Unplanned Cooking
The writer of the Unplanned Cooking blog, Jennifer Jeanne Patterson, is the author of “52 Fights: A Newlywed’s Confession” (Penguin/Berkley Trade, June 2005). She was also a creative consultant on the book’s ABC/Touchstone Television pilot. But these days, that’s like another lifetime. Now she is a full-time mom to two boys and a little girl, all under the age of 5. Last August, she was shocked by a huge credit card bill – a bill not for purses or clothing or great shoes, but groceries. Yet even with the astronomical food bill, the cupboards and fridge were bare. So she made a vow to drastically reign in her food bill. This meant she had to change her perspective not only on grocery shopping, but on food itself.
After receiving a shocking credit card bill, you decided that you would spend no more than $100 per week on groceries, which really requires cutting out processed foods and learning how to truly cook. What made you decide to start blogging about it?
I’ve always loved to write, but with three kids find it hard to carve out time to do it. What I like about blogging is it’s immediate; it connects you to a community. And what I like blogging about food is that it forces me to stay disciplined and cook, plus become informed about food politics.
If you were to narrow it down to one answer, what is the most important thing you’ve learned about cooking that you would like readers to know?
Cooking teaches you what you’re putting in your body – and your kids’ bodies. Using real ingredients has changed how I look at food. Now I read labels. Did you know most syrup is just corn syrup? We use natural ingredients like butter on our pancakes now.
What is your biggest challenge for developing new content for your blog?
My challenge isn’t so much content but time. I find there is inspiration everywhere, whether I find it on other blogs or traditional media outlets. But time – that’s a hard one!
What do you hope readers take away from reading the Unplanned Cooking blog?
What’s at stake. As our children become more removed from their food sources, we need to teach them what real food is. And that’s difficult to do if you’re not cooking, or teaching them how to cook.
What other blogs do you enjoy reading and why? Who are your favorite local Twin Cities bloggers?
I love The Kitchen Pantry Scientist as her projects entertain my kids on rainy days. I also love Megan at Sprout.mn. She’s got a great writing voice, and her work connects me to the green community. And also Mom Culture helps me stay informed when I don’t have as much time to read as I’d like. I did have fun shooting a video with Meg from Sprout.mn and Lindsay DiLorenzo from RedStamp.com that was featured on Dr. Phil.
You’re an Ithica, New York, native living here in the Midwest. What do you love the most about living in the Twin Cities?
I love the people here and the schools. Really, there’s nothing I don’t like – except maybe the long winters, but we had those in upstate New York, too.
Related Posts: The Kitchen Pantry Scientist
The Kitchen Pantry Scientist
March 23, 2010 by Sara · 4 Comments
Liz Heinecke, the writer behind the Kitchen Pantry Scientist blog, has an interesting educational background, with a Masters in Bacteriology and an undergraduate degree in art. After doing medical research for ten years, she is now a stay at home mom with three kids, culturing more germs than ever! Through the Kitchen Pantry Scientist blog, Liz shows that science can be as easy as cooking. With nearly every post, she helps readers open up their kitchen pantry and stir up some fun experiments with their children using basic ingredients that most people already have on hand. Liz, and fellow Minnesota blogger Jennifer Jeanne Patterson, has even recently been featured in an “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” commercial, singing about hydrogenated oils. Of course, she turned the event into a biochemistry lesson on the different kinds of fat humans consume. Looking for a learning activity to do with the kids? Feed those hungry minds with an experiment from the Kitchen Pantry Scientist!
What inspired you to start the Kitchen Pantry Scientist?
I want to get kids interested in science and show parents that it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive to do experiments at home. Most of the projects on my blog can be done using ingredients people already have in their kitchens.
I also try to do very safe science, so kids as young as two or three can participate alongside their older siblings. My four-year old, seven-year old and nine-year old will drop everything to do a science experiment.
Do you get a lot of feedback from people who have carried out the Kitchen Pantry experiments you suggest? Which experiment(s) have been the most popular so far?
I don’t get much feedback, but what I do get is positive. Tie-dye milk and cornstarch goo are two very popular experiments.
With the time commitment of discovering new experiments, carrying them out, writing about them, and three kids to raise, what is the most challenging aspect of maintaining this blog? How do you address it?
I’m lucky that my kids get to be involved with my blog. We end up spending more time together, at the kitchen table doing projects, than we would otherwise, and we all love it. Sometimes, they help me choose experiments they think might be fun. Finding time to write and network is the most challenging part of blogging for me. I try to get up early, before the kids, but sometimes I’m posting or Tweeting while they eat breakfast. I’m making an effort to stay away from the computer when they’re not at school.
