Hello!
My name is Maddie, and welcome to Blue Tail Bakes. I envision this as a space to connect with you all around the thing that inspires me most: food!
Simply put, I am in awe of food. It comes in so many different shapes, sizes, flavors, and colors. It has healing powers: medicinally, spiritually, environmentally, and communally. It can be used as a tool of exploitation and oppression, but can also be a tool of liberation and resistance. It brings people together and is often a symbol of affection or care. At the moment, it is both one of the leading causes of the Climate Crisis and also has the power to be part of the solution. It holds histories of travel, violence, innovation, and triumph.
What else on earth is so multifaceted? Food is something we interact with everyday and it is something every single human being has in common with each other. For all of these reasons, and because I just love to learn about, cook, bake, and share food with others, I’ve decided to create this space!
A little bit about me:
I am from Virginia where I grew up with my mom, dad, and brother. Food has always been a central part of how my family interacts with each other and that’s probably why I use it so often to express love and care today. Since I was little, my parents played a crucial role in exposing me to all kinds of foods and encouraging my passion for it. My dad was the main one in the kitchen growing up, and he combined his love for plants with his love for beautiful ingredients, connecting the dots for me between living things and food. Some of my favorite things to eat growing up were cartoon pancakes made every Sunday by my dad, my grammy’s chocolate-chocolate chip cookies, my mom’s grilled steaks, yucca fries, garlic bread, chả giò, and bacon. I grew up eating meat, but decided in 2017 to go pescatarian and it stuck. I can still appreciate the role meat plays in food for others and I know that meat can be a part of our diets in sustainable ways.
In 2020, I moved to North Carolina and worked and lived on a farm, growing and selling produce to CSA customers during the pandemic and learning as much as I could. Working so intimately with the food I ate made me appreciate the agricultural process and the sacrifices farmers make to feed us. After I left the farm, I worked at a bakery for 2 years. Baking speaks to me. I loved being surrounded by all kinds of doughs and the smells of butter, sugar, and baking breads. The kitchen I worked in used so many beautiful locally grown a milled flours, which only fueled my curiosity and reverence for the combination of flour, salt, water, and time.
When I’m not working, I love learning more about food. Through books, recipes, videos on Youtube, podcasts, or the newest food docuseries, I’m always consuming some form of food media. One of my favorite podcasts, The Sporkful, sums it up perfectly in its slogan: “we obsess about food to learn more about people.”
So welcome! I am excited you’ve found yourself here and hope you’ll be back for seconds.
And what kind of food blog would this be without a list of a couple of my favorite foods?
Cacio e pepe (preferably with al dente orecchiette)
Banana pancakes
Crusty sourdough bread
Kimchijeon
Everything Bagel with scallion cream cheese
About the name:
The name Blue Tail Bakes refers to the Five-Line Skink, a shiny, colorful lizard found in the forest of the mid-Atlantic. My brother and I grew up with a curiosity for and reverence of nature, and it’s something I try to incorporate into my daily life- especially with food. During the last year or so, we both found ourselves charmed by this little lizard, texting each other whenever we’d see one out and about. Who knows why exactly- maybe its bright colors, its quick darting movements, its unique name? Maybe we just think they’re really cute.
I want this space and my own relationship to food to be tied to nature and place. And so, the name Blue Tail Bakes was born, and I’ve got to say, I really like it.
