About Ali
Hey! I’m Ali, and I am so happy that you found your way here to Gimme Some Oven.
I created this little corner of the internet to celebrate life around the table and the good food that bring us all together. Here in our house, we gravitate towards recipes that are quick, easy, seasonal, (mostly) healthy, and big on flavor. So whether that’s whipping up a quick stir-fry or batch of cozy wild rice soup in the wintertime, blending up some refreshing gazpacho with sangria in the summertime, making our millionth batch of tacos and margs on Tuesdays, or baking up a warm batch of cinnamon rolls and eggs benny for sunny weekend brunches — my heart is never more happy than when my table is filled with good food and good people gathered ’round.
If that sounds like your style too, you’ve got a kindred spirit right here. ♡
A bit about me.
When I began this blog back in 2009, I was working as a full-time musician by day and cooking up a storm by night. Now, I have the privilege of doing all of the recipe-developing and writing for this site as my full-time job. And more than a decade into blogging, I can honestly say that I still absolutely love it. Seeing the recipes that I create here in my tiny kitchen show up on your tables around the world makes my heart deeply so happy, and I work hard to be sure that this site continues to be a trustworthy resource for you to turn to.
Beyond the blog, I’m a born-and-raised Kansas girl who’s currently living the expat life for awhile in Barcelona, Spain. We try to make the most of those crazy-cheap RyanAir tickets and travel on the weekends around Europe as much as possible. But when we’re home, you can find us soaking up sunny terraces with friends, taking the pups for long walks along the shore, enjoying endless tapas and glasses of vermut, and just enjoying our cozy little apartment here in the city center.
To follow more along with life and reflections behind-the scenes, feel free to follow my personal Instagram account. And for anyone interested, I also share there about our infertility and IVF journey too.
A bit about my food philosophy.
So what kinds of recipes will you see here on Gimme Some Oven?
Short answer: a little bit of everything.
The food that I share on the blog is the food that we eat here in our home. And as an omnivore married to a vegetarian, the majority of the meals in our house are now plant-based. (So some of you long-time readers may notice that meat dishes have become less common on here.) One of the things I also love about living in Barcelona is that the markets here are strictly seasonal — as in, you couldn’t find fresh watermelon or tomatillos here in December if you tried — which has been great extra motivation to cook with seasonal produce as much as possible.
The majority of our meals during the weekdays fall in the 30-minutes-or-less category. But I also love cozying up with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of wine on the weekends and diving into recipes that require a bit more time, like our favorite Swedish cinnamon buns or Spanish paellas or DIY maki rolls for “Sushi Sundays.” You may notice that we also have a major weakness for Mexican food, noodles of all kinds, soups and various kinds of cookies around here. And while most of my recipes are on the healthier side, I definitely also enjoy indulging in some indulgent sweets and comfort foods on occasion.
So as always, please always feel free to take whatever recipes you love on here and leave the rest. And if you ever have specific recipe requests, don’t hesitate to let me know because I love to cook what you’re craving!
Thank you.
More than anything, I just want to say thank you so much for being here, and I hope that this site can play some small part in making your days a little brighter and tastier. Cheers, everyone. ♡
Love,
Ali
Love your blog! I discovered it when searching for enchiladas which I made last night and they were delicious (with the homemade sauce)! Just read about you living in Barcelona – one of my favorite cities in the world! So much to discover and enjoy there – la boqueria – one of my favorites! Keep on sharing your great recipes! Gracias!
I laughed riotously, with joy, when I first saw the name of your blog! What an amazing adaptation, lol!
Thank you for your eclectic taste, and excellent tips and tricks!
D
I’m impressed. I usually grab and go off allrecipes.com or other, but I went outside my comfort zone and found you… nicely done here. Keep it up!
Hola!
