Welcome! I’m happy you’re here. You can call me Kate, one of many nicknames, or Kathryne, my full first name. Either way, I’m a self-taught cook from Oklahoma. I started this blog in 2010 and named it after my canine sidekick, Cookie. Now, I live in Kansas City with my husband and young daughter and work on this blog full-time. I love my job!
Follow Cookie and Kate
You should know that I’m totally obsessed with food. I daydream about new recipes. I devour cookbooks (I even wrote my own). I read up on food policy and nutrition. I love photographing food and hope my photos inspire you to step into the kitchen to cook a delicious, healthy meal.
Our cookbook, Love Real Food, is here! It has over 5,000 5-star reviews! Get Your Copy
Above all, I love eating food, especially while in the presence of good company. Good food in good company—does it get any better than that?
I believe that cooking should be fun and recipes, flexible. I choose not to cook meat, so all of the recipes on Cookie and Kate are vegetarian. I believe in eating whole foods, which are as close to their source as possible. I’m also an avid supporter of the occasional indulgence, and I laugh with friends over drinks as often as possible.
This blog is all about celebrating good food—real, sustainable food that delights the senses and nourishes the body.
About Cookie
Cookie is a jaunty spotted mutt who makes friends everywhere she goes. She is my eager four-legged assistant, my chief crumb catcher and the best companion a girl could ask for.
I adopted Cookie in the summer of 2009. She came with her name and nothing more. Whether she was named for being one smart cookie or for looking like cookies and cream, the name suits her well.
After five years of referring to Cookie as a “mystery mutt,” I finally caved and ordered a DNA test. My beloved, one-of-a-kind pup is half schipperke and half dachshund/Australian koolie mix.
Cookie left this world in 2023 after thirteen incredible years together. I miss her dearly, and this website will remain Cookie and Kate in honor of our time together.
Frequently Asked Questions
My cookbook, Love Real Food, can be purchased online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BAM!, Bookshop.org, and Indigo. Digital editions of the book are available for purchase and download at iBooks and Amazon Kindle. Look for the book in your local bookstore or Barnes u0026 Noble. More book details here.
I use a Nikon Z6 with a Nikkor Z 50mm lens. Check out my food photography tips for more details. As of 2023, I’ve outsourced my photography to my wonderful video team so that I can spend more time with my family.
Check out my top 20 tips for food blogging and how to start a food blog, which includes design and web hosting tips.
Thank you for asking. Please refer to my photo and recipe policy for details.
Get in Touch!
Please contact me here or comment below! You’re also welcome to check out my press page for interviews and other features.
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Dear Kate,
Thank you for your “Baked Good Recipes” email. Each one of the recipes looks tempting! I am sure all of them will be extremely tasty but would it be possible to advise on the “caloric burden” each one carries? I like all of them so I would be grateful if you assist me to pick the “lightest” ones.
Thank you
JohnK
Hi John, the approximate nutrition information is available by clicking the “show nutrition” button on each recipe. I hope that helps!
About a year ago I made a version your Best Stuffed Shells recipe that was on your website. I have lost the recipe. It used extra firm tofu as a substitute for the cheese, I believe. I can’t find that recipe now. Does it still exist, or is my memory failing me?
Hi Tom, my vegan lasagna could be made as stuffed shells.
i like ur cookie and kate website
Hi Kate! We share a lot about our interest in food and nutrition. (The only difference is that I try to go vegan.)
Your comment about eating “Whole Foods” is right on the mark. I call it: Eating Close to the Ground, or, Eliminating Man from my Diet. The fewer people who handle or prepare my food, the better.
I am looking forward to digging into your website and preparing your recipes.
Hi Sue, I’m glad you’re here! You’ll find lots of vegan recipes here.
I am hoping you will write another cookbook. Any chance of that?
Hi Lin, it is part of the long term plan!
I’ve noticed you pop up a lot when I’m looking for recipes and I today I felt drawn to your page today when looking for a way to cook acorn squash. I really appreciated your story, your healthy glowand meeting the ever-so-sweet Cookie the crumb controll King .what a precious life you all gave him,,, Looking forward to trying some recipes. I really appreciate what you are doing! I’m a veggie head too
So tasty! I made these with measure for measure GF flour and let the batter rest in the fridge half an hour – they were delicious! Loved by GF and non GF family as park of a holiday breakfast spread
I have made many of your recipies for years. Very vegetable friendly. and healthier than most recepies. All of them are very clear to follow. My go to staple in my home is your Granola recipie and thecontrol over sugar anf fats is so much better than store bought. I have tweaked and customized it for the many people that I gift it to for their individual preferences. It freezes well when I make a large batch.
Hi, I love all you healthy baking recipes ❤️ do you have a cookbook that’s just baking? I’d buy it in a heartbeat if you do.
Thanks for all the amazing recipes, Terri
Hi Terri, I just have the one cookbook currently, but I have a long term goal to write another! Thank you for the suggestion to focus on baking.
Hi Kate;
I have made 4 batches of your Ginger Beer Concentrate and it is wonderful. I bottle it and use the concentrate in my Moscow Mules (mix nightly drink of choice). I have a comment and a couple of questions: Comment; the peeling of this much Ginger Root takes a lot of time, I cannot see doing all of this in 20 minutes. It takes be 30 minutes just to peel this much Ginger and longer for a double batch. I have tried different methods, and settled on a serrated grapefruit spoon as the best tool. I notice some other recipes don’t call for it peeled; I might try this since I strain it through a Brew Bag anyway and only a white powdery residue gets through with the juice. Also, I notice that the recipe you got this from as referenced with a link, only calls for 1 cup of fresh squeezed lime for 2-1/2 lbs of Ginger (roughly peeled), and your recipe is half the ginger with the same 1 cup of lime juice. What is the reason, and was this a change through tasting? I am just trying to make it a simpler process if possible and not spending so much time peeling ginger would cut the time way down. BTW: My Moscow Mules use 2 oz. Of vodka over ice in a 12 ounce copper mug, plus 3 oz. Of your recipe for ginger beer concentrate, then fill with mug with soda water from my Classic Seltzer Bottle. The only cost of keeping the Classic Seltzer Bottle filled and ready is a CO2 cartridge about every 4 cocktails. Thanks for the Recipe!
Hi Mike, the adjustments to the ratio of ginger and lime was due to taste tests. Some recipes don’t peel ginger and strain it, which does take some time. I think it comes down to personal preference. I tend to buy large, easy to peel pieces of ginger, and I keep excess in the freezer. I hope that helps!
Gave up trying to read or print blueberry oatmeal recipe. The site is so full of intrusive adverts it is impossible to make sense of!!!! I’m putting my email below but will block all marketing materials.
I always loved your site and the recipes. I love animals, always have a couple dogs and a cat. I wondered if you ever decided to adopt another dog.
Hi Liz, Thank you for yours upport! I did adopt another dog!
I love your recipes and always look to you first when trying to find a healthy recipe. I have been recently making your blueberry muffin (and cake), and pumpkin bread recipes. I am looking for a recipe now to use a lot of frozen dark sweet cherries I have in the freezer. Best suggestion? Thanks!
Hi Donna, this simple, vegan chocolate cherry cake is a great use of frozen cherries. You can also make clafoutis with cherries, though the colors will bleed in the dough more when using frozen, and it is a little more moist, and best eaten the same day it is cooked.
I have a question on the Vanilla pear Holiday Punch. Can you use Vodka instead of the Tequila?
Hi Barbara, yes, if that is your preference. Vodka is a very versatile spirit.