Welcome

Hi, I’m Marina

Hi There! I am Marina and welcome to my kitchen (em kay is the pronunciation of my initials). I love easy recipes that I can get on the table fast, but also ones that taste good, of course:). My cooking carries Russian, American, German and maybe a little Kazakh influences.

I’ve also traveled extensively and I hope to share some of my experiences and stories as I share my recipes. I hope you join me on my cooking journey!

emkayskitchen about me

My Background

I’m a Russian American from Kazakhstan, currently living in Germany. I grew up and went to school in Minnesota, United States. I studied Business Administration, after which I worked for several years in a Customer Service position at a local community college. After a while, I needed something different to do. So I decided to study abroad which was always a dream of mine. I ended up going to Germany with my sister, since our family had relatives living there/here. I met my future husband here and we got married in the summer of 2015 and the rest is, as they say, history. Which means I’m stuck in Germany for a lot longer than anticipated:)

I ended up getting a job as a financial analyst and worked for a great company for several years. At the moment, I am a stay-at-home mom and am enjoying this season of my life (hurrah for babies!).

I started cooking as a teenager. Usually, just helping out my mom. Once I moved abroad, this is where I really started cooking myself. Since then, I have come a long way. I love finding new and tasty dishes to try out and love making the recipes work for me and my family. I hope you enjoy the foods as much as we do.

My Favorite recipes

My Food Philosophy

I believe food should taste good, but also that you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen creating it (there are so many other things to be doing). I love easy recipes that don’t require much time to put together. And I think you will see this reflected in my recipes. With that said, I am not afraid of trying more complicated foods and there are more advanced recipes on my blog, as well.

I believe the food we eat should be as natural as possible. I try to avoid processed foods as much as I can since what we eat has an impact on our health. I garden and love to eat the foods and vegetables that I grow, whenever possible. Again, with that said, if pressed for time or it’s more convenient, I might use something canned and/or processed.

Check out my current list of recipes by visiting my Recipes Page. I am constantly working on and adding new recipes to this list.

Fun Facts About Me

Favorite place

Switzerland

my weekends

friends & church

best snuggle buddies

my child

I’d rather be

where it’s warm

Listening to

usually nothing

grateful for

my family

Other Hobbies

I love traveling and have been to many wonderful countries such as Switzerland, England, Japan, and most recently Turkey.

I love reading books. It’s actually an addiction. If I start on a book, I can’t do much until I finish. My favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice.

I love gardening and my garden seems to grow every year. I usually plant tomatoes, cucumbers, lots of herbs and experiment with stuff like potatoes, pumpkins or whatever it is that strikes my fancy at that time.

Lately I discovered a new kind of hobby – creating websites. I really like doing geeky computer stuff, and this blog brought this to a whole new level. I guess I like making websites now, too. I had the honor of creating a local church’s website (see here: www.erb-kl.de) so the hobby is kind of expanding:)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blog and find some recipes that will become family-favorites.

All the best,

MK