Food FYI: Dying cows, old cookbooks and a welcome addition

DROUGHT, NOT GMO

Did you get one of those Facebook flashes a week or so ago claiming that a special genetically modified grass in Texas had started producing cyanide gas, which was killing hundreds of cattle? The estimable ag blog Grist tracked down the real story. In the first place, the grass in question was a conventional hybrid, not a GMO. And although it did produce poison -- prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide -- that was a natural plant response to severe drought conditions, not the result of any chemical company shenanigans. Still, too bad for the cows.

SAGA OF THE AGA, REVISITED

Remember that British couple who while renovating their home discovered a hidden, fully equipped early 20th century kitchen? There was a passing mention in a couple of the stories about an old cookbook that was part of the trove. Food historian Cynthia Bertelsen found a copy of the book and wrote about it on Gherkins & Tomatoes.

BABY BLOGGER?

Popular Berlin-based food blogger (and upcoming author) Luisa Weiss left her thousands of fans hanging last month when she wrote that she was tired of waiting for her pregnancy to end. For weeks, no news (though Facebook friends were kept updated). Finally, on Tuesday morning she announced to the rest of the world, posting a photo of baby Hugo. Cute little rascal.

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Illustration: From "Ideal Cookery Book" by Margaret Alice Fairclough, first published in London in 1908 by George Routledge and Sons, Limited

Cookbook Watch: 'Ripe' by Cheryl Sternman Rule, Paulette Phlipot

Celery pretty much equals boring, right? It conjures up images of stringy diet food or rabbit fare, and it's not exactly photogenic. Or is it?

If you flip to page 173 of the new cookbook, "Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables," you'll find a stop-you-in-your-tracks photo of celery that might best be described as a lovely, flower-tipped bouquet. Accompanying that is a suggested dish that probably isn't on anyone's diet plan: a braised celery gratin rich with butter, wine and Gruyere.

That's mission accomplished for the cookbook's authors, food writer Cheryl Sternman Rule and food photographer Paulette Phlipot, who set out to reset the nation's mindset about fruits and vegetables.

This is not a cookbook aimed at foodies -- although foodies will certainly find much to enjoy in its pages. Instead, Rule and Phlipot envisioned their audience as the very people who wrinkle up their noses at the thought of eating anything green and blanch at the thought of a meat-free meal.

"If I were eating broccoli or string beans boiled until they were gray, I would hate them too," said Rule, a Silicon Valley food writer and author of the popular food blog 5 Second Rule. "When people tell me they hate vegetables I ask them: 'How are you cooking them?'"

More often than not, she's met with blank stares. That's because they're not cooking their own vegetables, and have no idea where to start.

Enter "Ripe."

Bakespace and Cookbook Cafe out to 'democratize' the cookbook world

Hey you -- you look like a cookbook author.

Babette Pepaj, the L.A. entrepreneur who founded Bakespace, has created a D.I.Y. cookbook platform that turns everyone -- yes, including you -- into a cookbook author. The platform allows users to create both a searchable and interactive e-book and an iPad app that works across a variety of devices, no charge. The cookbooks are then made available at an online shop at Bakespace, called Cookbook Cafe, or on iTunes.

Pepaj says Cookbook Cafe aims to "democratize" the cookbook publishing landscape which, let's face it, leaves most of the food world on the outside looking in. (Unless you are a celebrity chef, a food blogger with a million followers, or the winner of Fox's "MasterChef," your chances of landing a cookbook deal are slim.)

"But everyone has at least one good recipe in them," says Pepaj. "This is a way to share that recipe with everyone, and get paid for it."

Cookbook Cafe only moved out of testing stage earlier this month, but it is already making a splash. It's a finalist at the International Assn. of Culinary Professionals Awards taking place on Monday in New York. It was nominated in the "Most Intriguing Use of Technology" category.

There is no charge for creating the cookbook, or making it available through iTunes via the Cookbook Cafe's storefront. "The only charge is if you make a sale," Pepaj said. However, Pepaj envisions that many of the cookbooks will be given away by charities looking to raise awareness about their cause, or food bloggers culling together their favorite recipes in a bid to build an online audience.

“We're finding that people have great ideas, but they can't get discovered. To even just get 'found,' to get past your friends and family, is really hard to do," she said. "With Cookbook Cafe, people can not only discover, they can get discovered."

Food bloggers' fundraising effort leaves a bad taste

Were you among the hundreds of people who donated money to Bloggers Without Borders, which ultimately raised well over $70,000 on behalf of New York food blogger Jennifer Perillo?

If so, you face a deadline today to ask for your money back.

The deadline caps a controversy that has been roiling the online food blogging community for months, replacing warm friendship with harsh words, hurt feelings and recriminations. This much, however, seems to be clear:

Earlier this summer, the online food community rallied to find a way to help Perillo, who writes the popular blog "In Jennie's Kitchen." Her husband, Mikey, died suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving behind Perillo and their two young daughters.

