Jessie's Kitchen

Come behind the scenes at Life As A Strawberry for a #KitchenTour and see Jessie's Kitchen in Ithaca, New York.

We have a half-wall above the sink that I really love - it lets me look out into the living room and it doubles as a shelf for all my cookbooks! There's also a ton of natural light during the day, which is wonderful for all the food photography that I do.

Tell us about your kitchen?

We live in a small apartment downtown, so our kitchen is on the smaller side. It's been kept pretty up-to-date, though, so the floors and counters are in good condition and all of the appliances are in good shape. I work as a food blogger and photographer, so I spend a ton of time in here!

What have you done to make your kitchen cosy, functional, beautiful or inspiring?

We've had to get pretty creative with storage since space is tight (and since I tend to collect all kinds of fun photo props and kitchen tools!) but an extra rolling cart and some space-saving wire shelves inside the cabinets have helped us maximize the space. One thing I love is our dry goods storage - we bought a huge crate of mason jars that now sit on our counter and hold everything from baking soda to sprinkles to pasta, and I grabbed some big clear storage containers for the various types of flour we have. We don't have a pantry to store non-perishable items in, and it can look really messy when you just have a bunch of half-used bags of things sitting on the counter, so I love that the mason jars and canisters store my pantry items but also look pretty and decorative.

How do you keep organized while cooking?

I don't! I'm pretty good at keeping track of everything that's cooking as I go along, so nothing usually gets burned or forgotten about. But after a long day of cooking and photographing recipes for clients or my own website, my kitchen looks like a tornado tore through it. I generally just pour myself a glass of wine, put on some music, and have a kitchen-cleaning marathon at the end of the day so I can start the whole process fresh again the next day.

Any tips & tricks for organising your pantry, fridge and ingredients?

I love keeping everything in various-sized mason jars. I'll buy spices and grains in bulk and transfer them to a jar when I get home - it helps cut down on packaging waste and makes my kitchen look much more organized. Meal planning is also a good way to keep organized - go to the store with a very specific grocery list and you won't end up with extra food to organize (AND you won't have to worry about it going bad and ending up in the garbage!)

Do you do a lot of cooking and what are your favourite dishes to make?

Where do you turn for new recipe ideas?

I've made some wonderful food blogger friends over the past few years whose websites and recipes always inspire me, so I generally start with those sites. I also read cookbooks constantly! When all else fails, though, and I have NO idea what I want to make, I call my mom.

Do you plan out your recipes for the week or do you like to be spontaneous?

I do a lot of planning, mostly because what I eat tends to depend on what recipes I'm photographing for work that week. I have an editorial calendar for my website that's planned a month or so in advance, so that schedule often dictates a lot of what I'm cooking and eating at any given time. When I don't need to cook for work, I like to be more spontaneous!

If you had three wishes, what would you do to make this your dream kitchen?

It's tough to make a kitchen your own when you're renting an apartment - I'd love to eventually buy a house and build my own dream kitchen. In our existing kitchen, though, I suppose I'd ask for more floor space (it gets cramped in there!), a gas stove instead of our electric one, and a bigger, more reliable fridge.

Whose kitchen would you love to explore? Send us a message!