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Continue reading →: Midsummer FieldsMid-July is the height of Virginia’s growing season. If you love cooking foods from around the world, this is when our farms make almost anything possible. It’s where my Appalachian roots meet Ottoman traditions—building meals from overflowing gardens with vegetables, grains, and legumes transformed into purées, dips, salads, breads, and…
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Continue reading →: Garden GatesHave you ever walked into a place and felt, without quite knowing why, that you already belonged there? I grew up in Huntington, West Virginia — a university town, a rail town, a place that clawed its way back from being a food desert to building something genuinely alive in…
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Continue reading →: Papaz Yahnisi (Priest’s Stew)Some dishes survive not because they were fashionable, but because they were practical, seasonal, and nutritious. This winter dish is no exception. Papaz Yahnisi—often translated as Priest’s Stew—is one of those meals. It comes from the cradle of the Ottoman empire, a town first settled in 3000 B.C.E., called Bilecik…
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Continue reading →: Hawthorn and HeartToday, a blanket of snow falls across Central Virginia. Yesterday, I connected with a friend, and we spoke of honoring our bodies, finding balance in difficult situations, and listening to the genuine calls of the heart. I caught myself as I began to spiral—counting the atrocities we’ve witnessed in a…
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Continue reading →: About Warm DrinksWarm drinks are a form of care. Quietly, in the slow moments that reside in kitchen nooks in the earliest and darkest hours. Casting a spell like this looks like steam rising from a kettle, or warmth on the hands and lips with a touch. Warm drinks are often how…
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Continue reading →: Ezogelin Çorbası (Turkish Spiced Lentil Soup) RecipeBrothy soups have a history of being served either as a breakfast item or to begin a meal, to prepare the stomach for the heavier types of meals at the end of the day. In Turkey, soups are a mainstay of the everyday meal, and this was also true in…
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Continue reading →: Ichigo IchieI studied abroad in Kansai Prefecture, Japan, in 2007. Tucked into the most unassuming corners of the Osaka train station were patisseries that, I tenderly believed, could compete with the finest in Europe. Each week, I would buy loaves of pillowy milk bread, bacon-stuffed rolls with chives and cheese, and…
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Continue reading →: A CallingThe story of how I arrived to the lowest point started and ended with a relationship, but it also bookended a period of intense transformation and growth. As I have discovered, the process of self-recovery is brutal and pulls you from whatever illusion you have create of an unfulfilled and…
Food as culture, memory & care
Where locally grown food and seasonal herbal remedies meet the warmth, flavor, and timeless wisdom of Ottoman home cooking.
Simple, seasonal recipes rooted in Virginia soil and inspired by years of cooking, learning, and gathering around tables in Turkey and Appalachia.
A Locavore Kitchen with Global Traditions
Virginia’s Vittles is a place for cooks who believe food should be seasonal, nourishing, and deeply connected to the land beneath our feet.
Here, Virginia-grown ingredients meet the rich culinary traditions of Turkey and the herbal wisdom of Appalachia. Drawing on years spent cooking, learning, and sharing meals across cultures, I offer recipes that honor both local harvests and time-tested traditions.
Whether you’re looking for practical weeknight meals, seasonal pantry inspiration, traditional Turkish dishes, or simple ways to bring more herbs, flavor, and intention into your kitchen, you’ll find approachable recipes designed to nourish both body and community.
Because good food isn’t just about what’s on the plate—it’s about where it comes from, who we share it with, and the stories we carry forward.
Featured Class: The Turkish Breakfast Experience
Slow down, gather around the table, and discover why breakfast is considered one of the most cherished meals in Turkish culture.
In this hands-on class, you’ll learn how to prepare several classic elements of an authentic Turkish breakfast while exploring the stories, traditions, and regional flavors that have made this meal a beloved daily ritual for generations. Along the way, we’ll discuss ingredients, techniques, and the cultural significance behind the dishes that grace breakfast tables from Istanbul to the Aegean coast.
Hi, I’m Krista.
A Kentucky-born locavore who found her culinary identity living and working in Turkey.
For the past decade and a half, I’ve written, cooked, taught, and shared food stories across Appalachia and Western Turkey.
Now, living in Virginia, I blend that love of local food with the everyday herbal remedies, techniques, and stories I learned abroad and in my herbalism studies.
My work is devoted to helping home cooks find nourishment, ease, and connection in their kitchens.
Free Guide: The Summer Kitchen Apothecary
A simple, helpful guide to 5 everyday herbal remedies and Turkish kitchen rituals using ingredients you can find locally.
Comforting, doable, and perfect for real life.
Seasonal Recipes & Nourishing Everyday Remedies
Explore approachable, grounding meals inspired by the seasons, your local farmers’ market, and the Turkish dishes I fell in love with.
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Virginia’s Vittles — Everyday nourishment for real life.
Turkish flavors • Herbal remedies • Local ingredients • Seasonal cooking
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