If you are -skimming across this post- now thinking “wow where is that coming from”? Well, deliciousdays.com just turned TWO (Yay!) and we thought about sharing some of our thoughts around blogging.
With two years of food blogging experience on our backs today, we felt it was time for a little reflection, a compilation of the most important do’s and don’ts of foodblogging. Some are obvious and relate to blogging in general, others may not be, and I’m sure there are some you’ll think totally different about. All of them reflect our very personal point of view and are supposed to give food blogging newbies a condensed survey over the most relevant topics when starting your own blog adventure.
Create value – Reader come back!This one almost goes without saying: provide value to your readers. Share quality recipes, restaurant insights or other useful information that makes your readers want to come back for more and become a regular reader of your blog. The number of food blogs has grown exponentially, the daily photo of your dinner may have been getting applause years ago but it won’t attract many readers today – unless it’s accompanied by a mouthwatering recipe that everybody is dying to replicate or a captivating story. Ask yourself what benefits you can offer to your readers and the food blogging community and share your knowledge.
You have prepared the most wonderful Croquembouche, managed to shoot a fantastic photo your readers literally are licking off their screens and then there’s no recipe, no advice on how to prepare such a masterpiece or any tips whatsoever on how to avoid possible pitfalls? That’s like teasing your best friend with a handful of goodies – and then eating them all by yourself. Your kitchen experience is what others can benefit from, share it!
We’ve just returned from a little time off with friends and family and although it was just a short trip, it was a very welcome break from work and a great chance to gain new energy – very much needed for the upcoming projects. There is it again: work. Can’t escape it.
Visiting Oliver’s parents is always a pleasure, the girls go shopping, the boys hide in computer and tech stores, until we meet again to cook and watch movies together. And boy did we cook! I could still go into raptures at what was likely to be the most tender Boeuf Bourguignon we have ever had. Was it merely the superb quality of the meat? By the way, when I asked the butcher for a shoulder cut of about 1.5 kilograms, he disappeared for about 5 minutes and came back with what looked like a quarter of a cow, which he carried over his shoulder like it was nothing. I’m so used to hearing “would you mind if it’s a little more?” – especially at butchers – but that time the guy didn’t even bother, he cut off exactly 1500 grams. Spot-on. Wow! Nice one, he for sure knows his profession!
Anyway, as soon as we returned back home from our trip, my sweet tooth needed a filling. An urgent one. Going through the options (or lack thereof), I began to realize that my personal chocolate needs hadn’t been satisfied over the last days – at all. Our usually well stocked and so-called sweets shelf barely did itself justice and had little to offer. No chocolate, no bars, no gummybears, not even ice cream in the fridge and the shops were already closed. Out of luck. And the less you can have something the more you want it, no, need it. All I needed was a chocolate fix. Right then, right there.
Help came from leftovers of milk chocolate coating and ordinary cookies, I usually give little time of day to: broken into bits and pieces, covered in melted chocolate and decorated with coconut flakes I finally found salvation. Despite its nature of being an interim arrangement, I can think of many more variations, different sorts of cookies mixed with dried fruits or roasted nuts, according to one’s individual preference. And it would make a nice small present, too. Certainly for chocoholics. Like myself.
Don’t you hate it when someone tells you, wearing your brightest smile, that you have poppy seeds between your teeth? And all you can think of is how many hours ago did I have my piece of cake? Here is a superfluous advice: check you smile in the mirror after you quit eating poppy seed cake! Regardless, what makes any potential hassle worthwhile is this cake. If you love poppy seed as much as I do, you’ll love it.
German readers may remember the advertising song “Hätt’ ich Dich heut’ erwartet, hätt’ ich Kuchen gemacht”, equivalent to the English original “If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d Have Baked A Cake” sung by Ernie from Sesame Street. Long ago, the German song was abused to advertise small cakes which had been sold in sealed little glasses or are they still available? Taste-wise these cakes couldn’t knock you off your feet, but the concept of baking cakes in glasses to preserve them became quite popular. I mean really popular. The idea was picked up by trendy bread baked in clay pots and cakes on sticks. But trends pass by and so I almost forgot about them until I was looking for a neat little foodie gift. I not only rediscovered a great concept – 12 glasses of cake over the last two weeks certainly speak for itself – but what I found myself is the best poppy seed cake recipe I have baked so far.
Myth or not: Poppyseed and positive drug testings? Read on »
It hasn’t exactly been chilly beans the past weeks, temperatures were good and the winter is treating us nicely. Ski fanatics may object, but I can’t say I have missed the icy roads and the masses of snow we got buried under last year. Although last years conditions gave us plenty of excuses to indulge in comfort food, I noticed I don’t need sub zero temperatures to get excited about down to earth, hearty food. Substantial meals like lasagna al forno or macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes, pumpkin soup, potato fritters, chocolate pudding or Tiramisu, apple pancakes with cinnamon… woooow can someone please stop me?! I’m just about to realize, that many of my favorites dishes probably are comfort food. Wait, here is one more, make some room guys for the new kid on the block: Pizzoccheri della Valtellina!
Last year our dear friend Hande introduced us to this tagliatelle-shaped buckwheat pasta specialty. Dinner nights at Hande’s place are not just great they’re the best! Especially when she returns from her trips with lots of new cooking ideas and inspirations and uses us as guinea pigs. No we don’t mind. Never. The pasta’s origin lies in Valtellina, a part of the Lombardy region in northern Italy and while some people may immediately be intimidated by this recipe’s amount of butter and cheese, don’t be, it’s worth every bit of it: love at first sight
