Sites We Love: Daily in-a Kitchen

Gorgeous photos? Check. Engaging writing? Check. Seriously inspiring recipes, tips, and culinary curiosity? Check, check, and check. The best food blogs all seem to have a lot in common—but what separates them out are the strong personalities behind them. In our Sites We Love series, we sit down with some of our favorite bloggers to find out how they do it—and why it’s as much fun for them as it is for us.

Light, delicate photography and a proliferation of flowers fill Daily in-a kitchen, Ina Bonnier's food blog. Splitting her time between Stockholm and Washington, DC, Ina keeps up a steady roll of beautiful cakes, light desserts, and other treats.

Blog Name: Daily in-a kitchen

Live since: May 2013 (so 1 year soon!)

Posting rate: One a day. And when that doesn't happen, you should know I feel really, really bad about it.

Geographic location: Washington, DC and Stockholm, Sweden

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Why is the site called Daily in-a Kitchen? Since my name is Ina, I wanted to play with that. My blog reflects the everyday experience in the kitchen. This includes both baking and cooking as well as hours-long projects and quick weeknight meals.

What's been your most popular post? My most popular post is this summer cake. That cake actually won an online competition on a Swedish food blog, even though the recipe is my family's classic birthday cake recipe. Every birthday for the last twenty years all the family members have had that cake in the morning, including the dog.

What's your favorite post? My favorite post is this 3 layer chocolate-toffee cake which is the most decadent cake you'll ever try (decadent doesn't even do it justice). Everyone should try this at least once in their life.

What's something great that you've learned or that's happened to you since starting your blog? The importance of light. For a food blogger, more important than fresh ingredients and cooking skills are lighting the photography. You can make a picture of a chicken breast taste wonderful or terrible just by adjusting the light in the right way. How to make a fish look fresh, a cake juicy or a cupcake thick? Work with the light. 1 year ago, I didn't understand that cooking great food and making food look great were two different skills. A food blogger needs to know both.

Sites We Love: Daily in-a kitchen

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What's the usual process for developing one of your posts? I usually see an ingredient I want to include, or a picture that makes me inspired. My motto for the blog is "get inspired by your food desire," and I do believe that is the start for any of my ideas too. After I've decided what to make, I shop for everything I need and then start working. After a lot of tasting and flavor optimizing, the photos are taken for the process. When the dish is done, staging the food and setting the light takes at least a solid half hour. The recipe is written down (as accurately as possible after different adjustments) and voilá!

What are your favorite ingredients and tools? My favorite ingredient is gluten-free soy sauce. (Butter is a close runner up, but I mean we all know that butter is the secret to making anything taste delicious!) My favorite tool is definitely a food processor. I don't understand how people can live without one. It can both make a perfect cookie dough and chop onions without making a mess. Do I need to convince anyone further?

What are your favorite food and cooking resources? I love foodgawker and tastespotting, which truly inspires you to cook and present food in different ways.