Extra! Extra! Read All About It! Announcing.... TWO for TUESDAYS! Hearth and Soul blog hop!

UPDATE
(9/13/10)

Welcome to the evolution of the Two for Tuesdays blog hop, which now goes by the name of Hearth and Soul!  We've changed things around a bit, so please read this new updated information page and then join in the fun!

Mission:

Food from your hearth, to feed your soul. Food that follows your intuition. Preparing food from scratch to nourish your family…body, mind AND soul! Food made with your own hands…infused with energy and passion and intent. Real food made by real people to feed real families (big and small, in blood or spirit). Ingredients from scratch, be it something grown in your garden or raised on your land…food foraged in the field or woods…food from local farms, farmers, or farmers markets…or even ingredients chosen by you from your local market that will be turned into something that feeds your soul. Tapping the food memory that each of us has stored inside; letting it guide and influence our own time in the kitchen.

We hope to embrace not only the “expected” areas of real food, but also those who want to incorporate healthier choices without sacrificing their love of food…how it tastes, the memories it conjures up, the comfort it brings. Yes, we’re trying to steer clear of packaged, processed, and boxed foods in favor of real foods….without absolutely excluding the sometimes frowned upon white sugar or flour (because the body craves what it craves…and sometimes things just don’t taste the same when you replace these). Making conscious choices and being present in the now with what your body needs…and taking steps towards exploring and enjoying healthier choices. If you take the time to listen, your body will tell you what it needs.

The warm comfort of the home hearth…stories, anecdotes, lessons, adventures, journeys, recipes, meals, beverages…we want to share the “why” of how food feeds more than just our bodies…how it also feeds our souls. After all, aren’t these the essential ingredients in defining real food? Please share links from your Hearth ‘n Soul with us each week.

*As hosts, we will try our hardest to visit as many of the links each week as we can.  We guarantee that at least one of us will stop by each week...and tweet your link, as well.  As much as we'd love to be able to comment on every post, every week...life! Ya know?  We all enjoy your links and look forward to reading what you've brought to the table every week.  So please know, that if there's a week that one or two of us don't drop by...it's not because we don't care, it's because our plates are overflowing that week!

*The Hearth and Soul Hop's Twitter hashtag is #hsoul .  Feel free to leave your twitter handle in the comments, as well.

Rules for linking:

• One link per week, please
• Must include a link back to one/any of the host sites (through worded link or badge) in individual post, not on sidebar…although we love having links on your page, as well (this benefits all of us). You will be sent a gentle reminder if no link is added to your post, we understand that sometimes people forget…but if it becomes a regular occurrence, (even though we don’t like to do it) your post may be removed. It’s just not fair to those who do take the time and show the grace to link back.
• Try to link a post that you think fits into the mission of Hearth 'n Soul. You don’t have to link up every week…link up when you can. We welcome posts that are shared in other events. If you have an older, archived post that you want to add, we welcome that…as long as you go in and add a link back to Hearth ‘n Soul

Linky will stay open from 10 pm Monday to 11:59 pm Wednesday (Eastern time).

Your Hosts:

A Moderate Life

girlichef

Hunger and Thirst
Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy 

<a href="http://www.girlichef.com/search/label/hearth%20and%20soul%20hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/girlichef/misc%20blog%20badges/hearthnsoulgirlichef.jpg" border="0" alt="hearthandsoulgirlichef"></a>

Please feel free to ask questions at any time through either comments or email at any of the hosting sites and we will answer you as soon as we possibly can.  I'm really looking forward to reading everybody's links. Thank you!

Are you wondering what a blog hop is?? It's facilitated by a linky generator...and it allows links that YOU have added to a site (say girlichef) to show up on several other sites at the same time (say... A Moderate Life, Hunger and Thirst, Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy).  Pretty cool, huh?  Quadruple exposure.  So, if you want to participate, you simple add your post URL to the linky because on any one of our sites and it'll show up on all of our sites.

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(Old version)

This Tuesday marks the start of the Two for Tuesdays! Blog Hop Carnival.  Two for Tuesdays is the brainchild of Alex from A Moderate Life.  It began on her site as a day to link up one (or two) of your blog posts that featured REAL FOOD.  Recipes, anecdotes, stories, photos, reviews...anything your blogged about featuring REAL food.  What is REAL food, you ask?  Think: slow food, traditional food, hand-prepared food, nourishing food...food that is NOT processed....food that doesn't come from a package...food that your great-grandmother would have made &/or eaten.  REAL food is homemade. REAL food is from scratch.  REAL food has recognizable ingredients.  REAL food is made from traditional ingredients.  REAL food is food you make with your own hands...from food grown, milled, raised by you or by people (not machines).  Think family farmer.  Think farmer's market.  Think garden.  Think local grain mill.  Think REAL.