What do you hope readers take away from their time spent at the Kitchen Pantry Scientist?
I want my readers to be inspired to open their kitchen cupboard and do an experiment with their kids. People do crafts and bake with their kids all the time. I hope my blog demonstrates that doing science can be as simple as mixing up chocolate chip cookies!
What other blogs do you enjoy reading and why? Who are your favorite local Twin Cities bloggers?
Sadly, I don’t have much time to read blogs, but the MomCulture blog is one of my favorites. She does great interviews with artists and musicians and gives me my cultural fix when I can’t get out. I also love the UnplannedCooking blog.
If you could narrow it down to one answer, what do you love the most about the Twin Cities / Minnesota? Why?
As a lover of arts and science, I love the museums and theaters here and how easy it is to see an exhibit, hear music, or go to a play. I feel lucky to live in the Twin Cities and raise our kids here. It’s a great place to get inspired!
Related Posts: Unplanned Cooking
Stucco House & Tappan Talk
For more than 10 years, the writer of the Stucco House blog lived in a 1928 condo in Minneapolis and all was well. It was cute as a bug, finished, and everything in it was original. There was no restoration work to do, it just needed to be repainted every few years. That was not enough for this blogger, who chooses to blog under the pseudonym StuccoHouse, so several years ago a 1924 bungalow on the other end of the city was sought. It still had the original kitchen, oak and maple floors, and it had been pretty much left alone. Coincidentally, it was the same color and paint combination as the old condo. But, happily there was plenty of work to be done. The Stucco House blog has been chugging along ever since 2004, updating readers about all the updates going on in this Minneapolis bungalow. The Stucco House blog has also resulted in a spin-off called Tappan Talk, a blog dedicated to vintage Tappan Deluxe stoves. StuccoHouse has pulled in quite a readership from other home restoration blogs. Stucco House and Tappan Talk are two fine examples of this blogging genre.
You really have interest in fixing up and restoring your home. What inspired you to start blogging about the work you’re putting into it?
I originally started back in 2001 with a web site to keep family & friends updated about work on my house. I was a little surprised to notice strangers seemed to be following my website. I also discovered a small group of house restoration people with similar web sites and we started to exchange restoration information and tips. When blog services started to become more common, I moved over to a blog format.
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to blogging consistently? How do you overcome that challenge?
I blog because I enjoy writing. Writing about my house has become almost a form of therapy. I try not to put any pressure on myself to keep my blog current. If I go too long without updating my blog, I miss it.
You just finished painting a bathroom in the Stucco House pink. What other projects do you think you’ll be working on and blogging about in the near future?
I have a long list of projects coming up. I joke that I’m 7 years into a 2-year restoration project. I always have at least 10 projects going at once. I’m currently working on my vintage kitchen. Restoring and painting the exterior trim of my house is a project that I hope to finish up this summer.
What do you love most about living in the Twin Cities? Minneapolis and St. Paul are awesome of course, but if you had the chance, what would you improve about the Twin Cities?
From an old house owner perspective, I love the fact that we have many resources for salvaged materials for old houses. We also have groups like the Twin Cities Bungalow Club that help people learn about history of their old houses.
Improve the Twin Cities….hmmm….taxes could always be lower 
What other blogs do you enjoy reading and why? Who are your favorite local bloggers?
I’m an old house blog junkie. I love reading The Petch House, Foxcroft, Our Tiny Oak Park Bungalow, and Northland Stories. Most of these blogs started at about the same time as I did and we regularly share old house information.
A few of my favorite local blogs currently are Design Grenade (especially when he trolls Craigslist), Prairie Woodworking and China Shepherdess. All of these blogs are also house related.
If you could give some useful advice to new bloggers, what would it be?
Blog because you enjoy it. If you post well written, interesting pieces…the readers will find you.
Twin Cities Naturalist
March 1, 2010 by Sara · Leave a Comment
Kirk Mona, writer of the Twin Cities Naturalist, is a professional naturalist living in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. He is an alumni of the University of Minnesota with bachelor’s of science degree in Environmental Studies and Youth Development. He start his career as a naturalist more than 10 years ago. Currently, he is the Outreach Coordinator and an Interpretive Naturalist for the Lee & Rose Warner Nature Center in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. Kirk is also a national award winning writer: In addition to The Twin Cities Naturalist, he writes regular columns for the National Association of Interpretation’s Legacy Magazine, Stillwater Living Magazine and the Country Messenger Newspaper.
People choose to blog for a variety of reasons. What was it that inspired you to start writing the Twin Cities Naturalist?
