Friday Foodie | Series

Friday Foodie – Nazia of Your Sunny Side Up

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I love when people see the world through a lens of humor. Sometimes these don’t even realize it, they are so innately funny they just can’t help themselves! I was reading the About Me page of Nazia’s Your Sunny Side Up blog and was actually giggling! First she fooled me, I thought I was going to meet someone who is as obsessed with eggs as I am, turns out she does love eggs, but I can see right away that she just has a positive (sunny side) view on life.

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I almost had to immediately break up with her when she stated she hates cream cheese frosting. Because in my opinion, there is nothing greater! But then I realized that meant there was more for me, and I am okay with that.

Nazia is a witty part-time chef and blogger. As well as a darn good photographer. Her real job is being a student, and these days, a post-grad student, in London. Which means a lot of her meals are fast. Real fast. But fast doesn’t mean not tasty and Nazia has a ton of recipes on her blog for people on the go.

How’s 3 minutes to make a chocolate mug cake??!! IMPRESSIVE.

Let’s meet Nazia!

Food blogger Nazia of Your Sunny Side Up

[1] Have you always been a foodie, or is that something you grew into?

I’ve always enjoyed food and as I grew older my enthusiasm for it shifted from not just eating food, but trying to make the food myself, too. Food tech at school was by far one of my most favourite classes (a lot of fond memories!) but unfortunately there wasn’t an opportunity to study it past the age of 14.

Still, I found other ways around it and signed up for classes in my local community over the summer – I really wanted to learn! And I got to eat pretty well during those classes, too. I love trying new foods and whenever I visit someplace new I make a conscious effort to track down all the best places to eat. My friends are the same and our social calendars revolve around where to go for our next meal, with any other excursions always coming second.

Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes

[2] How and why did you begin your blog?

For years I would buy cookbooks but never use them – I enjoyed looking through them but never thought I could reproduce the results and so they would sit in storage boxes hidden under my bed. When I started university I really learned to appreciate the value of money, in that I had none, and decided to start a food blog (then called This Baker Girl Blogs) to put all that money I had spent to good use. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. The initial idea was to document all the things I was learning as I worked from different cookbooks and attempted different recipes. I never expected it to become such a huge part of my life!

Cookbooks
Photo credit: Tom Taker (Used under Creative Commons)

On September 2014 I decided to rebrand my blog as Your Sunny Side Up with a greater focus on storytelling and developing my own recipes. I still buy and use cookbooks (I’ll never stop!) but I’ve grown in so much confidence in the kitchen and love the idea of exploring my own creativity and sharing it with others. Rebranding was a scary decision to make but I am so happy I did – I’m learning a lot and am having so much fun!

[3] What’s your favourite thing to make/cook?

Oooh, that’s tricky! But I think my favourite thing to make is usually whatever dish I had made last. I always think “wow, that tastes great, let’s do it again!”. Blogging and baking/cooking are not my full time jobs – I’m a post-grad student and I don’t usually get home till 7pm – so besides evenings and weekends I don’t get a lot of time to indulge in my favourite hobby. Which is why I’ve most recently become inclined to making things that are quick and easy but still taste really good. It’s a lot easier to wake up at 5am when breakfast consists of Oats and Raisin Breakfast Muffins or my Three Ingredients Banana and Nutella Puff Pastry Pies.

Three Ingredient Banana & Nutella Puff Pastry Hand Pies 8

[4] What is your favourite thing to eat?

If I’m being honest, it’s toasted buttered bread. Not at all adventurous or fancy, I know! But it’s something I eat practically every day and don’t think I could go without. But I have a massive sweet tooth and my favourite dessert of all time is cheesecake. Any kind will do, but I usually go for a strawberry cheesecake.

No Bake Strawberry Chocolate Cheesecake (4)

I also really love Chinese food, but unfortunately my family aren’t too fond of it. I remember insisting on ordering in a Chinese takeaway for the whole family one night, and ended up eating leftover chow mein for the next 2 days. Not that I’m complaining – I didn’t mind it at all! And a recent trip to Italy has definitely sparked an interest in authentic Italian food. Once you’ve tried ‘real’ pizza, there’s just no going back.

[5] What is your comfort food?

It’s a tie between my mother’s spaghetti bolognese, and my macaroni and cheese. Both dishes just scream comfort! If I’m feeling in particular need of warm and fuzzy insides then I usually opt for the spaghetti, because nothing tastes better than my mother’s cooking.

