About

Hi! I’m Megan.

I’m a former aspiring opera singer living in central Ohio with my extremely cute, extremely ornery little boy. Semi-Refined Palate is the place where I catalog delicious recipes that are a little bit fancy and a little bit…well, not.

Going into my fourth decade of life, I didn’t expect to have to start over. But I’ve faced some adversity that not only forced me to do so; it gave me a lot of perspective on what really matters.

Now in my 30s I’m navigating the (incredibly challenging) waters of disability parenting while trying to rediscover who I am and the things that make me, well, me. Things like cooking, baking, creating, advocating, and dreaming.

Growing up I felt like I had a tug-of-war happening inside me. I cherish the traditions of the small town where I’m from, but I always yearned to live somewhere more exciting, diverse, and progressive. I love eating seasonally and local when possible, but my heart yearns for the exoticism of international foods too.

Cooking and baking have always brought me so much joy, and I hope that if you feel the same, I’ll inspire you to overcome your own obstacles and pursue what makes you truly happy.

I obsess over homemade, rustic food made with accessible ingredients. I was inspired to start this blog after borrowing a couple of old recipe boxes filled with recipes written by my great-grandmother and great-aunt. Here you’ll find recipes that you’ll get to know like the back of your hand – recipes that you can add to your very own recipe box.

I can’t promise that you’ll become a professionally trained chef when you try my recipes. But what I can promise is that if you stick around long enough, you can develop a Semi-Refined Palate too.

You can also find me on Instagram at @semirefinedpalate as well as on Pinterest and Facebook.

Got a story to share about your own journey to a Semi-Refined Palate? Contact me. I’d love to hear all about it.