Inspirational People: Emma Galloway
On a recent trip to Western Australia, I was fortunate enough to meet Emma Galloway of the very beautiful My Darling Lemon Thyme blog. Emma is a kiwi who is now living in Perth so I was super keen to meet a fellow kiwi and find out what makes her tick and the kinds of things that make her boat float…
Emma is as cheerful and humble as her blog suggests. In fact, we chatted so much that I ran out of time to ask her all of the questions I had intended! Being New Zealander’s, we both confessed how very beautiful the land of the long white cloud is, how squishy and green our lush grass is and how brilliant it is to open every single window and door in your house during the kiwi summer - the aim being to let in as much sun as is humanly possible!
Emma suggested eating at The Raw Kitchen in Freemantle. The menu was a colourful matrix of nutritious raw and cooked dishes bursting with flavour and deliciousness. Over plates of raw live pizza and raw pesto pasta, I chatted to an intriguing and highly talented kiwi woman making her mark on the online food world. So without further ado, here is what makes Emms Galloway tick…
Three words that sum up you’re your blog…
Eat real food.
What has been the most popular post on your blog?
Your cookbook My Darling Lemon Thyme is gorgeous. What are your three favourite recipes in the book?
Oh gosh, that's a tough one as there are many! The recipes I'm most proud of are my gluten-free sourdough bread recipe (which took years to perfect!), my gluten-free pizza (again, years to perfect!) and my mums nut porridge is always a winner.
Your images are as delightful as your recipes. Do you have a favourite image in the book?
There's a couple I'm really happy with; the photo for my Ginger Kisses is a favourite, and I also love the photo for my Buckwheat Pikelets and one of the cover photos of my kids eating pancakes (the one with my sons tongue hanging out!).
Savoury or a sweet breakfast eater?
Sweet definitely. Although, by sweet I don't mean sugar-laden...
Your children have played a huge part in your food choices and philosophy. What are Ada and Kye’s favourite foods?
Ada loves pretty much anything and everything I cook, she's a very adventurous eater and loves all sorts of things from quinoa salad to Indian curry and Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Kye is a little less adventurous and has certain likes and dislikes; he hates most cooked vegetables for example, but will happily eat an entire bowlful of fresh salad!? He also loves rice and eggs. They both love crepes and my homemade pizza.
Where do you draw inspiration for your recipes?
All over the show! Most of my recipe ideas begin at the Farmers markets... often by the time I'm home I'll already have an idea of what I want to do with all the goodies I've just picked up. A lot of my recipes are inspired by my childhood and also by my husbands Vietnamese family and my travels throughout South-East Asia.
Your three favourite ingredients?
This changes almost weekly... but at the moment; avocado, coconut oil + mangoes.
If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life what would it be?
I love anything with lots of flavour, spice and heat... so probably either Vietnamese or Indian.
If you could only cook for one cook/chef in this world, who would it be?
Jamie Oliver. He's awesome.
Your ultimate dinner party table would include who around the table…
Heidi Swanson, Shauna James-Ahern, Jude Blereau, Bryant Terry and a bunch of my close friends and family.
Do you have any advice or secret tips for busy parents trying to feed fussy children nutritious food?
Be persistent. Often kids will say no 10+ times before they actually say yes to a new food, as is the case with my son! Often when he finally agrees to try something he soon finds out that he loves it! Also, don't cook them separate food from what you are eating, they are much more likely to eat something if they see you eating it too. Involve them- kids are much more likely to try new things if they play a part in the creation of it. Whether this means growing the vegetables yourself, picking out veggies at the Farmers markets with your children or letting them help you create dinner.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to Emma for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with me and chat about food, life and our homeland - Aotearoa. For more information on Emma’s cookbook, My Darling Lemon Thyme, please click here.
If you don't own a copy already, you must!