Bloggers Without Borders, a fledgling nonprofit, offered to wrangle donations and host online auctions on her behalf. All involved were astonished when the money began pouring in, with $76,000 raised in all.

The funds were ultimately earmarked as college seed money for Perillo's daughters. But that sparked a backlash online, with some questioning the need for such a fundraising effort. Amid the controversy, Perillo has refused to touch the money.

"I don't want anyone to think I am ungrateful," she said, "but if just .01% of the people gave money because they believed that I was in a dire financial situation, then it's just not right."

As a result, Bloggers Without Borders co-founder Maggy Keet said that all who donated or held an auction were sent an email last month giving donors a Dec. 10 deadline to ask for a full refund. The overwhelming majority have not requested it, she said. The money will be used for other charitable campaigns, especially those benefitting women and children, she said.

"There was a need, people in our community wanted to give, and we just created a way for everyone to do that," Keet said. "It's really sad how it has turned out."

For her part, Perillo says she feels humbled and blessed to know that so many people -- so many strangers -- were willing to open their wallets. She says, however, that the feeling is bittersweet.

"It breaks my heart all over again that some had the impression that my husband left me and my girls destitute," she said. "My husband lived a life of honor and integrity and left us very well taken care of. He provided for us. He provided for his family."

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Image: Bloggers Without Borders

A chat with Kim and Hong Pham from the Ravenous Couple

Hong and Kim Pham's (aka "The Ravenous Couple") story is as much about love as it is about food. The two met while attending school in Michigan. They dated for four years before tying the knot in August 2011. By day, the couple works in the medical field, Hong as a doctor and Kim as a dentist and by night they are cooking and writing about a pot of comforting Vietnamese fish porridge.

The Pham’s began their blog two years ago as a way to spend time together and document their culinary heritage. Kim said, “we were always calling our family members for recipes. The blog is a way for us to pass them down and share them with others.”

The recipes are centered around traditional Vietnamese home cooking, “we focus on less commonly known dishes, the ones the mainstream hasn’t heard of. You won’t find a recipe for pho on our website,” Hong said. However, they admitted to wanting to expand into other cultural areas (look out for a tapas post inspired from their honeymoon in Spain).

Working on a blog with another person can sometimes be challenging, but the Phams have a system that works. Hong is in charge of the photography and editing while Kim focuses on the cooking, recipe writing and being the hand model. Hong said "we use each other’s area of expertise and both put in equal effort, there is no rush to post.” The couple confessed to not having a television in their Pasadena home and Kim added “cooking dinner together and blogging about it has helped our relationship. This is our time to vent from work -- it’s supposed to be fun.”

“The Ravenous Couple” has been recognized by several large publications (including the L.A. Times), but Hong commented that “one of the most surprising and gratifying things about the blog is the letters and emails from Vietnamese Americans who reach out about what they have made and how the food brings them back to their roots and memories. We want to bring people to the dinner table together.”

When asked about future aspirations, the couple replied: “Some bloggers are concerned with getting a TV show or cookbook deal, but we are content with just the blog for now and are open to whatever comes.”

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Photo: Kim and Hong Pham.

A weekend with the Hot Knives boys

Hot Knives, the vegan/vegetarian blogging duo of Evan George and Alex Brown, have a busy weekend coming up in support of their recently released cookbook, "Salad Daze," which features oodles of creative recipes for satisfying vegetarian fare including pumpkin ale muffins, sweet potato salad, portobello poutine, hot squash ice cream and more.

Saturday will find the two at Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park, where they'll be signing copies of their book and teaching people how to make a whiskey-based, all-natural cold and flu remedy they call KniQuil. George created it in a video they posted on their blog a few years back after he caught the flu but couldn't deal with the scary ingredient list on the back of a Nyquil bottle.

"What I need is something that will wrap me in a cocoon of warmth, but won't put me in a coma," he says in the video.

Isn't that what we all need this time of year?

On Sunday George and Brown will be at Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood where they'll be hosting a "foodie flea market" with 10 hand-picked vendors including Elf Cafe, which will sell jars of its signature harissa; Robin's Nest homecrafted jams; and Plant Food for People's vegan tamales and jackfruit tacos. In addition, Hot Knives will be teaching people to make "Thanksgiving Pop Tarts," and signing copies of their books.

DJs will be at both events so bring your party pants. And your bib!

Hot Knives at Stories Books & Cafe, 7 to 9 p.m. 1716 Sunset Blvd., L.A. (213) 413-3733; www.storiesla.com.

Hot Knives at Space 15 Twenty, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A. www.space15twenty.com.

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Photo: "Salad Daze" cookbook. Credit: Jessica Gelt

Food bloggers descend on Santa Monica to meet, eat -- and tweet

Ask chef Michael Moore what he plans to serve Saturday night at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Santa Monica and you are likely to get a cagey answer.

The Aussie celebrity chef with restaurants in New York, London and Sydney says something about "a salad with cheese" and a beef dish, and seasonal fruits with vanilla. If it sounds like he's being vague, he is. He wants flexibility to change the menu up until the very last minute, depending upon the produce he finds while trolling local farmers markets this week, including the famed Santa Monica Farmers Market.

