About My Roots & Recipes

My Roots and Recipes is a food blog celebrating real ingredients that cultivate community, nourishment, and sustainability– while being incredibly delicious. My name is Jackie, the gal behind the computer. All recipes found here are original and thoughtfully curated to highlight beautiful ingredients. These recipes are for everyone. You don’t have to grow or raise your own food to make these meals. I warn you though, stick around long enough and you may wake up to find you have a quarter acre kitchen garden and a flock of chickens.

My cooking style.

The deep purple hue of a Sicilian cauliflower, the road map of marbling on a ribeye steak, the glow of a ripe Brandywine tomato peeking out from a tangle of green vines– ingredients such as these inspire me. Rustic, farm inspired fare fills these pages. What we do not produce on our homestead we source from local farmers/growers that are doing things right by nature.

I am an advocate for regenerative farms and farmers and highlight them as often as possible. Regenerative farming means building up soil fertility through cover crops, rotational grazing and other practices. It means working with nature and giving back to it.

This is about more than just food. It’s about connection, a memory, a story, an opportunity to give, receive, live on.

Lastly, I hope these recipes become heirlooms that are powerful enough to spark a memory, fill you with joy and make your mouth water.

If you want to know the whole story..

I grew up in a meat and potatoes family in the suburbs of Chicago. My dad worked two jobs and my mom had dinner on the table everyday at 4 o’ clock in the afternoon. Blue collar through and through.

My mom’s cooking style was shaped by the Midwest and her mom, my grandma. No frills, unpretentious, well-seasoned and always made with family in mind. I never witnessed my mom stressed out in the kitchen. She never measured anything but always got it right. 

Anything my mom placed in front me I happily ate without question. If you’re a mom, you’re probably thinking, that sounds fine with me! My regret lies within the silence. Even as I got older, into my teens, I never once asked my mom how to prepare any of her dishes. I had this false sense of security that I’d wake up one day suddenly able to cook just like her. In my kid logic, I reasoned, moms cook, kids eat and there is no need to overlap those two roles. So, for now, I’ll just not bother to cook because mom is here. 

Until she wasn’t. 

My mom died when I was 16 years old. As you would guess, when she passed, not knowing her chili recipe wasn’t my first thought. Nor my second or third. A few years later, however, I kicked myself for not asking more questions in the kitchen. I really wished I had written recipes directly from her.

New normal

So, I’m 16 and my mom just passed. My food future was in the hands of my dad, which meant lots of chicken legs, Brats and burgers. I didn’t think I had it in me to cook meals like my mom but I figured I could at least cook myself up something edible and with a bit more nutritional value. Thankfully, my dad was on board with me cooking more for myself, so trips together to Meijer became our weekly ritual. 

My meals consisted of a lot of plain chicken, rice and steamed vegetables. I had no concept of seasoning or flavor. The crazy thing was– I truly didn’t care. I didn’t think the food I cooked could possibly spark joy, inspiration or connection. I thought that was for moms, grandmas and restaurants. 

After a few years of living on bland food, I met my husband, Eddie. I should mention, at this point of my life, I was working out in the gym aggressively. Food was more of a mathematical equation to me than anything else. As long as I had enough macronutrients in my diet to sustain me, I was content with my food choices. I didn’t give much thought to quality or where it came from.

I soon got to thinking– Eddie might expect me to cook for him eventually. It was time to step it up. I looked to cookbooks and the internet for help. From them, I felt a tingle of excitement for cooking. There was now a light at the end of the tunnel of my unsalted, sugar-free life. 

May of 2017, my brand-spanking new husband and I moved into our first home in northern Illinois. I realized I was now in the land of farmers markets so I began to explore them on the weekends (because, truly, is there any better way to spend the morning?). 

My mindset is shifting.

I thought farmers were mythical creatures and food magically appeared at the grocery store neatly packaged and presented. The nitty gritty details of where my food came from or how it was impacting the Earth was being ignorantly pushed aside. In school, we didn’t have a class educating us on soil health, growing food or raising livestock. But now, I was meeting local growers and regenerative farmers and learning a lot. I was very convicted that my past food choices were ignorant and sometimes, downright disrespectful. The fact that I rarely thought about meat once being alive truly says it all.

My new found appreciation and respect for farmers and food dramatically changed my approach to cooking. Barbara Kingsolver summed it up very well when she wrote in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, “Eating home-cooked meals from whole, in season ingredients obtained from the most local source available is eating well in every sense.”

I will never forget the first time I roasted a pasture raised chicken for my husband and I. Eddie took a bite, stopped and paused for good dramatic effect and said, “I’ve never had chicken taste so much like chicken. It’s like I’m having it for the first time.” Just like that, I’m onto something. Find my roast chicken recipe HERE.

Everything comes together

I’m eating in season and cooking with high quality, ethically sourced food. I own salt, and use it. The kitchen is now messy and I’m constantly thinking up new recipes to try out. 

In February of 2021,  we welcomed our baby boy, Leo, into the world. I had plenty on my mind as a new mom, but I felt very strongly I needed to start growing some of our food. I enlisted my husband to build me a raised garden bed (I highly recommend handy husbands). Just a few short months later, Leo and I are backyard farmers. Well, not quite, but I did grow some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and herbs that year. 

Soon after, my mind is saturated night and day with Mickey Mouse and gardening. I was now on fire to grow food for my family and prepare it all in the most delicious way.

The following year we expanded the garden, adding more raised beds. I started all my plants from seed and was feeling more inspired than ever! I was cooking (mostly) from scratch, canning, preserving and truly enjoying myself. It helped that I was getting good feedback, too.

Everything culminates to this: I want to leave behind a legacy of cooking thoughtfully curated, delicious food that truly embodies who I am, where I live and how I live.

Welcome to my slice of the internet.

Summer of 2023 Update..

We bought a farm in north central Wisconsin! The draw to Wisconsin stems from my own family ties a bit further north. The mix of pasture and woodlands gives us the opportunity for so much. My husband has taken up hunting, so more wild game recipes will be in the future. Little by little we plan to turn our home and plot of land into a homestead that sustains us. Spring of 2024 time will be busy for us. Stay tuned!