My name is Sierra. My love of food, possibly similar to yours, came from a long line of culture passed to me through my grandparents. I am an American woman, but the blood of my ancestors ran through Puerto Rico, Armenia, and Ireland – just to name a few. I have spent my entire life teaching myself how to cook. I have had the opportunity to learn from many talented people, and many more cook books.

In recent years, I have begun to pay homage to my roots. I have noticed that Americans have become infatuated with eating food, but not so much with the process of creating it in their homes. Our food culture has become saturated with review sites, television competitions, and tasting menus, making food inaccessible to many of our neighbors. My grandma Frieda would spend her weekends in the kitchen cooking up a storm to feed relatives that came up to the “country” from New York City. Sometimes she would have only a few guests, but more times than not her kitchen was overflowing with people all in a moment’s notice. I have become enamored by the idea of her community kitchen. Right in her home, she created a place to gather and share love, grief, laughter, and strife.

The best part about her community kitchen, all mixed up with Puerto Ricans and Armenians, is how symbolic it is of American food culture. “The melting pot” is still melting, whether you have a Czech grandmother’s pierogies, an Italian father’s homemade pasta, a Mexican family’s traditional tamales, or an Irish grandmother’s boxed mashed potatoes. These flavors have found each other through marriages, connection, and friendship. America has a unique palette because we have welcomed in so many cultures, and with that, so many flavor profiles. We are home to the most beautiful, international collection of food and recipes.

This is my blog, dedicated to our ancestors and the immigrants that continue to fight hard to call America their home. They deserve our thanks for the amazing food that has been brought to this nation, the food that we have brought into our homes and fed our families. This is The American Feast Collective.