Looking for new recipes to perk up mealtimes? Love to cook and want to connect with others who do, too? Try either or both of these recipe sites/social networks, which promise not only good eating but cameraderie with fellow cooks:
Open Source Food, launched this spring, features beautiful photographs and a plethora of recipes from around the world, with an emphasis on Asian and Asian-fusion. One fun, kid-friendly recipe is the clever cutout ham and cheese sandwich (which works equally well with PB & J, hummus, or whatever you like)—but there are also sophisticated entrées like Sesame Tuna with Lime Mash. 
You can save favorites and organize them into menus, which display with slick but not annoying animation. You can also use OSF’s widgets on your blog to display your latest recipes, or embed and share favorites a la You Tube. It’s a great example of useful but non-intrusive Web 2.0 technology. I also like the fact that the site was started by a father-son team, showing one of the many ways a parent-child relationship can evolve. (Thanks to Download Squad for the tip.)
BakeSpace is a similar network that has a much wider range than just baked goods. If, though, like my son and I, you’ve gone a little crazy picking fresh berries lately, do a search for “cobbler” and choose one of the many options. The BakeSpace site is not nearly as slick as Open Source Food, despite a new partnership with KitchenAid, but seems to have a larger recipe selection at this point. (I expect OSF to come up fast, though.) (Thanks to Shiny Shiny.)
You’re not required to join either network in order to search recipes. If you do join, however, and add your own creations, remember that simple recipe notes like “When I cooked this for my partner, she preferred it without the capers” or “I made this for twelve of my friends after last year’s Gay Pride parade” can promote LGBT visibility even when you’re not discussing “LGBT topics” per se.
