Where It All Started
My love for the sounds and smells of the kitchen originated in my childhood when some of my most prominent memories happened:
Spending hours hulling strawberries with my mom and six brothers for homemade freezer jam,
Enjoying the sweet smell of vanilla with my mom as we added it to the cookie dough,
Walking in the door after the first day of school to the smell of fresh-baked zucchini bread,
Playing "restaurant" and (nicely) forcing my brothers to be my customers,
Begging my mom for a turn at stirring the simmering soup on the stove,
Sipping my dad's homemade shakes and devouring my mom's homemade popcorn for family movie nights, and Peeling potatoes in the kitchen together for Sunday dinner.
(I guess being the only girl among six brothers and having a homemaker-icon for a mother, I was bound to find my place in (and love for) the kitchen.)
I love the way Penzey's Spices puts it: "Love to cook--cook to love."
The Blog
I originally started this blog
smack-dab in the middle of
a record-breaking, freeeeezing cold, Minnesota winter
as a needed outlet while:
1. my husband was busy with graduate school,
2. I just quit my job as a Labor & Delivery nurse,
and
3. I also just delivered the most beautiful baby boy you've ever seen.
That winter squeezed everything out of me except for a hankering to try new recipes--and here's where I put them...and continue to put them!
Since our chilly experience in Minnesota (don't get me wrong, we loved the people and our time there and I would have gladly stayed...on the condition of owning a garage),
my husband landed a job and we've moved cross-country,
where I am not only expecting a much milder winter,
but also have access to a bounty of local, organic, fresh food year-round.
Can you say heaven?
So, welcome to Kristin In Her Kitchen, where I try to keep things healthy (try the popular whole wheat pizza dough),
but of course,
can't avoid indulging in a good chocolatey or almond-buttery treat.
See the Recipe Index for a complete list of my family's tried-and-true favorites.
Thanks for stopping by!
Feel free to contact me or leave a comment after a post if you have any questions.
