Katie Lewis writes Slow Down & Savor and is a featured guest on Mystery Meet’s Fine Dinning Podcasts.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
My name is Katie, and I’m (still, ugh) a senior at Texas State University, majoring in mass communication and minoring in art history. I can’t wait to graduate this spring! I am a public relations intern at The Hays County Food Bank and I’m also the sole contributor of Slow Down & Savor.
Slow Down & Savor is a place where I can freely explore my passion in life: food. When I started this blog, it was basically a showcase for my love of food, the memories associated with food, the people who cook food, and the history of food.
I have taken it a step further. No longer am I just reminiscing, and researching, and sharing wonderful facts about why we eat what we eat or cook the way we do. SD&S has become much more than that.
SD&S has taken cooking and eating to the streets, so to speak. By exploring the small town that I live in and the surrounding cities around me, I have discovered so many amazing little eateries right in my own backyard. The Texas Hill Country is brimming with restaurants from fine dining to true hole-in-the-walls. My eating adventure isn’t limited to brick and mortar either. SD&S has given me the passion for those chefs who are on wheels or hitched at a food trailer park. Food trucks tend to produce the most interesting food from the most passionate of chefs.
But it doesn’t stop there. SD&S Has taken me to my very own kitchen, too. I’ve become bold and brazen with my approach to cooking. With my weekly potluck dinner I attend, I am faced with the challenge of making something interesting, beautiful and delicious, every single week for twenty or more people. Using recipes as platforms, I have learned that it’s OK to step out of the box and tweak this and change that. Before I even know it, I’ve created something with my own hands that will make your mouth water and make you come back for more.
I hail from Southern New Jersey. However, I currently live in the Hill Country in Texas. I spend a lot of time in San Marcos, Wimberley and Austin.
By sharing my experiences with food, whether at the eateries I visit or giving you a peek into the fun I have in the kitchen creating this or that, I hope that something you read sparks your interest into making the leap to go somewhere new or become a daring cook and whip up a dish you didn’t think you could. My hope is that you use SD&S as a launching pad in creating experiences of your own. I hope my experiences with food lead you to your own experiences with food.
How did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I love to write. Writing is a passion that I hold deep in my heart, and when I started to have a love affair with food (mostly eating, but now cooking, too), I figured that documenting it would be fun. And it is!
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
Sriracha, pickles, ramen noodles (whatever, I love them), Doritos, pasta and pasta sauce (homemade and Classico).
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
Getting accepted into AFBA in 2011 was a really exciting moment for me. And each year since that.
What is your most popular post?
My most popular post was a giveaway I did for Cooking Planit, but my most popular NON-giveaway post was for Way South Philly, a food trailer in Austin. The post was Pat’s V. Geno’s? No … Way South Philly takes the crown!
Last month we asked Austin Food Blogger Alliance members to crack open their brand new community cookbooks and get in the kitchen. Here’s what our members cooked up for us!
Caliente Mexican Martini & Salsa Crema by Red White and Blueberries
Turkey Empanadas by South Austin Foodie
Southwestern Salad with Seared Scallops by OhSpooning!
Horseradish Cheese Grits by and then make soup
Fried Egg Taco by Full and Content
Ancho Chile Cherry-Raisin Glazed Pork Chop by Kitchen Concoctions
Hungry yet? There’s plenty more photos, recipes and stories in the cookbook for you to enjoy. The AFBA will have cookbooks available at all of the upcoming events, so don’t be shy about cooking something up for you and your family. Pour yourself a refreshing cool drink, grab a few friends, and get cooking!
June’s Monthly Blog Challenge is berries. Get your mind seeded with ideas to partake in this juicy challenge! AFBA members should send their posts to membership@austinfoodbloggers.org before June 28th.
Let me just say how thrilled I am to be contributing a post to the AFBA blog. I’m not from Texas, I don’t even live there, but I have a genuinely fond fascination with the Lone Star state, especially the city of Austin. I love live music, I love hot weather and I love good food, so it seems as though Austin and I would be perfect for each other. Luckily for me, most of the people I work with, including Cooking Planit Co-FounderTripp Wiggins, and loads of AFBA members, allow me to live there vicariously, which makes me feel a bit like an honorary Austinite. And now, to be posting too? Well, let’s just say I feel like I am officially part of the club. Thanks, AFBA!
