Half Hour Meals Member Lisa lives in Texas and authors a creative and 
entertaining blog, Lisa is Cooking, about her “slight obsession” with cookbooks, food writing and cooking. Her genuine appreciation and enthusiasm for all things food shines through in her writing, and you get the feeling that this lady wants to cook everything! Lisa’s writing strikes a chord with foodies because we can all see ourselves in how she expresses her feelings about anything food-related. Read on to learn more about Lisa and her foodie obsessions.
Your blog, Lisa is Cooking, is truly a feast for the eyes! I love the way you take us along with you on your culinary adventures, and the photos are incredible! Tell us more about the inspiration behind your blog. Originally, my blog was just for me to track what I’ve cooked and where the idea originated, and then all of a sudden some lovely people out there started reading it. I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know like-minded (food-obsessed) people through food blogs and really enjoy sharing my cooking experiences on my blog. I’ve been inspired by every blog I visit. There are so many funny, moving, thoughtful, and informative blogs that speak of food in all kinds of ways, and I take inspiration from all of them.
A new law is passed, and you can only keep one of your many cookbooks, which one would it be and why? Having only one cookbook would kill me. I don’t think I could do it. If I have to pick only one, my answer today would be Michel Richard’s Happy in the Kitchen because it’s inspiring and full of fun ideas that get me thinking creatively about cooking.
You can invite any famous chef you want to your house for a meal. Who would it be and what would you make? I would invite Jacques Pepin because I think he’d be kind and charming and full of interesting stories. I’d keep the menu very simple and feature comfort food. Maybe serve my Mom’s creamed chicken and mashed potatoes or something like that.
Name the one ingredient you can not live without. Extra virgin olive oil. No, pasta. Make that cheese. I’m no good at choosing one thing.
Where does your inspiration in the kitchen come from? My inspiration probably comes from a different source each day. I’ve learned from Martha Stewart for years, I want to cook everything I see Ina Garten prepare, food magazines always inspire me, and sometimes I attempt to re-create dishes from restaurants.
How long have you been blogging and how has blogging changed your daily life? I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half. I’ve always spent every waking moment thinking about food, so no there’s no change there. What has changed is planning how long it will take to cook and photograph things. These days, dinner isn’t ready until the photos are shot.
Do you see yourself still blogging several years from now? I definitely see myself continuing to share my cooking experiences. That may take a different form if some new way of delivering the information comes along, but I think I’ll be continuing what I’ve started.
Your food photos are amazing! Any tips you can share? Thank you! I really know almost nothing about photography and therefore probably have nothing to share. I wing it. I just really try to show exactly what the food is like on the plate. I don’t use many garnishes or props since I really just want the food to be seen and understood.
Some of the recipes you try are not for beginners (and certainly not for the faint of heart!). Are you formally trained in the culinary arts, or just a naturally talented cook? I have no formal training. Again, I wing it. When a recipe or technique seems daunting, I remind myself that it’s really just food. If all fails, I can order a pizza so why not give the challenging things a try? I’ve learned so much from just going for it like that, and the more I learn the more I want to keep learning.
Why and when did you join Half Hour Meals? I heard about Half Hour Meals on Twitter and joined just a few weeks ago. It looked like a fun food community.
What’s your favorite thing about the site? My favorite thing about the site is how easy it is to interact with other people. Also, the recipes are clearly presented, and you can click to print or share via email.
Have you tried others’ recipes from Half Hour Meals? I’m always adding to my to-try stack, and since I’ve only been using the site for a few weeks, I haven’t gotten to any recipes in the stack yet.
If others were to ask you about Half Hour Meals, how would you describe the site to them? I would tell them that Half Hour Meals is a site with recipes you can browse, and those recipes have ratings and clearly noted cooking times and degrees of difficulty. There’s also a list of food blogs browsable by topics. And, the community feature allows you to participate in discussions about food with the other members. It’s a fun and easy to use site.
Thanks for sharing with us, Lisa! I hope you all will stop by and visit Lisa’s page here at Half Hour Meals, and be sure to check out her wonderful blog as well!