Welcome to Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen!
Hi, I’m David Gates the author behind Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen. (FMK) is a food blog dedicated to my adventures in the kitchen. It was created because I was looking for an easy way to work with my favorite recipes. Often times books, magazines, newspaper clippings etc. lack photos of the steps involved in making the dish or item. I’m a visual learner and seeing the steps involved in making a dish I feel is more useful.
I decided to take my favorite recipes and photograph them step-by-step. Once I have the article created I’m able to view this directly on my Apple iPad
No more propping open books, taping newspaper clippings to the kitchen cabinet. Now my frequently used recipes are available electronically and easily accessible on my iPad and phone. I hope you find the articles useful. Please comment on your favorite recipe or stop by our Pinterest, or Instagram feed and say hello.
Why the name Fuzzy Monkey?
The name Fuzzy Monkey is the trail name given to me by my friend Joe.
In 2007 I decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Before I embarked on this adventure I asked my good friend Joe to give me a trail name.
We’ve done a lot of traveling in the past so I felt comfortable asking for his opinion on a trail name. Fuzzy Monkey is what he gave me and to this day I’m known in the hiking community and to my close friends as Fuzzy Monkey.
It seemed fitting to title my food blog after my trail name. After all it would be pretty boring if I had just called it Dave’s food blog.
One reason hikers are given trail names is to differentiate themselves from other hikers. That same principle applies here and is why I’ve decided to title this site: Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen. It’s friendly, easy to remember and unique among the myriad of food blogs out there.
Why did you create a food blog?
There are several reasons I decided to create a food blog.
The first is simply, I like food, I like cooking, I like baking. With the development of this site, I’m able to share my work with those who are interested. I also found when I share something the first question people often ask is “Where can I get the recipe? or How did you make that? Now I can direct folks to Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen to discover this at their leisure.
Second is to document the recipes our family enjoys on a regular basis. I remember one December I sat down with my mother to create a list of Christmas cookies to make for the year. It occurred to me that I didn’t have all her recipes. In addition I had no idea how to make some of the cookies on the list.
Sure I’ve watched and helped out, but to actually make them from start to finish on my own was never a priority or something that even interested me until I had my own family.
Third, is for the convenience factor, once the articles have been created and posted they are easily accessible on a phone or iPad while working in the kitchen.
Sure it takes additional time to photograph the steps and then create the articles, but I enjoy the process. While most food blogs focus on the photography, Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen focuses on the process and steps of making a recipe. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy great looking food as much as the next gal or guy. However, my articles are meant to be used and referenced while you are actually in the kitchen working on the recipe. At least that is the focus when creating my articles. All the articles are mobile phone and tablet friendly.
How did you get started?
I started referring to the hand written recipes my mother has on 3 X 5 index cards. I also made a mental note that I wanted to learn my mother’s secrets to cooking.
Both of my parents are excellent cooks and this trait has rubbed off on me. Recently, I’ve wanted to take an active role to really learn my mothers marinara sauce, and my father’s chicken noodle soup. Little did I know how gratifying it would be to create these dishes for people in my life.
I have more questions?
WHAT? You want to know even more about Fuzzy Monkey’s Kitchen or David? I created a frequently asked question (FAQ) page for those of you who have the desire to know even more.
