{Interactive Web Design Blog}

As a chef turned web designer (I am still a food lover first and foremost – that will never change) I know that the promise of a tasty lunch or dinner can make a day in front of the computer pass much easier.

I wanted to interview a friend and fellow Vancouver blog writer, Malgosia Krol. She has many talents, but for Robot Salmon I wanted to pick her mind about her skills as a Landscape Architect, a photographer, a chef and a blogger for Like Mama Said.

Robot Salmon: What motivates you to blog about food?
Like Mama Said: Cooking is my first love. Amidst all the things I’ve pursued in my life, all the interests I’ve chased down, I have never tired of the kitchen, learning about nutrition and feeding my gluttony for cookbooks. It also satisfies a deep appreciation I have for creativity, sharing and bringing people together, whether in our home or via the blog. I learned all my culinary tricks from my Mom who was very health conscious and had a talent for whipping up an amazing meal out of what looked to be an empty fridge. I liken that a lot too being limited to certain constrains, desires or dislikes of a client who you’re designing for and then just working with it and coming up with something “delicious.”

Robot Salmon: If you were to make lunch for a web designer what would you make?
Like Mama Said: I would definitely go with my Carrot Apple & Celery soup a.k.a “Sunshine Soup.” It’s incredibly refreshing and gives you that zing of energy when you need it most. As we all know, carrots improve the health of our eyes and skin and working long hours in front of the computer can certainly take it’s toll on our sight and naturally, how well we look to others. Celery has properties that soothe our digestive system and apples are a great source of fiber. This soup is also surprisingly satisfying, so it will do the trick if you’re putting in long hours at the office. For dessert (let’s be honest, what’s a meal without it?), I would make Raw Walnut Truffles. There’s no sugar and it’s made with raw cacao powder. It won’t leave you hanging after your blood glucose takes a nosedive, as it would with any other dessert riddled with ingredients that agitate your body and often cannot be digested efficiently, or at all.

Robot Salmon: You just recently launched a new website for your garden design business – was there any special foods that you bribed your web designer with?
Like Mama Said: Definitely! My husband is the graphic designer of my website and my guinea pig for new recipes, so he was on board to be wine and dined in return for his hard work. He’s a big lover of my vegan gluten and sugar-free muffins, his favorite being the “Huggybear Pumpkin Pear Muffins.” It took me a few tries to perfect the texture, but I finally managed to find that certain mix of ingredients for a tender and moist muffin. Sometimes tricky when using alternatives to regular wheat flours.

Robot Salmon: Are there any of your design skills and esthetics that you draw on and carry over when you are creating a new recipe?
Like Mama Said: I’m a very visual person so getting creative with recipes makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. I get so excited and inspired and feel that the possibilities are endless. Presentation is very important to me. Often, without even realizing it, I think I draw from my studies in Landscape Architecture to make it happen, from choosing colour, quality and texture to the pairing of ingredients and the assembly. I never follow a recipe, I think it’s part rebellion and that my creativity just takes over and I have at it in a way that just feels right intuitively and is satisfactory to my senses, which I think designers and creative people definitely rely a lot on naturally.

Robot Salmon: Do you find that your talents as a photographer help with Like Mama Said?
Like Mama Said: Oh yes, that’s a biggie. I’m absolutely ecstatic that I get to use all my creative loves to bring the blog together. It takes me no time to eat what I’ve made, but I think that I enjoy photographing it just as much as I do eating it. The first things I look for when I’m riffling through new cookbooks are images. A cookbook doesn’t come home with me if there’s no eye-candy of the recipe. I picked-up a lot of photography skills from Journalism School, so to get to write about my time in the kitchen and satisfy that too is just the icing on the cake for me. It really comes full circle.

Robot Salmon: Do you use other social media to get the awesome recipes from Like Mama Said out there to more readers (like Digg, Twitter, Stumble upon etc)
Like Mama Said: I use Facebook to get the word out about Like Mama Said and created a group that is available for anyone to join. And of course I
tag the hell out of the new recipes I post so that the blog appears on search engines like Google etc. I’ll definitely expand my horizons to more social networks in the near future, but I’m a little gun-shy to spread myself to thin at the moment and not be able to catch up. It does take maintaining to keep the social momentum going, so I want to make sure I have time for that.

Check out more from Malgosia likemamasaid.wordpress.com

Join the Like Mama Said Facebook Fan page so that you can start cooking for all the web designers in your life!

A Web Designer special recipe from likemamasaid.wordpress.com
Carrot Apple & Celery Soup

Living in Vancouver has its pros and cons, like any city of course (I’m referring to the rain in this case). So when I feel I need a bit of zing added to my gumboot step, I make myself a little bowl of sunshine soup.
3 tblsp. agave
2 tsp.cinnamon
pinch of salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 lime
2 tblsp. tomato paste
3 celery stalks, 10 medium carrots, both chopped
1 small onion, 1 garlic clove, both chopped
3 apples (2 peeled, cored and chopped & 1 cored, thinly sliced, skin on)

In a large pot cover the chopped carrot, celery, onion and garlic with water and bring to a boil, let simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. In a saucepan, sautee the 2 chopped apples with the agave and tomato paste, add a splash of water, stir and let simmer until the apples are slightly soft. Add this to the pot with the carrot and celery, stir in the cinnamon, lime juice, salt and pepper and transfer to a large mixing bowl for cooling before blending in a blender or food processor. Core and thinly slice the last apple and let the pieces brown in a frying pan with a splash of water on high heat. The pureed soup may be slightly thick, so stir in some water to your liking, garnish with the sliced apples, pepper and a drizzle of limejuice.

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