How things have changed.

Two months ago, I shared a list of my favourite food blogs from around the world and, although some of them made reference to cooking at home, I was drawn to most by their informative and detailed discussions of dining in restaurants grand and humble.

Like their authors, for me the joy of eating out was one of the greatest pleasures of all.

Enter the credit crunch and the thought of spending money in a restaurant is something that has to be considered carefully, even by me, who ate out nearly five times a week in 2008.

Not so long ago, I would spend the best part of the day deciding which lucky eatery was going to have the pleasure of hosting me and my camera. Now, with times more uncertain and spare change harder to come by, I have had to reign in my passion and rediscover my kitchen.

Surprisingly, I am really enjoying it.

Recent forays into the world of home cooking have found me making dishes from the heritage of both my Indian father, such as doi-murgh, and my British mother, steak and kidney pudding, with a smattering of attempts at other classics from around the world, such as the Malaysian dish of rendang.

After realising that I am more enthusiastic than talented, I have turned back to the Internet for inspiration and I have not been disappointed. For every would-be restaurant critic there are a dozen who prefer the fruits of their own labour and for every surreptitious photograph snapped in a fine-dining establishment, there are a dozen lovingly crafted images of home-cooked meals.

So, here are my top 10 home cooking blogs and websites that inspire and impress.

1) Cooksister

Jeanne Horak-Druiff is a transplanted South African who passes her time cooking extraordinary meals and then posting pictures and easy to follow recipes on her award-winning blog.

2) A slice of cherry pie

Although Julia Parsons eats out a great deal, she seems to find plenty of time to cook and I am not ashamed to say that I have stolen more than one of her recipes to attempt at home.

3) Off the broiler

Jason Perlow deserves his place amongst the pantheon of Internet food legends not least for being part of the team that created uber food discussion board, Egullet but, because the recipes on his own website offer continual inspiration.

4) Book the cook

Former Masterchef finalist David Hall lives in the North East and his well-designed website offers up recipes for simple, honest food in categories including “simple family meals” and “breads, cakes and biscuits”. His recipe for steak, mushroom and ale pie is next on my list.

5) Joy's Thai food

The food of Thailand was some of the most memorable of my recent trip around the world and the recipes Joy Buasi shares on this regularly updated website have allowed me the opportunity to try and recreate some of my favourite dishes from my short visit. Her recipe for Pad Thai alone has received nearly 50,000 hits. Having tried it, I can see why.

6) Sailu's kitchen

Drawn to this blog by my own love of Indian food, Sailu Garu’s website is, like the perfect roti, stuffed with good things to eat. She draws recipes not just from her home state of Andhra Pradesh, but from across India. Her enthusiasm and generosity reflects the very nature of this extraordinary country.

7) Hollow legs

Liz Mabbott may only be in her early 20’s but she extremely knowledgable and writes very well about her cooking adventures.

8) Italian food forever

I may not totally agree with the author, Deborah Mele, that “those who eat well, eat Italian” but the recipes she offers up on this excellent website could almost change my mind. If Italian cooking grates your Parmesan, then the recipes and stories here are perfect. There is even a regular newsletter to keep you occupied between posts.

9) The art & mystery of food

Aussie Adam Balic is easily the most obsessed person I have ever encountered in the food world. One glimpse at his website will tell you why. Not satisfied with just cooking, Adam’s detailed historical essays on the origins of dishes, along with attempts to recreate recipes from his collection of rare cookbooks, makes this site an endlessly fascinating but slightly scary read.

10) Spain-recipes

Spain remains my greatest obsession and, although more of a commercial site than a blog, this website is a must. Offering recipes from across the varied regions of this wonderful country, from the migas of Extremadura to the pescaito frito of Andalusia. This is a permanent on my list of bookmarks.

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