Love the ingredients, not the food.

How To Use Tumblr To Promote Blog Content

Written on March 5, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Uncategorized

For the last two weeks, I’ve been trying out a new(ish) blogging platform: Tumblr. No, this blog’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Rather, I’ve started experimenting to see how a secondary food photography Tumblr blog can help food bloggers spread their content.

Tumblr is all about posting and reblogging visual content between members. There is (not surprisingly) a large percentage of their membership who like looking at good food photography and subscribe to food blogs. By releasing your content on Tumblr, you can draw the attention of people who might not know about your blog.

Getting Started:

The first thing you need to do is create your account. It’s free and easy; just choose your domain(I suggest having it relate to your primary blog like thewannabechef.tumblr.com), pick a theme, and choose how you want your landing page to look. That’s it. From your dashboard, you can start sharing text, photos, videos and more.

How It Works:

When you make a post, your primary goal should be spreading content. The first step is to make sure what you’re posting is visually interesting in some way. A good way to spread your blog content would be to publish a picture on Tumblr with a link in the body to the original recipe post.

The next biggest factor in deciding if what you post will get seen is the tags which help people find your posts. Don’t be too descriptive but rather give words that people might search for like “Chocolate” or “Vegan” as they relate to the content.

In terms of feedback, people can reblog your content meaning sharing it with their followers(and possibly or not adding notes of their own”), replying directly to the author, or simply “liking” your post. Each of these counts as a note.

Whenever somebody does one of these things as well as when you gain a new follower, this appears in your feed.

Of course, you can share whatever you want on Tumblr and it doesn’t have to be related to any other blog. Tumblr is a great way to informally blog and meet people with a different area set. This is just one way that you can use it to expand your blog’s reach. If you have any other questions about Tumblr, I will be happy to answer them as best I can.

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Lemon Drop Frosting

Written on March 4, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Question: How do you make coconut blondies even better? Answer: You give them an awesome and delicious frosting.

I know I said these are so good that they don’t need any frosting, but really, what doesn’t frosting make better? I was reading in this NY Times article on coconut oil that it makes a great, smooth vegan frosting so I wanted to try it out. If you don’t have coconut oil, room-temperature non-hydrogenated shortening would also work well in this recipe.

The flavor reminds me of a lemon slurpee or an Italian ice. It’s really sweet and refreshing. It goes perfectly with the coconut, but would also work with any vanilla cake. And it takes about a minute to come together! You can’t beat that.

Lemon Drop Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Start by mixing room-temperature coconut oil and lemon juice. If your coconut oil is too hard to begin with, gently heat it to the point where it’s semi-soft.

Gently sift in the sugar and continue folding until the frosting starts to come together.

Once the mixture’s homogenous and starts sticking to itself, it’s done.

The frosting should be rather soft and easy to spread.

Don’t worry if you eat more than you frost with; that’s completely normal. It’s also completely normal to pick off the frosting with a fork and eat it after you’ve frosted the blondies. These things happen.

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Coconut Blondies

Written on March 3, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

These are about as rich and decadent as a cup of coconut milk can make anything to be. When these first came out of the oven, I weren’t sure if they were technically a cake or a blondie. It turns out the difference(very unscientifically) lies in the ratio of fat and sugar to flour. Since these are full of fat and sugar(and taste delicious in case that’s not a clue), I feel pretty comfortable calling them blondies. Also, a cake needs frosting I feel and these just melt in your mouth all their own.

Coconut Blondies

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup safflower/canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour(I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour)
1/2 coconut shreds
1/3 cup white chocolate chips(optional)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 pan.

Mix together the coconut milk, oil, eggs, sugar, and extract until the eggs are just beaten in.

Sift in the flour and baking soda and mix until it has just come together. The batter should be pretty loose.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center of the cake has cooked through.

I would definitely make this again in a heartbeat, except I might have to double the recipe next time and add toasted hazelnuts. The coconut flavor is just strong enough to notice but the vanilla keeps it from taking over.

