First thing is first… my name is Rachel. I am not a chef by education or trade, I am simply a normal person, with a normal kitchen and a day job, that happens to enjoy cooking.

A brief about me: I am in my mid 40’s. I have been married to my husband, Jerremey, a high school teacher turned middle school administrator, for going on 22 years. We have a son who is just about able to drive on his own, and that simultaneously terrifies me and makes me sad (because they grow up so fast). I work in public health in a clerical role at a school-based adolescent facility in a rural town in northern Michigan. It is fulfilling work and provides financial comfort to our little family. I have a normal, smallish house with a normal kitchen that isn’t filled with top of the line finishes, but rather what I could put together on a budget with what was already there. It is cozy and charming and cluttered most of the time.

I absolutely fell in love with cooking at a young age, sitting at the counter at my great-aunt’s house watching her make southern and midwestern comfort foods. She was an amazing cook, the best in our family certainly. As she would dice vegetables, perfectly season meats, roll out dough for things, roast garlic for garlic bread, make THE BEST waffles I have ever eaten, I would watch intently. I learned many things from her, the most important of which is to put love and caring into each dish. From chicken and dumplings or broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole to sheet pan nachos, wet burritos, and Thanksgiving dinner, she absolutely left everything on the table, so to speak.

My grandmother followed this up by marrying my grandpa, who was from Mexico. This led to her learning some great authentic central and western Mexican recipes. I learned how to make her excellent guacamole (which is my most requested food item among my friends and family, and even a few strangers that I have prepared food for via potlucks and such), green chili pork, pico de gallo, rice, and the list goes on.

It is hard for me to share recipes, because in the back of my mind I wonder what I would be needed for if people can make the things I make on their own… the remedy is my winning personality and charm (a.k.a. oversharing and general giddiness). Really, it comes down to wanting the recipes to live on forever through anyone who takes the time to make them and enjoy them or share them with their loved ones.

Ultimately, making food and feeding people things that are delicious is something that fills my proverbial cup. Come along and together we will make just a little of this… and that.