Macaroni & Cheese

[6] Describe your perfect food day.

Hmm, let’s see … Well breakfast would definitely consist of toasted buttered bread, some fruit and maybe a smoothie or freshly squeezed orange juice. For lunch I would have a big plate of chicken chow mein, or spaghetti bolognese, and maybe a cheesecake for dessert. Dinner would probably consist of pasta and more fruit, followed by something rich and decadent. Am I allowed to have snacks? I would snack on chilli cheese fries throughout the entire day.

Chili-Cheese-Fries
Photo credit: Jeffrey W (Used under Creative Commons)

[7] What are three other blogs that inspire you?

There are so many that I enjoy. But three that I frequently stalk and am in love with are:

1) Happy Yolks. Kelsey is so genuine and writes beautifully, and the photographs always take my breath away.

2) Oh, Lady Cakes. I want to make everything and become best friends with Ashlae. Whenever I notice she’s published a new post I drop everything.

3) My Name is Yeh. Molly makes me laugh out loud and her food is incredible. All three are written by some of the most beautiful, sincere and talented women I have met in this crazy blog-land, and they’ve inspired me to find my own voice and explore my own creativity.

8. Do you have advice for bloggers just starting out?

Lots! Connect with other food bloggers and with your readers, find your own voice, work hard, be open to learning a lot, try different things, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. But most of all to just have fun with it – do it because it’s something you enjoy. Keep going and good luck!

Thanks Nazia!

Keep up with Nazia’s tasty tidbits on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest and of course by visiting Your Sunny Side Up.

How about you? What would you like to ask Nazia? What’s would your perfect food day?

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63 Comments

  1. 1. Cream cheese frosting is like nectar from the breast of Jesus. If, you know, that could happen. SO GOOD.
    2. Those Nutella hand pies? That will be happening at my house VERY soon.
    3. Blogs like yours and Nazia’s make me realize how far I have to go when it comes to food photography. My biggest challenge is taking shots in the dark. I refuse to cook my dinner at 2:00 p.m., and my kitchen isn’t the brightest anyway. And the food I consumed from my cooking classes in Italy? That dining room was SO dark and had no natural light at night obviously, so all of my pictures look orange and have a very shallow depth of field. Have any tips to do better when lighting conditions are less than ideal??

    Reply

    1. @Katie, you just mentioned my BIGGEST pet peeve – dining rooms that are too dark! I don’t have these, but if your kitchen and dining area don’t get natural light you need to get some lights and those umbrella things (yes, that is the technical photographer term for it, ok, no it isn’t) to help.

      Reply

  7. LOL I love buttered bread too! I love it with spreads, jams, fresh blueberries! My absolute favorite thing to eat though – is even stranger, sauces … I LOVE all sauces! Great photos on this post! Love it

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  9. Those cupcakes are beautiful and that mac n’ cheese looks very dangerous and delicious!!!!! I love her story, thanks for sharing!

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  10. I really, really shouldn’t have read this post while I was hungry. All of Nazia’s pictures are gorgeous, and the food looks SO good. I’m not a very good (or original) cook, but I CAN follow a recipe–I’ll be trying those hand pies very soon. 🙂

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    1. @Julie, Nazia is super talented! The cupcakes are gorgeous. My hubby loves Earl Grey so I know he would love these!

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  16. She is stunning. Very beautiful blog, too, and I loved her list of favorite blogs. I swear, if I could make food that beautiful, I’d ditch Generation X and become a food blogger!!

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    1. @Jen, I hear you! I was so pleased with her selections, I had not heard of any of them and I loved every one of them. I even included one as part of my Saturday Six post, that is why I love doing these series – I still discover something new every week!

      Reply

    1. @Stefany, pretty interesting, right? Have you ever made a huge meal and then wasn’t really all that interested in eating it? Sometimes that happens when I cook, maybe because I have been tasting along the way and I am no longer hungry/interested!

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  30. OMG Andi…I think I gained 10 pounds just looking at these pics! I really enjoyed reading this interview…Nazia seems like a great person to be around…full of positive energy!

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  36. Nazia sounds awesome and super-talented! Impressed that she has already evolved her cooking and journaling passion as she has, and is now creating her own recipes that sound and look absolutely delicious. I see a cookbook author in the works!

    xo,
    lauriel
    EyeForElegance.com

    Reply

  37. Her food looks insane. Those Nutella things?! I want them delivered to me asap. What the heck, that was like food porn all the way. I need to pin every single on. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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