One may or may not be able to cook, but everyone most certainly can eat. Small snacks and mouth-watering delights are a food connoisseur's getaway from over stressed lives.
Whether you love to eat or to cook either way you will come across food blogs – thousands of them!
How do you know which ones to follow? Which are to your taste? Which will give you the right information without going overboard with hundreds of ingredients that you have never even heard of?
We have narrowed down some of the best blogs that will not only provide mouth-watering food photos but detailed lists of ingredients and recipes, so you can learn, pass time, and indulge in the wonderful world of cooking.
The Red Lychee
The Red Lychee is a food blog that documents the frolics and the misadventures in a kitchen most amateur cooks can relate to. It is documented by Abida, who in her college years had learned both the struggle and the beauty of cooking and decided to record each of her little kitchen experiments.
Cooking, to her, is an adventure; a relaxing respite. It is where she lets her creativity flow without boundaries. In Abida's blog she writes on numerous traditional Bengali, particularly Sylheti recipes, which she has learned from her mother. She believes Bangladeshi flavours are diverse and original but are not as recognised.
The Red Lychee is complete with every section you would need; from desserts and baking (rashmalai, almond bakewell cake) to snacks, appetisers and mains with separate sections dealing with vegetarian and other healthy dishes. Through her blog she hopes to connect to people and show them how different and unique Bangladeshi cooking can be. Occasionally she prefers to step out of her comfort zone and experiment with international cuisine as well.
Follow Abida's blog here: www.theredlychee.com for culinary experiments, delightful anecdotes and lots of fun!
ROWNAK'S BANGLA RECIPES
Rownak Jahan is a Bangladeshi residing in Australia and is passionate about Bengali food. Through her blog she hopes to raise awareness on the richness and palatable variations Bangladeshi cuisine has to offer. Unlike most other food blogs, this particular one is filled mostly with almost every native dish and recipe one can imagine. From traditional achaar, pitha and many types of bhorta or mash, she has everything listed down in her journal skilfully with highly appetising photos of the dishes. She also maintains separate sections for iftar recipes and Eid specials.
Rownak is an artist of texture and depth who loves to cook and learn new recipes, so if you want to take a peek at her wonderful native recipes follow her blog here: www.banglarecipes.com.au
SPRINKLE BAKES
Who does not love desserts? Heather of Sprinkle Bakes is not only a food blogger but also a trained pastry chef, cookbook author, freelance recipe developer and photographer - she totally knows what she is doing!
Heather has previously worked in art galleries and she uses her knowledge of art to bring life to her desserts. Her blog is filled with the most scrumptious looking, mouth-watering and absolutely delectable delights that would make anyone want to bake, if not lick the screen.
Heather's artistic creativity shows through her colourful, structural and abstract desserts, which look too good to be true. Baklava cheesecakes, fried ice-cream layered cakes, chocolate zucchini cupcakes - she lets her imagination go wild with her creations.
Dessert lovers, you know where to go for some inspiration and maybe even a little drooling over the screen: www.sprinklebakes.com
Naturally Ella
If you are a vegetarian and feeling lost amongst the numerous non-veg blogs, look no further. Naturally Ella is solely a vegetarian food blog dedicated to lovers of the 'green'!
This blog shows exactly how vegetables can be superbly appetising and palatable and we do not mean your plain curry. Erin, founder of Naturally Ella, has taken the green side after seeing a family member suffer from a heart attack and ever since she has been devoted to recording all her vegetarian recipes on the Internet.
Naturally Ella has very intricately detailed lists of recipes for every time of the day and of every category you want: from soups and stews to sandwiches to cakes, all with their own cooking times and ingredient lists. You can also explore individual ingredients and everything you can cook with them.
Lastly this blog has widely detailed meal plans for newbies that includes prep times, ingredient lists and much more.
Naturally Ella is a vegetarian's food haven that you must check out if you are planning to take on the green side or already have. Try www.naturallyella.com/blog
Skinny Taste
Skinny Taste, as the name suggests, is a blog that promises to keep you fit and healthy without compromising the taste. Gina Homolka, author of Skinny Taste, also happens to be a photographer and recipe developer at the blog featuring healthy, low-fat but delicious recipes numerous times a week. Most recipes here include seasonal ingredients, whole foods and a healthy proportion of nutrients.
The index contains recipes categorised in sections such as Low Carb, Gluten Free etc. Skinny Taste also has other sections devoted to numerous categories such as Holiday Recipes, Seasonal Recipes, Weight Watchers and many more. Through this blog of hers, Gina expects to steer cooks around the kitchen and help them prepare delicious meals that are full of nutrition and bursting with flavourful goodness, all the while posting eye catching photos for readers to enjoy.
Log onto her website: www.skinnytaste.com/about
To indulge in photos, to obtain inspiration or to learn recipes, food blogs are a perfect way to open your mind and explore the culinary world through different eyes. From vegetarian, vegan and gluten free to dessert, savoury, rich and hearty, there is something for everyone to see, read, learn and of course enjoy!
By Anisha Hassan
Photo: Collected