Project Food Blog Challenge #1

Mouths to Feed and Readers to Read

For the first challenge of Project Food Blog, I am to blog about what defines me as a food blogger and why I should be the next food blog star. 400 out of 2,000 contestants will advance to the next level based on this first blog post alone. The winner of Project Food Blog is featured on Foodbuzz.com for one year and wins $10,000.00!

First, a little history. I married my best friend on Valentine's Day in 2004.

The very next day after returning from our honeymoon, I was faced with a question that never had even crossed my mind: "What's for dinner?" Gulp! I had never cooked a meal in my life! I didn't even know how to heat up a can of vegetables! Is it possible to have toast and cereal for dinner every night? Little did I know, that question would be asked every day of my life... for the rest of my life. Back then, that was pretty scary. Time went on and I had a disaster here and a success there. The more time that passed, the less disasters I seemed to encounter. After countless hours spent researching recipes online, reading cookbooks and magazines and trial and error, I know my way very well around my humble little kitchen.

Why did I join this competition? That's an easy one. Simply and honestly put, I love to cook and I love to blog about it. I think about it all day, I dream about it all night and I wish I had more time to do it! Plus, there's $10,000.00 at stake. Who wouldn't want to do something they love and get paid for it!?

Now, to the challenge. What defines me as a food blogger? When it comes to cooking and blogging, there are a lot of things that I am not. I am not professionally trained, I am not the best photographer, my content is not the funniest or the smartest and I am not nearly as experienced as the other food bloggers in this challenge (I've seen your amazing blogs, people! You inspire me!). I do, however, have a strong passion for cooking, my food is good and I am fearless when it comes to trying new things. I entered Project Food Blog as a personal goal to really put myself out there and challenge myself.

Why should I be the next food blog star? I should be the next food blog star for the same reason anyone else in this competition should be. We all love to cook and share our experiences with everyone else, especially with those we love. Without the mouths to feed and the readers to read, the food "blogiverse" would be silent.

You can help! In the near future, I will have an icon on my blog for you to vote for me. There are judges for the competition as iterated below but there will be one readers' choice winner per round (except the final round). The readers' choice (blogger with the most votes from the public) will automatically advance to the next round.

The competition is judged by Dana Cowin, Editor-in-Chief of FOOD & WINE Magazine; Nancy Silverton, Founder La Brea Bakery, Co-owner Mozza; and Pim Techamuanvivit, Author of ChezPim.com and The Foodie Handbook.