Subee at Boulangerie Carton in Paris (stocking up on jambon/fromage baguette sandwiches and other treats for the flight home).
Subee, aka Susan B. Walter, is a real housewife of New Jersey. She is still coming to terms with this label, even though it’s been many years since she took early (really early) retirement from a marketing career at Mars, Inc. A Seattle native, Subee sold her prized 1968 Karmann Ghia a year after college graduation and moved to Paris. For two years she worked odd jobs, learned French, mastered flea-marketing, and ate a lot of really good food. With renewed patriotism (and a need for income), Subee returned to the U.S. and earned an MBA from Georgetown University. Then career, kids, blog. (Like with this paragraph, she tends to start things with great flair and then gets impatient to finish and move on.)
Subee’s (and the rest of the family’s) kitchen is a recently renovated space in the back of a 1905 colonial. It took 9 years of planning and one stressful year to build. Now – unlike most of the Bravo housewives – Subee actually uses her kitchen appliances every day. However, with 2 children and a bevy of other time demands, she’s always looking for shortcuts and ways to increase efficiency – both in the kitchen and around the house or garden. By definition, efficiency is “the ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.” Subee believes that by employing little tricks and working more efficiently, you can get great results (i.e., a delicious home-cooked meal or freshly baked cookies for afterschool snack) and still allow time for other activities (like volunteering or reading Us magazine).
Subee’s Kitchen “The Blog” is an evolving collection of Subee’s best tricks, tips, recipes and shortcuts – both in the kitchen and around the home. (She is a housewife, after all.) These may include make-ahead recipes and “engineered” leftovers, “Star Mom” tricks (like keeping cookie dough balls in the freezer and baking right before the bus comes), suburban vegetable gardening, shopping for and decorating with flea market finds, and other nuggets of domestic whizdom. She reads (and appreciates!) all comments posted on the blog, and will make every effort to reply to questions. You can also contact Subee directly at susanbwalter[at]gmail.com.
Leah helping make fresh fettucini.
Sophie helping separate eggs.
Sophie in the vegetable garden at the back of the house (during the remodeling project).
Back of the house (and new kitchen) completed.
The new kitchen looks out onto a patio and the vegetable garden. (Photo credit Katrina Mojzsez)
The cranberry sauce recipe sounds delicious! I love your approach to keeping Thanksgiving recipes so simple and classic. Can’t wait to read future posts!
I also endorse your approach to Thanksgiving! Who wants to look at disappointed faces across the table?
I made Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake… once.
You rock.
on my way to buy a butternut squash! your recipes never fail me! congratulations…..
Hi Subee! Happy to have discovered your blog. Hope to see you one of these days when you venture out to the west coast again.
xo Shauna
Happy to have finally made my way to your blog. Love it and looking forward to my next shopping list. I haven’t said that in a while. Congrats!
Emma really wants to start her own culinary blog now(Avery thinks that is a good idea too!):)
Hi, Sue!
Your blog is terrific! So many tempting (and brilliant) ideas. Until Sara explained your business card, I didn’t realize I could tap into your treasure trove of good ideas via the web.. I agree with you (heartily) about birthdays…and am thrilled to see pictures of your recent trip. Our tiny Paris apartment was right above the market near where you bought cheese…so your account made us eager to return! But first there are several receipes I’m eager to try,….starting with the corn chowder. More, soon!
Love,
A.Krispie
I love reading your Blog Sue!! Congratlations again on your win! It was delicious.. I am going to make the Cilantro Lime Sauce this week…I will try at least:)
Hi Sue,
I too worked at a Baskin Robbins, Port Washington, NY, in high school. Of course I tried every 31wondelful+ flavor, put on some unwanted pounds, and still have fond, mouthwatering memories of pumpkin pie ice cream at halloween, and peppermint stick at Christmas time. Then, I also traveled Europe in college, and remember sweetly my 1st gelato…hazelnut, in Florence, Italy. I’ll never forget how absolutely delicious it was! More recently, around 10 years ago, I meet my friend’s husband who went to high school in my home town, but what drew me to him was his work. He started Ciao Bella, a gelato company. I found him fascinating. Like me, he loved gelato. More importantly, to work at something you love is something special. He put in years of hard work building the business, then sold it. Guess where he landed now…SaraBeth’s Kitchen. Another perfectly yummy company! Sue, you’ve found your passion… cooking, and you’re spreading the good word to your bloggers. I say “Amen” to that!
yours truly,
Stacy F.
Sue,
I also love reading your blog… you know me and my behind the times way of thinking – hard to get me to sit on a computer for long, unless it is work related! But your blog is stellar! I love the way you incorporate photos into all of your recipes. The visuals are mouth watering. I know where to go when I am ready to make something “new”.
Monica
Sue,
as promised, here I am, I love this, you are a women after my own heart. Anybody who knows me knows I am not what someone would call a “great cook”however, I am,however, surrounded by great eaters. My son LOVES RIBS, my daughter LOVES to cook, that being said I will be visiting your page quite often! The visuals are terrific. Your blog ROCKS !!!!
Alex C
Thanks, Alex!
Happy to have come across your lovely blog. Great recipes x
Thank you, PJ Girl! I’ll be checking out your blog as well. Cheers
I found out about you through Houzz and your spectacular yet timeless and tasteful kitchen renovation. I’m so glad to learn more about you!
Thank you! Come back and visit soon.
Hi, Sue!
Love your kitchen – and now your website! I recently found you through Houzz as my husband and I are planning a kitchen remodel. When I saw your kitchen on the website I was floored because it is almost identical to the way I wanted ours to lay out. We already have the bay window like yours; we just have to knock down a side wall and install an island, redo the cabinets, etc. The open house picture was a great visual for me, too, so I could “peer” into your kitchen and envision what our home could look like, especially for entertaining. I am so excited to get started! One question: what type of floor – maple, oak, mahogany, etc. (and color?) did you use? Would love to duplicate that also. Thank you for any information you can share. Can’t wait to start trying your recipes, too…
Hi – Thanks for checking out the Kitchen! Our flooring is fir (which is naturally reddish, but it’s stained in MinWax Puritan Pine), because we were trying to match the rest of the 100-yr-old house. However, I don’t think I would recommend it unless you too have an open floor plan and are trying to match existing flooring. It is VERY soft. Good luck with your project!
Thanks for your help. Looking forward to trying your recipes and keeping up with your blog. Have a good one!
Do you like your marble countertop? Etching and staining as bad as they claim? Did you go w honed or polished? I have to choose very soon. Everyone warns me but its so beautiful! Hope you have time to reply! Thanks! Ps. I have 4 independent boys who like to use the kitchen but don’t always like to clean up after themselves! Teens might be worse than toddlers! Ha
Hi Tya – I love my marble countertop and haven’t had any issues with staining. I do have quite a few etching spots, though. (It happens instantly upon contact with acids such as lemon juice, vinegar, OJ, etc.) These are only visible if you’re looking for them, and they don’t bother me. But you should be aware of the issue. If you’re set on white marble but are nervous about your other kitchen users, you could look into a product/application called ClearStone (clearstoneusa.com) They claim it protects marble from stains and etching for up to 15 years. I’m intrigued by it, but would be nervous to affect the natural “feel” of my marble slab. Hope this helps!
Hello Subee, I came across your kitchen on Houzz, I actually added a post about several items I had questions about. I have about the same size room but no bay window planned. It is actually a huge picture window. I was wondering if you have time to take a look and shoot some advice my way? I know you have answered tons of questions. I love you blog as much as I love your kitchen.
Thanks, Hollye. Why don’t you send me an email at susanbwalter[at]gmail.com and we can talk about it.