TCDawson Designs | First RGB Giveaway

Do you like the new look?!

Today’s Sunday Shout-Out goes to Thomas Dawson of TCDawson Designs. Thomas has been working relentlessly over the past few weeks to create what you’re seeing here. And we have to say we couldn’t be happier. If you’re ever in need of a creative, quick to respond and knowledgeable web consultant, give him a call. Then rest easy knowing you’re in good hands.

With the new look, we’re realizing how far we’ve come since starting the RGB blog. Like many of you, blogging started out as a way for us to chronicle the recipes we were using and the food we were enjoying. As we evolved so did our recipes, food philosophies and circle of friends. And we love that.

Strictly for your amusement, here are ten things we’ve learned since starting the RGB:

1. On recipe development: Keep pencil and paper handy in the kitchen. Or write with ball-point pen. Ink pens bleed when you spill stock over them. Then you can’t tell what you wrote. Bad.
2. On recipe credit: Being inspired by a magazine to create a dish is a-ok. It’s also a good idea to give them the nod. Even better if you write them directly for permission, and a live person writes back. Cook’s Illustrated is cool.
3. On farmers’ markets: Can’t sleep in on Saturdays; market day starts at 7 AM.
4. On red wine: If you can’t drink it all, it still makes a mean vinegar.
5. On food props: Our kitchen remodel plans include an entire 10-foot wall with floor-to-ceiling shelves so we can display the bowls, cups, linens, racks, vases and utensils we haven’t purchased yet.
6. On lighting: We’re also designing window placement to let in the maximum amount of natural light. And curtains to filter the light the way we’re learning we’ll need to.
7. On food photography: The macro button on our “Point n’ Shoot” Cannon is our best friend. The Cloudy setting ain’t bad either, since most photos are taken on the shady side of the house. And the flash button might as well be taken out; we’re not using it. And yes, we think it’s possible to take acceptable pictures with a kiddie camera.
8. On food temperature: Blogging in summertime is better; because Mr. RGBistro is happy to wait for dinner that’s meant to be served cold.
9. On French table linens: These ought to be put away right after a dinner meal on the patio… unless we’re aiming for the I-can’t-tell-if-it’s-green-or-gray look.
10. On community: You get out of it what you’ve put into it. And we hope to keep giving, so we can keep on learning.

Remarkably, the RGB today is still about the recipes we’re using and food we’re enjoying. But between the lines, it’s about working in the garden, caring for our vegetables, respecting our ingredients and squeezing the most out of them. It’s also about connecting with people and sourcing the good stuff, because in the end it’s still about the food. And because we live in an alternate reality of bliss, the RGB is also about sharing the love.

So on this hot July Sunday, we’d like to say to our six loyal readers (and three occasional ones): Thank you. Thank you for visiting, and thank you for coming back. To kick off our new do, we’re offering our first giveaway: two canisters of our very own RGB garden herbs: harvested, rinsed and then air-dried for 6 weeks.

The thyme is special because it comes from the thyme we planted our first spring together. On one of our early dates, we spent an entire weekend installing herbs and vegetables into Mr. RGBistro’s backyard (which is now ours equally). No dinner and walk on the beach for me… this gal got a rake and a hoe. But I’m not complaining.

Fancy enough, the oregano is also special because it was gifted by my father, after an entire flat was gifted to him by the Cal State Fullerton arboretum. Wow, I just realized that was a re-gift. But that’s ok, it’s a good one. We always have a plethora of oregano, so we can Greek out anytime we want to.

Bonus: the canisters are packed in last Thursday’s Food Section of the Los Angeles Times. You get all the pages…with all the cool recipes… and this uber-cute full-page vintage ad for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal. So even if you don’t care for our lovingly dried herbs, take a look at what recipe you might want to try!

Since we don’t have enough canisters for all of you, we’ll wait for you to tell us if you want them… but you should! They’d be great on a rotisserie chicken, Italian meat sauce pasta, or scrambled eggs. Just leave us a comment below telling us you’d like them. Heck, if we only get two responses, your chances would be 50/50! Great odds, right? And if you’d like to increase your odds, leave us a second comment telling us you’ve gone to our newly created Facebook fan page and liked us. And for a third comment, go ahead and tell us you follow us on Twitter. We’ll close the comments and announce a winner on Sunday, July 25th at 9:00 PM EST.

Thanks again for visiting and hope to see you again soon!

[K] & |b|