Now, on to the business at hand. Most of you are probably familiar with the new AFBA Cookbook. Isn’t it beautiful?! As a proud sponsor of the book, Cooking Planit is pleased to feature many of the recipes on our site. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Cooking Planit, it’s a cooking website (apps also available) that helps you prepare multiple recipes simultaneously so all your dishes are ready to eat at the same time. From meal planning to one-click aggregated grocery lists to step-by-step instructions, it’s truly a revolutionary cooking tool. Think of it as GPS for your kitchen: enter your destination (i.e., the recipes you want to make), click start, then let it take you where you need to go (i.e., finished meal on the table).
As Culinary Director of Cooking Planit, it’s my job to create and curate content to ensure our users have reliably good recipes to choose from. I was beyond excited when the AFBA sent me a list of final-cut recipes that had already been thoroughly tested. Narrowing down the list was a hard job, but someone had to do it. So, I selected a variety of recipes that would showcase all types of dishes, from Thyme and Four Cheese Mini Corn Muffins to Ancho Cherry-Raisin Glazed Pork Medallions; that originated from different cultures, like Persian Lamb Stewand Caldo de Pescado; and which used interesting ingredients, like Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers and Chocolate Chili. Of course, I also chose recipes just because they sounded good to me, like Bora Bora Fireballs and Smoked Salmon Hush Puppies, because if I want to eat them, I can bet someone else out there will want to eat them too.
The beauty of sharing the AFBA Cookbook recipes through Cooking Planit is that now any home cook can easily make these dishes either for fun or as part of a full meal. With access to hundreds of other recipes, you can bundle these with other dishes and create a complete dinner. Or perhaps you are an avid blog reader, but you don’t feel comfortable enough to venture into your own kitchen to try recipes for yourself. Well, now you can cook fearlessly, because Cooking Planit will literally guide you through every step of the way! So, head over and check us out. I think you’ll like what you find!
We’ve been working with some of your favorite AFBA bloggers already, like Brittanie Duncan, Amy Kritzer and Lauren Walz . Now, we are proud to have 16 more AFBA contributors available on Cooking Planit. Thank you to all who participated, and thank you to AFBA for your continued partnership. Cooking is always more fun when it’s shared with friends, and we love being a part of the Austin culinary community.
- Emily Wilson, Cooking Planit
Next in our Spotlight series is a recent addition to the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, Jennifer Miller who writes Learn Act Live Love and is a health, wellness and business coach.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
Hey, hey! My name is Jennifer, but I go by JP!
I grew up just outside of Austin in Dripping Springs back when it had one stoplight. I moved to San Antonio for undergrad, did some world traveling during school, and I moved back to Austin as soon as possible for grad school. I love this city!
I blog as a way to introduce healthy food ideas and concepts to a wider audience than I can reach by word of mouth. It has been one of the few creative outlets I enjoy—getting my hands dirty in the kitchen and then telling the worldwide interwebs all about it!
I am an analytical type by day, but food blogging has been a way for me to share with others the non-CPA side of me (and help them take small steps towards health along the way). Since when do CPAs have spunk and an infectious laugh?
How did you start blogging?
I started blogging in 2012 as a hobby. I wanted a place to document all the recipes I was creating, and my junk drawer in my kitchen was overflowing with random pieces of paper with ingredient lists and measurements scribbled all over them. (And it might still look like that!)
Now, I want my blog to be a resource for people who are looking for direction, hope, and love around who they are, their connection to food, wellness, and personal growth. Big things ahead for 2013!
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
Fridge: almond milk, fresh berries, organic eggs, leafy greens, and various beers 
Pantry: flax seeds, chia seeds, raw nuts & nut butters, unsweetened shredded coconut, dark chocolate, whole coffee beans, almond flour, coconut oil, and tons of fresh spices
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would you host and what would you eat?
Such a difficult question! For a light-hearted approach, I’d have dinner with friends and family and invite John Legend. He can serenade us with his soul singing and piano while I cook up a vegan balsamic roasted vegetable dish + red wine. What’s not to love?
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
As a new member, I really only have one experience thus far: the AFBA Cookbook Launch party at Freedmen’s! What a tremendous accomplishment and a beautiful book! I am thankful to be a part of this unique, talented, and fun network of Austinites.
What is your most popular post?
One of my most popular posts is such a simple snack, Frozen Peanut Butter Cacao Banana Bites, but I always get a lot of feedback when I post smoothie recipes such as Vitamin-C Boost Orange Carrot Juice Smoothie.
