Episode 101: Serve Your Audience By Going Beyond The Basics With Anecia Hero

Intro:

Welcome to Eat Blog Talk where food bloggers come to get their fill of the latest tips, tricks, and insights into the world of food blogging. If you feel that hunger for information, we’ll provide you with the tools you need to add value to your blog. And we’ll also ensure you’re taking care of yourself because food blogging is a demanding job. Now, please welcome your host, Megan Porta.

Megan Porta:

Food bloggers. Don’t forget to check out the food blogging forum style community that we started over at forum.eatblogtalk.com. Finally, there’s one place that we can all convene and talk and that isn’t scattered all over Facebook. Here are the things that I am loving about it. It is free. It also allows for categorized discussions on all food blogging topics, and there’s a category for sharing successes, AKA self promotion. So no more holding back about discussing your big wins and things that you’re promoting. Also, everything is in one single spot. So no hopping around from group to group, and there’s an amazing opportunity to network and really get to know your fellow food bloggers in a single place. So come join the discussions that are going on over forum.eatblogtalk.com. And I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Don’t forget. Forum.Eatblogtalk.com.

Hey, food bloggers. Welcome to Eat Blog Talk, the podcast made for you, food bloggers seeking value for your businesses and your lives. Today, I will be having a chat with Anecia Hero from smartypantskitchen.com. We will talk about how to serve your audience by going beyond the basics. Anecia is a Southern based food blogger with over 25 years experience in commercial and residential kitchens. She has formally studied food science and nutrition at the collegiate level and has useful food information to share with us today. Anecia, first of all, I love the name of your website so much. When I saw it, I was like, dang. I wish I had that name. Smarty Pants Kitchen. So great.

Anecia Hero:

Thank you, Megan.

Megan:

I’m very excited for our chat today, but first give us a quick fun fact about yourself.

Anecia:

Megan, thank you so much for visiting with me today. I’m very excited and I’m very appreciative. A fun fact about me. Well, there are two that I would be happy to share. One, I’m a native Texan and I’ve never been on a horse. Two, I can tap dance.

Megan:

Oh, both are very cool. You can tap dance. I don’t know many people who can say that. What are the odds of a Texan not having ever been on a horse? I think most Texans can say they have been, right?

Anecia:

I think so.

Megan:

Why not? Are you opposed to horses or it’s never come up?

Anecia:

It just never comes up.

Megan:

Interesting. Very interesting. Well tap dancing skills too. I love it. Thank you for sharing both of those. Let’s talk about why you’re here today because I think this is a really relevant and timely topic because we food bloggers, as you know, are doing everything we can to stretch our food and resources. We have audiences who are leaning into us wanting to know how to do this as well. So the information you are going to talk about today is going to serve us, yes, but it’s also going to serve our readers and our users. So it’s kind of a win-win for us. Anecia, your approach is basically, if you can read, you can cook. So talk to us about your approach.

Anecia:

It’s not rocket science. It’s actually a very simple approach. When I first started cooking, we just had cookbooks. But if you can look in a cookbook and read the ingredients, read the steps, read the notes, read it thoroughly. You get an overall overview of exactly what you’re going to be going into the kitchen and doing. Some people are very intimidated by the kitchen. Some people get frustrated with lengthy recipe instructions. So as food bloggers, I think it’s important for us to keep it simple, keep it basic and inspire others to go in and cook. Try it.

Megan:

That’s the great thing about food blogging. We can do a really good job of simplifying recipes and write posts about it and dive into those steps that might be confusing. Just like you said, a regular cookbook recipe. Isn’t that funny that some people are just so intimidated by recipes. It’s almost like they have a mental block to it. They probably could sit down and figure it out, but they’re like, oh, I can’t. I can’t figure out this recipe. But we, as food bloggers, can take something that might be overwhelming or a little bit more complicated and simplify it and deliver it to people in a very simple and easy way. That’s one of the coolest things about being a food blogger, is that we’re adding value in that way.

Anecia:

We need to break it down. We need to break it down into baby steps so it’s just not overwhelming.

