Featured Community Member: Billie Jean (beejay72)

Written Friday, November 27th, 2009 by Penny Hawkins

Half Hour Meals Member Billie Jean (“BJ”) writes a playfully informative blog about breathing life and love into the daily necessity of eating. With a focus on teaching and inspiring her readers, BJ’s passion and enthusiasm shine through in her posts and recipes, and convey her desire to bring people together around the table. Read on to learn more about BJ and be inspired by her wonderful blog:

Your blog, Cook. Eat. Love, is dedicated to cooking, learning and inspiring. What inspired you to start a this blog?  I decided to start this blog because cooking is a real passion of mine.  Cook-Eat-Love is a way to direct my food-loving and creative energy.  I talk about food all the time, I might as well write about it.

What is your earliest food memory and how did it spark your lifelong love affair with food? My mother was a great cook.  She is the kind of cook who never used recipes but could pull together cabbage rolls, meat pie, curry etc and it tasted excellent.  My first real food "experience" happened when I was living in Belgium and I got invited to a Christmas Eve Dinner.  I journaled about it later because it was one of the most magical evenings ever.  The dinner was the main event and we ate from 7pm until mid-night, each course prepared with excellence.  I could go on but I should stop myself.

The recipes on your blog are an eclectic mix of International cuisines. Do you have a favorite?  I do not have any particular favorite cuisine.  I find them all interesting and tasty.  I appreciate how each culture expresses itself through food.

You mention your love of kitchen tools. If you could only keep one, what would it be and why? Only one eh?  It would have to be my kitchen aid stand mixer.  I am not sure if that counts as a tool or not but the mixer could not go.  I also need good knives...

How long have you been blogging and how has blogging changed your daily life? I have been blogging for 1 year.  My daily life has changed in that I am more dedicated to the art of what I cook.  Photographing food has become very important to me.  When I plan my menu, I always want to stretch myself to do something new.

I really like the way you provide information, background and anecdotes in your articles and recipes. Your blog entry “About Pye” is a wonderful primer on the art of making a perfect pie crust, and is informative for both beginners and experienced cooks. Do you have experience as a teacher? Have you ever considered conducting cooking classes? I do not have any experience as a teacher and have not thought about cooking classes.

Your recipe for Belgian Waffles looked delicious and made me want to grab the maple syrup! What is your favorite breakfast recipe? My favorite breakfast recipe would have to be home-made granola.  There is nothing like created and baking your own granola.  It makes all the difference in the world.

Do you see yourself still blogging several years from now? I will continue blogging as long as it continues to be a passion of mine.  I don't doubt that it ever won't be.  Cooking is such a huge part of who I am and I hope to continue to make art of it.

Why did you join Half Hour Meals? I really enjoyed looking at all the different recipes and blogs.  I appreciate any cooking style so it is great to be able to check so many out

When did you join Half Hour Meals? I joined HHM in September or October.

What's your favorite thing about the site? I really enjoy seeing the daily features, it catches my attention.

If others were to ask you about Half Hour Meals, how would you describe the site to them? It is a great site for recipes and community.

Thanks for sharing with us, Billie Jean! I hope you all will stop by and visit BJ’s page at Half Hour Meals, and be sure to check out her wonderful blog as well!

Tags: blogging, community member, food blogging

This entry was posted on Friday, November 27th, 2009 at 08:00 am and is filed under Featured Member. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.