Hey there! Welcome to my little part of the food blogging world. I am a young entrepreneur that works to bring you yummy creative recipes that can be made by any cook, beginner or expert.
Ana Smith – Founder
To be honest, I’m not quite sure where to begin with my “about me”. So, I guess I’ll start from the very beginning and draw you a little picture of my life.
The first thing I can remember from my childhood is how much I loved apple juice and sour cream. Not together, most of the time, but those were the only things I would really eat. My Mom would make me eat normal food by putting a big dollop of sour cream on top. If I had that, with a sippy cup of apple juice for dessert, of course, I was
Luckily, I grew out of that phase after a while and I moved on to bigger and better things. The next part of my life consisted of a lot of sports. I did pretty much everything you can imagine. Soccer, gymnastics, tennis, dance, softball, swimming, water polo, and ballet. While fulfilling my mother’s dreams of me become a world-renowned ballet dancer didn’t quite work out, swimming stuck pretty well.
I began my swimming career on a small summer league team in Central Texas. I ended up being pretty ok at it so the next year I began swimming at Longhorn Aquatics at the University of Texas at Austin. My swim practices were usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours long so I would come home
I would experiment with pasta, rice, chicken, and really anything else I could get my hands on. The most memorable cooking attempt my brother and I made was when we tried to make a bowl of rice soup in the microwave. Just so that you don’t make the same mistake at home, it wasn’t very good.
Even with my past failed attempts at cooking, my family has been very supportive of my goals.
My lovely parents have been taking pictures for as long as I can remember. They began doing it professionally in 2010ish. Since then, they have begun multiple businesses in the wedding industry. They are the most amazing parents I could ever ask for. I know, that’s sort of what I’m supposed to say since I’m their daughter but, I really do mean it. 😉 They are incredibly creative and hardworking with everything they do. So much of what I have learned about photography and business came from them and their experience. My mother, Elena Smith, is a wedding photographer, and my dad, Tony Smith, works in the commercial photography business, specializing in professional headshots.
My biggest supporter is my brother. No matter what I make in my test kitchen, he eats it! 🙂 When he isn’t home, my parents and I don’t know what to do with all the extra food!? Also, he is a master dishwasher which comes in really handy after I’ve been cooking in the kitchen all day!
I began Basil and Dill the summer of my freshman year of high school! Summer as a high school student, especially one that can’t drive yet, is full of free time. Summer of freshman year I began cooking and baking a ton! I would take pictures with one of my parent’s cameras, edit in lightroom, then post it on Instagram. As my Instagram grew a bit, I began getting some good feedback from friends and family, and I thought, maybe I can really make this something of this? One evening, I came to my parents with the idea of starting my own food blog! They were very supportive of my goals and encouraged me to do so! And then Basil and Dill
My biggest goal with Basil and Dill is to make it a place that home-cooks know they can come to for great, easy recipes that are perfect for any occasion!