I’m so excited to have today’s Blogger Spotlight here with us today. Sylvie Shirazi, from Gourmande in the Kitchen, is – in my opinion – one of the best food photographer/bloggers out there. Her photos of food are just amazing. Her blog is one that I could seriously look through for hours, just drooling over the gorgeous food.  Her love of real food and ingredients is displayed so beautifully that it makes you want to get right into the kitchen.  I’m so glad she is sharing here today!

I’m Sylvie Shirazi, the author, photographer and food lover behind Gourmande in the Kitchen, where I share simple, wholesome, real food recipes that celebrate the joy that good food can bring to our lives. I hope to inspire others to embrace real foods, follow their instincts, and find a sense of confidence in the kitchen as well as behind the camera. Join me as I pursue life with a camera in one hand and a fork in the other!

What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
I’ve been drawn to food and cooking from a very young age. As a child, I spent every summer in France with my maternal grandparents. Those summers were filled with some of my most cherished memories and each meal was lovingly prepared with fresh ingredients we bought almost daily from the local merchants.

Sylvie with her grandparents

Food was the center of daily life; when one meal was finished, we immediately planned and anticipated the next. I think that experience is what drives me to the kitchen, then and now, and served as my inspiration to start blogging.

Where do most of your recipes come from?
Most of the time when I’m cooking it’s based on what I have on hand or what I’m in the mood for. I look through recipes to get inspired but I rarely follow a recipe exactly as it was written. I turn to my grandmother’s well loved recipe cards first but I also like to checkout cookbooks from the library, and make notes of what flavor combinations I find interesting so I can try them. It’s a good jumping off point.

Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
No I don’t create a menu but I do make a list of potential meal ideas based on what’s in my fridge or what I see at the market. After that I play it by ear based on what I’m in the mood for on any particular day.

What I crave changes daily (sometimes hourly) based on my mood and my source of inspiration, but I am most often drawn to fast, simple meals that include lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and cheeses.

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
The food I make is the food I crave: uncomplicated, flavorful, comforting to eat, with a focus on quality ingredients and minimal preparation that let the natural flavors of the food shine.

For me homemade food isn’t fussy or pretentious; it’s simple, it’s real and it’s made with love for those we love. My motto is: cook simply. I don’t think you always need a lot of time or a long list of ingredients to make satisfying and delicious food.

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite because they are all special to me, but these are a few I go back to time and time again:

Spiced Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Chocolate Hazelnut Milk and Honey Cinnamon Cashew Milk

Read the rest of this entry »

Seriously – Utah just has some top notch bloggers. Today we have another Utah blogger, Krista Dearden from Budget Gourmet Mom. I can’t remember how I first came across Krista’s blog, but I’m so glad I did! I can totally relate to so many of her posts because she is a mother of young children (although she has all boys – I don’t know how she does it!!). I love her cooking style, and I’m so glad to be featuring her here today!!

As a wife and the stay-at-home mom to four boys I have my hands full! When I am not making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cleaning up the mess from them I am writing for my blog, Budget Gourmet Mom. We may eat on a budget but that doesn’t mean it can’t be gourmet food.

Where do most of your recipes come from?
I really enjoy creating my own recipes and those are what I try to share most of the time. I don’t mind sharing recipes that I have found and there are quite a few on there but playing with flavors is my creative outlet.

Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Slaw

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
I absolutely love to bake. Hands down. Sometimes I think I should have just created a baking blog because of all the treats I make {and eat}!

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?

This is pretty tough because I have a few that are favorites for different reasons but as of late my favorite {that I crave daily} is my Triple Chocolate Hot Mess Cake. How can you resist that!? Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s blogger spotlight is the wonderful Cassie from Bake Your Day. Cassie’s blog is new-ish to me, but I’m so glad that I discovered her! She is such a friendly and supportive blogger, and I’m happy to consider her one of my online friends!