Lauren Walz writes Gourmet Veggie Mama and is featured in the Austin-based Cooking Planit App.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
Oh my … where to start? I grew up in Texas, and went to undergrad and law school at UT. From there, I moved to Northern California to work as a corporate lawyer in Silicon Valley. I let that suck the life out of my 20s, and eventually burned out, had a baby, and decided to stay at home with her. I started my blog, which is focused on vegetarian cooking, when Nora was about 8 months old and we were past the foggy infant stage and actually able to take the time to make creative meals again. I discovered that what I would do if I didn’t have to work for a living was write. Ding ding ding! So, I became a freelance writer. I still spend most of my time with my little one, who is now 2, and on creating recipes for my blog, but I write for publications like LiveMom and Edible Austin and I love it.
How did you start blogging?
While I was at home with my daughter and not working, I started feeling a creative itch. I have always liked to cook, and I like to be creative in coming up with meals based on the vegetables we get in our CSA box. And, being a little bit obsessive, I needed a place to track my recipes. I thought I’d go ahead and make it a public blog in case anyone else was interested, and, guess what? They were! The rest is history.
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
Pasta, dried beans of several different varieties (black, garbanzo, cannelloni, anasazi), rice, other grains (farro, quinoa), cheese (cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella and goat cheese), eggs and lots and lots of veggies from my CSA.
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would you host and what would you eat?
I’d love to have dinner with Christopher Watkins, who hosts the Ridge Wine blog. He’s a cool guy with obviously great taste in wine, and, from attending many tastings at Ridge, I know he and I have similar taste in food. We would just do nibbles and wine. Lots and lots of fantastic wine.
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
The wine and cheese tasting with Jordan at Antonelli’s was amazing. I had so much fun with good friends who appreciate the same things I do, and tasted some amazing pairings. I still dream about Cowgirl Creamery’s Red Hook — need to get some of that!
What is your most popular post?
People always seem to come back to my post on Broccoli Cheddar Bites, which was a recipe I created for Nora when she was littler. They’re healthy, easy to freeze and reheat and kids love them. I need to make a batch of those again, now that I think about it!
Amy Kritzer writes What Jew Wanna Eat? and hosts cooking classes on Google+ Hangout.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
I’m originally from Connecticut, and lived in Atlanta and NYC before I landed in Texas. I moved to Austin for the warmer weather and friendly people, but stayed for the queso and cowboys. My blog, What Jew Wanna Eat, is your source for Jewish home cooking. Armed with my Bubbe’s (grandmother’s) recipes and lots of schmaltz, I am on a quest to try one recipe a week, with my own personal twist on each. I hope people of all religions enjoy my tasty creations!
How did you start blogging?
I was feeling uninspired at my corporate job, so I started reading food blogs for fun. It didn’t take me long to decide to start my own blog and the rest is history! I loved blogging so much, I quit my job to go to culinary school and now write and teach cooking classes fulltime.
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
Schmaltz, Sriracha, Greek yogurt, and lots of veggies.
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would you host and what would you eat?
I am newly obsessed with Rachael Ray after meeting her this year at SXSW. She is just the most down-to-earth, happy person! I would love to have dinner with her and hear about her life. I’d cook something easy but delicious, like fish tacos with margaritas. And my famous chocolate hazelnut rugelach for dessert!
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
I was so excited to find out my photo was going to be on the cover of the AFBA cookbook! Being a part of the cookbook was already exciting, but this put it over the top.
What is your most popular post?
Definitely my Mexican Potato Latkes. What’s not to love about spicy fried potatoes covered with avocado sauce? I love using local flavors to inspire my recipes.
Almost exactly a year ago, the Austin Food Blogger Alliance announced that we were putting together a community cookbook.
We hosted a recipe writing class and gathered recipes, stories, vignettes and photos. We matched up bloggers to test one another’s recipes and hosted a potluck to taste the results and photograph some of the dishes.
Over the winter, we assembled all that wonderful content into a manuscript for The History Press and have been working quietly behind the scenes getting everything together so that we could finally announce that the Austin Food Blogger Alliance Cookbook is finally here!
I’ve had so much fun over the past year working on this book with members including Melissa Skorpil, who oversaw the photography in the book, lead copy editor Megan Myers, assistant project manager Lindsay Bailey, design consultant Shaun Martin, and editors Lee Stokes Hilton, Shefaly Ravula, Suzanna Cole and Meredith Bethune. Of course, they say it’s not really a book until you hate it at least once, which I admit happened a time or two over the course of the year, but all-in-all, this has been one of the most rewarding long-term projects I’ve ever had the pleasure of working on.
But the fun really starts now that the book has arrived!
