food and beverage

As a "foodie"  (I really don't like that word!),  I am always on the search for new recipes.  Outside my collection of cookbooks, and fellow bloggers, as well as sites such as Epicurious (which I use several times a week) and Food Network, there are numerous places, both usual and unusual I have been looking for and finding great recipes that I'd like to share.

I am not sure how I found the site, but I subscribe to My Recipes.com, and they send me a new recipe everyday and so far, every one I have made has turned out great. It is a great site to explore, but I actually love getting the daily email recipe- it has often helped me break that "whadda you want for dinner" deadlock that happens in my house. And the price is right - you can sign up for free!

Looking into other people's family recipes isn't something you usually get to do, but I am fortunate that a coworker had a very fastidious cousin who wrote on recipe cards every recipe she ever tried.  When she passed away, this collection passed its way through her family, where relatives took the recipes they remembered most fondly out of the collection.  Since my friend knew I loved cooking, once family was done she gave the cards to me to peruse, and I am making my way through them . I have to admit I am taking my time browsing through them.  First of all, it is quite an experience to think of the time she devoted to writing these recipes down by hand and the effort put into developing a collection that she could share with her friends and relatives. In the today of copy and paste, and computerized recipe boxes, there is something really special about this and I actually want to savor this experience, since it is unlikely that I will have many such opportunities again.


Recently a Fresh Market opened across from Jefferson Lab (now there's a triple threat- one stop across from your work with a Costco, a World Market and a new Fresh Market!!), and while I do not buy my regular groceries there  I do shop their specials and to look for unique items I can't find anywhere else (it is Newport News, by the way!)  After trying a few of their prepared foods (including a very good shrimp and grits cake) it occurred to me to check their website to see if they had recipes there, and what a treasure trove! From appetizers to desserts, there are some amazing recipes just waiting to be tried and some have already found themselves into my menu planning.  Whether you are lucky enough to have a Fresh Market near you, you can enjoy the recipes and other great tips on their website, and they even offer shopping online!

Writing this post made me curious.  What places do you go to search for a good recipe or inspiration?  How many of you still have an old-fashioned recipe box or binder where you keep recipe favorites? Sharing of recipes is a great way to share your heritage, your ethnicity, your unique tastes, and your love... of food and friends!