About

My obsession with cooking goes all the way back to when I was child and my mom was kind enough to let me experiment in her kitchen.  My favorite and most common experiment was fried chicken.  I tried it about 100 times, with varying results.  I continued to cook whenever possible, reading cookbooks all the time,  stealing to my sister’s first apartment while I was in college to make attempts at gumbo and basil pesto (we actually used dried basil!). 

After I was married and had my first child, I quit my day job and discovered The Food Network.  I honestly didn’t even know it existed, so when I found it, I watched it non-stop.  I’d be up with the baby late at night with that new-Mom-I-don’t-sleep-anymore glazed look in my eyes falling in love with Alton Brown and Tyler Florence (brains and beauty–if we could combine them into one person).  My favorite was Cooking Live with Sarah Moulton.  I think I even tried to call in once or twice–no success.

I now have three small children and live with my husband in the Chicago area.  I got to remodel the kitchen of the house we currently live in, so it functions beautifully.  I love to cook and I’m always trying new things.  Some things I try turn out and some are true disasters.  Unfortunately, I usually invite company and then decide to attempt some crazy new dish, so when it bombs, I want to hide under the table.  So, I’ll try and publish the successes, own up to the mistakes, and enjoy it all.  I’m not a cooking expert or guru by any means.  I simply enjoy the process and invite you to enjoy it with me.  I’ve done some (very) part-time catering and I’m usually up for throwing a party.

Things I love:  Bob, Grace, Emily, Phineas, my supportive family, Jesus, Young Life, Young Life camps, chocolate (dark, very dark), TIVO, coffee, books, lakes, cool mornings (preferably on a lake, with coffee, and a book), summer, traveling, baby smiles, autumn, picking apples with my friends and children, snow, snow-skiing, soups, lazy weekends, flowers, fresh anything, Fox and Obel, good conversations, inquisitive children, coloring, good friends, sunshine…