We Love Cooking! [Search results for links] 

A few quick foodie links today:

http://dinnerdujour.org/ - A new Irish blog that sold me on the cookbook graphic selection alone!

http://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/barefoot-contessa-kitchen-of-the-year - Ina Garten's 50 ideas for a better kitchen, lovely illustrations!

http://www.bestinseason.ie - A big thanks to Bord Bia for their lovely harvest hamper, this site is great as it outlines which fruit and vegetables are in season.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027P8GLQ/- A really cool ginger peeler from OXO, very clever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-zrMCY2W5s- Barbara Walters attempts to tackle Paula Deen's fatty foods!

So it turns out, I love twitter! I never thought I would get into using it, but with so many great foodies using it, there is always something that catches my attention. Even some famous celebrity chefs use it, including Jamie Oliver who keeps his extremely active, with the help of a dedicated web team, I'm sure! Twitter also seems to be the first point of call for food bloggers to notify you when they have a new post on their blog, so it saves trawling through your favourites to search for updates.

Just a few of my favourite food related twitterers to follow:
@Jamie_Oliver- Jamie's twitter page runs competitions, and links to lots of great recipes.
@Deliciousmag- UK's Delicious. magazine also tweets! Behind the scenes stuff about the running of a food magazine!
@MarthaStewart- real life tweets from the American domestic godess!
@Tastespotting- Keeps you up to date with the latest submissions on one of my favourite food sites.
@Thefoodnetwork- American Food Channel tweets about all things foodie, with lots of great links to recipes.

There are way too many food bloggers I am following already to mention but if I'm not following you, let me know if your on twitter in the comments! If you want to follow my tweets I'm over at:
@Donalskehan

With it's very 1st birthday coming up on the 23rd of July, I thought it was high time I gave "The Good Mood Food Blog" a bit of a fresher look. I've moved it too it's own domain name here at "www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com" and finally all the links are available and ready to click on- I'd love to hear what you think of the changes, if there is anything you would like to see here or would like to make any suggestions, please email me or comment below.

I also have some pretty big news! Way back in January, I got an email from Eoin Purcell who had read some of my posts, and was interested in discussing the possibility of creating a book based around the blog. I jumped at the idea and Eoin gave me his thoughts about what sort of direction the book should take and now after months of throwing idea's back and forth, I signed contracts with Mercier Press last week!

I've haven't mentioned anything here because I didn't want to jinx it, but I have been busy putting together the bones of the book and have come up with some really tasty, healthy dishes.

With a looming submission date, I've been making lists upon lists, and it's starting to take shape. I'm hoping to preview a few of the recipe's here, and would really appreciate it if you could try them and give me some feedback. I'll let you know- But until then stay tuned!

A quick run down of a few of the best food related sites I visited this week:

Ever seen the movie "Waitress"? If you haven't seen it, you have to check it out, it's especially appealing for foodies, as the lead actress concocts her own pie recipes naming them with quirky title's such as "I Don't Want Earl's Baby Pie" and "Baby Screamin’ Its Head Off In The Middle of the Night & Ruinin’ My Life Pie"- Recipes here!

Donna Hay, one of my ultimate food heroes has a fab recipe section on her website featuring some of what I would consider the best food photography out there. Check it out!

Evil evil evil desserts...

I keep forgetting to bookmark this site but it's a pleasure to have to catch up on- Nigel Slater in the Guardian

Speaking of Nigel fancy winning a copy of his new book?

Via @BrettMirl an interesting piece about Bento lunch boxes on the New York Times site!

Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes- Now these look so delicious- Definitely on my to-do list!

Music to cook by:

I recently watched "Food Inc." a movie with a tagline which promises "You'll never look at dinner the same way again" and let me just say it does not disappoint. If you have seen other sensationalist style movies about food before, don't be put off, "Food Inc." is very different, not only does it reveal the shocking way in which food is produced and its links with causing life threatening illnesses, it also provides viewers with a look at the alternative lifestyle. A visit to a free range organic farm shows the stark contrast between the production values of food. One of the best points made in the movie is that we, the consumer can change the way food is produced by demanding honest healthy food when we shop. The big companies will respond to consumers needs.

Here are some of the closing lines from the movie which really drive home the changes that you can easily make:
- You can vote to change this system, three times a day.
- Buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect.
- When you go to the supermarket, choose foods that are in season. Buy foods that are organic. Know what's in your food. Read labels.
- Know what you buy. The average meal travels 1500 miles from the farm to the supermarket.
- Buy foods that are grown locally.
- Shop at farmers' markets.
- Plant a garden. (Even a small one)
- Cook a meal with your family and eat together.
- Everyone has a right to healthy food.
- Ask your school board to provide healthy school lunches.
- If you say grace, ask for food that will keep us, and the planet healthy.
- You can change the world with every bite.

Hungry for change? Go to: takepart.com/foodinc

If you're doing your last minute Christmas baking today just in time for Santa and the reindeers to arrive, check out all the Christmas recipes from the last few weeks see the links below for some inspiration to keep the big fella full on his travels!

I'm so totally in Summer mode at the moment! Especially after the weekend- we had great weather for the whole trip up through the Burren and up the coast towards Galway. I was really blown away by some of the scenery, but less so by the food on offer. Unfortunately I didn't have time to look up any great places to eat, so we ended up eating dinner at a pub in Doolin, mainly due to most of the restaurants being fully booked. I was hoping for some really solid pub grub, but unfortunately, the seafood platter was less than impressive and the sides for all the mains were basically soggy coleslaw! There were two guide recommended restaurants in the village, so next time I'll be sure to book ahead!

Here's a few little foodie related links, I've come across over the last few days:

1. Tasty Planner- One of the best sites I've come across which features a meal planner. You can drag and drop recipes into a meal planner which in turn adds the ingredients to a shopping list. Very handy!
2. Cake Wrecks- This is not for the faint hearted, basically a blog full of weird and freaky cakes, say goodbye to your afternoon!
   
3. Food Blogger Deals with Legal Issues- A really interesting post about recipe rights and copyright issues- well worth a read for bloggers.
4. Messy Chef- A brand new Irish Food blogger! Check it out!

Adjust the quantity of ingredients to your own taste, use less Tabasco sauce if you want a milder mix.

Avocado, Lime and Tabasco Salsa

1. 1 Ripe Avocado.
2. The Juice of one Lime.
3. 1 Tsp of Tabasco Sauce.
4. 1/2 a Red Onion.
5. 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil.
6. A Good pinch of Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper.

-Sorry the photo's are a bit crap today!

Beautiful food blog, beautiful photography!
http://bonvivant.wordpress.com/

Competition via FoodFight.ie to win some Julie and Julia Cookbooks
http://foodfight.ie/julie-and-julia-competition-win-some-books/#more-6851

Great aussie food blog, stunning food shots, and some great graphics!
http://www.atablefortwo.com.au/

Some really lovely food pictures on this blog.
http://immaculate-perceptions.blogspot.com/

Aoife Mc's pretty funny account of a recent meal at ukiyo restaurant in Dublin.
http://icanhascook.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/taboo-foods-with-a-side-order-of-gonzo-anyone/

I cannot wait to try the lemon and poppyseed pancakes from this tasty blog!
http://www.pickycook.com/

RTÉ's nationwide program about food, food styling, food production and a little piece on the Kitchen In the Castle in Howth.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0914/nationwide.html

I'm going to be doing a bit of baking this weekend, so here's my baking playlist up on youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A72E677CE02752B0

What are you cooking this weekend? Have a great one! :)