Culinary Confessions

Confession #1:  Prior to creating FoodFash (previously Food: Fashion Meets Function), I had never read another food blog.

Confession#2:  For a significant period of time after creating FoodFash, I was hesitant to read other food blogs out of fear that they would sway my ‘creative direction’.

Confession #3:  It wasn’t until Project Food Blog that I realized how large the food blogging community was and that using other blogs as a resource would only make my ‘creative direction’ stronger.

Similarly to how one would pick up mannerisms or tag lines from a new pal, a blogger acquires useful skills from their virtual peers.  If you’ve followed FoodFash for some time, you may have noticed a difference in photography (both quality and quantity), a decrease in anonymity, an increase in technological advancements – but never a change in voice (hopefully).

And although I was eliminated from Project Food Blog fairly early in the competition, I was fortunate enough to find, follow, and correspond with bloggers who would quickly turn into… mentors?  Yup, mentors.  Having virtual peers is borderline.  Having virtual mentors completely crosses the nerd line.

And who are these so-called mentors?

My first blog obsession – Salty Seattle. Her level of creativity is out of this world in every way imaginable.  And when she added me to the Food Ninja Twitter list, well… Let’s just say it probably made me inappropriately giddy.  And I mustn’t forget Sippity Sup, and if you read his latest contest entry, you’ll instantly know why.  He says everything you wish you said and how you wish you said it – simply put, he’s flawless.  And then there’s Joe & Betsy, who I discovered relatively late in the competition (and now that I think about it, I should probably go back and read their earlier entries).  I mean, look at this and tell me you don’t say ‘wow’ at least once.  And lastly, Oh She Glows.

I only mention Oh She Glows last because without her, this post wouldn’t exist.  An ordinary office worker turned extraordinary vegan baker, everything (like this) looks sinfully delicious, but with purpose.  And let’s face it, in the world of sinfully delicious, the purpose of an ingredient is almost always forgotten, on purpose.

So when I volunteered to bring homemade hummus to a Junior League meeting, I knew exactly where to go – my vegan mentor.  This confidence was based on knowing that (from my 30 day vegan challenge) hummus is enough of a staple in the vegan diet to be considered a food group.

I tried this recipe without fail.  And as the recipe suggests, I played around with some of the ingredients in order to achieve ‘my perfect hummus’.  I still have my work cut out for me, but this recipe provided a solid foundation from which I will begin next time.