Vegetarian or Carnivorian, it is up to you! · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Apuntes de Cocina desde Venezuela on Salmon Gravalax!
Learn to prepare it the easy way and enjoy it for the rest of your life! Head over to her blog to get the step by step recipes and great photos.
#2: Directo al Paladar from Spain, visits the famous Restaurante Escuela Hofmann in Barcelona, a unique restaurant with Hotel Management School. It is owned by Chef May Hofmann, and it is one of the best exponents in food and service. So, next time you are in the area, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy their excellent food, and perhaps take a class or two!
#3: Le Blog des Produits Laitiers, from France, is one of the best exponents and worshipers of the perfect food: "milk," which, by the way, is best when consumed raw. Take a moment to visit this tasty healthy blog; to surrender is the only choice before the beautiful cattle-art. Apparently there is an international art movement, focusing on decorating cities with the eye-catching pieces. So far the cattle-art has reached Mexico, Buenos Aires-Argentina, and Paris-France. The cows will move next to Lisbon-Portugal, and Barcelona-Spain.
#4: Cocinalia, from Spain, writes a thoughtful post on the "Eat Local Challenge" event that has been spreading through the blogosphere.  Although Sao Mai agrees with the principle:
"EatLocalChallenge.com is a group blog written by authors who are interested in the benefits of eating food grown and produced in their local foodshed."
She backs up what Too Many Chefs has started as a complaint about the extremist behavior that some people would adopt, maybe "fanaticism?" I am totally with them, you know why? Because how about if I live in a city that only produces bell peppers, would I only eat bell peppers for the rest of my life? No way. What do you think?
#5: World on a Plate, shares a historical reflexion on Mother's Day celebration and a delicious recipe to prepare Mother's Cake!
The earliest Mother's Day celebration is often traced back to the spring day celebrations in ancient Greece to honor Rhea, the mythical mother of the gods. However in the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday" on the fourth Sunday of Lent. At that time, many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. Since most jobs were far from their homes, the servants live in the homes of their employers.
On Mothering Sunday, servants were given the day off and many went to spend the day with who else but mom.  Many would bring along a special cake called the Mothering Cake.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church," the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time, the church festival blended with Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers and the church…Get the recipe now!
#6: What the hell does a vegan eat anyways? creates a finger-licking menu: "Raw Food Wednesday: Tomato and Cheese tart, Greek salad, Zucchini Noodles and Coconut Balls." Simply delicious!
#7: Sam, from Becks & Posh, presents a priceless pictorial guide on "How to trim an artichoke, and prepare artichoke hearts."
When I say priceless, I really mean it. This is the perfect occasion to bring to an end that "artichoke aversion" you have brought up with you since childhood :)
#8: Felicia, from Madre Mexico, takes a trip to The Pasadena Farmer's Market. I want to go there! Everything looks so fresh and delicious!I specially would like to put my hands on some of those good looking cherries, onions, hmmm and the freshly made corn tortillas…Take a look at those photos and you will see what I am talking about.
#9: Spitton Extra: "Still Life with: My First Tuna Tartare"
A little less Tabasco in the vinaigrette perhaps, a sprinkling more Shiso over the tuna and maybe a little more cucumber to increase that crisp refreshingness… but for ‘my first tuna tartare’ not half bad. And not a bad reproduction from the original recipe either – a near perfect hunk of tuna from Machins, my first encounter with Ume-Shiso (found in Selfridges) replacing the recipes shiso leaves and a rather drinkable bottle of Menetou-Salon to accompany. The request from Still Life With… to produce a better photo than the NYT is perhaps not that good but, in my opinion, an improvement over the original…
To tell you the truth, it looks FABULOUS!
#10: Seattlest, on Cruelty to Vegetables…Now, read ahead and you will see why.
Pity the parsnip. Artificially germinated, forced to sprout in a furrow, nurtured (if you can call it that) in a bed of manure, raised with indifference, virtually ignored until it reaches market weight. Then it's thoughtlessly deracinated, mechanically decapitated, mercilessly skinned, and, in a final act of stultifying callousness, boiled alive.
Fruit and veg of other species fare no better. Corn is stripped from its parental cob. Parsley is hacked to death. Spinach is chopped and creamed, potatoes routinely whipped, pumpkins eviscerated, grain thrashed and flailed. Who's there to coddle and console a carrot? Provide foster-care for an orphaned banana? Instead, there's jubilation when cherries are doused in alcohol and set afire.
Think about this: by "harvesting" a string bean, we're kidnapping the plant's children. What does it do to our humanity, when, three times a day, we kill vegetables just to feed our voracious animal appetites?  Continue reading this controversial post…
Have a tasty, safe week!