@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone, and welcome to the Food-Friday Twitterview with guest @UnplannedCookin. Set your timer to 1hr and lets cook!
Q – #1 So @unplannedcookin, where did you grow up and what did you start doing out of High School?
A: I grew up in Ithaca, NY and became a camp counselor that first summer before college.
Q – #2 Ah! Now where did you attend college, what did you major in, and what was your 1st job out of college?
A: Went straight to grad school (Columbia Univ). Studied writing. First job assistant at @UsMagazine. Total culture shock.
Q – #3 What kind of work did you do at @USMagazine? Describe your transition from there to MN and having a food blog.
A: for @USWeekly I wrote promo material, attended brand events + stalked celebs who came in. Fetched a lot of coffee too.
Was a shock moving to MN, but great friends like @redstamplindsay @kitchpantrysci @megkaplan make move worth it :)
love that blogging helps u stay focused on professional goals, w/o time commitment of a job (love being home w my kids)
Q – #4 Flexibility is great! What is the name of your blog, and what would you say is the focus or theme of it?
A: Unplanned Cooking. It’s easy meals for people like me who are learning how to cook. I also blog about home building.
I think sometimes professionals at home w kids ask “How did I get here?” It’s humbling not being able to stock pantry.
Q – #5 Are your recipes all originals made by you? Family size dishes? What kinds of topics do you cover in home bldg?
A: I modify existing recipes to make them easy. Enough to feed your family.
For home building, I write about challenges of sharing ur space w loved one. But also how empowering love/marriage is.
Q – #6 Good topics! What triggers your creative “juices” for each post that you do? Who’s helped you or been a mentor?
A: Triggers: emotion. Either positive or, well, not so positive:). + lots of reading. Don’t think u can write w/o reading.
Mentor/friend is @KitchPantrySci. We’re both working on books so we’ll swap material + energize one another.
Plus if other parts of my life feel overwhelming, @KitchPantrySci is always there to ground me. And @RedStampLindsay.
Q – #7 That’s great! :) Now to your FAVORITES: Restaurant, store, winter activity, comfort food & National chef/cook.
A: Favorite restaurant: We’re fickle. Great meals at First Course, 112 Eatery
Dying to try @piccolo_mpls b/c @megkaplan raves about it but can’t get reservation. Can u pull some strings?
Fav store: @coopeats (yes, a grocery store:); love ice skating in winter +playing hockey; comfort food -do fries count?
Fav national chef? Drawing a blank. Do @FreshTartSteph + @Katenthekitchen count?
Q – #8 You are earning BIG brownie points today! :) If you could have any 1 guest (dead/alive) for dinner, who & why?
A: My parents. They live so far away + it’s hard for them to travel as they get older.
I wish families didn’t have so many miles between them today. I would love for our children to know my parents.
Did you say brownies? I’m hungry now.
Q – #9 To close, what advice would you give to mothers struggling to cook well for their families?
A: Start small. Just make one dish, even if it’s just a salad. Soon, you’ll be a pro in the kitchen :).
I think it’s important to cook b/c you’ll naturally become more aware of what’s in that PopTart. And so will ur kids.
@JoelECarlson – Good advice! Thank you so much for sharing some of your time and life today on #jectv! Have a great afternoon & weekend!
@UnplannedCookin – Thanks so much! Was a blast :).