Featured Community Member: SweetsFoods

Written Friday, May 14th, 2010 by Theresa H Hall

I have been visiting you and your blog for quite some time now. You always seem to provide fresh food ideas, healthy recipes, and lately, I have even seen guest bloggers on your website. Hailing from Uruguay, South America, it makes me think about the romance of the country, the allure of the cuisine and Gera. He offers our members a peek into his country’s lifestyle, cuisine, culture and traditions, and I am so glad he is a contributing member of Half Hour Meals.

Theresa: Tell me Gera how long have you been writing about food? When did you start your food blog, SweetsFoods?

Gera: I've been writing about food since I learned to write at school, because I'm always fascinated about this vital and yummy element. Specifically about my blog, I can say that it was started with my first post in October of 2008, but I had already been reading and exploring blogger themes for many years.

Theresa: I saw in your profile that you are a businessman who is also interested in engineering. Including your food blog, you also write about social networking. How do you manage it all?

Gera: I'm an engineer who is also interested in business themes and social networking. If you blog, then that automatically makes you a blogger in the first place and later, if you're a foodie, then you're also a food blogger. Why this precision? All bloggers, no matter the niche, need to do good social networking and this is the reason why food and social networking are tied. For me, it's a natural combination to reflect on my blog site.

Theresa: What made you decide to invite guest writers to contribute to your website?

Gera: I've decided to allow guest writers, because I like to show new points of view, different styles of writing and explore new different themes. If one week I'm too involved in other matters to write, the guest post can fill the vacuum that week.

Theresa: Allowing for all of the diversity of your parents’ cultural backgrounds and the foods they grew up eating, plus the worldwide migratory influences in your Country’s cuisines, which three foods are your favorites to prepare?

Gera: For traditional dishes, I enjoy preparing pastas like Cappelletti with Caruso Sauce (milk cream, mushrooms and ham). Also, two typical dishes from Uruguay: Milanesa a la Napolitana and Chivito Uruguayo. Of course, I can also mention others like Couscous, Falafel, as well as desserts. The list is endless!

Theresa: Are you married or have you a partner? Any children? How has your blogging fit in with your home life? Do you all cook in the kitchen together?

Gera: I have a beautiful partner and a wonderful toddler. She is the life of our home. Blogging is like any other task in my daily life, sometimes the issue is to photograph a dish before eating and this can be problematic when everybody is hungry! She is the cook of the family, thus my presence in the kitchen is much less than hers and my cooking skills could be improved.

Theresa: So we can have some fun here, Gera what would you serve to a friend visiting from the USA? Would it be native to your country or something else that you like to fix?

Gera: The emblematic dishes that should be tasted, for people who comes from USA, are Beef Parrilladas (Beef BBQ), and for dessert, Flan with Dulce de Leche. These were some of the principal foods on the menu that several US Presidents enjoyed while they were visiting my country.

Theresa: Please name some foods that are indigenous to Uruguay.

Gera: El Asado and the Chivito Uruguayo. Certainly there is a huge quantity of dishes but they can be found also in other countries.

Theresa: I know in Argentina they dance the tango. Is there a national dance or dress for your country?

Gera: Uruguay and Argentina share their passion with Tango, and Carlos Gardel, The Master of the Tango, was born in Uruguay, so he says. But most of his career was spent in Argentina. This point is a controversial one, always!

Theresa: You write about being fit and healthy. Please tell us some of the things you do to stay in such great shape?

Gera: There isn’t a magical recipe, but some ingredients are very often present: eat healthy with fruits, vegetables, nuts, few red meats, more fish, avoid big quantities of sugary things (so difficult!), and eat fewer fries, drink little alcohol and zero smoking. Stay active, walk, and include workouts several times per week. You can check out my post, “How to Stay Healthy and Fit in a Snap of Your Day”.

Theresa: Which ten ingredients must you have in your kitchen?

Gera: Garlic, Paprika, Onion, Bell Peppers, Soy Sauce, Olive Oil, Mustard and Cheese, Parmesan & Mozzarella. Sweet ingredients would be: Dulce de Leche and Chocolate.

Theresa: How did you hear about Half Hour Meals and why did you signup?

Gera: I found it via BlogCatalog and love visiting yummy sites to find gorgeous recipes.

Theresa: Have you tried any of our member recipes yet? If so, which ones?

Gera: I've tried the Mediterranean Hummus and it quickly vanished.

Theresa: You mentioned you like to travel, which countries have you visited that have influenced your cooking?

Gera: Really my influence at this moment is worldwide. Despite the fact that my country Uruguay is small, it is huge on flavors. The cuisines are so diverse here, that in a radius of a few kilometers from your home (in the capital), you find delicious dishes from all over the world. We are all immigrants and the culinary traditions came here with us.

Theresa: What would you say to your friends about our food site?

Gera: Half Hour Meals is a luscious food site with a full collection of mouthwatering recipes, an excellent layout that deserves a visit whenever you need delicious and easy recipes. Like right now!

Theresa: Gera I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me. I love your food site and I hope many of our members will visit SweetsFoods and try your wonderful cuisine.