New links!

As you devoted readers know, much of this blog is (accidentally) devoted to food. South Africa has some interesting and strange foods (there should be an orientation to strange sausages for every newcomer!) and I like trying them all. I have found that I love ostrich, sweet potatoes are purple and white on the inside (I'd give my big toe for a yummy orange on the inside yam), pumpkins are white or green, biltong is South Africa's answer to beef jerky, and I still have no idea what a hanepoot is.

As newlyweds, we've really enjoyed cooking at home and experimenting with all these crazy foods. This means that I feel like I'm constantly on the Cooking Light, Rachael Ray, KraftFoods, America's Test Kitchen, or Real Simple websites looking up recipes to try. Recently I stumbled across three new websites that I really, really like and have therefore placed them to the right of this post for handy surfing.

First and foremost is The Pioneer Woman Cooks! I've seen these recipes online before, but after clicking on her actual page, I was astounded. Tons of yummy recipes with simple ingredients - I'm a fan. I like this website as her recipes include ingredients I can easily get here in South Africa. Yay! The parmesan crusted chicken is already making me drool... and her whole section devoted to sushi makes me want to have a sushi party sometime soon (if only I can find fresh tuna here!!!).

The second is Reformed Carnivore, my friend Rachel's fantastic vegan food blog. All of you know I am NOT vegan and definitely not a vegetarian (see commentary above on my love affair with all things ostrich), but I do try to eat veggie at least once a week for dinner, if not more than that. I always end up achieving that goal is I find I typically like vegetarian meals - plus the vegetables here in SA are soooo tasty and inexpensive! Not only am I fan of Rachel, I'm a fan of her recipes and pictures that accompany said recipes. Fabulous! Check it out. South Africa is a really healthy country, but I haven't seen much in the way of TVP, seitan, veggie products (morningstar farms and boca are non-existent here), soy-based cheeses, or even true block tofu (I've seen it a couple times, but not often) so a lot of these recipes I can't replicate vegan-ly, but could come close.

The third is a Rachel-recommended site: Vegan yum-yum. Again, I love the step-by-step pictures and the recipes. There's even a really great post on how to photograph food with a fancy camera (tips could be useful on all sorts of other types of photography).

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Side note: I think I am going to try whole wheat pizza dough soon. I just got this recipe in an email. Hmmm. I've seen wheat pasta in the stores so we'll see!