I have been spending time on a tomato peel---sliding around the web (I hope you just pictured one of those carnival slides---where you would sit on a burlap bag, and slide down rolling humps and your stomach would flop? Remember that feeling?). And while sliding around might be messy and a bit out of control---it can be a real hoot! And I usually find some great blogs, new friends and fantastic posts.

I love an informative post---an article that unabashedly dives into a 'study' of some ingredient or food. I am insatiably curious about food, so when I ran across Sweets Food Blog and learned all about empanadas... it made me happy (happy like I just bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes happy). I sometimes make mini chorizo empanadas---I love them---they are perfect for a cocktail party.

I met Elaine over at The Italian Dish. I am so happy I bumped into her---I will visit her site again and again. I love her pictures, the approachable recipes and of course the full-on embrace of all things Italian.

And I found Marilyn at Simmer Till Done who has such a refreshing 'voice.' I love to giggle---and she surprises you into snickering when she writes.

Then there was this site about canning---it makes me grin from ear to ear with simultaneous big, worried eyes. I find that I have 'food fears.' As in there are things I haven't tried, don't know how to cook, cut, create and in this case 'can.' It isn't familiar and makes me uncomfortable. Like in Julia and Julia when she had to cook a lobster. For me, I find I have a laundry list of untried methods and foods... but I seem to slide toward them uncontrollably on my tomato peel. It might end up in an unavoidable crash (aka splat---failure); or it might be the best ride ever (as in: I love this! why did I wait so long to try it?).

I migrate to what I don't know. Or feel the need to master something that evades me (my lowest grade in high school? economics. So I picked 'business' for my graduate degree). I played basketball in high school: all hands, full contact. My latest adopted sport? Soccer: all feet, little contact. Oh, and cycling---that takes some getting used to! Ultimately, we cycled in downtown Amsterdam, London and Paris... Food is no different. I went to culinary school, and for the first time cut a chicken into 8 parts, made broth from scratch, whisked mayonnaise from scratch, and learned how to fillet a fish. I still need a lot of practice to get to that level of 'mastery' that I crave. Don't be surprised if sometime next year all of a sudden I am working at the docks or in a butcher shop.

This year I have been trying to force teach myself to learn new methods/foods that I haven't tried before. So far this has included making pasta (I owned the pasta roller for 3 months before I finally 'went for it'---why is that?), making bread, making polenta and mastering risotto. And, truth be told, I have yet to climb my personal ladder of canning (freezer jam doesn't count!). I have always wanted to be 'good' at it. Apparently, I first have to 'try' it.

What is the next food you plan to conquer?