Welcome to The Copper Table: Slow Food for a Fast World.
I’m so glad you’re here! If you are hoping to find out more about this blog and its creator, this is the best place to start!
This blog is about using fresh seasonal ingredients, cooking in season, and making as many things as possible from scratch without taking all day in the kitchen. Great food isn’t difficult, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time!
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.
finding joy in food
love what you eat, and eat what you love
I am a big believer in a common sense approach to eating food I enjoy. After spending too many years going between eating my feelings and trying all the diets, I have found joy in food again by eating real food, fresh produce, and making as many things as possible from scratch using ingredients in season.
Over the years, I started taking control of my diet again, saying NO to extremes, and taking an “everything in moderation approach” to eating. It didn’t take long to notice how much better I felt eating fresh ingredients that are minimally processed. I have also discovered it’s much easier for me to lose weight and keep it off!
how the copper table can help you
Cooking with the seasons
I’ll not only show you some great tricks for homemade sauces, curry pastes, and salad dressings to turn up the volume on your cooking, but I will share with you tips to use your local farmers market or CSA products to create fresh, real dishes that change with the season. This means variety and less boredom when eating and cooking. Also, you know exactly what’s in everything you eat!
In my time on this cooking journey, I have noticed that one of the best places to start making more things myself is making salad dressings, spice blends, kitchen staples such as Creme Fraiche, and sauces from scratch rather than buying them in a can or bottle, and I’ll show you how to do just that!
If you want to see examples of making your own curry paste or spice blends for recipes, check out my Thai Green Curry with Chickpeas, Slow Cooker Beef Tacos and Homemade Toppings, or One Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya.
For some fabulous ideas with fresh produce, try my Easy Lemon Cucumber Pickles, Farro Salad with Spring Vegetables, or Rigatoni Primavera.
If you want to:
- eat more fresh produce
- make more of what you eat from scratch
- cook fresher, healthier meals with an occasional indulgence thrown in
- avoid takeout with easy dinner ideas
- cook in season
- know what to do with all that produce at the Farmers Market
- learn more ways to utilize your CSA box
THEN YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE!
How to use this site
finding the recipes you need
Eating fresh isn’t hard, and I have so many great ideas and tutorials to help you eat better, while doing so in a way that doesn’t feel like you are cutting out everything that tastes good. Who wants to eat a bunch of boring food? I sure don’t!
Check out the Sweet and Savory Recipes section for all types of delicious recipes. You will find a host of easy soups along with scrumptious desserts and baked goods that family and friends will ask you to make over and over again. Do you love a good breakfast? So do I, and I have many simple homemade recipes to start your morning off right!
If Main Dishes and Sandwiches or Side Dishes and Salads are what you need, there are some wonderful options to choose from. Having a party? Head on over to Appetizers and Drinks for your entertaining needs!
Are you a vegetarian or know someone who is? Whether you are a seasoned vegetarian or just need some ideas for Meatless Monday, I have a Vegetarian category for fresh and healthy dishes.
easy dinners
takeout convenience at home
We all get busy, and that’s why I have a whole category of recipes for Easy Weeknight Dinners, for those hectic days when you need something fresh fast and don’t want takeout.
If you need something easy the whole family will love, you’ll find it here. With meals such as Thai Green Curry with Chickpeas, One Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, and Easy Beef and Rice Skillet with Fresh Guacamole, you won’t need to hit a drive thru!
Let’s get cooking
Once you try making more things yourself and using seasonal ingredients, it won’t take long to see just how easy and satisfying it is. I’m ready if you are, so let’s get to it!
About Me
hello, I’m amy!
I am the creator and recipe developer here at The Copper Table. I live on a small island in the Pacific Northwest and I am very fortunate to live in such a wonderful place! We have beaches, forests, lakes, mountains, and everything in between.
I’m a fresh produce nerd and farmers market geek. When I am not developing recipes for the website or working my day job in Food Service, I help out 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.
Aside from cooking, hiking the many trails near my home and looking for seashells at the beach are two things I enjoy doing most. When I am not wandering the beach or walking in the woods, you will probably find me cooking, reading, writing, wandering our local farmers market during market season, or spending time with my family. I also like working in my small garden when the season is right for it. The outdoors is my favorite place to be when I am not in the kitchen!
I have always loved food and cooking. In 2019 when the opportunity to take my passion for food and love of writing and turn them into a blog came along, I couldn’t pass up the chance!
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. If you’d like a copy, you can sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get one right to your inbox.
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.
get to know me
some things i love…
- The Beach! It is my sanctuary. The best place to sit will always be on a bench by the water on a foggy day.
- Good quality chocolate. Can I just say that white chocolate is woefully underrated?
- I love a good Farmers Market! They are full of wonderful ingredients and cooking inspiration.
- Cheesecake! It is versatile, creamy, and indulgent. When given the choice, I will always choose cheesecake over any other dessert.
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 our 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!