I live in Kansas City with my husband Paul and our cat Emma.  I love people, I love life, and I love living life well. I especially love living well through food. I believe that food is nostalgic, it is comforting, it brings people together, and it builds community.  I aim to create meals and desserts that are simple, yet elegant and recipes that use accessible, affordable ingredients.  I love sharing my life and how my life is connected to others through food.

What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
I had been following blogs for a long time. I had wanted to start a blog and honestly the thing that kept me from starting one was that I couldn’t come up with a name that I liked. Bake Your Day came about out of my husband’s creativity and I loved the play on words.

What kinds of posts are your favorite to write? What do your readers seem to like the most?
Reader favorites have to be desserts, particularly cookies. And I love them too so I love that my readers love cookie posts. I love to write posts that have a great story to share along with the food. I love relating my food to my life.

Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
Yes I do. I shop weekly and I plan meals around what nights we will be home, what foods are on sale, what we like and what needs to go on the blog. It’s sort of a chaotic planning process but it works for me!

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
Cookies are definitely my favorite thing to bake. For meals though, I love making classic dishes like risotto, homemade mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and pasta dishes.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m so happy to have today’s Blogger Spotlight – Karly from Buns in My Oven – here today. I’ve been reading Karly’s blog for years now. She makes amazing food, (hello – can you say Pickle Dip?) and takes beautiful photographs.  And not just food photographs – she is also an awesome portrait photographer as well!  So sit back and learn a little bit more about this great blogger!!

Hi there. My name is Karly and I’m a homeschooling mama of two kids and married to my high school sweetheart. My husband and kids demand that I feed them every day, and for some reason they don’t consider cold cereal a proper dinner. It took years of Hamburger Helper and frozen pizzas, but I finally decided that if I’m going to be forced to cook for my family, I may as well have fun with it and learn to do it right. Happily, we haven’t had Hamburger Helper in years. Frozen pizzas, on the other hand, still make an appearance every few weeks. I’m only human, after all.

What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
Honestly, I think my love of photography is what made me decide to start a food blog. I was constantly in my kids’ faces trying to take their photos and when they finally had enough I started photographing our dinner. Food never complained and always sat right where I put it, so I sort of fell in love. Once I started taking food photos, I knew I had to share them somewhere!

Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
I try my best to plan weekly menus, but sometimes I slack in that department. Often, even when I do plan a menu, I’ll stumble on a recipe from another blog, pinterest, or facebook and I end up changing the plan anyway. I’m very impatient and want to try new recipes as soon as I see them or think of them!

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
I love baking anything with a mix of chocolate and peanut butter.

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?

My favorite recipe would have to be for these Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Bars. I’m a sucker for that sweet and salty combo and these are seriously dangerous.

What is your favorite kitchen tool/appliance?
That’s a toss up between my KitchenAid mixer and my Cuisinart food processor. I use my mixer for baking and my food processor for cooking. I’m not sure which gets the most use!

Where do most of your recipes come from?
Most of my baking and dessert recipes are either directly from or inspired by another blogger or cookbook. My dinner recipes are more often than not my own creations.

What kind of camera/lens/equipment do you use?
I use a Nikon d700 with a Nikkor 50mm 1.4G lens. I love them nearly as much as I love my children.

Any suggestions or hints to have great food photos?
It’s all about the light! About 90% of my photos are taken on my back deck in the open shade. I love nice, even light for food photos. I’m also sure to resize my photos and sharpen them for the web.

What kind of food did you eat growing up? Do you cook the same kinds of things today?
Lima beans and corn! We had those every dang day. My family does eat a good amount of corn, but lima beans? No way.

Is there anything you would not ever eat?
I’m kind of weird about seafood. Shrimp are just great big bugs that live in the water. Y’all knew that right? I’m confused as to why people continue eating them.

What are your favorite blogs to read?
Oh, there are so many. I adore Perry’s Plate, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, and Cookies & Cups. Oh, and Lauren’s Latest and Pinch of Yum. Did I forgot to mention Taste and Tell? I have over 200 blogs in my feed reader. It’s sort of an addiction.

