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KARACOOKS

KARACOOKS

Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

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KARACOOKS
KARACOOKS
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions
  • Coastal Maine. The pink granite shoreline of Acadia National Park under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

    Maine: A Love Story, in Pictures

    ByKara July 30July 24 Travel, Personal, Writing

    Photos from nine days on the coast of Maine: Boston oysters, a fogged-in lighthouse in Lubec, Acadia at dusk, and the deck where we did nothing.

    Read More Maine: A Love Story, in PicturesContinue

  • Red Kamado Joe Classic ceramic kamado grill on a deck cart with a wisp of smoke rising.

    Ten Years on a Kamado Joe (and the Cheaper Grill That Got Me There)

    ByKara July 26July 24 Writing

    I cook on my Kamado Joe at least four or five times a month, every month, all year. Rain, cold, a Georgia summer that could poach an egg on the deck rail; doesn’t matter. Steaks, burgers, pizza, pulled pork, whole chickens, my annual Hatch chile roasting, and a brisket I’m still chasing after all these…

    Read More Ten Years on a Kamado Joe (and the Cheaper Grill That Got Me There)Continue

  • A white-tailed doe stands at the edge of a shallow creek, looking toward the camera, with an eroded root-tangled bank behind her.

    Friday Roundup #33

    ByKara July 24July 24 Friday Roundup, Writing

    Friday Roundup #33: a curious creek-walk doe, our tattoo consults, a great dinner at Noosh, brussels sprouts sprouting, and a Duma Key reread.

    Read More Friday Roundup #33Continue

  • A Day for Jim, and a Tallgrass Prairie I Didn’t Know I Needed

    A Day for Jim, and a Tallgrass Prairie I Didn’t Know I Needed

    ByKara July 19July 24 Food & Politics, Personal, Travel, Writing

    A day for my late uncle turned into an accidental pilgrimage to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the last of a vanished ecosystem on Osage land.

    Read More A Day for Jim, and a Tallgrass Prairie I Didn’t Know I NeededContinue

  • Macro close-up of a deep magenta and purple dinner-plate dahlia, its petals spiraling inward to a tightly coiled, pale-tipped center.

    Friday Roundup #32 (First Concert Since March Edition)

    ByKara July 17July 18 Friday Roundup, Writing

    Friday Roundup #32: our first concert since March, the great email reckoning, Wicked parts one and two, and the dinner-plate dahlias gone wild in the rain.

    Read More Friday Roundup #32 (First Concert Since March Edition)Continue

  • Two feral kittens, one orange and one gray, curled up asleep together on a couch cushion two days after their gotcha day.

    Gotcha Day: The Kittens I Was Only Supposed to Foster

    ByKara July 16July 16 Personal, Writing

    Six years ago I drove to Ari’s for two flea-ridden, squinty-eyed foster kittens and never gave them back. Finn and Callie’s gotcha day, flea baths and all.

    Read More Gotcha Day: The Kittens I Was Only Supposed to FosterContinue

  • A large charcuterie board loaded with cheeses, cured meats, olives, dates, and crackers. From The One Where I'm The Monica

    The One Where I’m the Monica

    ByKara July 12July 12 Personal, Writing

    Every friend group has a Monica, and in mine it’s me. On being the connector and the host, the love language I inherited, and the chosen family it built.

    Read More The One Where I’m the MonicaContinue

  • A bee on an orange cosmos bloom in the back garden, hero image for Friday Roundup #31

    Friday Roundup #31

    ByKara July 10July 12 Friday Roundup, Writing

    Friday Roundup #31: a July 4 thunderstorm, a macro session with the garden bees, a big salad craving after too much bo ssam, and re-reading Killers of the Flower Moon.

    Read More Friday Roundup #31Continue

  • A double shot of espresso with thick, tiger-striped crema in a small glass, with a Breville espresso machine behind it.

    My Espresso Machine Wasn’t Broken (I Was)

    ByKara July 9July 5 Personal

    A year of blaming a “dead” Breville, then three fixes (fresh beans, a clean grinder, a $12 scale) that brought the espresso and crema back.

    Read More My Espresso Machine Wasn’t Broken (I Was)Continue

  • A close view of the Statue of Liberty's face and crown against a clear sky, 2008.

    Ellis Island: What Came Through the Gate

    ByKara July 5July 12 Food & Politics, Personal

    In January of 2008 I gave myself a week in New York City for my fortieth birthday. Not for work; purely as a tourist, purely as a present to myself. One cold, bright morning, fortified by a bagel from Katz’s, I took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with a…

    Read More Ellis Island: What Came Through the GateContinue

  • The vaulted, tiled Great Hall (Registry Room) at Ellis Island with two American flags, a Fourth of July reflection.

    Friday Roundup #30

    ByKara July 3July 12 Friday Roundup, Personal

    Friday Roundup #30: a complicated Fourth of July, a 2008 photo from the Great Hall at Ellis Island, fall brussels sprouts, and Momofuku Bo Ssam on the kamado.

    Read More Friday Roundup #30Continue

  • A gallon jar of Maille Dijon next to a 7.5 oz jar of the same mustard, showing the scale of buying mustard in bulk

    There Is a Gallon of Mustard in My Refrigerator

    ByKara July 2July 3 Personal

    A gallon of Maille Dijon showed up on purpose. The real math on buying mustard in bulk, plus the cereal bunker under the stairs.

    Read More There Is a Gallon of Mustard in My RefrigeratorContinue

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KaraCooks
Good Food · Honest History · Strong Opinions

KaraCooks is written, cooked, photographed, and gardened by one person in Johns Creek, Georgia.

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  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Garden
  • Writing
    • Friday Roundup
    • What Got Lost
    • Cooking
    • Food & Politics
    • Personal
    • Our Creek House
    • Travel
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Kitchen Disasters
    • Behind The Blog
    • Holiday Menus
  • What I Use
    • The Pantry
    • The Grill & Smoke
    • The Garden
    • The Everyday Kitchen
    • The Bookshelf
    • Keeping It Out of The Landfill
    • For the Animals
    • Coffee & The Bar
    • Behind the Camera
  • About
    • About & FAQ
    • Disclosure
    • Where I Stand
    • Recommendations