Yosef Silver enjoys food — eating it, preparing it and sharing it with others. He enjoys it so much that he recently started writing about it on his own blog. (A blog is defined as a website containing a writer’s experiences, observations, opinions, etc.) The blog’s focus is on kosher, local and affordable home-cooked meals.
While he’s been writing less than five months, his blog, “This American Bite,” (www.thisamericanbite) is already nominated as a Best Kosher Food Blog by the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine and website (www.joyofkosher.com). Voting is taking place now and continues through Jan. 11 on the Joy of Kosher website. The winner will be announced Feb. 1 in the magazine and on the website.
As of early Tuesday morning (Dec. 20), more than 50 blogs had been nominated, including Silver’s. He had accumulated more than 133 votes and ranked in the middle of the nominees. The top vote getter had more than 1,200 votes. Attempts to reach the magazine regarding the prize package for the winner were unsuccessful.
Silver is not just a newcomer to blogging, he is also a newcomer to the Kansas City area. He and his wife, Daniella, moved here with their young son, Ethan, who will be 2 in February, this past summer. He said they found Kansas City by accident in the summer of 2008.
“We spent six weeks here as directors of a summer program for the American Jewish Studies Service, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and living on blow-up-beds on the floors of Ohev Sholom,” he said in a recent interview.
“We went back home to Jerusalem and we really missed everything about Kansas City. So once our son was born we decided we wanted to move back to the States, and once we made that decision we decided we wanted to make it work in Kansas City,” Silver said.
He feels that Kansas City has a strong Jewish life and people in other parts of the country don’t know that.
“My blog gives a little extra exposure to the New Yorkers and Californians that think there is no Jewish life between the coasts. The other bloggers that have been nominated hail from large Jewish population centers — I want them to see and hear about life in Kansas City,” Silver said.
Silver grew up in England and lived in Israel for five years. His wife is from Los Angeles.
“There’s no place we would rather call home than Kansas City,” he said.
Because he likes both writing and food, he decided he would blog about it.
“My primary motivation was I would cook and then I would want to make the same thing again and I wouldn’t remember what I made. So I started jotting down what I was cooking. Then friends started asking me for recipes and it just seemed like a natural progression to post it on a blog,” he said.
Silver doesn’t know how he got nominated, but he assumes a reader nominated the blog. The Joy of Kosher website has featured one of his posts in the past and has asked him to write again later this month.
He is excited about the nomination.
“It’s nice to be recognized so early in the adventure. I haven’t been doing this very long and I feel like it’s an endorsement. I get a lot of satisfaction sitting at the table and entertaining people and watching them enjoy a meal and this adds on to that. I get to entertain with food through the Internet,” he said.
Before the nomination, which happened about two weeks ago, his blog was getting about 50 views a day. Last week he said that had jumped to about 200 views a day.
“Now those aren’t necessarily unique people, but it is growing week by week and people are subscribing,” he explained.
He said his wife is a good cook also.
“My wife also writes for the blog now and again. Some of the recipes there are hers,” he said, including one of the most popular, a chocolate avocado mousse.
“The dessert is very good and it’s very popular.”
The Silvers keep a kosher home and are members of BIAV. They also try to eat organic and locally produced food.
“Especially since our son was born, we’ve been very conscious not to give him processed food. A lot of the recipes on the blog are produce based. I don’t buy packages and I don’t buy things that are pre-made. It all has to do with feeding our son nutritious food and I think I reflect that in my recipes,” he explained.
He believes his approach to food, and his blog, has helped him through a weight-loss journey he began when he moved here.
“I’ve lost 23 pounds since May and people at my Weight Watchers meetings are enjoying the blog and talking about it,” he said.
“I feel like the blog helps me be accountable. I want to demonstrate that you can eat good food and eat really well and still reach a goal of a healthier weight.”
A fan of the podcast “It’s an American Life,” he came up with the name “This American Bite,” while listening to the show.
“I was playing with names and I thought this has a ring to it, ‘This American Bite.” That’s a little spin on buying local food, buying American food. I thought it really had a good ring,” he said.
He hopes people continue to enjoy the blog.
“I also welcome any feedback. If there’s a dish people would like me to make I would be happy to and I welcome people to follow me on Facebook. I have a Facebook page with the blog and you can also get my blog post by email.”