Giveaway Winner Announced!

I'd like to thank everyone for the awesome feedback! It was super insightful and I will be trying very hard to implement the things you asked for!

Here are some of your requests:

(1) More savory items on the blog

I know, I know. My friends keep bugging me about this one too. They keep wondering why my blog is so heavily "baking-based," and doesn't feature a lot of my savory recipes. Quick explanation: (1) I've only started baking recently- like in the last 6 months, so it fascinates me. Whereas, cooking savory foods has become second nature and doesn't excite me as much. (2) Baked goods make better photo subjects!

Anyway, I pledge to put up more savory recipes~! It might never be 50/50, but I will try my best to make it more like 40 - savory and 60 - desserts. How does that sound? It's mainly because I don't think this obsession with cupcakes will die anytime soon. I might have to open a cupcake store just so I can have an outlet for my insatiable need to bake cupcakes 24-7! =)

(2) Show more techniques and tips
(2.1) Keep up the step by step photos

I started my blog with two main goals: (1) it will feature only great recipes that I would be proud to serve to my family/guests and (2) it is detailed enough so that anyone can replicate my recipes with success. What good is a food blog if you feature mediocre food and convoluted recipes?

It's super unhelpful when you only see one picture of the finished product and have no idea how to replicate it, even though you've read through the recipe 10 times. That's why I put up the step by step photos, and I always make sure to point out the tricky parts and give tips on how you can execute successfully. I especially like to tell readers how I failed at something and what not to do. I find that those things are crucial to a reader's success in replicating the recipe.

However, I know that since I'm so used to cooking and baking these days, somethings might come as second nature, so I don't think about needing to discuss it on the blog, as some of you have rightfully pointed out. I will try my best to add in even more tips and techniques- even the ones that I might find basic. But I'm sure that I might miss some here and there. If you're ever confused about something, please don't hesitate to email me! I love getting reader emails and usually respond within a day or two. This will help me figure out what your needs are and what "holes" I have to fill in.

The step by step photos will never go away! I want everyone to be able to succeed on their first attempt of the recipe, so I think those photos are crucial.

(3) Request for a recipe index

Thank you, Erin Sue, for this excellent idea! I've looked into creating one... it will be extensive and time consuming- but totally worth the effort! I will begin working on putting one together soon, but it might not be up and running for a while because I'm not sure just how long it might take. But it's coming, for sure! I will let everyone know when it's up.

(4) Request on tips for taking good photos

I want to do a post on this, eventually. But not in the near future. I get a ton of emails asking about how I get good photos, and though I answer to the best of my ability, I find that I'm still super lacking in the knowledge department when it comes to taking photos. I only started getting into photography six months ago when I started this blog. Before then, we had a point-and-shoot, and half the time we didn't even know where it was!

I feel like my knowledge is limited and I don't want to create a post until I've done all the research and have become an expert at it. I want to be a good authority for people, and not someone who kinda knows, but doesn't. When I finally post about photography, it'll be a super long post detailing everything! And like my recipes, I want it to be fool-proof! I want anyone to be able to "replicate" it.

But for now, I'm not good enough to do that yet. I take about 400-500 photos per blog entry, and only 10-20 of them make it onto the blog. It's time consuming, but it works. I get "good" photos (the ones that you see) because when you take so many of them, you're bound to get a few good ones. That's my secret to "good photos," for now. =)


Now that I've addressed all of your requests, here's one of my own:
Please email me with your comments, concerns, questions, criticisms, thoughts, feelings, tips, whatever. Your feedback is SO important to me. And don't hold back. If there was something you didn't like about the recipe or if there was something that didn't work, let me know! I am still super new at this cooking/baking/blogging thing, so your feedback will really help me to improve! I want to become an expert and then be able to share my knowledge with my readers so that everyone can benefit! Your comments mean a lot to me! =)

Ok, here's the moment you've all been waiting for:

THE GIVEAWAY WINNER!



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Congratulations Xiaolu!

I will be contacting you soon about the giveaway!

I'd like to thank everyone who participated for their great feedback! Thanks so much for all your support!