This doesn't mean you have to have a blog that focuses ONLY on REAL food.  But the post that you link up on Tuesday, should!  I'm the first to admit that I was raised on a mostly Western diet.  I've eaten my fair share of mashed potatoes made from flakes in a box.  I've eaten corned beef hash that plopped out in the shape of the tin it came in.  Crispy, fried spam wrapped in soft white bread still kinda makes me drool just thinking about it.  Twinkies aren't a food group?  You get the picture, right?  Fortunately, to supplement my tinned, boxed, bagged, deep-frozen diet...I also had a grandma who made her own jams and jellies from fruits and berries in the orchards surrounding her home.  I grew up eating and making homemade cookies more often than the ones in the cookie aisle.  We couldn't afford to eat out all that often, so most days were filled with the scent of meat roasting in the oven or simmering in the crockpot.  I had two parents who worked and like most American families in the 80's, we fell into the ease of toaster tarts, brightly colored cereal with marshmallows and a diet riddled with high-fructose corn syrup.  While I know it'll take me a while to go totally REAL food, I'm working in the right direction!  I have classic withdrawal symptoms from "fruit" snack deprivation.  I own a dehydrator and I am completely capable of making REAL fruit snacks. 


I'll cut the ramble short and continue my announcement.  Alex decided to turn Two for Tuesdays into a Blog Hop Carnival.  This means that it will be featured on more than one site!  Betcha can guess that girlichef is joining in the carnival...along with three other fabulous blogs,  Hunger and Thirst (Butter Powered Bike), Frugality and Crunchiness with Christy (Christy).

How to participate in Two for Tuesdays:

1. Create a post featuring REAL FOOD.  You can include a recipe (or two)...but you don't have to.  You can do a book review, you can feature a local farmer, CSA or Farmer's Market.  You can talk about a cause near to your heart.  You can share a memory or a dream.  Share something REAL.

2.  Include the badge or a link to this page in your post  (you don't have to use my badge, you could also go to either of the other 6 hosts pages and include their badge/link).

<a href="http://girlichef.blogspot.com/2010/06/extra-extra-read-all-about-it.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/girlichef/misc%20blog%20badges/24Tbadgegirlichef-1.jpg" border="0" alt="TwoforTuesdays@girlichef"></a>
OR THIS ONE

<a href="http://girlichef.blogspot.com/2010/06/extra-extra-read-all-about-it.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj214/girlichef/misc%20blog%20badges/T4Toriginalgirlichef.jpg" border="0" alt="T4ToriginalGirlichef"></a>

3.  Go to any of the  hosting blogs on a Tuesday and add a link to your post (post specific URL, not your home page URL).  Leave a comment once you've linked up so that we're sure to see your entry.  Your entry (in thumbnail form) will then appear on all four blogs.  The linky for each particular week will stay open until the following Tuesday, so if you're running a bit behind, no worries!  You can link up later.

4.  We look forward to your participation and meeting new people!  It is not required to participate every week...just join us when you can!  We also don't mind sharing, so you can link to more than one blog event if you so desire.

As we grow, we will be working on a list of participants, to include blog links and Twitter addresses.  We will try to give further exposure to participants through Tweeting (using #24T) your entries.  My email address is girlichef at yahoo dot com if you'd like to send in your twitter handle...or simply leave it in the comment section.




I'll add updates to this page as we figure more stuff out and questions come in, etc.  Please feel free to email me or leave a comment with a question/concern...I'll get back with you as quickly as girlishly possible.  Also, if you have a quesiton, it's likely someone else did, too...so don't be afraid to ask!  Check comments section for answers and updates, too!


*Please...


~be sure to add a link to one of the blogs hosting the event on each post you are submitting.
~make sure your post is about REAL food...while we are happy to have you participate, this blog hop is about sharing, learning about, preparing, and eating REAL food.  If you have a question about a particular ingredient, feel free to email any of us and we'll get right back with you!


...while we don't want to exclude anyone, if these 2 simple requests aren't included, your post may (okay, more than likely WILL) be deleted from the carnival.  Thanks for understanding...it's only fair to those people who DO take the time to link-up and play nice.  It's understandable if you don't have a post that fits every single week.  Just join us when you do!!*

And once you've linked up, why not take a few minutes for visit another link or two from the carnival...I know everybody would be happy to receive input and you never know...you might learn something or discover tomorrow's dinner.....