I recently found out about an opportunity to be on Grill It with Bobby Flay on the Food Network. The network is currently looking for guests to appear on the show for its 3rd season and asking for recipes and 3-minute video clips of contenders doing their thing on the grill.

While getting on TV or having a cooking show had never been a particular aim or objective of mine since I began my journey into food blogging, when this opportunity arose, I thought, why not? Making a TV appearance with Bobby Flay would be a great experience and way to share my recipes with a broader audience as well as learn from a great chef and one of the best food TV personalities around.

So I created my recipes all centered on a Moroccan theme because I love various cuisines from around the world (Moroccan being one of them) and this North African country is known for a fragrant herb marinade (chermoula sauce) that goes deliciously with fish.  Grilled mahi-mahi with grilled shrimp and vegetable kabobs along with a fruity couscous and an appetizer of grilled roasted red pepper pita wedges is a tasty and interesting menu that I think will be great for TV and your grills this coming spring and summer.

Thanks to the generous help of my tech and video savvy uncle, I was able to put together a brief clip of me demonstrating the main dish of Moroccan-Inspired Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Chermoula Sauce.  Take a look at the video and let me know what you think! We’ll see what happens, but either way, you’ll get the recipes soon – either on the Food Network or FlavorDiva.com.

There are so many wonderful blogs out there on the web and Black, Latina, Asian and other women of color are boldly staking their claim on the net making their distinct voices heard and advertisers take notice. With sponsors like Disney, Suave, Mattel, Johnson & Johnson, GM, and many others, it’s clear that niche bloggers are important contributors to the blogosphere.

I represented FlavorDiva.com in full effect at Blogolicious09, but I was also inspired to step my game up. What an inspiration to see all of these sisters pecking away on their macbooks, netbooks and mobile phones – all being present at the conference while simultaneously taking the conversations online via Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

One of the wonderful bloggers present included Ananda Leeke of BAP Living who makes full use of video and podcasting. Ananda interviewed me for her YouTube channel – take a look! Other fabulous bloggers included Rosemary Jean-Louis of The Sexy Geek Files (pictured with me in first photo below), Lawanda Amaker of LA Beauty Beat (second photo),  Denene Millner of MyBrownBaby who also happens to be the writer who worked with Steve Harvey on his book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, and Ronnie and Lamar Tyler of BlackandMarriedwithKids.com. Believe me, the list goes on. Keep an eye on my blogroll columns to the right where I’ll be adding links to some of my favorite blogs from the Blogalicious crowd.

I definitely came away from Blogalicious with ideas and work to do to bring FlavorDiva.com to more readers and to offer you more flavor! Speaking of flavor, I didn’t want to leave you without a recipe this week so here’s a drink inspired by a smooth cocktail, Pure Silk, which I indulged in at the W’s bar. It includes elderflower liqueur (St. Germain), one of my new favorite liqueurs. Cheers! Here’s to Blogalicious 2010 in Miami!

Elderflower Grapefruit Martini
Inspired by the Pure Silk cocktail of Atlanta’s W Midtown Hotel

1/2 ounce vodka
1 ounce elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
2 ounces fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 Basil leaf

Add all ingredients into a stainless steel shaker with a few cubes of ices. Cover and shake for 15 seconds, then strain the cocktail into a martini glass and enjoy (responsibly of course)!

Thank you to everyone who voted and encouraged others to vote. Also, thank you to all of my regular readers who have been with me since I first started this blog one year ago, and to the many new readers who have since joined me in my quest and culinary journey to reclaim the all too rare flavor and art of great home cooking. I hope my blog inspires you with engaging photography and writing, and provides you with helpful tips, easy to follow recipes, cookbook reviews and interviews.

This blog has led me to meet new people all across the country and forced me to follow through on my own message by cooking more often despite my tight schedule. Maintaining a blog is a lot of work, but this past year has been very rewarding for me and I aim to bring you even more in the year to come. Your votes and my winning the 2009 Black Weblog Awards (challenged by four other nominated blogs including one of my favorites - The Duo Dishes) just help to encourage me further and let me know that there are folks out there who enjoy one of my passions and love what I’m sharing.

