running with tweezers

i get by with a little help from my friends...and links that finally work!

After a day so gluttonous and full of such amazing food - and a shimeji mushroom dish that I just *have* to replicate for everyone in blogland - I am taking a tasting time out. I'm fasting today...and maybe tomorrow. My stomach has reached maximum capacity. That makes it a good time, however, to heap praise on a couple of people...and do a teensy bit of shameless self promotion.

- I have to say a big thank you to my friend James, who has updated my own personal styling portfolio on my website. He's also added a few new tweaks and features that have been met really favorably. Some of my newer work can be seen at  www.tamihardeman.com.

- I also need to say thank you to Tom over at Atlanta Cuisine for the nice shout out in an article in his most recent issue. The sultry, kitchen goddess description makes me giggle a bit...but any press is good press, right?

- I have been shooting some really beautiful things lately (an example of which is in this post) with food photographer Tony Clark. We work together quite a bit...but we have outdone ourselves the past few weeks. It's been a really inspired time...and the results of that collaboration can be seen at Tony Clark Photography.

- I continue to marvel at the beauty that Bea continues to crank out over at La Tartine Gourmande. If you haven't seen her site, then you've been living under a rock...but I'm including the link just in case. All of the currants and bright colors she's been using lately make me smile.

- Lastly, for those of you in the Atlanta area with aspirations of owning your own restaurant, NBC is casting for their upcoming reality show...where you can do just that! They are looking for teams of two people with a relationship to each other (mom/daughter, spouses, best friends, etc) to go through the trails and tribulations of having their own restaurant - as a team of cameras looks on! The casting is going to take place on Sunday March 16th at the W Hotel Perimeter. For more information, email them at NBCTeamsAtlanta@yahoo.com or call them at (646)961-3991. I have a flier with information about it - drop me a line and I will be happy to forward it to you.
 

The Super Soup Challenge Winners!

I love this part...and I hate this part.

I had such a hard time choosing the winner of the Super Soup Challenge last year that I thought I would take some of the burden off of myself and let the readers vote for one. No dice. I've had an absolute bugger of a time picking a winner. There were SO many good entries this time and so many beautiful photographs! The outpouring of stories and recipes for the challenge touched me more than the words in this post could ever tell you.

Before I announce who *I* chose as my winner, I am going to announce who *you* chose as your winner. Usually, these blog events and contests are a close race. Not so much this time. The Readers Choice for the SSC won by a landslide. Despina from Food For Thought's story of her mom cooking her Greek Lentil Soup connected with so many people. Congrats! She is winning a copy of FoodSmarts, a cool food-related trivia game.

Now....

When this entry showed up, I was impressed by the photograph (i love things set in all-white). I also just loved the freshness and lightness of the recipe. It was very much the kind of soup my mom would have made and enjoyed...and the kind of recipe I, too, would make and enjoy. Congrats to Terry of Blue Kitchen for his Watercress Vichyssoise!He will be receiving a copy of The Big Book of Soups and Stews: 262 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food.

Thanks again to everyone who took part! I can't wait till next year's Super Soup Challenge!

Photo of the Campbell's Soup tablecloth was taken this week at Happy Days Cafe while on vacation in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Serendipity, no?

good golly miss molly and some of the things I think over coffee.

Oh, Molly. You're killing me. Really. Your last two posts? Pass the tissues, please.

When I first discovered the world of food blogging, there weren't that many well-known sites. Were there any? It surely wasn't as it is now. Everyone and their mother seems to have a blog of some sort. The one that I kept going back to and reading - really reading - was Orangette. The unfolding stories that the blog's heroine, Molly, would tell about her life and how what she was eating related to the events in her life really struck a chord with me.

I was like Molly, too, I was convinced.

For as long as I can remember...the food and drink at a particular something has been as important as all of the other details. The comfort of cooking, of feeding people, of being fed by someone that loves you. Through the highs and lows...love and loss and what I've consumed...it has all been tightly intertwined. As someone who has also spent most of her life as a writer - in one sense or another - her voice sounded like the voice I wished I had.

So I started a blog.

At first, I paid close attention to telling some stories that went along with the food. In the heat of the moments though - literally and figuratively - I have strayed away from the personal details that relate so closely to the recipes and dishes posted on this blog. Why? Well...that's a good question. Fear of who is reading it. Fear of admitting some failures - both in the kitchen and in life. This blog has become as much a vehicle for showcasing my mad styling skillz as it has really telling the story of Tami and her life running with tweezers.

So...here I have been sitting...off and on for the past two weeks...stopping in to Molly's blog and bawling my eyes out. The beauty of her life that has unfolded before her because of her blog and the strength and honesty of her voice in her blog is so moving. Molly has once again inspired me to tell more of my story - the good and the bad - through her blog. She's done it twice...and she doesn't even know it. 

This blog has gotten a superficial makeover...and it will be getting a sort of spiritual makeover, as well. Blogging has provided so many things for me - comfort, an outlet to say something, an outlet to say nothing when i needed quiet, a way to show off my talent. Yet, sometimes I feel like I'm holding back. Life is pretty amazing - just the ability to live it when its good and when its bad - and I have so many stories to tell. The great photos will still be there (i hope) and the recipes will still be there. If you don't wanna read....just scroll down. You'll find them.

Thank you, Molly - and the rest of the blog world - for sharing your food and your lives with me...and giving me a chance to do so, as well.   

Happy Blog Day 2006!

August 31st is Blog Day all over the world. Dianka, who has a great blog called Na Zdravi, was nice enough to mention me in her Blog Day post. I have been wanting to give a shout out to 5 of the blogs that I read all of the time - both as a way to tip my hat to them and to make sure that other people are reading them, as well.

My Aim Is True - This is not just a food blog. Amber is an A+, #1 cool girl all the way around. She's got good taste in spades. Her blog covers fashion (and Project Runway!), home design, her newfound running, and her superstar Boston Terrier named Kyla.

Foodie NYC - I absolutely love Joe's blog. I really appreciate his culinary expertise, his way of combining flavors I would never think to put together, and our mutual disdain for Sandra Lee - all written in a way that makes you feel like you've known him forever.

Lobstersquad - I really love seeing people who do things their own way. This is the blog of Ximena, an illustrator that lives in Madrid. You won't find any photos on this blog. Instead, each post is beautifully illustrated. I mean, you won't see any colored pencil cheese sandwiches there...but maybe that's a *good* thing?

Neil Drinks Wine - This is a blog I have recently become addicted to! Neil was nice enough to become one of my Myspace buddies. He's hot, his writing is sultry and descriptive, he has great taste in sunglasses and even better taste in wine. Whats not to love?

The Amateur Gourmet - I don't think I have ever publicly professed my love for this blog. I'm here to change all of that. I started reading this blog when Adam was still here in Atlanta. Since then, he's moved to NYC and landed himself a book deal! His blog is the perfect mix of information and humor - his meal at Babbo one minute and photos of his mom with Flea the next. More often than not, I'm laughing out loud.