August’s Blogs of the Month

Lots of good blogs have come my way this month, mainly, it has to be said, through Twitter. I must confess I don’t read people’s blogrolls any more which was, of course, the reason behind doing a monthly selection.

If I’ve only got four or five blogs listed there’s a chance that you - and I - will both get to know a bit more about the blogger though I’m surprised some bloggers turn out not to post that frequently. Makes me feel better when there’s a big gap in my own posts. Anyway here are this month's four.

Kiss my Spatula
Despite the dodgy-sounding title which sounds like something Cartman might say in South Park this one of those beautiful-looking blogs I find so hard to resist. (Check out the homemade fig jam) It’s written by ‘G’ “a girl who loves being in the kitchen, behind the camera and in front of life” according to her bio which doesn’t tell you much (though I like her list of likes and loves). Discovered through Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes who does a great job of highlighting less well known sites than her own.

Paris by Mouth
A really excellent site to which a number of prominent food writers contribute including the lovely Dorie Greenspan whose blog I’ve already highlighted in this monthly selection, Patricia Wells and Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini. It has its own restaurant guide (and guide to bakeries and ice cream shops). A must-read if you’re planning a trip.

Pane Amore e Cha Cha Cha
Couldn’t resist the title of this one even though it includes non-food items. It’s a blog “about things I consume” according to its author, Guardian writer Annalisa Barbieri who also has a sourdough blog called The Sour Side though that doesn’t seem to be quite so regularly updated. Terrific writing on both. And a good tip about putting your recipes in Muji folders here. I always manage to lose the recipes I tear out of newspapers and mags - or forget to bookmark them.

Fuchsia Dunlop
With the decreasing amount of space devoted to real food journalism it’s hard to be a serious writer these days but Fuchsia, in my book, is in the class of greats like Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson. A recent post on 'Why not eat insects?' for example is tagged ‘agriculture’, ‘environment’ and ‘unusual delicacies’ which gives you a feel for the stratosphere she occupies. Her main speciality though is Chinese - and specifically Sichuan - cuisine. (She speaks fluent Chinese and is no mean artist as you can see if you look at her Scrapbook page.)