"blogging" news and stories

If you eat a brownie that has some banana in the batter, can you count that has a healthy snack? Unfortunately, a bit of fruit is not enough to push an otherwise rich treat into the realm of health food, but it does mean that you're getting a few extra nutrients with your dessert - and we're willing to latch onto anything that gives us an excuse to try out these Banana, chocolate and pecan brownies from Johanna, at the Passionate Cook. The recipe is a great way to use up overripe bananas without making banana bread, the typical fate of such fruits. The bananas are combined with a good amount of butter and dark chocolate, as well as eggs, sugar and flour. Pecans are added in to give the brownies some texture and a pleasing crunch, and once baked, the already decadent treats are drizzled with dark and white chocolate.

Even with the bananas and the antioxidants from the dark chocolate, it's still not health food - but it never hurts to pretend, especially if you want a second slice.

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Earlier this year, we saw the launch of a new Canadian blogging event, Canadian Blogging by Post that followed in the footsteps of the international Blogging by Mail and the european Euro Blogging by Post. The premise is the same for all of the events: packages of food and food-related items are shipped out and received by all participants. The events give everyone a chance to try new foods, "meet" new bloggers and just generally have a good time.

A new round of Canadian Blogging by Post is being hosted by Jasmine, of the beautiful blog Confessions of a Cardamom Addict. The theme is "our season's bounty," meaning that at least part of the package should focus on fall, fall flavors or fall foods. Unfortunately for some of us, the event is only open to Canadian bloggers (hence the name!), but we can all participate vicariously by keeping an eye on the host blog for a roundup of all the packages in the next few weeks.

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Newspapers and magazines are slowly jumping onto the blogging bandwagon, and food is definitely a hot topic. We've seen food blogs now on major food websites like Epi-Log, the editor's blog on epicurious, critics' blogs like Michael Bauer's Between Meals at the San Francisco Chronicle and Frank Bruni's Diner's Journal at the New York Times. Now New York Magazine has a blog called Grub Street, which launched today. They have several writers, and wouldn't you know it, one of our own feature writers, Josh Ozersky, is the editor!

Looking forward to their coverage of LA's Pinkberry in New York!

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We always try to cover the Does My Blog Look Good in This? photo competition, where food bloggers enter their best food photos from the previous month. This month's round was hosted by Food Beam, a blog that is itself known for lovely photography. The "best in show" photo was of the Blackberry Semifreddo Sandwiches pictured above, from the blog Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. The semifreddo is an ice cream-like mixture of blackberries, sugar and yogurt, with some whipped cream folded in, that is frozen and generally served by the slice, rather than in scoops. It makes a very elegant, but refreshing, summer dessert if you have a chance to try the recipe.

Be sure to check out all the winners, as there are multiple categories, including Originality, Best Food Styling, Best Lighting and Cutest. Hopefully, you'll be inspired to pick out your best food porn shot to enter in the next round of the competition, which is being hosted by Toast Point.

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The flavor combination of chocolate and hazelnut is pretty much a match made in heaven. Just ask anyone who has even had Nutella. This Chocolate Hazelnut Tart has no nutella, but makes use of the flavors in a wonderful dessert. It was made from a recipe in one of Francois Payard's books by Turkish food blogger Zinnur at Our Patisserie and consists of several beautifully matched layers. First, there is the tart crust, which adds a crispness to the dessert and contrasts with the rich filling. On top of the crust, there is a layer of milk chocolate caramel, with hazelnuts stirred in. The caramel is topped with a chocolate mousse and garnished with chocolate curls and more finely chopped hazelnuts. Based on looks alone, a small piece of this rich dessert should be enough to satisfy any sweet tooth.

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