Megan:

Well, I like your approach because it’s true. If you can read, you can cook and I think we should start just by talking through your process because you have a four step process for going beyond the basics with our food. So can you talk us through those?

Anecia:

Absolutely. What I call it, tongue in cheek, is how to create a culinary masterpiece. And doesn’t that sound fancy.

Megan:

I love it.

Anecia:

It’s actually very simple. This came to me one day when I was daydreaming, I was thinking, oh, I wish I was in Paris. I’d like to go to a five-star restaurant. So I got online, I looked up five star restaurants in Paris, and this is how the whole idea came to me. This methodology or concept, and basically the four steps as an overview are you going to determine what’s for dinner? You’re going to determine how I am going to cook it? How am I going to season it? And with what particular regional spices and seasonings would I use to do this. Then basically once you break it down into these simple steps, you have something that you probably would have never thought of making before.

Megan:

That’s great. Okay. So talk us through those. So, somebody is listening and they start with number one, what’s for dinner. So take us through that.

Anecia:

That’s the hardest question We ask ourselves every day. In this time of quarantine and emotional chaos, it’s not so much what we’re craving or what we want to eat. It’s what we have. What’s available. What’s affordable and what’s really practical. Maybe it’s okay, what’s in the freezer? Let’s pull the chicken out. How am I going to cook the chicken? You decide, do I want to have protein, a vegetable and a grain? Do I want to have all of that in one bowl? Do I want to have it as three individual dishes? Do I have enough time to do that? Do I have the ingredients? So that’s probably the hardest step is determining what we are going to eat for dinner.

Megan:

Then the next step would obviously be like you said, how am I going to cook this? Do I want it all in the same bowl? Maybe thinking through how easy I want this to be? If you’re feeling up for a bigger feast or more involved process, then you could create three separate dishes. But if you’re feeling a little bit down, which I think we all can relate to during this time, then maybe it’s just a one bowl thing.

Anecia:

Yeah, absolutely. You can have all the nutrients and vitamins and flavor in one bowl as you can in three dishes. So don’t be afraid to mix and match. That’s another little spin on determining what’s for dinner.

Megan:

That’s where creativity comes in. One of my favorite meals is a chicken burrito bowl, like a spinoff from Chipotle. It’s like everything in one, it is so easy and so good. I can have that every single day. But you can get so creative with this. The way to cook, step number two is just an invitation for creativity.

Anecia:

Yes. That’s a little precursor to step three. Here’s why. Let’s just use the example of chicken. I’ve got chicken. Do I want to grill it or do I want to slow cook it? Do I want to saute it? However you determine you’re going to cook this, will help you determine whether you’re going to use fresh herbs or ground herbs, spices, things of that nature. Because if you grill a chicken, you’re not going to want to put fresh herbs on it. They’ll catch on fire. So I’m going to roast a chicken, but I don’t want just salt and pepper. But once you determine how you’re going to cook Spin the globe. Pick a place. Just say, oh, I wish I were in Greece today. Oh, I’d love to be in Santarini. Okay. So I’ve got chicken and I want to be in Greece. Then we’re going to look at Greek seasonings. You probably have them in your pantry. Or you say I want to go to Spain. Then we’re going to look and find some Spanish seasonings that we have, and then apply that to your chicken and your rice and green beans.

Megan:

Then what comes after that? After you decide on a place and a seasoning, then what?

Anecia:

Then after you determine how you’re going to season this, you’re going to experiment and you can use spices. Right now one of my favorite spices is Za’atar. It’s a Middle Eastern spice and it has sesame seeds in it. It really gives a nice round flavor. You’re going to look at your spices, your herbs. Look at different acids. We’re talking lemon, vinegar, wine, incorporate all of these into this dish you’re making that normally would be chicken with salt and pepper. Consider using pastes like a lemon grass paste. If you want to swing Asian, or if you want to go, maybe north African, consider a harissa paste. Just kind of step outside your normal area and experiment. So once you’ve selected all the seasonings and spices and herbs, then you’ve basically created this masterpiece that you cook and share with your viewers.

