Correspondence
I emailed you days ago and you haven’t responded.
Oops! We used to pride ourselves on our email etiquette but lately it has taken a more than a minor nosedive. Our inbox looks like a cake in the oven with a quadruple dose of baking powder as the batter starts flowing over of the rim of your cake tin and onto the bottom of your oven. We do read them all and save every recipe sent to us (with the intent of trying them out one day, hopefully soon) and try to answer questions in a somewhat timely manner. That being said, we do admit that we are overwhelmed. Here, we’ve posted a few tips to make email less painful and more efficient for you and for us.
I have a question about one of your recipes.
And we want to answer it. We get a lot of emails with recipe questions and we do try to get to all of them as soon as possible, but to be completely honest, a much better way to get your question answered quickly and concisely is to simply post it in the comments section of the recipe in question. We always read new comments on all of our posts past and present and reply much faster than we are able respond to our emails. We think that it’s a better system for everyone and anyone who might have the same question can get their answer more readily. If you prefer to your message to remain private, use our Contact page.
I’m a representative for a company that makes something your readers would just love to hear about, can I send you a sample?
Thank you, but the Two Peas Blog is a corporate-free zone. We don’t advertise, review, plug, write about and/or suggest products on the Two Peas Blog. Two Peas does not accept freebies and/or other incentives in return for “mentions” and we ask all to please respect that. If we do talk about something it’s because we buy it, use it and like it. Giving our readers honest, fact based information is paramount.
I would like to advertise on your site.
Oh, thank you for considering us! But, we’re not accepting proposals for ads at this time. We like the aesthetics of an ad-less blog and the philosophy of purity in blogging.
In’s & Out’s
Wow, this site is gorgeous and so well designed, who designed it?
That would be me, Arwen. I run a small web development & graphics design firm. You can see my online portfolio at www.acpanteleakis.info.
Your site is chock full of typos, spelling/grammatical errors and it is a downright mess.
Thank you for pointing them out (though it makes us wince in unison). We realize that in the gargantuan task of cooking and documenting our recipes we’re bound to slip somewhere and we’ve come to terms with that. If you could send us a note from our Contact page about the offending error/errors it would be much appreciated.
I want to print a recipe without the photos.
You can print any recipe or post with or without photos by clicking the “Print” button at the top left corner of every post. It’s just under each post title and it looks like this.
Or you can simply highlight the text you want to print, go to the file menu on your browser and select “Print” from the dropdown. This makes it easier to get just the recipe portion of a post without all of our ramblings and fluff.
How do I email a recipe?
On the bottom of every post there are four icons and they look like this.
Click the M icon (the first in the series) to email the recipe in that post to yourself or someone else.
Do you have a recipe for___ fill in the blank ___?
The quickest ways to find a recipe on Two Peas are 1)the Recipe Box where we have several indexes for finding just the right recipe on Our Recipe Box page or you can use 2)the search box located at the upper left corner every page. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for then post/send us a request here on our Request a Recipe page or on our Facebook or Twitter pages and we’ll dig deep into the colossal mountain of unpublished recipes. Once we find it we’ll post it and send you the link to boot.
Can you unsubscribe me from your RSS feeds or your newsletter ?
If you signed up for our RSS Feed emails or our Newsletter emails and have decided that you no longer wish to receive them, just click the “Click here to safely unsubscribe now” at the bottom of any email and the effects will be instantaneous.
Recipes and Cooking
Can I substitute this for that in this recipe?
Most of our recipes have a Try This note at the bottom that looks like this.
Here you’ll find info on how you can modify a recipe to create a whole new dish. We also post a generous amount of information on substitutions and improvisation on the Tips and Substitutions page. These are substitutions and modifications that we’ve tested in our kitchen. What it comes down to is that we cannot guarantee the results of something that we have not tried ourselves. If you feel the zeal to try something, please share it with us in the post comments, we appreciate it and we’re sure other readers will too.
How many grams are in a cup/how much is a pinch/my eggs are extra large, etc.?
No worries, we have a Weights and Measures page with weight, measure, temperature and pan size conversions plus a list of selected food conversions. For greater convenience we have handy temperature, weight and volume converter widgets on the bottom of each page that looks like this.
Why didn’t your recipe work for me?
The big question. We truly have no way of knowing that. It would be great if we could be right there in your kitchen cooking a recipe with you but we’re here and you’re on the other side of our computer. There are many variables which can cause a dishes downfall, take a look at the recipe again:
Did you swap an ingredient?
Were your ingredients fresh?
Did you measure everything correctly?
When was the last time you calibrated your oven?
Did you set the timer?
Is the temperature of your ingredients specified in the recipe?
Did you follow the recipe guidelines for the utensils your using (e.g. clean, dry chilled metal bowl for meringue)?
Are you trying to make Sfoliata in 120˚F weather?
Are there any disruptive trolls in your kitchen?
