A bit about me…

I am a country girl, born and raised on a farm in Central Iowa.  I am the youngest of three children by 9 and 14 years….I was the OOPS!  Being younger had its advantages; I was an Aunt at age 7 and grew up with my niece and nephews.  My Father died from a farm injury when I was 12, which forever changed my life and drew my Mother and I even closer.  I tagged along with my Mother to visit older people in our community and learn about their lives and sample wonderful traditional foods.

My high school graduating class numbered 25, which gave me the advantage of being involved in sports and clubs that would not have been possible in a large High School.  At that time, Home Ec was still an elective and I loved the cooking lessons (not so hot on the sewing classes).  While at the University of Northern Iowa, I began to collect and read cookbooks.  Perhaps it was the absence of Mom’s home cooking that drew me to dream about cooking (and eating) wonderful food.  After college I moved to St. Joseph, MO and then to Scottsdale, AZ where I began experimenting with recipes.  It was such an adventure to discover new dishes and restaurants in historic St. Joseph and Kansas City, then Scottsdale, Phoenix, San Diego…and the list goes on.

In the early ‘80s, I moved to Denver,  married, started my telecommunications sales career and discovered the fabulous restaurants in Denver and Aspen.  My career took me to cities never before experienced; seafood in San Francisco, Cajun fare in New Orleans, Tex-Mex in Dallas, Italian in New Jersey.  In 1986 our first daughter, Megan, was born and then Sarah in 1988.  Instead of indulging in dinners out, we were cooking more at home and seeking ways to have good meals with limited time.  Dinners went from adult gourmet to more kid friendly meals.  Megan’s tastes were more basic while Sarah adopted a gourmet palate at an early age.  At age 6 Sarah’s favorite meal was steamed artichokes and crab legs with drawn butter…still her favorite.  Megan’s tastes expanded rapidly when she went to college and started cooking for her roommates and now loves to whip up gourmet dishes.

I am blessed to have many gal pals that also share my passion for good food.  I love to try new restaurants and look forward to the ‘pot- luck’ feasts at our book club meetings and other gatherings.  It isn’t just the good food that brings us to together, but the great love and admiration we all have for each other.

We are addicted foodies…

God grant me the serenity to only eat the food that I LOVE, the courage to walk away from junk food, and the wisdom to recognize the difference. 

Oh YEAH!