About TC and Tiki
The author of this site is Tiki. TC is the Master Taste Tester. Together we shall rule the... kitchen?
Tiki is the wildly famous author of the Books and Babble blog where she tells the stories of her life, thoughts, travels, takes pretty pictures, and writes book reviews. We are currently living in Texas, but will be moving up north (Great Lakes area) soon. We are both from the north, and we are excited for the change. Also, there are a lot of things I love that don't grow in Texas. My example - rhubarb. TC's example - dill. I love to garden and to use fresh and home grown ingredients whenever they are available.
Tiki is the wildly famous author of the Books and Babble blog where she tells the stories of her life, thoughts, travels, takes pretty pictures, and writes book reviews. We are currently living in Texas, but will be moving up north (Great Lakes area) soon. We are both from the north, and we are excited for the change. Also, there are a lot of things I love that don't grow in Texas. My example - rhubarb. TC's example - dill. I love to garden and to use fresh and home grown ingredients whenever they are available.
About Bakes and Babble
This is not meant to be a recipe site where you find what you want for dinner tomorrow. This is a "trial runs" site. Are you thinking of making borscht? I've got a recipe for that and it may or may not be delicious. Wouldn't you like to know that in advance? It is the kind of site I've been looking for, and I just caved and did it myself.
About Our Kitchen
We have about 3 drawers for things and some cabinet space. My stand mixer lives on the floor when it is not in use. So does our blender. I have a corner full of jars that contain all sorts of wondrous things. They take up a lot of space. So, my counters are almost always cluttered and messy.
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This is the picture that pretty food blogs take and post. Pretty as well as tasty food is a hard standard to live up to.
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This is what my kitchen actually looks like. I'm not ashamed of it. Messes happen. That's life. Embrace it.
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About Our Equipment
I am not operating with the latest and greatest. What I have works for what I need it to. What I don't have... well, that gets improvised. One year, when we lived in our travel trailer, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch. Big deal, right? Well, I didn't have a blender or food processor. I had to puree the pumpkin by hand. What did I do? I pushed it through a strainer with a rubber spatula. Sometimes we make do with what we have. The best example of this in our lives right now is our oven mitt. We have a few hot pads, but only one oven mitt. It was a Christmas gift in 2012. It's been loved to death.
If you would be so kind as to draw your attention to the thumb. That thumb likes to explore new places and make first contact with unknown species of hot pans. It's generally a very painful process, and the thumb never makes any friends.
It's not the latest and greatest. It is, in fact, a safety hazard, but I feel better having one crazy oven mitt than not having one at all. I guess I could patch it... we'll see.
It's not the latest and greatest. It is, in fact, a safety hazard, but I feel better having one crazy oven mitt than not having one at all. I guess I could patch it... we'll see.
About Our Photography
Wait a second... if you are that famous author and photographer of Books and Babble, why are these pictures so terrible?
I'll be honest, I ruin enough clothes by making messes in the kitchen, I don't need to ruin a camera. Also, the phone is way easier to take pictures with in the heat of the moment than a DSLR. The goal of this blog is not to take pretty pictures of food. The goal of this blog is to review recipes to see how easy they really are to make. I am not a chef. My husband and I don't care if the food looks good.
Let me just say, I love the pretty food blogs. I love having something to aspire to. I give them major credit for taking pretty pictures, having a clean kitchen, and making good food. Without them, I wouldn't have any recipes to try out. So, Pretty Food Blogs, thank you!
I'll be honest, I ruin enough clothes by making messes in the kitchen, I don't need to ruin a camera. Also, the phone is way easier to take pictures with in the heat of the moment than a DSLR. The goal of this blog is not to take pretty pictures of food. The goal of this blog is to review recipes to see how easy they really are to make. I am not a chef. My husband and I don't care if the food looks good.
Let me just say, I love the pretty food blogs. I love having something to aspire to. I give them major credit for taking pretty pictures, having a clean kitchen, and making good food. Without them, I wouldn't have any recipes to try out. So, Pretty Food Blogs, thank you!