For Me? The Liebster Blog Award

Thanks to Jane Collins, who writes the blog Preserving the Harvest, I’ve just won the Liebster Blog Award, which is given by one blogger to another for excellent, beautiful, humorous, or sparkling work.

Although the origins of this award are obscure, its name comes from a German word for “dearest” or “favorite,” and it must be awarded according to certain rules: (1) On your blog you must thank the person who presented you the award and (2) link that that person’s blog; (3) you must paste the Liebster logo onto your blog; (4) you must award the Liebster to three to five other bloggers whose work you admire and who have fewer that 200 followers, and (5) you must tell those bloggers they have won by commenting on their blogs.

This is a humbling experience for me, because I seldom read other people’s blogs, even the ones on my blog roll. I discovered most of the blogs listed there, in fact, only because their writers discovered me first. I simply hate to spend more time reading from a computer screen than I have to.

So in shame and gratitude I’ve spent the past day and a half reading other people’s blogs, searching for a few deserving of the Liebster Blog Award. The search was especially difficult mainly because I added my own criteria for the winners: (1) Each writer must write, and write well, not just string together pretty photos with captions; (2) the person must write about food from the point of view of a producer—gardener, farmer, hunter, or gatherer—as well as a cook and a consumer; and (3) the site must not be plastered with advertising.

I’m not always sure how to determine how many followers a blogger has, but I ruled out two outstanding blogs simply because they seemed too popular. I’ll mention them anyway here. First, Erica at Northwest Edible Life was easy to find, because she commented on my post on BPA and jar lids. A former chef turned gardener in a Seattle suburb, she blogs about gardening, cooking, and food preservation. Second, Kevin Kossowan of Alberta, Canada, blogs about hunting, foraging, smoking meat, and making cider and wine and other preserved foods. Both of these blogs are well written, beautifully illustrated, and full of practical information. I’m adding them to my blog roll.

The Liebster Blog Award, however, goes to four others:

Sylvie Rowand, a native of France, gardens, cooks, preserves, and does some teaching and catering besides in Rappahannock County Virginia. Her lovely blog is called Rappahannock Cook and Kitchen Gardener.

David Walbert, a historian and home cook in Durham, North Carolina, writes Walbert’s Compendium of Instruction and Entertainment, which includes a lot of food history and even some fiction.

Debbie Kingsley, of South Yeo Farm in Devon, England, writes Life in Devon: Murblings on Farming, Food, Animals, Art, Books, Politics & Stuff. I love her fine British vocabulary, style, and wit.

Brian Kaller, an American journalist living inIreland, writes with extraordinary grace about food and his surroundings in Restoring Mayberry: Learning to Be Self-Sufficient in Rural Ireland.

Thanks again, Jane, and congratulations Sylvie, David, Debbie, and Brian. I’ll drop you each a line.

UPDATE 2022: Sylvie Rowand is apparently no longer blogging. The other blogs mentioned here are all still on line, though some are no longer active.