The Back Story
Hello there! My name is Carissa and I'm so glad you found my little corner of the internet.
I love sharing seasonal nourishing recipes for the beginner home cook. But let me be honest - I didn't start out as a chef extraordinaire (*deep sarcasm*).
I've always been fascinated by food. When I was five, I would concoct "soups" and force my little sister to try them. But the term "soup" is used loosely here.
My "soups" were basically bowls of lukewarm water with a combination of spices that I snuck from the cabinet after climbing onto the kitchen counter. When my parents caught me, they told me I had to test-taste it first, before giving it to my sister... thus ending that stint of my culinary career.
In high school, I would pore over DVD's of Good Eats episodes, Food Network shows, and food documentaries. I'd sit on the couch taking vigilant notes, neglecting my homework and school textbooks. I had my priorities!
I experimented with cooking and baking in high school, but during my junior year, I started to fall down the deep, dark spiral of an eating disorder. This actually spiked my intrigue in food, and I would spend hours upon hours each week learning about food. It's been a long and painstaking journey from that point in my life. A lot of times it felt like one step forward, three steps back. But it's possible!
Something's Gotta Change
With all that time spent learning about food, you'd have thought I'd be a master in the kitchen. Unfortunately, some things just didn't click in my brain and I ended up with many failed dishes. The most common culprits to inedible attempts were (1) not reading the directions fully and therefore skipping critical steps, and (2) substituting ingredients that wholly changed the recipe.
I ended up giving myself food poisoning on several occasions. You'd think once would be enough! After a couple years of this torture, I was fed up. Needless to say, something needed to change. But I was only learning from my mistakes when I took time to sit down and write out exactly what I would do differently next time. So I started this blog to track each and every mistake I made. This gave me the space to reflect and begin improving my cooking and baking skills.
Today
Fast forward to today, and I almost can't recognize myself. Me, baking French macarons, elaborate layer cakes and gigantic gingerbread houses from scratch?! Practice didn't make perfect. But practice along with reflecting on what went wrong and reminding myself of what to improve on the next attempt made progress.
Since the beginning of 2020, I have been dedicated to learning about the science and techniques behind successful recipes. Through research and diligent recipe testing, I've developed fool-proof recipes that can be achieve by anyone - even me back when I had no skill or knowledge in the kitchen!
So here we are, exploring new foods together. I hope you take some time to look around. If you try any recipes, do let me know how they turn out for you in the comments! I'm excited to keep learning, and I hope you join me on this journey.
Some of My Favorite Recipes
- Easy Vegetable Quiche
- No Bake Mint Chocolate Chip Pie
- Vegan Poke made from Watermelon
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Vegan Caramel Banana Pancakes
- Easy Vegetarian Chili with Beans
- Apple Pie from Scratch
- Almond Milk Eggnog
Fun Facts About Me
- I dream of living on a homestead full of vibrant garden beds, a few independent cats, a loyal dog or two and a flock of chickens.
- I'm obsessed with popcorn.
- Friends is my all-time favorite TV show. Quiz me - I've seen every episode at least a dozen times.
- I'm obsessed with Harry Potter. I will win every trivia night that's Harry Potter themed.
- I love dancing, yoga and hiking.
- Sitting by a cozy fire wrapped in a warm wool blanket with a fiction book is my favorite.
- I have been bit hard by the travel bug. Will travel for food.
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