About

Hounds in the Kitchen is the chronicle of the urban homestead occupied by Rachel Tayse Baillieul and family.

About Us

Rachel, Alex, Lillian, and their two dogs live in the mid 1900s neighborhood of Clintonville in Columbus Ohio.  They grow a large organic garden on their small urban lot.  They cook for themselves, friends, and family in their recently renovated kitchen.

Rachel is a former school teacher, current food educator, and locavore.  She loves eating vegetables, walking, and preserving the season’s bounty.

Prizing efficiency, Rachel has learned through years of practice how to enjoy homegrown foods year round.  She is an expert at eating seasonally in central Ohio and cooking with heirloom garden crops.

Rachel offers hands-on cooking classes, demonstrations, and garden tours.  You can view current events on the Events Page. Contact her to arrange a specialized class, consultation or speaking engagement. Rachel also offers freelance writing and social media services.

Alex is a engineer who works for the federal government, a job which requires him to travel every other month or so.  He enjoys cooking, curing and eating meat, wood working, and bourbon.

Lillian, also known as Lil, is an active curious six year old.  She likes to dance, maintain her flowering edible garden, and help care for our the animals. She attended the School for Young Children for preschool and is now homeschooled. Lil’s Dot Com is Lillian’s own infrequently updated blog.

Devorguilla (aka Devie, the big hound) is a ten year old blue tick coonhound adopted from the Capital Area Humane Society.  She bays like all good hounds and is never far away from food. In October 2010, Devie’s left eye was removed due to a persistent infection.

Hawise (aka Wissi, the little hound) is a four year old, eight pound dachshund mix also adopted from the Capital Area Humane Society.  She is Lil’s best friend.

Both dogs were named after Alex’s ancient relatives.

Four chickens joined the homestead in March of 2010. They provide us with eggs, eat our table scraps, and are terribly entertaining.

About the Blog

Hounds in the Kitchen was born in late 2008 as a way to record the kitchen renovation in our nearly 100 year old house. After the renovation was complete, Rachel continued to write about the goings-on in the kitchen.

This blog now encompasses the whole life of the Hound homestead, including travel, gardening, homeschooling, and food preserving.

Rachel has been quoted in a variety of publications including the New York Times, the Columbus Dispatch, Hobby Farm Home, and Columbus Alive. In September 2011, she recorded an episode of Digital 411 with Ericka Pryor on Niche Blogging available for free on itunes.

Disclosure

In the spirit of transparency and FTC compliance, know that:

*links to books and cooking tools are often Amazon Affiliate links.  It is always preferable that you shop locally, but if you happen to purchase from an Amazon Affiliate link, we earn a small percentage.

*Rachel will disclose in the post when she writes about something that was a gift or promotion from the manufacturer or publisher.

*all endorsed events are searched out by Rachel herself.  If she receive any gifts or promotions beyond press credentials, you will read a disclosure.