Savory Experiments is on tour! Not the kind of tour where I’m going town to town, because it would be awesome to meet all of my foodie friends, but the kind where I will ask you to tour some of my favorite blogs and in turn give you a little peek into my process. I was invited by Debi at Life Currents and couldn’t be more excited to share some of her work with you.
Debi and I officially “met” in a couple of blogger groups on Facebook, but I had noticed her long before our formal introduction. You see, one of Debi’s many strengths is my weakness, photography. My eyes literally veered to her crisp, clear and mouthwatering photos in my Facebook feed every time. Food photography isn’t as simple as you may think. Somehow taking a non-moving object and making it look appetizing at close range is rather difficult. It can sometimes take hours to style and shoot, edit and finally publish. In our Writing Process Tour, we are sharing how we develop the posts you love to read.
First, I will take you over to Life Currents and the post where Debi passed the torch to Savory Experiments. Besides her photos, Debi’s most admirable characteristic is her commitment to being vegetarian, actually pescetarian if you want to get technical. She has an uncanny way of making her foods look so delicious that meat lovers (me included) hardly even notice that there isn’t any meat! After 2o years of straight vegetarianism, Debi started to eat sustainable fish to “save the world.” Her story is really quite compelling and interesting, I highly encourage you to hop over and read about all of the benefits to vegetarianism and pescetarianism.
Photos by Life Currents
I beg of you to do yourself a favor and check out some of Debi’s mouthwatering recipes, like her recent Weeknight Italian Tomato Soup. The Italian in me is drooling, the photographer in me is insanely impressed and envious of her ability to work a camera and the busy professional in me is saying “WOOHOO, a quick recipe!” This glorious recipe takes only 10 minutes- 10 MINUTES!!! Equally impressive, her take on Girl Scout Samoas, Tropical Pacific Cookies and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Sandwich with Caramelized Onions. Tell me you are not licking your screen right now? This is just a small sampling of her amazing work, as is she truly is a talented blogger and captivating writer.
Now let me tell you a little bit about how I work…..
1) WHAT AM I WORKING ON?
I’m honored to be reviewing for an eBook for bloggers and in fact Debi has written an entire chapter! It’s a collaborative book with a bunch of talented and successful bloggers, mostly food, parenting and life style, sharing how they started, tips and tricks. Something I wish I had when I first started! The book is nearing completion and I’m sure I will be promoting it on all of my social media- stay tuned!
In addition to this project I have a few more up my sleeve. I’ve recently started working with PERDUE® promoting their PERFECT PORTIONS® campaign by working with the product and developing recipes, like my PERDUE® Mesquite Grille Chicken Fajitas. Other notable brands that I’ve worked with recently are Brownie Brittle ™, Pasta Chips and in the near future Lindt chocolate. I also had one of my favorite family recipes, Old Fashioned Butterscotch Sticky Buns, win Editor’s Choice for Better Recipes Best of Breakfast and Brunch. The magazine will be out in September and I am super excited to see my work on a glossy page!
I’m also trying to build my blog, but struggle to find the time. Working full-time as a psychotherapist and having other obligations, it can be challenging to say the least. I have a few things on my to-do list such as starting a weekly newsletter and adding some other fun features to my main page. Bear in mind these have been on my to-do list for the past year, so it might be another before you actually see them! A regular week is struggling to find just enough time to get 3-4 posts up.
I also like to dine out and experience new tastes from professionals. In the last few months I’ve started to write a few restaurant reviews for local Baltimore restaurants. I know it doesn’t appeal to those of you outside of Charm City, but I really enjoy writing them and being inspired by their creations.
2) HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS OF ITS GENRE?