Megan:

I love this. This is like a way right now for us to daydream because I find that I am doing that a lot. I don’t know about you, but I am cooped up at home, like the rest of you are. It’s easy to take yourself to those places where you wish you could be, or that you’re hopeful to be someday soon again. So this is kind of a way to do that. I love you’re just spinning the globe. Okay. Where do I want to be? What are we going to eat? What flavors are we going to incorporate into our dinner tonight? That is so fun. It’s such a fun way to enjoy food.

Anecia:

It’s fun. As food bloggers, of course, we’re going to experiment, measure, cause we’re going to share this recipe with our viewers. You may make a seasoning blend three times that you just can’t get it right. But you have to pull all of those elements into that flavor profile. So when I say spices, herbs, acids, paste, go one step further and go into sauces. Sauces are very intimidating for the home cook, but that’s the Ku de gra. That’s like, oh, that looks so good. It’s always in a sauce.

Megan:

Yes. That’s true. Saucy is a fun word for a reason. So if we find something that we just really love and we share it with our audience, that’s one way to take what we’re doing and share our food, but how do we share this or present this process to our audience? Do you think that’s possible to give them the ability to stir up their own creativity in the kitchen and how do we do that?

Anecia:

That’s a good question. In my research, and even in my everyday life, I do the same thing. I’m like, ah, I really want to put a different spin on this. But I think as food bloggers, what we can do is, provide substitute seasonings. So for instance, if you’re making a dish that needs dill or you don’t have a deal, what’s in that flavor profile that will support that. Caraway, coriander, cumin. I mean those smoky spices. I don’t think the home cook thinks about it as much as we do, but you can achieve a similar flavor with a substitute. I think that’s probably what us as food bloggers can do is demystify the spice box for me.

Megan:

Ooh, that’s good. Demystify the spice box. I like that.

Anecia:

I’ve never cooked with Za’atar. What is it? Try it and see. You might like it on a pizza. You might like it on your eggs. You never know.

Megan:

That’s a great idea because I mean, before I started food blogging and really getting into cooking, I had all of these spices sitting in my cupboard and I didn’t really know what to do with them, but you know, years and years of experimenting, yes I do now. But we have to consider that a lot of people are in that boat where they really don’t kno. They can toss something on a sauce and hope for the best, but we can be their guide and let them know that this is a great flavor combination. You don’t just have to guess, we’re going to give you some ideas. So that’s great. Providing alternatives or substitutions. If you don’t have dill, you can easily use this and it’s gonna be great. So that’s really great.

Anecia:

Just a note about using herbs and spices. Most of us probably have more dried herbs than fresh. So as simple as it is, the dried herbs are stronger than fresh herbs. So if you use one teaspoon of a dried herb, you would need three teaspoons of fresh herbs. Then you put the dried herbs in first and the fresh herbs in last. Even just sharing that kind of information, because you can over season if it’s a dried herb and the recipe calls for fresh.

Megan:

Right, these are details that they need to know.

Anecia:

If you haven’t studied food science or are not in the culinary world, you would not know that. The same with acids. You’re gonna add vinegar or lemon to your sauce. It always goes in at the end, always because it will curdle.

Megan:

Like I said, in the beginning of our chat, this is what’s great about being a food blogger. We can explain all of this, whereas maybe a recipe coming from a cookbook, you wouldn’t get all of those details because you just can’t fit it on the page.

Anecia:

Even if you could, you know, people are moving so fast, they’re not going to read four pages of why you add vinegar at the end.

Megan:

Right. So this is really great. I really like your approach and your process that you go through. It allows us to be creative and also to share that creativity with our readers. I think people are really looking for that right now because food is getting boring. We’ve got chicken breasts, we’ve got ground beef. We maybe have a few veggies and we have a cupboard full of spices. What in the world do we do with all of that? So this is a really fun, great approach. So beyond the basics, what are some ways that we can go above and beyond and create things that are a little more elaborate? Do you have any thoughts about that? I just think of people right now who are doing these crazy creations. When we went into this whole pandemic, I feel like we thought it would be just boring chicken. A cake in a square pan. But people really are wanting more right now. So how can we even go above and beyond?

