So I'm obsessed with this band. They're a Chicago-based rock band and, thanks to Penny, I can't stop listening to them. Check them out . ↷
Hi, friends.
It’s been a couple
of weeks since I’ve written to you. What have I been up to you ask? Besides
from school being an all-consuming monster which strives to devour my joy and
my bank account, I have been doing a
bunch of really exciting stuff on and off the blog! I’ve been photographing
products for the brand Rosalynne Love, which
has been an incredible experience. I have deliciously sweet recipes on both Breadsense,
where I made strawberry compote &
honeyed mascarpone on toast, and on Clabber Girls Baker's Blog, where I made chocolate
chip cookie no churn ice cream sandwiches. Also, my first food column, Food for the Starving Artist, got
published in this month’s issue of Local Wolves Magazine. Then outside the blog, I have just finalized a deal to
photograph my first food event ever!! Oh yeah! I couldn’t be more excited. More
details to come on that, but I’ll give you a hint: it’s all about soda.
With all this crazy stuff happening on and off the blog, online and in real life, I find it increasingly harder and harder to create and grow content on my own blog. Don’t get me wrong, I love, LOVE working with clients and contributing to amazing brands and publications, I have just begun to notice that having these opportunities has inversely taken away from my blog and content. It all boils down to time. Let’s break it down…typically, one blog post takes me, from research/shopping for ingredients, cooking/baking, photographing, writing, editing, re-editing, to final publish, around 10-12 hours. And that’s for one freaking post! Multiply that for each client and publication, while adding in school, work, and everything else, and there just simply seems to not be enough hours in the day. Fellow food bloggers, can you attest to this?
So do I enjoy working
with clients? Absolutely! I love what
I do. I love the clients who I have the honor of working with. They took a
chance on a no-name food blogger from cornfield country and I am forever
grateful to them. They saw my work and wanted to not only work with me but help me grow as a creator. It’s the work
I do for these clients that I can use towards the work on my own blog. As a
part-time blogger, I see how hard it is to put so much of your time into
something when there are so many other things to concern yourself with. But I love working with food, photographing,
and blogging. This little blog has changed my life is so many ways. I wouldn’t
be the man I am today without it. I find myself slowly losing time to devout to
the blog the time that it deserves.
Fear not, I’m not
leaving the blogging scene, rather I’m diving deeper into it. I’m going to make
more time to blog. It is something I love so, so much. It brings me joy. I want
to see my blog, my photography, and my culinary skills grow. I will never grow
if I don’t create experiences in order for me to do that. I want to work with more
brands and contribute to more publications, just as long as I am happy and I
still have a passion for it. If one day I wake up and I don’t have a love for
blogging, I will simply just stop. For now, this little site, this community,
and you dear reader make me very happy, and so I shall blog on!
I was inspired to write this post from the First We Eat podcast where Eva
and Carey talked about food blogging and struggles and successes that come from
it. If you haven’t listened to their podcast, it's
worth a listen!
Banana chutney & toasted walnut no-churn ice cream
This ice cream is absolutely delicious. If you're a fan of the sweet and spicy, you're going to go nuts (quite literally...from the walnuts) for this recipe. The banana chutney adds such a well-rounded use of flavors and textures to the basic vanilla cream base of this dessert. Serve it at your next summer gathering or cookout and you won't be disappointed.
Ingredients
Banana
Chutney
3 bananas
½ cup raisins
½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 ½ tablespoons
white wine vinegar
Dash of salt
½ teaspoon ground
allspice
½ teaspoon ground
turmeric
½ teaspoon ground
ginger
¼ teaspoon ground
cayenne
½ teaspoon ground
coriander
2 cups heavy cream
1 (14oz) can sweeten condensed
milk
2 tablespoons
vanilla extract
1 cup chopped
walnuts, toasted (topping)
Directions
For the chutney. In a medium saucepan,
add the bananas, raisins, sugar, honey, white wine vinegar, and salt and cook
down for 2-3 minutes on a medium/high heat. Add the remaining spices and cook
until a mixture begins to boil and a thick syrup begins to form about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and
cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Refrigerate until needed.
For the ice-cream: Place a metal mixing bowl and metal whisk
into the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the heavy cream and mix on
medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 7-8 minutes.
Add the sweetened
condensed milk and mix with a large wooden spoon or baking spatula until fully
combined. Stir in the vanilla extract and chilled banana chutney. Fold ingredients
to combine. Transfer to a 9x13 baking pan. Place in the freezer until set,
about 6 hours.
To serve. Add scoops to a bowl or ice cream cone. Top
with toasted walnuts and serve immediately.
