I have always loved food and come from a big (and well-fed) family who grew most of it's own produce and bought fresh fruit direct from the farmers to can and freeze for the rest of the year. I remember very busy summers filled with eating fresh berries and catching garden toads (not to eat). However, with so many cooks in the kitchen, I grew up primarily as an observer and consumer rather than as a creator.

"So what happened?" you may ask. I moved to a rather isolated European country just as it joined the European Union and had yet to expand it's culinary horizons both in the grocery store and the restaurant scene. The approximately two times per year I happened to find tortilla chips in the store, I literally pounced and bought several bags. Now there is a Mexican food section with the very basic ingredients in every store, although it's still missing refried beans and tomatillos. I can also now find very tiny jars of maple syrup, condensed milk and several different kinds of beans, but still no croutons, creamed corn, corn meal, corn syrup, jello, pudding, ready-made mixes of any kind, evaporated milk, buttermilk, molasses...you get the idea.

I quickly had to decide between figuring out how to make things myself or living without them. My love of food eliminated the second option. Things rapidly escalated from there as I discovered and explored this best kind of creative outlet--the kind you can eat!

At this point, I've cooked myself into a corner in a way. I now have very little interest in restaurants unless they offer a type of food I have little experience with, or exceptional quality. I know there are a lot of things left to learn and think it would be interesting to take some professional classes and learn more about large-scale cooking. And there's always more to learn about wine and spirits. Growing up sans alcohol meant starting from the very beginning, but I'm learning more and more through travel and experimentation. I love Alsace and very much enjoyed my trip to South Africa last summer, although their heavy tannins almost put our taste buds out of commission for a couple of days after our tasting tour.

I have created a lot of food over the years, and even remembered to take pictures of it from time to time. After perusing my pictures you may also appreciate the standing joke among my friends as to how long one should NOT eat before coming over.

I plan on adding my favorite recipes too.

Enjoy!




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