Food Bloggers Unplugged

Thank you to Kate from What Kate Baked and Julia from Eat Healthy But Tasty for tagging me in Food Bloggers Unplugged - a new meme doing the rounds created by Susan, from A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate.

So here goes...

1. What, or who inspired you to start a blog?

I used to upload all my cake/food photos onto a couple of online albums on Facebook as I had a temperamental laptop that refused to keep things in folders. I remember skipping back to a couple and thinking "now where did I put the recipe for that?" It was especially tricky when I had shared something and friends had commented on it, or asked me for the recipe. I dont write everything down and I thought online would be the easiest way to chronicle it all. It was only when I started my blog did I discover such a close and caring community.

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?

I love websites like Tastespotting and Foodgawker. Other bloggers are a huge and currently changing inspiration, I've bookmarked countless pages! Also the seasons impact heavily on my home cooking, along with eating locally produced fruit, veg and meat. It's really good to see Kentish stock in big supermarkets like Sainsburys.

3. Your greasiest, batter - splattered food/drink book is?

Sugar Baby by Gesine Bullock-Prado would be the most splattered if I didn't have an indescribable urge to keep my cookbooks well out of sight of boiling vats of sugar! If I'm using recipes off the Internet, I often stack my iPad up on the coffee machine so it is well out of reach of a wayward splash.

4. Tell us all about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?

New York. September 2009. The day before my birthday and the morning of the day Jim proposed to me later in Central Park. A breakfast monolith called The Lumberjack (huge stack of thick fluffy American pancakes, sausages, bacon, eggs, love, melted butter and maple syrup). Metro Diner.

It was HUGE! I ate so much, I was convinced I was going blind. I'd go back to New York just to eat that again.

(Note:- We went back there again on one of the last days of our trip, and I thought I'd play it safe and order wholewheat waffles with yoghurt and fresh berries. Mistake. Just as big. But equally as delicious.)

5. Another food bloggers table you'd like to eat at is?

After reading other bloggers Food Blogger Unplugged memes, my mouth instantly watered at A Trifle Rushed signature dish answer...

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)?

Either an indoor smoker or someone to build me an outside wood burning pizza/bread oven. Or, if they came into mass production, one of these fridges. I wouldn't put it on the ceiling though as they mention. That's madness.

7. Who taught you how to cook?

My mum. The kitchen, easily being one of the smallest rooms in their house was (and still is whenever we have a family do!) always crowded. I love that. She is an amazing cook AND baker.

8. I'm coming to you for dinner what's your signature dish?

Without sounding big headed, I'm actually not a shabby cook. I love French food so probably a big cassoulet (with something confit-ed) followed by something outrageously calorific for dessert. We don't mention the C-word* in the cottage, it's deemed bad luck (*calories)

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?

Gherkins/pickles and mustard. Sometimes with each other. I'm vast quantities. That's a pretty tame guilty pleasure actually...

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?

If you've read any previous memes then you'll know I have a pea phobia and I take pole dancing lessons. Maybe you'd be surprised to learn that I'm taking an open water diving course with PADI. Jim and I are off to the Maldives on our honeymoon in under six months where we can dive to our hearts content. We've got two dive days at a local swimming pool, a theory test of sorts and then two open water dive days. Which Jim has kindly booked for April. In England. In some freezing lake. Thanks darling!

Now to pass it on! I struggled here a little, as a lot of the blogs I wanted to give to pass this onto, already have been tagged. So I could only really pass it onto Cookistry and Cornflower Kitchen. I've loved reading everyone else's Unplugged.