Welcome to The Copper Table: Slow Food for a Fast World.
This is a place for people who love good food made from real ingredients, and want to utilize fresh Farmers Market and garden grown produce, and ingredients that are local or as close to the source as possible while minimizing the use of processed foods. It’s also a place for those who want to love those things, even if they’re still figuring it out.
I’ve been cooking this way for my entire adult life (nearly 30 years now) and it is my pleasure to share my knowledge with you!
What Slow Food Means Here
At The Copper Table, slow food doesn’t mean complicated or time-consuming. It means:
- Using what’s local to you when possible
- Cooking with the seasons
- Minimizing processed foods
- Learning simple from-scratch techniques that actually fit real life
Even in today’s fast-paced world, I believe this way of eating is possible, and I’m here to show you how.
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What is An Ingredient Household?
Much of the cooking you’ll find here is rooted in what is called an Ingredient Household.
An Ingredient Household focuses on keeping ingredients on hand, not ready-made meals. Think flour instead of boxed mixes, canned tomatoes instead of jarred sauces, fresh produce instead of pre-prepped shortcuts.
How This Approach Is Helpful:
Gives you more control over what’s in your food.
Know what you’re eating and know what’s in it!
Reduces reliance on processed ingredients.
Avoid pre packaged and premade by making it yourself.
Often more budget friendly than convenience foods.
Save money cooking from scratch!
You’ll see pantry staples like flour, dried pasta, canned beans and tomatoes, dairy, eggs, and meat used throughout the site. These are paired with seasonal produce to create meals that are both practical and satisfying.
My Cooking Philosophy
It is my mission not only to help you cook fresh, but to have fun in the kitchen! The question “What’s for dinner?” should not be a stressor, but a place of solace.
I want to make Home Cooking more approachable, not something that is hard or too time consuming. I am all about slow food without the overwhelm!
How The Copper Table Got its Start
Behind the Recipes
Mine and my husband’s family heritage has been an inspiration as well as a wealth of knowledge when it comes to recipe development, and The Copper Table is deeply influenced by family history and lived experience.
My grandmother was raised on a small farm in rural Tennessee during the Great Depression. She taught me so much about fresh homemade cooking and growing food (as well as using what you’ve got and not being wasteful) and I use this experience in developing every recipe you find here. Her guidance taught me everything from soup to biscuits!
My family also has an Italian American side, and they are from the Puglia region of Italy. Before they came to the United States, they were cheesemakers. You will find several Italian recipes on the site as well, including Pesto di Basilico, Panzanella Toscana, and Burrata Caprese homemade using fresh ingredients from the farm and garden just the way they do in Italy.
Both our family histories are deeply rooted in home cooking and using what is around you that’s fresh.
Real Life And Real Cooking
We’re a busy family with packed schedules, sports practices, and long weeks. I know firsthand how easy it is to default to takeout when time is tight.
That reality is exactly why I’ve devoted so much effort to developing recipes that:
- Use fresh ingredients
- Rely less on processed foods
- Still work on busy weeknights
If you can relate, then I hope these recipes are helpful! Eating well in spite of life’s daily demands is something I am really passionate about, and I enjoy helping other people cook fresh at home!
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How The Copper Table Helps Home Cooks
If any of these sound familiar, you’re in the right place:
- Do you doubt your skills when it comes to finding creative uses for fresh ingredients?
- Would you like to use more fresh produce in your cooking?
- Have you felt disappointed when your fresh produce goes bad before you can use it?
- Are you looking for ways to confidently use unfamiliar ingredients found at the Farmers Market or in a CSA share?
- Would you like to make more staples such as sauces and other condiments from scratch rather than buy them?
- Are there moments when a home cooked meal feels impossible because you are pressed for time?
- Do you want to make homemade meals but you’re unsure how or where to start?
- Would you like a more Farm to Table or Garden to Table approach to your cooking, but you feel like that is out of reach or beyond your capability?
It is my goal to use my experiences and know-how to help you feel confident as a home cook, and I am here to help! Whether you’re new to home cooking or already confident in the kitchen, The Copper Table is here to support you.
What You’ll Find Here
Eating fresh isn’t hard, and I have so many great ideas and tutorials to help make cooking at home feel pleasurable rather than a chore. Who wants to eat a bunch of boring food? I sure don’t!
At The Copper Table, you’ll find recipes that:
- Use fresh, seasonal ingredients whenever possible
- Teach simple from-scratch techniques without overcomplicating them
- Fit into busy lives with real schedules and real appetites
I even have a section of Easy Dinners, and as a busy sports Mom I cook the recipes from this category quite often! In my Easy Dinners category, you’ll find everything from a fresh take on Cheeseburger Macaroni to a veggie loaded One Pot Jambalaya that will have everyone running to the table.
Here are just a few examples of what you’ll find on the site:
Home Cooking Recipes
Fresh Produce Recipes
You can also go to the recipe index, where you can see all the site has to offer!
Reader Testimonials
Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
This was absolutely fantastic! Thank you for the delicious recipe. It was a hit with the whole family, and I’ll be rotating back to this regularly. All of the tips were so helpful! Saved for repeated use.
