Favorite Female Food Bloggers

FFFB: Alicia of Weekly Greens

Posted by on Jan 6, 2012 in Favorite Female Food Bloggers | 2 comments

favorite food bloggers1 FFFB: Alicia of Weekly Greens

 

It’s time for my favorite female foodie bloggers Round Two!  Today I would love to introduce you to Alicia of Weekly Greens.  Alicia and I first met on Twitter as we prepared to attend Eat, Write, Retreat last May.  When we finally met in DC at the conference we realized how many similarities we had. We both were born and raised in the Midwest, each have two boys about the same age and both have a love and passion for passing on our love of food to our children.  I truly enjoyed meeting and spending time with Alicia and continue to enjoy her blog with each post.  I think that you’ll love her too!

 

With that please meet Alicia!

 

6301930985 ebfe03f494 o 682x1024 FFFB: Alicia of Weekly Greens

 


Tell me a little bit about your blog and what you write about.

Weekly Greens is a collection of recipes using fresh, healthy foods geared towards busy home cooks. I try to keep the themes seasonal and encourage my readers to use foods at their peak (and avoid them when out of season!). I weave in stories from my own life as a busy working mom of two young boys and wife of one big boy. My hope is that through my recipes and stories, I can demystify home cooking and help my readers gain confidence in the kitchen.

 

Why did you start blogging?

I developed a very straightforward method of meal planning and grocery shopping – plan and shop once per week, eat fresh meals every weeknight. Though I was juggling two kids and a demanding job, this system worked well for me. I had friends ask if they could just use my shopping list. It occurred to me that if I shared my plan, the recipes and the list, I’d be taking a lot of the guesswork out of weeknight cooking and that I might actually be able to help people who want to cook get over that hurdle. I wrote my first post in October 2010 and have been at it ever since!

What is your earliest memory in the kitchen?

When I was growing up, my mother was frequently in the kitchen. A skilled cook and baker, she not only made meals each weeknight that we shared together as a family, she baked as a hobby. We almost always had a batch of homemade cookies in the house. During holidays, she would bake dozens upon dozens of cookies and make candies of all kinds to give away. My first memories in the kitchen are probably related to those marathon holiday baking sessions. Some years, she’d literally make one different kind of cookie per day from Thanksgiving until Christmas. It was madness!

 

Who or what influences you in the kitchen today?

My comfort and ease in the kitchen came from my mother. But these days, I am heavily influenced by my family and what they like to eat. My husband might laugh out loud at that because he thinks I don’t make enough of the things he loves – turkey tacos with prepared seasoning packets and pasta with Ragu sauce. I try to make dishes we’ll all enjoy while at the same time expanding the palates of my young boys. I think it’s important to expose them to a variety of flavors and textures while they’re young. I don’t expect that they’ll eat everything, but I do want them to at least take a taste. Often, they are happily surprised by foods they thought they didn’t like.

What is your favorite ingredient

Lately, I’m a fool for Greek yogurt. I eat it plain, or top it with berries and a few nuts for breakfast. It makes creamy soups without the heaviness of cream. It also makes beautiful, protein-rich smoothies. My kids love a morning smoothie and they don’t need to know that it’s good for them, too. I also use Greek yogurt to top dishes that might typically include sour cream, like chili or baked potatoes. The creaminess is perfect and there is also an extra tang I just love.

 

Who is your favorite “famous/celebrity” chef and why?

I have to admit that I don’t pay much attention to what celebrity chefs are doing! I don’t watch food TV and so I’m not up to date on who’s who. I will say that I am much more inspired by home cooks, perhaps because I can identify with them a bit more.

 

Which of your recipes is your favorite?

I spend a lot of time making foods that one would typically enjoy for dinner. However, I love to play around and create my own recipes when time allows. A lot of the time, these recipes are snacks, breakfast or treats. Last summer, I went crazy making homemade ice pops. I really liked this watermelon variety.  They were fun to make with the kids, quite tasty and they froze into this beautiful two-toned pop. I didn’t even mean to do that! This is the kind of recipe that is all fun and makes people happy.

What was your least successful recipe attempt?

I am not very good at working with dough. It makes me panic! I can follow a recipe to the letter and still manage to mess it up if making and working with dough is involved.

Which kitchen tool couldn’t you live without?

I use the microplane just about every day. I use a lot of citrus zest and it’s also terrific for just a touch of grated cheese to top a dish.

