The Borrowers - LP4.5 Beyond Yemagate

This Special Edition of Lasang Pinoy is hosted by our very own Stefoodie. Visit the LP4.5 link (click on image on the left) to learn more about this topic which was prompted by yemagate and has gotten many of us food bloggers thinking how to better spread the word on the proper way to "borrow".

The internet has been a great tool for me. When the www was first bandied about, I couldn’t think of any purpose that I would use it for. Did they say you can find information online? Well, when the www was still sparsely populated, I was still able to find all the information I needed by letting my fingers do the walking. So it really was no big deal. I wasn’t a techno geek, so beyond my personal curiosity, the internet was not really offering anything new to me. Little did I know! Yeah, I know sometimes ignorance is bliss….but not all the time.

Blogging came by me unexpectedly. I was searching for Filipino dishes to try aside from the meager offerings from my collection of Filipino cookbooks; all two of them. While searching, I came across the Pinoy Cook, formerly known as the Radical Chef, and the rest as they say is history. Before you know it, I had started my own blog.

I started a blog to not only chronicle the new things I learn to cook but also to document our old recipes so that my daughters will have something to refer to someday. So from the start, this blog has never claimed to be the originator of recipes. Actually, we copied many of our recipes. Borrowing is definitely allowed in food blogging; and we’ve borrowed from various sources BUT always acknowledged that the recipes were someone elses or were based on other cooks’ recipes.

Take family recipes that we’ve posted:
There’s Momma Dot’s famous sweet potato pie. I could have claimed this as my own; I have after all modified it every time I’ve made it. Besides, if she were still alive, there would be very little chance that she would come upon her recipe on the internet unless I directed her here.

There is my lola’s (grand-mother) Dinengdeng and my mom’s Guinataan. I could have easily claimed their recipes to be mine too, but what would have been the point in that? The goal of this blog is to document for my children the recipes and ways of cooking that we pass on from one generation to the next.

Blogging and the internet allowed me to meet other people who have the same interests as me. Food bloggers inspired me to be more adventurous in my cooking, who made me want to try something new. Many of the recipes on this site are “borrowed” from their blogs. Sometimes I asked before borrowing, sometimes it was after the fact. Sometimes, I totally forgot to ask at all. But ALWAYS, in my posts, I mention where I got the recipe or idea from.

Here is an example of “borrowed” recipes. Even though the original cooks posted the recipe and photos on their sites, I duplicated them here. Again, so that my children will have a repository of the recipes we dabbled with in our kitchen.
Here's a history of the recipes posted here:
Filipino Bistek

It all started with me seeing the Pinoy Cook's version, then not too long after Stel cooked her version, so I had to borrow their ideas and create my own version.

Korean Barbeque, Kalbi started when I spied PurpleGirl's korean barbeque

It looked so good, I just had to try it too, but out of necessity, I put my own twist to it, now making it my own creation.

Sassy Chicken w/ Mushrooms & Sourcream - Another way to give credit to your borrowed recipe is to name yours after the originator.

Sassy's version and mine.

Drunk Shrimp ala Ting - Here's another named recipe.


Yard Long Beans with Peanut Butter Sauce There's also this yummy looking photo from Kimchijon's blog that inspired me to try something new to me:


See how easy it is? Giving credit is actually going back to blogging basics which is proving links to your sources of information. It takes some work and some knowledge, sure. But if you're going to get into this thing called blogging anyway, why not take some time to learn a few tricks like creating links and trackbacks? There are many sources on the internet where you can learn how to do all the technical stuff. Look, if a techno dummy like me can do it, I'm sure a great many people who are inclined to borrow material on other people's blog can surely learn to put links back to the originator? BTW, did you notice the links on the images above? Heck, it took me forever to do those and have them working right. This post has been on draft mode for two weeks now, but I had to figure out how to make thumbnails then make them into links, so THERE!

Seriously though, the one thing I learned since I started blogging is how nice and generous food bloggers are. Just give them/us due credit and don’t assume that just because we post our recipes online that it is a free for all. Well, it is in a way, you are always welcome to try the recipes. We are flattered when you take the time to read and comment on what we have written. If you have a blog and decide to post your version of our recipe, we are glad to have helped. We only ask that you mention where you “borrowed” your material. We're all borrowers! (just don't let the cat catch you, you may have to emigrate ;-))

LasangPinoy4.5