About

About me:

Hi, I’m Kim, a 30 something mother of three, wife, and pharmacist by day.  My children, Jack 6 and Sammie 4, are super picky eaters. I like to blame their father, Justin, who is by far the pickiest eater I know.  I have high hopes for my son Alex, a proven eater, weighing in at 18 pounds at just 4 months . But, with my luck, I will have a picky child who eats a few things in large volumes. Sigh…..Regardless, I love them like crazy and I am up for the challenge!

While I do enjoy cooking, I adore baking.  There are few things better than baking something and seeing others enjoy what I made.  Second to that, I love for someone to ask for a recipe, make it themselves, and enjoy it (maybe just a little less than mine).  I am also drawn to the science behind baking, its preciseness.

Why blog?

Well, I am a cookbook hoarder collector.  I honestly have hundreds, which I enjoy reading like others might read a novel. But they seem to sit on the shelves, collecting dust. I thought that starting a blog would be the impetus behind actually using more of these books and stop my husband’s questions of why so many books if you never use them?  My family will eat essentially three things: chicken, pasta, and pork, and even then I can’t please everyone. Sammie might eat just the sides or Jack a handful of frozen chicken nuggets drowned in barbecue sauce.  So, cooking can become quite mundane for me, eating the same things over and over.  The search is always on for a new recipe that’s a home run. While that rarely happens, try as I might, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me when it does.

Luckily, my picky eaters do have a sweet tooth. So when it comes to baking, I can go wild. Only my husband doesn’t like chocolate. Why? My only thought is he must be crazy. But the rest of us love chocolate. So sometimes, that means dessert for him is plain old vanilla ice cream and he is happy with that.

So, I was thinking I will just pick a book and make the most delicious looking recipe from it.  The recipes will mostly be baking, because it is my passion. But I will do a few savory recipes, as I suppose one must eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also draw inspiration from cooking magazines, some fabulous online blogs, and my growing recipe collection on Pinterest. So, I hope to incorporate some of these great finds as well.

For some reason, the idea of baking can evoke fear in most people. I admit I am a bit intimidated by yeast, using a candy thermometer, and decorating cookies with royal icing. And that is just to name a few off the top of my head.  I am by no means a master baker, but I consider myself a good baker and I hope to get better by trying new things and becoming in the words of Julia Child- fearless in the kitchen.  After all, what’s the worst that could happen? A failed recipe, wasted time, and ingredients.  That’s not so bad, and though frustrating, it is a learning experience.  Mostly, I hope to find new recipes for my family and friends to enjoy because that is what makes me truly happy.  And, if my family likes it, I can almost bet yours will too!

I love hearing from you!  Feel free to either leave me a comment after a recipe or email me @ ijustbaked@gmail.com.  Thank you for reading!

Kim