My blogger friend Sharyn of Kale Chronicles recently bestowed the Food Bloggers Unplugged award to me; I am quite flattered and very touched that she has now given me two awards! Thank you, Sharyn. The Food Bloggers Unplugged is designed to allow the blogger to divulge a few personal details about their blogging motivation.
What or who inspired you to start your blog?
I started blogging in early 2007 as a chronicle of our renovation. It ended up being a bit of a venting place for me; we had issues with our renovator. But I enjoyed blogging so much that when the reno was complete and the party was had I decided to continue with Kitcheninspirations and document cooking in my new kitchen. I enjoyed blogging but I never really understood the value of commenting until I started to gain a bit of a following and in turn, get to know a lot of great people.
Who is your foodie inspiration?
I would have to say that my foodie inspiration were my parents. My Father had a very refined palate and my mother was a home cook, undaunted and unafraid of any recipe or ingredient. My father used to say, “why should I go out and pay for a restaurant meal when your mother can make it so much better.”
Your greasiest most batter splattered cook book is?
Five Roses Flour Cookbook. For $1 I sent away for this basic cookbook in the late 1970’s and it’s been my Go To cookbook for basics. That and the Fanny Farmer Cookbook which I was given as a wedding present 25 years ago!
The best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it and what was it?
Bouillabaisse in Marseille, France. I had never had the real bouillabaisse before but had read that it was invented in Marseille so I had to give it a try. I have never really been fond of fish soup, but I can tell you, that soup with the rouille and the crostini, sitting on a patio on a gorgeous fall day overlooking the harbour was breathtaking and unbelievably delicious. JT ordered the steak frites but had wished almost instantaneously that he had ordered the bouillabaisse instead. Fading into to dreamy land….
Another Food Blogger’s table you would like to eat at?
So many and so little time; but to name a few: Sawsan at Chef in Disguise, Ann at Cooking Healthy for Me, Kristy and Mike at Eat, Play, Love, John at from the Bartolini kitchens, Charles at Five Euro Food and Lorraine’s at Not quite Nigella (I would add Barb’s at Profiterols and Ponytails, but I have actually eaten at her table and enjoyed it immensely!) and many more.
What one kitchen gadget would you like Santa to bring you? (money no object)
A warming drawer; I wish I had worked it into my kitchen reno but alas it was not so.
Who taught you how to cook?
My dear mother taught me the basics of cooking. She also taught me not to be afraid of trying something new, if it doesn’t work out, start again. Years of watching Food Network and early TV cooks, I have honed my skills.
I’m coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?
Barley Risotto. I always have dried woodland mushrooms on hand, barley, stock and parmesan cheese. Flourless Molten chocolate cake for dessert.
What is your guilty food pleasure?
Escargot in garlic butter with lots of crusty bread. Or steak tartar.
Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
My favourite pet in the whole world was my gorgeous little brown bunny rabbit named Dustie. She passed away almost six years ago and I have been able to bring myself to get another.
Tag five other Food Bloggers to answer these questions:
- Hotly Spiced, Charlie Louie is a beautiful Mom with some very sophisticated recipes and a lovely way she weaves a story about her family into her posts.
- GenYFoodie, Dara puts together healthy, local ingredients into comforting meals. And she wrote a cookbook.
- Ichigo Shortcake, interesting food and travel adventures.
- Tracey’s Culinary Adventures, good down to earth recipes.
- The Big Fat Noodle, recipes and anecdotes.
Thanks again, Sharyn, I really appreciate the award. Now, I must contemplate some requirements for an upcoming giveaway! Very exciting…indeed.
Got the answer from here about your fave pet 🙂
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Those entries are building up, good luck to you!
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Ah, this one wasn’t very easy for me to find 🙂 But I got it as the answer to the first question 🙂
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Good Luck, Fati.
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Here is where I found out what inspired you to create your blog!
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And of course the what inspired your blog answer here. 🙂
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Congratulations on your award Eva, very well deserved and I am honored to be mentioned. I would love to dine at your table too, it would be a day to remember 🙂
Loved knowing more about you Eva 🙂
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Thank you kindly Sawsan! You’ve certainly enhanced my blogging experience with your wonderful comments.
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Congratulations on your award Eva and it was wonderful to learn more about you! And shucks I’m blushing thank you for including me and any time you’re in Sydney, there’s a place for you and JT at our table! 🙂
Now I’m off to look up warming drawers! 😛
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Lorraine, you have certainly endeared your part of the world to me; Australia has always been on my bucket list, but it has certainly moved up a place or two since I’ve found your blog.
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Congratulations on the award, Eva! I loved your answers to the questions. It’s always fun to read more other bloggers and get to know them better!