I would say Savory Experiments is different because it is literally a smorgasbord of recipes and doesn’t hold itself to a specific genre. I am not a professionally trained chef, I do not know everything there is to know about the kitchen, but I do like to learn. I share what I have learned with others to build their culinary abilities too. I have expanded my knowledge through trial, error and observation and share all of those aspects through my writing. I strive to appeal to all five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight and sound, colorful, appealing plates that beg to be eaten. Savory Experiments provides a balance of easy to simple to sophisticated, casual to elegant and healthy to calorie ridden. Most of all, I like to have fun! If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know I’m kind of a goofy character and like to laugh… a lot. I also believe that bacon makes everything better, no one has time for fake cheese, butter or people and ‘every meal should include wine and company.
3) WHY DO I WRITE WHAT I DO?
The short answer is: because I want to! My blog is my personal kitchen journal that I invite everyone to come read: the disasters and the successes. Sometimes I veer off course, but that is okay because I”m the boss of my own blog and I’m totally allowed to do that! Like when I went on a complete rant about how angry I am at Facebook, which was my first non-food related post.
4) HOW DOES YOUR WRITING PROCESS WORK?
My writing process is chaotic at best because I’m full of ideas. I can’t look at food, a magazine or go out to eat without having at least 3-4 new ideas pop into my head and forget about watching a cooking channels, I start to short circuit. I hoard recipes and store them in a file cabinet and take notes on my cell phone when something hits me. I work from the finished idea backwards, usually based on a smell, ingredient or visual that started the inspiration, like my Pretzel Crusted White Chocolate Brownies, that started from wanting to have stark white brownies. I then research the food, see how other people have prepared it (if it has been done before) and then I try to put my own spin on it. One recipe can take up to 5 attempts and that is if it even makes it to publication. Case in point, I totally burned dinner last night.
I start writing the moment I start creating in the kitchen, keeping my laptop nearby to jot down tips, tricks, sounds and smells. I put the finishing touches on the post, edit the photos and finally publish. Right now I have 19 drafts that are somewhere along the spectrum of beta to ready to publish. One Pound Lavo Meatballs will be out tomorrow!
NOW, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO 3 FELLOW BLOGGERS, all of which are part of the weekly link party I co-host, the Wednesday Roundup!
First up, Britney from The Princess and Her Cowboys, a clever name and many creative posts that range from recipes to parenting to sewing and crafts. Britney describes herself as “an athlete turned crafter.” She recently survived her first half marathon and then probably went home to bake fabulous Better Than Anything Cupcakes. To say the least, she is a master of time management and engaging her vast audience. My favorite recent post was her DYI on making these cute Polka dot Chef Hats, perfect for a chef of any age and simple enough that I might actually attempt to make one!
Photos by A Princess and Her Cowboys
Next up is Teresa from A Crafty Wife, a blog dedicated to Teresa’s life as a stay-at-home wife crafting, Disney adventures, marriage and photography. Another admirable photographer, I love seeing Teresa’s photos and creative ideas. One post that I particularly enjoyed and plan to try was how to make Stenciled Pillow Cases. I’m decorating my guest room with a nautical Baltimore theme and plan to make a few with anchors and crabs! As a budding photographer, I also enjoyed her posts on An Amateur’s Guide to Camera Bag Essentials and How to Take Great Firework Photos.
Photos by A Crafty Wife
Last, but certainly not least, is Christine from Foody Schmoody. She is the one that invited me to co-host The Wednesday Roundup fun! Christine is primarily a food blogger, but being a stay-at-home mom of three, sometimes her mommy ways show through in her posts. Christine blogs about some fabulous food, but my most favorite photo is actually her profile photo, her with Gordon Ramsey (OMG)!!! I’m also planning to try her Sesame Noodle Bowl and Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Quinoa Bowls! Foody Schmoody also has a unique and interesting feature: her own store! Here you can buy all of your kitchen essentials and find some new gadgets to make your life as a cook a little bit easier.
Thanks again to Debi at Life Currents for inviting me to the Writing Tour! I love sharing and I hope you enjoyed reading. Make sure to check me and my fabulous bloggy friends out on all social media and stayed tuned for their posts on The Writing Process.
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