Ainy Cooks

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We have a great blogger today with us, Carrie Rashid. The author of stunning and interesting food blog WITCHY KITCHEN and what a treat it was to interview Carrie. Carrie is a busy mom of two pretty young girls.

Carrie was kind enough to answer few of my questions . I like that she has a beautiful creative connection with food and within your busy lives how you can make a healthy joyful lifestyle with healthy food, you will see in her recipes. So meet this amazing lady, Carrie Rashid.

Q1. What is the story behind your Blog’s name, Witchy kitchen. For me this is a very interesting name.

CARRIE: I’ve loved fairy tales – especially ones with witches! – since I was a little girl. I still love Halloween, spooky stories and witches in pop culture, and I think we can all agree that cooking is a little magical.

Q2. What are your cooking inspiration? your mother, any chef or cook books.

CARRIE: My best friend is an amazing cook; we share tips and recipes, and get together for lovely afternoons in the kitchen. My husband introduced me to Pakistani food, which I have fallen in love with, cooking more and more each year until it has pretty much overtaken my kitchen. I read cookbooks like they are novels, get swept away in the spice aisle, scope out blogs for modern takes on classic dishes, and text my sisters-in-laws for family recipes.

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Q3. Do you experiment in the kitchen, how do you handle it when things flop.

CARRIE: I am always trying new ingredients, new techniques and new dishes – sometimes with great success and sometimes great tragedy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get upset (and maybe a little dramatic!) when something didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. After my initial disappointment though, I try to treat it as a learning experience, figure out why it failed, and what I’ll do differently when I try again. After all, the only way to never fail is to never try anything new.

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Q4.What is it that you love most about food blogging?

CARRIE: It’s fun because you’re building a pretty little scrapbook of your cooking adventures, but also sharing them with others with the same passion as you. Through food blogging I’ve also gotten into podcasting (fictionkitchenpodcast.com) which is a fun adventure in itself.

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Q5. How important is eating meals together as a family to you?

CARRIE: Eating meals as a family is very important to me, but I have to remember to also be flexible. I would love, LOVE to have family dinner every night, but nowadays when we all get home from work/school, our 19-month-old is screaming hungry, while our 6-year-old has homework and my husband and I aren’t ready to eat yet. So we have dinner for the baby, a little snack for our daughter during homework time, and tea for my husband and me, and we all sit at the table as a family even if it’s not technically for dinner. I try to have family meals on the weekend, and enjoy this precious, if barely balanced, time in our lives.

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Q6.What are your shortcuts in the kitchen.?

CARRIE: My best kitchen shortcut is to make a bunch of simple foods on the weekend – big pot of lentils, rice, several trays of roasted veggies, whole roast chicken – and to remix them into different meals (salads, soups, omelets, stir-fries) during the busy week. Meals are quick to prepare but still made from fresh food and you don’t feel like you’re eating the same thing every day.

 

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Q7.What is your favorite recipe to make with your kids?

CARRIE: Pizza! My daughter loves to knead the dough and pick out her own toppings. Baking is also fun, she helps to measure the ingredients. The little one mainly just reorganizes my pots and pans and begs for raisins.

Q8.What wisdom could you share to new bloggers.

CARRIE: Just to have fun, cook what you love, don’t be afraid to try new things, and be proud that you’re creating something. We’re all still improving.

Q9. Any favorite Pakistani recipe?

CARRIE: There are so many delicious Pakistani dishes; dal chawal is pure comfort food, with chicken karahi I get my ginger fix, and I could probably eat a plate of pakoras by myself… but if I had to pick one, it’s hard to beat Chicken Biryani!

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Thank you Carrie for giving my readers time 🙂

One Response

  1. It’s fun to read and know about a fellow blogger… I like it when passionate bloggers mean the same- Think of blogging as a profession and constantly try to improve yourself.

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