In November-ish of 2010 I was thinking about my New Year’s Resolution. They never really work out for anybody and I was no exception. After pondering the fact that I still hadn’t made it to Bhutan, learned to speak Spanish or mastered the art of looking nonchalant in front of ex-boyfriends, I knew 2011 had to be different. My resolution had to be manageable and fun. I love food more than I love some people and the pile of cookbooks in my little red kitchen sure looked pretty but wasn’t getting much action. I played with the idea of trying a new recipe every week; I’d have to share the experiment with at least one person and document it in some way. A blog was the obvious answer but with an embarrassing lack of computer knowledge and lots of experience rolling my eyes at bloggers, I was a little wary. Pals convinced me to lighten up, I bartered nice meals for computer and photography advice, and 2011 turned out to be the most astonishing food year of my life. I’ve enjoyed cooking forever, but the love of it has burrowed into me more than I ever thought possible. Now I have a blog, I use words like astonishing and burrowed, and I roll my eyes at myself daily.
2012 arrived with a new set of cooking challenges. I’m an actor based in Newfoundland and the year started with a 6 month tour of Theatre Newfoundland Labrador’s Tempting Providence. It was a long time on the road, a long time away from my kitchen, and one hell of a great excuse to eat a lot of pizza in hotel rooms. But I dragged around a bag of groceries, figured out how to make good meals in kitchenettes, and perfected testing the limits of food preservation (cheese lasts five days on a hotel room windowsill). The second leg of the tour was three months in rural Newfoundland and Labrador, taking the challenge of cooking on the road to an absurd level. But I’ve learned after nine seasons of theatre in rural Newfoundland, that if you bring a supply of your favourite spices and a few bottles of nice olive oil, it all sort of falls into place. Usually the fresh fish, berries and moose sausages dropped off by the neighbours do just fine.
I’m back in the little red kitchen now and excited to be settled back in after living in hotels for half the year. I’ll still be trying new recipes and feeding the people I love, but there’ll be a few old favourites and maybe even a few experiments of my own.
Thanks for stopping by!
the little red chicken 
This is an awesome blog! I look forward to following it.
Thanks Helen!
Dear Little Red Chicken – your blog is yummy! Earl Grey cupcakes sound divine! Are you interested in joining us for a meal at Raymonds? Please RSVP to me!
yes absolutely! let’s try november or december (when robert gets home?)…
Love your blog Willow. I’m a lousy cook, and depend on the generosity of friends to eat well. But, I think I could actually manage a few of the recipes in your collection! Thanks little cuz! Nan Gel must be very proud of you. I’ll let you know if I burn the kitchen down in my attempts.
thanks so much kim! let me know how it all goes….i’m sure your kitchen will be just fine. 🙂
I’m looking forward to your posts, Willow. I hope to steal a few ideas for my blog.
hey thanks barry! steal away….love your blog and will probably do the same. 😉
HI listened to your interview with Ted Blades yesterday. I follow a number of american food blogs, it was great to hear of one from NL. I glanced through many of your recipes and am excited to try some, can’t wait to try the potatoes and berries. As someone who doesn’t like spuds much, I think it sounds great! thanks for the inspiration.
thanks so much! the little potato cakes are great…sort of like potato-y yorkshire puddings really. let me know how they turn out!
Hey,
Just a quick note about Jamie’s salad. I made an arugula, pickled onion, pear and candied walnut salad this past week. It was delicious. You can find baby arugula at the Sobey’s on Merrymeeting. It was the first time I purchased arugula since I moved to NL, 3 years ago. Did not think any of the grocers carried it, but was pleasantly surprised when I found it.
that sounds amazing…what sort of dressing did you use? i get the arugula from sobeys all the time, but find it goes off quickly. that ferry trip to newfoundland really shaves time off produce!
I was talking with my son today and he suggested I should view your web site. It has some awesome recipes that we will certainly try. By the way my son is Alan.
oh how great!! thanks so much chris…let me know if you try anything and how it turns out!
Hi there! Thought I should pop by and say hello before I go back browsing your blog again. I’m sort of new in this whole food blogging scene and hubby told me about your blog. It’s so much fun food blogging and it’s even more exciting to find one from my own city.
thanks so much! i’ve been at this for just about two years and it still sort of baffles me to be honest…took a look at your blog and it’s gorgeous! love the photos as well. i’ll be trying some of your recipes for sure!
Just found this blog and I have been half the morning reading it. Delightful
descriptions and really witty. The food looks amazing.
thanks so much lola!
sampled your food at the Hall; delicious.
as discussed would very much like to have some of your offerings for an upcoming family affair.
please e-mail me
Love the blog ! Even if it does make me a little homesick.