What’s with the name? I see recipes everywhere!
I think cooking is most fun and innovative when you just wing it, which is why I rarely use recipes. I write recipes because I believe that by learning techniques, anyone can learn to cook without recipes. That’s why my recipes and headnotes are filled with details on why I do things a certain way or why I use certain ingredients. If you think of most modern recipes as an Ikea instruction manual for assembling a specific desk, my recipes are frameworks that teach you how to create any desk.
Do you have a book I can buy?
I’ve chosen not to do a book because it would take time away from creating recipes here that I can share with everyone. That being said, in addition to my own time, I employ two contractors to help develop and manage the site, and there are the costs of various services to make sure the site loads quickly and seamlessly, and then there are all the costs of developing and shooting a recipe (ingredients, props, etc). No Recipes is supported by your generosity, so if you find this site useful, please consider donating.
I represent company x. Can I send product y to try?
I’m happy to try out your new product, however, I provide no guarantees that I’ll ever write about it. This isn’t really a review blog, so I rarely write about products I get.
We do however offer the opportunity to sponsor a post to brands we love. This is a great way to get your product mentioned in the context of this site. This usually involves developing a recipe around your product. This could be as simple as including it in a recipe, pairing food with it, using it as a tool to create the recipe, or having a recipe inspired by it.
If you don’t have the budget to sponsor a post, I’d be happy to try out your product and if I really love it I’ll mention it across our social media accounts. For more information, please drop me a note.
Can I send you my book to review?
I don’t do book reviews. I also travel so much it’s not practical to keep paper books. If you want to send me a digital copy of your book, I’m happy to add it to my library as a reference book. If I ever do end up using some material from it on this blog, I will credit you and the book.
Will you link-to/promote my site?
If you want to link to my site you are welcome to, but given the thousands of links we get it’s not feasible to link back to everyone’s site. If you’re representing a company, feel free to send me a note. If it’s something I really love I may tweet about it, but it’s very unlikely I will write a post about it.
What unit of measurements are you using?
All volumetric measurements (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons) are US based. 1 US cup is equivalent to 237 milliliters, 1 tablespoon is 15 milliliters, and 1 teaspoon is 5 milliliters. All other measurements should be labeled accordingly.
Why do you list the same ingredient twice in a recipe?
As someone who’s made this mistake before, I know how easy it is to accidentally use all of an ingredient in one step when you actually need to divide it into two steps. Rather than have you add too much of something by accident, I’ve split up any ingredient that is called for into two different parts of a recipe. That’s why it’s listed twice.
Can I write a guest post for your blog?
No Recipes is about making the preparation of delicious wholesome food accessible and interesting to people of all skill levels and backgrounds. If you feel this fits well with the way you create recipes and have a proven track record of doing so (such as a blog or book), I’m happy to consider it.
If you represent a company, I do not accept guest posts from companies. There are other ways I work with brands I love.
What kind of equipment/software are you using for your photos?
I’m using a Sony A7R II with a Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. I also use a Vanguard Alta carbon fiber tripod with an Edelkrone FlexTilt Head 2 and an Edelkrone QuickRelease One. The tripod is as much about composition as it is about holding the camera still.
As far as lighting goes, I’m not big on flashes (especially the ones in the cameras), so I either shoot in daylight or use a $10 Ikea table lamp that has a rice paper shade on it (diffuses the light), along with a 40W Satco fluorescent 5000K bulb. I shoot everything in RAW then the “magic” happens in Capture One Pro 11, where I crop the photos, and adjust exposure, white-balance, etc.
