Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Adopt-A-Blogger Round 4… Fight.

Posted by CB / 7 comments » / Adopt A Blogger

A little Street Fighter nostalgia for the fans out there. Indulge me a little. My brother and Husband were/are Street Fighter aficionados. When they get together, It’s like some secret code that I don’t know.

Down, Forward/Down, Forward, Punch.
Forward, Down, Forward/Down, Punch.
Down, Down/Back, Back, Kick.

(100 points to anyone who knows what who/what special move that is.)

What does that even mean?? I don’t speak Nintendoese. English please! All I do know is Chun Li had some scary quads. Truth.

Ok back to the business at hand.

Gather round readers.

I wanna introduce you to someone.

Her name is Melissa of My McDonald Meal or on twitter@melmcd99. I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends. Just like my last AAB newbie, Erin of Erin’s Food Files. She’s taken her blog and just ran away with it. I am so proud. *waving at Erin like a doting mama chicken*

I think I mentioned AAB before but just to refresh your memory.

Adopt-A-Blogger (AAB) is an awesome blog event created by Kristen of Dine And Dish. Basically the long and short of it is: Experienced bloggers (1+ years) are matched up with Newbie bloggers (<1 year) to share tips, tricks, hints, advice etc etc for 3 months. Isn’t that the coolest idea? Right now AAB is in its 4th year but this is my second time participating. I encourage all bloggers to participate. I'm a leader by nature (the strong and silent type) but I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I learn SO much from my newbie even though I'm suppose to be the "experienced" one. It's really what you make of it. A sentiment that I try to live my life by.

Melissa and I have been emailing back and forth since February when the matches came out and I suggested to get to know each other with some interview questions. Since I loved reading her answers I decided to post them on my blog. What better way to put her on the spot introduce her by asking what’s in her refrigerator RIGHT now…? HA!

Let’s get this party started.

1. Tell me a little about yourself. (Name, location, birthday, family etc)
I am Melissa McDonald and I live in the beautiful bluegrass state where the air smells like bourbon and the folks all great you with a smile. My birthday is June 20th and I am a year shy of a nice mid point birthday. I have been married for almost 11years to my dream come true. Cheesy but true! We have two creative and unique girls, 6 and 2ish. I cannot forget to mention our 12 year old family buddy, Jetta, part beagle-part whippet and the best traveled dog!

2. What food do you NOT eat?
Since I spent a lot of my late teen and early twenties as a vegetarian, and now consider myself a “flexitarian”, I stay away from pork, and any odd game. On occasion, I will eat beef but prefer to eat bison, we have a great local farm I like to support.

3. What is your comfort food?
Well if I must be honest, which I always am, I will let all know that chocolate and anything that may include this food would be my comfort food of choice.

4. What is your go-to cookbook?
That’s a hard question to answer. I love variety so instead of having a true “go-to” book, I have a collection. My Eating Well magazines are my number one choice then followed by the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook that I won from SheWearsManyHats- before Christmas.

5. What is your favorite spice? Least favorite?
Fav-Garlic and cilantro! Least-Clove and nutmeg by itself.

6. Name 10 things in your frig RIGHT NOW.
Organic eggs, organic skim and soy milk, ground flax seeds, goat cheese, a block of firm tofu, beets, carrots, kale and unsalted butter.

7. Why did you start a food blog?
My other job, besides a mommy, is a Health Promotion Specialist with a major employer in town. So I wanted a way to promote healthy, fun family meal ideas. I want folks to see thay you can cook healthy fun meals at home instead of giving in to the “fast” food world. I also wanted a way to keep track of my recipes for my girls to use later. Many of my family and friends get after me for not writing down my crazy creations- now I have a way to do this and share to others.

8. How did you come up with your blog name?
Well- wanted something snappy and easy to remember. My McDonald Meal…my name and what you would see at our mealtimes.

9. What is your favorite can’t-live-without-it kitchen gadget?
Probably my awesome bamboo cutting board! And my “like-new” stand-up KA mixer. Can’t believe I have been baking this long without one.

10. What is your short term goals for your blog? Long term?
Short-term…to make my blog look more professional and easy to use. We just loaded CS3 and I’m ready to figure out the web graphics component- wish me luck!
Long-term…as long as I am reaching out to other people and showing them that it is do-able to lead a healthy life for you and your family, then I’ll be happy.

11. When and why did you start cooking?
My mom had me in the kitchen at a very early age. One of my first real cooking experiences was doing Cookie Monster’s chocolate chip cookie recipe from one of the Sesame Street volume books. As for why I cook now, it’s a stress reliever! There is something about chopping, stirring and of course tasting the foods and flavors.

12. What is one dish you would love to learn to cook?
Homemade pasta. I know it’s not that hard, but something just intimidates me about the whole recipe.

13. How do you see yourself in the future? Still blogging?
Yes, I do still see myself blogging. I would definitely like to make my blog a hit with lots of others. Maybe aim to win a few small scale awards. But honestly, I would love to turn this into a connection to my bakery. My ultimate dream is to open up my own organic bakery! Someday.

14. What is one food you hated as a kid but love now?
Cauliflower. It really wasn’t until the past few years that I finally found a way I enjoy it- roasted. I started cooking it more for my girls so they wouldn’t have the same problem. So far it’s working.

15. How have you gotten the word out about your blog?
Friends, co-workers and Twitter! But connecting with you through DineandDish has helped me even more! Thanks CB for picking me up.

16. Does your husband like to cook? If so, does he have a special dish?
My husband decided a longtime ago that he needed to have “his” dish. Something he would be known for. And after a few years of working on it, he finally found a great pizza dough recipe.

17. When you go out to dinner what would be your favorite type of cuisine?
Mine would be Indian or a small local vegetarian joint.

18. If you could go anywhere to study the foods of that country, where would you go?
I would chose Southern Italy for the wonderful Mediterranean cuisine.

19. What’s one of the favorite meals you grew up eating?
My mom’s baked/fried chicken with fresh green beans and corn on the cob. She also makes a great vegetarian chili.

20. What is one food item you make that is most requested from your family and friends?
Baked goods: White chocolate chip cranberry scones or cinnamon rolls.
Main course: spinach bean loaf.

Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did. Do me a favor and show her some comment love.

Check out her blog for my interview answers (here).

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