It all started in Birmingham, Alabama.
It was supposed to be a career as a registered dietitian that would likely include a hospital, a community clinic or perhaps even a pediatric ICU.
Instead, it's included test kitchens, photo shoots, magazine cover reviews, 4:30 am TV arrivals and much, much more.
It is the path that's lead me to present-day nutrition communications business owner and personal food blogger...and I wouldn't trade a step.
Birmingham is where I attended graduate school. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a well respected teaching hospital and one of the few medical schools with a well integrated nutrition sciences curriculum. It's the perfect place to be educated on the finer parts medical nutrition therapy. I got that education. I just never got the desire to practice it in that setting.
Fortunately for me, Birmingham is also the home to some of the nation's finest magazines and cookbooks, including Southern Living, Cooking Light and Oxmoor House. It was in the test kitchen of Oxmoor House that I landed my first job and in a cubicle at Weight Watchers and Cooking Light magazines that I developed food knowledge not taught in any nutrition curriculum...and I consider those some of the luckiest days of my career.
My time in Birmingham holds some very special memories. I got married there, grounded my feet in my career path that I love and made some life long friends, as well as brilliant food mentors. So it's only fitting that as I continue to educate myself in this world of food blogging, I go back to Birmingham for more education - courtesy of Food Blog South*. In a few months I will attend, visit with some old friends, make some new ones and have the privilege of learning from some of the best and brightest in this industry. It's just one more step on a path. I'm so glad it's leading back to Birmingham.
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Pictured below - the first cookbook I ever worked on, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. It is, as they say, an oldie, but a goodie! The scones below are inspired from a recipe in the book.
Whole Grain Blueberry-Cranberry Scones
210 g (about 1 3/4 cup) all purpose flour (I use a blend of equal parts white whole wheat flour and unbleached, all purpose)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup dried berries (I use a blend of equal parts dried blueberries and cranberries)
1 cup whipping cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl; toss in dried berries. Add cream and egg; stir just until blended.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 or 4 times. Pat dough to a 1-inch thickness; place on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray and cut into 8 wedges. Separate slightly on pan. Spray tops of scones with cooking spray; sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
PRINT RECIPE
*Disclosure: As a result of this blog post I will receive a discounted rate of registration for Food Blog South.
If you, too, are interested in attending Food Blog South, by reading this blog post you're entitled to 10% off your registration. Simply use the code IReadThePP when registering. See you back in Birmingham!
Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 7:49PM 