So, I just stumbled across your blog looking for a Jambalaya recipe. It looked pretty good and am now set out to make it here at home best I can from where I live (and during the covid lockdown). I then looked here on your “About” and got a real kick. In short, my girlfriend and I are from the states, Florida, but she is from Puerto Rico originally. In 2017 we followed a crazy dream and moved to Spain as well! We came to start our own restaurant and have one now on Mallorca! We initially moved to Asturias and rented a restaurant there for about a year and a half and we decided to move to a more warmer climate as Julia could not take the winters in the mountains being an island girl. So, from one expat to another, hola neighbor!
As a side note, I’d be curious if you have some versions of these recipes based (or tweaked) to what we can get here. I can get a lot of things from the big market in Palma, but for instance, I have yet to find Andouille and use chorizo criollo. And for the restaurant we have altered many recipes trying to use as many local ingredients as we can to blend them into a “local” version. We cook with Sobrassada a lot as well.
Un Abrazo,
Matt y Julia
Ali,
So enjoy learning about you and how you began this site. I am a recent “fan” of this site. Your advice on how to cook a delicious chicken breast has changed my family’s dinner time! Tonight we are trying the Moo Shu Chicken….the directions, tips and videos are exactly what I need.
Sometimes I would like to cancel dinner time, but know that isn’t possible. My family wouldn’t go for that ……
Then I look for recipes, end up at your site and get excited about cooking again.
I hope you are well, especially in light of COVID-19. Many people are cooking much more at home now. When friends ask what to make I start them with your chicken breasts, the recipe/ideas that got me started.
Thank you so much!
?❤️?
Hi Ali, I’ve been following your blog for awhile and I have really enjoyed your posts. I have a 14 year old daughter who has loved cooking & travel, and she is currently looking into different career paths. She has dyslexia and school has always been a struggle when it comes to reading and writing. Thankfully with modern technology, she can have anything on the web read aloud to her and there is great software for speech to text. So the world of learning is at her fingertips. I was wondering if you would ever consider answering some of her own personal questions about your journey to creating this blog about food and travel and some of the obstacles you’ve overcome while you have been on the blogging adventure. Thank you for considering.
Just found you when I was looking for a fried rice recipe. All recipes before yours that I have made have always been lacking. I was making the grilled chicken teriyaki from Cook’s County last night and wanted fried rice to accompany that dish. I followed your recipe to a T. Made rice at noon so it could get cold. You said the key to the recipe is the butter, cold rice (I am always in a hurry and my rice has never been cold) the sesame oil and the oyster sauce _ you were right. The dish was perfect. I signed up for the your email. Now if your Caesar salad and shrimp scampi turn out like the rice oh how happy I will be. Will go out there to look at yours soon.
Thank You
Karen from Salisbury NC.
Hi from Puerto Rico! I randomly found your website when I was looking for a Scalloped Potatoes. After doing the recipe, which was delicious, I started reading and browsing your website. I have to tell you that I’m so happy I found your blog. In this quarantine I have cooked so many new things and I’m always looking for new things to cook. Definitely I will be doing more of your recipes. Keep you posted on the outcome. ??
Thank you so much from Las Vegas for sharing all of this! ?
Ali, I made the No Knead Bread and want to know how i can get tithe “mouse holes” in my loaf.
Oh! How happy am I that I found your site.
During quarantine I have made your:
Shrimp tacos
Lasagna
Flour tortillas
Key lime pie
Chicken carnitas
All have been a hit!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes and talents with the world.
XS
Syracuse,NY
Hello ALI!
Well….this site took me down a rabbit hole I didn’t expect….
Searching for beef jerky and stumbled on yours…then checking the other recipes I found myself doing “open in new tab” a billion times and then Pin, Pin, Pin, Pin.
I can’t wait to start in on the recipes.
But first…..JERKY!
(I’ll have to come back and check out the Barcelona move….)
I loved it! And what a great life you have I luv your two doggys!!!!!???- Love,Alexa
We clicked on your site because you titled your mole sauce, “holy mole sauce,” and your website, “gimmesomeoven,” and we’re word nerds. We were in! Glad to be here and thank you for sharing your travels, life and food with us.
Hello Ali,
A friend just sent me your information because I have embarked on making the best lemon sorbet on the planet and she knew you had one!
