Last night, while discussing The Master Cleanser with a coworker (yes, I did end up having to brave the snowstorm, though we were sent home early – inclement weather pay = score!), we both agreed that we love food way too much to think of dropping it for a few days. Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against these fasts, and I’d actually really like to try one someday (I know enough friends who swear by them), but the idea of it makes me a little sad. Twelve whole days without getting to eat food?? What a waste of twelve days! I really love food, you see. :}

In fact, I love food so much that I have become obsessed with food blogs. In the past few months, baking has become, for me, more than just the occasional solution to the lack-of-great-birthday-present problem; I’ve found myself itching to bake when I’m stressed or when I’m cheerful or when I’m bored. When I’m busy and forced to take a week off from haunting the kitchen, I get a little grumpy about it, I’ll be honest. I really love to bake.

So while posts like this one are great at showcasing my amateur effots, I’m pretty excited to share those posts and blogs I’ve stumbled across elsewhere that are simply (in my humble opinion), phenomenal:

• LovinTheOven.com Adorable domain name, adorable blog title, adorable blogger! Kim’s recipes are always super-fun, and her photos are gorgeous. Does anyone remember that Coca-Cola commercial with Rick Moranis? It was a split screen, where he’s sitting in a court room on one side, imagining himself drinking Coke on a beach on the other side, and the image is making him drool? Yeah, that tends to be how I feel (sans actual drooling, I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to hear) when I visit this website. I can’t wait to try the S’mores Cookie Bars — they look AMAZING, and I might just be the World’s Biggest S’mores Fan. No joke.
• DozenFlours.com Just the name makes me “awwe” in a really sickening way, actually. ;) And a Cheesecake Ball? Oh my gosh, sign me up, because I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t even remember my name, let alone all of my stress, as soon as I tasted that. (Is that weird to say? Because it’s true, either way.)
• SmittenKitchen.com I’m not sure whether I love the recipes or the photography more, here, but they are definitely both wonderful. The website is beautiful and fun to read and navigate, and I can’t wait to make this rice pudding. Any site that has ME raving about a rice pudding deserves more awards than could possibly be offered, ever.
• JoyTheBaker.com I’m brand new to Joy the Baker, having only stumbled upon her site this morning (thanks, Kate!), but I’ve definitely added her to the feed; that Pear Spice Cake? Oh my. Oh, oh my. (What else is there to say??)
• The Vegan Diet is educational, as well as yummy, and while the “educational” might be way less exciting than the “yummy” (and be honest, for most of us it totally is), who can argue with nourishment for the brain AND the body? Not me, my friends. Not me. ;) Anyway, while I’m not vegan or even strictly vegetarian, I do err on the side of “nothing with a face,” most of the time, and I definitely tend to enjoy things that others swear tastes like tree bark (that’s a shout-out to my mom, right there, who has only recently discovered the pure joy involved with the consumption of the Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate cookie.) For my 800th link of this post, check out The Power of Pomegranates; I made the couscous (tweaked a bit based on what I hand on hand), and it was amazing.

So now I’m off to review some of the recipes and decide which one would be suitable for my grandmother’s birthday this afternoon. Don’t laugh, but I’m thinking she might really like that rice pudding (we share good taste, she and I ;) ).

So Happy 87th to my Grandma Marie, and happy (super-yummy) Sunday to you all!