I’m a recent college graduate, living, working, and cooking in Washington, DC. I learned how to cook at my mother’s apron strings in Brooklyn, New York, but it wasn’t until I moved down here that I ever took the lead. September will be the start of my sixth year in the District. During my time here, I’ve learned how to roast a chicken, make homemade jam, and bake some bread. A New Yorker by birth and inclination, I’ve found cooking to be one of the surest ways to make any strange city feel more like home.

In March of 2011, my longtime boyfriend Dan was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. In the (stressful, weepy) days after his diagnosis, I combed the web for some insight into cooking for someone with diabetes. Just how many carbs are in a bowl of pasta anyway? (About 70 grams per half pound, as it turns out). Six months later, after experimenting with carb counts and side salads, I launched this blog.

Dan monitors his diabetes with diet, exercise, and insulin. Because he takes insulin, he’s not on a low carb diet. Pasta or pizza for dinner every once in a while is okay, as is a piece of cake every now and again. My recipes always include a carb count at the end, but they don’t always (or even often) fall into the category of low- or no- carb.

Ever since I was little, dinner has been the most important part of my day. It’s the time to forget about the worries of the day, be they client meetings or social studies tests, and relax over shared bread. These recipes are meant to be shared among family and friends.

Please read, enjoy, and pass along!

Why “One Kitchen Knife”

In 1952, the marvelous Julia Child wrote a letter to Bernard de Voto in response to an article he had written on the inferiority of the American kitchen knife. Julia, then posted in France with her husband, included an excellent quality French kitchen knife in the letter. Bernard’s wife and chief correspondent-replier, Avis, replied to Julia and started a friendship that would last decades and eventually lead to the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 1961. Years later, Avis wrote to Julia remarking in wonder that none of it ever would have happened had it not been for that “one kitchen knife!”

One Kitchen Knife is a blog about the possibilities that come from the places we least expect them to.