So thank you again, and continue to sauté, steam, simmer, roast, poach and bake away. Also, don’t be shy. Let me know your thoughts and comments here on FlavorDiva, facebook , or twitter.

Shakara, Jeniece and Joan of Getemgirls.com are offering all Flavor Divas and Get ‘Em Girls another great guide to help you impress and share your culinary talents. The Get ‘Em Girls’ Guide to the Perfect Get-Together: Delicious Recipes to Delight Family and Friends is this trio’s latest contribution in their series of cookbooks.

Back in December I presented a review of their first cookbook, The Get ‘Em Girls’ Guide to the Power of Cuisine: Perfect Recipes for Spicing Up Your Love Life. Based on that book’s sassy menu ideas, helpful tips, and playful writing; I’m excited about the new book. 

As said in their own words, “Birthday, family reunion, picnic, baby shower, dinner party, holiday feast, or just poker night–whatever the occasion–The Get ‘Em Girls’ Guide to the Perfect Get-Together has you covered from tips on organizing to setting the mood for a party and more than 140 easy and delicious recipes.”

Teaching My First Cooking Class! – Seasonal Cooking with
Common Good City Farm

On Saturday, June 13th at 11pm, I will teach a class about seasonal cooking at the Common Good City Farm. Common Good City Farm is an urban farm and education center in the LeDroit Park community of Washington, D.C. that works to promote a local food system and food security for all.

CGCF offers educational programs for adults and youth such as “Green Tomorrows” that provides locally-grown food to low-income residents in exchange for instructional hands-on work and participation in nutritional education. The “Growing Gardens Workshops” series is another program providing gardening and cooking classes to the public. The organization also sells its produce at market to support the farm.

It’s a great honor for me to teach a class for Common Good City Farm, and I’m looking forward to meeting the challenge of showing participants how to use local, seasonal produce to make a meal for under $5. If you’re interested in attending or sponsoring someone who cannot pay for the class, register online. You can also donate online to support the Common Good City Farm’s important work.

FlavorDiva on Facebook – Daily Morsels

I’m a complete facebook junkie, it’s true, so you know that I definitely have a fan page for FlavorDiva.com. I love my fan page because I get to connect with my readers as well as get the word out further about FlavorDiva.com.

If you’re one of my fans and on facebook, and I certainly hope that you are, please join the FlavorDiva Fan page and receive daily morsels of thoughts and food related info from me via your news feed. Also, becoming a fan and showing your support helps tell your friends about FlavorDiva.com. Thanks!!!!

So long February ’09. During my month-long celebration of chocolate, I’ve written on my birthday celebration at CoCo Sala chocolate lounge, chocolate mousse, and reasons to buy fair trade chocolate. While I definitely treated myself to more sweet indulgences this month than normal, I in no way intend to write off my chocolate habit in the months to come. In fact, as long as I keep it dark (which I love anyway) and in moderation, there’s no need to.

I don’t know if you’ve heard the good news, but chocolate can actually be good for your health! According to various studies, dark chocolate (at least 65% cacao) can help prevent cancer and possibly help lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease. Why? Because the cacao bean used to make chocolate is rich in antioxidant flavonoids. These wonderfully protective phytochemicals help defend our bodies from cell-damaging free radicals.

Another great thing about chocolate, which is also responsible for why most people love it so much, is the fact that chocolate (again, the cacao) releases feel-good endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are responsible for the same “high” you can get from a good work out or orgasm. No wonder sex and chocolate are often associated together.

So does all of this good news give you free range to indulge in as much chocolate as you want whenever you want? Uh, no. Again, the benefits come from dark chocolate and in small quantities – about 1 ounce per serving. Consider milk chocolate to be a watered-down version of the health-promoting dark chocolate. A small square of dark chocolate can be quite satisfying because you get more of that feel-good rush faster than you would from chocolate that contains less cacao. As a result, you can gain the benefits of chocolate with fewer calories.