We spent a month in Spain a year ago and I loved everything about Barcelona. Since I was raised in Santa Barbara, California I felt at home. And, I loved the hustle and bustle of life there.
I look forward to being on your journey with you.
Thank you,
Wendy
Hi Ali,
Your story leading into the recipe pulled me in! During COVID, we are running a little low on food varieties, with frozen chicken and a few other items, I decided to make chicken fried rice. Now this is about the 100th attempt, and they were all failure up until now. I too, fell in love with Chicken and/or Vegetable Fried Rice while in college. I was an XC and Track runner at VA Tech, with little money, the Chinese Food was the best bang for the buck. I fell in love with it. Well, at age 52, I love to cook, however, I had given up on Fried Rice. Tonight I was inspired and stumbled upon your recipe through a Google Search. Your personal story hooked me about your passion for this meal (parallel to my love for it). My greatest failure was simply never cooling the rice!!! Nasty Starch balls with vegetables. I love to cook so I actually had the Oyster Sauce, Soy, and Sesame that you called for, as well as all the other ingredients. It was a huge success and I can’t thank you enough. My 19 year old son devoured nearly 3 lbs of the meal. Luckily I made a large batch, along with the chicken. Thank you! I hope you and your husband are enjoying Spain! My wife and I loved the Flamenco Guitar and Dancing in the theaters with the wonderful Catalonians. Keep up your great work!!
I am very impressed with your recipes! I just found your website looking for a salmon taco recipe. They seem easy enough! I never leave comments on any site but I am very impressed with you and your history.
I will be praying for you and your husband regarding your infertility. I haven’t been to your instagram site but i know how challenging that could be.
Thank you for your recipes
Take care
Imee
Ali,
I have tried your recipe for Arrabbiata sauce and Marinara sauce and they have been both popular with my family. I like your recipe for simplicity and at same authentic for what it stands for it. Next I am looking forward to try your Gazpacho recipe. I have added my own twist to your recipe with good results and at the same are healthy. Don’t be afraid to use butter and olive in your recipe, they are both healthy in moderation and lot better than carbohydrates and pure cane sugar or fructose.
I am physician Radiologist and cooking and making wine are my hobbies that I have explored for last 10-15 years. I have visited many vineyards of the world and on occasion cooked with chefs in Italy and France. My ultimate interest is to pair food with different wine and explore possibilities. I thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. You have a new fan in Indiana, a transplant from India.
Thanks and best regards, Shodhan Patel, M. D.
Please excuse me, this has nothing to do with food, and hope you will tolerate this dissertation. I got your site from a dear friend, Mimi, who knew you from COR in OP, KS. I am also a KS bred girl. My daughter and I have taken mother/daughter trips since she was 16, she is now 35. We have been fortunate enough to travel abroad, but mostly iconic or non-iconic placed in the US. When she was at K-State; she studied in Orvieto, Italy and I spent Spring Break with her (speaks volumes about her old soul and character to spend time with her mom). As of 3 years ago, I have a daughter-in-law, born in Honduras, moved to US when she was 9, gained US citizenship and married my son, he scored big with that one. For the first time, she is joining us. She wants to go to Spain and bonus is fluent in Spanish. Now to the crux (finally you say..). We had considered going in Sept of this year, but feel that the COVID climate would not support, and should wait until next Spring. What is the climate and do you agree? We got stuck in New York transit strike in ’05 and felt like it was part of the adventure.. In addition my wanting you to have background on our endeavors to assure we are not looking for a place to stay, no one to cook for us, ONLY your guidance on the country and atmosphere. Not stalking, don’t expect to meet you or your pups. :) Thank you for wading though this request. Have a super rest of your summer!
