When I try to express to people just how much I love dates, here’s what I say: I might even love them more than chocolate.  That’s certainly a strong statement coming from me.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away (so they say), a square (or two) of dark chocolate keeps it balanced, and 5 dates a day… keeps me happy.

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It has been two weeks since I was in London for Food Blogger Connect, and it’s been such fun reading the various posts by fellow speakers and participants… and tasting all the goodies I brought back with me, of course.  Off I went with my lists of addresses in the capital, categorized by chocolate, ice cream, cupcakes and artisanal British products. (Yes, literally.)  With only a couple of free days, friends to catch up with, fbc preparations, the Tube to master, and realizing London is, simply put, enormous, I didn’t quite get to check off as many spots as usual.  Nary a fairy cake tasted, nor spoonful of ice cream savored.  Not even a meringue from Ottolenghi. But worry not, there were plenty of chocolate stained fingers, and bars added to my chocolate drawer back home in Zürich.

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Many of you may have heard the buzz on the internet and certainly on Twitter about Food Blogger Connect (fbc) in London.  I had the pleasure of speaking at this dynamic, fun and informative conference, that brought food bloggers from the UK and around the world together to share ideas and learn from one another.  I presented with Jeanne of Cook Sister! and Jamie of Life’s a Feast on writing style and how to find your voice; and with Julia of A Slice of Cherry Pie about getting published and finding feature work.  Other talks that had me furiously taking notes were on dissecting my camera by Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry, and on achieving magazine cover-worthy photographs by talented stylists Meeta of What’s for Lunch, Honey? and Mowie of Mowielicious (who revealed “my many faces” on his fbc blog post).  All in all, it was a very successful event, put together by Bethany of Dirty Kitchen Secrets and her little elves.  Keep an eye on the fbc site for updates and blog posts by participants, and be sure to check out the video too.  If you attended fbc10, I’d love to hear what you thought.

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It was several years ago that I first spent time in London, visiting my sister-in-law.  Long weekends there meant staying at the house, enjoying quality family time, cooking and baking together and playing with our nephews and niece.  I did however once find myself with a few hours to roam different neighborhoods and discover London on my own.  What struck me were the colors – however ironic considering the gray, rainy weather I had.  Those fabulous black taxis aside, what I recall are the brightly colored doors and facades of brownstones, streets resembling color swatches in a paint store.  Not to mention the fun red double-decker buses, of course.  The sweetest memory of them all – pastry shop windows with meringues the size of rugby balls in bold colors like hot pink (recipe below).  I tasted a raspberry meringue in Notting Hill, devoured another near the Borough Market, and covered my clothes in crumbs after a chocolate-marbled meringue in Islington.  I loved London!

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