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Continue reading →: Papaz Yahnişi (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 Yahnişi—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…
Everyday Nourishment for Real Life.
Where locally grown food and seasonal herbal remedies meet the warmth, flavor, and timeless wisdom of Ottoman home cooking.
Simple, seasonal, and deeply comforting recipes rooted in Virginia soil and shaped by years I spent cooking and learning in Turkey.
A Locavore Kitchen With Global Traditions
Virginia’s Vittles is a home for cooks who believe that food should be nourishing, seasonal, and rooted in place.
I pair the ingredients grown in our region with the culinary traditions and herbal remedies I learned while growing up in Appalachia and living in Turkey in the late 2000s.
Here you’ll find practical dishes, seasonal pantry rituals, and accessible ways to bring more comfort, health, and global flavor into everyday life.
Featured Class: Everyday Turkish — Lentil Soup + Winter Remedy
Learn how to make classic mercimek çorbası (Turkish red lentil soup) with an Aleppo pepper-infused butter finish, plus a quick honey lemon winter remedy used in Turkish households for generations.
Simple ingredients. Cozy flavors. Real nourishment.
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: Seasonal Kitchen Remedies That Actually Help
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.
From the Kitchen Journal
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Virginia’s Vittles — Everyday nourishment for real life.
Turkish flavors • Herbal remedies • Local ingredients • Seasonal cooking
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