Hi Ali,
I came upon your website googling for sun-dried tomatoes and ended up looking at the recipes coz I really liked the name gimmesomeoven. After reading about three or four recipes it was while I was finishing the gazpacho recipe that I saw your picture and realized something. Quickly going to your about section I had my doubts answered. My name is Tojo, I’m from India. I am Toby’s older brother. He has spoken about Barclay, you, your food blog many times, and also about you guys showing them around on their trip to Spain last year. So strange to accidentally come up on your site this way. Anyway, great site, great recipes. Can’t wait to try a few starting with the gazpacho.
Searching for salsa recipes and found your blog. Love it.
Thank you for sharing❤️
thanks for the recipe, me and my family of eight children will love this!
Chicken enchiladas with the homemade sauce – fabulous!
Hi Ali,
I have today discovered your wonderful website when looking for a focaccia recipe. So many delicious recipes that are also healthy that I can’ t wait to try.
Hope you, hubby and dogs are keeping well in Barcelona.
It has been a long held dream to visit Barcelona and one day I will once I can again safely travel outside of Australia.
Keep the fab recipes coming :o)
Recipe book please?
Even if it’s just a download I can print myself & put inside a 3 ring binder… please! Love your recipes, hard for me to look at my iPad screen for too long.
I’m recovering from. A Stroke and love to cook,so have been looking and reading cooking so when I can I’ll be ready. My right side and hand are right now are waisted. Hope not too away. I’m in NC and Tenn right now with my 2 kids they are doing great. I’m going to try making some cookies today. Keep me mind when you are writing.
I just tried the baked chicken breast with the black pepper/ paprika seasoning. I did have to vary the ingredients a little but they are still scrumptious (guys, DO NOT skip the Brining Step!) I had tried a thigh recipe from this site before (I’m a novice cook, and it looked easy). They were fabulous. Bookmark this blog!
Hello Ali.
I was working on a project and while doing so, I had to find some of the best sites for recipes and specially in that specific time, Grilled Chicken Recipe(Kebab).
I found your site and it was (and is) great. First of all, thank you so much.
The reason I’m typing this right now is that My name is Ali too, but the point is, I’m a Man, living in Iran.
Actually I had no idea that Ali is also a girly name and that really shocked me so much, while being really cool.
BTW, thank you again for your beautiful site, delicious meals that I’ll have from now on and of course, the cool fact that you’re Ali too.
Hi Ali,
My husband and I love ALL of your recipes. The first recipe of yours that we tried were the scalloped potatoes. They were a hit with us and everyone that we have made them for loves them, too. Wondering if you have a paella recipe?
Your enchilada sauce recipe is the best we’ve ever eaten. Even our most selective eater likes it. Thank you!!!
Loved reading your brief but interesting bio!! Am new to this site but know there are “cooking things” for me to learn here!! Thank you…
I was looking for a recipe for my large cabbage when I ran across your blog. I made the cabbage, sausage and potato soup. Not having sausage I used 100% Beef franks. It was delicious. Of course I had to divide it with my neighbor. Keep making great recipes and enjoy your time abroad. ❤️
Hey Ali,
Love your website! Good luck on the Baby!
God Bless!
Hi Ali, I just tried your boneless, skinless, chicken breast, brining It for 2hrs!!
OMG!! I am sold on your recipes and will try more!
I always end up back to none in & skin never getting the right moisture with all these “I swear my recipe is succulent” recipes & although they can be tasty NEVER, this moist!!
Thank you so much !!
Hey Ali! I just tried the Mulled Wine Recipe and it was delicious!!
Here in Peru the cuisine is super yummy so now I’m really curious to try your recipes. Especially now that we’re on lockdown with lots of free time to cook… I’ll keep you updated!! :P
Thanks,
Luis Felipe.
Hello!
Just tried your gazpacho recipe. Wow! Excellent recipe!!! I love the freshness of raw veggies, and this gazpacho really hits the spot. Having been out of work due to the pandemic, I’ve had plenty of time to spend preparing meals and trying different edibles. I’ve made multiple batches of pico de gallo, chicken taquitos topped with the pico de gallo, cream Mexicana, cotija cheese, and some salsa roja.
I will be checking out other recipes here on your site, as the gazpacho is incredibly delicious. I also like the addition of the cumin.
