My move to Canada has been such a wonderful experience and part of that is due to the wonderful people that I have been fortunate enough to meet. So with that in mind I would like to dedicate and occasional blog post to one of my many talented friends with amazing skills. 

 PART TWO

      ANGELA

This week, I would like to introduce you to Angela, creator of the Little Kitchen Project, mother of two, and the most positive person that I know. Almost 10 Years a go, this brown eyed beauty from Strathroy, Ontario packed her bags and set her sites on Italy. It was in Italy where she began this new chapter of her life began and where her life would never be the same again. Somewhere in northern Italy, she met and married her husband and where she welcomed her first child.

Angela's blog is called Little Kitchen Project, whose caption reads  'Just an ordinary woman trying to live an extraordinary life one recipe at a time'. Her blog chronicles her experiences through food in her daily life and travels. Whether it is Toronto, New York, Italy or one of the many destinations in between, she always finds an opportunity to experience. I thought I would get her to tell you in her own words about her experience of blogging, cooking and travel.

What was it that made want to start you Little Kitchen Project?

After about 20 years of working or studying, I found myself a stay-at-home mother and craving a creative outlet. Someone once told me, fine what you love to do, and make something out of it. I’m not a professional chef, photographer, videographer or writer. But these are my passions, and what better way is there to use this platform to exercise them.

How much did living in italy influnce your love of cooking?

It had a HUGE influence on my love of cooking. When I was a single girl living alone in Toronto, I rarely cooked. I would just put things together. But after living in Italy, a place where life revolves around what and where and with whom people are eating, it just came naturally. And it was the best food I had ever tasted. Simple and good.

Do you cook differently depending on where you are?

I cook differently on a day to day basis, no matter where we are! I’m always flip-flopping between cultural dishes: Italian, Asian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, everything! My husband and I are big foodies and we love tasting all sorts of stuff, so that keeps me constantly studying, learning and experimenting.

Is there a go to dish for when you are in Italy/ New York/Toronto

It isn’t just a stereotype; in Italy we eat a lot of pasta and pizza. Yet somehow, people in general are in fairly good shape! I was amazed! But the key is using good, fresh ingredients. I have to say that the dish I fell in love with most was risotto. I love preparing it, and I love eating it!

In New York and Toronto, we live in such a multicultural society. It really is amazing! So you can find extraordinary food from all cultures and backgrounds. We mix it up.

I was lucky enough to be able to capture Angela at work doing what she does. I met her in the foyer of her building where her pram was loaded up with her then 10 month old, all her mixing elements to create her dish and in their separate containers. Her photography and video equipment and her three year old in tow. I watched and documented her as she meticulously measured, prepared, photographed and filmed the recipe. She is very serious during the filming and at one point I even got into trouble for making the table move during her filming. And rightly so, we were on location and no opportunity for retakes and re-shoots. On this occasion Angela was preparing the patties needed to make for The Perfect Burger to put on her Little Kitchen Project. If you would like to see the recipe or how there burgers turned out check out The Perfect Burger post.

With two children under 4 and constantly travelling, Angela still manages to shoot and edit  and post about her recipes and travels a few times a week. I'm sure like the rest of us she experiences bad days, but you wouldn't know it as she just takes it all in her stride. Without a doubt Angela would have to be one of the most positive people I have ever met. She is so energetic and excited about her life that its contagious, which is great to be around, especially for this slightly pessimistic Australian. 

If you want to see anymore of Angela check out her blog Little Kitchen Project or her instagram.

I love a good cooking program, relish them even, especially when there is an element of travel involved. I love to travel and I have found that my experience was always enhanced when I sampled the local food.  I was never really interested in cooking until I discovered that trough food can almost be transported to new places as well as reminisce about somewhere you have already been.   So whether its in kitchen with Jamie Oliver, snacking with Nigella Lawson, buying groceries at the Marché with Racheal Khoo, or planning to eat like local Rick Stein in India, there is always something new to learn. 

Although I know my way around the kitchen I do prepare food out of necessity I can honestly say that "I am no cook !"  I plot, I plan, I have the best intentions but alas the meal never looks our tastes like you want and as a result I'm reluctant to spend time and energy into trying something new.  I'm on a new health kick at the moment, so I'm not supposed to be eating any sugar, so off course when I sat down and scrolled through Pinterest for appropriate recipes, naturally my focus went in another direction entirely. And as in order to justify using up all the things that I cant eat I stumbled upon a recipe for a Cinnamon and Coffee Streusel Cake. It untimely reminded me of a trip to Germany and walking past a bakery and looking at all the tasty treats.  

I have never been a keen baker, I often take shortcuts and it was only after watching Rachel Khoo's Little Paris Kitchen is discovered the magic of butter. Yes sometimes butter really does make everything better.  After about two or so hours I had my own streusel, it looked glorious. After carefully removing from the tin and drizzling the coffee icing on top I transported the masterpiece carefully into my set so I could photograph it in all its glory.  Although the cake looked amazing, it did not taste that way.... it turns out that I forgot one of the eggs and only half the about of butter. Oh well at least I have some beautiful shots for my blog.

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