Cooking up the World! · Global Voices
Melissa De León

How many people that are lactose-intolerant do you know? Well, I have good news for them: “Raw Milk”. Verdant San Francisco tells us his story about how he became vegan trying to find an answer to his problem, and how now, after 10 years without drinking milk, he becomes a big fan of raw dairy products. Very interesting!
Tepin Peppers: a Habanero killer? You probably have never heard of the Tepin pepper, and probably would disagree that these tiny peppers could rival the heat of the Habanero or Scotch Bonnet. If you  want to know more about this little hot devil, take a moment to visit the Hot Sauce Blog and learn from Adam who actually bears a PhD in Artes Picantes. Good for him!
Looking for some neat New Year's resolutions? How good is your “chopstick etiquette“? Cha Xio Bao tell us how to achieve this task. For example, did you know that while it is perfectly appropriate to put food into your mouth with chopsticks; it is flat-out impolite to lick your chopsticks before you use them? Following his simple and intelligent suggestions, you will get to be the queen or king operating those chopsticks, just like the pros!
Striving for perfection? Are you so afraid of not doing things perfectly, that at the end you do nothing? In this almost philosophical post, Zarah Maria from “Food & Thoughts” resuscitates her blog sharing a fantastic recipe to prepare Panna Cotta with Pomegranates. Yum!
Have you ever prepared “Portuguese Egg Tarts”? Are you still having those recurrent nightmares about your puff pastry not puffing up? The girls from the Just Heavenly blog: Swee San, YeeMei & Melisa, share their secrets and recipes with very nice step by step photos, to help you prepare the perfect “Apple Strudel” with a puff pastry made from scratch, and the traditionally delicious “Portuguese Egg Tarts“.
From my Rasoi: A call to all Indian food lovers!, is projected to be one of the most popular food blog events this year. Rasoi is what you call a “kitchen” in Hindi. And Meena, from Hooked on Heat, would really like you to get into your rasoi and get inspired to cook delicious Indian dishes. India is one of the largest countries in the world; there are endless styles of cuisine there. Visit Meena's official announcement to learn about the details of this monthly event, and get going!
Voting begins for the 2005 Food Blog Awards! Head over to Kate's Accidental Hedonist blog and support your favorite food bloggers. This is actually the second time this event takes place, and is well known as a promoter and motivational starting-point for new blogs written by food lovers and professionals from the food industry.
“Of Cookbooks and Recipe Theft” is a very interesting article by Juliette Rossant from the SuperChef blog. It is a particularly interesting story about intellectual property, given our attention recently to the blogging of food images, namely the theft of recipes in cookbooks. While the culinary blogosphere expands, we face the problem of many copyrighted recipes, and stock images being published by food bloggers as theirs in their blogs.
Are you still looking for the perfect recipe to prepare scrumptious pepper jelly? Tania in Canada, from the CandiedQuince blog, shares her story and an incredibly easy recipe to prepare “Sweet Orange Pepper Jelly“. She describes her creation as being “…both a little bit sweet (from the orange) and a little bit tart (from the vinegar), with a lovely orange flavor that complements the red pepper's sweetness. It´s delicious with cream cheese on crackers, but I can only imagine how well it would pair with a sharp cheddar, a crumbly Stilton, or a mellow nutty oka.”
Chika in Japan, the talented girl behind the “She Who Eats” blog, presents a gorgeous way to start the 2006:  “First bake of the year, with a a bit of Japanese touch and accidents“. Which cake would you bake to mark a glorious beginning of the 2006?  Chika chose a Black Pearl Layer Cake, with a twist consisting of ginger and wasabi, her personal touch. The result, well…you´ve got to visit her blog and see it with your own eyes. I promise you won't regret it!
Happy New Year!