Sites We Love: Make it Naked

Blog Name: Make it Naked

Live since: October 2010

Posting rate: I try to post at least once a week. I'd love to post everyday but haven't figured out how to make that happen with a full-time job yet. It's quality not quantity, right?

Geographic location: Northern Virginia (about 25 miles west of DC)

Why is the site called Make it Naked? I like my food naked, without chemicals, dyes and pesticides. Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on a container of breadcrumbs? That blows my mind. I created Make it Naked to share my love and knowledge for home cooking. I want people to know they can go into their kitchen and make their own breadcrumbs pretty easily. I'm here to cheer them on. I should probably post a recipe for breadcrumbs soon.

What's been your most popular post? Grilled Jalapeño Poppers, and Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies are a VERY close second.

Credit: Krissy Fulton

**What's your favorite post? **Probably my Philly Fluff post about my Grandpa. It took a lot of trial and error to create a Grandpa-approved cake. He loved it. And yes, he'd totally tell me if he didn't. Once I made him cookies, and he said "Kris. Don't send those again."

What's something great that you've learned or that's happened to you since starting your blog? How about I give one of each? Something great that I've learned: Food really brings people together. Even strangers. It's quite a powerful thing. I've made great friends through blogging. I've had family that I didn't know I had contact me. I've had old friends from middle school who I haven't talked to in years leave comments. That's just really awesome. Something great that's happened: A mother emailed me to say thanks for the gluten free oatmeal cookie recipe. Her son can't eat gluten and had never had oatmeal cookies. That made me smile. I gave some kid a cookie, virtually.

What's the usual process for developing one of your posts? I really don't have a set process. Sometimes it's an urge to recreate something I've recently enjoyed. Sometimes I just want to share a great dinner I made on the fly. Sometimes I'm determined to make something healthier. But no matter the origin, every recipe has a story and that's what I tell at Make it Naked. I love that about food.

What are your favorite ingredients and tools? Garlic. I love garlic. And when baking, hands down, Mexican vanilla. My favorite tools: a good knife. I will actually do dishes in order to use a good knife. That's a big deal. I hate dishes. Oh, and I have to mention my Cuisinart food processor. We go way back. It's been with me for quite some time now. It faked me out this Christmas and died for a day. We had a ceremony, but it came back to life.

Credit: Krissy Fulton

What are your favorite food and cooking resources? I actually order a lot of kitchen supplies on Amazon.com. I find the reviews to be quite helpful. I also love HomeGoods. I can't get out of there without something kitchen related. As for books, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman is a really great resource. I would recommend it to anyone, the seasoned chef or someone just starting out. I love Martha Stewart. She inspires me often. Also Gluten-free Girl and Edible Perspective now that I'm learning how to bake gluten free. And of course Smitten Kitchen. This was the first food blog I ever read, and I still drop everything and go there when I see she's posted something new. Her posts and reader comments are wonderful resources.

What photography equipment do you use? I use a DLSR Canon EOS 60D with a 50mm f1.8 lens. I started out with a Sony Cybershot point and shoot. I just recently made the switch and am still getting used to the change. I am often overwhelmed but love learning as I go. I've taken one class to learn about my new camera and feel like I could use about 1000 more. I also just started using a tripod. It's a hand-me-down from a friend, so I really have no clue about it. I use Adobe Lightroom to edit photos.

Where else can we find your work? You can find me on Tastespotting,Foodgawker, Facebook, Photograzing, Twitter, Pinterest.

Credit: Randi Voss

What food blogs do you follow? We don't have time or space for this. Seriously there are 164 blogs in my reader. I just counted. I'll share the ones I visit most frequently for recipes (other than those listed above).
Annie's Eats: Go to her recipe index and click on ice cream. You're welcome.
With Style: Gorgeous pictures and a wonderful gluten free blog.
Bella Eats: Andrea lives my dream life in Charlottesville, VA and shares it with all of us through her beautiful blog and recipes.
Bev Cooks: I feel like we'd be friends in real life. I also have a "Bev folder" on my computer of recipes to try stat. Not kidding.
Brown Eyed Baker: You need dessert? This is where you should go. Michelle's got everything. Even dog treats.
How Sweet Eats: Jessica is totally fun. I want to meet her and eat cupcakes together.
Joy The Baker: Her recipe index starts with "booze." cheers!
Macheesmo: Nick's intelligence and creativity always lead to wonderful solid recipes. I've made a lot of Macheesmo recipes and they never disappoint. He also just published his own cookbook! It's awesome!
My New Roots: So healthy and gorgeous. I want to eat everything on this blog.
Shutterbean: Tracy is awesomely fun and her food is amazing. I know, I've made a lot of it.
The Novice Chef: Another fun Jessica with great recipes!
Daily Garnish: Emily has wonderfully creative salad recipes and is a great vegan/vegetarian resource.

Do you know a blog or blogger who deserves to be featured in this space? Email a nomination — including a link to the site and a few sentences on why they're worthy of love — to siteswelove@saveur.com.