Prompt: Food Blogs

[runpunkrun]

Hey folks, it's time for our weekly discussion topic.

When I first went gluten free, I went through a stage where I checked out every gluten-free cookbook in my library system and in the neighboring county's. Despite having a huge and disorganized folder of photocopied recipes from this time, I'm far more likely to try a recipe I've found on a food blog.

Partly it's convenience. I can Google "gluten-free [whatever] recipe" and instantly have twenty to choose from. Whereas my file folder is not indexed by anything except the order I put the recipes in. This is my fault.

But the other advantage food blogs have over cookbooks is the comment section because—in this rare case—it's actually good to read the comments. It (sometimes) proves people have actually made this thing. You might see those magic words, "I took these to work and no one believed they were gluten free!" Plus there's usually someone sharing substitutions or variations they've made, which I always appreciate.

So this week let's talk about food blogs. What do you look for in a food blog? What are your favorite GF food blogs?

In the comments of this post, link to one or more of your favorite food blogs, describe what kind of recipes it has, and pick one you've tried, one you're thinking of trying, or just one you feel represents the blog's content. And if you're really feeling it, type up a favorite food blog recipe to post to the comm.

Comments

Dairy, Vegan, Paleo, Grain-Free, and Jewish recipe blogs

[runpunkrun]

Here's what I like in a food blog: At least two pictures (of the outside and, where applicable, the inside), no personal essays please, and I avoid anyone who talks about food like eating is something we need to be forgiven for. Also I don't want recipes that call for complicated personal flour blends. These four blogs have great recipes, great photographs, and can in no way be mistaken for a diary entry.

The Bojon Gourmet: Mostly baking, but some frozen desserts, breakfasts, savory items, and cocktails too. Lots of gorgeous photos and a little personal talk, but it's usually related to the recipe at hand. The author can eat gluten, but mostly chooses not to, so read appropriately. Alana makes it clear when an ingredient may not be gluten free, and for context: that ingredient is usually whiskey. All posts are extensively tagged, making navigation easy. Alana's cookbook, Alternative Baker, is also excellent, and the two things I made from it turned out great. Many of the recipes rely heavily on dairy, though, so it's kind of a look-but-don't-touch situation for me.

Full of Plants: Vegan cooking and baking, a nice mix of savory and sweet recipes, and no sweet-shaming at all. Thomas makes some amazing things like homemade smoked tempeh, vegan cultured butter, and vegan cheeses. A lot of the recipes use soy, so they're not for me, but I still love reading his posts and looking at the great pictures. Lots of talk about the process, which is particularly fascinating when it comes to the vegan cheeses. The site is almost entirely gluten free, but if I recall correctly a few recipes do use wheat, though I think there's usually a GF option.

Texanerin Baking: My favorite part about this blog is that Erin addresses all possible substitutions for every recipe. So if you're looking over the instructions and wondering, "But what if I—?" The answer's usually in there. Her food photography is friendly and bright, and if she includes a personal update before a recipe, it's brief. Lots of paleo and vegan options, and mostly gluten free, but not exclusively, as sometimes she'll offer a choice between GF and G for the same recipe. She does occasionally use a commercial GF flour mix, but it's usually Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, which is one I keep on hand so I'll allow it. I've been thinking of trying this carrot cake.

The Gluten Free Canteen: This site is only available via the Wayback Machine these days, but it has a ton of great recipes, mostly desserts but also breakfast. It does use a custom flour mix, but there are only three ingredients (brown and white rice flour, tapioca starch) and it's super easy to just make exactly as much as you need. A lot of the recipes are dairy free, and they have a number of traditional Jewish recipes and grain-free recipes as well. Check out the recipe index by category. These homemade hobnobs are particularly delicious; I'll post the recipe—with a bunch of my own variations—next week.

[loligo]

I'll recommend The Domestic Man. There's virtually no baking in this blog; it's mostly main dishes, with an assortment of vegetable sides. But they're all "gluten-free and paleo-friendly", in the author's words, and he does a wonderful job of finding interesting recipes from around the world and working out the best way to make them with ingredients and techniques that are accessible to the average North American cook.

[runpunkrun]

Oooh, this is new to me (because I am 100% baking blogs), and now I'm eyeing this Picadillo Cubano, which is reminding me of heron61's Puerto Rican Pastelon. Similar flavors!

[indywind]

I like/look for: photos of the product and any uncommon steps/ingredients, clear description and information, mention of tested variations, little personal diarizing unrelated to the recipe, minimal generalized value judgement ("my favorite of all the recipes of this kind I've tried" is fine-- or useful/enjoyable even, if they discuss the other recipes and what features made this one their favorite; one "the best ever! $thing recipe!" is ::eyeroll:: and a page full of them is just... ironically unappealing ::backbutton::), minimal health-halo ("a healthier/cleaner version of classic...") or amateur nutritional, historical, or cultural commentary (because if it's incorrect/trivializing --and it often is-- it puts me off the whole receipe/writer; but respectful commentary from someone who knows both the topic and the limits of their expertise on it, is delightful), and absolutely no overt shaming/negging or dietary moralizing/evangelizing.


Because characteristics that are a Big Ole Nope for me seem to be pretty popular, I don't read many food blogs, and none regularly enough to rec.

[runpunkrun]

"Health-halo" is the perfect way to describe that kind of moralizing, and it drives me up the wall. My favorite food blogs are just about food, which is why there are only five or so that I check in with regularly because, like you say, it's nearly impossible to find blogs that aren't constantly tossing around words like "healthy" or "clean." :/

More kudos for "health-halo"

[jesse_the_k]

...which captures the smarm so well.

I wish there were more blogs like the ones you like, cause they'd make me happy as well.

[miella]

Yes, this.