Featured Food Blogger Friday: Dana Treat

Some people exude so much warmth when you meet them that you feel like you’ve known them for years. Though I’ve only met Dana Woottan once and have never been inside her kitchen, reading her blog, Dana Treat, is like a heart-to-heart with girlfriends sitting around the table.

Her recipes are unique and refreshing, her voice like that person you feel like you’ve known for years. Dana, a married mother of two, lives outside of Seattle where she runs a small catering business but, more importantly, cooks plenty of fresh, healthy meals for her husband and two young sons She began Dana Treat in May 2008 and has been chronicling her adventures in vegetarian cooking and baking ever since.

This week, I had the opportunity to chat with Dana about food, blogs and everything in between.

MC: Why did you decide to start your food blog?
DW: I decided to start my food blog after getting hooked on a few of them (Orangette, Smitten Kitchen).  I realized that I do a lot of cooking and I have always loved to write, so it just fell into place naturally.  The photography has been slower to come into focus – no pun intended.

MC: On your blog you often write about being a vegetarian. How do you think that not cooking with meat has influenced your cooking style?

DW: I have been a vegetarian since I was 16 and since I didn’t really start cooking until I was 22, I’ve never cooked any other way.  I have prepared fish a few times and I make mussels a few times a year for my husband.  I like to consider myself a good cook, but I would not have the first idea of what to do with meat or chicken.

MC: What is your favorite cookbook? Why?

DW: My favorite cookbook these days is Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen.  It is a fairly slim volume but there are incredible treasures in there.  I want to make every single recipe – every one is so appealing.  Those that I have made (about a third of the recipes) have turned out incredibly well.  They are complex in flavor but not difficult.

MC: What is your favorite recipe to cook?

DW: I love making galettes.  I have a few in my rotation and they produce big oohs and aahs from people who see them and eat them.  For the amount of work involved, you get a lot of return.  All three that I make come from a wonderful Seattle bakery cookbook.  My favorite is this one.

MC: What is the first meal you ever prepared?

DW: The first meal I ever made was when I was a senior in high school.  One of my favorite classes got together at our teacher’s house and I offered to make a pasta I loved from my mom.  I did a good job but I had no idea how to scale up a recipe.  So, we had a half pound of pasta for 10 people.  Each person got about 3 noodles, but they all said it was delicious!

MC: If you could have dinner with one famous/celeb/well-known chef, who would it be?

DW: I’d love to have dinner with Deborah Madison simply to thank her for being such an inspiration to me.  Vegetarian or no, she is one of the best cooks and cookbook authors out there.  I really admire her.

MC: What is one piece of advice that you would offer a brand new blogger?
DW: My advice for new food bloggers is to be sure to stay true to yourself.  There are so many blogs out there and it is tempting to adopt another person’s style or point of view in order to gain readers.  Stick to what you know, what you love, what you are good at, and people will find you.  Also, I find it’s best to be really good at one thing and focus on that.  Most of the blogs I follow either have great photography, great recipes, or great stories.  A few superstars have all three.  I know I will never be a terrific photographer, so I don’t put a ton of time into my photos and focus more on the food and the stories.

For more delicious recipes like Goat Cheese & Pistachio Stuffed Dates, Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Tomato Leek Soup visit www.danatreat.com.