FOBLOKI - Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen

For this week's edition of "inside the FOod BLOgger's Kitchen," I shared a virtual cheese sandwich (on low-carb bread slices) with Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. You might recognize Kalyn as the founder of Weekend Herb Blogging, which just recently celebrated its two year anniversary.

IsItEDible: Kalyn, a hearty congratulations on the continued success of Weekend Herb Blogging. To begin the interview, tell us about your earliest cooking-related memory?
Kalyn: I remember making what we called "Weenies with Cheese in the Middle" when I was about ten. Take a hot dog, cut down the middle, put a stick of cheese, and bake until the cheese melts and the hot dog is cooked. Real gourmet cooking!

IsItEDible: (Hmm. I wonder if I could make a Halloween costume for Zoe just by strapping a box of Velveeta to her back… Weinerdog with Cheese in the Middle.) Flash forward a few years to April of 2005. What motivated you to create Kalyn's Kitchen and where did the name come from?
Kalyn: After I lost 40 pounds on the South Beach Diet, so many people were asking me for recipes that my brother Rand suggested I start recording them on a blog. I'd always been a good cook and also loved to write so it seemed like a natural fit. And as for the name, I must have thought the alliteration of Kalyn's Kitchen was catchy. It's an ok name, but everyone mis-pronounces Kalyn. (It's Kay Lynn.)

IsItEDible: I can totally empathize. EVERYONE mispronounces Ed. Kalyn, (carefully enunciating Kay Lynn), like our previous FOBLOKI guest, you have an uncanny ability to churn out posts on a daily basis. What is your secret to creating so many entries?
Kalyn: I always have a long list of recipes I want to make, so that part is ongoing! I do at least 80% of my cooking on the weekends, since I teach school all day. As I'm cooking the food, I have a notebook where I write down the recipe and take notes on time, etc. I actually started using a stopwatch to time things because I get distracted and I wanted to be more accurate. As the food is getting close to done, I'm picking plates and photo backgrounds. (I never can pick one and keep it; I use at least 3 plates every time I shoot photos!) I take at least 50 photos of everything I cook. As soon as I take the photos I usually EAT! Then I try to look at the photos, edit them, and put them into a post draft right away. Sometimes it can be weeks before I write the post, which is one reason I need good notes. I try to have a couple of draft posts written in advance when the week starts, but some weeks I'm writing them after school nearly every night. It takes me 1-2 hours to do the actual writing, depending on how complicated the recipe is, how many photos, and how inspired I get.

IsItEDible: Readers, that is such the testament to the amount of work it takes to write a post. Food bloggers often make the sacrifice of eating our food at room temperature (as opposed to piping hot) thanks to the 50 pictures we take on 3 different plates to get that 1 magical shot. Kalyn, so of all the different pictures on all the different plates you've gone through, what has been one of your favorite blog posts to write?
Kalyn: The Cheese Sandwich Chronicles is definitely one of the most fun things I've written, especially the final one where so many people posted about cheese sandwiches:

IsItEDible: Yes, yes! Your ode to cheese sandwiches created quite the stir in the food blog world. And what about one of the most difficult blog posts?
Kalyn: Nothing comes to mind particularly, but a lot of posts are difficult to write. Sometimes it just doesn't flow!

IsItEDible: Oh the money we could make from creating a Drano-like solution for stopped-up food blog writing. Lastly, what is one thing we wouldn't know about you just from reading your blog?
Kalyn: I'm actually pretty much of an introvert. My idea of a great weekend is coming home on Friday night and not leaving the house again until Monday morning. I spend waaaay too much time on the computer.

IsItEDible: An entire weekend at home sounds…REFRESHING!

And now the QUICKFIRES.

IsItEDible: What foods warm your heart?
Kalyn: sushi, Greek Food, Thai Food

IsItEDible: What foods strike fear in it?
Kalyn: sugar and white flour

IsItEDible: What turns you on in the kitchen?
Kalyn: savory dishes, complex flavors

IsItEDible: What turns you off?
Kalyn: overly complex, fussy recipes

IsItEDible: In the kitchen, what sound or smell do you love?
Kalyn: Kitchen timer ticking.

IsItEDible: In the kitchen, what sound or noise do you hate?
Kalyn: Dishes breaking on tile floor!

IsItEDible: What word or phrase is heard most often in your kitchen?
Kalyn: "This is really good."

IsItEDible: What's your favorite kitchen appliance/gadget?
Kalyn: Foodsaver, food processor, convection oven

IsItEDible: What recipe or dish are you known for?
Kalyn: Slow roasted tomatoes

IsItEDible: What recipe or dish would you like to attempt?
Kalyn: White Whole Wheat pizza crust!

IsItEDible: Kalyn, (dramatic pause) thank you again for joining us tonight. And thank you for constantly proving through all your efforts on Kalyn's Kitchen that healthy food CAN taste delicious.