are you going to be in the dc area this weekend? do you love dc food bloggers? do you love baked goods? chances are you answered yes to at least one of those questions, so now you have no excuse not to come out and support doctors without borders in dupont circle on sunday! i’ll be there with a whole slew of other bloggers selling cookies, cakes, pies, muffins and any other delicious thing you can think of – and you know it’s going to be good. 100% of the proceeds go to charity and it only lasts 2 hours, so come out early!

hope to see you there!

this week, we all mourned the loss of gourmet magazine. so while this probably isn’t the best time to pitch a new food mag, i wanted to share with all of you one of my favorite pieces from my graphic design portfolio. just so everyone is clear, this is NOT a real publication. that said, if anyone is so inspired to get involved in the failing print industry…

our class assignment was to create our dream magazine and prepare some sample layouts. i immediately knew where i was headed. knead magazine is a baking magazine that caters to both experienced and novice chefs. the particular issue i created is a “special issue” focused on baking with, what else, BACON. i was really excited to get to use some real recipes and photos i had taken for the projects, and i’m really happy with how it came out. by the way, you can download a full-sized pdf copy HERE.

to answer a few questions before they are asked: it’s not a full issue of a magazine, just a few pages to show different layouts. additionally, the text of the article is just filler text (there wasn’t quite enough time during the course to write a real one). hope you enjoy! if you had the chance, what kind of food magazine would you create?

if you live in dc and you’ve never been to the maine avenue fish market (1100 maine avenue SW), for shame! you’re going to want to get there this weekend. people from all over the city come to get fresh seafood, or just pick up something there to eat. i’ll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves, but i’ll say that the crab cakes are excellent, as are the hush puppies.

what are you waiting for? go! go! go!

View Washingtonian Cheap Eats 2009 in a larger map

for reference, the green tabs are places we’ve been and liked, the yellow are places we’ve been and would maybe give another shot, and the red tabs are places we hated. the blue tabs are all the places we haven’t been. i know, i know, we never go out.

thanks to everyone who voted for me in the first Foodie Fight! i was up against some tough competition, but thanks to you all i was able to pull out a win!

it was a great experience and really fun to push myself in new way. if you might be interested, SIGN UP for another battle!

also, please please please check out the other blogs who competed in the first battle:

http://www.goodnplanty.com/

http://cupcakemuffin.blogspot.com/

http://www.foodsofine.com/

http://www.savoryreviews.com/

http://janiescreations.blogspot.com/

and big thanks to nick and dan for organizing foodie fights in the first place!

it goes without saying that i follow a lot of food blogs. i’ve only been at this myself for a little shy of a year, but first obsessing over the recipes and experiences of other bloggers is what inspired me to share my own baking adventures. although i’ve got a whole list of my favorites on the sidebar (on the right, scroll down), i wanted to give a little shout out to a few i’ve been particularly fond of lately:

macheesmo
nick is a workhorse. one of his resolutions for 2009 is to hit 300 posts – a tall order for any blogger. he’s on track to exceed his goal, and here’s the thing – he makes it look easy. nick takes the time to do his research, snap great pictures and make every post practical and thoughtful. he deserves all the success he’s destined to receive.

food loves writing
there are some blogs you breeze through to check for new stuff, and then there are the ones you set aside to savor at the end of the day. start savoring this one today.

the bitten word
clay and zach are addicted to food magazines. luckily, they put their stacks of gourmet, food & wine and bon appetit to good use by letting us in on the very best recipes they discover. honest about their successes and failures, the bitten word is a reliable companion for anyone looking for consistently delicious meals. i’ve probably cooked more from this blog than any other.

last night’s dinner
i’m completely jealous of how well jennifer and her husband eat. it’s inspiring to see picture after picture of local, seasonal food become incredibly creative and decadent meals. i dream of cooking like this one day. and even though there are no recipes, no other blog has made me want to get in the kitchen so much.

wild yeast blog
susan has only been baking bread since 2006, but from the looks of her blog, you would think she’s been at it her whole life. she’s passionate about bread – so passionate she built her own earth oven! you can feel the love in every loaf she bakes, which, by the way, look good enough to eat off the screen. with equal parts humor and humility, susan’s posts strike the perfect balance between helping readers understand the mechanics of baking and showing what it means to truly love to bake.

now it’s your turn. what are your favorite food blogs right now? let me know in the comments!

i spend a lot of time in the kitchen. in my old apartment, my kitchen was also the living room and bedroom, but in my current place, my favorite room has tons of cabinets and counter space. i thought i’d show you a few of my favorite things in my favorite room.

i think i only bought two or three of these gadgets. somehow i just keep acquiring stuff.

this painting is above my oven. if they could miniaturize bears, i would get one as a pet.

i’m convinced there are no practical ways to store bowls, pots and pans.

there happened to be a nail here already, so it was the perfect spot for my peel.

this coffee maker belonged to my grandmother. my parents donated it to me recently, but i realized after i got home that it’s missing a pretty important part. i ended up buying a new mr. coffee (not pictured, but sitting just across the table). i still don’t want to get rid of this one.

i know, it’s beautiful. this pig napkin holder (just so you know what it’s supposed to be) was made during cub scout summer camp when i was in third grade. my mom actually used it for many years until i went off to college, when it first graced my kitchen.

were you lucky enough to have mr. t cereal when it was around? i wasn’t, but i’m such a huge fan of the guy (as well as the rest of the a-team), that i had to put him up on my wall to remind me to stay in school, drink my milk and be good to my mother.

i love the design of this timer. the girl picked it up for me at anthropologie.

so, i have two mixers. lest you think i’m just swimming in extravagence, let me explain. the sumbeam mixer (the black one) was a christmas gift from my parents. i won the kitchen aid in a valentine’s day giveaway (i had the choice of red or pink) – on thepioneerwoman.com! i still can’t believe i actually won. i’ve used both and the jury is still out on which i like better.

now that you’ve seen mine, show me your kitchen! i want to know all about where you cook and bake. post pictures on your blog and comment here with the link!