Recipe Testers, Relief, Celebration and a Favor

Hey there Urban Food Guy readers.

Over the last couple of months several of you have told me that you were going to make one of the recipes that I've posted here. This is great news. I like being helpful and it's good to know you find the recipes interesting enough and inspiring enough to want to try them in your own kitchen.

All the recipes have been developed and tested in my kitchen. As you've probably noticed, I'm fairly free and easy in my instructions, cooking being a personal expression of taste and every one's palate is different. I love really strong flavors, anchovies and hot peppers make me shiver with pleasure, yet I have friends who are repelled by anchovies and tortured by hot peppers. All of this to say that if you do make a recipe and you notice a mistake or have some insight or input into it please post a comment or feel free to email me at my new email address urbanfoodguy@gmail.com

And remember to always taste everything you are cooking as you go along, this is mostly advice for savory food, baking is another situation, one where you hope the person who wrote the recipe didn't make a typo (is that really 14 cups of flour? Or did he mean 1/4 cup? Oops)

On a more personal level I have to say that I am amazed by how many people are now reading my blog and how many of you when we meet talk to me about things that have been discussed here. It's very encouraging and it actually kind of blows me away - so thank you.

What started out as a lone voice in the darkness on this here intraweb thingy is becoming a community of people brought together by their love of good food and the belief that chemical and torture free food is not only good for our bodies and souls, but is good for the whole planet. Which I think we all would agree could use a little TLC these days.

This morning I had a rather stressful meeting that ended up very well.

After a year of under employment and much financial anxiety, in part created by the debt from my previous business, I successfully completed my bankruptcy filing. I hope that isn't too much information, but I have always believed in full disclosure and honesty in all aspects of my life and seeing as how you are my friends, my community, my supporters in so many ways I feel it is only appropriate that you be included in this part of the journey. Besides it's great f@%king news! What a relief! Yippeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Having now been given a new lease on life I'd like to think about what my next steps are.

UrbanFoodGuy has grown and it makes me proud when I look and see how much stuff is on here! As exciting as the two cookbooks in the works are I still, however, have a pesky need to make a living.

I'm not really sure how much it means when people see how many "followers" you have?

My feeling is that more in this instance is better.

In this new world of things going viral, tipping points, and social networking sites, it seems to me the more you can get the word out the more people will stop in and the more chance someone might say: "he,y maybe I could get Urbanfoodguy to write, review, cook, consult...and pay him!"

So if you're feeling up to it and are so inclined, please sign up as a follower (scroll down to the bottom of the main page, it takes a minute). If indeed you check in here with any regularity or just happen to be passing through it'd make a great good will gesture (I'm not fussy and it's good karma).

Thanks for helping me spread the word. And if your feeling very energetic tell your friends and/or post about Urbanfoodguy on Facebook or Twitter or where ever it is you hang out. There's lots here to discover and everyone can always use a good recipe for Maple Cake!

In return I promise to keep posting more recipes, videos, news, commentary and generally keeping you up to the minute on what's happening in the world of food and the environment in my little urban corner of the planet on Manhattans' lower east side.