Everybody eats

If you’ve spent time watching “Sesame Street” with a child, you probably remember the Joe Raposo song called “Everybody Eats.” As the song says, eating is part of everybody’s life.  Whether you eat to live or live to eat, you might be interested in classes offered at Princeton Public Library where you can explore online offerings to enhance your appreciation of all things food and drink.

We recently offered two classes for foodies: an introduction to food blogging and a class on food-related apps and blogs. Seasoned and aspiring food bloggers learned how to use WordPress to share photos, video, recipes, and reviews in the first session. This past week, instructor Erica Bess took a group of enthusiastic foodies on a whirlwind tour of blogs and apps, spotlighting some of the best online sites and tools for recipes, cooking, and finding good eats. I’m happy to share some recommendations from the class here.

Off The Menu is a brand new blog from Running Press, publisher of wonderful illustrated cookbooks. The blog covers interesting recipes, topics and tips for foodies and, of course, features new cookbook releases.

Cook It Allergy Free is an authoritative blog about how to prepare meals for the entire family that are nutritious, delicious, and allergy-free. You’ll find recipes organized by allergy type, and tips for making each dish to accommodate additional allergies. There is a paid IOS app as well.

Foodgawker publishes photos submitted by food bloggers from around the world. Each image is linked to the original blog post about that specific dish. Readers can share photos on social networking sites and save favorites with a site login.

French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s newest book, “Around My French Table.” You won’t find the published recipes here, but you will find variations prepared by blogger foodies who share one goal –  to make one recipe each week until every recipe is covered. Join the community or lurk. You’ll pick up recipes and tips galore.

Epicurious has an award winning website, partnering with Gourmet, Bon Apptit, and SELF magazine to offer over 30,000 recipes from celebrity chefs, cookbook authors, and food journalists. The free Epicurious app lets you search recipes, get your shopping list ingredients, and features a recipe of the day (available for all mobile platforms).

In the apps department, Fromage (IOS) is a one stop cheese encyclopedia containing hundreds of cheeses searchable by region, milk type, and texture, with wine pairing suggestions. Collect your favorite cheeses and make notes in the app.

Kitchen Math (IOS)  will save you time in the kitchen by helping you do conversions for exact measurements, and lets you know safe cooking temperatures per the USDA.

Seafood Watch, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is a useful tool for helping you make environment- and health-conscious choices when purchasing seafood. In addition to the website, there is an app for IOS and Android and a mobile guide.

Mixology is an app to inspire your inner bartender. Find drink recipes by name or by what’s in your liquor cabinet. Get tips for mixing and creating the perfect cocktail in the bartender’s guide. (Free app with a paid upgrade available) for Android  or IOS.

We will continue offering foodie events and classes this year. Watch for the Fall technology series. Coming up soon, our Salsa Slam will be held on Aug. 15. There will be salsa dance demos and lessons and salsa samples from local eateries. Help choose the 2013 Salsa Champ of Princeton from among local entrants at this all-ages celebration of all things salsa.

Bon Apptit!

Photo Credit: Jiuck

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