Cityline Featured Blogger: Laura from The First Mess

Laura's blog is her space for foodie experimentation, with a particular emphasis on cooking with seasonal ingredients and for special diets.

There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to highlight them on Cityline.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion, beauty, décor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! For May 2015, we’re putting the spotlight on foodie blog The First Mess. Run by Laura Wright, the blog is her space for foodie experimentation, with a particular emphasis on cooking with seasonal ingredients and for special diets. Here’s our Q&A with Laura:

TH_1When did you start The First Mess and what was the inspiration behind starting the blog? How did you come up with your blog’s name?

I started my blog in June of 2011 and it actually began at the encouragement of my friend. I had just graduated from a nutritional culinary program and had been working in restaurants for a while. She was always asking me questions about cooking for wellness and how to prepare certain seasonal produce items. After a while, it just seemed like those interactions would be really worthwhile online combined with photographs to inspire.

The name is taken from M.F.K. Fisher’s An Alphabet for Gourmets. In the section under P, she talks about the first mess of peas and how that crop is so eagerly anticipated because it signifies spring’s return. I related to that reverence for the earth that she speaks of and thought “the first mess” fit just right for a seasonal food blog focusing on wellness.

We love great food photography and yours is gorgeous! Do you have a background in photography?

I don’t have a formal background in photography and have always been a big fan of the “learn by doing” approach for the most part. Google has all the answers that I can’t figure out. I subscribe to a lot of blogs and food media and always seem to pick something up in terms of styling from there, too. I love that everything and anything you want to learn is literally at your fingertips.

Tell us about a few posts that you’re particularly proud of and want to share with Cityline.ca readers.

I love the photos in these posts: really good tomato soup, (gluten-free + vegan) chocolate hazelnut torte, and the cauliflower and chickpea “rice + peas” salad. My most popular recipe is the spaghetti squash noodle bowl with lime peanut sauce.

spaghettisquash

Where do you find inspiration for new recipe ideas?

Most of my inspiration comes from the life cycle of the season or some of the movements and happenings of my life. If we’re travelling a lot, I’ll be blogging about snacks and salads that pack up well. If we’re in peak holiday season, I tend to feature some hearty and healthy main courses and stews.

tomatosoup_FINAL_9What are your top 3 favourite ingredients to cook with?

Coconut butter (which contains the oil as well as the coconut meat), lemons, and any seasonal produce.

What do you hope readers get from visiting your blog?

I’ve always wanted to communicate that living and eating well could be within reach for anyone and that it can be elegant and beautiful, too. Taking control of your health by choosing truly good food should never feel like a sacrifice.

What are some other blogs you love reading?

I love The Artful Desperado, Vegetarian Ventures, Nutrition Stripped, The Flourishing Foodie, My Darling Lemon Thyme, and so many more.

What’s your top advice for other bloggers?

Be yourself, be passionate, work hard, and make sure you’re really in love with what you’re putting out there.

We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on Cityline.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca and include “Cityline Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!