About

     Sweetsugarbean is a combination of my favourite things: cooking, food photography and writing.  Cooking from scratch is one of the best things you can do for yourself and those you love, and I'm so happy to share my recipes with you.  I'm super fortunate to make a living doing what I love...and to be in the food industry for as long as I have, you really do have to LOVE it.  I'm the chef at a busy catering company in Saskatoon,  Saskatchewan but this blog isn't about work.  Food truly is my passion, and I don't stop living it once I leave the work kitchen.  I still come home and cook for myself, family and friends.  Eating well, using fresh, local ingredients means the world to me.  I feel most at home in my little green kitchen; it's where I feel grounded and happy.  Be it boiling chicken stock for soup, or whipping up a batch of whole wheat biscuits on a Sunday morning,  these simple pleasures are a part of my everyday life.  With a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art and a diploma in Culinary Arts, my interest and education in both these areas are reflected on these pages.  I'm a self-taught photographer and I use a Canon A520, as well as my iPhone to take the photos.    

     My Mom is a fantastic cook, and I was always in the kitchen with her as a young girl.  Baking cookies since I was about 10, I've eaten my fair share of cookie dough!  We ate really well growing up, and living on a farm for the first 7 years of my life, I learned early on where food comes from.  Some of my earliest memories are running through tall rows of corn, digging up potato plants to unearth the treasures beneath, and sitting on my pet calf  "Susie".  The connection between the earth and the table is something I believe strongly in.  My garden plot is a busy place, and there is nothing better than picking lettuce, or a cucumber or a tomato that you seeded by hand, watered and watch grow.

     For the recipes in this blog I try to use all good quality, natural ingredients - local and organic if possible.  Butter always, never margarine!  When you start with good, wholesome products, you will make good, wholesome food.  My garden is a busy place in the summer/fall and many of the vegetables will appear on these pages.  If I can't grow it, I'll often pick it up from the local farmer's market, where excellent farmers are doing excellent work.   Most recipes "come from my head", but I will give credit if I adapt it from another source.  Inspiration often comes from just looking inside the fridge and seeing that I have a pound of apples, half a block of cream cheese and some puff pastry to use up.  I hate throwing food out, so "clean out the fridge days" usually turn into tasty treats!  Baking and desserts often appear here, only because I have a horrible sweet tooth and I love to bake with all my heart.  While I do joke about loving butter and bacon (a lot!) I also try to make food that is healthy and not too fussy. I'm a comfort food kind of girl, so I can guarantee you will not see anything on the blog about foie gras or truffle oil. Cheese and chocolate, that's another story. 

     All text, recipes and photographs are copyright of Renee Kohlman.  Please, if writing about sweetsugarbean, or using a recipe, link back to the original post.

     Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you find something that will make you hungry and want to cook!

Renee