The Story Behind Crossing Kitchens

I'm a 24 year old finnish girl who moved to the U.S in 2010 to study at UW-Madison in Wisconsin, about 3h north of Chicago.  I had never been to the U.S before, but fell in love at first sight. I stayed behind to work there, and last summer/fall I worked and lived in NYC.

During my time in the U.S I've visited about 30states, most of them on a roadtrip driving over 14 000 miles. I moved back to Helsinki in October 2012, and still from time to time experience a reverse culture shock. This would mainly concern the sometimes riddiculous price level on alcohol and food in restaurants, combined with a very "different" service. Service here is generally very toned down, the point is not to disturb the patron. This can easily be perceived as unfriendly, and I do still struggle with it.

The other thing that has been difficult, is that there is no good American food here. Nope, Hard Rock Café does not count. There seems to be a huge missunderstanding here in Finland (and in most of Europe), that American food can be labled as one thing. In fact the food, ways of cooking and styles differ immensly depending on what state you're in. Gumbo, pulled pork, fried cheesecurds...

This initially inspired my blog. At the same time I couldn't dare to claim I would be the expert in making American food, and indeed I add my own taste and influende to whatever I make. I also make food I've experienced in America, be that "American", Mexican, Indian, or a dish made in one household I visited during my road trip. Who am I to lable it?

In addition to all this, I was diagnosed with IBS in May 2012. This completetly changed my eating habits, and is also the reason for all the gluten free (wheat free) cooking. If I use rye and oatmeal, I make sure to tell you and not lable it gluten free automatically. Since this is all still new to me, I know first hand the challenge of baking and cooking gluten free. I focus on it and tell you about my failures as well as successes. IBS also means I need to adapt recipes to fit my diet, and I'm still looking for my perfect diet. Some things I will never give up though (like garlic).


Ultimately, this is why the blog became Crossing Kitchens.
Crossing kitchens is about food experience through travel, restaurants, and homes. It's a journey of creating new inspired recipies, adapting them, and not labelling them to a culture or style.

Enjoy!