
Hi, I’m Shannalee. Food Loves Writing is my literary food blog—about food and about everything else. It began on the anniversary of the day my grandma, the woman who taught me how to bake, passed away, and since then, it has become a place that’s changed my life—leading me to a new lifestyle of eating whole foods, moving me to a new home in Nashville and connecting me with the love of my life, Tim. Now we write this site together.
Grandma would have liked that.
FAQ | Press | Recipes | Restaurants
What Can I Expect Here?
Essays about food and about everything else—like a post about creamsicles that’s really about tuning in to truth, or a recipe for cauliflower pizza crust that tells you what a good husband I have. Recipes are made with whole, natural ingredients, from buckwheat ginger cookies to baked tilapia to fork-tender grass-fed pot roast that will change your world.
What If I’m New?
There’s an index of recipes, months of archives (see above). Over on the sidebar, you’ll see which posts are most recent, as well as what comments are being posted. You can check out some of my travel posts through links above, whether it’s a trip to the Research Triangle of North Carolina, a kumquat festival in Florida or the mountains of Colorado.
What Do You Do for a Living? Is the Blog Your Job?
As of July 1, 2010, I am a full-time freelance writer, creating content for anyone who pays me to (I joke, kind of). I spent three years managing a writing department and two years earning a master’s degree before making the leap, and it’s simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. And while I love this blog, it doesn’t earn an income—maybe someday!
So You’re a Freelancer. Can I Hire You?
Yes! I am available for freelance and contract work.
Where Do You Live? I Thought You Were from Chicago?
I am from Chicago—born and bred in the southwest suburbs, in fact, where my family still lives. As of February 2011 though, I now call Nashville home.
What’s with Your Name—Shannalee? How Do You Say That, and Where Did It Come from?
I have been asked this question since I was old enough to answer. The fact is, my parents made the name up, creating it from other names they liked, and they meant for it to be pronounced like Shauna-lee, as in, rhymes with Donna-lee or Fawna-lee. Yes, I know that means Shannalee is not a phonetic spelling. Talk to them.
Speaking of Names, what’s with Food Loves Writing?
When I created this blog, I wanted it to combine food and writing, and, this is what I came up with. Maybe my parents aren’t the only ones who pick weird names.
What Kind of Camera Do You Use?
[Update 12/25/09]: I now own a gently used Canon EOS 40D that I use mostly with a 35mm lens.
May I Use Your Photo Somewhere Else?
All photos and text on this site are protected by copyright and may not be used without permission.
Will You Review my Book? Try my Product? Visit my Restaurant?
Maybe. When I come across a product or place that I enjoy, I usually mention it here, so if you think I will enjoy yours, let me know. Just be aware that I cannot promise to blog about it, and I will always disclose that it has been given to me.
Will You Respond to my E-mail?
Almost always, yes.
Want to Know More?
Stay up-to-date with new posts and subscribe. Or make my day and say hi!
RECOGNITION, PRESS & INTERVIEWS
- Featured at The Kitchn, May 2012
- Blogger of the Month at Poor Taste Mag, February 2012
- Mentioned in a round-up post at TheKitchn, May 2011
- Contributed an essay to Remedy Quarterly: Issue 4, March 2011
- Food Loves Writing was included in Culture Mob‘s “20 Best Blogs for Holiday Recipes” 2010
- Food Loves Writing contributed a recipe to Thinkfood, a Posit Science Cookbook featuring 50 brain-healthy recipes from food bloggers.
- Food Loves Writing contributed a chapter to 55 Knives, the “collaborative project from some of the web’s top food bloggers.”
- Mentioned in a round-up post at The Kitchn, 4/15/10.
- Featured at ReadyMade.com, 2/22/10.
- Food Loves Writing contributed a chapter to Hope for Haiti, a collaborative project from 71 bloggers, where all profits went to the Red Cross for food relief in Haiti.
- “[Shannalee's]..writing…is like a ripe peach at full blush — lush and irresistible. Part of Shannalee’s appeal is how intimate her voice is. Whether you are reading her blog for the first time or the fiftieth, the feeling is that she is confiding just to you a discovery or a family treasure…Oh, and her photographs? Let’s just say they leave me hungry and happy, too,”—Sarah McColl, Pink of Perfection, 1/21/10.
- Featured in “Best of the Blogs” roundup at Food News Journal, 4/16/10, 3/18/10, 2/17/10, 1/26/10, 1/13/10, 1/5/10 and 12/24/09.
- Guest post featured at The Kitchn, 12/14/09.
- “Not since Georgia O’Keefe has one woman made inanimate objects seem quite so sensuous and alive…She makes you feel like you’d just love to sit down over a plate of blueberry waffles and spill all your dirty details.” —Uptake.com and MatadorLife.com, 12/11/09.
- Photo featured in Travel + Leisure, December 2009.
- Bon Appetit invited Food Loves Writing to participate in its 2009 Blog Envy contest, November 2009. Featured photo and link to Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies.
- Shannalee was interviewed at Gapers Block Drive-Thru, September 2009.
- “She had me at dry sherry, but…plays upon both food and writing like sweet and savory … Her blog is delicate but piercing. A love of eating, cooking and writing converge in her blog, expressed with awareness of all things around her.” — Blog Nosh Magazine, 8/13/09.
- Shannalee was interviewed by DePaul University for alumni blog, 7/21/09.
- “Ever eloquent,” — blog of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 5/7/09.
- Best Food Writing: January 2009, Houston Foodie, 1/30/09.
- Showcased at FoodShots: Roasted Lemon-Garlic Green Beans in September 2009 and Apple Tart Cake in October 2009

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