Thanks Joy! This blog is excellent!

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when Joy at Joy of Desserts awarded the Art You Eat blog an Award for Excellence. So nice! Obviously, since this blog is a roundup of others creations for my little event, I can't take all the credit. For those that don't know, I now get to choose ten excellent blogs in turn. I thought it would be appropriate to choose from the kind bloggers who have participated and made this little event possible. So, in no particular order here are ten of my favorites (although everyone has been great - some I noticed have already been awarded or chosen by someone else).

Before I get to that though, just a quick reminder that the new AYE theme has been announced so go check it out. Also, over on my blog I'm holding a special event for "little creations" that you can read about here.

Now then, ten of my faves (and no, I'm not going to nominate my actual blog -- just give it a shameless plug ; )

Sorry this is a short post, but I'm typing one handed and trying to keep a six month old tired little boy asleep. On to the excellent blogs!

Aran at Cannelle Et Vanille
Linda at make life sweeter!
Chriesi at Almond Corner
Gretchen Noelle at Canela & Comino
Mansi of Fun and Food
Emma of The Chef and The Photographer
Arfi of HomeMadeS
Anke of Vegan Bounty
Priya at 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian
Alexandra at Addicted Sweet Tooth

Art You Eat #3 - Go Local!

As I previously announced Amanda, aka Mrs. W, won the AYE#2 Round for her Egg Chick creation which is too adorable to resist. So, for round three Mrs. W has chosen the theme of Go Local!

What does this mean? Well, here is an introduction from Mrs. W followed by more babble and information about the event from me.

In honor of Earth Day this year, the theme for the third Art You Can Eat event is: Go Local.

We invite you to think of this month's theme as an opportunity to highlight the best of locally-grown, sustainable* produce. Let's discover a world of delicious food that can be made with fruit and vegetables grown nearby--even in your own backyard! That means your main ingredient(s) should be in season and grown as locally as possible for your climate/region.

There's quite a bit of discussion these days about sustainable food sources--but what does that mean? Eating more locally-grown fruit and vegetables reduce the amount of food that needs to be imported from other areas. That means less fuel used to get your food from the farm to your door. And that's a good thing.
---
Amanda
Mrs.W
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Mrs. W and I also discussed including any local products since we realize that some areas (including ours) are just beginning their growing season. So, the reason it has taken me a bit longer to post the theme this time is because I wanted to do some research and give you some good information to help everyone be able to participate in this event. So, here is my introduction and all the information and resources I've been collecting. If anyone has any websites or resources in their areas of the world, please let me know and I will post more resources here so that we can all have access to this information on where to find local products.

Tidbits & Guidelines:

1. For purposes of this event "local" is defined as any product that took around 7 or 8 hours or less to get from the source to where you are. Any "local" product may be highlighted and should be used in a manner than is attractive or artistic. Since most of us think that any food is lovely, don't feel like you have to get crazy with garnish or plating or whatever for this round, but you are encouraged to get creative and try to make something inspiring. The better we can all highlight the beauty and availability of local ingredients, the better off we will all be.

2. Although Earth Day is April 22nd, the event will run until closer to the end of the month and the final day for submissions will be April 28th.

3. Please send submissions with the following information to me by the 28th - as always your post should include a mention and link to the event:

Name
Location
Name of Creation
Name of Blog
URL for Blog
URL for Post (Permalink)
Photo (250x250 approx. size)

Email these items to me at artyoueat AT gmail DOT com

So, here is a listing of good resources and articles I've found so far that I hope will help everyone. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Great sites to find local products:

Local Harvest
Farmers Market
Eat Well Guide (includes great search widgets you can add to your site - see it in action on the sidebar of my blog at PheMOMenon)
National Resources Defense Council

Guidelines for finding local products and information:

Fruits & Veggies: More Matters
Recycling Centers

More inspiration:

Ideal Bite - A Sassier Shade of Green
Kaboose

UPDATE: Maggie over at Dog Hill Kitchen let me know that she has found and posted even more great resource links on her blog, so go check it out!

And the Winner Is...

Mrs. W's Egg Chick got an overwhelming number of the votes to become the winner of the Art You Eat #2 - Eggs challenge. I have let Amanda know that she won and gets to put this little winner badge on her site to prove it.

That is one cute little chick, and who can say no to such a cute little guy after all! Thanks again to everyone that participated and voted.

We will be posting the theme for April later this week, so check back soon! Amanda has a good one in mind, so keep tuned!

Thanks again!

Holly

Art You Eat #2 - The Round-up - Eggs & Egg Shapes

The round-up for Art You Eat #2 – Eggs & Egg Shapes. The Easter holiday has come and gone for those that celebrated it in March, Spring is here for some, almost for others and months away for even more.

I am so grateful to all of our lovely participants this time around for sending in your egg-y creations for all of us to admire.

Here are the entrants, in the order they appeared in my inbox. The entries with a red title are the three finalists for this round, as chosen by myself and Inge of African Vanijle, the winner of Art You Eat #1 - "Chocolate."

Please check-out all the participants and then email your vote for one of the three finalists that most captured the idea of the theme to me by March 31st and we will announce the winner and “host” of the next round who will choose the theme for April.

Oh, and here is my little contribution. Chocolate filled eggs.

