Along with a recipe for applesauce, which has become a staple in her family’s diet now that they’ve added a baby to the mix, Molly talks about how her writing is evolving as she transitions into motherhood. She articulates the need to strike a balance between recognizing her new reality and writing about it, and maintaining some semblance of her former self, who might, in fact, have been a little bored by all this talk of applesauce.
When I first broached the idea of starting a food blog, I decided to do a bit of research.
Those who know me well know that I never ever do anything without doing my background research first. It’s a bit of a thing for me. Ever since I was an elementary school kid who took on my own self-study projects through the summer and spent evenings in the air-conditioned library looking for information on Marie Curie’s life, or Greece, to inform my final paper.
At any rate, at the time, I didn’t even really know what a blog was. Is it a web page? What makes it a blog? Why the frig is it called a blog? Such a funny word.
One of the first blogs I found was Annie’s Eats, and it is, to this day, my go-to for so many things. Annie’s posts are short and sweet with just the right personal touch, so that you feel like she could very well be your baked goods-touting best friend. Before I really even started getting into reading her blog on a regular basis, I was thoroughly inspired (and still am) by the fact that she juggles this incredibly professional, well laid-out blog with excellent, thoughtful recipes with being a mother of two and a physician. Annie became not only my favourite resource for recipes that I knew would work, but also the hallmark for what I wanted to accomplish with my blog: an well-presented blog that I balanced with all of the other things going on in my life and an outlet for my creative energy.
I’ve since made and adapted so many of Annie’s recipes. I used her croissant dough to make these pistachio, goat cheese and chili honey croissants:
This croissant dough is Annie’s recipe! Incredible!
When I saw this Strawberry Bacon Balsamic pizza on Annie’s blog, I knew I had to make it.
These quinoa cakes are a regular in our house, thanks to Annie.
As I started to explore blogging a little more, and I had gotten to the point of creating a blog and had started to populate it with some recipes and photos before launching it to the world, I reached out to Kelly Neil, a local food blogger and photographer. You see, when I Googled “Halifax food blogger,” everything came up Kelly. Her blog is visually stunning – well, obviously, she’s a photographer – and her writing concise and thoughtful. As if that weren’t enough, Kelly is just as lovely as her photos, and has been a great support to me. She helped to found Halifax Food Bloggers, which has helped a lot of us local bloggers get a little recognition and make connections with each other. She has been a big inspiration and help to me with my food photography, and is always quick to answer any technical questions I have.
Here’s a creative soup from a great blogger, Orangette. Her book, A Homemade Life, is a beautiful memoir full of stories and recipes. Maybe one day I’ll write a book like that…
For now, I’ll make soup.
Oddly pretty, isn’t it?
In a large pot, saute the onion, squash and pears in the olive oil until they start to get soft (don’t allow them to brown).
Add in the broth and salt and allow the mixture to simmer until the vegetables/fruit are thoroughly cooked.
Blend your soup in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Stir in the cream and vanilla bean and serve.
