About the Author

Hi, welcome!

Photo Credit: Ariana Matty

Seriously, come on in, and make yourself at home.

I know I can only welcome you to my website and not to my kitchen or dorm room, but if you were here, you would be more than welcome to come right in, have a seat, and join me. I love meeting new people, talking with people, and hearing about what is going on in people’s lives—the happy, horrible, and the half-way in between. Anyhow, better get some basics down. My name is Amanda, and the creation of this blog stems from my love for cooking, my current living situation, and the fact that this is part of my senior project as a media communication student.

Having spent all four years of my undergraduate studies living in a dorm room (without access to a kitchen), I quickly had to learn to find creative ways to cook. Many students living in a dorm find themselves with cooking restrictions including limited appliances, limited space, and limited resources. I do have a meal plan, but that only covers seven meals each week. This leaves fourteen meals each week I have to make on my own (math skills right there people!).

Some days I wish I had a “real” kitchen to cook in, but to be honest, I like the challenge of creating appealing meals without numerous resources. It can be fun to try to make something out of “nothing” and to find strange ways to cook various dishes.

Random Favorite Cooking Ingredients:

CREAM—Heavy Whipping Cream to be specific (sorry to those who think its too rich, it makes everything glorious, and I grew up on a farm, so what can I say…trust me, its glorious)
CHEESE (yep, dairy again…I pretty much could live off of dairy products)
COFFEE (a must as a college student, plus I have worked at a coffee shop and was thoroughly addicted averaging 9 shots of espresso/day…not recommended)

Although I work with video, photography, web design, and graphics, cooking serves as another one of my favorite forms of art. I love exploring and being adventurous, with food, and with life. I’m just as happy in my “kitchen” as I am soaking up the sun on a rollerblade, adventuring on a late-night run through the city, walking just about anywhere, going on a bike ride, hitting the weight room, or playing volleyball. I would say I have to stay that active in order to balance out the ginormous (yes, that is a made up word) quantities of food I consume, but in all honesty, I just hate being cooped up inside for too long without moving around and getting some fresh air.

Besides taking photos of food, a good sunset always captures my attention, and I can’t help but be lured into wanting to take pictures every night out of my window overlooking the Minneapolis skyline. God paints the most awesome pictures in the sky, and my photos never give it justice! Little things generally mean more to me than the big stuff, and I like paying attention to details. I’m blessed beyond belief even during the really hard days, and mostly I love people and want to enjoy every day of life that I am given!