A Life in the Kitchen

The joy of sharing meals with loved ones

I live in a home with a 77-square-foot kitchen. One hand can comfortably count the number of times I’ve eaten a meal prepared outside of it this year. I have spent 90% of my waking hours tucked away in this room, bellied up to the counter or stove, chopping, stirring, sprinkling, whisking, tasting, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Why? I love life in the kitchen and I love cooking. For myself, my spouse, our growing daughter, friends in need, a grandmother-figure who just lost her husband … if someone needs a meal, I’m positioned to deliver — I’m delighted to deliver.

I’ve been creating and sharing recipes for nearly a decade. And, honestly, only now have I finally found my groove in the kitchen — confident in my ability to make something out of what I’ve got, with what the seasons offer, and while at peace with what I bring to the table.

Did you catch that? It’s taken me roughly 10 years to broaden and reinforce my skills as a home cook, and feel at ease with preparing meals made of fresh, whole-food ingredients. It’s been messy. I’ve served some pathetic meals. I’ve cursed my tiny, now-beloved kitchen more times than I can count on both hands. But I always return … because I believe with all my heart that the work we do in our kitchens matters.

More honesty: I easily tire of our digital world. Finding my flow in my kitchen has meant rejecting the promises of a curated Pinterest board or a 90-second reel of a “Quick 5-Minute Meal That Everyone Will Love” and finding more ways to get my hands on the actual food found here, in our place on earth (to borrow from Wendell Berry). I’ve found it in stepping away from the screens and into the farmers markets, to have more conversations with the people who make their living from us making meals.

Most of the chefs and food writers I’ve learned from have shared a similar message: Eat as much home-cooked food with the people you care about as often as possible. This is, in part, why I’m motivated to share recipes with others. To help you make and eat food that is equal parts delicious and nutritious — and hopefully inspire many moments to sit down to enjoy food with others. A meal is a fundamental need that’s both pleasurable in itself and a needed moment when we get to engage with each other.

Chef Anthony Bourdain summed up what cooking with the seasons has taught me over the years. I’ll leave it with you here:

“Be open to experience. Be willing to try new things. Don’t have a rigid plan. Accept random acts of hospitality without judgment or fear. Don’t be afraid to wander. Don’t be afraid to eat a bad meal … if you don’t risk the bad meal, you’ll never get the magical one.”