ABOUT ME
HI, I’M STEPHANIE, FOUNDER OF VANILLA BEAN
So happy you’re here! What you can expect to find here are my favourite easy weeknight meals, desserts and some of my more involved passion projects, like my mom’s lasagna, mastering pie crust and more.
My journey with food and cooking only really started in my mid 20’s. In fact, as a child, it was a struggle to get me to eat at all. Suddenly, I found cooking fun and that I wasn’t half bad at it. I started to look recipes up on the internet and then bought my own cookbooks. I started with Giada De Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian and Family dinners, then on to The Barefoot Contessa and more. Those first books are still a treasured part of my collection.
Then, I became fully obsessed talking non-stop about what I’d made and how I made it to anyone who would listen, a coworker said, “Hey, I think you need a blog” to which I replied, “How do you do that?” and that’s how Vanilla Bean came to be and I haven’t looked back.
I hope you enjoy the recipes that I’ve got to share!
Featured
Sicilian Citrus Olive oil Cake
This is the only olive oil cake recipe you will need! It’s bright with citrus flavour, with just the right amount of sweetness and will stay fresh for days! In fact, most often, if the balance is just right, an olive oil cake will taste even better the following day and the day after that; flavours intensify slightly and unlike a cake made with butter, it’ll stay moist.
The roasted pistachios offer a pleasant flavour contrast and they look so darn pretty too!
