Hi! I am so excited you are here. My name is Ashley and I am the human behind this blog. I live in a little apartment in the city here in Phoenix, Arizona with my fiancé Will. I am a recent college graduate from Arizona State University with a Major in Sustainability and a minor in Spanish. Will is currently completing his final year of his Aerospace Engineering degree at ASU as well.
I have created this blog to take you on a journey to eating real food. What is real food? Simply put, real food is whole foods, free from chemicals and preservatives. One of my biggest passions is cooking and eating real food. This passion goes hand in hand with my love of gardening and sustainable living. What better way to access wholesome, clean ingredients than to grow it yourself? My goal is to take you all the way from seed to table, so you can sit down with your family at the end of the day and feel AMAZING about what you have put in front of them!
Still Interested In Learning More?
Let’s Chat!
I have enjoyed cooking for as long as I can remember. I began cooking meals for my family when I was in 6th grade. I loved learning how to cook new things and using new techniques. In recent years, I have discovered that I enjoy showing my love and appreciation for people through good food. I am so excited to have a space to share my favorite recipes and cooking techniques with you!
When I was in high school I began dreaming of a garden, a garden that produced food for not only myself, but for my neighbors as well. I wanted a community that was food secure and had access to fresh produce.
The same month we moved in, Will and I built our very first garden bed in the front yard of our apartment complex. We planted it out (in the middle of an Arizonan summer) and watched it struggle. That is when I began to pour myself into learning everything I could about gardening and soil health. We have been gardening here for almost 4 years, and each year as the garden has continued to grow and expand, so has our knowledge and skills
We moved into our apartment my sophomore year of college, which is around the same time I first learned what homesteading is. Due to my education, I began to understand how truely broken our food system is, an understanding that both frightened me and awoke a fire in me. I knew we had to do better. I was no longer growing food only for myself and my community; I was growing food because I wanted to be a good steward of our planet.
I began learning about food preservation. I learned how to waterbath can; then, the next year for Christmas I asked for a pressure canner. I learned how to bake bread, then I learned how to bake sourdough. Through gardening, my connection to my food began to deepen, and my cooking skills began to flourish.
I hope you join me on this journey to real food, where we are doing better for ourselves, our families, and our planet.
Need help knowing where to start? Check out my blog!
Want to learn to cook? Join me in my kitchen or check out my recipes!
If you want to learn to bake, check out my sourdough information and recipes!
Ready to start a garden? Jump into learning more about growing food by exploring my gardening posts!
