About

Hi, I’m Ellie, the writer, the cook, the baker and the photographer behind Ginger Bear Kitchen. Currently I am living in Bozeman, Montana with my boyfriend, Joe, and our two doggies Fitzyroy (the Ginger Bear) and  little puppy Keeleigh.

Growing up everyone loved coming over for dinner to feast on my mom’s cooking. When I think of my mom’s kitchen, I think chicken parmesan, pecan pie, spaghetti sauce and meatballs, enchiladas, garlic and cheese. She taught me to always have sharp knives and to never skimp on cheap tomato paste.

Now I’m making my way through school and haven’t lived at home in over 5 years. I never cooked much growing up – my mom cooked, my dad grilled and my sister baked, making me the taster. Missing my mom’s cooking is what drove me to start cooking myself. I can’t count the number of times I’ve called my mom while standing in the grocery aisle  with a list in my hand..”What’s the difference between stock and broth?” or “Do I really need to buy a half gallon of superfine baker’s sugar for this recipe?” (Her response to this one was: “Yes, you really should, but superfine sugar is great for cocktails so it won’t go unused.” Thanks mom.

I was constantly calling and emailing my mom asking for recipes of hers, and a few years ago she told me about a project she was working on – compiling recipes, typing them up, photocopying them, printing them on thick paper and filing them in a three-ring binder. About a year after this I received a binder for Christmas full of her recipes. Even with this awesome cookbook, I still call her for new recipes all the time.

In the fall of 2011 I watched the movie Julie & Julia. Afterwards, I promptly went out, bought the book and decided that I wanted to cook my way through my mom’s cookbook and write about it as I went. The next day I opened her cookbook to the first page of the first section and made {Uncle TD’s Boiled Shrimp}. A couple days later I made {Shrimp Ceviche} and {Clare’s Favorite Salad}, but it ended there…until Ginger Bear Kitchen.

The Ginger Bear Kitchen is my new attempt at making my way through my mom’s cookbook. It is a place for me to write about foods I love, document and share my recipes and improve my [amateur] food photography skills.

Other inspiration has come from Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker. I have been reading Deb’s blog (and gawking at her beautiful photos) for years and recently discovered (and love!) Joy’s. Pinch of Yum has really helped me on the technical side of getting Ginger Bear Kitchen rolling with their food blog resource section, and I now read the blog regularly. Starting my own food blog has opened my eyes to so many new, amazing food blogs. Send me an email or leave me a comment and let me know about your favorite food blogs.

Visit my contact page to find other ways of connecting with Ginger Bear Kitchen and keep checking back for new recipes. Thanks for stopping by!