la sfida di foodbuzz: il mio blog, la mia voce

foodbuzz challenge: my blog, my voice

The secret, per così dire (so to speak) has been revealed in my Project Food Blog profile: behind my decision to start a blog there was the idea of providing audio files to people interested in learning how to pronounce Italian words and expressions related to food. There was no other resource to answer this need, so I stepped in.

The core idea then expanded, and I started presenting recipes, adding photos to my posts, participating in and organizing blog events, and even talking about my travels.

All along, to encourage my efforts was the amazing community around me. To interact with that community is the main reason why I blog, and what makes blogging an important part of my life. Chi l'avrebbe mai detto? (Who would have thought?)

What makes my blog unique is, of course, my voice (voce). You can actually hear my physical voice in the audio files attached to my posts — this being still a unique feature of my blog. And you can read my writing voice in my posts.

Two years ago, something special happened: acting on an impulse, I bought some rennet tablets and tried making cheese at home. It was un colpo di fulmine (love at first sight). Since then, making cheese has been one the joys of my life, an activity that excites me no matter what else is going on in my life (and this year a lot has happened, mostly in the sad events department).

So, to showcase the uniqueness of my blogging personality, I have chosen a set of photos from my cheese-making archive. Do you think what I am doing is quite special? If you do, you can say so by voting for me in the Project Food Blog contest. Voting starts on Monday, September 20, 2010 at 6 am (Pacific Time) and ends on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 6 pm (Pacific Time).

To vote, click on the Project Food Blog widget, or, if you follow this link, click on the ♥ [heart] symbol at the top of the page. You need to register to vote, so foodbuzz can keep track of the votes. When your vote is registered, a small pop-up appears with the message "Thank you for voting!" and the ♥ [heart] symbol turns red.

A gallery of briciole's formaggi fatti in casa (homemade cheeses)

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Left to right:

1. Montasio
2. Jarlsberg
3. Fourme d'Ambert
4. my beloved cheese press

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Left to right:

1. my first hard cheese
2. Gouda before last pressing
3. Gouda in the drying phase
4. Manchego with toasted hazelnuts

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Left to right:

1. mascarpone in the draining phase
2. fromage blanc
3. dipping true ricotta
4. true ricotta just unmolded

And now, the familiar finale:

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

il mio blog, la mia voce

or launch the il mio blog, la mia voce audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]