Did I mention I really love them? I think I’ll have another.

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Hasselback Potatoes

Written on March 2, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Lately there’s been a lot of these hasselback potatoes around the food blog world. As a meat and potatoes person, I knew I had to try these. The recipe is so simple and yet quite different than your regular baked potato. These weren’t quite crispy like potato chips as I was hoping but they were tender and rich.

And, if you’re like me, you’ll be a little disappointed to learn that this isn’t named after a certain View hostess. Next you’ll try to tell me that Whoopi Goldberg didn’t invent the whoopie pie…

Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 medium baking potato
2 pats of butter
Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Carefully slice the potato ever 1/4-1/2 inch about 90% of the way through, making sure not to cut it completely.

Put a pat of butter over each side of the potato. Bake it for 60 minutes.

Plate and pour the excess melted butter overtop. Season with salt and pepper.

Paula Deen would do good by this recipe, ya’ll. It was definitely a fun and different way to eat a baked potato. Bacon bits on top would have been a great final touch.

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Chickpea, Quinoa, and Kale Medley

Written on March 1, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Here’s to March being the best month of the year. Since my birthday’s at the end of March, I figure there will be a lot of cake and cupcake recipes around then so I might as well start the month with something healthy.

Matt has mentioned on his blog and in his e-book about the combination of a grain, a green, and a bean. Well, my favorite grain is quinoa, bean is chickpea, and green is kale, so I thought I’d make a recipe with those three ingredients. And a little butter and honey never hurt.

Chickpea, Quinoa, and Kale Medley

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 cups chopped kale
1 Tablespoon butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook the quinoa completely either in a rice cooker or over the stove. Make sure there’s no excess water in the pot with it.

Add in the chickpeas and kale.

Next add to the pot the butter, honey, salt, and vinegar.

Stir until the butter has melted and it’s all one dish. Serve hot or cold as leftovers.

I don’t know whether it was because I was getting over the flu and started getting my appetite back or because I just love honey + butter but I think I broke a world speed record eating this.

Yeah, I hated it.

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Microwave Fudge

Written on February 28, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Fudge is the perfect dessert. It’s rich; it’s chocolate; everybody loves it. I also believe fudge is what makes a house a home. All that being true, I’ve never made fudge over the stovetop. Why bother when you can make it in a microwave? It’s so simple, too. This recipe has never failed me. You’re only ever 4 ingredients away from homey fudge.

Microwave Fudge

Ingredients(Makes 16 servings):

1 cup(8.5oz) of chocolate chips
1 stick(4oz) of butter(or Earth Balance)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream(or non-dairy substitute)
handful of chocolate chips(optional)
1/4 cup crushed walnuts(optional)

Melt together the chocolate chips and butter. Sift in the powdered sugar and pour in the cream. Mix until completely homogenized.

If you want to include any toppings, drop them on top and push them in gently.

Put this in the refrigerator for a few hours to harden. Cut cold and serve at room temperature.

I had never tried this recipe with chocolate chips before. “What’s the point?” I thought. But the whole chocolate chips add a great crunch in the fudge that really stands out. Dare I say it’s my favorite batch ever? Yeah, it’s that good.

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One Of Those Weeks…

Written on February 26, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

I think Longweekenditis is a real disease, even though WebMD doesn’t give you anything when you search for it. It was just one of those weeks…

When you make the same thing for each meal because you’re low on groceries and uninspired to try something new.

quinoa + frozen spinach + leftover chicken + olive oil = perfection

When whenever you cough someone in the room thinks a horse is dying.

When you make the most absurdly delicious fudge on Thursday afternoon because the week just needs it. Don’t worry; that post’s coming.

When your family tells you they think your pet’s spirit lives in a Rhode Island casino and you think they’re crazy until you realize if you were dead you’d probably haunt that casino, too, because then you’d get visited way more than if you were in some cemetery.

When you run out of groceries a little early and salsa goes from being a condiment to being its own food group.

