>> HMM.
"FOOD."
NO, THAT'S NOT IT.
"FOOD WRITING."
NO.
"WRITING ABOUT FOOD."
WRITING ABOUT FOOD CAN BE A
DIFFICULT UNDERTAKING.
HOW MANY SYNONYMS CAN YOU COME
UP WITH FOR "DELICIOUS" BEFORE
YOU RUN DRY?
YET FOOD WRITING HAS REALLY
TAKEN OFF IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.
WITH MORE AND MORE PEOPLE USING
THE INTERNET, IT'S EASIER THAN
EVER TO FIND INNOVATIVE RECIPES
THAT USE A WIDE RANGE OF FRESH
INGREDIENTS, AND TODAY, MANY
PEOPLE ARE MAKING A CAREER OUT
OF WRITING ABOUT FOOD.
MEET KRISTIN PORTER, BETTER
KNOWN AS "IOWA GIRL EATS," A
FOOD BLOGGER.
EVERY DAY, KRISTIN WRITES ABOUT
FOOD, HIGHLIGHTING RECIPES THAT
ARE EASY, FAMILY-FRIENDLY, AND
USE FRESH INGREDIENTS, WITH THE
MANTRA "EAT WELL, RUN OFTEN,
AND TRAVEL FAR."
>> MY BLOG IS ABOUT COOKING,
WHICH I OBVIOUSLY LOVE, BUT I
ALSO HAVE A PASSION FOR RUNNING
AND TRAVELING, AND SO I JUST
KIND OF THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THE
BLOGS THAT I ENJOY READING THE
MOST ARE KIND OF
ALL-ENCOMPASSING ABOUT A
PERSON'S LIFE.
YOU REALLY GET TO KNOW THEM
BEYOND, YOU KNOW, FOOD OR
WHATEVER THEY'RE BLOGGING ABOUT,
SO I JUST THOUGHT, YOU KNOW,
"THESE ARE ALL THE THINGS I
LOVE.
WHY NOT SHARE THEM ALL?"
>> AND, THANKS TO HER
WILLINGNESS TO SHARE HER
THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ABOUT GOOD
FOOD, HER BLOG IS NOW A HUGE
SUCCESS.
>> FOOD BLOGGING IS A REALLY
GREAT COMMUNITY TO BE A PART OF,
AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE,
AND...YOU KNOW, I LOVE HEARING
BACK FROM READERS WHO HAVE TRIED
RECIPES AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE
WORKED OUT FOR THEM OR SAY,
"I MADE THIS FOR MY HUSBAND, AND
HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT."
SO I LOVE HEARING SUCCESSES.
>> SO, WHAT DOES A DAY IN THE
LIFE OF A FOOD BLOGGER LOOK
LIKE?
>> YOU WANT THAT ALL IN ONE
PACKAGE?
>> THAT'D BE GREAT.
>> OKAY.
>> YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS TELL
PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY COOKING AND
WRITING THE POSTS TAKES THE
LEAST AMOUNT OF TIME.
IT'S ALL THE BACK-END WORK --
ANSWERING E-MAILS, MANAGING
DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE
OF THE BLOG, TECH, MARKETING,
P.R.
-- THAT REALLY TAKES UP THE
BULK OF MY TIME.
>> TO FIND INSPIRATION, KRISTIN
VISITS LOCAL FARMERS' MARKETS,
READS OTHER BLOGS, OR
EXPERIMENTS WITH DISHES SHE'S
MADE IN THE PAST.
>> WELL, I THINK WE HAVE A
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY, LIVING IN
THE MIDWEST.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE SURROUNDED BY
FARMS AND FRESH INGREDIENTS,
WHETHER THAT BE PRODUCE OR MEAT,
PROTEIN, SO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF
THAT CAN BE FOUND LOCALLY OR
WITHIN A SHORT DISTANCE.
>> FOOD BLOGGING IS A RATHER NEW
CAREER.
BLOGS ALL OVER THE WORLD SHARE A
SIMILAR THEME -- A PLATFORM TO
SHARE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON
FOOD, BAKING, RECIPES, AND
HEALTH.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A
CERTAIN RECIPE OR INGREDIENT,
CHANCES ARE PRETTY GOOD YOU CAN
FIND AN ANSWER ON A FOOD BLOG.
>> BLOGGING IS A VERY NEW
PROFESSION, I GUESS I WOULD SAY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T
NECESSARILY EXIST 5 OR 10 YEARS
AGO, SO, YOU KNOW, I FOUND
MYSELF IN A VERY UNIQUE AND
SPECIAL POSITION, TO DO THIS
FULL TIME.
>> WITH THE EXPLOSION OF
SOCIAL-MEDIA SITES LIKE TWITTER,
FACEBOOK, AND PINTEREST, FOOD
BLOGGERS NOW HAVE EVEN MORE WAYS
TO SHARE THEIR WRITING,
CREATIONS, AND IDEAS WITH THE
ENTIRE WORLD.
>> I JUST GET EXCITED WRITING
ABOUT FOOD.
I LOVE TO EAT, I LOVE TO COOK,
AND I GUESS THE MOST EXCITING
THING ABOUT WRITING ABOUT IT IS
SHARING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, AND,
YOU KNOW, OUR SOCIETY IS SO
SOCIAL NOW, WITH FACEBOOK AND
TWITTER AND PINTEREST AND
INSTAGRAM, THAT, YOU KNOW,
PEOPLE ARE MORE RECEPTIVE TO
SHARING IDEAS THAN EVER, AND SO
THAT'S MY FAVORITE PART, IS JUST
SHARING WHAT I'M CREATING IN THE
KITCHEN.
>> WRITING ABOUT FOOD.
IF YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR
WRITING, A LOVE OF GREAT FOOD,
AND THE DESIRE TO SHARE YOUR
RECIPES WITH THE WORLD, YOU
COULD WELL BE ON YOUR WAY TO
CREATING THE NEXT MUST-READ
BLOG.