Sites We Love: My New Roots

Live since: October 2007

Posting rate: I usually write once a week, if time allows. I put a lot of hours into the research portion of the articles on top of the recipe development and photography, so doing that four times a month can be a challenge.

Geographic location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Why is the site called My New Roots? The name of the site came from the idea of growth, change, and flexibility. Roots are really a metaphor for how someone develops, as they are the foundation of a plant that absorbs nutrition and grows around obstacles in the earth to make the tree stronger and more beautiful. My New Roots hopefully serves as a jumping off point for people who want to establish new, healthier habits in their life to nourish themselves more deeply, and to be more beautiful inside and out.

What's been your most popular post? Hands down, The Raw Brownie. I am amazed that it is still making the rounds and I see it pop up on random sites all the time!

Credit: Sarah Britton

What's your favorite post? My favorite post was the Heart Beet Rawvioli, a dish I made for my husband right after his terrible hang gliding accident. It's my favorite post because it is the most personal one on the blog, and a recipe I made with so much love. I was a little nervous to put out something so sentimental, but what I got back was overwhelming support. It was one of the posts that made me realize just how much my readers care, and reminded me of how grateful I am to the world of this little blog for connecting all these people.

What's something great that you've learned or that's happened to you since starting your blog? Where do I begin?! First of all I have to say that my network of friends now includes people all over the world. It is amazing how the website has connected me to so many people that I never would have met otherwise. Secondly, My New Roots has been a platform for me to launch all of the projects that I've wanted to focus on, such as cooking classes (which I am now teaching all over the world!), writing professionally, recipe development, and food photography. I think the most important thing I have learned from the blog however, is that passion is contagious. The emails I receive on a daily basis remind me that the work I am doing really does make a difference! My readers are in their kitchens sprouting, making nut milk, or serving their sugar-loving family member a raw chocolate milkshake. Their enthusiasm becomes mine and the wheels keep turning…

What's the usual process for developing one of your posts? I am inspired by many things; the season, my travels, a specific ingredient, flavor, or texture. I seem to become fixated on one particular thing and the recipe really writes itself from there. I feel guided more than I feel in control of the process itself. It's a fun thing to experience every week, just following my intuition and curiosity in the kitchen, letting the ingredients take me where they want to go.

Credit: Sarah Britton

What are your favorite ingredients and tools? I really love wild foods if I can get my hands on them (not easy in a big city!). This is one reason the seasons inspire my recipes so much, as I try to work with what is fresh and local, and if I am able, foraged foods. I love anything fresh because you don't need to do much to it &emdash; high-quality food speaks for itself, which the recipe simpler and my job easier. As far as tools go, all I really need is a good knife. My favorite kind are ceramic knives, especially when working with raw foods. Ceramic knives are inert so that they do not impart any metallic flavors in the fruits or vegetables, plus they retain their edge for far longer than steel blades.

What are your favorite food and cooking resources? I absolutely love cookbooks, especially older ones. I cannot walk past a used bookstore without buying at least one, because they often have cookbooks that are out of print but full of amazing material and ideas - even if they don't have images. That being said, there is something so inspiring about the slick, mouth-watering photography in modern cookbooks. Noma's cookbook is a favorite — it's like being transported to magical food universe defying convention and logic. Every time I open it up, my imagination is ignited.

Credit: Erik Sellgren

What photography equipment do you use? I use a Canon EOS 500D. I have two lenses: a 24-70mm and a 50mm f/1.8 I am always dreaming of the eventual upgrade, but for now, this works far better than what I started with: a point-and-shoot camera that fooled everyone! I only use natural light and try to keep things as simple as possible.

Where else can we find your work? I write a monthly column for Whole Living Online. I am also a contributor to Whole Living and Bon Appetit, and have been featured in Kinfolk, The Weekender, Copenhagen Food, Mad&Venner, and Eurowoman.

What food blogs do you follow? Green Kitchen Stories, Earthsprout, Whole Promise, Making Love in the Kitchen, Sprouted Kitchen, 101 Cookbooks, Adrienne Eats, Coconut + Quinoa, Honest Fare, and Roost are some of my favorites.

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.