Within the last few weeks, I’ve been honoured to be nominated for two blogging awards, the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and The Versatile Blogger Award. I’ve been away a lot recently, so it’s only now that I am able to accept these awards and pass them along to others.

I received the two nominations about two weeks apart, and each time I was away from home on holiday. I don’t imagine there’s a connection between being on vacation and receiving blogging award nominations, but they certainly make a holiday even sweeter!

Sincere and warm thanks to my nominee for both awards, Rebecca from the inspiring blog Clanmother. I began following her blog a few months ago, drawn by the insights she shares about living fully present and engaged in this world of ours. Some of Clanmother’s posts are thought-provoking, such as Do You Practice Quid Pro Quo? while others share quiet moments of beauty that she has stumbled across, such as A Corner in My Heart. The breadth of her subject matter is the epitome of versatility, and the subjects and questions she presents inspire the reader to consider aspects of life in new and different ways. Do visit Rebecca’s blog and discover for yourself the pleasure of following it!

One of Clanmother’s themes is that “connection is the greatest gift of all.” For me, the sense of community among food bloggers has been an unanticipated reward of the blogging experience. I began publishing my recipes and thoughts about cooking and life last year, primarily for my three children, but through this blog I have connected with so many people who share my interests, and others who have introduced me to new ones. I’ve learned an incredible amount about food and cooking from other bloggers, and cooking has become even more of an adventure for me because of it.

With any award there are rules, people! So, it’s time for me to gladly fulfill my obligations.

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Post the award image to your page.
3. Tell 7 facts about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other blogs.

The Versatile Blogger Award

1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Include a link to their blog.
3. Next, select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
4. Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award – you might include a link to their site.
5. Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

My Fifteen Nominations and One Honourary Mention

I nominate the following blogs/bloggers for both the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and the Versatile Blogger Award. They are in no particular order, and all exemplify the spirit of both awards. Each has inspired me in their own way, and demonstrates a versatility that opens my eyes to new ways of thinking about their subject matter. Do visit them all! I follow other excellent blogs as well, and it was hard to choose; I wish I could have included more.

• Emmy at Emmy Cooks, daily recipes for real food from one Seattle kitchen – mostly vegetarian, always delicious, food and she doesn’t shy away from sweets either! Emmy’s writing style is so engaging, too.
• Karen at Back Road Journal, little treasures discovered while exploring the back roads of life – Karen writes eloquently about food and travel, her garden and home, sharing beautiful photos in every post.
• Rachael at Movita Beaucoup – a ballet teacher turned baking school student who presents every post about beautiful food with a side of salty humour (she has described herself as equal parts Martha Stewart and cussing sailor). Every time Movita pops up in my Reader I know I’m in for a treat!
• Katherine at Eggton, salty wit and a sweet tooth – every post is funny and includes photos of her adorable dogs, Thunder and Seymour. And, oh yeah, she’s a great cook too! Plus, she’s great friends with Movita Beaucoup.
• Barb at Just A Smidgen, love, create, decorate, photograph, write, play, read – lyrical writing, stunning food photography and great recipes. Barb is a Renaissance Woman, with a wide range of creative interests. Her blog is a treasure!
• Antoinette at Cooking Spree, putting love on the table – graceful and heartfelt writing combined with beautiful presentation showcases the love that home cooking is all about.
• Meg at Meg Travels, mostly sunny adventures – just in case you think I only read food blogs (well, mostly) this site about travelling is one of my favourites. Whether she’s sharing photos of doorways in Italy or talking about the beauty of Prince Edward Island or sifting through souvenirs from various travels, Meg’s writing always makes me want to pack a bag and tag along.
• Rosie at Sweetapolita, whipping up a sweet life – a beautiful blog featuring awesome cakes and other gorgeous desserts. I am learning so much from Rosie’s clear way of teaching cake decoration.
• Natalie at Cook Eat Live Vegetarian, seasonal vegetarian recipes and lifestyle ideas – this blog showcases the beauty and elegance of fine vegetarian eating with stunning food styling.
• Happiness Stan Lives Here, notes from nowhere near the edge – posts about everyday life in the suburbs of South London (the other one 😉), featuring lots of food and enjoyable Brit humour. Plus, I like a blog where they know how to use their u’s!
• Stephanie at Momma Be Thy Name, because misery loves company – she doesn’t know this yet, but this is the very first blog I followed when I started exploring the blogosphere. Stephanie writes with a sense of humour about the trials and tribulations of life with a toddler and one-year old twins.
• Toy Kitchen Chef, cooking and eating healthy in a tiny kitchen – a university student cooks healthy in a small kitchen away from home. It’s inspiring to see someone starting out with a commitment to eating well with home-cooked food.
• Jenni and Chie at The Plum Palate, one seasonal food every week – thoughtful and inspired writing about food from the Pacific Northwest.
• Seattle Foodshed, our life in the kitchen – the foodshed in question is their garden, and the luminous photos of it make you want to get your hands dirty and grow your own vegetables. The authors also explore  other food local to their area.
• K at the $35 A Week Project, tips and recipes for making a lot out of a little – I especially like this blog for the thrifty tips that remind me of my farm girl roots and bring me back to a waste-not-want-not approach in the kitchen.

And last, but not least, an honourary mention for John at From the Bartolini Kitchens – John has been lauded with many blogging awards, and is no longer accepting nominations, but I simply must mention him. He honours his Italian heritage and his cooking role models, his mother and aunt, by sharing their recipes and opening up the world of Italian cooking for his readers. John has a generous spirit; not only did he develop a recipe for a speciality pasta I couldn’t find and blogged about it,  but he included a link back to to my post along with some very kind words. My post, about pasta with cabbage, potatoes and cheese, remains my most popular, and I thank John for the many new readers he has introduced to my blog.

And Finally, Seven Things About Me

I live in London, Ontario, Canada (not to be confused with the other London that you might have heard about – you know, the one in England), and have access to a generous array of food grown and produced in local fields, orchards and vineyards.

I started cooking as a girl growing up on my parents’ farm, and at age 12 could prepare an entire meal for a couple picnic tables-ful of hungry farm hands.

My first cookbook was The Joy of Cooking and the first dish I made from it was chocolate mousse. Pretty good, despite the fact it was riddled with hard bits of egg from the custard. My polite guests pretended not to mind.

I will try most foods, but do my best to avoid green peppers.

One of my prized kitchen tools is the potato masher I grew up with, which my mother refers to as ‘that old thing.’

Possibly the worst thing I ever cooked was a pumpkin and salmon curry. The recipe called for a Thai yellow pumpkin but I used a sweet pie pumpkin instead, a very bad substitution indeed. The kids literally ran from the room and I couldn’t get past the first gagworthy bite.

The fanciest dessert I’ve ever made was a croquembouche, a profiterole pyramid festooned with swirls of spun sugar. That was long before it ever occurred to me to photograph food, otherwise you just know you’d see five pictures of it here from every angle imaginable.