Hi, I’m Anna Bloomfield. I have one fantastic husband, two gorgeous children, three noisy chickens and the most adorable, sweet, rescue black lab. I’m lucky enough to live in a great village and have a job I actually enjoy.
I have always loved food and cooking. Some of my earliest memories are of poring over cookbooks then making pudding on a Sunday with Dad. My Mum is a product of the 1970’s health food movement and I was brought up eating things my friends had never even heard of. The eternal request in our house when having friends over for dinner was ‘can we have something normal please?’. To be fair, she wasn’t helped by the fact that between us (myself and my three siblings) she had to contend with wheat, milk, corn and glucose intolerances. But don’t worry, you won’t find any recipes for tapioca cooked in red grape juice here.
I moved to the Midlands to train as a paediatric nurse where I met and married my husband Dan. I left nursing when we had our eldest. Some people have the ability to function on shifts, I had realised by this point that being in a permanent state of sleep deprivation was not how I wanted to live my life. Ironically our first child didn’t sleep through the night until the age of four.
When the children were young I was a stay at home Mum. During this time I made practically every meal from scratch and have tried to continue this since returning to work as I like to know what we’re eating and think it keeps things interesting. Cooking from scratch, especially creating and adapting recipes, also gives me a real sense of satisfaction – I love it. However, often I have to get a meal on the table pretty fast, as most of us do. Therefore, if you like inspiring recipes and exciting food that don’t take all day to create then this blog is for you. Much of what I cook is seasonal, nearly everything is quick and easy. Here you will find recipes for everything from drinks and breakfast to mains, side dishes and special occasions. Some of these recipes I’ve been cooking for years, others have been created just for you.
And why ‘Once Upon a Food Blog’? Well, not all my recipes come with a story but many do. Food is often my main memory of a situation – be it a holiday, a day out, or a lunch with friends. I still remember sitting on a camping bench in France as a child, deboning a poulet fume and wondering how much I could get away with eating without getting caught. It’s these stories I will bring you. After all, everyone loves a story.
So head on in, browse the recipes and give some a go. You may be minutes from your new favourite dish.