Anecia:

Actually I think people want comfort food right now.

Megan:

Yes. Agreed.

Anecia:

I follow a lot of different groups, cooking groups and even my close friends are like, I wanna make chicken and dumplings like my grandmother did. It really is going back to the basics, but you can only make chicken and dumplings so many times. So then it gets boring and that’s where we are now. Again, we’re going to go back and look at chicken and dumplings. Let’s put that in a puff pastry on top, or make a casserole. Take it out of its element. In fact, an example I saw the other day was the traditional stuffed cabbage rolls, a food blogger had turned that into a casserole.

Megan:

Hmm. There you go. So like deconstructing a traditional recipe and turning it into something different.

Anecia:

Deconstructing, that’s a great word because some people don’t know how to roll cabbage. I don’t have the patience to roll cabbage leaves. You don’t have to. Look at this. So maybe we just restructure some of the things that are seemingly more difficult.

Megan:

I like that. Yes, I think you’re right. Everyone wants comfort food. So maybe going back to those really just comforting old school dishes that people are wanting and transforming them. I love that concept.

Anecia:

Even chicken and dumplings, and that’s just one example that came to mind, but if I wanted to make something different than I normally make it, my first thought would be, I’m going to put in a little bit of dill. I’m just going to kind of heighten the flavor a little with different, but complimentary seasonings.

Megan:

Oh, that’s great. It’s giving me a lot of food for thought as well. I’m just sitting here thinking through some of my more basic recipes and how I could put a spin on those to just serve up something a little bit more unique. How does planning play a role in all of this? Because I can tell you that planning has definitely taken a front seat for me personally during this time. So what are your thoughts on planning through these meals that we’re creating?

Anecia:

You have to start with something. So in terms of planning a meal, again, we go back to availability, affordability and practicality. What’s in the refrigerator? What do we have in the pantry? Where do we start? So the starting point could be basically I have five pounds of ground beef. I do not need five pounds of chili. So separate it and start planning out two beef meals or four, depending upon how many you’re serving. But break down what you’ve got, that’s available into different menus so that will stretch that farther. Then you can dress it up and change the flavor profile by going through this thought process and spinning the globe.

Megan:

That’s a great formula; availability, affordability, and practicality, and just starting with a protein, like you said, five pounds of ground beef. You clearly do not want to make that whole VAT of chili because that’s ridiculous. But split it up and then get creative from there and go back to your four steps. What’s for dinner? Let’s take maybe a pound and a half of ground beef. Just splitting up the protein and the veggies, splitting everything up and starting fresh with each little bit that you’ve got. I love that.

Anecia:

I have a friend that thought she ordered four, one pound bags of green beans. She ordered four, two pounds bags of green beans and she posted on Facebook, what do I do? I said, oh my goodness. Well, and I listed about 15 things I thought she could do. So her situation was oh my goodness, I really don’t have a clue. The same thing with rice. There’s no rice at the store because everybody bought it. So who wants to eat plain rice every night? Add some chicken bouillon, add beef bouillon, add tomatoes. Make Italian seasoning rice with your chicken Parmesan. Dressing up is boring.

Megan:

Dressing up is boring. That’s great too. I love it. Don’t you agree with this, that this time is going to bring out some really new, great flavor combinations and just a new way to be creative in the kitchen. I have noticed that for myself, 100%, you mentioned rice. I’ve been thinking of ways to dress up rice too, which is funny. I’m sure we all are. But we do have a little bit of rice sitting in our pantry and the other night we pulled it out and cooked it. I too was like, I don’t want to just eat rice. So we put a little cilantro and really finely chopped red onion and lime juice. I would not have done that before. This is making me want to be more creative. It’s so funny. We were talking before the interview about weird phenomenons that this whole pandemic is bringing about. I feel like that’s one of them. It’s just forcing us to be creative. Maybe that will carry over into when it’s done. We’ll all be just massively creative exploding with ideas. Who knows.

Anecia:

I hope so. As food bloggers and as home cooks, it is forcing us to step outside the box. If you’re going to stand in the kitchen and work on a recipe for your viewers, you owe it to them to get busy with it, do something different. At the end of the day, those recipes will be out there. They will be shared and oohed and ahhh. So it’s the silver lining in this situation.

