Angela Roberts Interview (Spinach Tiger): Big, Healthy, Comfort Food

Traditional Italian cooking, with a twist! In this Angela Roberts interview, you’ll discover what motivated this California native to start a cooking website, find out more about her favorite recipes, and also her biggest sources of inspiration.

1. How did you start Spinach Tiger? What inspired you to create it?

I started my website (Spinach Tiger) after I googled a recipe and came upon a beautiful blog. This was back in December 2007. I came back from a potluck party that was grim and I was feeling sad living in Nashville where, at the time, the foodie community was nonexistent.

As soon as I saw a green lasagna made with homemade pasta and arugula, I felt like I found my people. I decided that night that I would start a food blog. I prepared for a full year, writing content, practicing photography, and in December 2008, I hit publish.

2. What recipe do you like to cook the most?

I have over 1,100 recipes so I don’t have a real favorite. There are days I will spend hours testing a grain free dessert, and I do this for a section of my readers.

Conversely, I’m known for my “Southern fluffy biscuits” and love to make them for the people in my life. When I’m cooking for myself, I really get excited over vegetables.

When I’m cooking for my husband, it’s Bolognese. I love all the steps and the time it takes to make it authentic and it’s his favorite dish of all time. I have several variations and they all make the heart sing.

Source: Spinach Tiger

3. Which is your favorite kitchen tool?

My favorite kitchen tool is my chef’s knife. It does everything I need, outside of slicing bread. You have to have a bread knife for that.

Next to that is my kitchen scale. It not only weighs flour with precision but weighs hard to measure items like peanut butter.

4. Which is the best cooking advice you’ve ever heard?

The best cooking tip I ever learned was to pan sear my steak and salmon and finish it off in the oven.

5. What does a healthy meal mean for you?

My tagline is “Big Fat Healthy Food”. A healthy meal has to be visually appealing both to men and women, made with real food, including lots of vegetables, hopefully, superfoods, and make a hearty eater happy. Of course, it has to taste great.

6. Which chefs or cooking bloggers inspire you the most?

My biggest inspiration comes from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse Restaurant and Marcella Hazan who wrote perhaps the best Italian cookbook of all time, the Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I always feel like the late great Marcella is in the kitchen with me, with her finger pointed. Her book (with no pictures) is an all-time classic and must for anyone who wants to cook Italian food.

7. Which is your favorite ingredient?

Salt. I use Himalayan pink salt in almost everything. It’s important to taste food as you go along and make sure they are properly salted. Even desserts should have salt.

For more mouth-watering recipes, you can follow Angela both on her website and on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.