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‘Two Peas and Their Pod’ blogger Maria Lichty dishes out a new cookbook

Maria Lichty from “Two Peas and Their Pod” blog will sign her new cookbook during a dinner hosted by Hearth and Hill on Thursday.
Photo by Trisha Terry

What: Maria Lichty of “Two Peas and Their Pod”

When: 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14

Where: Hearth and Hill, 1153 Center Drive at Kimball Junction

Web: twopeasandtheirpod.com

Maria Lichty, founder of the Salt Lake City-based “Two Peas and Their Pod” food blog, will partner with Brooks Kirchheimer, co-owner of Hearth and Hill at Kimball Junction, to show Park City food lovers how easy it is to create tasty, fresh and family-friendly meals on Thursday.

From 5-7 p.m., Lichty will be at the restaurant, 1153 Center Drive, to sign the new “Two Peas and Their Pods Cookbook” while the restaurant serves a meal taken from its pages.

The meal will include butternut squash soup, steak tacos and a skillet cookie with ice cream, Lichty said.



“I talked with Brooks about what we should serve, and we narrowed down recipes to match the season and to fit the styles of what Hearth and Hill has on its menu,” Lichty said.

We wanted a book people would open up, spatter with sauces, and write notes in it…” Maria Lichty, “Two Peas and Their Pod” food blogger

The cookbook, which is available on Amazon and at twopeasandtheirpod.com, was released in September, 11 years after Lichty and her husband Josh started the blog in 2008.



“We’ve been approached to do a cookbook several times over the years, but it was never the right fit or the timing wasn’t good for us,” she said. “So, we held out until now.”

Lichty knew she wanted to fill the cookbook with memorable recipes that people would want to make over and over again.

“We didn’t want to make a pretty cookbook that would just stay on the shelf after you’ve made one or two of the recipes,” she said. “We wanted a book people would open up, spatter with sauces, and write notes in it, whether they are cooking a weeknight dinner, Saturday morning pancakes for their families or for entertaining guests on Thanksgiving or Christmas.”

Food can be a great way to socialize and learn about different cultures, Lichty said.

“We have a saying: ‘Our kitchen is always open,’ because food is always more fun when you can share it with each other,” she said. “We love gathering people around the table or having them visit us on game days and holidays to share desserts, whatever it is.”

Lichty enjoys teaching about food.

“When people say they don’t know how to cook or that they don’t know what to do with a particular ingredient, we say, ‘We can help,’” she said.

That’s one of the reasons the recipes in the book are meant to be easy.

“We wanted people to be able to buy the ingredients in any local grocery store,” she said.

The Lichtys created “Two Peas In Their Pod” “nearly by accident,” after they got married in 2008.

“We catered our wedding and people liked what we served, so we posted the recipes online,” she said. “It was all just for fun, and we never intended it to be our business.”

Since then, “Two Peas and Their Pod” has been featured on “The Today Show” and covered in “Better Homes and Gardens,” “Cooking Light,” “PBS Food” and the L.A. Times.

“We are thrilled people love our recipes, and we are thrilled to where the blog has gone,” Lichty said. “We’ve been blown away by the support and feedback we get from our followers. “

Lichty grew up with a love of food and cooking.

“I remember working in the kitchen with my dad and being surrounded by food,” she said. “It’s always been a hobby and passion of mine, so to do this as a job is pretty amazing, because we love sharing our recipes with other people.”

Lichty recently returned to Utah from a cookbook tour that took her everywhere from Washington, D.C., and San Francisco to Wichita, Kansas.

“My favorite part of all of this is connecting with our followers and hearing their stories about how our recipes have changed their families’ lives,” she said. “We are blessed and honored.”

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