Air Fryer Pita Chips
Love this recipe for pita chips. I buy a bag of 18 pitas and freeze in batches. so much more economical than buying pre-made pitachips. The pitas come out perfectly. I spray avacado oil instead of pouring oil. I sprinkle garlic & herb seasoning. I mostly eat with hummus. I highly recommend you try this.
Oregano Pesto
My oregano plant has been taking over my raised bed; it grows beautifully but it’s so strongly flavored I had no idea how I was going to use it. I came across your recipe and decided to try it. Oh my goodness!! this pesto is delicious. I used it as a topping for my sourdough focaccia, and also made oregano pesto pasta. I’m so happy I found a good use for my fresh oregano. Thank you!!
In addition to these testimonials, Janelle from The Haven Farmstead makes my Lemon Cucumber Pickle recipe each year, and she even made a video on Instagram of the process!
I have even had a restaurant called Vinoma Tapas use one of my recipes for the produce they grow in their garden!
I love hearing from people who enjoy the recipes I create!
My Recipe Development Process
I love the recipe development phase. I’m always inspired by ingredients to try something new, or a fresh take on something old.
Some of the recipes you’ll see start a little something like this: a bag from the farmers market, a CSA box, or a couple of vegetables that caught my eye at the store, or maybe something from my garden that’s ready to pick. From there, we make recipes that feel comforting, flavorful, and worth the effort that I hope you enjoy cooking as well.
Other recipes spring from the desire to reduce the use of processed ingredients and reliance on store bought items, making them myself instead. I love sharing this knowledge with my audience!
Additionally, many of the recipes on this blog are family recipes, passed down to me from previous generations, while some are things I make for my family often, but always using seasonal and fresh items with an emphasis on avoiding processed foods.
I test each recipe several times before they reach the site, even if it is something I make for my family on a regular basis. I not only want to make sure a dish works, but I want to do my best to work the bugs out before others try cooking them.
About me
Hello, I’m Amy!
I am the creator and recipe developer here at The Copper Table. I live on a small island that is part of the San Juan Islands and Skagit Valley in Washington State. Around here, we like to call it the “Magic Skagit”. I grew up on Whidbey Island, the neighboring island to the south of my current home.
I love to utilize what is produced here in the Skagit Valley, as well as what is grown on Whidbey Island in the recipes you find on the blog, and in my regular everyday home cooking. I regularly shop Farmers Markets, honesty stands, and CSA shares to develop recipes for the site.
For two years, I worked at a small local organic farm near my home weeding, harvesting, and tending to many varieties of organic produce. This experience has helped hone my skills cooking great seasonal food with real ingredients, and helped me become familiar with how fruits and vegetables grow. It also gave me a strong appreciation for the hard work farming really is.
I am a very outdoorsy person! If I am not in the kitchen, you are sure to find me at the beach looking for shells or hiking in the woods. I think time in nature is overlooked as a way to alleviate stress, and it also helps us slow down and appreciate what is around us.
When the season is right, I have a small garden in my yard that brings me a lot of joy (along with some herbs and veggies used on the blog). When I am not doing any of those things, I am probably running someone to a sports practice.
Picnics and alfresco dining are high on my list of favorite ways to eat. Because of this, you’ll find a few picnic perfect dishes on the site.
I love Jesus, beaches, water, rainy days, reading, slow mornings, strong dark coffee, good chocolate, long walks, and foggy days. As often as possible, I like to venture out to do some landscape and nature photography. When I get the chance to watch TV (which isn’t often), I love British Bake Off!
Many years ago, I was an Architecture and Design student. I spent years extensively studying Art History, and the work of architects and designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright, William Morris, and Ray and Charles Eames just to name a few. I also studied color theory.
This fostered a deep love for design, architecture, and art that stays with me to this day, even though I never pursued a career in the field. I think that’s why food photography is something I have grown to enjoy.
Throughout my life, food and cooking have been two really big passions of mine. In 2018 when the opportunity to take my passion for food and love of writing and turn them into this blog came along, I couldn’t pass up the chance! I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do.
When I am not developing recipes for the website, I’m a Food Service Professional who spent years cooking hundreds of meals a day. I am also a certified Food Protection Manager through the National Restaurant Association, which means that I have received additional training in food safety.
Gaining new skills is important to me, so that I can learn new things that I can share here with my audience! I have taken many classes, including Cheesemaking, Cultured Butter and Hog Butchery. I really enjoy applying new skills to the recipes I develop for the site!
In 2023, I served on the Planning Committee and helped cook the dinner served at Cook For A Cause, a yearly fundraising event for the Coupeville Farm To School Program which grows the produce served to the students of the entire school district! Programs like this are vital in helping kids learn where food comes from!
Where else can you find me? I have had two recipes published in the second edition of The Salad Gazette, published by The Devil Wears Salad.
I have also been interviewed on the Cook Local Eat Local podcast with David at Cooking Chat. His podcast is all about cooking and eating local food, which is something I am very passionate about.
Fun Facts About Me
I’d rather be
outdoors
Listening to
crashing waves
grateful for
my family
Favorite place
the beach
my weekends
sports & family
favorite food
italian
It is my wish to create an online community here at The Copper Table where you and others can find easy and delicious in season recipes made with real and minimally processed ingredients. You can also connect with the blog on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to see what’s happening on my social media channels.
I hope you love the recipes you find here! If you’d like all the latest updates, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter. Be well and Happy Cooking!
