Tea Sumner's interview
Interview by LydiaWe interviewed Tea Sumner!
Visit the blog: Sumner Six.
Hello Tea Sumner, so tell us...
When did you begin your blog, and what inspired you to start it?
I began this blog a little over a year ago when I had some down time with the kids at home. It does happen! Since we're a fairly large family by today's standards, we've been trying to save money. I come from a home where we'd make huge meals and share with our large extended family, so making a lot of food for a little is second nature to me. I did just really start cooking about a year ago, but I've been baking for a long time!
What is your earliest food memory?
Probably my grandmother's chili. That wonderful smell and rich taste of homegrown tomatoes straight from the mason jar.
Are you involved in the blogging community - how do you attract new readers?
I try visiting other sites and I've finally started using Pinterest! Most of my readers come from Facebook shares still though. The more recipes I post, the more people start visiting that are out of my normal demographic of couponers. I've been moving away from that because we don't coupon as much anymore unless I can do a combination with sales.
Have your 4 little ones influenced your cooking style?
We try a lot harder to make food quicker and less messy. It's great to have a meal that takes little to no time away from the kids and that they can't completely cover themselves in it! I've ended up looking into ingredient listings more and more and am shocked by what they put in foods at times. It's so much healthier, and even cheaper, to make your own natural foods than buying frozen things.
What are some of your go to meals and snacks?
Fruits! We're all huge fans of apples and they're not half as messy as kids with a banana in a van when we're out. They're good for you and filling, yet sweet enough we don't have to bribe the kids with honey or peanut butter to get them to eat. Our other favorite with the kids is simply Nutella on white bread. It's like chocolate but not as bad, plus I can use it in baking if I run out of chocolate like yesterday...
Your blog is a little bit of everything from coupons, family, giveaways to food. Do you have a favorite topic you like to blog about?
I've really enjoyed doing recipes since I've begun adding them in. Being able to share deals and things like that are great too, but I know not everyone is going to be able to get the same specials at stores. Recipes open up to more people and I can share things that I learned from my grandmother, which is huge to me.
Who are your culinary influences?
My grandmother. She used a lot of French influences, but I never think about it like that. She had a huge garden in the backyard and canned tons of food, so our produce was fresh and delicious! It makes such a big difference in the way things taste when you don't use machine canned stuff from the store full of preservatives.
If you could be a contestant or guest on any cooking show what show would you choose?
Not going to lie--Paula Deen's show, when she had it. Home-style cooking is what I was raised on, but my husband and I are hotheads so we really love that southern spice and sweetness. A lot of her recipes remind me of what I had growing up.
What are your goals for this blog? Where would you like to see it in the next year? Five years?
Honestly, I'm not for sure. I'd love to do more reviews and giveaways again, but we've been fairly busy offline the past several months and that does get time consuming. Anytime I can post a good deal, I try to though. Our recipes I'm still trying to remember to cross-post to Pinterest because recipes do so much better over there!
Anything else you would like to share?
I'm just learning how to cook a lot of different things. I've been baking and helping bake for as long as I can remember, but cooking things, especially with oil, is pretty foreign to me still. Anyone that's got super-easy kid-friendly recipes should send them my way!
Thank you Tea Sumner for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Lydia - 08/13/2013
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