Since I wrote about Food. France. Now., it appears to have gone away, which makes me very sad.

On the plus side, there are plenty of other blogs to take my mind off, and my favorite of those that remain is Chocolate and Zucchini.

Clotilde lives in Paris, too (I swear this is not why I read her blog!) and makes some mouthwatering food. Her writing style is casual and friendly, and she includes wonderful descriptions.

Right along with the words, though, are some of the most beautiful photographs of food I've ever seen. Clearly, there is some magic ambient light happening chez Clotilde, because every single photo I've seen is a wonderfully serene still life with gorgeous colors and combinations of textures. I don't know how she gets such terrific pictures, but they enliven her entries.

Her blog is peppered with exotic ingredients and beautiful presentations alongside strikingly simple fare and common ingredients. Chocolate and Zucchini is clearly the work of a thoughful person sharing detailed impressions and daily experiences in the kitchen.

Once again, a hearty FoodGirl recommendation for Chocolate & Zucchini!

I love weblogs, and I've recently found a whole slew of superb food-related blogs.

My current favourite is Food. France. Now., which is Louisa's beautifully-written account of living, eating and working in Paris.

She attended the Cordon Bleu, worked in (as far as I can tell with only one read through the archives) a couple of restaurants, and is eating magnificently in some of Paris' top restaurants.

It's this last that makes this blog a voyeuristic pleasure to read. Louisa takes us through menus, detailing items, preparation, taste, texture and presentation in a way that really makes you feel you were there, peeking over her shoulder. She has a cool, conversational style of writing, and she's clearly way more knowledgable about food than you or I (well, I, at any rate) will ever be, but she shares her knowledge; she doesn't lord it over you.

The other things I love about her blog are the tiny glimpses into Paris life. I don't care how many times she mentions bringing her dog, Karli, into a restaurant, I never cease to get a kick out of it. I want to move to Paris, get a dog and do nothing but bring it places! And the snippets about shops are evocative: boucheries, boulangeries, epiceries, supermarches, wine shops! I can't get enough.

Ok, I'll admit. I'm a quarter French, and a closet Francophile, and would love nothing less than to attend Le Cordon Bleu and live in Paris, so this blog is a vicarious pleasure for me, but still. Don't hold that against Food. France. Now. -- it's so beautifully written that you'll want to pack everything up, pick an arrondissement and start your own Paris adventure.

So, a hearty recommendation for Food. France. Now. Go. Read. Now. =)

I'm still testing the xml parser ... for some reason, I can't get the feed to display in the splinters sidebar.

Grrr.

It's been far too long since I updated FoodGirl, and I apologize. Life has nearly steamrollered me!

I'm working towards launching my own Personal Chef business, and I hope to add bits of news or interesting items from my days cooking. I'll also be including links to other food-related blogs, reviews of magazines, websites and recipes, and also other random food-related bits.

I'm hoping this swings FoodGirl more towards my original intent of "A Celebration of Food" than it has been so far.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!