Bon Appétit at 7,500 feet

Written By Kim McMahon

I’ve lived at high altitude between 6,000 and 9,000 feet nearly my entire life.

Outside of two brief years at lower elevation, I’ve learned to cook, bake, and adjust recipes where water boils faster, air is drier, and “follow the recipe” is more of a suggestion than a rule.

High-altitude cooking isn’t something I think about, it’s just how I cook.

A Love of Cooking (All of It)

Over the years, that practicality turned into something more: a genuine love of cooking in all its forms.

Types of cooking: Baking. Grilling. Roasting. Sous vide. Sautéing. Stewing. Braising. Air frying.

Many types of cuisines: French. Spanish. Italian. Asian. Mexican. American.

Sustainable food sources: I love farm-to-table cooking, but small-town mountain life doesn’t always cooperate. Sometimes it’s fresh produce from the farmer’s market, and sometimes it’s “what the grocery store had this week.

Figuring it out: And when I don’t have what I need or, I’m cooking in a barely-stocked vacation kitchen, I improvise. 

This blog is as much about substitutions and workarounds as it is about recipes. This blog isn’t about perfection, it’s about making great food. Some days it’s simple. Some days it’s ambitious. Most days it’s somewhere in between.

More Than Just Food

In my kitchen, it’s not just about meals, it’s about the full experience.

I cook and create for:

  • My dog (yes, she eats well)

  • Coffee lovers

  • Craft cocktail enthusiasts

  • Wine drinkers

Food (both human and dog) and drink go together. Always.

Why This Blog Exists

This blog is a place to share what I’ve learned and what I’m still figuring out.

High-altitude adjustments. Recipes that work (and the ones that don’t). Techniques that translate. And the occasional failure and how to recover from it. Because those happen too.

Who This Is For

If you:

  • Live at altitude

  • Are visiting Colorado

  • Are traveling and trying to cook somewhere unfamiliar

  • Or just love food and want to experiment

You’re in the right place. Expect Helpful tips, real recipes, and honest lessons. And probably a few stories where things don’t go as planned.

I hope you find this helpful. I hope you find it inspiring. And I definitely hope we laugh together at the fails.

Bon appétit!

Kim McMahon