CK Food Links--Friday June 26, 2009

Here's yet another selection of particularly interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.

PS: follow me on Twitter!
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And the Love is Free at stonesoup
Jules, author of the exceptional blog stonesoup and a fellow collaborator here at CK, just released a new cookbook: And the Love is Free. It's a collection of classic family dishes--real food--from her late mother, and it comes complete with Jules' beautiful photographs. On a related note, if you'd like to vicariously experience what it's like to conceive and publish your own cookbook, here are two interesting posts that talk about Jules' own journey.

Real Food Can Be Cheaper Than Junk Food at The New York Times
From a few weeks ago. Finally, someone in the NY Times (Mark Bittman, even) is willing to indulge in the possibility that it is possible to find inexpensive first-order foods. Notice how a large percentage of the commenters list reasons why it can't be done while calling Bittman clueless, condescending or ignorant.

Letting Go at Alosha's Kitchen
Melissa writes a blunt, insightful and thought-provoking post on how to balance food blogging with real life. Well worth a read.

Food Photography at Wrightfood
An extremely useful article on physical aspects of food photos. Read this and you'll learn a ton about lighting, bounces, scrims and plating. Thanks to @jules for the link.

Vietnamese Vinegared Onions at Wandering Chopsticks
A laughably cheap, laughably easy ethnic side dish that you can make in a matter of minutes.

Treadmill Running Tips for Beginners at 344 Pounds
If you're new to running, Tyler serves up some great advice for you for conquering the dreaded treadmill.

Celebrating the Yes with a Bunch of Nos at Cake Wrecks
Just scroll down and look at the very last cake.

Vegetarianism as a Sometimes Thing at The New York Times
Ha! Even boring old economists are discovering the benefits of part time vegetarianism.

Sweet on Stevia at BitterSweet
An interesting post on a natural herb that can be used as a sweetener, and you can grow it in your own backyard! A lot better for you than saccharin, nutrasweet, splenda, or any other "unpronounceable chemicals of indeterminate origin."

All the Things You Don't Need at The Art of Nonconformity
A great column from Chris that talks about how many of the things we think we need are not only unnecessary, but they stand in the way of us achieving our goals.

Virtual Coffee
Caffeine addicts! Here's a coffee site dedicated to small specialty coffee shops. A few notable articles, 10 Essentials to Successfully Operating a Specialty Coffee Business, A Primer on Tea, and last but not least, The Art of Cupping.

Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!

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