I wanted to give a big thanks to Inge for her creation again last month, and for her inspired choice for this month's theme. I think it was a wonderful theme that proved to put a bit of a challenge to us all.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! I really hope you will join in for the next round too! We’ll announce the winner around the 31st and announce the theme for April as well. Please email your vote for your favorite finalist below to me by March 31st:

artyoueat AT gmail DOT com


Johnny Zone from Venice, CA blogs at Le Petit Kitchen. Johnny sent in this fabulous idea for how to make your next Creme Brulee, with an edge - Creme Brulee baking in egg with vanilla foam.



Amanda, aka Mrs.W, from Central NY, USA, who of course is blogging from Mrs.W's Kitchen sent in these adorable little Egg Chicks.



Alexandra, from New York, USA, blogging at Addicted Sweet Tooth went the extra mile and showed us all that you never have to buy a Chocolate Easter Bunny from the store again.



Lisa, from London, Ontario, who is, of course, blogging from Lisa's Kitchen gives us a savory egg dish that sounds as lovely as it looks with her Greek Feta and Olive Frittata.



Aran, from Florida, USA, and blogging at Cannelle Et Vanille was kind enough to show us how to make a Milk Chocolate Cream with Milk Cloud, and seriously, how good does that sound!



Caramella Mou, coming to us from the UK and blogging at Caramella Cooks sent in a lovely way to make an Easter Egg Basket that you can eat - plus, you get to craft and bake!



Linda, blogging to make life sweeter! all the way from The Hague, The Netherlands, sent in these Ganache birds nest with caramel ganache filled eggs which sound and look truly delightful.



Emily, who is “An American in Paris”, is bloggin at Tomato Kumato and shows us all more ways to enjoy The Incredible Edible Egg.



Chriesi, of Zürich, Switzerland, is blogging at Almond Corner with this simply gorgeous Easter Eggs that look perfectly amazing!


Gretchen Noelle, from Lima, Peru and the wonderful Canela & Comino blog sent in these adorable Egg Shaped Sugar Cookies - simple and sublime - I am pretty sure I could eat a dozen!



Marquita, blogging at My Sweetest Dreams from Florida, USA sent us these Easter "Eggs" - the secret? These aren't eggs - what a seriously fun way to serve cake!


Thank you, thank you, thank you again to all of our amazing participants! Now, go and browse all these amazing blogs and don't forget to email me your vote!

Deadline Extended - AYE #2 - Eggs

Hi all! Just a quick post to let you know that the deadline for Art You Eat #2 - Eggs & Egg Shapes is being extended to March 25th. We thought that would make it easier for those of you waiting to make your goodies until Easter.

So, get creative and send in those entries! Remember, it can be something with an egg shape or eggs as the main ingredient. Just email your entry to me by the 25th of March at:

artyoueat AT gmail DOT com

Send in the email with:

• Your name
• Blog Name
• Post Title
• Post URL
• Blog URL
• Small picture (250 x 250 pixels)

Thanks!

Announcing Art You Eat #2 - Eggs & Egg Shapes

Hello again! We have another challenge before us, chosen by AYE #1’s winner, the lovely and oh so creative, Inge of Vanielje Kitchen. For this challenge Inge and I agreed that eggs and creations that are shaped like eggs would be eligible to participate.

As before, posts you have published before can be entered as long as you repost it as an entry to the event with a link back and tell us how you made your creation look so amazing and artful.

So, whether you make something with eggs as a main ingredient or in the shape of an egg, try to make it celebrate the coming spring and Easter season!

Please email entries to artyoueat AT gmail DOT com by the end of March 19th and include the following:

NAME:
LOCATION:
ENTRY TITLE:
BLOG TITLE:
BLOG URL:
POST URL:
THEME IDEA IF YOU WIN:

The top three entries will be chosen by Inge and myself for this challenge (mostly by Inge since it is her theme – I just get to put my two cents in!) and then voting will begin to choose who will host the next round.

Thanks for checking this out! We hope you can join in!

Holly
AYE Admin

P.S. To get your creative juices flowing, check out this picture of tea-stained marbelized eggs I found at http://whatscookingamerica.net/EllenEaston/TeaInfusedEggs.htm.

Art You Eat #1 Chocolate Challenge - And the Winner Is...

African Vanielje of Vanielje Kitchen took the vote and the win for the very first "Art You Eat" Edible Art Challenge Chocolate with her Wildberry Dark Chocolate Mousse in a Bitter Chocolate Bramble Cage. Congratulations to Inge and many thanks for participating!

This beautiful creation and how to make it can be seen more fully on Vanielje Kitchen and I suggest that if you want to impress, you should give this a try. Get creative and give your own spin to it! A different pattern? Around a cake? Would white chocolate work? Hey, if you give this a try, please let us know so we can post that here as well!

Thank you again to all the participants and all of you who voted for making this challenge a success. I knew I could count on all of you to make this little idea of mine come true and obviously it wouldn't work without you.

So, that said, please tune back in in a few days for the announcement of Art You Eat #2 Challenge. As the winner of this first round African Vanielje wins the right to choose the theme for the next challenge. I will be posting her announcement here as well as on Is My Blog Burning which is so kindly maintained by the wonderful Andrew of Spitoon Extra. Watch for the announcement to come.

Here's to all of you and a great challenge. Now, on to the next one!