Being innovative in the kitchen is all about creating new ways to experience food. That’s why we’re publishing a bi-monthly feature series called “Feature Food Innovator”. In this collection, we’ll introduce you to someone who is making big things happen in the kitchen. We can all learn from and be inspired by each other – let’s see what we can come up with together!

To kick off the series is a woman who has taken “home cooked” to a whole other level. Focusing on sharing her gardening and cooking tips for living a homegrown, homemade life, Stacy Brewer – blogger at Seattle Seedling, operator of Seattle Urban Farm School and creator of Urban Farm Schoolhouse – is making big things happen in her Pacific Northwest community. As a urban farmer, teacher and full out garden nerd (her words, not ours) she’s focusing on growing, eating and teaching people how to grow their own food, sharing her successes AND urban farm failures so that we can learn from her mistakes, and creating new spaces for creativity, from yard to plate.

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Stacy, welcome. Can you briefly tell us how you came to do what you do?

Over 5 years ago, I read the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it turned my world upside down. I hadn’t realized I was so disconnected from my food until then. I didn’t know when things grew, what was in season when or what was local or not. I got super inspired and dove head-first into a commitment to eat as locally and seasonally as possible, cutting out all processed foods in the process. If I could make them, I would. It was then, that I started clearing space in my yard for raised beds. From then on, it was an edible gardening and urban farming spiral.

What inspires you about food?

Being able to grow what I eat in a relatively small urban space. I love being able to serve a meal to my friends and say with pride, “I grew that!” Plus, the taste of homegrown food is so good. Years ago, when I took my first bite of sautéed chard that I had grown myself, it blew my mind how delicious it was! There was no going back after that.

You do so much when it comes to innovating the way we think about food. Where does your inspiration come from?

Trying to do something better than the previous year. I’ve learned that the key to my gardening success is to take things slowly, adding one new raised bed or one new type of animal a season. It helps me work it into the routine and makes it so that things aren’t as overwhelming. I get especially inspired in January and February when I’m working on my spring garden plans. I make a goal to do one new thing or something I’ve already done a little better.

What’s your most memorable food experience?

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the first time I tasted a vegetable out of my garden. I remember painstakingly washing each Swiss chard leaf (I was more afraid of dirt those days than I am now) and then sautéing them in a little garlic and olive oil. I took a bite from the pan and honestly, I don’t remember it ever making it to a plate. I badgered family members to take a bite, “Oh my God, you have to try this! It is SO good! You have to have a bite.” As a kid, I took a hard stance against eating my grandpa’s homegrown Swiss chard. I turned my nose up at it in disgust without even trying it and there I was as an adult, begging people to try my own homegrown Swiss chard like they had done to me. I could not get over how amazing it was and I ended up growing vegetables because of that experience.

What does food or kitchen innovation mean to you?

Going back to the basics in the kitchen inspires me – deconstructing processed foods, making things from scratch, preserving the harvest. I like making food preparation a priority rather than relying on processed foods for convenience and to “save time.” That being said, I work a full-time job, so kitchen innovation means having and using modern tools to make that happen in the midst of a super busy schedule. My dishwasher is one of my most valued kitchen tools because it allows me to spend less time cleaning and more time cooking.

So is the dishwasher the one thing you just can’t live without in the kitchen?

Yes. That and a gas range. There is nothing like the control of a gas range. I can’t go back to electric now.

I can imagine! What’s the one thing you CAN live without in the kitchen?

A knife block full of a ton of knives I’ll never use. It’s all about the chef’s knife, the paring knife and a good serrated knife.

Agreed. Do you have any food or ingredient obsessions?

Kale – I am officially a kale fiend. It’s so easy to grow and I could easily eat it at every meal. I am to kale as Bubby Gump is to shrimp.

Is there anything you refuse to cook with or eat?

Any mushroom except for chanterelles – I wish I liked mushrooms and I try them often, but I just cannot stand them.

How do you feel about food “aphrodisiacs”?

I think the best aphrodisiac is cooking with love and a good bottle of wine. There is nothing I love more than to be in the kitchen, pouring all my love into a pot on the stove, while my man sits on a stool, keeps my wine glass filled, and talks to me while I cook. A home-cooked meal made with a heap of love and joy is the best aphrodisiac.

I love that. What’s the most interesting or important thing in your food world right now?

Getting creative as I cook myself through winter. Vegetable options in the winter are quite different than in the summer when seasonal fruits and vegetables abound. I’m getting creative with legumes, whole grains and pulling whatever I can from my garden.

We’re definitely struggling with that right now too. It’s definitely a challenge in Winter. What’s been the hardest (and most valuable) lessons you’ve ever learned?

I had a pretty traumatic experience culling a rabbit that I was raising for meat. High-quality meat raised on small, local farms seems expensive until you participate in the process of getting that meat to the table. Once you’re that close to the meat you eat, you learn what the cost really is.

How do you define success in the kitchen?

When I know where every ingredient in the meal came from, especially when I’ve grown or raised them myself. That and something that tastes so amazing I almost don’t want to share.

Every night we recommend a dinner idea for our audience with a drool worthy photograph. What’s your go-to dish for your supper?

100%, hands down – baked chicken curry! In the post I wrote about it I describe it as the “big guns,” the recipe I break out when I really want to impress someone. It’s relatively easy and so amazingly delicious.

Baked Chicken Curry (source)

That sounds amazing! We also have a series where people tell us about the last meal they’ll ever eat (if given the option, of course). What would be your last meal ever? Why?

My last meal would be pizza – wood fire oven, thin crust pizza. The more seasonal vegetables on it, the better. And if there is sausage on it, I’m not definitely not sharing. I could easily eat pizza every night and never tire of it.

Everyone loves a good pizza, don’t they? So with them in mind, what’s the one thing you would tell someone who is inspiring to follow in your footsteps?

My biggest piece of advice is to recognize that “failure” is part of the process. We think we’re in control of what happens in the garden, but there are a ton of variables that impact whether or not a plant thrives or dies. Failures in the garden and in the kitchen are opportunities to get better at your craft and even the most experienced and most accomplished gardeners experience their fair share of lessons learned. A green thumb is a state of mind – you have to be willing to plant a seed and keep sowing in order to grow.

Thank you so much Stacy for taking the time to share your culinary innovations with us and our online community. I think we can all agree that you’re doing some pretty amazing things and with food, including inspiring us to get up and find (or grow) something real. You’re a true inspiration and food innovator.

To connect with Stacy, check her out at Seattle Seedling, contribute to The Schoolhouse Project, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.