Four Questions with Cara Greenstein

If you’re from Memphis, odds are you don’t need me to tell you who Cara Greenstein is. Her blog, Caramelized, is a three-time winner of Memphis’ Best Blog, she’s a regular face around town, and she’s been featured by everyone from The Everygirl to The Knot. Oh, and her food-filled Instagram feed is the stuff of dreams.

But whether or not you have roots in Tennessee, there are likely a few things you don’t know about this Southern belle. For starters, you may not realize that Cara is a rabbi’s daughter. Or that she met her husband at Jewish summer camp (she was the song leader, he was the sports director. It’s all very Wet Hot American Summer). Or that…

I’ll just stop there and let her tell you the rest. I’m so thankful that Cara and I had a chance to connect, and I’m hopeful that our conversation will be as phenomenally inspiring to you as it was to me—even during this weird and crazy time.

(The magical relevance of conducting a Four Questions interview as we head into Passover week is not lost on me, by the way. Chag sameach, friends!!)

Q

How did you first get into the blogging world?

A

It started with Food Network. Sounds silly, I know. But in middle school, I just started watching the channel, and it wasn’t long before I became completely infatuated with Emeril and Rachael Ray and all of those guys. When I wasn’t in school, that’s where you could find me: watching all of them do their thing and learning. I have a sister who’s seven years younger than me, and after we watched, we would make up pretend “cooking shows” in the kitchen for fun. At my Bat Mitzvah, when people asked what I wanted as a gift, my mom came up with this great idea: Williams Sonoma gift certificates. And so at twelve years old, all of those dream kitchen gadgets you see on TV were suddenly mine—a yellow Kitchen Aid, fancy knives, bread makers, ice cream makers, sushi makers, you name it. My parents thought it was great. They were like, “Cool, we get to inherit this from our middle-schooler!”

From that point on, I just fell more and more in love with cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I later attended UT Austin and decided to be a PR major—particularly because of my love for connecting with people and my desire to spend more time writing. It was there, in a PR writing class, that I launched the blog: We were required to write a four-post blog series to understand that whole medium. Naturally, I decided that food would be my topic. I then came up with the title “Caramelized” because there was a family friend who used to call me “Caramel.”

But there’s more to it: Caramelization is all about cooking things down to find the hidden sweetness. That’s what became my philosophy for the blog, and in many ways my personal mantra. Finding the sweetness.

I turned that initial version of Caramelized in for a grade, and of course, the rest is history: I just enjoyed working on the blog so much that I kept doing it. It’s as simple as that! This was back in 2012, and at that time I was also lucky to be interning for a major lifestyle blogger, Camille Styles. I helped out with her food styling for about two years, and I was just completely starstruck by the whole process. Back then, she was working on her first book, so I was also fortunate to see the behind-the-scenes of that world. I began to understand how to treat a blog like a business. You know, it’s not just writing. It’s not just photography. There’s so much more magic and intense work behind all of it. So that’s what gave me my foundation.

These days, I’m still in the PR world and working on the blog simultaneously. It’s a wonderful life.

Q

What does your day-to-day life look like in terms of making time for both the blog and your PR work?

A

I’m an early bird! I’ve learned through practice and routine (and some trial and error) that I’m really best at writing in the morning before I go to the office—or, as has been the case lately, before I sign onto my company Slack channel. I try to set the day up for my blog as early as possible, at least in terms of drafting captions and writing blog posts. The morning is just that time of day when I feel most inspired. Making a cup of coffee, sitting down at the table with my dog before my husband wakes up…that sort of scene just makes me happy and gets me excited for the work I have to do.

I do believe very strongly in planning ahead, especially when you’re juggling more than one thing in your life or day. So, starting my day knowing what my priorities are both for the blog and for work is really important. Meanwhile, particularly right now, working as a PR professional in an agency setting yields a pretty constant stream of work and things to do. But it’s all exciting.

I’ll add that in general, especially with such a food-focused life, my meals are incredibly important to me. I do not miss a meal! I try to cook and eat in as much as I can, but when I have the opportunity—and when the whole country’s not, you know, on lockdown—I love making time to try new restaurants around Memphis. 

But ultimately, for me, what gives every single day structure is my calendar. It sounds kind of lame, I guess, but my calendar is my best friend. It really drives how I spend my time, and time management is definitely the most important skill to have when you’re managing more than one job.

Q

How did being a rabbi’s daughter factor into your childhood, and does it continue to influence your connection with Judaism?

A

Yes, I’m a rabbi’s daughter! Growing up in Memphis, Judaism was always an integral part of my life and my family’s life. I grew up having Shabbat dinners every Friday night and going to Jewish summer camp—where I met my husband, by the way! We were both on staff.

But back to my life growing up: Yes, Judaism was central to so many of the things we did. We were expected to be about in the community as a family, of course, but I’m an extrovert and I thrive on meeting people. So having to connect with that many families was never annoying or difficult; if anything, I embraced it wholeheartedly.

And there are so many lessons I learned from having interacted with our community that way. The most important of those might be that a first impression really matters so much—and even more significantly, that kindness matters. I’ll never forget being little at temple and having older members of the congregation come up and kiss my cheeks and give me all of this warmth every single week. It made me feel so special and so loved. Just that small act, that little bit of kindness went so far, and I’ve learned that kindness can really change someone’s day—no matter who you are or who they are.

These days, I wouldn’t say I’m traditionally observant. But Jewish values are incredibly important to me: the family, food, gatherings, and ideas about social justice. It’s all just so relevant to my life and to so many people’s lives on a daily basis.

Q

Favorite Jewish food—and any fun memories associated with it?

A

I’m a carb-aholic, so I’d have to go with challah. It’s also wonderful that you don’t have to wait for a specific holiday to enjoy it—year-round deliciousness!

But as I’m thinking of memories to associate these things with, I’m having a funny realization, which is that my mom really does not enjoy cooking. Being with her in the kitchen was just never a big part of my childhood. She enjoys entertaining and having everyone over for the holidays, yes—she’s actually a party planner!—but cooking is not her thing.

I do have some really amazing memories about food that have to do with my grandparents, though. They live in Memphis now, but when I was growing up, they lived farther away, in Florida. Each year, they’d come into town a week before whatever major holiday was coming up so that my grandma could make the brisket and soup from scratch in our kitchen. I have these incredible memories of helping her prepare the food.

I’m not yet at the point where I’ll be hosting my family, and this year it’s nearly a moot point anyway. But the idea of sharing that meal with them is so special to hold onto. I know I’ll be holding onto it even tighter this week.

You can learn more about Cara on her blog or by following her on Instagram.