Take us through a typical day of eating in your house.
The kids always start their mornings with the sugary junk food cereal that most moms don’t like to buy. I’m too lazy to fight them on that one, though. About half of the time I make something quick for lunch, like this pizza bread or pasta, and the other half of the time we have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or leftovers. We eat out for dinner a few times a week. I try to incorporate Mexican food as often as is humanly possible. When my husband finally puts his foot down and insists that we have some “real” food (by this he means anything but Mexican) I do the cooking.

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Thank you so much, Karly!  If you want to see more from Karly, here is where you can find her:

Blog:  Buns in My Oven
Facebook:  Buns in My Oven
Twitter:  @Buns_In_My_Oven
Pinterest:  Karly Campbell

Today is a special day. Not only is it Blogger Spotlight day with a wonderful blogger – Dara from Cookin’ Canuck – but it’s also Dara’s birthday today! So make sure you stop by her site, twitter or facebook today and wish her a happy birthday! If you don’t know Dara, you are really missing out. Dara not only runs a top notch blog, but she is a top notch person as well. I’m so glad to have her here today. Happy birthday, Dara!!

My name is Dara Michalski and I am wife to a supportive husband and mother of 2 young, energetic boys. They are my official taste-testers and will willingly give me a thumbs-up or thumbs-down as their palates instruct. A thumbs-up is typically accompanied by, “Are you going to put that on the blog, Mum?” My husband is a passionate critic of mushrooms and olives, but otherwise is a willing guinea pig. He can also whip up a mean burrito.

I have been interested in food and cooking as long as I can remember. My mum is a fabulous, instinctual cook and I like to think that I picked up some of that from her. She grew up in Jamaica, plus my parents spent the first two years of their marriage living in Malaysia. As a result, she often used (and still does use) spices and flavors in her cooking that were rather unusual at that time. My dad, who has always been our Sandwich King and can make a mean batch of scrambled eggs, took a series of cooking classes several years ago, which spurred on a baking streak that we all appreciated.

I am a Canadian by birth and in my heart (yes, I’m a Canuck), but have lived happily in the United States for the past 15 years, and in Utah for the past 10 years. I was born in eastern Canada, but spent most of my childhood and early twenties in Vancouver. It is a city graced with the beauty of the mountains and ocean. Vancouver has an inspiring food and restaurant scene that is stimulated, in part, by the melting pot of cultures.

This blog blossomed into much more than a place to file recipes. I now work as a recipe developer and food writer, and am also excited for the next food experience waiting around the corner.

In addition, my husband and I are consultants for families who wish to set up intensive behavioral programs for their children with autism. We are dedicated to making these amazing children reach their full potential. (from Cookin’ Canuck)

What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
My blog started its existence simply as a place to catalog recipes for family and friends, and anyone else who happened to stumble upon it. So many friends were telling me that they were cooking the same meals over and over again, which eventually lead to eating out often due to recipe boredom. I paired each of my recipes with step-by-step photos in hopes that they would become inspired to try some different, but easy, recipes for their families.

What kinds of posts are your favorite to write? What do your readers seem to like the most?
I have a variety of recipes on my site, but am really inspired to post healthy recipes that are full of flavor. I really enjoy playing with different flavor combinations and my readers seem to enjoy this aspect of my recipes. If it was up to my husband, they would all have a Mexican flair to them. If you asked my two boys, they would beg for me to turn my blog into all-desserts, all-the-time.

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
Anything with soy sauce. If you sat me in front of two plates, one with chocolate cake and the other with soy-covered noodles, I’d take the noodles any day of the week. I seriously need to consider taking out stock in Kikkoman soy sauce.

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa

This is a tough one, but my Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa is a big hit with my family and readers. I make this a couple of times each month just so I can eat a bowl of the leftovers for lunch the next day.

What is your favorite kitchen tool/appliance?
Hands down, my favorite kitchen tool is my Shun chef’s knife. It slices like a dream and is so comfortable to hold. There are a couple of knives my kids are allowed to use when helping me in the kitchen, but this is not one of them! That’s for mummy’s use only (for my pleasure and to spare their little fingertips).

