Vote here, now

Voting in our blogging contest is underway

By Kim Carlson

March 25, 2009

Editor’s note: We have a winner and will announce momentarily. Thanks all for your votes!

The March blogging contest has been terrific, thanks to all the Culinate members who participated. We selected eight finalists through the course of the month, but we could easily have selected dozens more blog posts that intrigued us.

Now, voting begins, which is where you come in. Please vote below for your favorite among the finalists. Voting will take place until Tuesday, March 31, noon PDT. Whoever has the most votes at that time will receive

• a $100 farmer’s market gift certificate and a couple of Culinate market bags
• copies of Fresh from the Farmers’ Market and Local Flavors and a signed copy of Food Matters
• 10 packs of seeds from Seeds of Change
• and a box of seasonal fruit from Earth Conscious Organics.

The blogs are lined up, ready for your vote.

All for blogging!

Here’s a recap of who’s who among the finalists:

1. First, Laura made us laugh with her piece about carrots of an unexpected hue.
2. Diane impressed us with her depth of understanding about seasonal eating.
3. We appreciated Marjorie’s efforts to demystify the term “sustainable food.”
4. Kathleen, meanwhile, startled us (although we know we shouldn’t be surprised) with her post about organic seeds that may be genetically modified.
5. More smiles from Su, who blogged about cooking a Christmas turkey with her Jewish mother.
6. Linda wowed us with her recipe for lovely violet syrup.
7. And we appreciated Kari’s enthusiasm for pork.
8. Finally, we chose Jake and his spouse’s two-part account of why they pay top dollar for a meat CSA.

Other must-read blog posts

Even though these posts weren’t among the finalists, they are definitely worth checking out:

John turns up the heat in a delicious-sounding way when he’s cooking for himself (we also appreciate John’s cooking-school stories).

We’re rooting for Tracey, who’s trying to find some magic in her crock pot.

Jennifer, writing from France, wants to know if your food costs are about where hers are.

Writing from Hungary, Jon stirred our appetites with his caramel post (and don’t miss his other posts about adjusting to life in a new place).

DawnHeather reminds us of the good practice of making do, plus provides a delicious-sounding recipe for Albóndigas Soup.

We know how Trisha feels when she says I must cook now! (We love her photo, too.)

Cindy’s Huddled Masses Dinners inspire us.

In a different way, Dave inspired us too, to think about our gardens.

Sarah always manages to stretch our thinking about what we’re eating; this time she embraces all food Irish.

And finally, Margaret’s account of eating with the Drum and Bugle Corps made us appreciate food and music in a whole new way.

Watch for more contests in coming months.