FOBLOKI - Chef Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz

Chef Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz is our guest for Inside the FOod BLOgger's KItchen this week. She currently lives in New York City and describes herself as a "novice amateur cook." Together, we shared a virtual subway ride across the Big Apple.

IsItEDible: To start us off, please tell us about your earliest cooking-related memory?
Chef Paz: When I was a little girl living in Africa, I used to play-cook with my sister. We had this children's stove that could be lit with real fire. We boiled water and put leaves and plants from garden in the pot. We never did eat it, though, and I never did cook in real life after that.

IsItEDible: Real fire? That's so much more hardcore than the lightbulb in an Easy Bake Oven. Eventually your cooking adventures brought you from Africa to New York City. But obviously not everyone who cooks has a food blog. What made you decide to start yours?
Chef Paz: I was excited about the fact that I was actually cooking and making EDible food… sorry I couldn't help myself, heh heh heh. I didn't really have anyone to talk about my cooking experiences. My family was mildly amused but didn't care to really listen to my cooking adventures in the kitchen. Same with my friends. Then, a friend of mine had a non-food blog, and I thought to myself that it would be really cool to start a food blog where I could blog about my experiences and document my progress -- like a food journal for myself. I thought my food blog would be the first in food blog history. I did some research and you can imagine my surprise to find a LOT of food blogs. Haha! So much for being the first. The very first food blog I found was Traveler's Lunchbox. I still visit it, and it's inspiring as are many of the other food blogs I've since discovered. I've amassed a runaway list of food blog links. You can find them in the 'Links' section of my blog. They're all worth visiting.

IsItEDible: Wow, it sounds like you’ve truly had some fun COOKING ADVENTURES... sorry, I couldn’t help myself either. How did you come up with the name for your food blog?
Chef Paz: Well, the name of my food blog -- The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz -- exactly describes what my blog is all about -- my experience with learning to cook. When I started cooking and made some decent meals, my family was pleasantly surprised and started calling me "Chef Paz." They would yell out, "Hey, Chef Paz! What's for dinner?"Of course, they were teasing me by calling me "Chef." It was just a big joke but the moniker stuck on me after that. The other part of my food blog title -- "The Cooking Adventures" is an accurate description of what happens to me when I step into the kitchen. I never know what will happen as I try to follow recipe instructions. It's definitely a cooking adventure.

IsItEDible: And how long have you been blogging about “The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz”?
Chef Paz: This past August 2007 makes it two years. Unbelievable for me. I wasn't sure I'd have anything to keep blogging about after the first couple of weeks. I do. Now my problem is that due to my work schedule, I haven't had time to devote to my food blog (and reading other food blogs) as I'd like but I'm still blogging.

IsItEDible: Can you walk us through the process you use to create a blog entry?
Chef Paz: Umm... I don't think I have a real process. I just cook, bake.... take my photos, post them, and the write about my experience. That's it. Oops! Was I supposed to tell you that? I probably should have thought of something elaborate and impressive to tell you. I guess it's too late now, huh?

IsItEDible: And all this time I thought that you had a team of little elves who lived in a tree helping you with your blog. What a let down. What has been one of your favorite non-elf authored blog posts to write?
Chef Paz: Umm... I'm not sure I have a favorite blog post. Nothing really comes to mind at the moment. Perhaps someone can tell me their favorite blog post they enjoyed reading?

IsItEDible: Readers, feel free to share your favorite Chef Paz blog posts in the comments section. Lastly, what is one thing we wouldn't know about you just from reading your blog?
Chef Paz: Hmmm... I don't know... I think I may have answered that question indirectly in one of my meme posts here. If you take a look and find something you didn't know about me, let me know what you found.

And now the QUICKFIRES…

IsItEDible: What foods warm your heart?
Chef Paz: Plantains -- Childhood food.

IsItEDible: What foods strike fear in it?
Chef Paz: Can't think of any.

IsItEDible: What turns you on in the kitchen?
Chef Paz: Cooking smells. Ingredients in pot. Herbs being chopped.

IsItEDible: What turns you off?
Chef Paz: Can't think of anything.

IsItEDible: In the kitchen, what sound or noise do you love?
Chef Paz: Radio, CD playing, pots, chopping,-- any cooking activity.

IsItEDible: In the kitchen, what sound or noise do you hate?
Chef Paz: None I can think of.

IsItEDible: What word or phrase is heard most often in your kitchen?
Chef Paz: "Oh, Lord! Help me!" Just joking. No word or phrase that I can think about but I often do a Happy Dance in the kitchen -- it's like the 'Snoopy Dance' -- when the smells or sounds of what I'm cooking excite me. Like chopping cilantro, basil, etc.... I love the smell. Sorry couldn't answer this in 5 words or less. Just couldn't.

IsItEDible: What's your favorite kitchen appliance/gadget?
Chef Paz: My zester for lemons, oranges....

IsItEDible: What recipe or dish are you known for?
Chef Paz: None. I try everything. Different things.

IsItEDible: What recipe or dish would you like to attempt?
Chef Paz: Everything and anything that catches my eye.

IsItEDible: Chef Paz, thank you for joining us this week. As bring this interview to a close, could you indulge us in a demonstration of our infamous "Snoopy Dance?" (Peanuts music playing in the background. Fade to black...)