Where do most of your recipes come from?
About 99% of the recipes on my blog are originals, though many are inspired by family recipes, my favorite magazines, cookbooks and fellow bloggers. It also helps that I think about food nearly all of my waking hours (okay, I’ve also been known to dream about recipes, too – that can’t be good).

What would you eat as your last supper?
That’s an easy one. Sushi, sushi and a little more sushi.

What is your favorite part about blogging?
Besides the fact that I get to play with and think about food, my favorite part about blogging is the people I have met. When I started my blog, I never dreamed that I would become a part of a community that is so supportive and welcoming.

What kind of camera/lens/equipment do you use?
For a long time, I used a Canon Rebel Xsi, but recently upgraded to a Canon 7D (she and I are still getting to know each other – yep, it’s a girl). The two lenses I rotate between are the 24-70mm/2.8 and the 50mm/1.4.

Any suggestions or hints to have great food photos?
The best tip I have is to play with natural light. Move yourself, move the food and play with different angles of the light source. Look at food photos on your favorite sites and figure out where the light is coming from and why you like the photo. Try to recreate some of those aspects in your own photos. Also, enlist your kids to hold foam core boards to help bounce light into dark areas. This stops them from eating the food you’re trying to photograph.

When you really want to cheat, what do you eat?
Cheese (the softer the better) and chips. I’m a salty/savory kind of gal and could easily eat a wedge of Brie in one sitting. You think I’m kidding. Nope.

If you could travel anywhere in the world – just for the food – where would you go?
I have never traveled to Japan and would love to go, both for the food and the culture. I mentioned my love for sushi, right?

What are your favorite blogs to read?
For pure reading pleasure, I’d have to say Orangette, written by Molly Wizenberg. For photos and writing, you just can’t beat White on Rice Couple by Diane Cu and Todd Porter.

What is your best tip to becoming a successful blogger?
I’m still trying to nail that one down, but I do have one tip. When I first started my blog, I spent a lot of time perusing other food blogs (and there are a lot of them). I tried to figure out what made me want to return to certain blogs and finally determined it was a three-part answer: good, consistent recipes; beautiful photos; and engaging writing. If you have great content, people will keep coming back.

Thanks so much to Deborah for spotlighting me on her wonderful blog. She always has mouth-watering recipes and beautiful photos. Plus, she is an absolutely sweetheart.

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Thank you, Dara, for sharing with us today! To see more of Dara, here is where you can find her:

Blog: Cookin’ Canuck
Facebook: Cookin’ Canuck
Twitter: @cookincanuck
Pinterest: Cookin’ Canuck

Today’s Blogger Spotlight – Kelley from Mountain Mama Cooks, is a newer-to-me blogger. I think I met her for the first time at Maria’s baby shower, and I’m so grateful for that! Kelley is not only a fabulous chef, but she is such a genuine person as well. She is one of those people who always make you feel comfortable in a conversation, and someone who you know is really listening and cares about what you are saying. She is the kind of person I want to be like!! And if you want some tasty food, you need to look no further than her blog! Thanks so much for sharing with us, Kelley!

Hi! I’m so excited to be spotlighted today. I love Deb’s blog and reading the blogger spotlights is a favorite of mine. Thank you so much for having me!

I’m personal chef and food blogger with a weakness for brown butter and bacon. I live for powder days and the sound of my kids laughing. I’m the mom of three boys, one of whom I am actually married to. When we’re not traveling for my husband’s job as a stuntman, we call Park City, Utah home where I spend the majority of my days in either the kitchen or on the mountain. It’s a great (although sometimes crazy) life and I like to think we’re living the dream………..or at least trying to. Pull up chair, grab a cup of coffee and let’s get to know each other, shall we?

What kinds of posts are your favorite to write? What do your readers seem to like the most?
My favorite posts to write are ones that tell some sort of story. A recipe is just a recipe but when you pair it great words and great pictures, the post takes on a life of its own. Food is the ultimate connector and when you can relay that in a post I really believe that’s where the magic happens. A good story and a great recipe will always be a winning combination.

Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
I don’t. I’ve tried but it just doesn’t work for me. I don’t know what I’m going to want for my next meal let alone eat for dinner in three days. So I make multiple trips to the grocery store throughout the week and pick up what ever looks good. I usually start in the produce section and pick from something in season. Dinner is typically based around that.

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?

That’s tough. I’m going to have to go with the chicken lettuce cups and bacon and cream cheese stuffed mushrooms. The lettuce cups are one of my go to meals and the stuffed mushrooms are kind of my signature dish. They are easily my most requested recipe from friends and clients.

Will you show us your kitchen? What is your favorite thing about your kitchen?
On a good day my kitchen looks like this.

Just before a big catering job, my kitchen looks like this.

Most days it’s somewhere in between.

What is your favorite kitchen tool/appliance?
As much as I love my food processor and Vitamix blender, I’d be absolutely lost without a sharp knife and a pair of tongs. I use tongs for everything.

What is your best tip for getting dinner on the table?
I’d be a liar if I told you I had the answer. This is might be the hardest part of my day. If I can, I try to do some of the dinner prep in the afternoon but that doesn’t always happen. When all else fails, I make breakfast for dinner. I can have it ready in 15 minutes and I know that both my kids will clean their plates.

Where do most of your recipes come from?
I create most of my own recipes. Whether it be from a cookbook, a food blog, or a dish I had eating out, I am always trying to reinvent a dish by putting my own spin on it. I can’t follow a recipe to save my life. I always seem to deviate somewhere. I can’t help it. But that’s the beauty of cooking. Recipes are merely guidelines. I will say that as of late I’ve been finding a lot of recipes on Pinterest. I’m addicted to Pinterest. Seriously addicted.

What would you eat as your last supper?
Easy, a BLT. Salted summer ripe heirloom tomatoes, thick cut crispy bacon, cold ice burg lettuce, lightly dressed with mayonnaise on toasted rye bread. Absolute perfection.

If you could invite any 3 people to dinner – living or dead – who would you choose?
I’d invite my best friend who lives in North Carolina. We don’t get to see each other as much as I’d like but every time we get together we laugh so hard that we end up crying or peeing our pants. Sometimes both. I’d invite my Grandma Bette because not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. She was bigger than life and always up for a party! Lastly, I’d invite Taylor Kitch, aka, Tim Riggins. A little eye candy at the dinner table is never a bad thing and I’d love to watch my grandma flirt with him.

What is your favorite part about blogging?
Without a doubt the relationships I’ve made. Never in a million years did I think I would create so many friendships with people I met online. It’s been such a lovely unexpected surprise. Living in Utah, I am lucky enough to part of a very talented group of local bloggers. Even more, I call them friends. It’s an awesome community to be a part of.

When you really want to cheat, what do you eat?
I cheat all the time. I don’t like to deprive myself, it just doesn’t feel right. I am such a sucker for the salty sweet combo and my latest obsession is chocolate chip ice cream sprinkled with grey salt. It’s my late night snack that I have after my kids go to sleep for the night. I climb into bed with my ice cream and catch up with my DVR. I do try to work out every day so then I never feel guilty about what I’m eating!

If you could travel anywhere in the world – just for the food – where would you go?
New Orleans, New Orleans, New Orleans. It’s the dirtiest, seediest yet most magical city in the world. The food is unbelievable, the music even better and it’s a city that will always hold a place near and dear to my heart. I dream about the food. I have so many favorites, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.

What is your best tip to becoming a successful blogger?
You’re asking me? Funny. I should be asking you.

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Thank you so much, Kelley! I loved getting to know more about you! If you want even more from Kelley, (incliding a snickerdoodle pie that I must make immediately), here us is where you can find her:

Blog: Mountain Mama Cooks
Facebook: Mountain Mama Cooks
Twitter: @mtnmamacooks
Pinterest: Kelley Epstein {Mountain Mama Cooks}