Welcome and Savor Cakes and Coriander!
I’m Steven, your host, chef, writer, grocery shopper, recipe tester, web designer and photographer at Cakes and Coriander! In mid-2022, I started this cooking blog with two specific criteria in mind. First and foremost, I wanted to create absolutely delicious recipes. Some of my recipes are quick and easy, while others are a bit more time consuming and need 20 ingredients. Either way, there’s no exception to the criteria of deliciousness!
The second criteria is that all my recipes are gluten free! While the world has come a long way in regards to gluten free products, there’s still a rather large chasm that needs to be fulfilled! With an emphasis on the first criteria, all recipes (whether intentionally or naturally gluten free) are developed and tested for pure delectability! My aspirations are that all my recipes are as good, if not better than a gluten-filled option.
The past year and a half has been a whirlwind! I originally started Cakes and Coriander with my sister, Hillary. You’ll probably notice a softer writing style in some of our older posts and you can assume those were hers. With life and family getting busier, Hillary has excused herself for the time being to welcome and raise her fourth child. Hopefully we’ll get her back sometime in the future – at least for a few guest appearances.
If you’re wondering, no I am not a classically trained chef. I would consider myself an intuitive chef, understanding flavor profiles/ingredients and how they meld or compliment each other. I love exploring new cuisines, finding great dishes, then creating fusions or my own version of the dish. For years I have been told by friends and family that I need to find an outlet to share my cooking beyond our dining table. After a final push from my Aunt Crissy and Uncle Scott of Cafe Sucre Farine, I decided it was time to explore possibilities. And finally, I received that opportunity.
In 2021, my beautiful and patient wife, Barbara, and I moved our family to the Atlanta, Georgia area from Chicago. Primarily for her job, but also to avoid cold weather, we upended my career as a commercial real-estate broker. My options were to either learn the Atlanta commercial market and build a new book of business or pursue my passion project: Cakes and Coriander.
Wearing too many hats to count.
Cooking, building and managing Cakes and Coriander has been quite a fun learning experience. I’ve learned an abundance of what I would now consider “basic” web design, writing, photography, and even recipe documentation! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made a recipe and forgotten temperatures, times, amounts, or all the above! With a bit of humility, I’ll admit there is so much more for me to learn! If you ever have comments or questions or see an error, please don’t hesitate to reach out, it’s all received graciously.
But why gluten free?
I get it… from afar, the whole gluten free thing seems a bit intimidating. And trust me, developing some recipes (especially for baked goods!) are… But it’s very rewarding when I figure it out. A whole gluten free lifestyle can actually be pretty straightforward and simple! My wife and I went gluten free back in 2016 after a dietitian suggested she try an elimination diet to figure out why she constantly felt foggy and sluggish (and after spending 18 months going to specialists). It turns out, gluten was the culprit and we’ve been living life without wheat ever since. While I still occasionally cheat (a slice of Costco pizza is hard to pass up), I generally feel much better without gluten.
We’re glad to have you here! By we, I mean my most wonderful editor in wife and myself! If you’re reading this with little to know grammatical errors, it’s not because of me… (Did you catch that one?) Please, explore Cakes and Coriander, share our recipes, make them your own, ask questions or comment, then come back for more!