Thank you - A Droolworthy Blogger & Blog Day

Hannah of Hannah’s Country Kitchen in the United Kingdom was kind enough to nominate me for a Droolworthy Blogger award the other day. What an honor to be nominated by someone whose work I so admire and enjoy! Since I found Hannah’s site, I haven’t been able to tear myself away. From concocting fairy tale birthday cakes and teas, to competing in village shows, to prepping Halloween cupcakes and Christmas puddings for Country Kitchen, to stunning photographs of her country garden, this accomplished chef’s site is magnetic. Her blog captures a life lived simply and elegantly, and I urge you to pay her a visit.

In turn, I would like to nominate a Droolworthy Blogger of my own, and since Hannah nominated me, I’ve chosen another blogger whose lifestyle I admire as much as her food. American girl Sognatrice of Bleeding Espresso pulled up stakes four years ago and moved to her family’s ancestral village in Calabria – a Medieval affair with 300 inhabitants and 13 churches. Every Wednesday, she posts a new recipe from daily Calabrian life (think zucchini blossoms, lemony tuna and white bean salad or a cozy Spaghetti alla Carbonara), and it’s a treat I’ve grown to look forward to each week.

But food is just one facet of this site. From photographic tours of her village to musings on falling in love or national pasta strikes, Sognatrice’s world is one you’ll want to be part of as much as Hannah’s. So thank you Hannah, and congratulations Sognatrice!


In other news, August 31st was the 3rd annual Blog Day, in which the blogging community recognizes and recommends new blogs. It’s a day I didn’t know about – having only come to the blogosphere in April – and I was therefore utterly surprised and doubly touched to be mentioned by Loulou of Chez Loulou in the South of France and by Ilva of Lucullian Delights in Tuscany.

Again, these are two sites that create and document a world you want to be part of. Loulou's regular cheese tastings and photographs of the region are irresistible, and her dinner parties seem at once riotously fun and effortlessly chic. Ilva posts exquisite recipes with breathtaking regularity, along with photography touched with a piercing insight that often makes me laugh out loud, or tear up, or both. Both women are amazingly prolific and keep stunningly illustrated food blogs. I read their sites regularly and have admired both of their work since I came to the blogging realm, so I was immensely flattered that they thought of me.

I can’t wait until next year to pass on the favor and nominate 5 new bloggers of my own. Thank you Loulou and Ilva! Have a wonderful weekend!