Loving Local Food – I launched this blog in February 2009 after Molly Hoyne suggested I start blogging about my passions. I started falling in love with food when I moved to Seattle six years ago and Loving Local Food was the outlet that finally helped me bring my culinary passion to the next level. I am able to share and connect with friends and family through food, regardless of whether or not we can all sit down at the table together.

Seattle Food Bloggers – I happened to mention Loving Local Food to a work acquaintance and within moments he was introducing me to Keren Brown via email. Keren (Frantic Foodie) organizes food blogger events throughout Seattle and is a master at networking within the food community. I have connected with numerous food bloggers, met professional food writers, and had the chance to take a class by well-known photographer, Lou Manna. The opportunities (or foodportunities as Keren would say) have been endless.

Food Writing Class – I signed up for Candace Dempsey’s food writing class this fall to learn a few professional tips and check an item off my life list. I was inspired to write an ode to my heritage with Minnesota Hotdish: A Farmwife Classic Your Family Will Love. I learned to craft pitch letters, read stories from professional food writers, and received invaluable feedback. The praise and constructive critique I acquired was reassurance I should continue to put words on paper.

West Seattle Winery LLC – This past summer, my husband and I converted our garage into a winery. It is fully licensed and bonded by the state and 2009 was our first commercial crush. We had long weekends and purple-stained fingers, but our wine babies are in barrels and demijohns and we are looking forward to their release in 2010. Next step? Creating a brand name for the winery. Any ideas?

A Greener Kitchen – After six months of researching vendors, building up inventory, and cursing at shopping carts we launched A Greener Kitchen. Officially released to the world on December 31, 2009, A Greener Kitchen was born out of my obsession with the kitchen and focuses entirely on eco-friendly kitchen tools, gadgets, and accessories.

Cheers to the progress made in 2009, and here’s to everything 2010 has waiting for us!

A regular attendee of Keren Brown’s Seattle Food Blogger events, it would have been foolish not be present at her inaugural Foodportunity event. I marked the date on the calendar, lightly twisted my husband’s arm to come with me, and visited the website on a regular basis. The clock was ticking, but for some reason I was not buying tickets. I decided to set a date, pay day. The message arrived via Twitter only twenty four hours before the influx of cash into my bank account – Foodportunity was sold out! I was absolutely crushed; I think I might have cried. I sent Keren a note, trying to hide my embarrassment of not buying tickets ahead of time, “Bummer! I barely missed out.”

Two days later, Frantic Foodie (Keren) was on the hunt for volunteers. It was destiny; I signed up for the task immediately. The night of the event I donned my Foodportunity t-shirt, met my fellow helpers, and parked myself at the front door to check in the K-Z attendees. I welcomed panelists Nancy Leson and Rebekah Denn, bumped into Twitter followers and followees, and reconnected with a former co-worker I had not seen in years.

When my volunteer duties had ceased, I grabbed my two drink tickets, picked up a glass of 2008 Les Amis (Riesling, Muscat, Gewurztraminer blend) from Vin du Lac, and began to wander from one food vendor to the next.

Highlights include a whole roasted pig (behind the salmon in the photo) from Tom Douglas, saint basil truffles from Intrigue Chocolates, pepper bacon-esque hummus from Sound Bites, and blueberries and corn with beef tenderloin from The Chef in the Hat.

How could I forget Serafina’s green gazpacho, Olivar’s anchovy and avocado on a toasted baguette, and the honeycomb wine pairing combo from Heavenly Honey Farm.

To top it off, On Safari Foods sent me home with a long link of lamb sausage. I tossed the souvenir with sweet onions, basil, and fresh beet noodles from La Pasta. Talk about a Foodportunity!