Cookbook Author, Stephanie Stiavetti from "The Culinary Life"

Tell us about yourself!

My name is Stephanie Stiavetti and I wear many hats. By day I'm a web developer and internet consultant, and by night I'm a food writer and cookbook author. I blog over at The Culinary Life, which is about to turn six years old! Besides my blog, my writing and recipes have been featured on NPR, The Huffington Post, KQED's Bay Area Bites, and a host of other outlets. I'm also wrapping up a
cookbook called Melt: the Art of Macaroni and Cheese with my friend and coauthor Garrett McCord. We just launched the website to accompany the book over at MeltMacaroni.com.

I'm very passionate about digital food media, and I also work on the side as a freelance videographer and radio producer. I got my start in technology, working in high-tech startups when I was only 18 years old. I've been working with computers for many years now, so it made sense that I would continue in that vein once I made the jump to writing. Many of my consulting clients appreciate working with me because I understand the intersection of writing and technology, and the editors I work with enjoy the fact that I have a solid grasp of social media, which often makes their life easier when it comes to formatting the work I do for them.

What makes your food blog, “The Culinary Life” different from other food blogs?

The Culinary Life - which started life at Wasabimon back in 2005 - is my place to write about my diverse food experience. The subtitle for the site is "a professional foodie at large," and I make the most of that freedom by talking about the food I cook, the places I visit, and the people I meet in the culinary world. My main area of interest is comfort food (hence the macaroni and cheese cookbook!) and you'll see all sorts of things on my site like a 19-hour roasted pork shoulder, granola-stuffed pancakes, and an incredibly hearty cassoulet. I often talk about life in my posts, explaining
how my overall experience relates to the food I prepare.

On your blog it says you were diagnosed with a gluten intolerance. What are a couple of your favorite gluten-free recipes?

There are so many! One of my favorites is a beef stew called "Shchi," a Russian recipe that my boyfriend's mother shared with me. It's a lovely comfort
dish, perfect for long, cold nights. As a side or snack, I adore these fried vegan squash blossoms, which are filled with a fluffy potato-pumpkin seed filling. I also have a recipe for chocolate bread pudding that I call my ultimate depression cure.

What does “eating well” mean to you?

For me, "eating well" means leaving the table satisfied, and I don't just mean feeling full. Satisfaction for me involves fresh ingredients used to create dishes that taste like they've been prepared for that exact moment in time, like a miracle that you can't write off as coincidence. Good food is more than
just what's on the table - it's an experience that defines us on a very primal level.

What are a couple things you must always have in your kitchen, and why?

I always have olive oil in my kitchen, and copious amounts of butter. I'm never very far from a stash of flaky sea salt, a jar of coconut oil, a tub of crème fraîche, and a carton of eggs that were under a chicken less than a week prior. My counter is constantly a gentle clutter of garlic, shallots, seasonal fruit, and a bunch of fresh herbs in a cup of water to keep them from wilting.

For more from Stephanie, visit her blog, http://www.theculinarylife.com/, and follow her on Pinterest and Twitter @sstiavetti