Here’s to great food and ongoing culinary adventures!
Jennifer
I really wanted to take a shot at your homemade enchilada sauce. While the right ingredients there was no info on proportions, i.e. measurements. If I missed a link please bring me up to speed.
Thanks!
Rick
Hi Ali,
I have just discovered your blog and truly enjoy your explanations as well as your recipes. I think I can do most things with directions and a timer.
The baked chicken was moist and fabulous. Tonight we had baked salmon that was moist and tasty, simple and easy to prepare in a brief amount of time. I look forward to using more of your plant-based recipes as well.
It was also fun reading about you and your husband and your dogs.
Keep up the good work.
Sharon
Love your Recipes! I taught Spanish, German and French for 18 years, and in ’73, hitch-hiked to N spain to buy a guitar, (Flamenco) it was 1000s of pesetas, I calculated $37 us dollars. During December of each school year I taught my students Christmas songs in these 3 languages. Still have it and play by ear. You are blessed to be en Espana! En vez de estar en los eeuu, con un dictador…
While I was in Alemania, como estudiante de intercambio, ( 1975-6) Se murio/ Francisco Franco. Despues, la economia se florizo/. So glad you are in Sunny Spain!
Abrazos a ustedes dos,
The baked pork chops were great. My only suggestion for the recipe is to include the temperature you bake the chops at. I searched a number of other recipes to find a temperature best for baking. Not a big deal.
Hi Ali,
I just came across your blog looking for pasta from scratch recipes. I am hoping to make lasagna from your recipe as well! Love your blog. Do you happen to have a recipe for Fabada Asturiana? I have a hankering for some.
best receta eve i love it
From one musician to another, your days of being a musician were my nights have been a musician! I was a road musician for many many years. Trying to stay on task, love love your recipes, keep them coming, and I especially love your fried rice recipe! It was one of my late husband’s favorite recipes to make, and after he passed away, I found the recipe it started making it for myself. I found out that I could make a lot, then freeze it in smaller bunches. The trick with rice being frozen, you can thaw it out, only do it in the refrigerator over a couple of days. I do the same for blocks of cheese that I don’t use all the time. Enjoy your life adventure!
Dear Ali,
your recipes sound wonderful and I’d love to try out lots of them. Do you think there is a possibility that they could be converted to metric units? Since you live in Europe now, perhaps you might even get used to grams, liters and centigrades…..
Cheers
Valerie
Ali, thanks for your fun recipes! It’s funny how randomly I look for a recipe and get drawn to yours since they are always easy to follow and consistently tasty!
Keep them coming!
Namita from Atlanta
Wanted to let you know that whenever I search a recipe and one of yours pops up, it’s always my first to try. Thanks so much for doing what you do! Be well.
Ali, you’ve got some spark and excitement for production. Here in OKC, mixing up your Smoky Apple Cider Margs, for tomorrow nite’s Soiree w/ a few couples. rock on girl.
Hey Ali,
I stumbled on your website a few months ago to look for the “Fried Rice Recipe”. I love fried rice and I wanted the BEST fried rice. And I searched and searched and I decided to give your website a try. ( During Lockdown I was bored anyways) You are doing a great job for your website and I am searching more recipes now and they are so helpful! I love your Tiramisu recipe! ( I love desserts and sweets) That one is one of my FAVORITES! Hope you are doing well and God bless!
-Ann
love these recipes!
Hi–I just want to tell you I finally found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever–yours!! I live in Utah where the altitude is near 4000 feet high. My previous cookies just were flat. What a waste of time and money. My granddaughter in law gave us her cookies with cornstartch and they were so delicious and fluffy. She forgot to give me her recipe, so I searched on the Internet and chose your recipe. I made them two days ago and there are two left. They’re so delicious, golden, and round. Thank you.
Diana Neves
When will your cookbook come out? Seriously, your recipes have really maintained my sanity during quarantine. We’ve made so many of your recipes, I wish I could give you money and get a real bound book.
Thank you! Tracy