Erika Bielenstein / 27 / Chicago, IL / Behavioral Health/Therapist


“My favorite thing to prepare is what I call the Erika Special. Sweet potato, onion, and peppers cooked up with herbs du Provence in a cast iron skillet (my favorite kitchen possession) served over a bed of greens with a fried egg on top and avocado, cheese, pesto, and hot sauce.”

Caitlín Eller / 39 / Arlington, VA / Teacher


“Cooking in the kitchen is like performing spellcraft: they both require confidence, love, and a little magic. My favourite thing to cook is my (well-guarded) family corned beef and cabbage recipe.”

Reneice Charles / 28 / Los Angeles / Small Business Owner


“My favorite thing to prepare is breakfast for whoever I let spend the night.”

Chelsea (they/them) and Leah (ze/zir) (Also pictured: Snowball) / 28 & 32 / Seattle, WA / International Education


“We’re two bisexual genderqueer nerds who fell in love teaching cooking lessons together and making each other breakfast. Leah is a baker and Chelsea is a cook; our kitchen is tiny, but it’s the best room in the apartment.”

Sarah (they/them) / 30 / Pittsburgh, PA / Librarian, PhD Student

“I’m living alone for the first time, and I think my favorite thing about it is getting to cooking whatever food I want, whenever I want, no questions asked. That pizza turned out awesome, btw.”

Emma / 36 / Madison, WI / Toddler teacher and summer camp director

“My kitchen is my sanctuary; baking is self-care. My stand mixer is my prized possession.”

Laura M / 30 / Cambridge, MA / Engineer, Staff Writer at Autostraddle

“I like saving vegetable scraps in a bag in my freezer until I have enough to make stock with. It’s way better than what you can buy at the grocery.”

Claire (and Peggy) / 25 / Amesbury, MA / Science Educator


“My kitchen is special because it’s all mine, even if it is a little rough around the edges, and I often let pasta boil over.”

Angelica and Dani (and Jean-Jacques and Louis!) / 28, 30 / South Beach Miami, FL / Musician, Lingerie Designer


“Our most prized kitchen possession is our Cafetera (stove-top coffee maker). We can’t get enough of Cuban coffee, especially since moving to Miami. Thanks to our Cafetera, our house fills with the aroma of fresh Bustelo at least once a day.”

Alice / 25 / Breda, The Netherlands / Game Art Student


“My favourite thing to prepare is this great tarka dal recipe I found a while back. It’s really good and most importantly it’s easy to make a huge batch and then eat that for half a week, which is great for when you don’t always have time or energy to cook!”

Mavi Llamas / 42 / Los Angeles, CA / Part-time student at UCLA, full-time favorite auntie, and freelance unrequited romantic.


“My kitchen isn’t fancy; it isn’t even that clean, but it is where everyone ends up when my family comes over, and there isn’t even any seating. My favorite thing about it is the picture of my father taken in this kitchen as he was skewering meat for a carne asada, and a picture of me shortly after he died doing the same. This picture is of me letting my niece taste the soup I made her for seasoning.”

Kelly / 25 / Vancouver, WA / Accountant


“I like that my kitchen is also my entryway, it’s quite poetic in a way. Also yes, those are kale chips I’m checking on, you are correct.”

Angela Maugey / 30 / London / Occupational therapy assistant (mental health)

“Having a water break while making a curry, our favourite thing to cook.”

Erin and Gateau / 37 and 1 / Denver, CO / Librarian


“Favorite thing in my kitchen: the Ernie cookie jar that my dad gave to my mom when they were dating.”

Lydia / 31 / Olympia, WA / Mama and Tech Nerd


“This kitchen is all about tea, snacks and the occasional complicated dinner.”

Tara / 27 / Albuquerque, New Mexico / University Student Affairs Program Coordinator

“I love spending a couple hours meal planning in the kitchen on Saturdays, so we’re eating healthy and on-budget through the whole week.”

Megan (plus my daughter, Hazel, and our cat, Phryne Fisher) / 36 (Hazel is 3, Phryne is 1.5) / Minneapolis, MN / Science Librarian


“Cooking is fine, but baking is my favorite. I’ve had my KitchenAid mixer since I was an undergrad in college and it was jammed into my tiny dorm room kitchen. I like teaching my daughter to create in the kitchen even though it gets pretty chaotic. Today we’re making tacos and lemon curd parfaits.”

Ella, Octavia (baby) Albus (dog) / 28, 5 months, 2 / Melbourne, Australia / Statistician

“Growing up my mum would never let us put anything on the fridge because she hates clutter. As soon as I moved out I filled the door with as many pictures that would fit. I can’t wait to put my kid’s drawings all over it.”

Deirdre and Amanda (and our cat, Stella) / 25 / Philadelphia, PA / Urban Farmers, Community Organizers

Jay / 22 / Ashland,OR / College student


“I often bake a lot of treats for my friends because I show love by baking and cooking. I also love my little kitchen mascot, the ghost owl on my wall.”