Celebrating Ottawa's love of food

Photo by Alejandro Bustos

Ottawa  is overflowing with foodie blogs.  Kudos to foodiePrints for producing this fantastic list of almost 150 blogs.  While some of these sites are no longer active, the majority are, so I highly encourage others to go through this impressive list to find what local foodies are cooking up. For those who do not know where to start, or who are worried that their Google reader will freak out if they add that many sites, here is a summary of some local food-related posts.

If you are looking for recipes there are many, many options.  The blog Handmade has recipes for spicy cheddar breadsticks and lime-lemon meringue cupcakes. Culinaryinclined offers tips on how to make cinnamon roll cookies, carrot ginger soup and a two minute brownie.  Double Trouble: Kitchen Edition explains how to make basil chicken in coconut curry sauce, while Eaten Up offers instructions for baking surprise cornbread muffins.

The blog Dude, COOK! offers some interesting thoughts on the popularity of Pho, a delicious soup that is Vietnam's signature dish.  After commenting on how many Pho restaurants there are in Ottawa, the reader is offered a recipe for preparing Pho at home.  Noochi, meanwhile, describes how to make sweet a sour pineapple shrimp, garlic edamame, and spicy friend chicken.  Sybaritica can tell you how to make smoked mussel appetizers with cream cheese, while Tea For Two Sisters have instructions for butternut squash soup.

If you are looking for foodie-related news, Ottawa Magazine profiles up and coming baker Natali Harea, whose clients include such top-quality restaurant as Gezellig, Play and Navarra.  La Cuisine Helene notes that Starbucks is having a "name that blend" contest, as well as describing Carrotlines, a new free app that allows shoppers to make healthier choices when at the grocery store.