a tongue-in-cheek look at food blogging
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a food blog? It’s not all just glitz and glamour. No-sir-ee. There’s a lot of hard work involved—hard work that does not come without its fair share of consequences.
To see where I’m going with this, let me take you back a few weeks, to an update I shared on Twitter:
Kitchen Update: Could that melted butter I just spilled ALL over my keyboard be a blessing in disguise? Laptop has never been so shiny.
Ahh…ever the eternal optimist…always looking for a silver lining. Sometimes I admire that about me. Now, flash forward a few minutes:
Stating The Obvious: Honey Nut Cheerios are actually quite tasty. Now that my keyboard is officially de-buttered, I’m off to finish baking.
Don’t ask and yes, it looked for a moment as if there might be a happy ending to this story…but not so fast. Let’s flash forward a few days this time:
Good grief—butter fiasco from other day is coming back to haunt me. Keyboard not working well and #9 key just fell off (bracket broke)
And to add insult to injury:
Showed hubby keyboard, asked him how to fix. His advice? Don’t use the #9 key. Helpful. Very helpful (and not nearly as funny as he thought).
There’s more. Not only did my beloved “9″ key break off, but shortly thereafter my trusty “e” key followed suit. The melted butter was slowly seeking its insidious revenge. How the heck was I supposed to type, much less blog, without a “9″ or an “e” key?
Don’t believe me? No blogger makes this up…
Sad isn’t it?
So. Very. Sad.
Moral to this hazard? Refrain from placing your laptop anywhere near your kitchen work area. If it isn’t melted butter, it’ll be red wine, flour, splattering oil or something else. Take heed: if you cook or bake next to your laptop, there will eventually be trouble. Trust me. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Just. Say. No.
Note: After footing the bill for a new laptop keyboard and a paying a hefty charge for my favorite, neighborhood techie to install it, I’m back in the blogging business again. Woo-hoo!
So, why make this the first post back to blogging after my butter-induced hiatus and why am I not sharing some tantalizing recipe instead? Because this business of melted butter got me thinking about other potential hazards food bloggers face: avoidable hazards of which every food blogger should be aware.
In no particular order:
Disclosure: Neither of these are my valid weight, but I am illustrating a valid point.
Oh, and how about this? Who could have expected to find weird love notes taped to their bathroom mirror? See for yourself:
The nerve. Jealous of a Cuisinart. (Or is it my Kitchen Aid?) Who knows. Who cares.
And then there is yesterday’s unfortunate mishap with my still-fresh-from-the-oven-and-scorching-hot-tart-pan (which I really can’t blame on the tart pan, or on food blogging for that matter, but still), which caused multiple, 2nd degree burns to my right forearm. Ouch! (I’ll do you a favor and spare you the photos. Not that I took any.)
Moral? Longer oven mitts…much longer…like hip-waders-but-for-your-arms kind of longer. Which brings me (almost) full circle.
The tart pan? The one that made me look as if I’m into some bizarre form of tribal branding? I conquered it today.
In true food-blogger fashion, I proved I am still master of my domain (or at least my bakeware) and now that I have my laptop back (and shiny new keyboard in place), I’ll soon be sharing the fruits of my labor with a dazzling tart recipe perfect for wowing guests, family and friends all spring and summer long.
After all, the hazards of food blogging do not come without their just (or tasty) rewards.
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Very funny post, except for the hefty bill to fix your keyboard part. And if only my weight gain could be blamed on writing a food blog.
Here’s my corollary: never let the cat dance on your keyboard, especially when there’s a cup of coffee anywhere on the desk. Enough said.
The good thing for me is that between the food blog and the soap blog…I pretty much clean up after myself.
gives new meaning to having your cake and eating it too
gp
Funny post and 100% real.. spilled all over my keyboard several times and trying to not increase weight, some weeks a lost battle and others I won
Thanks for the smiles. I wondered what happened to you…hadn’t heard from you all week! Can’t wait to see the tart recipe. I just bought my first tart pan last nite and am looking for a new recipe to try on it…leaning towards lemon!
Thanks for the laugh. But seriously, I think you are on to something – how about a laptop raincoat? Might be just the thing for recipe testers and food bloggers!
Great blog. As one who eats too frequently at my desk, and has a permanent spot for the cats to sleep as well….my only way to sometimes save my keyboard is to push really fast on the sliding drawyer on which it sits…..
Sandie, where did you find pictures of my scale!?!!?
Ha! Great post. We have a hazard around here–a 2 year old! I once set a clafouti in a pyrex pan on a hot burner and the whole thing exploded, scary! I didn’t know it was a hot burner…thanks for the smiles!
Sometimes I curse the fact the my computer is in a completely different room from where I cook. After reading this (and knowing that I can be kind of klutzy), I am glad for it. Thanks for making me laugh. And if you find any of those oven mitts you described, pick up a pair for me.
Thanks for stopping by Mindy’s Mouthful! I’ve actually been a long-time lurker of your blog.
I’m glad you’ve survived your kitchen mishaps…I’m thinking I need some of those hip-wader oven mits too! And I’m looking forward to that tart recipe…
ah, sandie, you speak the truth. my laptop is much worse for the wear since i began blogging. and what is that contraption with the cord? a pasta shaper? warped tongs? it looks familiar, but i can’t recall.
So true. So very true.
I’ve reached an understanding with my lap top. If it’s going to be mine, then it has to put up with a certain amount of food crumbs and stains. For that, I will keep the spills away. We get along just fine.
My brutally honest scale, on the other hand, is a whole other story…
Ha! Ha! Blogging is certainly hard on the waist and hop line sometimes. Now that it is BBQ season, perhaps the desserts will remain on the pages of my cookbooks.
So hilarious. Glad to say weight hasn’t gotten the best of me yet. My keyboard is a complete mess, though. Flour and crustiness all over. Yech.
Oh my gosh and the e is the most commonly used letter in the alphabet. A most enjoyable read. Thanks.
I must confess, I found myself nodding and smirking at any number of spots in this post.
My waistline has definitely seen the darker side of food blogging… it’s a good thing summer is right around the corner. There is hope.
Good lesson to pass on. Even in the morning, I keep that cup of coffee about an arms length away, just in case!