About Us
About Mike
My husband Mike loves to cook. He loves to think about cooking. The only books I ever see him read are related to cooking. Not recipe books, but technique books. Those are the ones he loves the most. He has actually taken technique cookbooks on vacation with us before – he was spotted reading The River Cottage Meat Book on the beach in Mexico once. A giant book on meat, read while overlooking the Pacific Ocean. When he wasn’t reading the book on the beach, he was in the kitchen learning tips from the local lady that worked there in the kitchen. Food, it is his thing. By day he works in the corporate world here in Houston, Texas. By night, he cooks.
About Christine
I am Christine, and I love to travel and to take photographs. Matter of fact, I bet I have a photograph of that Meat book on the beach around here somewhere. I am a picky eater, and I most definitely do *not* love to cook. I leave that entirely up to Mike in our house. I do, however, love to spend time in the kitchen with him, photographing the food that he makes. I absolutely love learning about food, how it is made, where it comes from, the cultural traditions when I am traveling, and photographing food is one of my favorite hobbies. By day, after 8 years as a professional photographer, I now work as a lifestyle business coach, in addition to writing books. My Superpower: helping people grow their Confidence and define their own success. For me, that has meant spending four months a year for the past two years on the road, visiting the lower 48 states in my Mini Cooper. (Next up, driving to Alaska!)
About Us, Cooking & Eating Together
Back when we first met in 2002, Mike cooked for me in my apartment. He managed to use practically every bowl in my kitchen somehow. I declared then and there that we could not be in the kitchen at the same time cooking together because his cooking style made me a little crazy. Over the years, he has learned to use fewer bowls, and I’ve learned to enjoy watching him cook.
Thanks to Mike, I have expanded the list of foods that I will eat over the past 10 years. I’ve finally learned that most of my picky-eater issues are thanks to textures, the strong smells, or bitter flavors of foods.
To add to my dietary challenges, in 2012 I learned that I’m gluten intolerant, and I have had to cut gluten completely from my diet. I feel SO much better now, eating low-carb, 4 Hour Body, Keto / Paleo friendly foods these days. (I’ve lost 35 pounds as well, so there is that silver lining.)
Mike is my saving grace when dining out. He knows most of my food issues, so he can predict if I will like something or not. Also, all of that reading means he knows what everything is on the menu. Those terms that intimidate me and mean nothing? Now I know what they are thanks to him. Score! When I’m on the road, I have been known to text him photos of the menus, both so he can study what they are putting together and so he can tell me what I want to eat from what they offer!
About this Blog
At the start of 2013, I decided that it was time, after almost 9 years of marriage, that we put our passions to good use together. On the weekends, we try to spend an afternoon in the kitchen together. Mike will cook. I will photograph it. When we’re all done, I’ll write a blog post about it here, and then he will post his Cook’s Notes about the recipe to give you additional information from his perspective. Sometimes, in the middle, we will share our other cooking and eating adventures as well.
We hope you enjoy the recipes we create, that you cook amazing food, and that you remember always that there is nothing better than sharing a good meal with the people that you love and care about the most!