Our crush on food blogger Bev Weidner, of Bev Cooks runs deep. She wows us with her cooking, and entertains us with her sassiness and unabashed goofiness. Plus, she’s been a friend since the very first issue of FoodieCrush magazine when she showcased her wit and sensibilities when she authored our foodiecentric-Mad Libs-style feature.
We admire her candor and excitement for life, which is deeply rooted in her writing and photography. Not to mention the woman has killer taste in tunes. She also has a knack for taking cute photos of her twins and creating hysterical quote captions for them on Instagram where her motto is, “I change food and cook diapers. Wait.”
Just so you know, looking at photos of Bev’s twins will give you serious baby fever. You’ve been warned.
Bev originally hails from Little Rock, Arkansas, but in 2004, she followed a boy to Kansas City, and she hasn’t looked back. She confesses she didn’t always love cooking.” I remember sitting in my (then) boyfriend’s basement apartment about 10 years ago, pouring a jar of janky pasta sauce over gummy, lumpy spaghetti and thinking, ‘What the h, man. I can do better than this.'”
After her best friend Laura got her a subscription to Martha Stewart’s magazine, Everyday Food, she was hooked. “She noticed the moment the cooking itch was born in me, and helped ignite my passion.” Once Bev discovered the existence of food blogs, like The Pioneer Woman, she started her own blog in 2010.
Slow-Roasted Golden Tomato Bruschetta
“I remember sitting at my desk job in uncontrollable, stiffened laughter, thinking to myself, ‘I could so do this. I got stuff to say, man! And I like eating.’ By this time I’d quit my job and was staying home to clean my baseboards and hone my yodeling skills,” she jests. “But once the blog became to show signs of growth, I put my full focus on it and what do you know, it became my job! (P.S. my baseboards are still dirty.)”
Bev may have her talented hands full with being a full-time blogger and raising twins (Will and Natalie, almost two), but she still finds plenty of time to cook.
“I don’t want you to punch me in the face, but it’s not that crazy! I still cook about the same amount as I did before le gremlins. I kind of like the challenge of creating toddler-friendly grubs that they’ll not only eat for fuel, but actually enjoy.”
Bev has a hilarious way of capturing her twins’ antics on Instagram. “Those kids really are my muse. My followers definitely shot up the moment I had the twins. Like, overnight. Food is fine, sure blah blah- but BABIES? People love their babies.”
“I’ve definitely orchestrated a shift with my blog. Before the twins were born, I posted five (FIVE) recipes a week. Now I’m posting two recipes a week, and one lifestyle post on Friday, called Friday Flotsam. I try to incorporate DIY here and there, monthly playlists, posts on vacations, little family day trips, that sort of thing. It makes me giddy. I almost have more fun sharing life and rando stuff with my readers than I do talking about a silky pasta sauce.”
Bev’s favorite food is pizza with a thin, billowy crust, simple toppings and fresh mozzarella. Tacos with charred corn tortillas, lots of lime juice, tiny cubes of seasoned meat, queso fresco, and cilantro are a close second.
Ask her what food she detests, and she’ll answer with, “Black Licorice. Seriously, burn it all down. Just light a torch. Nasty.”
Try to read this interview and not laugh. Multiple times. We dare you.
And now, the list of 10 Q’s for Bev.
1. Describe your blog in 3 words:
Fun. Funny. Funner.
2. If you could be one blogger other than yourself, who would you be?
Can I be obnoxious and say no one? Don’t get me wrong, I ADORE tons and tons of bloggers and love them all to pieces in real life, but I can’t say I’d want to be any of them. And they definitely don’t want me to be them. Even though that wasn’t the question. Wait, what was the question?
Ancho Shrimp Tacos
3. Which 3 blogs do you follow/are obsessed with/can’t live a day without?
Can’t live without Sprouted Kitchen! Sara and Hugh are so inspiring and such kind folks. Plus their photography/recipes make you want to weep for a month straight.
I’ve followed Bleubird for a long, long time. Mostly for style inspiration, but her site is so clean and crisp, ahhh. Again with the weeping.
Also, Heidi from 101Cookbooks has always, always been a huge inspiration to me. Her beautiful, simple, classic approach to clothing and home design, I cannot get enough of. GAH, here we go with the dang weeping again.
4. What is the one kitchen tool you could never give up?
My food processor! 100%. I’ll never quit it.
5. What dish are you obsessed with mastering that you just can’t get quite right?
Hmmmmm, I dunno, man! I feel like if I botch something once I’m most likely never to revisit it. I’m lame.
6. What did you have for dinner last night?
Ooooo it was super yums. Aaron cooked, and it was seared shrimp over orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, lots of sautéed red onion, garlic, zucchini and pine nuts. And cheese and butter. And butter.
And I think some butter.
7. What’s one secret talent outside of the kitchen nobody knows about you?
I’m really good at impersonating . . . well, everyone. Voices, characters, all of it. I even have an agent! Crap, I forgot about an audition due today. Hold on I’ll be right back . . .
8. You’re happiest when cooking/eating:
PIZZA! Not wait, pasta! Not wait, tacos! No wait, Indian!
Shrimp Pasta with Tomatoes, Lemon and Spinach
9. The one secret to your success is?
Keep it a passion. I can definitely remember different eras of blogging where it dragged me down, exhausted and overwhelmed me. As soon as I blocked out the “social headway” voices, and did it for the love, not only did I feel so much lighter, freer and happier, but I found that the lightness would reflect in my posts, and I’d even see a little growth spurt! But it didn’t hurt.
10. What’s next for you?
Oh gosh I have no idea. Maaaaybe one day? I think I would have like fifteen meltdowns if I had to write a cookbook. The pressure! I don’t know how you all do it.
As for the fam, we’re just cruising day to day. On one hand, it’s all about survival during these toddler years. Like, making sure I keep them alive. But on the other hand, it’s also a LOT of joy to relive childhood through their eyes. As contradictory as it sounds, they teach me to slow down and breathe it all in. Because that’s the only thing they really know how to do. Well, that and crap their pants.
Wait, am I allowed to say that?
Thank you, thank you Bev, for being our foodie crush and for making our bellies full of food and laughter!
Check out her her blog, Bev Cooks
Be sure to follow Bev on Instagram, to see pics of her adorable babies and her latest kitchen conquers!
This post is by FoodieCrush contributor Hayley Putnam. Follow Hayley and her foodie tastes and other flights of fancy on Pinterest and Instagram.
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