Hey, hey. You found me! I’m Amanda.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt
I love food, cooking, sharing it with others and documenting it. I am not a writer, or a photographer, or a trained chef. I’ve never written a recipe before this blog. I give myself about 5 minutes to photograph my food because it’s usually going directly into my mouth for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack. I’m a little of this and little of that-taste while you go type of cook. I was taught to cook by Food Network, cookbooks, and my own blood (sometimes), sweat (always), and tears (only one time with a soggy-crust cheesecake). I found a hobby in high school when I would come home from school, turn on Food Network, and page through my mom’s Taste of Home cookbooks. I would go to the library, check out as many cookbooks as I could carry (about 14) and go home to drool over them and copy recipes into my computer. I had more than a few mishaps (pepperoni pizza quiche, anyone?), but kept trying with the support and encouragement of my family and friends. I found a true passion over the years when I really began to understand how deeply connected food, love and community are. Food has an undeniable ability to bring people together, create memories and inspire others to connect and share.
“I come as one, I stand as ten thousand.”
—Maya Angelou
I started this blog as a journal to document all the recipes I make and love and cook my way through the many cookbooks and recipes I’ve collected over the years, which often come from other bloggers, cookbook authors, or media sources. Wait, wait…have we even talked about my cookbook collection? I am an absolute fiend for cookbooks and have (no exaggeration) thousands stored all of the house. They are all my children, and I will never have enough, and no one can convince me otherwise. However, to justify continuing to stuff cookbooks all over my house, I need to cook from them often! There are so many great, inspiring recipes out there in the world from amazing authors, food writers, and recipe testers/developers, and I wanted an outlet to tweak and catalog my favorites, especially while giving me the opportunity to learn and improve my food styling, photography, and writing skills. I appreciate the hard work of others beyond all describable words, and respect and acknowledge how hard it is to imagine, test, and create new food content. It brings me anxiety when I think about the fact that I will never be able to cook all the recipes I want to and read all the books I want to in the course of my life…but I’m sure gonna try!
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
—Isaac Newton
I spent so much time in the beginning of my blogging endeavors worrying myself sick about being how to be original and unique. “No one will want to read a blog where the author shares other people’s recipes,” I told myself. Can we just be honest here? Very few recipes are completely new, creative and/or the first of their kind. When I make a dish or meal in my kitchen, with my hands, for people I love and care about, doesn’t it become, in some way, “mine”? Food is meant to be shared, which by extension, means recipes should be too (at least in my eyes). It’s truly an honor when someone thought your food, video, or picture was delicious enough to want to make it themselves. It’s a way to share a little of my heart and the heart of my home with them. My goal for my blog has always been to provide great recipes that YOU will want to make and share yourself, so I’ve given up the pressure I’ve put on myself to be “one-of-a-kind” and create new content constantly. Some of the recipes here are my own creation, but many are inspired by, adapted from, or are just plain untouched from someone else’s hard work. I will always credit the recipe author if I use someone else’s recipe. I will always re-write the recipe in my own words (as much as possible), tweak the ingredients or cooking/baking methods to match how I made the recipe and when I feel it is beneficial, and style and take the photos myself. I really want to use this blog space as a place for all my favorite recipes to be housed, whether they are mine or not. There are millions of fantastic recipes out there, and I don’t want to re-invent the wheel. I’d like to think of myself as more of a recipe tester and tweaker in most cases; I’m always looking for the best of the best! Ultimately, I want this to be a space anyone can come and find a curated collection of great recipes.
“The important thing with cooking is that food tastes wonderful, you should never strive to be original.”
—Nigella Lawson
Cooking puts a fire in my belly unlike anything I have ever felt before and gives me a place in this world. I have been and continue to be endlessly awed and inspired by other cooks and want to pay it forward for others. My dream for this site is to inspire others to get into their kitchens and cook for themselves and those they love. I want everyone to learn, experiment, experience, and improve, to try new recipes and taste new cultures and for all to believe they are capable of creating delicious and beautiful food in their own kitchens. Please pull up a chair, grab a dog to put on your lap (I’m one dog-lovin’ mother**), and join me as I do something that scares me: share my love with the world.
This is my cooking manifesto.
Contact Me!
E-mail: amanda@nevernothungry.com