On Tuesday, we’ll celebrate with cookbook contributors, AFBA members, pre-sale buyers and our cookbook sponsor, the Austin-based cooking app Cooking Planit, with a sold-out launch party at Freedmen’s, but mark your calendars for two upcoming events on April 24 and May 11.
At 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, AFBA will be hosting a cooking demonstration with member Elizabeth Van Huffel, who will show how to make her famous strawberry daiquiri, at the Sustainable Food Center Farmers’ Market at the Triangle, which will also be an opportunity to buy the book directly from us or pick up a copy if you have already purchased yours during the pre-sale campaign. (We’re also having a AFBA happy hour that night at the nearby Flying Saucer starting at 6 p.m.)
BookPeople has generously offered to host an official event for us there at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. At that event, I’ll be chatting with AFBA past president Natanya Anderson, member Chris Perez and cookbook volunteers Melissa Skorpil and Megan Myers about the process of putting together the book and why we felt so compelled to create a community cookbook in the first place.
Later this summer, we have plans to teach cooking classes and host other cookbook-related events, so stay tuned for details about those. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for the book at local retailers including Breed & Co., BookPeople, Whole Foods and Central Market, and feel free to leave a review of the book (or buy a few extra copies!) on our Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com pages. You can see the full list of recipes here.
Thanks to everyone for your generous support in these past 12 months! Community cookbooks couldn’t happen without a community that believes in working together to make it happen, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your enthusiasm and encouragement. Hope to see you at some of these upcoming events, and if you have any questions about the book (or pre-sale book pick-ups or anything else about the book) feel free to leave them in the comments or email me at broylesa AT gmail DOT com.
– Addie Broyles, cookbook editor
Chris Perez is a guru of digital media, writes Metropochris; and is a photographer and contributor for Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn. Chris is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for his latest endeavor: Citygram Magazine. The Austin-based, globally accessible magazine will present curated content emphasizing taste and useful information.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
Whew, where do I start? I suppose the first question
I was born in Plano, Texas, a large suburb about 30 minutes outside Dallas. When I was in high school the city gained notoriety for a heroine epidemic that got national attention from an MTV documentary. It was very real and pretty disturbing to see.
On brighter topics, I blog because of the way it can reach and help people. Casting out ideas, tips, recipes or advice wouldn’t be any fun if no one was reacting to it, benefiting from it, or gaining some kind of connection.
I have a wide range of interests … technology, design, food, cocktails, and entertaining … so my focus shifts in and out from those realms. The common thread between all those things – and what resonates the most with me – are the people: the chef, the designer, the artist.
I had the good fortune to spend time, and have conversations with, some very talented and inspiring people over the past year. I’d like to devote even more focus on them, because I think this city and community is unique and genuine in its willingness to help.
Hearing their stories is what ultimately led me to leave my full-time job as an electrical engineer to be a freelancer … and now founding editor for a digital magazine I’m starting called Citygram. It’s written by the same people who showed me that life is more than acquiring one thing after the next, it’s about creating, and giving yourself fully to the community.
How did you start blogging?
It actually all happened on a bit of a whim. I started a small blog, housepoint0.com, to more or less document the DIY’s and before/after updates my wife and I would do for our home. I shot photos in full automatic mode, and never really thought about going beyond that.
But then, in between projects at my engineering job, I saw a post for a tech writing position go up on Apartment Therapy. They were looking for another writer to talk about home tech and mobile apps. I’m a gadget guy. I knew a lot in that space, so I sent a resume their way. They called me up and then gave me the position the next week.
In that first year, I went from just writing about tech, to doing home tours, to writing about food on TheKitchn, and to developing my own blog MetropoChris that kind of serves as a catchall for the things I want to write about but can’t quite fit within the frame of the national blogs.
It’s been a fun journey.
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
We don’t have a pantry but we have a well-stocked magnetic spice jar rack that hangs by the main counter. Having a lot of spices on hand allows my wife and I to try daring recipes without having to buy a long list of things from the grocery store.
The fridge always has some lactose-free milk in there for my morning coffee. Some eggs for omelets, some garlic for everything, and some kind of infused simple syrup for a cocktail.
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would you host and what would you eat?
If you asked me this question 6 years ago I would have said Michael Jordan, and perhaps a list of other notable big-name celebrities.
But now, after living in Austin and being a part of the culture and local community, I’d say Aaron Franklin, Bryce Gilmore, Paul Qui, Jodi Elliot, among others. Those are my celebrities now. They are the people I look up to. They’re real and they do great things.
