By Shayna Mace
What inspired you to start Hip Foodie Mom, your cooking and lifestyle blog?
I started my blog as a hobby five and a half years ago when [my family was living] in Seattle. I was cooking as a hobby … and I was sharing recipes with my friends. I used my advertising and marketing background and I knew what to do—I needed to monetize my food blog and put some banner ads on there. And then I just started connecting with brands organically on social media.
KitchenAid was the … first major brand that I started working with on a regular basis. We just connected on Twitter! And then they started following me and then somebody reached out. And they asked if I wanted to develop recipes and use some of their appliances.
And you went from blogging as a hobby to doing it full-time, and even appearing on the TODAY Show and Good Morning America.
I was at an event and met a TODAY Show rep and worked with them on submitting recipes and appeared there. For Good Morning America, I think they Googled mom food bloggers and they found me!
You go out to eat a lot—what are your favorite restaurants in Madison?
Heritage Tavern, Forequarter, Morris Ramen, Graze and A Pig In A Fur Coat. I love that so many of the chefs here have a really close connection to the farmers here— they’re shopping the farmers’ market; they’re talking to the farmers. I just love the quality of the food. I think it’s amazing, the restaurant scene that we have.
How do you develop your recipes?
Let’s say I want to do a Buddha bowl. I’ll think about what types of grain do I want in there … and what vegetables, and then I’ll think about sauces and how to put it all together. I also heavily focus on what’s in season, produce-wise. I probably go grocery shopping when I’m testing recipes three to four times a week. Then, I just test different things together and I’ll try things a few different ways. My husband is the key taste tester and if it’s a kid-friendly thing, [I’ll ask] my kids. Sometimes I’ll have friends come over and try things.
Once I get it down to what I like, I make it again, test it and make sure everything is good.
What recipes of yours do your followers love the most?
My one-pot beef stroganoff always does really well because it’s an easy and delicious weeknight meal to make. I have a marinade that does really well in the summer for steaks, chicken and pork. And then my Asian and Korean food recipes do really well, too.
What’s next for you?
I will probably write a cookbook and I’m also exploring opportunities with the Food Network.