“Unplugged” Questionnaire
My blog-friend, Spree (cooking-spree), invited me to participate in the “Unplugged” Questionnaire. Although I am not a food blogger I am a food fan and a fan of trying new recipes. Cooking has been an interest of mine for many years, and although I don’t enjoy the drudgery of every day meal preparations, I love cooking for special occasions. Having company is my excuse to experiment with new recipes. While I find it monotonous to prepare the same foods day after day it is fun to fill the table with friends who unknowingly may become guinea pigs for my new ideas.
What or who inspired you to start your blog?
I have always loved writing, and after watching my fumbling, submitting articles and getting rejected, my son suggested that I wrote my own blog. He is computer savvy, and set up my blog on wordpress. So I did, and so I am. It was great advice. I love my blog and all the friends I have met through writing it. And it is so much fun responding to comments people leave.
Who is your foodie inspiration?
I loved a radio program that Arthur Schwartz once hosted. He taught me many things about cooking. BUT the best thing I ever heard him say was,”What does being hungry have to do with eating?”
Your greasiest most batter splattered cook book is?
Although I have many cook books I find that I look to my own recipe files. They are filled with recipes friends have given me, recipes I cut out from newspapers and magazines and recipes printed out from blogs.
The best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it and what was it?
For a New Jerseyite, California is like another country, and almost as far away. I love their originality in preparing wonderful salads, fresh seafood and inventive combinations of dishes.
Another Food Blogger’s table you would like to eat at?
I love two food bloggers’ posts and recipes. They are: cooking-spree and thekitchensgarden.
What one kitchen gadget would you like Santa to bring you? (if money were no object)
I once bought a cheap slow cooker. It made succulent, juicy chicken and I loved it. But it cracked and became unusable. I got what I paid for: only a memory about how good a dinner I could prepare. Now I don’t have the device to repeat the performance. But if Santa would bring me a GOOD slow cooker I promise to make room in my cabinets to store it properly.
Who taught you how to cook?
As much as I’d love to give the credit to my mom, all she ever cooked were things that could be broiled. I have taken many cooking classes in ethnic cooking such as Chinese, Indian and Spanish cuisines. With the various techniques under my belt I moved on to Gourmet magazine, which I adored. Every time it arrived I stopped everything and nestled with the new issue. I felt inspired and anxious to try new recipes every time I read that wonderful magazine. I wrote a blog commemorating the memory of Gourmet. I was so sad when it stopped publishing. (BOO to Conde Nast!)
I’m coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?
I love experimenting with new recipes. If I prepare something amazing I put the recipe in my recipe file. I have no signature dish because I’m always trying something new. Sometimes I forget about a dish I made until someone asks me for the recipe. Then it’s like a new awakening, as I find it and prepare it again.
What is your guilty food pleasure?
I always joke about having a hot fudge banana split. In truth I haven’t eaten one in years. Where can you get good hot fudge any more? Not the corn syrup stuff, but real hot fudge? Maida Heater has a lovely recipe in her cook book, but when I read the ingredient list I immediately feel my blood pressure rising and my arteries clogging.
Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
I wanted to be a veterinarian. But when I got to college and enrolled in advanced chemistry and organic chemistry I realized that I did not have the ambition or talent to go through the course of study to become one.
My task to finish this off is to select 5 additional bloggers to answer these same questions.
1) I would love to invite Celi at mykitchensgarden. Celi lives on a farm in Oklahoma and has a lovely blog full of her commentaries about life on the farm, delightful pictures of the animals she raises, and wonderful recipes using fresh healthy ingredients.
2) Chica Andaluza, an interesting Londoner who married a Spaniard and moved to Spain with him. She has a great personality, beautiful animals and delicious recipes.
3) Lifeinarecipe comes to us from Canada. Cindy Knight writes beautifully, and tells stories about where the recipes come from and her experiences with them.
4) TheCompleteCookbook, by Mandy. Mandy is from South Africa, and her blog is an interesting mix of stories, different ingredients and unusual dishes.
5) Prominadeplantings is from a seaside town on the southern coast of England. She plants her own crops and uses them in her excellent recipes.
I thank Antoinette of cooking-spree for giving me the opportunity to take part in this questionnaire.
MorristownMemos 