Last meal.  What would yours be?

Spinach lasagna with garlic bread, a huge green salad and a big glass of spicy, bold red wine

My favorite recipes from Alicia:

 

If you want to follow Alicia (and you should) visit her blog, fan her Facebook page, and on Twitter!

Read More

FFFB: Kathy of The Colors of Indian Cooking

Posted by on Dec 30, 2011 in Favorite Female Food Bloggers | 2 comments

favorite food bloggers1 FFFB: Kathy of The Colors of Indian Cooking
It’s time to start sharing my favorite female food bloggers!  I know I said that it would be a 2012 edition but I had to get started just a few days early because I was so excited.  (Hey, I never was good with the whole patience thing).  So today I would like to introduce you to Kathy of The Colors of Indian Cooking.  I found Kathy’s blog through Twitter (really did you think it would have been somewhere else?)  We’ve shared conversations and I’ve drooled over more of her recipes than I can count.  In the last two years I turned my husband into a lover of Indian food – thanks in part to Kathy’s fantastic recipes.

So without further adieu – Meet Kathy!

mango+bite FFFB: Kathy of The Colors of Indian Cooking

Tell us a little bit about your blog and what you write about

My blog is called The Colors Of Indian Cooking. I write about my 21 year experience of cooking healthy Indian food. Most of my recipes are low fat and feature seasonal foods. In the last several years I’ve been concentrating on the food of South India with a focus on vegetarian /vegan cooking and now more gluten free options because several friends of mine have been diagnosed with celiac disease.

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging about 2 and 1/2 years ago while I was doing a podcast for A Million Cooks. The podcasts were too short to feature an entire recipe with all the directions etc, so I decided to add a blog. 2 and 1/2 years later I’m no longer doing the podcasts but the blog is going strong.

What is your earliest memory in the kitchen?

My earliest memory of the kitchen was being carried into the kitchen of a relative’s Italian restaurant. I must have been about 4 and was mightily impressed with all the food smells and delicious bites the kitchen staff gave me to eat.

Who or what influences you in the kitchen today?

I’ve been very influenced by chef and cookbook author Paula Wolfert. We became good friends when we moved to Sonoma 6 years ago. She’s been a real mentor to me. She was the one who got me started slow cooking my Indian food in clay. In fact she gave me my very first clay pot. She’s been very supportive of what I’m doing with the blog. She even put one of my recipes into her cookbook last year. One of the reasons I admire her is for her ability to take a food culture that she was not born into (Moroccan food) and embrace it and share her love of it with others. As a non-Indian learning about and cooking Indian food, she’s been a great example for me.

What is your favorite ingredient?

I could not cook with out my cilantro!

Everyone has a favorite recipe that we just can’t re-create the same way as our mom, grandma etc. Which recipe is this for you?

I’m Italian, and both of my grandmothers were excellent cooks. There’s one thing that I’ve so far been unable to re-create and that is my mother’s mothers meringue cookies. They totally intimidate me. Someday I’ll master them.

Who is your favorite “famous/celebrity” chef and why?

I admire Rick Bayless for his ability to embrace a food and culture that is not natively his own.

Which of your recipes is your favorite?

That is like asking a mom which of her children she loves best. I could never choose, as I’m always exploring.

What was your least successful recipe attempt?

Never mention cream puffs in my kitchen.

Which kitchen tool couldn’t you live without?

My Santoku knife, when one cooks with as many vegetables as I do it’s a must!

Last meal. What would yours be?

Something not yet grown on this planet

What other inspiration would you like to share?

I’d love to see more non-Indians experiment with Indian dishes and learning about the wonderful food culture of this great country. Indian food is very easy to make in the American kitchen. Nearly all the spices are available at most supermarkets, or Asian or Hispanic groceries. If I could say anything it would be, give it a try, you’ll have fun.

I hope that you will love Kathy’s blog as much as I do!  Make sure to stop and visit The Colors of Indian Cooking - also connect with her on Twitter @kathygori.  If you’ve got more questions for her leave me a comment here!

Here are two of my favorite recipes from Kathy;  Panner (Indian cheese) so easy!  Pumpkin Curry a really creative and delicious dish.

 Next week I’ll be introducing another favorite …any idea who it might be?

 

Read More
Page 2 of 212

Switch to our mobile site