Time to Share the Love Again – Inspiring Bloggers

It has occurred to me that it has been quite a while since I shared with my readers the blogs that I enjoy reading.  A quick check back through the archives tells me that I first shared some of the blogs I love back in February 2011 and then again in April 2012, so I’m well and truly due again.  As before, I am happy to say that all of these sites are still actively sharing their food, thoughts, humour and information and I still visit them.  Of course, there’s a big, wide world of bloggers out there beckoning me alluringly with their thoughtful writing, witty humour and seductive images, just enticing me to waste even more time on these clever interwebz.  In the light of that, I’ve decided to make sure I’m not the only one indulging when I should be working – so have a little surf through this more recent selection of my favourites.

Mardi Michels, the talent behind eat. live. travel. write. is an ex-pat Australian – in fact she actually comes from my home town of Adelaide.  Besides writing her blog, this busy lady is a full-time French teacher, a cooking teacher, a contributor to Food Network Canada and the co-founder of Food Bloggers of Canada.  Mardi and I had communicated sporadically via email for the last six months, but caught up with each other in Toronto when I was there last month and enjoyed a couple of very good meals, one or two drinks and loads of laughs together.  Mardi’s blog is a cheery, vibrant space where she explores seasonal dishes as well as being a part of the wonderful “French Fridays with Dorrie” cooking group.  Her recipes are bright, fresh and always well tested – one of the many reasons I keep going back.

Author of Life’s a Feast and also an ex-pat (a US transplant living in France), Jamie Schler is another of the blogging world’s busiest ladies. Besides her beautifully written blog Jamie is a freelance writer who regularly features on various publications sites including the Huffington Post.  She is also the co-founder and writing instructor of From Plate to Page, an annual travelling food photography and writing workshop event which was last held in Ireland this year.  Jamie’s writing is a pure pleasure to read, inducing both laughter and tears – sometimes in the same post.  Of course, her glorious recipes – which often feature cake and/or chocolate – mean that there is always a treat to be had at the end of the prose.

The Orgasmic Chef is written by yet another ex-pat (yes, I’ve just noticed there seems to be a theme here – this one is a US transplant to Australia), the gloriously compact Maureen Shaw. Maureen once described herself as “older than dirt” and, while that doesn’t appear to be true, she certainly knows a thing or two about food and how to photograph it.  Her recipes are just like her – fabulous, fun and generous, with photos to match.  She is also the co-author of the most handy-dandy recipe plug-in for WordPress blogs around, EasyRecipe Plus – believe me folks, this makes your blogging life sooo much easier.

I’ve taken a bit of a liberty with this last blog as it’s not a food blog at all, but a travel one. I discovered, and met, author of In Search of a Life Less Ordinary, Russell Ward (yep – Brit transplanted to Australia, via Canada), while on my fabulous Canadian adventure.  He writes about his ex-pat experience, life in Sydney and his travels – and he does so deftly and with heart. Russell has a beautifully thoughtful way of writing that will occasionally tug at your heart-strings. And be warned – the post he currently has up requires a box of tissues on standby.

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