If you don’t think you like dark chocolate, it’s probably because your taste buds are used to the ultra sweet and milky taste of typical mass-market chocolate. However, these common flavors stand in the way of you really tasting true chocolate flavor (which comes from the cacao). I recommend The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel to learn more about choosing and enjoying quality chocolate.

So although we’re bidding farewell to this month known for chocolate giving and receiving, if you have a thing for this “food of the gods” as it was considered by the ancient Mayans, go ahead and treat yourself regularly to a little dark chocolate.

Okay, well maybe not straight from the Motherland. Why? Because although over 70 percent of cocoa beans come from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire alone, most chocolate is produced in countries such as the U.S., France, England and Belgium. In fact, most cocoa farmers have never even tasted chocolate.

The cocoa tree (theobroma cacao) is indigenous to South America, but as a result of colonial times, Africa became the top producer of cocoa beans and it remains so today. Along with large multi-national chocolate manufacturers, we rely on West African farmers for the majority of chocolate produced in the United States.

Despite our indulgence in 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate each year (spending $13 billion), especially around days like Valentine’s Day, most consumers aren’t aware that the majority of cocoa farmers get only five cents for every dollar spent on chocolate (according to Global Exchange). Nor have most chocolate lovers heard of the reports of the worst forms of child labor occurring on West African cocoa farms (particularly in Cote d’Ivoire).

Issues such as these can be daunting to those of us living thousands of miles away who are used to, and want to continue, enjoying certain consumer goods yet don’t want our privilege to exploit others – particularly our distant cousins in the motherland. However, there is something you can do to make sure cocoa farmers are paid a fair price for their work and that the chocolate you enjoy isn’t produced with slavery or the worst forms of child labor – buy Fair Trade certified chocolate.

Fair Trade certified chocolate is available using cocoa beans from regularly monitored and farmer-owned cooperatives in Ghana, Cameroon, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Belize. Farmers who are part of Fair Trade cooperatives are guaranteed a fair price for their cocoa beans, and this improves their abilities to feed their families and send their children to school.

One of my favorite brands of Fair Trade chocolate is Divine Chocolate.  The suppliers of Divine Chocolate’s cocoa beans – Ghanaian farmers of the Kuapa Kokoo co-op – not only own the co-op, but they also own 1/3 of the chocolate company itself!

Take a look at the resources below for more information on Fair Trade chocolate (especially the recording of Democracy Now’s show on this very topic last Valentine’s Day), and go out and purchase chocolate that you can be sure was ethically produced. Show some love, not only to your valentine, but also to cocoa farmers and their families.

This post is a part of my weekly, month-long celebration of chocolate.

More Information
Democracy Now Radio – “Chocolate’s Bittersweet Economy” - 2/14/08
Global Exchange
Transfair USA

Fair Trade Chocolate Brands
Divine Chocolate USA (1/3 owned by Kuapa Kokoo Co-op – Ghana)
Equal Exchange
Theo Chocolate

Where to Buy
Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store
The Culture Shop (Online and in Washington, D.C.)
Whole Foods Market, Earth Fare, Other Natural Foods stores
World Market

On Wednesday evening I threw a February Kick-Off Happy Hour with a few friends to celebrate the start of my favorite month of the year – February! In addition to celebrating a friend’s recent birthday and starting the celebration of my own (February 20th – I’m getting started early this year), I held the chocolate themed happy hour at Co Co Sala to also celebrate all the great things there are to love about February – Valentine’s Day, Black History Month, and President’s Day with America’s first African-American President in office.

Co Co Sala is a chic chocolate lounge in D.C. serving chocolate-inspired petite plates and cocktails like their lobster salad with chocolate vinaigrette and co cojito cocktail – a chocolate infused take on the Cuban mojito. Although the trendy spot is a little on the pricey side, the atmosphere, creative menu and delicious desserts (I had the spicy chocolate soufflé) are a true indulgence and a special treat. 

