{"id":17281,"date":"2010-09-18T22:57:06","date_gmt":"2010-09-19T05:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ineedtext.com\/FoodBlog\/?p=17281"},"modified":"2010-09-18T22:57:06","modified_gmt":"2010-09-19T05:57:06","slug":"its-post-time-and-theyre-off-project-food-blog-challenge-1-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ineedtext.com\/FoodBlog\/its-post-time-and-theyre-off-project-food-blog-challenge-1-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Post Time And They’re Off: Project Food Blog Challenge #1 Begins."},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ready, Set, Blog!\u00a0 It’s\u00a0time for the first of (10) Challenges developed by Foodbuzz for\u00a0Project Food Blog<\/strong><\/a>, a\u00a0friendly contest amongst hundreds of talented Featured Publishers to determine the Next Project Food Blog Star<\/strong>.\u00a0 What an honor that would be!\u00a0 Oh, $10,000 is the PRIZE too.\u00a0 Hello.\u00a0 In Challenge #1\u00a0contestants will be put\u00a0in a colander\u00a0to see\u00a0if they make it through to become\u00a0(1) of (400) selected from (1,850+).\u00a0 Each challenge eliminates more, until I’m left.\u00a0 Here the\u00a0judges want to know WHY<\/strong>\u00a0I have what it takes to be “the one” and WHAT<\/strong> makes Nibbles of Tidbits<\/strong> unique and sets it apart from other food blog brands.\u00a0 Good questions.\u00a0\u00a0I hope to answer\u00a0them clearly\u00a0here in words\u00a0and photos.<\/p>\n

More about me\u00a0and\u00a0WHY I have what it takes to be the Next Food Blog Star<\/strong>*.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>\"\"<\/a>Although pictured in my Contestant Profile<\/a> with my\u00a0Rocky Mountain Orange Cream Pie<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0Fair, I’d opt\u00a0for\u00a0Foie Gras in a minute.\u00a0\u00a0And after reserving a\u00a0slice of the\u00a0Pie for later, I’d want to\u00a0smash it in a friend’s face for a laugh, fully deserving\u00a0retaliation.\u00a0\u00a0If you dish it out, you’ve got to\u00a0eat it<\/strong>.\u00a0 Overall, I’m\u00a0sweet, savory\u00a0and spicy, and\u00a0rarely make the same dish twice.\u00a0 I’ve cooked my way through various classics —\u00a0Lobster Thermidor, Beef Wellington, Coq au Vin and\u00a0countless others.\u00a0\u00a0And I’ve explored\u00a0foods from\u00a0a number of cultures — Thai, Indian, Greek<\/a>, etc.\u00a0 I love to experiment and\u00a0keen on\u00a0purchasing ingredients\u00a0I’ve never tasted and\/or used before.\u00a0\u00a0It’s\u00a0almost as fun as Christmas to\u00a0determine\u00a0what to make\u00a0with them.\u00a0\u00a0Experimentation is\u00a0how I discovered Parsnips (White Carrots) so long ago and I still can’t believe most\u00a0I ask haven’t tried them.\u00a0 I\u00a0want to taste almost\u00a0everything.\u00a0\u00a0Too many Americans\u00a0are missing out\u00a0by not\u00a0sampling different things.<\/p>\n

