Burp!: coriander

Blogging is a little bit like being in a long-term relationship.
For the most part, I can't remember what life was like BEFORE the Burp! blog came into our our lives. It has become a fixture, a way of life, a part of how we live and cook. On the other hand, as I look back over all the posts we've written and all the great people we've gotten to know, I realize that three years is a pretty long time to be dedicated to a food blog.

Like every healthy relationship, blogging takes work and dedication. I'm not sure that we're really in a position to be giving blogging advice (after all, I feel like we're still learning the ropes). But, here are a few tips we've picked up along the way:

Always talk. Keep communication channels open. Be authentic. If there's one thing I've learned from blogging, it's that there's no point to putting on a show. Or pretending to be someone you're not. You've got to find your own voice, write about what you're passionate about, and share little bits and pieces of yourself with your readers. Blogging isn't a popularity contest, and it's not high school. It's about building real relationships and community.
Set expectations and goals. Keep GROWING. It took us a while to figure out what we wanted from blogging. In fact, when we first began, it was just a mechanism for tracking our recipes and exercising our writing muscles... we didn't expect anyone (beyond friends and family) to be reading it! Of course, as we moved along, we realized that we needed to have a vision for where we wanted the blog to be going. We needed to make a commitment to it (and our readers), and we needed to decide how we would keep things new and fresh.
Seek out good advice and coaching. You may think that only relationships that are on the brink of failing need to seek out good advice and coaching. But, that's simply not true. Even good relationships (and blogs) can benefit greatly from the good advice of others -- and that's absolutely been true for the Burp! blog. We've learned so much from ALL of you -- from the tips and tricks passed along by our readers to the inspiration and sage words of advice from senior bloggers.

Burp! wouldn't be here if it weren't for you -- our loyal readers and trusted blogging friends. The past three years have really blown past. In fact, if it hadn't been for a serendipitous glance at the calendar this past weekend, the fact that it's our third blogiversary (or "Burp-day," if you please) might have passed us by without any mention.

However, once we realized we were celebrating three years, we decided we had to do SOMETHING to celebrate. And what better than churning up a bit of celebration ice cream?

Of course, this couldn't be just any old ice cream. It needed to be something extra special. As we were looking over all the recipes we've developed over the years, Peef suggested we create something with rhubarb. He pointed to the recipe for rhubarb sauce with coriander and lime, a recipe we created back in 2008.

The recipe actually marked a sort of turning point for the blog -- one in which we decided that we'd really like to journey outside our previous "comfort zones" and start experimenting with different flavor combinations. We'd never used coriander in a sweet application, so the idea of trying it out in a rhubarb sauce seemed a little bit wild. Interestingly enough, it turned out to be a fabulous complement for the sour notes of the rhubarb and lime, and became an instant favorite.

This time around, we wanted to boost the coriander flavor a bit -- so we made it a primary flavor for our ice cream base by infusing it with ground coriander seed, half of a vanilla bean, and the zest of one lime. This Philadelphia style ice cream has notes of coriander, vanilla, and lime with a delicious swirl of rhubarb sauce running throughout.

Honestly -- the ice cream was so delicious that Peef couldn't keep his spoon out of the ice cream maker as it was churning. It's the perfect combination of cool creamy sweetness and zippy tartness -- a bit like all the best parts of spring-turned-summertime captured in a dish.

And so, in the spirit of deliciousness, we lift our glasses of ice cream high and toast all of you! Thanks for three amazing years!

Even more exciting -- in celebration of our Burp-Day, we'll be giving away at least THREE (3) t-shirts during the month of June. Visit Burp! Blog on Facebook to find out how to win!