Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: KC Masterpiece Buffalo Marinade

As part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I received a bottle of KC Masterpiece marinade to try out and review.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: Sabra Dip

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon to try one of Sabra’s dips. They have expanded beyond hummus and eggplant salads, and now offer salsas, guacamole, and veggie dips. Those new options will have to wait for another day as the store I eventually bought from only had hummus, and even then my options were limited. We'd previously gone to several area grocers to try to find these new selections but were only able to find the hummus and salsa. (Has anyone had any luck finding these new offerings in the capital region?) I ended up choosing the Supremely Spicy hummus for M and I to snack on.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: Crisco Olive Oil

As part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I received samples of Crisco olive oil to review. I never really thought too much about the differences in olive oil types, I just cooked with it. But apparently there are quite a few differences, and as you can see on the bottles, it conveniently lets you know what each is best used for.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: Birds Eye Chef Favorites

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received not one, but four Birds Eye Chef Favorites to try out. And seeing that these were frozen vegetable sides, it was something perfect for M to review.

Foodbuzz Tastemaker Series: Kodak Photo Book

As part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker program, I was selected to create a photo book using Kodak Gallery’s quick start program on their website. It was simple to use, and the hardest part I encountered in using it was deciding which pictures made the cut.

Newtons Fruit Thins

As a part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I received a package of these cookies to try and write about.

Pace Chili Con Carne

A few months ago I received two bottles of Pace picante sauce as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Originally I was going to use the sauce with some chicken or fish dishes, but cold weather thought otherwise.

Project Food Blog Winner Announced Today!

Out of two thousand contestants (was it really that many?), there are three that remain:

No Recipes

Oh She Glows

Tiny Urban Kitchen

I’ve been keeping mum about who I’ve been voting for, but now that voting is closed, I can say who I’d like to see win – Tiny Urban Kitchen. How can you not root for someone who built the city of Boston out of vegetables?!?

This isn’t to say I don’t like the other two bloggers. I’ve been following No Recipes for a while now, and I discovered Oh She Glows because of the contest. I just found that out of the three, I was more impressed by Jennifer Che’s (TUK) entries.

She was interviewed the other day on WBUR about the contest and her edible version of Boston. The link to the interview can be found here.

According to the @foodbuzz Twitter account, the winner will be announced today at 11:30 AM PST (2:30 for us east coasters). If you want to follow on Twitter, #pfb2010.

UPDATE: She won!!

Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries

Breakfast anyone?

As a part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I received not one, but two boxes of Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries cereal to try.

Project Food Blog Challenge #1: Ready, Set, Blog!

You may have noticed that little widget on the left side of the page. Well, Foodbuzz is holding a contest for its Featured Publishers, which I have been for the last two years. Project Food Blog pits bloggers against one another in a series of challenges for a chance to move on to the next round and hopefully win the ultimate prize, a one year special feature on the Foodbuzz website and $10,000. This is not for the faint of heart, as there are many great bloggers vying to be crowned the next food blog star.

Am I nervous? You bet.




So here is the first challenge: “create a blog post that defines you as a food blogger and makes it clear why you think you have what it takes to be the next food blog star.” I’ve been thinking of my answer on and off for the last few weeks, but it just kept alluding me. Worried I was overanalyzing, I took a step back and thought, “why did I start a food blog?”




I started food blogging in the summer of 2005. Before then I had been reading a handful of food blogs, and thought I could do the same thing. I had just gone back to school and as a way to keep costs down, I was cooking more. So at that time the blog was a means to keep track of all my cooking adventures and when I did go out, a way to remind me of all the places that I liked… and disliked.




And here I am, five years later, and still at it. The blog name and some of the faces have changed, but my interest in food remains the same. In some ways, it has increased… and I think it is because of this blog. While I still retreat back into my comfort zone from time to time, I have taken strides in stepping out from it.

I understand now when Julie Powell wrote how the Julie/Julia Project saved her life. In her instance, in mine - and perhaps the same holds true for many others – food led to our Aha! moment. That moment of clarity where everything makes perfect sense, and we just… get it.




What defines me as a food blogger is my continued interest, curiosity, and my desire to learn more and do more. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t be frantically writing to make the deadline. I’m not saying food defines my life, but it is merely a prominent fixture as I go through it.

Do I think I have what it takes to be the next food blog star? Absolutely. My reasons that define me as a food blogger also explain why I would be able to make it to that next level. I write a blog that doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It’s sometimes smart, sometimes informed, sometimes funny, and sometimes none of the above. I write because it’s what I like to do… and something that can only get better with time. I blog because I like food.

I blog because, well… everybody eats, so why not write about it?

Kellogg’s Eggo Real Fruit Pizza

 
Growing up, I was more into Pop Tarts than Eggos. The reasoning is simple enough- Pop Tarts don’t need to be heated, and are easy to take on the go. Eggos, in my eyes, was considered sit down food. You took it out of the freezer, popped it into the toaster, sat down and waited until it was cooked, threw it on a plate, sat down and covered it with butter and syrup. Eggos were “labor intensive.”

Fast-forward twenty something years and Eggos are once again in my life. One of the benefits of being part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, is that I get to try out new products. For free. Last month I opted in for this real fruit pizza and forgot all about it. Early last week it came in, but I put off trying it until the end of the week.

 
Because it’s an Eggo, you would have expected this pizza to have a waffle as the crust, right? Well, that’s what I expected it. I pictured that it would be their signature waffle, covered in a sauce… something along the lines of yogurt, and topped with fruit. And if that’s what I got, I would have been alright with it.

But that’s not what came out of the box. Heck… that’s not even what was pictured on the box. What I saw… was possibly a pancake. A pancake. Covered in pink stuff. And granola. And fruit. The first thing I thought? “This is an Eggo?”



The pizza can be either microwaved or heated in a toaster oven. According to the back of the box, microwaving would take only a minute and a half, where as the oven could take up to seven minutes. My first inclinations were to throw it in the oven (ensuring a crispy crust), but I figured I would go the microwave route.

It’s pretty simple. You flip the try over and place the pizza on the cooking circle. 1-1 1/2 minutes to cook, and 1-2 minutes to cool down. And depending on how you eat, up to another 5 minutes to finish it. I guess if you were on the run, you can burrito it, and wrap it in a napkin as you’re running out the door. Or you can cut it up into slices, as I did.


 
Before and after shots. Not that there seems to be much of a difference when you look at it. No more ice on the strawberries and it smells cooked… that’s about it when it comes to differentiating the two.

The crust was bland. I definitely tasted the cinnamon in it, but that was it. I should have went ahead and cooked this in the oven- microwaving pizza-like things always leads to mediocre results. The spread turned out to be flavored Neufchatel cheese. I’m indifferent to it on this pizza. The granola was soggy, but could possibly be corrected by cooking in the oven. Strawberries were okay, but I wouldn’t have minded some more.

Will I buy this in the future? Probably not. If it just happened to be lying around and I was hungry… I’d eat it. But Kellogg’s may want to tinker around with this some more.

Foodbuzz Perks

I forget when this actually happened, but it wasn't that long ago. I found this waiting at the front door. What was it? I've been agreeing to all these foodbuzz things, but I haven't been keeping track of what exactly I've been agreeing to.

What can it be? Something perishable, obviously... if the big sticker on the outside of the box didn't catch my attention, those packs sure did.

Ahhh! The new pastas from Buitoni!

I haven't used it yet, but soon wild mushroom agnolotti... soon.

A food review on Foodbuzz.

Looks like I'm the first one to review the Nanuet Hotel.

Not that I'm surprised. It is the suburbs after all.