Food Time!

For today's blog I decided to share some of my favorite recipe sites. I used to be a big fan of buying cookbooks, but the price of these books has risen to $20-$80 per book depending on the author. That is just too much for a stack of recipes in my opinion. As usual, the Internet is here to save the day.


Allrecipes.com-This is a user content site where people submit their own recipes. It is an excellent place to browse for ideas and to find what I like to call "normal" food. You know, the stuff that requires ingredients found in regular grocery stores. Each recipe also has reviews and a rating system, which can be handy. The main reason why I love this site is the extensive search system. You can search by ingredients to include, ingredients to exclude, prep time, cooking method, dish type, and using special considerations like the dish being vegan. It came in handy for those times I wanted cookies but were out of an ingredient such as eggs or baking soda. Just exclude the item and there is usually a version that skips or substitutes it!

Recipezaar.com-Another user content recipe site, Recipezaar is newer than Allrecipes. It has the same features of browsing by dish, meal type, and food. However it also adds browsing cookbooks and a Menu tab for either browsing or creating your own printable menus. They also offer links to different food blogs, and a forum where you can ask questions about food-related things. A kitchen converter which translates measurements for you is the most valuable tool and makes it an overall great site.

Epicurious.com-This is kind of like the snooty, upper class mother-in-law of the aforementioned recipe sites. Epicurious boasts recipes, menus, guides, measurement converters, video directions, articles, forums, and user added content. It is backed and contributed to by two major food magazines, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. This was the first recipe site I found upon searching and it is truly amazing. The one problem with this is that it tends to lean towards the upper classes of food. It takes some digging to find a recipe that will be cost efficient to make at home. It's a great site when you are planning for a fancy dinner or want something out of the ordinary.

Vegcooking.com-This is the all vegetarian and vegan sister site to Allrecipes.com One of the best resources that has something for everybody, from the seasoned vegan to the newbie vegetarian. They include the usual user submitted recipes and search engine, but also have perks like an Intro to Veganism, Restaurant of the Month, Ask a Vegan Chef, and a Vegetarian/Vegan shopping list. This is a must-bookmark site for vegetarians and vegans.