KaraCooks

06/07/2026

It's Pride Month, and next Saturday I'll be at Roswell Town Square for the 2nd Annual Pride Walk and the first-ever Pride Fest (remarks at the gazebo at 9:30, walk at 10, festival till 4). Today on the blog I wrote about why LGBTQ+ equality is the very first line of what I believe; not as a statement, but through the people at my table and the q***r cooks and writers who shaped how I cook and write. Come walk with us. The table's big, and the line stays first.

https://karacooks.com/roswell-pride-first-on-the-list/

06/04/2026

I came home from Tulsa two days ago and I have not shut up about peanut butter jalapeños. El Rancho Grande (Tex-Mex since 1953, neon and all) stuffs fresh peppers with crunchy peanut butter, batters and fries them, and serves them with pepper jam. It sounds like a dare. It works: the peanut butter mellows the heat, the jam pulls it sweet, and now I have a project.

Make a Kara version at home, possibly wrapped in bacon and run on the Kamado. Zach thinks it sounds horrific; I have publicly predicted he'll eat three. Field notes (and a plan) on the blog:

https://karacooks.com/peanut-butter-jalapenos/

06/03/2026

New on karacooks: Carol's Potato Salad. The recipe I bought russets for without checking a thing, because my hands knew it before my brain did.

Mayo, mustard, yellow onion (not white, not sweet, not red — yellow, because Carol used yellow), celery, dill relish I mince from chips because the jarred stuff is too sweet, Lawry's Seasoned Salt dusted across the top. Dressed on hot potatoes so the seasoning goes in instead of sitting on top. Made overnight.

Made in a Tulsa VRBO kitchen for my cousin David. Mom isn't here, but she sort of is.

Carol's potato salad is mayo, mustard, yellow onion, celery, and dill relish dressed on hot potatoes. No secrets. Just muscle memory and good timing.

05/26/2026

I tried to adapt Sally's Baking Addiction's lavender blackberry cake into a gluten-free version for my friend Ari's birthday. The cake melted on the way to the park. The buttercream gave up. The jam came out the sides. And it was, somehow, still delicious.
The full story (plus the recipe I should have made) is on the blog.
karacooks.com → Blackberry Lavender Cake - This is Why I'm a Cook, Not a Baker

05/16/2026

Sick week, blooming gardenias, posole on the stove, and a hard book set in Atlanta. Friday Roundup #24 is up — pour yourself a hot toddy and read along. 🤧

https://karacooks.com/friday-roundup-24/

05/11/2026

New Blog Post: https://karacooks.com/life-with-a-pibble-meet-remy/

He's 71 lbs of velcro dog and is categorically the least threatening animal on the planet.

02/10/2026

Recipe/Hack: Bean & Corn Tostadas

This bean and corn tostada is one of my top three one-person meals. It's not a lot of leftovers. It's something that wouldn't fill Zach up for a "meal" - he needs more protein, more volume. But for me, when he's traveling, it's perfect.

https://karacooks.com/bean-and-corn-tostadas-a-one-person-meal-hack/

02/08/2026

I had plans, y'all. I was going to ease into 2026 with recipes and restaurant reviews and garden updates. Keep things light and friendly for a few months while I built momentum. Share the pecan cheese ball and the pavlova and the jalapeno popper chicken. I wanted to build an audience and some solid food content before I started talking about the hard stuff.

And then January happened. And holy hell was January a LOT.

https://karacooks.com/being-authentic/

02/08/2026

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind—even if your voice shakes.

https://karacooks.com/being-authentic/