Greek Yogurt Dressing

What goes on behind the scenes of a food blog? Many think, what’s in a blog? All she does is cook/bake, photograph, and then eat… what a glutton.

A blog is a passion project. It’s that little extra thing in your life that makes an occasional dull day brighten up at the thought of creating a brand new recipe, pairing strange ingredients together and going that extra mile for an extremely delicious bite of food.

And there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. I don’t make dishes the day that they are posted on social media – it is made at least twice in the past to perfect the recipe, and then made again on a Saturday or Sunday for photography in the morning light. The recipe is developed over time via countless thoughts, inspirations and tastes. Every month has an organised schedule – I can tell you today what recipe is going to go up on May 29^th.

Pictures are taken and edited, and sometime during the week late at night, the text is written, an appropriate quote is found and the graphics are made. Then when it’s time to post (I stick to a very strict schedule!), the recipe is uploaded (again, very late at night), then drafted for my lovely email subscribers on MailChimp, and linked social media posts are prepared (a different one each for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter).

Oh, and before the actual cooking part, ingredients are sourced, more often than not from at least two different markets. And this is done at least three times for the three attempts.

There’s another thing about food bloggers – we eat cold food, or sometimes nothing at all. The day of photography (I try to do 3-4 recipe shoots on a Sunday morning) I am so exhausted by lunchtime that the food no longer appeals to me and my family sometimes refuse to touch as it’s sat out for so long and picked and prodded far too many times for the perfect shot.

It is a lot of work.

Is it worth it? Yes. It is. It’s the few hours of quiet therapy where the entire platform is just mine. I choose how it goes – I have no boss, no rules and no limitations. It’s my baby. And when I receive an appreciative message or call, it makes every minute and drop of sweat worth it.

The most enjoyable part is the cooking and developing stage and the quiet introspective writing time.

So, if you know me and want to have a bite of the foods, the best time to come over is on weeknights when I’m experimenting in the kitchen post work and you will get to eat it piping hot, without a camera in sight. These nights are also the most therapeutic after a long day in an office – it is truly kitchen therapy 

Now, back to the main thing – Epigamia Greek yogurt. This makes for a great creamy salad dressing, and combined with the usual suspects of a dressing, it’s even better. I love to use this with a lettuce + fresh fruits combination, topped with flaked almonds. I use Green Apple flavoured Greek yogurt, but you can use any of the lovely flavours offered by the company (Strawberry, Mulberry, Blueberry…). The high protein yogurt adds great nutritional value along with the taste. And the dressing can be made within the cup itself.