Today we are meeting the lovely Kelly Reynolds-Stewart from America. Kelly is the food blogger behind Condensed Stew.

What motivated you to blog about food? People kept asking me why I would jump from my background in biological science and natural resources to studying dietetics.  I wanted to explain how I see food, nutrition, health, environment, and social issues are all tied up in what’s on our plate.  My photoblogging girlfriend wouldn’t get off my back about giving it a try, that helped too.

How many cookbooks do you own? A lot.  Most of the books were my mothers so they are filled with  her handwritten notes about success, failures, modifications and dates each dish was served.  They are also filled with splotches of her cooking mess. I cherish them.

What’s your signature dish? Pie. I’m really good at pie. Pie and boliche. I won’t give you either recipe.

Where do you get inspiration from? Inspiration can come from anywhere – sometimes it’s a ridiculous magazine cover story about fad diet or a conversation that I shamelessly eavesdrop. Anything that brings to light a messed up, misguided idea about food or health can be inspiring. Weeds in my garden can be inspiring too.

Do you blog full time? Since I am currently unemployed, I guess the answer is yes. What’s your day job? My real day job is raising two cool little boys.  I’ve been doing that for the last ten years.  I’ll always consider that my primary job.

Future aspirations for the blog?  I would love to get more experimental and experiential with it.  You know, spend time immersing myself and learning about food cultivation, preparation, health and environmental issues.  For instance, I am planning on spending some time on a friend’s organic farm as he and his family start a local food business in Northern Michigan.

What do you find most challenging about blogging?  I find it challenging to find the time to experiment, research, reflect and write something cohesive and thorough.  I have a big backlog of ideas right now.

Do you have a favourite food writer and why? I love food conspiracy literature.  You know, Michael Pollan and such.   Pollan really is a beautiful writer too. Really engaging science writers are hard to come by. He gets a lot of props for The Omnivores Dilemma, but I really enjoyed Second Nature and The Botany of Desire as well.

Who taught you to cook?  My Mom and my Grandfather taught me the most about cooking.  They both had mad skills.  I don’t have either of them to help me anymore, so I have to rely on failure.  Failure is a fantastic teacher.