How do you create/come up with your recipes? Where do you find inspiration?

I was actually just thinking about this the other day. Inspiration is funny. It can hit me when I am wandering the grocery store, taking a walk outside, or even while doing absolutely nothing. What is so remarkable about inspiration is that it is your own. It is my brain developing a thought that pushes me to create. My inspiration comes from the season, what I am doing that weekend, my friends and family, and even the ingredients themselves. Once I am inspired, I quite literally run to the kitchen, blast some Fleetwood Mac and get to developing a recipe!

What are your long-term goals for EssenceEats?

Even thinking about long-term goals brings flutters to my stomach. Ultimately, my drive behind EssenceEats is to allow everyone to feel comfortable and inspired in the kitchen. I would love to develop a cookbook of my favorite recipes, tips, and tricks. Or even host a cooking class that shows some cooking basics to have as a foundation. To have this space of my own with the opportunity of endless growth, I feel empowered and am excited to see how far EssenceEats can go.

What were your early inspirations that set you off on your particular journey?

Growing up with my single mom and three siblings, some regular dishes served in my house were macaroni and cheese with hot dogs, packaged ramen, and spaghetti with Texas Toast. When my mom was working, I would make the meals for my family. My siblings loved these nostalgic flavors that they were used to, but every time I was in the kitchen with a spoon in my hand, I thought “How can I make this meal special?”. The kitchen quickly became a creative space for me, whether it was adding a certain spice to a dish to see what that tastes like or cooking it another way, it became a fun place for me to experiment with taste and flavor.

Which part of blogging excites you the most: the recipe development, the post writing, or the photography?

The part of my blogging journey that excites me the most is definitely the recipe development. Developing a recipe feels like home to me. It allows me to take my inspiration and invent something from it. The recipe development is the longest part of the process, as sometimes it can take 3,4,5 times to perfect it, but it is the most rewarding part. At the end of the process, I have a tried and true recipe that I am ecstatic to share with everyone and am certain that it is polished.

What is your favorite dish or meal to cook at the moment? Can you share the recipe with us?

Oh gosh, asking my favorite recipe is like asking to pick a favorite child! Since it is starting to cool down a bit here in Arizona, I would say my favorite dish to cook is my sheet pan roasted tomato soup. It is one of those dishes that takes under 5 minutes to prepare but tastes like home and love. Nothing is as comforting and cozy as a big bowl of fresh tomato soup! □

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