Easy Korean Recipes : An Interview with Bizymoms Top Blogger 2010 Recipients Ellie

1. What was the inspiration behind the title of your food blog,"Kitchen Wench?"

It actually started as an online publishing assignment for a class while I was in college, but I enjoyed it so much that four years later, it's still plodding along!

2. When did you discover your love for good home cooking?

My mother rarely bought junk food for me and my siblings when we were a children so for us, the best food was always what had come directly from our kitchen. I remember once when I was a child, I went to a friend's home and her mother served 'baked beans on toast', where the beans came straight from a can, into a pot then onto toast, and I was utterly horrified that food could actually come prepared in a can!

3. You seem to be a huge lover of your mom’s Korean cooking. Please tell us about your mom and her easy Korean recipes that are featured on your blog.

Korean food is all about taking time to create the depth of flavor and therefore very few recipes are quick and easy to make - it seems natural to me to put a lot of work into our dishes, but when I put them on the blog I try and make them as straight forward as possible while retaining the authentic and traditional flavors - the way my mother taught me. She grew up on a rural farm in Korea, therefore, the recipes she has are about as authentic as you can get!

4. Where do you get the inspiration for your great food recipes?

The recipes I put up of my own tend to be either a desire for healthy tasty dishes or divine decadence. My family is quite health-conscious therefore my day to day cooking I try and keep as healthy as possible, but every now and then I'll get the urge to make something incredibly sinful. A lot of what I cook is also influenced by what I have handy in the fridge or what is currently in season.

5. What are the Kitchen Wench’s personal favorite recipes?

Too hard! That's like asking me what my favorite movie is! If I had to pick, there would be three that share top place - my mother's recipe for kimchi (spicy cabbage pickle), bulgogi (sweet soy beef) and my double dark chocolate mud cake.

6. You seem to have a great passion for photography as well. How did you develop a liking for food photography?

The interest is actually photography in general. As I continued blogging, I became frustrated with how mediocre my own photos were and therefore took it upon myself to learn how to take better photos. As I have a friend who used to work as a professional photographer, I was lucky to have him on hand to help me develop my knowledge and skill.

7. Please tell us about some of your top food photography tips and tricks.

Natural light is best for clarity and beautiful colors in the food, and as my mother always says, remember that we 'eat' with our eyes before we taste the dish with our mouths. Present the dish as you would to someone you are trying to impress, don't go overboard with heaps of props, keep it as simple as possible and take some time to arrange the setting so the viewer can imagine that they can reach through the photo and eat what is there.