As some of you know, in addition to blogging here, I also run a low-sodium food site called The Daily Dish. I’ve spent years creating recipes, sometimes off the top of my head, other times jumping off something already published. I often go through cookbooks and websites looking for new ideas and inspiration. Whenever I adapt someone else’s work, whether slightly or significantly, I make a point of citing sources and linking to the original. It’s simply the right thing to do.
…..IS LIVE!!
CLICK HERE to CHECK IT OUT.
YES. I know I wanted it done last month, but I also wanted it done right. And sometimes that takes a bit more doing. After much exhaustive work and the collaborative efforts of my beloved husband, the new site is up and running. Good as gold. I love the new layout, the clean look and improved features. The site is now fully indexed and searchable. The RSS feed so many of you requested is NOW AVAILABLE – and each of the recipes can be critiqued through comments. Please take a look at the new site and let me know what you think. It has been A LOT of work and I am very proud. Speaking of work, Having to update everything and go through each and every recipe (334 at last count) was both grueling and surprisingly wonderful. I am grateful beyond belief to all of my readers, who have made this endeavor so rewarding, as well as to my family for helping me accomplish so much.
Last, I know many of you enjoy looking through my photos. Although the site has no direct link currently, the gallery can still be accessed HERE.
I have been fielding emails from many of you since Memorial Day regarding the status of The Daily Dish. I know it’s been confusing, my having kept the same page up from May 26th until this very morning. The lack of daily updates has been a source of anxiety for some of you, and for this, I apologize. I do recognize (and am indeed honored) that many people have come to depend on my website, and I do not mean to disappoint. But for the time being, I am on hiatus.
This post as well as this one provide much more detail as to why I am (at least for the time being) suspending work on The Daily Dish. Without being crass, I simply am being underpaid. I have spent HOURS AND HOURS each week for months working on recipes for the site, shopping for ingredients, cooking, cleaning, photographing, programming, and more. Running, writing and creating The Daily Dish is like working a full time 40 hr a week job for free. In addition to the time involved, it has also been a financial drain, with all of the food, gas and other expenses coming purely out of pocket.
I have thought long & hard about how to support this venture, whether it be through advertising on the site, publishing and selling a physical cookbook, asking for donations. I have up until now foregone ads for the sheer fact that I loathe them. I do not want to clutter my site w/ a bunch of google click-throughs intended to deceive & lure readers away from real content. I despise flashing banner ads – which frankly no one should have to deal with, but especially not those suffering from Meniere’s.
I am still quite wedded to the idea of publishing my own cookbook, but have been unable to make further strides b/c of the burden of updating the website. I simply can’t do both. It took me over 2 years of writing and research before I could even get the site up & running. Maintaining it has been a chore and a half. Now that I am on break, I have more time at my disposal for working on an actual book. Many people have responded favorably to the idea, and I very much welcome your comments regarding one. Would readers be interested in buying my book were I able to get it published? It may be easier for people to work from a book in the kitchen. It is for me. And so, I am exploring it as a viable option.
Just this morning, my dear friend Tracey emailed me another possible solution to my dilemma. A man engaged in a different-but-similar niche website has successfully campaigned the past two years for donations, along the lines of a PBS pledge drive. He has set periodic financial goals to cover his time & expenses, then asked readers to contribute whatever they can. This seems like a plausible solution, but again, I am not sure how readers would react. Would people be willing to pay for a service they have already come to expect and enjoy for free?
Please, if you value the website and the work that I have done, give me your feedback. It is essential for the continuation of The Daily Dish.