence they will have to continue their investigations. Here is the mission statement from their website:

419 Legal is a website dedicated to fighting 419 Advance Fee Fraud.

We collect information on fraudsters, their methods, their victims and the tools they use. Much of this information is supplied by a dedicated group of informers who's information has helped to get many fake websites taken down and save people from falling victim to these scams.

This website is also acting as a discussion point between Law Enforcement, Anonymous Informers and Business Professionals in order to fight this type of fraud more effectively.

In order to contact us or report a scam, please send an e-mail to 419@419legal.org , Scam letters can also be sent.

I myself have been overwhelmed by spam as of late. I hope you find the email addresses & site info helpful.

Down with spam - fight to ban!!!