Project Food Blog...Eeek, I'm a Contestant!

Project Food Blog is the first-ever interactive competition where thousands of food bloggers are competing in a series of culinary blogging challenges for the chance to advance and a shot at earning the title of The Next Food Blog Star (oh, and a not too shabby monetary award of some 10,000 clams).

All I have to do in order to compete in Challenge # 1 is to define who I am as a blogger and what sets me apart from the rest. Well, the challenge might as well have been to re-build a v8 engine from scratch because I haven't a clue where to start. Seriously, I've been noodling on this for days. I've started blog entries, scratched blog entries, written, re-written, thought, re-thought and what have I got to show for it? You're looking at it...

<insert photo of large goose egg here>

It's called a "challenge" for a reason. I have had the hardest time coming up with a proper submission for this very first challenge. I mean, I love blogging but it's easier to talk about food, cooking, and eating than it is to talk about me. Eeek! But the fact of the matter is that I want to be in this contest. I want to make it to the next challenge where I get to cook something, so here I sit baring my soul.

I guess what I can say is that I, like many of you if you're reading this blog, love and have a fascination for food. I always have. I'm the one who asks you while you're eating your breakfast what you think you might like to have for lunch. I like to be prepared...and I like food. I think about it a lot. I don't just think about eating it - I think about cooking it, photographing it, discovering new varieties of it, and then I just get so darn excited that I'm about to burst..

See I'm thinking about it now - this is the
pork banh mi sandwich I recently got from
the Nom Nom food truck...Yum Yum!

..and then I just want to shout about it from the rooftops to anyone who will listen and I want to show you the wondrousness of it all. I have an overwhelming desire to share and the great thing about doing it via a blog is that you, the reader, can opt in or out at will - a luxury my family and friends don't enjoy, I might add. Nope, they are my captive audience, whether they like it or not.

I don't have a magic formula that I follow, or so much as a plan for that matter. I blog what I feel passionately about, how I feel about it, and do it when I'm moved to do so, and I hope it resonates with you. I was recently lucky enough to attend the Los Angeles Times Food and Wine Celebration where I sat in awe and listened to Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) and Aarti Sequeira (The Next Food Network Star and Author of the blog Aarti Paarti) talk about why they blog and what advice they'd give to bloggers. They both agreed that the best gift you can give is of yourself, from the heart. You're the only you there is - and that's a beautiful thing.

But the greatest part of all is hearing from you. It's like Christmas morning every time I see that I have a comment. The anticipation kills me and I can't wait to read it. Thank you for that. I hope I give as much as I get out of this. For me, blogging feeds the soul.

The gorgeous Ree Drummond
at the LA Times Food and Wine Celebration

I picked up Ree's new book and she kindly
signed it for me. She has an allure and aura
about her that is so utterly charming.

and the lovely Aarti Sequeira
just as captivating and warm in person