After all, he has a room full of foodies to win over, and he wants to use every advantage he's got.

"I know they are going to be tweeting and photographing and making comments on the food before the main course hits the table," Moore said. "It really has to be a reflection of what is really in season right now.... I want it to be reactive to what is in California at the moment."

Although some chefs still hold bloggers at arm's length, sneering at their ability to pass judgment with the swipe of a smartphone, Moore said he embraces them. "There's a lot of resistance among some chefs, but I'm not anti-food blogger. They report what they see and experience and that has its own integrity." He asks only that bloggers be fair -- not snarky -- because a restaurant's livelihood could be at stake.

A chat with Joy Wilson from Joy the Baker

Thirty-year-old Los Angeles native Joy Wilson is the author of the cooking and baking blog Joy the Baker. She loved and appreciated food from a young age and was taught by her parents how to cook. Before settling down in Venice and becoming a full-time blogger, Wilson traveled and worked in several cities across the United States, including Burlington, Vt.,  Miami and Seattle, and earned a degree in English literature from Cal State Northridge.

At the start of our conversation, I asked the most obvious question: How did Joy the Baker get started?

"It was on a whim," she said. "I was looking for a way to continue baking and after following blogs like Smitten Kitchen, decided to do my own. My friend gave me a 15-minute photo lesson and then I started writing."

The food featured on the blog is driven by what inspires Wilson and what she wants to eat herself. She says that what makes her blog stand out is her ability to connect with readers. "There is a voice beyond the food. I express a lightness and vulnerability in my writing. My readers can relate to me, whether I break up with a boy, am going to a party, or a trip to the market."

Since starting the blog almost four years ago, Wilson has also co-founded (with Michael Friedman) Homefries, a website dedicated to creating podcasts on food, family, wine, design and community.  The partnership started in 2010, and Joy the Baker is on its 20th episode. Wilson co-hosts the show with Shutterbean's Tracy Benjamin and says that "ideas for the podcast come from our Twitter followers, awkward conversations, real-life experiences, which overlaps with cooking and eating. We try to keep the show loose and relatable."

Wilson's cookbook, "The Joy the Baker Cookbook," comes out in February and features 100 recipes and photos focused on comfort food. "It is daunting, terrifying and exciting all at the same time," she says. "When I signed my name on the contract, I thought: You know I just write a blog, right?"

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Are you taking the October Unprocessed challenge?

If it's October, then it's time to put down the processed food for the 30 days.

Los Angeles food blogger Andrew Wilder is hosting the Unprocessed October challenge for the second year in a row, encouraging the online food community to spend the month scrutinizing everything they eat -- and shunning anything processed.

Last year, about 200 people started the challenge at Wilder's site, Eating Rules. This year, 1,600 people have already signed the pledge to spend the month being more aware of what they eat.

"I wasn't sure I was going to do it again, it takes a lot of work," said Wilder, an Internet consultant who also does tech support for food bloggers at BlogTutor.com. "But this has clearly struck a chord, it has struck a nerve. There are more people who are interested in this, where their food is coming from and what the story is behind that food -- and is it a legitimate story, or a PR story?"

A chat with Bon Appetempt's Amelia Morris

Amelia Morris is the 29-year-old author of Bon Appetempt, a local blog that tests recipes from major publications and documents the results. When she's not cooking in her cozy West Hollywood kitchen, she's working at Heath Ceramics and spending time with her husband, Matt.

Morris didn't have a love affair with food from the beginning: "I was always surrounded by food but was not interested until I started cooking after I was married."  Now, she finds "joy in the kitchen" and feels "inspired by food."

So how did Bon Appetempt come to be? "I had the whole month of December off from graduate school," Morris says, "and thought I would make a cake for Christmas day. I chose to make the devil's food layer cake with peppermint frosting that was on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine [December 2008]. I had never made a cake from scratch before.... I remember that we had all the components ready and me and Matt were impressed with ourselves. But as we were putting on the icing, the cake started sliding and falling. At this point we started taking pictures. When you view the pictures on the computer, you can see a play by play of the eventual collapse. After that incident, I thought: 'This would make a great blog.' "

Since then, Morris has duplicated recipes from Bon Appetit, Saveur, the New York Times and more. She says "not one publication is better than another. It all really depends on the recipe. But, I fail at Martha Stewart. She is the hardest for me."  But "it’s better if it's a fail; it's more fun." Her most recent success was Ina Garten's summer pudding, declaring it "simple and delicious."

Morris discloses that she is a novice cook but thinks "the foodie world is missing a slightly unhinged point of view. Everything is so pretty and professional." A fan of Julia Child videos and "old school" handwritten recipe cards, Morris says she hopes her readers relate to her successes as much as to her failures. She is currently working on adding videos to the blog and a cookbook proposal that is story oriented and features family recipes.

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Photo credit: Matthew Bookman