This is a story about following your heart and finding a job you can really sink your teeth - and soul - into.

"I think for a long time a little voice had been telling me to write and to write about food," says Molly Wizenberg.

It was just a few years ago that she was a disgruntled UW grad student studying the French social security system in Paris.

"I was much more interested in walking around and finding, you know, what so-and-so claimed to be the best baguette or the best croissant."

She decided to quit studying and start eating.

"I now think in retrospect that my whole graduate career was an attempt to get back to food."

That's when she started the blog "Orangette," named after those chocolate covered candy orange rinds in France.

"It's kind of a mixed blessing in that people tend to want to call me Orangette since my hair is red."

The blog centers around the nuances that are born out of the kitchen.

"The people who are sitting at the table with you, where you got your recipe, who taught it to you -- all that. So, in my blog, what I try to do is each week I focus on one recipe and sort of tell the story that spins from that."

By January 2007, Molly was writing full-time, thanks to a new book deal.

"The book grows out of the format of the website in the sense that it's a collection of essays and anecdotes and each one has a recipe that goes with it."

It'll hit store shelves this fall...on the heels of a new monthly column the 29 year old is now writing for Bon Appetit, called "Cooking Life."

"Each month I sort of explore a new kitchen discovery or conquer a fear or an area of intimidation in the kitchen. So, it's really fun for me because it forces me to expand my horizons."

As if a book deal and national magazine column weren't big enough perks, Molly also met her husband Brandon through her blog.

"I got an email in April 2005, and I was intrigued. I really can't tell you why I gave him the time of day, because I could have just been like, 'Delete!'"

The were married last July.

"I always thought it was so cheesy when people said, 'follow your heart.' But, it's worked for me."

Places Molly likes to Go Eat!: Boat Street Cafe, Tilth, Piecora's, Cafe Lago.

For more information:

http://orangette.blogspot.com/