These are just a few of the more obvious reasons a recipe can go wrong, there a hundred more that are not so easily detected. In our experience with friends and family, nine times out of ten substituting a key ingredient is the cause of the catastrophe. When we say key ingredient we mean some component that makes the dish work the way eggs make custard work. We have prepared all of the recipes that we suggest and are confident that if followed to the letter, they will work for you too. That doesn’t mean that you can’t improvise and make a recipe your own, in fact, it is our hope that our recipes will assist you in cultivating your kitchen skills so that you can expand your own approach to cooking. Most of our recipes have a Try This note at the bottom that looks like this.
Here you’ll find info on how you can modify a recipe to create a whole new dish. We also post a generous amount of information on substitutions and improvisation on the Tips and Substitutions page.
It always baffles us when one of our recipes doesn’t work in someone else’s kitchen, by all means, do bring it to our attention and maybe we’ll be able to unravel the mystery.
How come you don’t have ___ fill in the blank ___ recipes?
At this stage (infancy), Our Recipe Box only contains a small percentage of our actual recipe collection. It will continue growing day by day, week by week, month by month as we post both from our existing collection and new recipes that we’ve just created. To be completely candid, our aim is not sensational in nature, we cook things that we like and we won’t cook e.g. tripe with bananas and pickled pigs ears just so that we can say that we have a recipe for it. However, there are very few things that we haven’t cooked and even fewer things we don’t like. Send us a request here on our Request a Recipe page or on our Facebook or Twitter pages and we’ll l check our pile, if we find something we’ll post it and send you the link. If we don’t have a recipe for it, we’ll put it on our to do list. Likewise, if you have a recipe that you think we would enjoy, please send it to us. We live for the next recipe.
How do you deal with all of your recipes?
We use a Word document that we’ve set up like a book with a table of contents, index, references and cross references, links, inserted comments, bookmarks and so on with the individual recipes in individual Docs linked to main one. We keep a copy online so that we can each edit, add and update from anywhere. Everything from recipes to ideas goes into the Doc and somehow falls into its proper place without too much aggravation. There’s probably a better system but this works for us and so far we’re happy with it as long as we make sure that we’ve updated the backup copy (don’t even go there).
Can you suggest wine or beer for one of your dishes?
We enjoy a good wine or nicely brewed beer at our table but neither one of us is even close to being a sommelier (and can barely spell it actually) and we would never dream of telling someone that they had to drink this with that or that with this. Drink what you like, enjoy yourself, surround your table with the people you hold dear and all we be well. Don’t know what you like? Try going to a wine tasting or maybe even a class. Who knows, maybe you’ll become the sommelier.
Do you have a favorite cookbook? Yes! (Arwen speaking) Unfortunately I don’t know if you’ll be able to find it. It’s called “Cookery for Every Household” by Florence B. Jack (the 1914 edition) and was given to me by a friend/antiques dealer from Britain. It’s an amazing book written by an amazing educator and is surprisingly relevant today in terms of food economics and general household frugality.
Yes! (Dimitri here) All of Paliaros’ dessert books, he has a great intuitive even alchemistic approach to patisserie with roots in the Anatolian traditions of Istanbul.
Can I write about one of your recipes on my site?
Of course you may, thank you! We do ask that you indicate that the recipe is from Two Peas in the Kitchen and that you add a tiny “Recipe by Two Peas in the Kitchen” text link to our blog. If you need help setting up the link just Contact us and we’ll set you up. Remember, your readers will appreciate your honesty.
Can I post one of your recipes on my site?
Now it’s getting hairy. Copy and paste, the answer is no. Ingredients list the same but directions in your own words, yes. We do ask that you add a tiny “Recipe adapted from the Two Peas in the Kitchen________Recipe” text link to our blog. That’s what we do and we expect the same from others. Even if you think that “your” recipe has no resemblance to the original, it’s always good form to indicate the source of your inspiration. Whether the impetus was an afternoon spent under an apple tree or a quick glance at a dusty old cookbook, your readers want and deserve to know your source. Here you’ll find detailed information about copyright law as pertaining to recipes. If you need help setting up the link just Contact us and we’ll set you up.
Illustrations & Photos
Where are all of those beautiful illustrations from?
Aren’t they great? They’re from the Educational Technology Clearinghouse. You can download anything you like in Jpeg or Tiff Format and use the illustrations any way you want as long as it’s not for commercial gain.
What kind of camera do you use?
Oh no, we knew this would come up. Would you believe most of the photos are taken with an…..iphone. Sometimes our friends happen to be on hand with one of those big chunky SLR things or some other Hypercamera and we use those too and sometimes we use stock photos.
The iphone is more convenient for us especially since we do a lot of on the spot cooking in friends’ homes, taverns, restaurants or on the beach. We like the “all in one” aspect of it which lets us concentrate on the actual cooking; we take the photos, write our notes and can even publish the post directly from the iphone which is especially helpful when we’re far from home. That being said I(Arwen) 1) did study photography in school 2) do utilize some specific apps do get what I’m looking for and 3) have fifteen years worth of Adobe Photoshop experience.
Can I put one of your photos on my site/blog?