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More reasons WHY…\u00a0I’ve\u00a0been lucky enough to win several ribbons<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0the Orange County Fair’s Culinary Arts Competitions.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0also\u00a0won a contest sponsored by Milk<\/strong>, whereas my recipe\u00a0(Fennel-Cannellini\u00a0Soup)<\/a>\u00a0and photo appeared in Gourmet and Bon App\u00e9tit Magazines sporting a Milk Moustache.\u00a0 I won the Grand Prize in the Soup category<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0And another recipe creation\u00a0(Angel Cake Souffl\u00e9<\/a>) was endorsed by Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen.\u00a0 Family and friends call me with their food related questions and I love answering them.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Equal to\u00a0my passion for cooking,\u00a0I’d opt to eat out\u00a0day and night until\u00a0tiring of it.\u00a0 I haven’t\u00a0yet tired, but my wallet does.\u00a0\u00a0The restaurant\u00a0options\u00a0are limitless.\u00a0 Dining out\u00a0is instant gratification, as it provides\u00a0diverse food\u00a0quickly,\u00a0without\u00a0having to do the dishes.\u00a0 One of the finest meals\u00a0out caused me to melt down my chair in excitement\u00a0with every bite —\u00a0I was under the table\u00a0by the end of the meal.\u00a0 Maybe it was the Wine.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Utilizing\u00a0all\u00a0I’ve learned\u00a0with a fine palate, I\u00a0like to\u00a0uncover (by taste) what’s in a\u00a0memorable restaurant dish to possibly re-create it at home.\u00a0 I’ve been successful with a few\u00a0favorites<\/a>\u00a0— One example is linked\u00a0and others\u00a0can be found in the ‘Copycat Recipes<\/strong>‘ category.\u00a0 And finally with respect to\u00a0WHY I have what it takes, I\u00a0write as\u00a0the Orange County Food Examiner<\/strong><\/a> on Examiner.com and\u00a0for others as needed by way of I Need Text Co.<\/a>\u00a0 I tell people that starting my blog is one of the best things I’ve done, since I walk and talk FOOD all day long anyway.\u00a0 It’s\u00a0truly meant to be that I’m here right now.\u00a0 Cheers.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0I’m\u00a0not sure about the\u00a0“Star” part of the title — I’m most interested in\u00a0the “Project Food Blog” part, because I love FOOD (the true Star)<\/strong>, eating, photography, blogging**, cooking, writing\u00a0and\u00a0a good old-fashioned competition.<\/p>\n

** Are there\u00a0better words than\u00a0blog,\u00a0blogger and blogging?\u00a0\u00a0The terms are\u00a0just so…\u00a0not cool sounding.\u00a0 I guess it’s too late now.<\/p>\n

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WHAT makes my blog (Nibbles of Tidbits) unique?\u00a0 And what sets it apart from other food blog brands?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Nibbles of Tidbits is about the GOOD, the BAD & the FUNNY regarding FOOD — From Yikes to Ooo La La<\/strong>, as the heading states.\u00a0 Having cooked\u00a0like a maniac for twenty plus years, I’ve learned that some dishes turn out great and others\u00a0turn out like crap.\u00a0 And some published recipes and\u00a0flavor combinations work and others\u00a0are just plain wrong.\u00a0 I\u00a0report about it all.\u00a0 Since I’ve\u00a0fine-tuned my cooking skills over time,\u00a0most\u00a0meals\u00a0turn out\u00a0GOOD, and\u00a0I’ve come to realize that the BAD\u00a0can also be\u00a0FUNNY.\u00a0 Photos posted for this first challenge\u00a0represent\u00a0the good, bad and funny (GBF)\u00a0regarding food and drinks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Nibbles of Tidbits<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0FOOD without limitations<\/strong> — Thank God since\u00a0I want to experience\u00a0all aspects of it, especially<\/em>\u00a0that\u00a0from the earth,\u00a0food\u00a0events, restaurants,\u00a0product testing and comparison, easy recipe creation, unique ingredients, copycat recipe development, cooking shortcuts, special finds and all things interesting.\u00a0 I\u00a0sometimes find\u00a0pleasure\u00a0in fast food and frozen meals, but\u00a0feel most excellent at a gourmet (non-stuffy) dining establishment with a glass of Wine\u00a0in hand.\u00a0 All is reported about with helpful and entertaining insight.<\/p>\n

\"\"I’m a snob for freshness, quality and value and want to get what I pay for.\u00a0 Don’t\u00a0gouge me with inferiority and all should be good —\u00a0I prefer not to write bad things, but truth is\u00a0king.\u00a0 With a few exceptions, I’ve posted daily for almost 2 1\/2\u00a0years and\u00a0challenges include…\u00a0Taking photos before digging in,\u00a0measuring ingredients\u00a0before adding them to\u00a0creations, and presentation (mine looks too elementary school sometimes).\u00a0 Nibbles of Tidbits is unique for the reasons mentioned herein and we’re (I’m) excited to\u00a0encounter more, eat well and laugh along the way<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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See my Project Food Blog Contestant Profile\u00a0linked below —\u00a0MAKE ME YOUR BABY<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0I’ll make you proud! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n