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Thank you Divya! It’s nice to have a fellow Torontonian on board!
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Congrats on the award Eva and thanks for sharing more about yourself. And next time you feel like making your signature dish…just let me know. I’m there! 🙂
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You are too kind, Jed! The barley gives the ‘risotto’ a bit more of a bite than arborio rice, and if you toast it first, you get a wonderful nutty flavour out of the barley!
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Hi Eva, so nice to read a bit more about you! You’re welcome to come by and eat any time you like! 😀 I love the sound of your barley risotto with those dried woodland mushrooms… wow. Do you gather them yourself or do you have a secret source?
I’d love a warming draw too. I have to put things in the oven and then burn my hands on them to remove them later 😦
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Thank you kindly Charles. I’d love it if you would make that udon with the tempura when I dropped by! I buy the dried mushrooms at one of our big box stores, Costco. They sell a large container of mixed woodland dehydrated mushrooms for about $14, whereas our grocery stores sell 100g for $3.99 to $8.99 depending on the type. It’s a good idea for a giveaway because it’s not heavy, but it is bulky!
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Ha! Found the last answer (or, first one actually… I did them back to front) – I win, I win! 😀 (Ok, Kristy beat me, but I’m still, like, super awesome!)
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Kudos for winning the award and thanks for the tag 🙂 I’m away on business at the moment so I promise I’ll post a reply over the weekend after I am back!
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Thanks TBFN, I can hardly wait to see your post.
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I love your dad’s quote and the fact that your parents are your foodie inspiration.I’m sure JT would say the same about your cooking.
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Thanks Barb, I have a feeling it may have been party economic as well. What a lovely thing to say, but JT likes going out.
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Love finding out more about my friend! Congrats on the award
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Thank you Jessica. It’s an honor to have such a following!
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Thank you so much for the shout-out Eva. I’d love to dine at your table as well! 🙂 Escargot is easily one of my favorite dishes too. It was fun reading more about you. And I can relate to your Dustie story too. I haven’t had a dog since mine passed when I was a teenager. I inherited Mike’s cat when we got married and we brought along another. But it took a long time for me to be ready for that again.
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Hi Kristy, this is the longest I have been without a pet since I was 16 (more years that I care to reveal!). I just afraid I will never be able to have such a lovely little friend again, bunnies have such different personalities and the Dust Buster was a real softy. Can you believe it that she loved to be cradled like a baby? She would sleep like that all the way to the cottage (3+hours) and sometimes she would dream about food and chomp her little lips! So cute.
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I loved reading your answers Eva… your mom undaunted in the kitchen; your loonie cookbook (not to be confused with looneyspoons cookbooks ;); butter drenched escargot with crusty bread (yum!) and mostly Dustie… I can so relate to the deep affection we have for animals…
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Thank you Kelly! The last while has been the most fun in writing this blog, thanks to much of the feedback!
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Congratulations on the award and sharing your answers! The award is WELL deserved!
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That’s very kind of you to say, Ann, thank you.
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What fun answers. That meal in France sounds fabulous and we want to eat at John’s table too. That was the worst question to answer, too many to name!
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So true, Greg. It was difficult just to me so few.
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Congratulations on your award. I’m not surprised you were nominated as I’ve enjoyed your posts (recipes, reviews and general comments) as long as I’ve been a reader. You’ve also introduced me to new blogs that have caught my interest. The only problem now is to restrict my reading/commenting so I can do other RL things. 🙂 Happy blogging.
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Thank you for your generous and kind words Maria. I’m really enjoying blogging more than ever before thanks to the feedback I’m getting.
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Congratulations, Eva! It’s fun to read more about you and your inspirations/motivations.
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Thank you Betsy, it’s fun writing about them too.
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Meant to add that I had Bouillabaisse for the first time in France, also, though outside of St. Tropez, not the classic Marseille version. Still, reading your experience transported me to that wonderful moment and dish, which I had forgotten about and actually answered the same question with another amazing dish from that same trip. Anyway, thanks for the memory! 🙂
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So glad I was able to do that Betsy! I find myself going down memory lane quite a bit from reading other people’s blogs!
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Congratulations, Eva, and thank you for your kindly mention of my blog. These Q&A posts are great for they offer some insight into our blogging buddies. And I agree about escargot. YUM!
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It’s a very interesting platform, John, reminds me of my pen pals when I was a kid! Except it’s instant usually.
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Congratulations on your award. That is a great honour especially to be nominated twice! It’s great to have these ‘interviews’ as it’s wonderful to find out more about the people behind the blog.
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Thank you kindly Charlie Louie, I’m really enjoying my new ‘friends’!
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