A recipe box filled with dog-eared index cards. A three-ring binder brimming over with stained recipe sheets. Notations scribbled in the margins of cards and pages, indicating changes and adjustments that should be made. These are the physical artifacts of cooking that many of us recall from our mothers and grandmothers. 

The lucky among us still possess some of these culinary treasures, with handwriting connecting us to the cook who tested and perfected a recipe and hastily scribbled down her thoughts on how to improve or adapt it based on ingredients on hand. She would have been working from her own knowledge of various foods, what they brought to a dish, and how best to prepare them. 

It is this notion of passing on culinary knowledge that led me to create this website, a blog and virtual cookery scrapbook where I will:

• share my own experiences in the kitchen and what I’ve learned from trying new ingredients or rethinking old ones
• take some deep dives into the history of particular ingredients or dishes
• look at current topics in the realms of cooking and nutrition
• link to related recipes and meal ideas

It didn’t start out this way. I launched this site to combat the frustration of being “supperstruck” (i.e. stumped) about what to serve for supper night after night. I aimed to share meal ideas and recipes, and did, but as the site progressed I found myself heading in a different direction. 

I was following where my curiosity led me: trying new things, researching, then writing about all that I learned. As someone with a background in history and library science, this is the sweet spot for me – uncovering new and interesting information that I can share, whether it be lessons in how to make small-batch sauerkraut at home, a discussion of how to reduce food waste, or how kale can boost eye health.

So join me on this journey into all things culinary and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments. Here are a few places to start: