"FoodBlog" news and stories

Are you feeling opinionated on a range of food topics, notably diets? On the website Opposing Views, you have the opportunity to view experts' arguments for and against low-carb diets, caffeine use, biotech foods, and on becoming a vegetarian. Afterwards, you can post your own comments.

There are so many overbearingly opinionated blogs. What a relief to finally find a site where doctors and scientists debate over hot topics. And, rather than totally ignoring what everyone else has to say, it fosters continued discussion with comments. Also, the site provides news headlines dealing with the various questions.

From all the food-related issues that Opposing Views thoroughly covers, I found the topic on caffeine the most interesting. This is no doubt due to my over sensitivity to caffeinated products. Also, increasingly we hear stories in the news stating that coffee can reduce our risks of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer. Just this past January, the media stated that doctors confirmed that while coffee helps fight type two diabetes, caffeine makes it worse. Such a contradictory study gives one an even stronger reason to check out this debate on Opposing Views.

The Cupcake Bakeshop was one of the first food blogs I read, back when I was just dipping my toe into the world of online recipes, writing and drool-worthy food photography. I've always been inspired by Cheryl's creative approach to baking and the ways in which she tried to re-imagine familiar tastes so that they translated to a single serving cake.

Last week, after a little over three years, more than 75 original cupcake recipes and the birth of her child, Cheryl is closing the Cupcake Bakeshop. The silver lining in this unfortunate storm cloud is that her recipes are still online and will continue to be available to serve as a inspiration resource to aspiring cupcake bakers everywhere.

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• Some great recipes using ripe produce from farmstands, including Basil Lemonade, Stewed Corn and Tomatoes with Okra, and Summer Pudding with Blueberries and Raspberries.
• Summer means cold foods you hold in your hand, such as Raspberry Chocolate Ice Pops and Coconut Macaroon and Lemon-Ice Cream Sandwiches.
• A conversation with author Sheila Lukins.
• A quick guide to eating in Italy.
• Editor Tanya Wenman Steel has a blog (but I don't see Slashfood listed in her "Blogs We Like." Come on!)
• More recipes for July: Smoked Bluefish Pate, Cherry Pie, Penne with Pea Pesto, and Thousand Island Slaw with Chicken.

Meatpaper is the self-proclaimed "journal of meat culture," and judging from what's up at their site, they're correct.

The site is filled with several articles on the "arts and ideas about meat," including pieces about the dry-aging room at New York's Master Purveyors, pig slaughter in Italy, why Filipinos eat Spam, and getting over the guilt of eating meat. There are also links to various food blogs.

The site itself says that they "like metaphors more than marinating tips," which I take as an indication that they're going to be talking about the world of food and not recipes and kitchen advice. They're taking subscriptions now, so you might want to check it out.

A hot cup of coffee and a rich, buttery, cinnamon-sugar pastry is a wonderful way to start off a Sunday morning - especially when, because of Daylight Savings Time, we had to "leap forward" a hour last night and are all a touch sleep-deprived. For once, I'm not talking about a cinnamon bun with this sweet pastry, although it is not too far off the mark. Cinnamon Butterflies, also called Cinnamon Ears, are similar to cinnamon buns in that they begin with a buttery dough that is rolled out and wrapped into a cinnamon-sugar-filled spiral. The difference is that the Butterflies are set on their side and pressed in the center so that the ends of the roll are pushed out into "wings" (or ears). The pastry is Scandinavian, and as is traditional with so many recipes from the region, each one is topped with sprinkles of a very large-grain sugar, or lightly crushed sugar cubes, for additional sweetness and crunch. Gattina, from Kitchen Unplugged, made this batch, as you can read the full post for the recipe.

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