Kale Waldorf Salad #2, a visit with The Foodie Physician, and a kitchen photo shoot!

A little over eight years ago, my husband and I bought the house next door to where I grew up, where my parents still live.  It needed work.  A lot of work.  We chose a builder and started the process of figuring out how we could make the improvements we wanted  within our allotted budget.

It soon became clear that I was not going to get the kitchen I was hoping for.  Upon hearing my dilemma, our builder recommended his brother-in-law, Wes, who happened to be a cabinet maker.  As it turned out, Wes was able to create the kitchen space that I not only dreamed about, but that was functional, family friendly, and within budget.

Fast-forward six or seven years.  Wes and his company, Wynwood, had never advertised. They built kitchens throughout Lancaster and traveled to places like New York City to build kitchens strictly by word of mouth. Eventually, they decided it was time to develop a website that would showcase their work.  My eight-year-old kitchen — despite constant use, a house full of boys, and a dog — has weathered the last eight years well and was photographed for the site.  We had a ball with the photo shoot and I even cooked a couple of Fountain Avenue Kitchen recipes for the occasion.

One of those recipes, a kale Waldorf salad, is a variation on a recipe I have on this site.  I had not published this latest version and when Sonali Ruder, of “The Foodie Physician” fame, welcomed me to contribute a guest post to her site, it occurred to me that this delicious, healthy, original recipe would be perfect.  You may click HERE to see that recipe and other delicious creations by this culinary school-trained, ER doctor who I am fortunate enough to call my friend.

As for Wynwood, the kitchen-building process we experienced was nothing short of delightful.  What could have been a stressful, over-budget event was an enjoyable, delay-free process whereby Wes shared his creative input and became a friend that I have recommended to many of my own friends over the years.  I have a link to the Wynwood website on The Fountain Avenue Kitchen site so that, as people are culling great recipe ideas, they may also discover ideas pertaining to the space in which they prepare those recipes.

As for the photography, Jeremy Hess Photographers captured the images on the Wynwood site, and I have had the good fortune of having Jeremy and one of his partners, Donovan Witmer, photograph my food and kitchen on a few other occasions.  It is rather refreshing to have someone relieve me of my iPhone photography once in a while!  On top of that, more creative and friendlier people are hard to find.

I hope you enjoy these photos, the brand new Wynwood site, and the recipe for Kale Waldorf Salad over at The Foodie Physician.  As always, I welcome you into my kitchen any time and appreciate the feedback when you cook my recipes.  It is a delight to give you this glimpse of where all the cooking–and the eating, the dishes, the hanging out, and the homework!–happens.