The Freshman Cook: Blogland Tour!

Today I am taking part in The Blogland Tour. Thank you to Shannon from Bohemium Junktion for including me in this fun and interesting activity. The Blogland Tour is a great way to learn about who I am and why I am a blogger, and then I will link you to another blogger so you can learn more about her also. It’s a lot of fun and so interesting, plus you get a lot on insight into other blogs and what makes them tick! So here we go:

1. What am I working on right now?

    For the last few days I have been working on several fall posts. I have a seasonal Bundt Cake coming up, and I have been baking a lot for an event happening in a couple weeks. I also am half way through some fall cupcakes, some bar desserts, and I have a list of about 20 things to make, of which only half will ever happen. I love making seasonal items and autumn is my favorite, so the blog is loaded with them. In past years I have made this Apple Cinnamon Creme Brulee that is one of my favorites.
I also made these Apple Crisp in Jars that were really well received, and was one of my more popular posts.

2. How does my work differ from others in the same genre?     I present every post in a step by step tutorial manner so that it is easy to understand. My posts are written for the new cook, so I try to keep it simple and straight forward so as not to discourage. I try to bring out the creative side of a person, as I find cooking, baking, and even frying (haha) to be a very creative process. These Candy Corn Shooters are a good example of my step by step tutorial style of writing. 3. Why do I create what I do?
    Basically because I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen. It makes me happy. As a former restaurant chef, I taught many employees to cook. I enjoyed it immensely, and it gives me great pride to know some of them went on to become chefs. I create food and recipes because it is fun, lots of work and very rewarding. Blogging helps me have control over what I am doing. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity! Here is a Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Cake that I have made a variety of different ways. Just start with the bundt cake, add pumpkin, or cherries, apples, or caramel. This is an example of how I create. I try to take a basic item, such as the bundt cake, and give it a twist to make it fresh and exciting!

4. How does my writing and creative process work?

Usually I have a list a mile long of things I want to try and creative. Sometimes I will get ideas from a restaurant, or maybe from a menu or even their television ad. I might like what I see, but I think it should contain something different, so I create mine from their idea, but my recipe. Most of the time you can find me wandering through the aisles of Target, or stores that carry different types of foods, such as World Market, Trader Joe’s or even Home Goods. I try to find something I like and then figure out what I want to make with it. I also like to set the product on my counter in the kitchen so I can look at it as I go about my day, hoping inspiration will strike. That works pretty well actually! My husband is a constant source of inspiration. He was a chef long before me, and he is wonderful at thinking outside the box! We worked on this Apple Pumpkin Brown Betty together! Once I have my idea, I usually start trying it out, photographing every step and writing all of it down. I have to write it down! I have lots of fails! Sometimes an idea that sounds so perfect ends up to be such an inedible mess, that I quickly figure out why it has never been done! It is discouraging, but that is all part of the process. Thanks for joining me today!

Now I want to introduce you to Erin from A Tale of One Foodies’ Culinary Adventures I am loving this Bacon, Cheese and Carmelized Onion Quick Bread. I can definitely see this warm from the oven with some soup on a chilly day!