#FDBLOGGERSGTK: get to know sprunting!

I don't usually go in for these types of blogger questionnaire things, but Ala from This Particular tagged me in the #fdbloggers 'get to know' round-up and I thought it would be fun to look back at my blog now I've been writing it for about a year and a half. 

What was your reason for starting a blog? I'm a fashion writer, but my big passion is food. I started Sprunting! as a space for the things I love to eat. I've always kept some kind of online journal but this is the first time I've really stuck at it - I think it shows how much I love it, that I spend lots of my weekends 'working' on it. I'm proud of how much my photography and food styling have improved and I'd love for my blog to one day help me get my dream job. 

What’s the dish you’re most proud of? My lemon cake with rosewater cream and jellied blackberries (above). This recipe is going to be making another appearance on the blog soon as I am due to be on TV this autumn! I'll keep you posted :)

What one kitchen utensil could you not live without? I'm pretty low-key when it comes to cooking. My brother gave me a Le Creuset non-stick frying pan and it's invaluable; my blue Falconware dishes (also from my brother!) are another favourite and I use them all the time for styling on my blog.

You’re stranded on a desert island. What three ingredients do you take with you? Eggs! As long as you have eggs to hand, you will always have a good meal. But realistically, I wouldn't be able to cook them and if I was actually stranded it would have to be sea salt, pepper and potatoes; I would drink fresh coconut water all day and barbecue fish and roast potatoes with plenty of chilli and seasonings. I think I'd be pretty good at foraging!

Who do you take inspiration from? I'm always thinking about food, so my ideas usually come from a craving for a specific ingredient and then a bit of googling. Jamie Oliver is my favourite chef, but I find it hard to stick to recipes by the letter (which is why I started my cookbook challenge) - I'm always adding a little something here and there.

Your favourite social media platform? Instagram. I'm totally obsessed, to the point that I think I need to take a step back. I regularly look back through my feed and I like remembering the little moments you usually forget about (although let's be honest...I could never forgot about this pulled pork!)

Biggest disaster in the kitchen? Hmm, I wouldn't say anything has ever gone terribly wrong before (famous last words), but my worst experience in the kitchen was thinking of a dish for the interview stage of the TV show I mentioned before; I had one night to think up a dish and practice it before I had to take my dish in and I made crispy fennel belly pork with butternut squash, toasted kale and pine nuts served as mini tacos. Everything tasted good separately, but together it just didn't work. I'd spent all night in the kitchen (not to mention lots of money on the ingredients) and I was so frustrated. In the end I decided to take my lemon cake, so I'm glad it worked out that way in the end!

Favourite spot for coffee? The place I get coffee from most is a place near my work who do Union coffee. If you see ever see a sign for Union coffee, you're almost guaranteed a good cup. My favourite place to go out for coffee is Brickwood in Clapham for their amazing mochas and banana bread with espresso butter. 

Favourite food photo you’ve taken? Once I switched out the kit lens on my camera for a 35mm one, my pictures have been so much better as it lets in so much more light. I've been so much happier with my photos ever since and I feel like my styling keeps getting better, but I definitely have a soft spot for the elderflower and cucumber coolers I made. It was one of those things where I really didn't have to do much...the photos just worked like magic. I also thought my mini blackberry and lemon cakes came out really well. 

 What would you say was your most successful blog post and why? My most viewed post is Deliciously Ella's lentil bolognese, but I can't take credit for that! My recipe for a virgin Bloody Mary that I called a Coco Mary, because I made it with coconut water, was also a landmark for me; Vita Coco loved my images, posted them on their social media and sent me a lovely box of coconut water! That was the first time that a brand got in touch with me thanks to my blog, so it was definitely memorable.

 

In the spirit of this (not so) little foodie community, I'm passing the baton to two food bloggers I'd love to get to know a little bit more about: 

Rosie from A Little Lusciousness
Sally from The Cafe Cat
Katie from BeNourishd

Thanks for tagging me, Ala! I loved answering these questions and I was struggling to think of something to post this week ;)