Blog Tour - All Aboard

Blog Tour

Six years ago I started a food blog House of Pamcakes, then we had the bright idea to put our house on the market and move.  Instead of putting my blog on hold I deleted it.  We packed up 30 years worth of stuff and moved to Utah, after signing the papers our realtor warned us that we might not be making friends that the people were friends and did stuff within their wards.........hold the phone, no friends, that's crazy talk!   We are living on a mountain with no neighbors within 2 plus miles, she was right - no friends, so I decided to dust off House of Pamcakes, reinstate my blog and get busy with the outside world.....except during the time of the move someone swept in and grabbed House of Pamcakes.

While I was feeling sorry for myself and kicking myself in the butt for deleting my blog my husband came up with a new name for me Rancho Delux (that's what he was calling our 42 acres on the mountain) I added the Living in Rancho Delux.   Since there is not a whole lot to do in our small town and I had no girlfriends, I started cooking......lots of cooking.  Then 2 years of living in the not so friendly Utah our daughter got tired of the "no friends" and moved back to California, what else is a mom to do when her baby bird leaves the nest, you got it,  more cooking.

Baking is my biggest challenge, high altitude changes everything,  even though you might have a recipe for 7,200 feet doesn't mean it's going to work every time you make that recipe.  The time of day, outdoor temperature and humidity changes the way your baking comes out day to day, it is a hit or miss.

Being up here in my own little world I have improved my cooking skills, developed my own recipes, learn to write down recipes that I have made so many times without blinking an eye.  I have entered more cooking contests and was a finalist in the Johnsonville Pizza Contest with my Zesty Lemon Sausage Pizza.

Blog Tour Questions:

What am I working on:

Organizing and being consistent comes to mind first. If I have a hiccup in life I need to kick it to the curb and move on instead of it halting my life.  Writing more reviews on cookbooks and products that I use.

How does my work differ than others of its genre?

I don't take fancy good photographs of the food I make.  What you see is going to be devoured minutes after the photograph is taken.  It's not that I wouldn't love to take fantastic photos but I can't see making a meal during the day just to get a perfect photo and reheating it in the evening.

I make home cooking recipes, nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just please pass the peas food.


Why do I write what I do?

First and foremost it's recipes.  I want to share my love of cooking with others along with reviews of cookbooks and my thoughts on food products and kitchen tools I use. Blogging is also my link to the outside world.

How does my writing process work?

I'm working on my writing skills.  I will make a recipe, type it on my blog and then just sit there staring at my computer screen, trying to figure out how to start my blog post, I totally go blank.  In person I am never a loss for words, go figure.

I am working on writing down notes when a thought pops in my head.  This is when organization skills would help me a ton.

My Favorite Bloggers:

I know above I'm sounding a bit negative, but this is now my life and I feel that needs to be explained to get where I'm at now.  Through the blogging world I have made the most amazing friends.  They share the same love of food and cooking as me.  Without my experience here in Utah I wouldn't have met Jenny from Mad Ranting of Andrew's Mom and owner and host of The Cookbook Junkies a group of 7,000 plus cookbook fanatics like myself. Jenny has done a huge service to the Cookbook Industry and authors with the Cookbook Junkies and cooking your way through cookbooks you can check them out here: Cooking from The New Midwestern Table by Amy Thielen, Cooking Through Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from our Tuscan Kitchen, Baking ... through Lick the Bowl Good and Baking Through Wintersweet.

Jenny and I met on my blog I was having a giveaway for the Beekman Boys Heirloom cookbook, I had two people enter and Jenny was one of them.  With just two people entering I felt it was only right to give both of them cookbooks.  Jenny and I continued talking online and fast became friends.
I am happy to say we have met in person 2 times and have plans to do more things together in the future, she is my Soul Sister.

Jenny is an amazing caring person, that has a heart bigger than Texas.  Jenny is always cooking and not just for her family but for friends and neighbors.  With her incredible wit and writings along with recipes like Chicken Cordon Bleu Macaroni and Cheese and by the way Jenny is the Mac n' Cheese Queen or how about some Toasted Coconut Scones.

Thank you Jenny for inviting me on this Blog Tour and a huge shout out for my favorite guy Andrew Jenny's son. Andrew brings so much joy into my heart. Life would be pretty dull if I didn't hear all of the Andrew-isams and getting hugs and love from him. I love you Jenny, Jim and Andrew.

Next stop on this blog tour is Shelby from The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, Shelby is a very dear friend that I found through Jenny (Jenny gets around). I love visiting Shelby's blog I get to see beautiful photographs of her home, her family and her kitties. Visiting Shelby is like visiting an old friend relaxing and enjoying some fantastic food in a country setting.  With dishes like Grilled Peaches with Agave Lime Cream, Honey Sesame Chicken and Chicken Tenders in Garlic Tomato Sauce with Buccatini you can't go wrong.  Shelby is also involved with the Secret Recipe Club, has been featured on Yummly and a featured partner with ZipList just to name a few places Shelby has been featured.  You can also find Shelby on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter stop by and tell Pam sent you.

Next stop on our Blog Tour is Renee at Kudos Kitchen by Renee.  Again I met Renee through Jenny.  Jenny had Renee make me a hand painted tile of my Blog. Since then I have had Renee paint wine glasses for me.  You really need to check out her blog shop page to see all the wonderful items Renee paints they make incredible gifts.  Besides being a gifted artist Renee works her magic in the kitchen too.  You will be drooling over these dishes like Alsatian Cheese and Bacon Tart, Wasabi Pea and Beer Nut Brittle and Savory Pumpkin and Sage Pinwheel Appetizers. You can find Renee featured on ZipList, Foodgawker and Tastespotting.  Renee also shares her talent at The Secret Recipe Club and Sunday Supper along with a long list of features.  You can also visit Renee at Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

If you would like to join the Blog Tour just answer the blogging questions above and feature 3 bloggers what a fantastic way to get to know one another and pay it forward.

I wish I could have featured more bloggers but I'm running out of time....So instead I will be sending some shout-outs to:  Katrina at Baking and Boys, Swathi at Zesty South Indian Kitchen,  and Miss at Miss in the Kitchen just to name a few.