Hi, I’m Kirsty. I’m a food and wine-obsessed headshot photographer, still-life painter, recipe hunter-adapter-developer, wife, and dog mom with a profound love for all things table.
While I have always loved to cook with, for, and be around a table with friends and family, it wasn’t until I left Hollywood and moved to Berkeley in 2008 and found myself smack dab in the middle of the “delicious food revolution” – surrounded by organic markets, unique restaurants, urban wineries, and artisanal gourmet kitchens – that I fully surrendered to my inner-foodie. While I had good instincts, a 12-week course at Kitchen on Fire cooking school expanded my cooking chops and taught me to follow recipes and how to “look under the hood” and learn techniques that empowered me to be more confident in the kitchen.
I discovered my gluten sensitivity during this time, so I began my trial by eating a gluten-free, high-protein/low-carb diet. In the past, I had tried to feel better and improve my digestion by being vegetarian, pescatarian, and even dairy-free. Once again, I found myself scouring the internet and pouring over cookbooks, searching for solutions and alternative ingredients while also trying to keep it simple to save time in our busy schedules and satisfy the appetites of my husband and stepdaughter.
Ultimately, no one “diet” was the answer for me; instead, a hybrid of them all, which has become my simple food philosophy: EAT COLORFULly! Eat seasonal, fresh, organic, humanely raised, and local whenever possible. (When you can’t, don’t stress!) Eat what makes you feel good. Eat with your eyes.
What has emerged from this food journey is my collection of approachable, easy-peasy, nourishing recipes which are most often serendipitously gluten-free, inspired by seasonal California ingredients and influenced by our dining experiences in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and Greece, and made accessible to most by my knack for figuring out substitutions. I launched this blog as a creative outlet to marry my love for food, photography, artwork, and tableware and share everything on Kirsty’s Table with you.
Cheers!
Photo: Kirsty on the organic farm at Rancho La Puerta. Courtesy of Julie Mikos.