Megan:

There are some silver linings and we need to be looking for those in order to stay positive. I think this is one of them. So you mentioned Anecia, a few things from the pantry or fridge that can really bring out the flavors and food right now. You mentioned acids like juices. Obviously spices, herbs, seasonings like that. Then pastes and sauces. What about those things that are sitting in our pantry that are not necessarily stars? So a can of green beans or a can of chicken broth. What are your ideas for people about things that we can do with those? Because I know I have this shelf that is just staring at me. Boring. Do you have ideas?

Anecia:

I have canned food in my pantry for backup. I try not to use a lot of canned products, but I’m not running to the grocery store every day. So, let’s take a can of corn. This is just an example. Just plain old, canned corn or frozen corn, even. What you can do with that, just heat it and eat it. That’s going to get old. Let’s spin the globe. Let’s go to Mexico. Let’s add some cumin and coriander and a little chili powder and some diced green chilies. Same thing with your pasta. You know, it really picks where you want to go. Let’s pretend we’re in Russia. I don’t know off the top of my head Russian spices, but you see where I’m going with it. You can apply that same little concept to those canned goods. You got maple barbecue beans. Well, what can we do with those? They’re going to taste the same every can. Well throw in some onions, throw in some green pepper, throw in some sun dried tomatoes. Put in some brown sugar, just kind of mix it up. Experiment.

Megan:

Yeah. So it really does all go back to your whole theory about having four steps to go through and spinning the globe. Finding a region because you can do that with anything. If you can do that with a can of corn and turn corn into Mexico, then I mean, goodness, you can do that with anything.

Anecia:

Also the methodology. Drain the corn, put it in a dry cast iron skillet and roast the dickens out of it. You’ve got roasted corn and that has a totally different flavor profile than just normal, canned corn. So it’s a combination of the seasonings and the method of cooking that’s going to produce a different flavor.

Megan:

I drew a graphic. Start with a protein, and then you pick this. So I just picture this graphic in my mind of starting with what you have and then going through a handful of different cooking processes. You could even throw in there, Instant Pot or Air Fryer, or another method of cooking with an appliance or something like that. I mean, there’s so many different options when cooking. Grilling, stove top, oven baked, I mean you could go on and on.

Anecia:

Absolutely. I haven’t made an Instant Pot yet, but I don’t have anywhere to put it in my kitchen. But for those bloggers that do, wow, bring it on. Throw some heat, throw some spices in and shake it up for your viewers.

Megan:

Exactly. I mean, the options really are endless. Then moving on the graphic, you’ve got a plethora of spice and seasoning options. I just see this as being so much opportunity for flavor. It kind of excites me. Now, I’m going to look at my pantry a little bit differently and not yawn when I see the can of corn; even though it appears boring, but it doesn’t have to be.

Anecia:

No, it doesn’t. We look at our other food bloggers’ recipes for inspiration. But you know, if you don’t want to sit and look at other people’s food ideas, you’re like, I just need to do something on my own. Just go in and start experimenting. You will be surprised that some of the things that you come up with your viewers are going to be like, oh, this rocks. This is awesome. It’s something you thought, oh my goodness. This is so simple. For the more experienced cook, the sauces are always of great value to home cooks because most of us have sauce paranoia. I’m so afraid. You’ve heard a million stories though. My sauce broke. Oh Lord. I don’t want my sauce to break. I don’t even want to try a sauce. So I’m offering your viewers and listeners a little infographic for creating derivative sauces. You can create derivative sauces from the five mother sauces.

Megan:

Oh, nice. I am a huge believer in homemade sauce making, because people, like you said, they’re intimidated by it. It’s this thing, it was for me forever. Then I started making sauces out of necessity because my husband just got a sensitivity to certain ingredients that are always in store-bought sauces. So I started making them and realized, oh my gosh, they’re so easy. They’re way more delicious. So I love making homemade sauces. That’s one of my little secret things that I do in the kitchen. Then also put them in the freezer. So you can have them for later. Because what I used to do is I used to make a huge batch of say pizza sauce or whatever, put it in the fridge and then it would go bad because I wouldn’t use it all. But now, put them in little containers and then just pull them out as needed and most sauces freeze really well.

