Welcome everyone to the Food-Friday Twitterview with my guest @RiaMathew. Set your timer to 1hr and lets get cooking! :)
Q- #1 To start off with, where did you grow up, and what was life like for you there?
Ria: I grew up in a coastal town, Kannur,in the southern state of Kerala,India. Life out there is very different from here. If you
want to cook locally,everything is available there, but globally,you will have to source your ingredients from other places.
If not for that, my hometown is a beautiful town filled with beaches, coconut trees, historical places and lovely people!
The nature is beautiful and the local food is exotic!
Q – #2 After you finished school, did you attend University? How did you end up coming to Minnesota?
Ria: After high school, I did my bachelors and masters in a metro called Bangalore. I moved to Minnesota with my husband, Jobin
after our wedding in Feb 2010. I knew I would be moving to another country and I was very excited about every single thing I
would get to experience here! Being a foodie, it was mainly food. All the things I read of and dreamt about were available
here! Starting from cream cheese to sour cream, everything was new to me. I was just like a kid in a candy store every time
we went to a supermarket. Not that things have changed now, it’s just that I have learnt to be a bit sober because I can
always come back to the store for more! In my town, we always had to stock up :) It’s hard to let go of certain old habits :)
Q – #3 What are some of the places you like to shop for food? Any particular farmers market or co-op that you prefer?
Ria: We usually go to either Cub or Rainbow for our regular grocery shopping but sometimes we go to the Nicollet Mall/Mill City/
Lyndale farmers market. For the Indian groceries, we usually go to Little India on NE Central Ave and also Pooja Grocers on
Lyndale farmers market. For the Indian groceries, we usually go to Little India on NE Central Ave and also Pooja Grocers on
694 and Central. We shop at Lunds & Trader Joes for specific products like their snacks and juice.
Q – #4 Lots of options! Lets now shift to your blogging, what kind of food topics or recipes do you cover?
Ria: I love having options,Joel! So when I started food blogging, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. It was my
little brother who introduced me to it. I started off with my favourite Chocolate Biscuit Pudding riascollection.blogspot.com/2011/05/re-vis… as the
as the first recipe. I thought of it as my online diary for storing recipes. Later, when I started reading other blogs,
knowing what they do, I realised my food blog can be seen by others as well! So I decided to blog more on a regular basis.
So now it covers everything I cook at home. It could be Curries,Biriyani’s,Indian pickles,Indian sweets, Cookies, Cakes,
Desserts etc! I am also a part of many blogging groups so I try to participate in it every month, so those recipes are also
featured on my blog.
Q – #5 How long have you been blogging, what’s it called and how did you also get into photography?
Ria: I have been blogging for the last 2 years and 8 months. My food blog is called as Ria’s Collection, the name I gave for my
recipe diary. In the beginning, it was just random pictures but later I realised the importance of having a recipe
with a good photograph of the dish. So I started paying attention to what I do, how I do it etc. Slowly, I got to learn a lot
about food photography. Last Christmas, my husband gifted me my first ever dSLR camera and I have been having a lot of fun
with it.
I have lots more to learn about food photography which I think I will, eventually!
Q – #6 You Favorite(s): Restaurant, store (retail), comfort food, spice/herb, area of MSP or MN and cookbook.
Ria: Restaurants: Spill the Wine (love their Gnocchi), Kabobs (for their Biriyani), Loop (Meatloaf Sandwich), Zelo’s (Pollo
Balsamico Pizza), Stores: American Eagle,Saks 5th Avenue,Nordstorm, Macy’s for clothes. For kitchenware I love Kitchen Window
Le Gourmet Chef & Cooks of Crocus Hill. Comfort food:Piping hot rice gruel (Kanji) and Kerala Fish Curry riascollection.blogspot.com/2011/03/meen-v…
Spice: Garam Masala since it has a mix of all my favourite spices. Herb: Cilantro & Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Area of MSP : Uptown – Lake Calhoun area.
Cookbooks: my Mom’s handwritten cookbook which she gave me after our wedding, Modern Cookery by Thangam E. Philip &
Modern Spice by Monica Bhide.
Q – #7 That’s awesome! To end today, what advice would you give to people considering becoming a food blogger?
Ria: Believe in yourself and do what you love! You may not become a star over
night but if you have the passion in you , it will take you to many wonderful places!
@JoelECarlson: Thank you very much for your time and participation today. Stay dry and cool this weekend!
Ria: Thanks Joel! You have a fun weekend!