MaFF Monday #25: Meet Chaya of My Sweet and Savory and Bizzy Bakes

This week, we have a double treat, because our Featured Food-“e”-Friend, Chaya, writes two food blogs: My Sweet and Savory and Bizzy Bakes. How she finds the time to do this, and do it so well, I haven’t a clue. Praline Apple Bread is Bizzy Bakes’ most popular recipe and part of our Star Recipes Collection. The first recipe she thought of as a first for visitors to try is Potato Kugel from My Sweet and Savory, which she also calls her “secret weapon”, a golden potato dish with a crusty top and soft inside. Definitely looks savory:

More from Chaya:

1) Tell us a little about the “birth” of your blog. How long have you been blogging and why did you decide to start? Your blog is almost 3 years old… what is the greatest thing you’d say you’ve learned and blogging and would you have done anything differently if you were starting it today with the knowledge you have now?

When I discovered foodie blogs 3 years ago, I was drawn to them. The warmth and the subject are what spoke to me. To this day, I feel the same way about food bloggers; they are fabulous human beings. I have not yet come across a blogger I did not like. Food has a way of bringing us together. After all, we have to eat. We have likes and dislikes. We have eating challenges. Eating, and thus, food, affects all of us, hopefully in a positive way.

That is what I wanted to communicate. Cooking and baking are fun and if we allow them to become positives in our lives, we will find that cooking is not a chore and what we eat can become a fascinating aspect of our days.

Right now, I have two blogs, My Sweet and Savory and Bizzy Bakes. Both are food blogs but my focus is different. My Sweet and Savory is more generalized and has some of everything. Bizzy Bakes focuses on what I call QED’s: Quick, Easy and Delicious. I attempt to keep those recipes at a level that beginners and experienced bakers can work with them. I have a linky there for baking, while on My Sweet and Savory, I stress My Meatless Mondays and Let’s Do Brunch, more encompassing subjects. The two blogs keep me quite busy.

2) Describe and give us an example of how your taste in food and recipes has changed through the years!

What my family eats now is quite different from before blogging. As I visited different blogs and got to know bloggers, my whole approach to healthy eating changed. We eat little meat and I take much more care about what we put into our bodies. You will find tons of recipes, with vegetables, and some meat recipes, but not many, in the big picture.

In baking, I have come a long way. I am not fearful of techniques that used to make me freeze and close a cookbook, something as simple as beating egg whites. Now, I want to take on the challenge of new foods and new techniques. Now you will find Ellie Krieger recipes rather than the Paula Deen ones I started out making. Of course, now I can take a Paula recipe, cut the butter, and end up with a great dish.

The problem I have as a blogging cook is that I want to try new recipes as often as possible, and my poor husband says after a meal he particular likes, “I love this but I guess I’ll never see it again.” With my excitement to jump into new foods and recipes, I tend to ignore some of my past successes and cheat my husband out of a favorite. I do have to work on this.

3) What feature of your blog would you like most for us to know about?

I mentioned the QED (Quick, Easy Delicious) from Bizzy Bakes and that is really important to me. For me, finding a recipe that I can handle at times when I just don’t want to fuss or challenge myself is a gift, in my opinion. I hope that some of my recipes will fulfill that for others.

My Sweet and Savory shows my failures as well as my successes and I am proud to share them, in the hopes that others learn from my goofs, and I do make them often. I think that aspect of the blog is a must. Many tell me I am brave to show a failure and that they would not do it. I can’t take myself that seriously. I want to share who I am in my kitchen and leaving out the mistakes and flops would be sharing only a part of me.

It’s fun to learn from and see how bloggers who’ve been around for a while have grown and changed in their blogging and tastes! Enjoy learning from Chaya this week… I sure have.

Now, for your recipes or other food posts! If you are new, check out our Make a Food-“e”-Friend (MaFF) Monday page for more information on what this party is all about, specifics about how to link from your blog, and for more on how you can be a Featured Food-“e”-Friend in the future.

Just a few reminders before linking:

1) You can link any type of food-related blog post, including giveaways or food coupon offers. Make sure you use the URL for the actual post and not your blog so visitors can easily find what you wanted to share!

2) Don’t forget to link back to MaFF Monday, using either a text link, Make a Food-“e”-Friend Monday, or the button image for this week’s party:

3) Most of all, have fun and be sure to grab a pen and paper or open up your notepad to jot down the recipes you find that you know you want to try!

I would love to make it around to every single link each week, as some party hosts are so good at doing. I hate that I usually am unable to, but I always enjoy seeing the different things that are shared and check back when looking for new ideas.

(Link-up open through Wednesday):

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If you have a moment, be sure to check out our Christmas series, which will begin in September, and how you can be involved (you do not have to have a blog):

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About the Author

Adopted at age 2, grew up in the Charlotte, NC area. Obtained Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University. Loves being a Mom of two and taste-testing Chef John's culinary creations and sharing them with readers.