About Anula

Anula's Kitchen is written by Anna. A Polish girl, who - since June 2006 - lives in Ireland. Since 2008 a happy Wife, since June 2010 a happy Mummy of a little baby girl J and since January 2012 - little baby girl E.... and since October 2008 writes a food blog.

My background is in tourism industry, I have M.A. in Tourism and Hotel Management. Can't really see myself sitting in the travel agent office for the rest of my life - even though this job is challenging and interesting. The aim is to have my own little B&B, which I can't afford at the moment (maybe if I win EUR 1m ;) or at least my own little cake shop/bakery, maybe even a bistro!
I'm a BIG food lover, that's why I have created this blog - to share my recipes and passion. I'm not a trained chef - I'm an amateur cook. All recipes are original - created by me or they come from my family's archives. You'll find lots of recipes inspired by my childhood memories, things that my beloved Nana cooks/bakes and dishes which were introduced to me by my Dad. As an inspiration I also use Internet, cookbooks (of which I have a great collection) and my friends. If a recipe isn't mine I always put name of the author next to it! I value others people work.

I was always surrounded by food. My Nana is a confectioner, her husband was a butcher and I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchen - watching my Nan or Dad cook and/or bake (by the way - my Mum can't cook or bake... weird huh?). Now I want to pass a little bit of that experience (and my passion) to my 2 little girls.

I spend lot of my free time cooking and baking. It's my passion and something which gives me a great pleasure and during which I can relax (and being a busy mummy of two ;) I need a bit of relaxation and 'me time'...). Food was, and still is, always present in my life. I love discovering new tastes, as well as cooking traditional dishes (not only from Poland). Hope you will take that journey with me :)

I'm a HUGE fan and supporter of local farmes markets, local, seasonal produce and small, independent, food producers. I believe in organic food, or at least free range - because lets face it, not everyone and not everyday can afford organic these days...
I have a simple motto: Quality over Quantity and I would probably try and do something myself before I'll go and buy it.

I would love to be able to earn my living doing what I love, which is cooking, baking and writing about food, anything to do with food would be great - that way I wouldn't be working a day! - unfortunately at this moment I don't have such comfort and have to stick with hours, days, months stuck inside a small office... well, one can dream! :)


Contact details
I appreciate all the feedback (positive and negative) you may have about the blog or the recipes, so feel free to write to me (in Polish or English) and please do leave a comment. 
If you have a question, or just want to chat, please send an email to: anulaskitchen@wp.pl
You will also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Photography
Since 28th May 2009 I'm using Canon PowerShot SX 110 IS for all my photos - the old camera Nikon CoolPix L2 landed in a green curry sauce ;) that's when I've learned (a rather pricey lesson...) an important role of tripod... I highly recommend that little thing - Canon - it's fantastic! If you are complete amateur in photography it has lots of modes you can use but... it can be also fully manual if you are more advanced - and know what you are doing when taking a photo ;) I still have a lot(!) to learn in that department but I'm trying to take the best shot, always! :)

Product reviews
I'm available for product reviews (of course those product have to 'be within' the content of this blog, for example: food products, kitchen gadgets and appliances etc.), if you're interested please contact me via email.
Currently I do not charge anything for a product review - I just need a product itself. However if you wish to give me a 'token of appreciation' for my time spend on the review and my honest opinion, you are free to do so using the 'donate' button on Anula's Kitchen main website.
The compensation will be gladly received and highly appreciated, but it will never(!) influence the review itself and other content, topics or posts made on this blog.

Book reviews
I think that as a 'foodie' I'm not alone in never ending love to cookbooks. I have quite a big collection, but would be more than happy to add to it in the future.
If you are a publisher or an author and would like me to review your cookbook please contact me via email.
When writing a cookbook review I'll take lot of factors into consideration: appearance of the book, photos, types of recipes included, how the measurements/quantities are given, are the instructions clear and easy to follow and the most important - the result, the dish itself.
I always(!) make at least 3 recipes form a given cookbook before I make my mind about it. If all 3 recipes happen to turn out a total disaster (which happens very rarely) I'm passing the book to my Hubby to try and cook/bake something from it. If he has no luck as well, then I'm afraid that there's something wrong with the book and not the cook ;)

Advertisement on the blog
I do not have any ads on my blog. I didn't find any system which would suit me as well as I don't want my blog to 'disappear' in the sea of blinking ads... Anula's Kitchen blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. I only recommend cookbooks and other products that I have tried and tested, I like/love and use on a daily basis. However if you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the book or item of your choice.


The views and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and purely my own.

Pozdrawiam,

Anula.