When there’s so little going on in your life that the highlight of your week is a soap opera wedding(who else is excited for EJ and Taylor’s story line? Don’t lie…).

When the one day a week you plan on going to the store it’s raining buckets. If only there were some sort of 21st century way to tell what the weather’s going to be; my Farmer’s Almanac keeps failing me.

But hey, it’s not all bad: Two and a Half Men production has been shut down. There is a God and he hears my prayers.

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Sweet Potato Rounds

Written on February 25, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

I’m constantly falling in food ruts. All through Winter I ate roasted sweet potatoes like they were becoming extinct. I completely forgot how tasty and simple sweet potato rounds are to make. I love these because they take a little less time to cook, and because the oil flavors them well. At this point, if I eat any more I’ll turn into a sweet potato. And I’m OK with that.

Sweet Potato Rounds

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice a sweet potato into 1/2-inch thick pieces and lay them out in a single layer.

Liberally pour the olive oil over the sweet potatoes and spread it out with your hands to ensure an even coating.

Bake for 1 hour. Sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

I have something of a sweet tooth so any time that vegetables can be sweet and I’m happy. I like to use olive oil with these because it makes them taste a little fruity, but for a less strong flavor try something like safflower or canola oil. Really, whatever you try, you can’t go wrong.

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Roasted Squash With Caramelized Onions And Craisins

Written on February 24, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

If I could have dinner catered by Whole Foods every night, I would. There’s something so fun about going to the salad bar and picking out what you want to eat from so many options. Or at least it’s fun until they weigh it for you and tell you how much you eat and you stop wondering why your jacket’s a little snug.

Last time I was there, I had this roasted squash and onion casserole that made me go back and buy all the ingredients to make my own. It was mind-blowing, and now this recipe is, too. It’s deliciously sweet and could get the pickiest eater to eat their veggies.

Roasted Squash With Caramelized Onions And Craisins

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

1 butternut squash, deseeded and diced
2 large onions, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons agave nectar(or maple or honey)
1/3 craisins(or raisins)

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.

If you haven’t already, dice the squash and onion into bite-sized pieces.

Combine the onion and squash in a bowl. Pour in the olive oil and sea salt. Toss all the ingredients together.

Lay the vegetables out on a baking tray and bake for 90 minutes

Add in the agave and craisins and mix the all the ingredients together. Drain any excess liquid and serve hot.

I truly forgot how much I loved caramelized onions until making this, which was gone in a flash. My breath probably still smells from them and it was entirely worth it. I’ve never been a fan of dried fruit in savory dishes but the strong, tart sweetness works really well here. It might be too soon to be planning Thanksgiving dinner, but if I were I’d add this to the list.

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Chickpeas With Sole And Spinach

Written on February 23, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

“These chickpeas have sole, and they’re super bad”(bad as in good)

Sometimes when you make a winning dish, you know even before tasting it that you’ll make it again and again. Since sole is on sale, I used it to make a comforting bowl of food one night that won me over with all its merits: it takes 10 minutes; it’s healthy; it’s flavorful; you really can’t overcook any of it; the ingredients list is short and simple. You can even adapt the recipe by using a different fish, a different bean, or a different green. I omitted the dill because I didn’t have any on hand but that’s one of my favorite flavors for fish when I have it and I think it’d add another layer to this.

Chickpeas With Sole And Spinach

Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):

1/2lb sole(or any other flaky white fish)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 cups of spinach, chopped
1 can of chickpeas, water drained
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dill(optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

Add in the fish fillets to cook through, about 90 seconds on each side.

When the fish is fully cooked, add in the spinach and chickpeas.

Stir the pan and continue cooking until all the ingredients are warm and the oil has been soaked up.

Season with salt and dill before serving.

Maybe it’s because I’m part Italian but all fish needs a little lemon to make it complete.

I made this several times over the weekend because I couldn’t get over how fast and easy it was, yet still nutritious. Even though the fish is broken up you still get that fishy flavor in every bite. It was just as good as leftovers with a little salsa on top for some added flavor.

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