Oh hi! My name is Willow and I’m an actor, writer, and definitely not a chef.
This whole food writing racket started for me in late 2010 when I was thinking about the upcoming New Year’s resolutions I would make and fail. After pondering the fact that I still hadn’t made it to Bhutan, learned to speak Spanish, or mastered the art of looking nonchalant in front of ex-boyfriends, I wanted 2011 to be different. I wanted to make a resolution that would be easy to keep, because I am fickle and lazy. I had piles of cookbooks in my hilariously tiny red kitchen (if you were over 6’2” you couldn’t fit) that sure looked good but were rarely used. I decided to try a new recipe every week, share it with at least one person, and document it in some way. So, The Little Red Chicken blog was hatched, because I’m bundles of cleverness and wit, and because the domain name for the little red kitchen was already being used.
For once in my life I managed to keep a resolution, had a great time, and after the year was up, I kept writing. Then I met a fella, switched kitchens and houses, had a baby, and posted on the blog pretty sporadically before switching over to Substack last year. I’m trying and sometimes failing to post once a week, but it’s fun here, and I’ll get better.
The little red chicken might evoke the idea of a sweet country farmhouse where I keep backyard hens and take pictures of well-lit smoothie bowls, but yeah, this is not that. The name might have stuck, but I’d rather be shot out of a cannon than look after chickens, and I drink my smoothies from a glass. But if you’re angry and hungry, welcome! And hey, if you’re not angry and just hungry, that’s okay too. Also, MAD respect if you keep backyard chickens. Can’t lie though, if you don’t like swearing and carbs, this might not work out. However, if you like emotional eating, cooking on a fire, occasional kitchen disasters, or yelling at the news so hard you have to bake a cake immediately, then I’m here for you. xo
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