Ahoy hoy/Yo/Hello! I’m Sarah Cook, and I’m so glad you’re here!
And now here I am writing a sentence without an exclamation point so that you’ll take me seriously. Look at me – such a serious person.
First things first. YES, my actual legal last name is Cook. I know, I can’t believe it either. Like, it couldn’t be any more perfect for this wonderful job that I have created for myself – recipe developer, photographer, and (sadly) dishwasher.
I was lucky enough to grow up in the stunning Puget Sound region (Seattle adjacent), where I was surrounded by incredible fresh produce, seafood, and delicious local crops.
But we ate almost none of those things because my parents both worked full-time and both lived with physical disabilities. My childhood diet consisted of a lot of frozen food purchased from Costco.
Well, Costco items plus my dad’s famous baked potatoes and my mom’s Nordy Bars (one of the two things she would actually make from scratch).
Being the headstrong youngest child that I am, I decided at seven years old to teach myself to cook for our family so that we could expand our meal options. At first, the results were mixed. But I kept trying, kept learning, and kept experimenting, and here we are!
I love to share simple seasonal recipes (with the occasional fancy pants meal thrown in), and a huge portion of our produce comes from our giant garden on our teeny tiny suburban lot.
I’m really into canning, dehydrating, and freezing our homegrown produce for tasty winter meals. I’m obsessed with my clothesline, my kindling splitter for our wood stove, and yes, we even have chickens!
You can basically consider me your elderly millennial grandma.
Education and Experience
· Washington State University, BA, Criminal Justice, 2004
· Cookbook(s) – Prep Once, Cook Twice and 17 Mocktails and Homemade Syrups
· Restaurant Front of House – four years of serving experience and 37 years of putting food together in my own kitchen while giggling “sure, let’s try this”.
Time to Overshare
1) I’ve been married for over two decades (wow, typing that is wild), and we have two kids. My husband is a firefighter, and my boys are quirky but harmless. My dad also lives with us, and let’s just say I was forced to get chickens to balance out the male-to-female ratio in our house.
2) Even though my parents weren’t big on cooking, both of my grandmothers were excellent “from scratch” cooks. My grandma even made and bottled her own root beer! I share few of their recipes like Nana’s Almond Roca and canned pickled beets. But like most grandmas, they wrote ALMOST NOTHING DOWN, so sometimes I have to recreate my favorites based on vibes and memory.
3) I am currently living in fear of a gang of hummingbirds that reside in my front yard and have me terrified, should I ever stop refilling their feeders. If anyone ever finds my body covered in stunningly colorful feathers, please avenge me.
4) With that in mind, I listen to A LOT of true crime podcasts and books. Consider me a lifelong fan of the genre, ever since 7-year-old me accidentally stumbled upon a Law & Order rerun one sunny summer morning. Which then led to a steady diet of Murder She Wrote and Matlock. I was the *coolest*.
Recipes I Think You’ll Love
Pretty bold of me to think I know what kind of food you love, right? But let’s just say that millions of readers have declared these their favorite recipes, so fingers crossed that complete strangers on the internet aren’t wrong.
This garlic butter rice is a reader favorite for a reason. It’s flavorful, dead simple, and ready in a flash.
Interested in canning like all the cool kids? My tutorial on canning peaches will be your gateway to the non-scary prepper life.
These air fryer egg rolls are the recipe that made me fall in love with our air fryer. The recipe is speedy, and I even have a step-by-step guide on how to fold an egg roll wrapper. I’ve got your back, bestie.
There is a special place in my heart for soup. ALL KINDS OF SOUP! But this Instant Pot potato soup is one of my absolute favorites. It’s made with just six ingredients (seriously), and you can customize it with all the toppings until your heart is full of joy.
Shall We Connect?
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