One night over the Christmas holidays, I was lying in bed with my OH reading a “blogging for dummies” manual. I had taken it out from the library a few weeks earlier and was pouring over every word, going through every possibility, trying to decide if writing my own blog was really something I should pursue. Would I be able to do it properly with the limited knowledge I had managed to gather from my reading as well viewing a number of blogs already online? It had been a long time since I had tried anything outside of my little box. My life was comfortable; could I take a chance and really put myself out there?
On this particular night I asked my OH whether he thought I should go ahead and do it. He said, “sometimes you just have to jump in and worry about what you don’t know later. You can learn as you go along”. He was right. I knew there would never be a time when I would know enough. I had been longing for an outlet for my writing and a purpose to all the baking I did! From what I could see, a blog seemed like the perfect medium to achieve both of those things. It was now or never (as the saying goes).
A lot has happened in the months since January when I first posted. Not only is the blog very much a part of my daily life, it has now been nominated for Best New Mad Blog in The Mads 2010. On the cooking side, I have baked a variety of things from Chocolate Root Beer Bundt Cake to Mini Pink Pavlova and climbed a massive learning curve in terms of food photography. I joined Tuesdays With Dorie, The Daring Bakers, a Food Blog Forum and I am going to attend Food Bloggers Connect 2010 the first weekend of June.
When I started the blog a friend asked what it was going to be about, “Food, “I replied, “there’s no way I am blogging about motherhood.” How wrong I was. Not only have I used many posts to write about that very subject but I have also embraced the whole Mummy blogging community. From my first days on British Mummy Bloggers where many of my questions regarding things like Twitter, Word Press and Stumpleupon were so heartily answered to next weeks meet up in Reading.
I guess you can say it’s been a whirlwind!
One aspect of blogging that I never anticipated is the people. Without sounding OTT (as my kids might say) I have “virtually” met so many fantastic bloggers, some of whom have also been nominated for Mads, but many who have not. Women, mostly, from as far afield as India to my home country America, who are creating some thing amazing through pictures and words. It’s their stories that make each of their blogs so unique and interesting and how they retell the very ordinary and make it seem so extraordinary. Some of my very favourite blogs are listed under Blogs I Follow so please have a look at them and spread the love! (I have updated this list so please look at it even if you have done so before.) I can’t begin to name even a small fraction of the number of excellent blogs that are out there but these bloggers have in some way spoken to me. I am sure the list will continue to grow as time goes on.
The four other blogs I am up against for best New MAD Blog are all in the running because they speak to an audience and what they’re saying is making an impact. Please have a look at what they are doing before casting any votes. They are Angels & Urchins, Baby Budgeting, Three Kids & A Cat, Slummy Single Mummy and you can find all of us listed here http://the-mads.com/best-new-mad-blog.htm.
All I can say is that I am so pleased I took that leap and decided to get out of my box by taking a chance on this blog. I have loved every minute of it and there is not many things in life you can say that about. I am honoured (and humbled) to be up for this award amongst so many other bloggers that I admire and respect.
Whatever happens I feel like I have won already.
Last night my 17-year-old daughter handed me Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook as a present. In it she inscribed the following: “as a proud supporter of your cooking, baking and blogging I figured I should contribute, give something back. So as we both have little crushes on the one and only Jamie Oliver I thought this book would be perfect. It’s a little bit of me to add to your cooking. Enjoy. Thanks for everything! So proud of you Mum – someone I truly aspire to be.”
Finally, I leave you with a recipe for a cookie that will not fail to disappoint: Compost Cookies. It’s what this blog is all about after all.
Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie Recipe
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tbsp golden/corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
4.5 weight oz flour (If you don’t have a scale, fluff up the flour and scoop up 1 heaping cup. Sweep top flat)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
3/4 cups semi-sweet or good chocolate chips (I also used plain M&Ms)
3/4 cup (more or less) broken pretzels, potato chips, peanuts and pecans/walnuts
Add eggs and vanilla and stir to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and run mixer for 10 full minutes. During this time the sugar granules will dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and mixture will double in size.
Meanwhile, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
By hand or using lowest speed of mixer, stir in the flour mixture – don’t beat it in or the cookies won’t be as tender. Stir in sweet and salty things.
Using about a heaping 1/3 cup measure or a stingy 4 oz measure, scoop up dough and form rounds. My scooped rounds weighed a little less than 4 oz each. Put the shaped rounds on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or until ready to bake – the longer the better.
DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
Heat the conventional oven to 400F. Arrange chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or non-stick foil lined cookie sheet. If your cookie sheets are thin, you might want to stack two and bake the cookies on the stacked cookies sheets.
Bake 12-14 mins. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread. The cookies should be a light brown throughout and not doughy. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if needed. All ovens are different so you’ll need to watch the cookies, specifically the edges.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a serving plate or storage container.
Good luck with the MADS and I look forward to meeting you at FBC in June!
Charles gave you good advice. In my forty year career in Corporate America, I practiced that philosophy many times.
Sometime you just have to plunge in to something and see what happens e.g. cross the river before you get the bridge built.
What a great blog you have. Now I am raising bees.
Congratulations on your nomination! How sweet of your daughter to buy you Jamie Oliver’s new book and say all of those sweet things.
I have to admit I’m a big fan of your writing. I have your blog bookmarked and I always look forward to reading your latest entries. I wish you the very best of luck at the awards!
aww…what a beautiful gift from your daughter.
Thanks to twitter, I got to know you. Congrats on being nominated. Thru blogging, I got to know lots of talented friends out there whom I wouldn’t have gotten to know if not for Internet. I feel very bless.
Wow! In all of that I think it is that note from your daughter that is the most amazing and significant! Proud of you? I should say, and that is such a reward for all you have done. Congrats on the nomination and I will surely vote for you!
So much has changed and evolved in my own life since I took the plunge into food blogging and all of it amazing! Especially the friends I have met, fantastic, generous, talented friends and for that I am the most thankful! I am honored to be on your Blogs I Follow list and I am thrilled to have you as a friend!
Three generations agree that Jamie Oliver is dishy- just finished watching his “food revolution” on America TV. So sweet of Hannah to buy you the book. I am so happy you are enjoying writing your blog as much as we all are reading it.
You are an inspiration to us all, Heather…I truly enjoy these glimpses into your world…absolutely rewarding, even if I don’t bake much (I’d get even fatter). Those cookies look just my type, though.
XOXO
I love your blog and the food aswell, how wonderful of your daughter, how thoughtful. Congratuations again
Well done on your nomination! It’s well deserved. Keep the good recipes coming please!
I know I’m up inthe same category! but just wanted to say I think your blog is lovely Hope my 2 year old little girl grows up to be as thoughtful as your daughter.
Wow Heather, It’s always great to catch up with your news! Your blogs are quite touching, especially your comments by your gorgeous children, their insight is a reflection of your strong leadership as a great Mum!
I eagerly anticipate your next blog!
Caroline
You deserve to be in that list… WOW Heather, this is brilliant news. How sweet of your daughter to gift you such a wonderful book. Great cookies too! Off to vote for you! Well done indeed!
Love these cookies. I’m going to vote right now!
Congrats!!! Love your blog!
Never mind about not letting me vote. I’m an idiot!
What an awesome gift from H.! MADS won’t let me vote because I was part of the nomination process.
Oh the wise words of Chazzy, what would we do without them?!
Yet another lovely post, the cookies were amazing. Im glad you liked the book! XX
voted congrats lol Rebecca