1. What made you start this blog, “Rosa’s Yummy Yums"?

In my family, 100% homemade food has always been very important. I grew up eating healthy, flavorful and natural food that was made with the best regional produces. My Swiss grandmother made me cherish Switzerland’s unique gastronomy, my English grandmother taught me a lot about baking and about British food. It is by looking at my mother cook on a daily basis that I started cooking as well as baking at an early age. Not to forget that Switzerland with it’s gorgeous cheeses, fabulous markets and long tradition of fine cooking is the perfect place for a foodie.

Being attracted to all things related to food, the Internet is a wonderful place to find recipes, search for ideas and meet people. It is how, in 2005, I discovered the blogging world and got seduced by the idea of sharing my cooking/baking experiences with others.

To tell you the truth, I opened a blog account out of pure curiosity for that “new” social tool. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it or where I was going. After having posted a few recipes and getting positive comments, I got caught in the game and hooked on blogging. That’s how I developed my cooking/baking, photography and writing skills (I still have a lot to learn, though). My blog is continually evolving and after nearly five years of assiduous blogging I am still wanting to bring things further.

2. In your blog, you have mentioned cooking with love and care as something important. Can you describe what that means?

I believe that if you take care of the quality of the produce you use, respect food as a gift of nature and prepare things with your heart and soul, then there is no way your dishes will taste bad.

Cooking or baking is an act of love and a sort of ritual that unites people no matter their culture and believes. It should be a celebration of life which brings pleasure and happiness to those around you. An invisible energy is transferred to the food we prepare and the people who eat it. It somehow has a soul of it’s own, therefore food that is cooked with great love and care will always taste different to that which is cooked without feelings and is therefore soulless (industrial food, for example).

3. How often do you end up with delicious dishes as a result of experimenting with recipes?

Without wanting to sound too cocky, many times. I rarely end up with bad results. I generally have a good notion of flavor combinations and can quite easily imagine how they will blend or can be paired. In fact, on a daily basis, I invent the meals I make, though I rarely blog about my everyday dishes. I love taking recipes and adding my personal touch to them. I am quite a freestyler in the kitchen and love taking the freedom to change things around, test new dishes as well as to experiment with unknown ingredients. I’m a little like an alchemist when I’m cooking/baking.

4. Can you give some tips and advice to our mom readers who are in America on correctly preparing Mediterranean dishes?

I’d say that you have to buy the freshest and best produces you can find, keep things simple (make more with less), respect the natural flavors of the ingredients you use and try understanding the soul of this cuisine by reading a little about it before you start cooking Mediterranean food. That said, each Mediterranean country has its own cuisine and mentality, so you can’t cook a Moroccan dish the same way you would with a Greek dish, but the recuring themes that are common to all of those different cuisines are conviviality, company and appreciating simple pleasures.

5. What are your favorite Caribbean dishes?

My favorite dishes are “Banana Soup” (http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2007/03/caribbean-banana-soup.html), “Jerk Chicken” (http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/07/caribbean-jerk-chicken.html), “Salt Cod Stew” (http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-cookbook-challenge-caribbean.html) and “Djon Djon Rice” (http://rosas-yummy-yums.blogspot.com/2006/07/haitian-djon-djon-rice.html). I have only tried a small selection of dishes, but it is an exotic cusine that I particularly enjoy. I’m looking forward to delving more into the subject in the near future.

6. Can you recommend a few dishes which consist of yummy textures?

- Cheesecakes

- Thai Glass Noodle Salad topped with crunchy peanuts

- Lemon Bars (all Bars in general)

- Bread

- Bánh Cuõn (savory Vietnamese filled crepes)

- Pancakes

- Spätzli

- Nonya Kuehs/cakes

- Rolly Polly

- Bread Pudding

- Gratin Dauphinois

- Spanakopita

- Grilled Halloumi

- Steak Tartare

- Southeast Asian curries

- Mac & Cheese

- Burritos

- Tish Boyle’s Chocolate Intensity cake

7. What tips on food photography can you give our mom readers?

Well, I am not a professional photographer, my material is limited and I still have a lot to learn, but here are my tips:

Keep things simple, tasty and don’t try to overdo the presentation.

Try to find matching colors and dishes.

Don’t forget to pay attention to your backrgound too.

Always take pictures using an all-natural light.Use a DSLR camera with a good lens.

Master color balance, ISO as well as your processing program.

Try to feel one with your subject.

Take many pictures with different perspectives.