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Maricruz Avalos Flores

Maricruz Avalos Flores Food blogger

Italy

“Telling stories and capturing what happens inside and outside my kitchen is what makes me happy.” Maricruz is a Mexican expat living in Rome, Italy. She loves to capture the beauty from food in a simple and fresh way, just the way that home cooked food is for her.

About you? I was born and raised in a small town in Mexico’s central Pacific coast. I moved from Mexico to Rome, Italy in the fall of 2002 to marry my husband, Massimiliano. We live in a small and sunny apartment near to the Vatican.

What does Food mean to you? I was literally raised in my home kitchen, my mother used to put me in a basket near to her while she and my grandmother prepared meals for the whole family. I started helping in the kitchen at a very young age with peeling garlic, cleaning beans. The smell of ingredients such as corn, beans, vanilla, fresh coriander makes me feel at home. The color, light, shadows and contrasts of Mexican food are my greatest sources of inspiration.

Why did you create a blog? I created my blog “Un Cappuccino la Mattina” because I wanted to gather some memories from my childhood; after moving to Rome I started being nostalgic about my home country, missing not only my family and friends but also the food. I thought it would be a good idea to write both my mother’s and grandmother’s recipes and put them down digitally. I love to capture the beauty of food in a simple and fresh way, just the way that home cooked food is to me.

Your inspiration? My daily inspiration is the simple and seasonal cooking with fresh ingredients. I am very lucky because I have a farmers market just a few steps from my home, so going there every day and looking at all the contrasting colors and light is what keeps me inspired. Also traveling is a huge inspiration, every time my husband and I are visiting another city we will go for sure to some farmer markets, hunting for photos, ideas and ingredients to bring home. Life is an adventure and traveling around the globe is my passion, I really love to experience different cultures and cuisine.

What can we find on your blog? Homemade earthy recipes and world food photography, wine recommendations, travels and life stories. I just started a new blog category called "world food" where I share our experiences with food while visiting other countries.

What do you like being a blogger? I really love to create and shoot beautiful recipes, either in my studio or in other locations. Being part of a community as blogger makes me feel useful and happy to share a small part of my travels and homeland through food and photography.

What role do the images have? Photography was a result of my love for food; I wouldn't start taking photos if it wasn't because I wanted to show how certain dish looks like. I started working as food photographer in November 2011 after my husband encouraged me to send some of my photos to various magazines and websites. My photography has developed through those years of blogging. Right now I like to shot in a most simple way, focusing mainly in the dish and light/shadow contrast. I like to keep my blog simple and minimalist not only with my recipes but of course, with the images.