1. What made you focus your blog on all kids of food? Why didn’t you prefer to focus on a particular genre?

At the time I started ‘Bibliocook,’ in 2005, I was living in New Zealand, surrounded by amazing food and I just wanted an excuse to write about it. It didn't make sense to limit myself at that stage. Since then, I have moved back to Ireland, left city life for a cottage in the country, exchanged my 9-to-5 job for a career as a freelance food journalist and broadcaster, while acquiring the Husband and Little Missy (my 11-month-old daughter) along the way. With life changing so much in the last few years, I think its best to stick to a broad remit!

I get ideas from all kinds of things - cookbooks, magazines, cookery programs, and meals eaten out - and am always trying out new variations on old themes. Having a veggie garden also means that seasonal gluts are often good incentives to develop new ways of presenting the same old thing. Not all of these recipes make it on to ‘Bibliocook,’ however as I've had some notable failures, I've also learned not to try and cook while Little Missy wails - fingers get cut and ingredients forgotten in those circumstances.

3. What tips can you give our readers on the art of baking?

The most important thing when you're baking is to always read the recipe properly beforehand! I've learned this from bitter experience: living a ten-minute drive from the nearest shop means that you can't nip out easily when you need ingredients that you may not have noticed when you first (ahem!) skim-read the recipe.

4. What type of cooking skills do you think are being forgotten in modern times? How do you think those skills can be revived?

The simple art of being able to make a decent meal from scratch is something that we can no longer take for granted. I think that cooking classes should be compulsory for all children - and many adults.

5. Can you give the recipe of an authentic New Zealand dish?

Ginger Gems - small, log-shaped, little cakes - are the quintessential New Zealand afternoon tea treat. When the husband and I lived in New Zealand, I got my hands on his grandmother's recipe notebook and my adaptation is online here: Betty's Ginger Gems http://www.bibliocook.com/2006/01/ginger-gems.html

6. How important do you think it is to teach kids to cook from an early age? How should it be done?

It is essential. At the moment Little Missy is only able to sniff, feel and grab things in the kitchen from the vantage point of sitting on my hip, which she loves, although she wasn't very impressed when she dipped her hand into a bowl of cocoa and gave herself a mouthful of bitterness. I intend on teaching her about food and cooking as I was taught: standing up on a chair at the kitchen table, an adult-sized apron wrapped twice around me, and hands stuck into everything! Of course, licking the bowl is an important part of this kind of learning.

7. Which cooking recipe books do you prefer the most?

At the moment I'm going back into my archives, re-reading my way through Irish cooking classics like Maura Laverty's Full and Plenty, Monica's Kitchen by Monica Sheridan and Margaret Bates's Talking about Cakes with an Irish and Scottish Accent. On top of the new pile of cookbooks by my bed is Colman Andrews's The Country Cooking of Ireland. This is a beautifully presented book, which highlights the coming of a new wave of Irish artisan producers as well as celebrating those who have weathered storms of the past with recipes like Caherbeg Pork Pie and Robert Ditty's Wheaten Bread.