Anecia:

You could always resurrect them by adding a little more liquid, or if you need to thicken it, add a slurry. That’s a whole game changer too, just in everyday cooking, sauces are not scary anymore.

Megan:

They are not, they’re so easy. Every sauce I’ve made at home has been super easy, way more than I thought. So I encourage people to do that and encourage your readers to do that too, because they’re going to want to know how to do that right now. I mean, you can’t go out and just go to the grocery store every day. So if a sauce is needed, most likely you’ve got most of the ingredients sitting in your house.

Anecia:

Well, exactly. Another way to create a sauce, if you don’t have exactly what you need, go think paste. Think garlic paste, lemon paste, harissa. Some of these herbs, you can get spices and herbs in a paste and they flavor it, but you can also create a roux around that. Then you’ve got a sauce.

Megan:

Mm yum. I’m hungry. I need to go eat lunch. Okay. So I mentioned the graphic earlier because I think that is a really great way for us to communicate right now with our audience. So, putting your own spin on it, each blogger is going to have something different to offer. But I think putting a graphic like that together would be really helpful for people right now just to see. Maybe not necessarily a graphic, that’s kind of how I think through things, but maybe a blog post. You could write something out; start with this and then go to this. I see all over Instagram, people are like, like you mentioned your friend, the green beans. I see that all the time now because people are ordering their groceries. So they aren’t in the grocery store getting it themselves. Then something else shows up at their door or they get a crazy amount of something and they don’t know what to do with it. Lemons, I saw the other day someone was like, I have a massive bag of lemons and I have no idea what to do with this. So just provide that kind of step-by-step for your readers, whatever that means.

Anecia:

Absolutely. It’s fun and we want to inspire and show people that this can be good stuff. This is good stuff.

Megan:

It’s causing us to be more creative as food bloggers, but we can also instill that creative cooking to our audience so that after this pandemic is done, people are hopefully going to be more competent in the kitchen and using our recipes more and wanting more of our content. So I think if we just put that spin on it right now and really try to foster creativity in other people, it’s only going to benefit us too.

Anecia:

I absolutely agree. I have a dear friend that cannot cook. I mean, she just can’t and she’s being forced to, because you can’t eat out every night. One, you can’t afford it. Two, your waistline, can’t afford it. She’s being forced to learn how to do this. I pointed her to my direction and I said, think this through. Play this game with me, this little process and apply it to what you have in your refrigerator. Her son wrote the other day, mom actually finished in 30 minutes. What would normally take her three hours and 30 minutes, we had dinner. He said, and it was good.

Megan:

Oh, see, that’s a Testament to you putting her in the right place and delivering some steps for her to follow. So that’s great. See, I think that people are going to be doing that more and more because there are so many people, we forget this, but there’s so many people who really just do not, or do not want to, or cannot cook at all. Those people are being forced to cook right now.

Anecia:

It’s gotta be painful. I mean, it’s probably as painful to them as some of this food blogging technical stuff is to me.

Megan:

Good point.

Anecia:

I mean, I just break out a sweat every time I have to do anything. That probably is the same sentiment for a lot of home cooks. So we need to instill confidence and show pictures. Say, look, here it is. This is it. Great videos that are quick and you can do this.

Megan:

Another reason to do those process shots is that I know a lot of people just don’t like to do it because it’s extra. I was going to say a more complicated recipe, but it doesn’t even have to be complicated. Just any recipe showing the steps that you go through so that people can relate and say, oh yes, good. Mine looks like that. Or it looks similar, in guiding people as much as you can.

Anecia:

Right. That supports my mantra about if you can read, you can cook. We all learn differently and some are more visual, some are more audio. So you don’t know how your reader or your viewer learns. So we have an obligation as, and I put in quotes, teachers, you show them, you tell them, show them again. We can’t be repetitive for the sake of creating long content. Or be too wordy, keyword stuffing or whatever. But if you tell them what you’re going to tell them, and you tell them and you show them, and then it’s in the recipe notes, they’re going to print that out or pull it up on their phone. It will be right there with the picture. So when you’re frying a pork chop, you go, oh, mine looks just like hers. Good.

