Hello! My name is Paula and I am the person
behind Blogging Foods. I lived 24 years of my life in Espirito Santo, Brazil:
During those 24 years, I spent a lot of time at
that beach and I did all the things one is supposed to do, such as go to
college and learn how cook! My formal education is in
Communications/Journalism and my passion is in food and cooking. I was already
cooking for my entire family at age 13. When I was 15 my mom came home from
work and found me in the kitchen baking pita bread from scratch. It came with
no surprise that my final college dissertation was about Culinary Arts.
With a degree in one hand and an airline ticket
in another, I left home to spend one year in the United States, more
specifically, in Minnesota. I had a dream to be fluent in the English language
and thought that a cultural exchange program was the right thing to do. During
that year in Minneapolis, a guy hit on me at a Best Buy store. That was
probably the only guy that ever talked to me in North America (Minnesotans are
NOT known for expressing their feelings), so I thought it would be a good idea
to marry him:)
And I did. I left Brazil and my family behind and now Minnesota is my primary home. Most people call me crazy since I have to deal with cold most of the year (the Winters here are long and intense!), and they are probably right. But my husband Andrei came with a bonus: he is the son of a Croatian mother, and now I have a third country in my life.
Not so bad, huh? Andrei also taught me to love
and respect wines. A great glass of wine always makes my food taste
better!
One of my favorite things we have in common is we
both believe that garlic is the secret of the universe. It is always an
emergency situation when we run out of it!!
But there are a couple of other things we have in
common. Isabella (5yrs):
She wants to be a ballerina (she is wearing her
ballet recital outfit in the photo above). She loves fashion, the color pink,
and shiny things:)
And she loves cherries. She made the following
arrangement when she was eating a bunch of them last summer. I thought it was
the most brilliant thing ever:
And we can't forget of Giovanni (3yrs), also none
as Gigi, Gio, Tarzan, Piui, etc.
Gio doesn't like to get his hair cut. Gio wants
to be Super-Man, I mean he IS Super-Man:
There is one thing he likes better than his
cape...his trains:
To my delight and amusement, he is a great eater. Look
at him devouring pasta in Croatia:
And corn in Brazil:
It has been 7 years since I decided to stay
in the US. For the first three and half years, I worked as an Events Manager at
the wonderful Weisman
Art Museum. When Gio was born I decided to take a break from work. I
feel very fortunate to be able to stay home with my young children. They fill
my life with love and laughter and they turn my days upside down, but that's
what children are for, right?!
Although those two lovely babies leave me with
very little time to invest in myself, since they are getting a little older, I
decided it was time to start thinking about what I want to do next, and that is
how Blogging Foods was born! This blog is the perfect place to channel my
passion into something procuctive. Something that not only makes me feel good,
but that can also improve other people's lives.
At Blogging Foods I share a piece of me through
my food. First of all I believe in cooking. That is, cooking with mostly fresh
ingredients and from scratch. I was very lucky to grow up in a family of great
cooks. I also feel grateful that my mother expected me to cook the same way she
expected me to go to college:
-
Cooking is not an option, Paula, it is just something you do if you want to
have a good life.
As usual she was right! Cooking and interest in
foods have enriched my life like nothing else, especially now that I have a
family to feed!
On the topic of family, you will often see my
kids little hands in my food photos. I love the participation...not just
because "they're cute" or that I happen to cook at home, but mostly
because I want them to learn about food and cooking. It is a gift no one will
never be able to take away from them. I hope they accept it!
Although I am very eclectic in my cooking, I
can't run too far away from my roots. I am excited to bring to you lots of
Brazilian recipes, some authentic, and some adapted to ensure you can cook it
no matter where you live. I also will be sharing some of the foods I learned to
love after I moved to the United States and married into Croatia. And finally,
I will be sharing all the foods I create using the inspiration these three
countries have brought to my life!
If you are an experienced cook, I hope I
can inspire you to try new flavors. If you are just learning your way through
the kitchen, you will benefit from my step-by-step recipe photos. I hope
you enjoy and come back often!
Have fun cooking,
Paula
