Hmmmmmm. Ramp Pesto. I haven’t thought of that before. But, it is ramp season, and I am always interested in “pesto” style endeavors…. stay tuned!

Edited: Ramp Pesto here.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Trader Joe’s has opened in Madison. But more about that harrowing tale in a moment…

The balmy Sunday weather (35 degrees and sunny!) encouraged me to go out early this morning and roam around a bit. I started out at the Monona Farmer’s Market. This is actually a routine Sunday morning stop. You might think that I go there for the produce. You would be wrong.

You see, there is a guy there who has a buffalo stand. And while his buffalo is excellent, that is not what I buy. I’m afraid that he’s got my dogs addicted to his buffalo cookies with liver chips. So I go there first thing every Sunday morning and I buy dog cookies. Or, to be more truthful, cat cookies. The Buffalo Guy confided in me early this summer that the cat cookies are the exact same thing as the dog cookies. The cat cookies just have some pre-made groves in them so that you can break them easier. I had to explain this to my Shiba Inus before I fed them the cat cookies, of course.

Then I headed to my neighborhood coffee shop, Cuppa Jo, on Monona Drive. Now, technically, this is no longer my neighborhood since I became a suburbanite 2 years ago. But I still head back to the ‘hood several times a week to indulge in both the coffee and the atmosphere. If you live in Madison and you have a chance to go there, skip the Starbucks and support the local shop. You won’t regret it, and it is the right thing to do.

And now begins the harrowing tale of my trek downtown to scope out the first Trader Joe’s to open not only in Madison but in Wisconsin.

I drove downtown, dodging street crews cleaning up barrels and barricades from the State Street Halloween party of the night before (I simply can not bring myself to call it “FreakFest”). Thankfully, there were no riots this year, and the place didn’t look too torn up. But I passed a playboy bunny, a court jester, and a rather drunken looking clown staggering down University Avenue in search of their apartments.

Making my way to Monroe Street, I naively assumed that I’d beat the crowd with an early Sunday morning excursion. What a mistake. Here’s my advice to you:

DO NOT GO. STAY AWAY. SAVE YOURSELVES!

The place was a train wreck. The parking was a nightmare, the people were insane, and some of the shelves were bare. For a neighborhood that prides itself on tolerance, I’m here to tell you that the crowd was rude, obnoxious, pushy and manic. I passed a man muttering disgustedly to himself and I said to him, in sympathy, “No kidding - why aren’t these people in church???”. He laughed and replied, “Think about the demographics when you ask yourself that!”.

I escaped the place with my life, somehow, and vowed that it will be a significantly long time before I go back. Whole Foods and Jenifer Street Market will do just fine, thank you very much.

I drove back downtown as I made my way back to the east side, passing a man dressed like a princess and 6 foot tall staggering box of condoms making their way down Regent Street.

Only in Madison! (But that is why I live here!)

Popularity: 9% [?]

I give up. I’ve spent a lot of time pondering this, and I’ve been unable to come up with an answer.

Why do people search for “Rachel Ray’s garbage bowl”?

An enormous number of people find Cuisine Capers each and every day in their Google quest for information on this item.

Now, granted, one could turn the tables on me and ask - well, why would you write an entry about Rachel Ray’s garbage bowl? That is a very good question. It was a true moment of, “now why didn’t I think of that”?

But still - for those of you searching the web on information for Rachel Ray’s garbage bowl, could you give me some insight as to what it is you are trying to find out?

Thanks. It would help me sleep at night

Popularity: 17% [?]

Well, never gone, really, just on hiatus.

Life has been busy, but with summer winding down and the threat of winter moving in to take its place, I figure some serious cooking is going to start setting in.

So, I’m back, and I’m going to start to get back into the food blogging grove!

A few observations til the real food post -

- I stop blogging and traffic picks up?? I am getting double the hits was getting a couple of months ago. Oh, I know it is because of search engines, but I find it ironic!

- Comment spam is driving me nuts. Sure, I use a blacklist program, but it has gotten so prevelant that it doesn’t matter. Spam sucks. And that can apply to food and cooking too, so that is a completely appropriate comment!

- I have been working on a food/cooking related project that I am going to really start to focus on now that the fall football season is coming to an end.

- I actually have lots of food photos that I just haven’t posted - so I may just do one big photo post today!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Cuisine Capers Turns One

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A little over a year ago I decided to create a food blog. The idea struck me out of the blue, for no apparent reason. I had set up many other blogs in the past, but I wanted one that I could use to concentrate on food and cooking.

I didn’t know at the time that there was a growing community of food bloggers out there. In fact, after I set the blog up, I dug around for a bit looking for similar sites that I could link to. I remember finding An Obsession With Food and thinking, “Wow, that is sooo cool!”.

So I set Cuisine Capers up and started writing about cooking adventures. I was pretty amazed as the food blogging community seemed to start to explode with new people, ideas and themes. I began to participate in events such as Is My Blog Burning and Wine Blogging Wednesday. The sense of community that is created by these events is pretty inspiring.

I was happy when I started averaging 25 visitors a day - Hey! People are reading my blog! And then, seemingly overnight that traffic doubled - then tripled - then grew and grew and grew. I’m amazed by the people who stop by each day. I just wish they’d comment more often and add a bit of interactivity to it all (hint, hint).

A few weeks ago a new logo was created for the site, and as I gather up the time, energy and nerve I’ll start a redesign. I have some other plans for the site in the future, which I am really looking forward to as well.

But in the meantime, I’ll just keep foodblogging away, with the help from my fellow Foodie Vic, who pops in now and then (but not nearly often enough - yet another hint!)

So, thanks to all who visit, and feel free to let us know what you think as you stop by.

Irene

Popularity: 6% [?]