Rendez Vous With A Foodie~~Shey Divine of Just Not The Cakes

Do you want to know about Rendez Vous with a Foodie event happening twice a month in my space? its all about the newbie blogger who started crawling in this immense virtual world. Every 7th and 20th of the month i'll be inviting newbie bloggers from this bloggy world to write a guest post in my space.It can be anything, we dont have any specific cuisine or any specific theme. Obviously a couple of my fellow bloggers have participated and did their guest post since few months.If you are interested do let me know, i'll send the details about this event.

Today's guest host, i came to know her through few challenges and one fine day she pinged me asking whether she can make a guest post for this event, i immediately said Yes. She was kind enough to send me 

her guest post very much quickly eventhough i asked her to send me pretty much earlier coz of my trip to India. She is none other than Sharanya aka Shey Divine of Just Not The Cakes. She is a young chef, an excellent baker who creates many delicious and beautiful cakes from her kitchen. If you go through her creations, you will get tempted and obviously you will definitely drool over her unique creations.Wish a day, i'll do as much as like Shey's creations. Not only she bakes, she dish out so many incredible dishes and am a great fan of her few dishes which makes me hungry whenever go through her space, one of her recent post i have completely fallen in love is  Kesari Raj Bhog. Do check Shey's space friends, am sure you will be amazed to see all her bakes and dishes.

Now let us hear from Shey Divine of Just Not The Cakes.

1)Tell us about your blog and you?

  I am sharanya but in the world of blogging my co-bloggers know me as Shey Divine (Sharanya seems to be a common name).I am born and brought up in Sri-Lanka but an Indian Origin now living in US for 2 years. About my blog: My blog is named JUSTNOTTHECAKES and it will be one year old in Feb 2014. It contains simple, easy and tested recipes.  

2)Before and after blogging, tell us what blogging changed your life?

I always had a passion in cooking and baking. (Because my mom is good at both). I love to try new recipes but certain things I never wanted to try (like wheat breads / Naan).But after blogging I have tried, failed, re did, and achieved making them.  After blogging I got to know certain ingredients like potato starch, rye flour, arrow root flour, egg replacer are available in market. Even before blogging I had a passion in photography but after blogging I tried experimenting a lot with my camera .Before blogging I stick to the recipe , but after blogging even if I don’t have certain ingredient I alter the recipe and cook with what I have at home .

          Thank you to my blog for making me an author, recipe writer and a Photographer.

3)When and what motivated you to blog about food?

 I never had an intention to start a blog .Once when I was going through some recipes I accidently saw an event running as baking eggless. I was curious to try. Later I got to know that I could participate in it only if I have a blog that’s where I started one. 

4)There are a tonsof blogs/pages on food these days, what accordingto you is the speciality of your blog and the food you cook?When it comes to cooking, who is your inspiration?

Like every other women, my mom is the inspiration for me. The specialty of my blog is I cook with what I have , mostly I use easily available ingredients , I try to post simple , innovative and healthy recipes . I prefer baking or panfrying rather than deep frying. I concentrate more on baked goodies, simple and egg free desserts which can be made in minutes.

5)Every newbie blogger faces tons of challenges when its comes to blogging, tell me about one of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome it?
 I am not a techi person still I managed to sign up for a blog, explore things around with the help of Google and I am still learning the HTML codes. Its soo confusing.

6)What is your best recipe and your favourite recipes you have blogged till now?
 I love all the recipes I have posted till now. Among everything I have few recipes very close to my heart.They are Spicy Garlic Focaccia Bread, Baked spicy fish patty, Garlicy pull apart bread, Garlic bread biscuits , Eggless Tiramisu , Ferrero Rochers Tarts

7)Few tips about food photography?

Always capture pictures in the day light. Never use flash in photography. Use decent and limited props which need not be more expensive. Take as many photographs so that you have a choice in choosing the best photos while posting.

8)What is your budget for the props,do you have any or else do you manage with your household stuffs?

 Frankly speaking I have never bought any props for the purpose of blogging. Whenever there is a yard/garage sale I go pick cute little tables / boards / wooden chairs which are good for a background. I don’t spend more than 5$ for it .Other than that I use whatever I have at home.

9)How do you plan your blog posts? Do you post rarely,regularly or once a week?

  I try to post once or twice a week. 

10)Do you have any other passions apart from food blogging or blogs you own?

  Other than food blogging, I have passion in traveling and photography. Other than that I volunteer thrice a week in a library near by.

     Let’s go to the recipe now. This is a simple and delicious 3 layer party sandwiches. This sandwich is most commonly served in all the kid’s birthday parties, Tea parties and other functions in Sri Lanka. This is the recipe which I follow. Making these sandwiches are little bit time consuming, but it is worth making them.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot – 1/2

Beetroot – 1/2

Potato –1/2

White Sandwich bread – 4 (keep it refrigerate)

Butter

Salt

Pepper

Green Color – Few Drops

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil the carrot, beetroot and potato separately.

Once it is boiled, finely grate the carrot and beetroot separately and put them in two different bowls.
Once you grate the carrots and beetroots, squeeze out the juice.
If the juice is left out, the sandwiches will be soggy.

Mash the potato and add a drop of green color and mix well.

Add good amount of butter in each bowl and mix 

Lastly add salt and pepper and mix.

Make the sandwich by layering each slice of bread with one veg mixture, starting with carrot mixture in first layer, beetroot mixture in the second layer and third with the potato mixture.

Cut the edges of the sandwich and cut them into triangle or quarters.

Notes:

Make sure to use white sandwich breads. 

Keep the bread refrigerated till you use them

Keeping the bread refrigerated helps while slicing the edges. It makes a clean cut. 

If you are not willing to use color, you could use fresh boiled peas.

Instead of butter you could use cream cheese.

Hope you all enjoyed this colourful and fantastic catchy party sandwich..Stay tuned for an another guest post on 20th January from an another new blogger.