Now, FlavorDiva.com is all about home cooking, and I don’t intend to start doing restaurant reviews, but one thing I do when I go out to eat is look for inspiration for dishes I want to recreate at home. So believe me, I’m definitely going to nail down that wonderful chocolate soufflé.

I am a true chocolate lover – from the chocolate in a savory Mexican molé poblano sauce to a smooth piece of 70% cacao dark chocolate to quality hot cocoa. February is just the month to indulge in a little more chocolate than usual. In addition to my regular blog posts, I’m going to feature an extra post each week this month with tidbits about chocolate.

I love books and I love quality food, so it’s no surprise that I’m making my way through a reading list on chocolate by several authors, including chocolate buyers, nutritionists, historians and chocolatiers. Currently, I’m reading The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloé Doutre-Roussel who writes about developing a palate for fine chocolate in a way that one approaches wine tasting. Here are a few brief quotes from her book that might help increase your enjoyment of chocolate indulgences this Valentine’s Day and all month long.

“You may love chocolate … but how much do you know chocolate? To my mind, there is chocolate, and then there is chocolate. What you buy in the supermarket is a different proposition from the finest-quality bars you have to hunt for … Have you taken the time to sample good quality chocolate yet?”

“Most people enjoy eating chocolate. But only a few make a habit of ‘tasting’ it in the same way that wine is tasted for its subtle notes of woodiness, spice, fresh fruit and floral bouquets (yes, all these flavours can be found in good chocolate too!).”

“You might worry that as you grow more discerning about what you eat, you are becoming a food snob. But I prefer to put it this way: you are discovering not only what you really like, but also the great pleasure that fine food can bring.” 

The Chocolate Connoisseur
By Chloé Doutre-Roussel

From time to time, I will post Flavor Notes. Flavor Notes are tidbits of information that I’d like to share with you whether they be from events that I’ve attended or other articles or blog posts that I’ve come across. Enjoy, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

• Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show – D.C.
• Gourmet.com’s Interview with Slow Food USA’s new President – Joshua Viertel
• Snoop Dogg on The Martha Stewart Show
• TreeHugger.com’s List of Books on Eating Well

Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show – D.C.

A convention center exhibit hall full of food enthusiasts exploring and sampling the products of numerous specialty food vendors describes the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show, which I attended several weeks ago. This was my second year attending the show, and I recommend it to anyone who’s interested in finding a few new items for yourself or as a gift for someone else. Many of the products included spice blends, jams, infused olive oils, and specialty candies.

The show also offers cooking demonstrations, a chef competition, wine and spirits tastings, and celebrity chef appearances. I paid for a general admission ticket that didn’t include entry to the celebrity chef theater, however, the Land ‘o Lakes booth held a drawing for a front row seat ticket to hear and see Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. I didn’t win the drawing, but lucky for me the winner never showed, so the ladies working the booth hooked me up a ticket! Consider checking out the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show if you live near Atlanta, GA or West Palm Beach, FL where the show is also held.

Gourmet.com’s Interview with Slow Food USA’s New President – Joshua Viertel

Slow Food USA is an organization helping to facilitate a movement to change the way we eat and produce food. Its motto is to support food that’s good, clean and fair. It’s all about food that is flavorful, free of toxins, and produced in a way that doesn’t destroy the environment or take unfair advantage of farm workers. Take a look at this interview with the new president at Slow Food USA. He discusses the importance of making sure the movement isn’t elitist and that it addresses accessibility of good, clean and fair food for people of income levels. 

Snoop Dogg on The Martha Stewart Show

Last week, Snoop Dogg appeared on The Martha Stewart Show. Thanks to SeriousEats.com, I came across this peculiar info from their post which features the YouTube video of the segment. Check it out … it’s kind of funny.

TreeHugger.com’s List of Books on Eating Well

I love reading books on many topics, and of course, food is one of them. Currently, I’m making my way through a variety of books on food systems, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition. I suggest some of them in the side column of this blog under Flavorful Reads. As I complete them, I will share my thoughts with you. You might soon find the books on your reading list. In the meantime, take a look at this list of books on eating well.