The Barn Kitchen
Literally a barn converted into a kitchen. Not a huge barn with a hayloft. Just a small one with a garden in the back. Nestled in the redwood and oak trees of unincorporated Santa Cruz county.
A place to make smelly ferments without offending noses.
A place to teach and share and learn.
About Alison
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Farm-to-Table experience
I cut my teeth cooking for a vegetarian restaurant in rural Devon, England. The poorly lit vegetable shed would greet me with a bounty in Summer. Not so much in Winter. Here I learned to cook with what is available and get creative with it.
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A recipe?
My husband and I are very different cooks. He follows recipes and measures ingredients. He makes excellent pancakes.
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Inspiration
I love cookbooks. I love looking at the colorful pictures and I love pulling out new flavor combinations from the author’s recipes. I don’t really follow the recipes that often or more than once. I suspect most cooks are the same? Let me know.
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All the Herbs
Currently my favorite cookbook author/chef is Yotam Ottolenghi. He uses fresh herbs the way I learned to at Willow. With great abundance.
