Living The Gourmet is such a lovely spot for us food lovers to spend time poring over the pages of your site, in order to view and get a feel for your Italian cuisine. I simply love your flavor-filled approach to this style of food and found it universally appealing, authentic and charming.
Take your Apple Cake for instance. The simple way you presented a small portion served on a dainty plate only made me want to taste it all the more! In fact it seems to beg me to reach through my computer screen and pinch off small bits, which are not precisely cut. It is beautiful.
Many of your recipes Peach Cobbler, Turkey Breast with Basil Lemon, Spaghetti with Baby Spinach sun-dried Tomatoes and Figs, Lemon Curry and Brown Sugar Marinated Chicken Strips with Grilled Romaine, to your Garden Potato Salad, (which looks dressed up for a party) to your Orange Vanilla Almond Biscotti, have me really excited about how you prepare these dishes.
Your blog is headlined as Living The Gourmet. Traditional exotic cuisine made simple with Catherine and The Crew. Who other than yourself makes up this crew?
My crew is made up of myself, my son and my daughter. My son thought up the name for this blog and it was fine with me. It is a blessing to have my son and daughter give me inspiration, ideas and motivation. They teach me so much and give me the energy and enthusiasm, which make this blog work.
I see you have had Living The Gourmet up since last summer, 2008. What is the inspiration for your blog, and is this the only one you write? Do you see yourself still blogging a year from now?
The inspiration for this blog began with the question, “What can I do?” The answer that immediately came to me is cook, since this is something I do each day. The idea of blogging seemed a bit foreign to me since I am not computer savvy. But, both my son and daughter were very patient in helping me with all that there is to do and learn to get this blog going. I am very grateful to them. They gave me the encouragement that I needed, since they both truly believed in me. I could never have made this happen without them.
This is the only blog I have and it is enough for me right now.
I definitely hope and pray that I will be blessed to be blogging a year from now. It really is a lot of fun.
I know you are on Twitter, because I told you how much I enjoy your backdrop. Do you tweet about food or just about every day matters? Would you care to provide our readers with your Twitter address?
I tweet about food. I would be happy to provide my Twitter address is Lady Gourmet.
You mentioned your family. Are you married or have children? Does this change the way you blog? Do you have family support? I ask this because a few years ago not many of us knew what a blog was and now it is quite a respectable thing to write one.
Yes, as I said earlier I would not be doing this were it not for my son and daughter. Their love, support and enthusiasm have given me the strength and confidence to do this blog.
I do agree that just a few years ago many of us did not know what a blog was but now the word blog is in the dictionary!
Where does your cooking inspiration come from? When you step into your kitchen and all is quiet, tell me what makes this room a special place for you?
My parents were Italian and inspiration for the love of food does not get any better than that! For Italians food is a symphony, a grand opera from the first course down to the dried figs and tortonis. The shopping, the preparing, the wonderful aromas, the music, everything is just grand and it all comes together so well and lasts in your memory. It leaves you longing for then, but also gives you the inspiration to carry those traditions on, so that they will not die. It is not that easy though since the recipes were not written down, so you try your best. I do love the simplicity of the Sicilian style of cooking. I really love all food! I love to see everyone enjoy their meal. Food is such a wonderful way to bring joy and make memories. The kitchen is the heartbeat of the home it is the place where memories are made that last a lifetime.
What led you to join The Half Hour Meals Community?
I was invited to join The Half Hour Meals Community through my shout box at Blogcatalog.
How long have you been a member here and what is your favorite thing about our site?
I am pleased to say that I have been a member of Half Hour Meals since August 2009.
I must say the most impressive aspect of this community is the friendly atmosphere.
Have you had time to try any other members’ recipes yet?
I have tried the Lemon Orzo by Anniepooh. It was very good.
When others ask you about HHM, how do you describe our site to them?
I would describe the community of The Half Hour Meals as very welcoming, informative and uncomplicated. I am very happy to be a part of this community.
Thank you for allowing us to take a closer look at your world and inside your kitchen. I am so pleased you have provided us with good recipes, so we may try them at our dinner tables with our families and friends. Living The Gourmet is just one more quality food lover blog that helps make Half Hour Meals the wonderful community that it has grown to be. Please visit Catherine and her crew to enjoy their fine cuisine.
Tags: community member, food blogging