About

Hi – I’m Bridget

I’m a self-taught, food obsessed, good ingredient hunter and lover of transforming everyday staples into delicious and uncomplicated dinners.

This is Dave. Husband, aka “hubster”. He’s critical to all my adventures including getting this blog up and running. He is also very importantly, my primary taster!

Story behind this food blog

It really does start with Dave. We got married late in life – it took me a long time to find him… My focus had been on my education and climbing the corporate ladder… Then I realized I now had a family and I was responsible for us eating healthy and cost effectively -so I set out to become a good cook.

Now days, I’m a big proponent of eating delicious food cost effectively (#WhyEatOut).  In this blog you will find what’s cooking in my kitchen… a little bit of everything…from roasts to salads to breads and cupcakes.  I’ll be keeping it real… sharing healthy foods and the ‘get-your-fat-pants-ready’ splurges…

I love cooking and having people over and enjoying food with my friends and family.  I am typically focused on providing nourishing meals (#VegItUp) without compromising quality or breaking the bank.  I find great satisfaction in hosting dinner parties that are low key, while still (somewhat?!) impressive and budget friendly.  I hope to share insight into cost-effectively producing good wholesome and nutritious dinners for those who you care about.  My bestie sometimes pokes fun at me for my overstuffed freezer and larger-than-it-ought-to-be pantry.  But when you can pull off a full healthy meal without leaving the house, I call that a major win!  

I’ll tell you what worked well, what didn’t (#KeepingItReal), what bargains I scored, how I stay within budget and what tools I’m using to help me in the kitchen.

My Inspiration:

1968 – Nana, Mom, Aunt Joan, Aunt Kay

There are many stories about the amazing cook my Nana was.  Once she told me – anyone can cook – you just have to follow a recipe.  In honoring my Nana’s memory, I try to focus on the simplicity and goodness of her era.  If it wasn’t part of my grandmother’s kitchen, I tend to question its place on my plate. 

With that in mind, I do try to stick to basics and most of my recipes do that.  But I’m also a realist and sometimes we need to lean on something processed to get dinner on the table and food into the bellies. Balance is key… I try my best to avoid processed foods and cook from scratch where and when I can. 

I collect and generate recipes from a variety of sources – be it restaurants, fellow food blogs, cooking shows, online platforms like Google and Pinterest and lots and lots of cookbooks. 

One time, a leader of mine in the corporate world asked me what the last (implied “business”) book was that I’d read.  I paused, I considered, I said, “do cookbooks count?” I have quite the collection of cookbooks that I love to sit and read. When I go traveling I love to buy the 4-H Recipe collections (all localized mom’s favorites) to see what they cook in that town….and when I go Antiquing I love to get old cookbooks to see what was what, back then. One of my favorites is my “Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking” from 1956 where it talks about the housewife’s duties in the kitchen… (Have table linens & dinner service set, and your lipstick on when your husband gets home from work!)

Depending on the day, my mood, and the contents of my vegetable drawer, I might directly replicate a recipe, combine recipes or purely use them for inspiration. As such, you may get some recipe reviews of other bloggers / recipe creators – and recipes as is / fully accredited to the originator — and other times you’ll get my thoughts and updates and changes.  With all that said – I’m super happy you are here and I really hope you find something that appeals to your pallet and your family and friends also enjoy the results.

Before you go, one caveat in the vein of keeping it real… I retired from corporate America in 2023 and have started this blog in early 2024 – to share my joy and provide inspiration and offer ideas.  The recipes you will see are what is being produced in my kitchen.  Whether it’s a baked treat or a low-calorie dinner (because we may be watching our weight), or a splurge because it’s time…that’s what you’ll find here.  I’ll be keeping it real and doing my best to take good photos… Please cut me a little slack as I get going, OK?

With all that said, I’d love to hear from you – to let me know how the recipe went, or to ask for help with a certain ingredient or recipe or nutritional need.

From my kitchen to yours… Bridget   

Thank you for visiting !