Kitchen Trial and Error: About

Everything we learn through trial and error. Especially food.

Welcome to my messes and successes in the kitchen. I hope you stay a while!

I'm Kate.

My husband, Jason, and I are ~~late twenties [ok, almost~~ thirty year olds ~~] newlyweds~~. living in Rochester, New York. We met at work, where we both have incredibly technical day jobs - his poison is software development, mine's environmental health & safety. During the day - and some evenings - I'm solving environmental problems at the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute. [Wanna know more about my day job? Check out my professional bio here. And find Jason's programming website here.]

Baby Winn was born June 21, 2012 and I couldn't imagine my life without him. I can't wait until he can eat real food. Will he love mushrooms and garlic just as much as mom and dad? What about fried fish sandwiches and homemade chocolate chip cookies, my own personal weaknesses? Only time will tell.

I grew up in upstate New York, with homemade cookies in the cookie jar and homemade birthday cakes. Homemade coffee cakes for breakfast spread with thick, homemade jam. Huge slabs of ribs covered with barbecue sauce and grilled for hours. Homegrown potatoes, onions and tomatoes.

Jason, resident taste tester and tech support, grew up in Oklahoma, where his love for all things mushrooms was nurtured.

Contact me at kitchentrialanderror [at] gmail [dot] com, like Kitchen Trial & Error on facebook, and follow me on pinterest.

The evolution of kitchen trial and error
We bought our house in the spring of 2009, six months before we married. And quickly realized I may have more counterspace than our apartment, but we definitely have an Easy Bake oven.

Shortly after we were married - when all the wedding plans were finally done - I started cooking. But I didn't just cook. I made pasta from scratch. and ice cream. I baked bread. fried doughnuts. made oreos from scratch. and my husband almost fell out of his chair at dinner when the answer to "what do you want to do tomorrow?" was "make butter."

I started posting pictures of the food I made to my facebook profile. The pictures weren't all that pretty, but soon friends and coworkers were asking for recipes and placing requests for birthdays and parties. At first I really didn't want to blog - it seemed like too much work at a time when I just plain didn't have any [along with being newlyweds, Jason and I were both finishing master's degrees]. Jason pushed and I reasoned a blog would be an easier way to keep track of exactly what I make and my notes about it. I finally caved - on a whim - in January 2010, while he was out of town. It all started with a souped up point and shoot camera and a simple loaf of bread. and that was it.

...and the lack of capitalization - i know it drives some of you crazy - but i honestly couldn't care less.

Around the web
Check out my galleries at
Tastespotting
Foodgawker
DessertStalking

For a visual gallery of all recipes, check out my kitchen trial and error board on pinterest.

I am a featured contributor to Gojee, a unique website that recommends recipes hand picked by bloggers based on your recent grocery store purchases. It's a completely new way of answering "what's for dinner?"

I participate in
The Secret Recipe Club

Sweets for a Saturday hosted by Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Sweet Tooth Friday hosted by Alli-n-Sons

Featured around the blogosphere [thank you!]
2013.04.08 Secret recipe club: Inquiring chef [mexican corn cakes with shredded pork]
2013.03.04 Secret recipe club: phemomenon [chewy lemon sugar cookies]
2013.02.28 Featured on the Huffington Post: Pound Cake Recipes: 15 New Twists on the Classic Dessert [brown sugar poundcakes with brown butter icing]
2013.02.13 Featured on FoodNetwork UK: 13 OMG Chocolate Cakes [andes mint chocolate cake]
2013.02.05 Featured on babble: So you Wanna be Skinny?! 20 Deliciously Healthy Recipes for Chicken Breasts [chicken with 33 cloves of garlic]
2013.02.04 Secret recipe club: Barbara Bakes [trifecta cookies]
2013.01.07 Secret recipe club: Cook Lisa Cook [creamy mints]
2012.12 Featured on Parents.com: Fun and Festive Holiday Cookie Ideas [holiday shortbread cookies]
2012.11.05 Secret recipe club: Food Babbles [vanilla buttermilk glazed pear cakes]
2012.10.17 Featured on Secret Recipe Club: Asian Pork Chops
2012.10.14 Secret Recipe Club featured Editor's Choice: Crumb Blog's iced pumpkin chocolate spice bundt cake
2012.10.08 Secret recipe club: crumb blog [iced pumpkin chocolate spice bundt cake]
2012.09.20 Featured on the Huffington Post: Barley Recipes: Eat your way to good health! [creamy barley with tomatoes, chicken, and spinach]
2012.09.19 Featured on Spry Living: Healthy in 30: Whole Grains [creamy barley with tomatoes, chicken, and spinach]
2012.09.03 Secret recipe club: a fit & spicy life [black bottom peanut butter pie]
2012.08.18 Featured on Secret Recipe Club: Gold Member
2012.08.06 Secret recipe club: sweet as sugar cookies [chocolate peanut butter layer cake]
2012.07.25 Featured on the kitchn: Entertaining Idea: An International Potluck for the Olympics [soft pretzels]
2012.07.09 Secret recipe club: Recipe Taster [chicken with 33 cloves of garlic]
2012.06.04 Secret recipe club: I was Born to Cook [quinoa pilaf]
2012.05.07 Secret recipe club: delishhh [chocolate chip shortbread]
2012.04.09 Secret recipe club: bluebonnets & brownies [banana bars]
2012.03.05 Secret recipe club: alli 'n sons [slow cooker chicken tacos]
2012.02.27 Featured on babble: the family kitchen: 7 perfect pickle recipes [refrigerator garlic dill pickles]

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