We’d have some kind of gathering where we’d bake some desserts in the oven, throw some vegetables on the grill, and roast a goat in a La Caja China while sipping on beers and cocktails as it all came together. Then everyone else I’ve come to know from the community would drop in, too. We’d feast, laugh, and have good conversation around a fire pit until midnight.
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
I’m going to have to agree with Brittanie here, and say the AFBA potluck. This happened literally a week after I got accepted into AFBA and it was a thrill to see how big, talented, and friendly the community was. The light, the weather, and the setting (Springdale Farms) couldn’t have been more gorgeous; So perfect I eventually came back to do a proper home and kitchen tour with the owners of Springdale Farm, Glen and Paula Foore.
Apartment Therapy: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/glenn-and-paulas-new-life-farmhouse-house-tour-180559
The Kitchn: http://www.thekitchn.com/paulas-farmhouse-kitchen-kitchen-tour-180750
Metropochris: http://metropochris.com/2012/tuesday-tourismo-glenn-and-paulas-new-life-farmhouse/
What is your most popular post?
My most popular post was a How To: Upgrade a Wall Outlet to USB Functionality for Apartment Therapy. It was even plagiarized by another outlet some time later.
On my personal blog, I think it’s the Avocado Margarita recipe that is in the AFBA cookbook.
Lauren Lever writes Fitorama with the mantra, “sweat every day.” She has a fun sartorial twist on working out and her favorite foods.
Tell us about yourself! Where are you from? Why do you blog? What is your focus?
I am originally from Mississippi, but I have lived in Austin for the past six years. I blog to keep myself accountable! My focus is on health and fitness because mainly I am envious of the svelte physiques of the trainers, and I used to do go-go dancing and had a better shape. I have been trying to get back into that, but at 31 it has been harder to keep my metabolism high, so I think keeping a blog is a way for me to maintain my fitness plan, and to also focus on a clean eating plan.
How did you start blogging?
I have had personal blogs on livejournal throughout my 20′s but wanted to have something people can relate to better in my 30′s. I have blogged with my company through WordPress, so I thought it would be cool to have one of my own.
What items are always in your fridge or pantry?
Right now, since I am trying to save a little bit of money, but still eat relatively well (no ramen!), I have stocked up on lentils and brown rice as a boring weeknight meal. It isn’t paleo or gluten-free, which I sometimes dabble in, but it is really low calorie and the lentils and rice provide a complete protein, so I know I am eating well. It is not the most exciting thing to eat, but I am addicted to spices like cumin and turmeric to give the meal a bit of a zip, so it doesn’t quite feel like punishment for paying off credit card bills.
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would you host and what would you eat?
I would love to sit down with someone like Jillian Michaels or Bob Hopper just to see what they eat. My guess is that it would be some kind of lean protein with a lot of green vegetables.
What is your favorite AFBA memory?
I don’t have any, yet!
What is your most popular post?
The most popular post I have made is one where I use a graphic by the blog “Go Kaleo” in which she compares the symptoms of so-called adrenal fatigue with actual starvation. My point extending from hers was that that people interested in health and wellness should remain skeptical in looking for ways to improve ourselves and rely on more scientifically proven ways to lose weight, such as a cleaner diet, for example, than to take a bunch of unneeded supplements. Since her blog is a popular one, she linked to me, and therefore I was able to a lot more traffic than I normally do. Linking to other more popular blogs was a tip given to me from AFBA, btw!
The Austin Food Blogger Alliance introduces a new blog series highlighting its current members. The AFBA wouldn’t be here without the support of its membership! Let’s get started with Meagan Warncke.
Meagan authors Sarafina’s Kitchen and contributes to the Cedar Park-Leander Statesman as a columnist for “Appetite For Life.”
Tell us about yourself, where are you from, what do you write about?
I’m originally from Beaumont, but have lived in the Austin area for over 20 years.
I write about food and the role it plays in memories of my life. The connections it makes, the comfort it brings.
How did you start blogging?
I started my blog as a way to share recipes with friends and family. It was also a way to force me to be brave in the kitchen and learn new skills.
What item is always in your fridge?
Cheese. Any and every kind. Laughing Cow, Ricotta, Cheddar, Blue, etc.
I think I was a mouse in another life.
If you could share dinner with anyone, who would it be and what would you eat?
My grandparents. I miss them so much. I’d love for them to see how they influenced my love of cooking. I’m sure I’d make a dish that I learned from each of them.
What was a memorable AFBA moment you experienced?
I haven’t been to many AFBA events, but just being a part of the group and seeing members at other events is so much fun. It’s good to know I’m not the only crazy food blogger out there.
- Heather Santos, Membership Chair
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