Megan:

Exactly. Yeah. I like that. You pointed out that everyone’s going to absorb information and recipes in different ways. So providing little snippets of video and those process shots, photos along the way, and then also instructions. Then at the end of the recipe, guess what, they have an entirely filled out recipe card, so they can review that. So this is great. Okay. Is there anything that we have not touched on that you wanted to talk about before we start saying goodbye Anecia?

Anecia:

No, I just thank you so much for this opportunity. I hope that our conversation will inspire food bloggers to really just go a little bit beyond what you normally would and if you’re really a gourmet food blogger, you might want to reel it in a little bit and get back to basics. We’re just looking for an opportunity to provide something that A, is stable and we know it, but then also something that, oh, I have chicken. I can do something different with that. So we have just this obligation to teach and educate and inspire and let people know, you too can make this dish and it’s going to be good and you’re going to like it. You’re going to make it again.

Megan:

Yeah. I, this was a great conversation and it’s very timely. Like I mentioned earlier, it just gives us a new way to look at our kitchen and the way we cook and also individual ingredients. Looking at a bag of lemons, when I saw that person post on Instagram, it’s just interesting. Now we look at a bag of lemons or potatoes or really anything so much differently because we don’t want to waste it. We want it to provide flavor for as many things as we can figure out. So it’s just a really interesting time with food. So I appreciate your perspective.

Anecia:

Well, thank you so much. I hope it’s helpful.

Megan:

Definitely, for sure. It’s going to be helpful information for everybody. So thank you for being here. Also, if you wouldn’t mind, do you have a favorite quote or words of inspiration to share with food bloggers?

Anecia:

You know, this is what I’ve always said and I catch myself thinking this, particularly when I’m cooking for the holidays or for large groups. I say to myself, I’m making a big mess, but hopefully I’m making a memory.

Megan:

That’s great.

Anecia:

The kitchen is torn upside down and there’s flour everywhere. Hopefully, somebody, when I’m long gone, somebody will say, oh, I’ll remember that time we were at Aunt Anecia’s and Camille threw pizza dough on the ceiling.

Megan:

It was annoying to clean it up, but thank goodness we made that memory.

Anecia:

Then on a closing note, I did want to let you know that as we were talking about taking it up just a little bit farther and exploring the sauce world, I’m offering that infograph on my website for those who sign up for my newsletter. They’ll get it instantly in their inbox and they can just pop a picture. It shows you the mother sauce, what you add to it, the liaison, and then the derivative, which is the final sauce. Then it’s categorized by type of protein or seafood, vegetable, whatever.

Megan:

Oh, perfect. So tell us where people can find that. Also where is the best place to find you online?

Anecia:

I am at smartypantskitchen.com and that smarty with a Y. I am there on Instagram and Facebook.

Megan:

Awesome. If people are interested, we will link in your show notes to your page that you were talking about, but where can they find that? Do you have a place on your blog where they can go?

Anecia:

For the culinary masterpiece? Right now it’s a post and I can resurrect it and it could be front and center, but it’s there. You just have to search for it.

Megan:

So just for sake of ease, we will just link to that from your show notes, which can be found at eatblogtalk.com/smartypants. Best show notes URL ever. So if you’re interested, everyone go look at Anecia’s show notes, read through everything that we’ve covered today, and then you can also reference that graphic she’s talking about. So thank you again, Anecia for being here and sharing your wealth of knowledge about this topic.

Anecia:

Thank you, Megan.

Megan:

Yes. Thank you so much. Thanks for listening today. Food bloggers, I will see you next time.

Outro:

We’re glad you could join us on this episode of Eat Blog Talk. For more resources based on today’s discussion, as well as show notes and an opportunity to be on a future episode of the show, be sure to head to eatblogtalk.com. If you feel that hunger for information, we’ll be here to feed you on Eat Blog Talk.