Hello, my name is Jennifer and I wanted to welcome you to my corner of the internet! I am the author, cook, photographer, baker, gardener, etc. behind kitchenettediaries. But I am also an avid eater, writer, dog mama, wifey, and extreme introvert. I live in New York (currently) with my husband and dog, Thoven.
I have been in the kitchen and/or cooking since I can remember. I grew up in a home in the Catskills where we only ate out on the weekends, so that meant all other meals had to be prepared at home. We sat down and made a menu each week. On Saturdays, my parents would order Chinese food from the place right next to the grocery store. While we would wait for our take-out to be prepared, we would grocery shop for the week ahead.
Once I moved out of my parent’s home at 18, I had to implement my own system for feeding myself. I was living with my boyfriend, my now husband, in North Carolina, and together we crafted a system that worked for us with the influence I had growing up.
Cooking is my love language. There is something beautiful about being able to think of a meal in your mind and execute it with your hands, a few pots and pans, and some ingredients. I love cooking for others and it brings me joy knowing that love and hard work went into what I cooked or baked. Being able to give someone a hot plate of food or a freshly baked dessert is an honor to do.
So I started a blog! I have always been an avid writer and since I love to cook, I figured why not combine these two loves! In 2020, I started to decrease my meat intake and replace meat with whole-food plant-based items. Since then, I have loved incorporating plant-based cooking into my kitchen. Not to say I won’t enjoy a good omnivore meal once in a while! I believe in a well-rounded diet; we eat what brings us joy in this kitchen!
It is my goal to share with you recipes that bring my household joy. My husband is my biggest cheerleader and critic when it comes to my cooking. He is my ultimate taste tester. But it is also my goal to make cooking approachable and not a far-fetched idea. We love elaborate meals here, but we also recognize that that isn’t feasible every day. I want to share what I was taught as a kid and show that with minimal effort, cooking at home can be achievable! I am also on a gardening journey, so I want to document this and show you what I am learning along the way. My ultimate dream is to bring farm to table in the years to come.