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Food Blogger Interview: Rachel of of Little Kitchen, Big Bites

Rachel-LittleKitchenBigBites-portrait Everytime we catch an interview with one of our wonderful Dishfolio food bloggers, we always learn something new and that's why we love having the chance to talk to them and discover their thoughts on food blogging. Today, Rachel of littlekitchenbigbites took some time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions. Her blog is all abou big flavors and simple recipes from a little kitchen in Los Angeles.

Tell us about your food blogging goals: What are they? How are you accomplishing them?

I started Little Kitchen, Big Bites when I realized that my love of food was starting to dominate my personal blog, and when a caterer at my day job (as an event planner) pointed out that my eyes sparkled when I talked about food. When I cook, photograph, and blog about food, I feel inspired and excited. And my real goal is to pass along that inspiration to others through my blog. I love to simplify recipes, modify them for the slow cooker, or add an extra large infusion of flavour. Basically, I wanted to take yummy recipes and make them easier and more flavorful than they've ever been before. And now that I've been blogging for a while, I've been focusing more on coming up with new, simple recipes that are big on taste.

Who is your foodie hero and how do they inspire you?

My personal foodie hero is really my grandma. She's the first person that really got me in the kitchen and taught me how to cook and she passed along so many delicious recipes that have inspired me since then.

I'm also obsessed with Top Chef and Chopped (and a lot of other Reality TV…yep, I'm that girl) and really love to see the chef compete and come up with creative ways to execute challenges. It inspires me every day to look at the ingredients in my pantry and see if I can add a twist or make something new and totally different that's never been done before.

Describe your all-time favorite recipe.

One of my very favorites and the most popular recipe on my blog is my no bake Peanut Butter S'mores bars. You're basically looking at a peanut butter graham cracker crust, a layer of marshmallow fluff {don't judge, it's amazing}, and a layer of chocolate with mini peanut butter cups on top. They're oh so very easy to make, require absolutely zero baking, and are totally delicious. It's one of those wow factor desserts that everyone oooh's and ahh's over and you smile and secretly know that literally anyone could make them.

What's the best food photography tip you've learned in the past year?

Use natural light!! I know for those of us that work normal hours it's hard to get your food ready and photograph it with the natural light but it's so huge for the photography. I didn't realize it until I started making a point of photographing my food in natural light and it just makes all of the difference in the world.

Another tip that I would suggest is learning from your fellow bloggers. There are a ton of food bloggers out there who have written really amazing posts and e-books on food photography and when I have extra time I just sit down and read them and write down their tips so that I can use them in the future.

How many cookbooks do you own and which do you reach for most often?

I do have a ton of cookbooks that I've collected throughout the years, but I think what inspires me the most is recipes that I've either found on Pinterest, or that I've learned from my family. Pinterest is seriously an obsession for me…I can't go more than a few days without scrolling through and it's a constant source of inspiration and ideas. I never would have thought about throwing together peanut butter s'mores bars if it wasn't for all of the s'mores mania on Pinterest, and that's been one of my favourite and most popular recipes!

My other source of recipes is from the kitchens of my grandma and my mother-in-law. They are both amazing cooks and have put together some great meals, which they've then shared with me and allowed me to put my own spin on. I think without my grandma, I wouldn't have the love and passion for being in the kitchen that I do today. And without my love for my husband and my mother-in-law's willingness to share, I wouldn't have had anyone to share all of the delicious food with!

If you had to choose a kitchen tool you couldn't live without, what would it be and why?

Holy smokes, I would not have a cooking blog if it weren't for my slow cooker. I have three actually at this point, because sometimes a girl's got to break out multiple slow cookers if she's throwing together a big meal. And that girl is me. The first thing that I do when I look at a recipe is break it down and try to see if I could make it in the slow cooker. And most of the time it's possible. Except with risotto. That was my one big slow cooker fail. Anyone who tells you that you can make good, authentic risotto in a slow cooker is lying to you. That's one of those things that just takes some good old-fashioned time over the stove. And you feel like a champ afterwards so it's totally worth it.

So why the slow cooker? As I mentioned, I'm an event planner by day and we work some long hours. And as much as I loved to cook and have homemade food on the table, I just didn't have the energy to slave over the stove or the oven for a few hours. I wanted to eat right when I got home and I wanted it to be good, hot, healthy and ready to go. So one day I read a slow cooker blog, dug my slow cooker out of the back of the cupboards, and tried it. And it has lived on my countertop ever since. Even when I literally only had about 3 feet of counter space it was worth it.

The first recipes that I ever blogged were slow cooker recipes and I think I post a new one every few weeks, if not more often. And since becoming a new mom to a sweet little baby girl last month, I've seen even more worth in my slow cooker. I made 15 freezer friendly slow cooker meals and bagged them up in the freezer before she was born and we're still living on those. When you're running on minimal sleep with a fussy baby, nothing is better than throwing a bag in the crock-pot and having dinner ready when your husband gets home. You look like the superstar who handled the baby and made a delicious meal.

What's next? How will you make yours the best food blog in town?

For me, it's all about coming up with new, easy recipes with big flavour. Since I'm on maternity leave with my little one, I'm cooking up all kinds of new ideas and trying to come up with creative and fun ways to make delicious meals in your kitchen. I hope that everyone gets a chance to stop by and try them!