Go right ahead! Just as long as you add a tiny “Photo by Two Peas in the Kitchen” text link to our blog underneath and it’s all good. If you need help setting up the link just Contact us and we’ll set you up. Remember, your readers will appreciate your honesty.
Kitchen Stuff
What is the one thing that no kitchen should be without?
Invest in a good set of knives, and we do mean good. We’re talking knives that you’ll be able to pass onto your grandchildren. Our knives are from Sabatier and they’re still perfect after fifteen years. Do a quick Google search of blogs that are about cooking knives to make a more informed decision about what’s right for you (and your pocket). It’s also a good idea to learn a bit about knife maintenance if you do decide to invest in a good set of knives.
What about all the fancy, shmancy, expensive kitchen equipment that are “absolute musts”?
Musts are relative. We like to do a lot of things “old school”, we knead all our dough by hand and we whip cream and meringues by hand, we’re a bit peculiar about that stuff. On rare occasions, we do use a food processor for things like grinding up chickpeas for Falafel but for the most part our use of “kitchen equipment” is limited to a simple hand mixer, a hand-crank pasta roller, an authentic stainless steel mandolino and a blender. In our recipes we always give equipment options for a particular process i.e. “beat egg whites into a stiff meringue with a wire whisk or mixer”. Always keep in mind that the more complicated the machine, the more time it takes to cleanup afterwards which means less time to relax and enjoy!
Blogging
Can I exchange links with you?
Sorry, but we don’t reciprolink and you probably shouldn’t either. Your listed links should be an accurate reflection of what you read and we are confident that your readers will appreciate it. Look around; build a list full of things that inspire you. There are people all over the world writing about so many diverse and wonderful subjects and we’re sure you’ll have a great reading list set up in no time. Our Reading List is generated directly from our RSS reader and is an authentic record of what we enjoy reading. We love finding new blogs to read and if you have a site that you would like to bring to our attention, by all means, share it with us. If we enjoy reading it then it will automatically end up on Our Reading List located on the sidebar.
How can I start my own blog?
We like blogger, it’s quick and easy. There are other blog platforms out there that I’m sure are good too and you can get your blog up and running within a matter of minutes with most of them.
How do I build a following for my blog?
If you have passion for what you do and can communicate it to your readers with sincerity, the crowds will come.
Blog Etiquette
Someone was nasty to me on your blog?
The Two Peas in the Kitchen Blog is a nastiness free zone with a ZERO tolerance policy. If a fellow commenter is nasty (offensive, aggressive, polemic, etc.) to you or any commenter for that matter, please bring it to our attention. We will remove the offensive comment immediately,
Why did you delete my comment?
You were nasty. You verbally attacked or offended a fellow commenter and you were flagged. Your one of those people that blog-crawls seeking confrontation with unsuspecting commenter’s who want nothing more than to sit down to nice read and I’m sorry, but you are no longer welcome here.
Etceteras
My goodness, all the butter, cream, eggs, pork, etc. How much do you two weigh?
Actually, we’re both quite slim. Now before you start booing and hissing, let us explain. First, the proverbial disclaimer: This is what works for us, we’re not recommending that anybody else eat the way we do, we are not nutritionists, we are not doctors, it is only our opinion and it only applies to us. Now then, there is nothing wrong with butter, cream, eggs, pork, etc. and we would even go as far as to say that they give life meaning (especially butter) and we consider all these types of rich delectable’s to be healthy, whole foods if produced honestly and eaten in moderation. In our philosophy, a creamy Kiamak Strawberry Cappuccino dessert or a rich Andriotic Frutalia are healthy. BUT, that doesn’t mean that we eat those dishes every day. Those recipes are held in reserve for our no holds barred gatherings for the most part and the leftovers, without exception, go directly into the freezer. Alright, you can’t really freeze desserts like Summer Lime Cheesecake so yes we do sometimes stumble into a two day binge of dessert debauchery, but it’s nothing that a Desplurgent Salad or two can’t fix. For everyday fare, we have loads of “lighter”, “healthier” recipes for you to try like Revithatha with Barley (one of our favorites) or our Summer Garden Grab Bag. Our recipe posts are divided into everyday and occasion dishes in Our Recipe Box to help you decide what type of recipes fit your needs. Also, when considering a recipe that contains something that at first glance looks as if it might make a considerable contribution to your waistline, check again. How much of the offensive ingredient does the recipe contain, now divide that by the number servings and you’ll find that maybe you’re only ending up with a tablespoon of butter on your plate and not half a cup. Now that’s not so bad, is it?
What would I be surprised to find out about you two?
We’ve spent half of our lives living in New England and the other half living on an island in the Mediterranean, Andros, Greece(pop. 6,500.)
Do you have anything else to say?
We would like to thank all of our family and friends who have been our culinary guinea-pigs through the years with special recognition to all those present for the twelve course Christmas dinner of 2008 which required endurance, determination and loose-fitting clothes. A big, big, special thank you to our dear friend Alexia and everyone else who persisted in telling us that we should create this blog even through our unyielding insistence that we just weren’t the blogging types.