The Tastemaker Top 10 with Caitlin of So Hungry I Could Blog

The Tastemaker Top 10 is a collection of 10 questions asked by me and answered by some of my favorite bloggers. Here they will tell you a little bit about themselves, their blogs, and of course, their favorite foods and restaurants. This week's post is a bit of a sequel to last week's Tastemaker feature. Last week we spoke with Sarah from So Hungry I Could Blog and today we have Caitlin, her co-blogger. I love this blog because they feature great recipes, but also because Sarah is here in Chicago (like me) and Caitlin is back in my home state of Rhode Island. Get to know Caitlin today!


Name: Caitlin Saniga

Blog: So Hungry I Could Blog

Location: Providence, RI

Now, tell us about your...

1. Favorite meal, food, or cuisine:  I love fresh foods and bright, tangy flavors, so Asian and Mediterranean cuisines are some of my favorites. Perhaps my favorite ingredients would paint a better picture: I love cooking with basil, dill, lemon, garlic, ginger, mint, olives, vinegar, rice and other grains, beans, nuts, and whatever produce is in season.

2. Least favorite meal, food, or cuisine: Rich and creamy foods have never agreed with me, so I steer clear of things like milkshakes and pasta alfredo.

3. Favorite restaurant in your city: I'm very new to Providence, but I've had the pleasure of trying a handful of restaurants so far. For special occasions, I like Birch because its gourmet, local-focused confections and limited seating (15!) around a central bar makes you feel like you're a member of a secret culinary club. For a quick lunch, I like Mama Kim's Korean BBQ, a food truck that serves up gourmet Korean barbecue at a wallet-friendly price.

4. Favorite restaurant outside of your city: That's a toughie, but I love Natasha's in Floyd, Va. Few things come close to a slice of key lime pie with a never-ending view of farms and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

5. Favorite food memory: On summer days, my family used to drive the station wagon over to Swenson's, a drive-up burger and milkshake spot 15 minutes from our home. Dad was a Swenson's fanatic, and his excitement was contagious for us kids. We'd order burgers, onion rings and Californias (grape soda + ginger ale + lemon wedge + crushed ice), and sit in the back seat with the back door propped up, happily obsessing over every bite.

6. Favorite guilty pleasure food: Double Stuf Oreos. There! I admitted it!

7. Favorite recipe:  This kale and roasted cauliflower with lemon-tahini dressing is pretty wonderful.

8. Favorite kitchen tool, utensil, product, etc.: This onion chopper is the best because crying while chopping onions is one of my least favorite pastimes.

9. Favorite thing about blogging: I love seeing what Sarah and I can come up with. She's always inspiring me!

10. Favorite blogs/blogs that A Squared readers should know about:

• Design Sponge is the only blog I read every day. I live vicariously through the dreamy photos of food, flower arrangements and displays of home decor.
• I would eat literally anything that Andrea Bemis makes for Dishing Up The Dirt — a farm-to-table blog. She and her husband grow many of the ingredients she cooks with on their Oregon farm.

Thanks so much for your thoughts, Caitlin!

Do you have a blogger that you'd recommend to be featured on the Tastemaker Top 10? Or are you a blogger that would like to participate? Email me at aasquaredblog@gmail.com and let me know!