I started writing a personal blog back in 2001 but decided I wanted to do a more public project. I love exploring the Twin Cities and I love writing and telling stories. I’m a professional interpretive naturalist and I enjoy interpreting the natural world for people. With the Twin Cities Naturalist blog I can reach a wider audience. I chose the name because I wanted to be grounded in a specific place. The reach of the blog is beyond the Twin Cities though. I like that I can showcase what we have to offer to a wider audience while also exposing local readers to a wider world of content. Blogging also helps me keep writing constantly which is good practice as I also write columns for magazines and other outlets. Writing daily helps me hone my writing style.
Blogging isn’t always easy. What is your biggest blogging obstacle? How do you tackle it?
My biggest obstacle is time. I have a young toddler at home and he takes up much of my free time. I try to blog after he goes to bed but my wife is now a blogger too so we have to take turns using the computer. Sometimes we both have a story we are dying to blog about and we have to negotiate time. I sometimes end up blogging at lunch as well as writing a couple of posts on the weekend and scheduling them for future posting. I have more ideas for topics than I have time so as I notice things I make notes so I can blog about them in the future. At any given time I probably have ten to twenty posts in various states of development. Some are just a single sentence on a topic and I may or may not come back to it. If I miss something that is seasonal, I’ll file the idea away for next year. I’m just dying to do posts about bald faced hornets and the geology of the Twin Cities this spring.
What is one thing you hope your readers learn/understand from reading the Twin Cities Naturalist Blog?
My hope is always to give people a new perspective to help them enjoy their world. I could write a blog about natural history and related topics for hundreds of years and never run out of topics. I hope to give people a glimpse into a world they may otherwise ignore. I personally find that the more I learn about plants, animals, geology, etc, the richer my everyday experience. If you know nothing about the natural world, a walk in the woods is like a visit to a foreign country. You don’t speak the language so it can be difficult to fully appreciate all that is going on around you. If I can help people understand some of what is there to be seen I hope their experience will deepen. I find the more I learn to observe, the shorter distance I go into the woods. I keep stopping to notice all the incredible little things. A single tree is hosts to birds, fungi, insects, lichens and more.
What other blogs do you enjoy reading and why? Who are your favorite local Twin Cities bloggers?
There are many wonderful bloggers in Minnesota and the Twin Cities. Locally, I tend to keep an eye on Sharon Stiteler’s Birdchick blog for bird related news, Paul Huttner’s Updraft blog for weather and climate discussion, Greg Laden’s Blog for Science and Culture and PZ Myers Pharyngula for a daily (over)dose of rancor and science debate.
Sharon writes one of the top rated bird blogs in the world and does so with her wry sense of humor. Paul always has the latest weather news which never fails to capture the imagination of true Minnesotans. Greg’s blog is just enormous and wide ranging and one of the top read nature/science blogs in the country. Pz Meyer’s is technically out of the Twin Cities but his blog is also nationally wildly popular and I can’t keep up with all his posts. He’s got a good mix of humor, science and skepticism that keeps me thinking.
There does seem to be a lot of blogging talent in the state. Perhaps it is the cold. We’ve got a lot of time on our hands once the sun goes down after 4:00 in the winter. I also enjoy reading my wife’s blog, Silverbug Studio. She is a jewelry designer, photographer and maker. It is really interesting to read a blog written by someone you live with because it makes you notice things you’ve overlooked. She took a beautiful photo of a bush by our garage the other day. I pass it every day and I’d never noticed how beautiful it was in the winter.
Theater, sports teams, an involved community, phenomenal parks – the Twin Cities are a great place to live. What are your favorite aspects of Twin Cities life?
The outdoors! I’ve lived here my entire life and I’ve still not explored all of the natural spots in the Twin Cities. There are parks everywhere and we even have the largest river in the country running right through the middle of both downtowns. In the past, the river was used as a dumping ground, a kind of open sewer to take our garbage away and people didn’t give it much thought. Obviously that attitude has changed a lot. In a lot of the city the river is hidden from view and there are people who live long lives here having never seen or touched the river. That needs to change and I’m happy to see both cities focusing more on the river and making it a focal point of the Twin Cities. I also love that people here love to get outdoors and celebrate all the seasons. The Twin Cities is very outdoor oriented compared to other cities which may surprise people from other warmer places who would think we’d just hibernate all winter long.
What is your biggest non-blog related goal for 2010?
My biggest goal is to be more present in my own life and take time to make the most of every experience. It is too easy to coast though life on autopilot and not really engage with the world. I’m going to try to appreciate and fully experience very moment. I’m not doing it for the blog, but I’m sure the observations and experiences of the year will find their way there.
