Ahem, Is This Thing On?

Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3.

Hi. I'm Amanda and I wanted to formally introduce myself. Sure, you can take a loot at my About Me page, but that's so generic and impersonal and just not as fun. This will be short and sweet, I promise.

As I said before, my name is Amanda. I have a toddler and am in a kind of long distance relationship with her father who lives in London. By the way, did I mention I used to live in London? I went there for university and lived there for a couple years after until they kicked me out my visa expired. Her father and I weren't into the idea of marrying just because we were pregnant and wanted to do it when we were ready. It makes things more complicated, but apparently that's what I like.

I've been an on and off blogger for years, but only because serious about it for about a year now. I've been writing online content since 2010 for a lot of different companies - you've probably read some of my stuff and didn't even realize it! Some of the work that isn't ghostwritten and attributed to me appear on eHow, Bounty Paper Towels, wiseGEEK, Kudzu and Daily Glow as well as a few other websites. I don't really do that kind of work now (just don't have the time), but I miss it!

For years I've considered starting a food blog, but I have a habit of starting projects and never going through with them. My other blog, Subscription Maven, helps keep me disciplined because I am constantly reminded of my blog and needing to write posts daily due to this blog's nature. After doing that for a while, I finally realized that I could no longer avoid my dream of having a place to share my recipes with others. I even started sharing subscription box recipes on Subscription Maven.

It wasn't until college that I was forced into became deeply interested in cooking for myself. One of my roommates was a great cook and she inspired me. When I met Vlad, who is a trained chef... well, he really started to get me on the path of cooking and before I knew it, I was making my own bread and trying all sorts of complicated recipes. After that, I was hooked and loved experimenting with my food creations.

Cooking became especially important when I had Natushka. I wanted her to only have the best, so I started making my own baby food and finding delicious ways to cook vegetables. Most of the food on this blog will be decadent and the calories would probably shock you, but I will do my best to include as many healthy recipes as I can too!

I am always looking for inspiration and suggestions. I usually go to other bloggers and friends for ideas on my next recipe, but I would love to get feedback on food you want to see on the blog.

If you made it this far, thank you from the bottom of my heart!