Seat Number 3: Kristy Walker

(Intro by Becca)
This blog is quite fitting for Kristy Walker, for in my mind, the words “Kristy” and “table” are inextricably linked. I think of us sitting around the table cutting fabric, sewing buttons on homemade Christmas cards, playing games late into the night, eating (of course!), and all the while, we have shared great conversations. At the table, we’ve been keeled over in laughter, shared our plans and dreams, and built a beautiful friendship. I hope to sit across the table from Kristy as two wrinkly women, eating really, really good food.

Kristy is so many things—brilliant event planner and manager in the hotel industry, fearless adventurer, spending last year with her husband in Peru, among other backpacking/rock climbing/camping outings, faithful, dedicated member of the LDS Church, and I could go on…but to me, Kristy’s most admirable quality is her loving service. She really puts love into everything, and nothing says love like her food. For instance, her rolls! The rolls! Warm and doughy and buttery and….LOVE! So many times since I’ve met Kristy, I have met her at my door, and she’s holding a huge bowl of homemade soup. Mmmmm…there is absolutely nothing better than opening the door to find a great friend who has made me some great food. I simply cannot wait to incorperate some of her lovely recipes that she posts into my own repertoire.

When thinking about Kristy’s prowess in the kitchen, I always marvel at her innate baking abilities. It’s like she’s a baking psychic and just absolutely *knows* the very second that the dough is mixed enough or those cookies or cake or bread needs to come out. This is a skill so totally foreign to me that if I happen to be in the kitchen with Kristy, I try to observe her closely and figure out how she does it. To no avail! All I know is that she has “the gift”, so I will just continue to eat her food and benefit that way. And, how appropriate is it that Kristy the baker has her own bun in the oven! We can’t wait to meet baby boy Walker at the end of December, but until then, Kristy has to be one of the most darling prego ladies I know.

There is one last thing I’d like to share about Kristy: she is a master baker, as mentioned, but she also is a force to be reckoned with at the grill. In the summers here in New Haven, our friends get together to barbecue on Sunday nights, and as we flip our meager burgers and dogs, Kristy whips out her perfectly-seasoned 2-pound fillet of Wild King Salmon that her dad caught in Alaska and shipped to her on ice. She has so many great grilling ideas, and I can’t wait to read her upcoming posts this summer!

I am very happy to introduce this wonderful, wonderful women to you. We are the last two grad school wives of the bunch to still live in New Haven and will still share time at the table for the next little while until Kristy, her husband Paul, and babe Walker head off to a new, exciting place, while Paul does a medical residency in ear/nose/throat. However, I feel fortunate to share this table for 7 with Kristy for much longer! Cheers to you, Kristy Walker!