Welcome to Kate’s Curious Kitchen!

 

Kate's Curious Kitchen
Whitney Hartmann Photography

Hi, I’m Kate, welcome to Kate’s Curious Kitchen. Here you are going to explore adventures in the heart of my home! I love food, I love feeding my friends and family, I loved feeding my customers when I owned my café and now I get to share my love of food, recipes and stories with you. I believe that a kitchen is where stories start and where stories are retold over and over through out the years. Creativity creates memories and curiosity gives you the freedom to explore with no boundaries or walls to hold you back.

Food not only feeds you and your soul, it feeds conversations. Stories come alive if you can smell, see, touch and taste the very ingredient that started the conversation or sparked the memory. A recipe to me is a collection of ingredients and measurements that tell you what to gather, prepare and in what order to care for those ingredients. The story starts to develop as you take your time and put your energy into your dish. The flavors become infused with love, hope, pride, accomplishment, and sometimes-sheer luck!

I’m a self taught Chef I choose to build my professional career in the fabulous world of desserts. I was that girl who was 9 times out of 10 bored in school when I was growing up. Repetitive lessons and sitting still in a chair all day long was not at all creative and it truly did not feed my lust for learning. But my small hometown grocery store did, Lynn Noren owned and operated Noren’s Market and if he were alive today I would love to thank him for all of his inspiration. Within those walls, I was allowed to wander back into the coolers and watch vegetables being washed and sorted before being places in their displays. I watched mixers as big as me whip butter into a silky form. I would crane my neck around the butchers display case to just see what breaking down a side of beef took. Still to this day it truly amazes me, I consider it a true art form. I had FUN, I was learning, tasting, seeing, feeling and appreciating a craft. I just never put it together that this was my path; this world of food makes me truly happy.

I was always told if you have a strong foundation it can support you no matter what, all you have to do is believe in yourself. I am a believer now! I made a 4’ tall multi tier carrot cake for my cousins wedding with traditional cream cheese frosting. If I didn’t create a level and supportive foundation that cake would have toppled under its sheer weight (60lbs). But I trusted myself, I remembered the lessons my husband showed me (he delivered wedding cakes long ago) and above all else I believed in my craft, my recipe, my business, my creativity, my curiosity and I believed in me! Just like I believe that you can and will be able to recreate the recipes I publish.

I do have the amazing lineage of being a member in a farming family that for over 130 years has grown fruit and vegetables still on its original land. I was schooled in the art of eating seasonally I was brought up knowing oranges were the Christmas fruit. All I had to do was walk out of my home pick one from the back yard, Mom would cut it up and I could eat it up. Sundays were and still are for Sunday supper that wonderfully cared for meal shared by family members and friends where stories are the focus and flavors trap the memory.

My Blog is a bit unconventional, just like me. Stories, people, food, experiences and truth will be shared. I can tell you this blog will not be a quick read. This is a time for you to pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, a glass of wine and sometimes a martini. Sit back and read about my inquisitive adventures with beautiful ingredients and meals. Come along and meet my family members, friends and colleagues. Hopefully my stories will jog your memory of a dish, ingredient or friend long ago forgotten, let me help you create new memories that stay with you for a long time. I am truly excited about this adventure. I hope you will share your recipes and stories with me and possibly find similar comfort in mine. I love when food helps the story come alive, I love it when I wake up curious about an herb or spice; and, go find the answer of where it is from, what does it taste like, what is its history and how can I use it in a recipe? Thank you for being curious about me. Now lets go start this new adventure!

Cheers!

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