FinallyAKitchen.com is written by Julie Goldin.

I have always loved cooking and eating great food, but years of living in small Brooklyn apartments and commuting to work had limited my culinary excursions to a bundle of take-out menus. All of that recently changed when I relocated to a new spot in the East Village, complete with my first fabulous, functional kitchen! Now, I cannot stress enough that I absolutely do not consider myself to be a professional chef (or photographer).  Some of the occupations that I have held are singer, actress, producer, nanny, and at the moment I am a full-time graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in an entirely different field. Above all, I believe that there is an inherent connection between what people eat and how they feel, and that cultivating an interest in what we consume each day is one of the greatest ways that we can respect and nourish ourselves. What I adore most is learning to make simple, balanced comfort food for myself, my friends and loved ones, and FinallyAKitchen.com will chronicle my exploration of who I am as a home chef sharing the triumphs, catastrophes and tips that I encounter along the way.

On ingredients…

Truth be told, I admit that I am trying to cut-back on blind consumption of animal products. This translates into the following rhetoric: for most days of the week, I only eat meat for one meal of the day, I prefer to buy beef, pork and dairy products made from animals who were treated humanely while they lived, and I read labels; if it isn’t food, I won’t buy it. I can live with consuming as little amounts of aspartame, high fructose corn syrup,  phosphoric and sulfuric acid in my life as possible. Finally, I cook with fresh, local ingredients as much as my budget, and New York seasonal weather patterns, allow me to.

Photo by Chris Chludenski @  Fauxtogservations