About

The Surfer's Kitchen is all about eating real food, exploring the planet and living life to the fullest.

Almost all of the recipes on this site are developed, photographed and written by me.

My name is Karla and the kitchen is where I feel most creative.  I am a full time marine biologist, an entrepreneur (check out my side hustles, SURFIT USA and Adventure Business Pro) and a hands on mom.  I started cooking and writing about it in 2008 when we moved from Hawaii to Florida and we really missed our Hawaiian favorites.

Since then, I have switched gears a bit to focus on recipes inspired by the coastal places we love. Salmon recipes inspired by the Pacific Northwest, Hawaiian poke recipes, amazing flavors and combinations from our travels in Japan, Azores, Puerto Rico and other island and coastal locations. As a marine biologist, I want to ensure we are enjoying seafood in a way that is both good for us and the environment.

Welcome to The Surfers Kitchen!

Wanna know a bit more?  Read on for my FAQs.

Why do you write about food?

I love it.  Food doesn't talk back--and usually sits still for pictures.  And, I just love feeding people.  I think it may have something do with being Portuguese but I just feel better when I can feed people.  I have been working recipe development, recipe testing and writing for the past seven years.   I started blogging years ago with my now-retired, site Forty Cakes and recently decided it was time to start fresh, with new recipes and a new focus that corresponds to our lifestyle.

What kind of food do you write about?

Almost anything.  We are a very diverse group of eaters and I have grown accustomed to preparing all kinds of different meals.  In our small family we have the following food restrictions:  gluten free, vegan, Paleo, vegetarian, pescatarian, die-hard carnivore, and sugar monster. More recently, I have tried to shift my focus to sustainable seafood and recipes made without refined sugar but every once in a while something extra decadent will sneak its way in.

We stick with fresh ingredients, local and organic as often as possible and try to avoid the processed stuff.

What is your other business? 

We are the owners and operators of a stand up paddleboard/surf business (read more about that here) and lead groups of people on stand up paddleboard tours worldwide.  We also teach surf and paddleboard camps to kids, teens, and even adults.  We are going into our 11th year of running our business and we have learned so much.  We started the business with NO CAPITAL and have kept it going.  (Check back later for that story....it is definitely enough for a few blog posts.)

What do you do for fun?

We love to travel.  When we aren't off enjoying a new place, we are trying to plan the next trip.  When we are home, we spend our days at the beach, paddling or surfing.    We love being outside--even in the heat of the Florida summers.