Hello there. Thanks for stopping in to read a little bit more. To expand on what I said on the first page, basically I think, breathe and often dream about food. Breakfast and coffee are what get me out of bed in the morning. Usually right before bed I will think about what I will make for breakfast, so that can be the first thought that passes through my mind as the alarm clock is buzzing in my ear.
Basically my whole career and schooling have revolved around food. One of my first jobs was with my friends working at a muffin shop after school. This was in the peak season of the whole fat free madness, and as sixteen year old girls we were in heaven with our fat free Boston Cream Pie muffins as an after school snack. Ugh. As you can see, my tastes have evolved quite a bit.
So then I moved on to working in coffee shops and cafes through my college years and took a year off in between college and graduate school to continue working in a cafe. It was such a fun year of my life. I learned the bulk of my cooking basics here. We had a little prop burner and whipped up fancy soups in a small corner of the cafe. My blog posts from time to time will be sprinkled with stories of these days.
I am always attempting to maintain a balance in my life...As I studied the science behind nutrition in college and graduate school I always worked in restaurants to keep in contact with the creative and fun aspect of food. Which leads to the next phase of my life: graduate school. I studied the whole foods aspect of nutrition at Bastyr University, meanwhile working my way through a coffee shop and then many years at a neighborhood bar and grill, first as a server where I learned the art of carrying four plates in two hands...while at the same time talking to the cooks and customers and probably balancing a ketchup bottle in my pocket. I then practiced my hand at bar tending, which I loved because it was a horseshoe shaped bar, and I was known to engage all the customers in the daily crossword puzzle.
So then I finished with school, and got a job as a research nutritionist where we study all types of diets and what they do to the body. And as previously stated, I realized my balance needed a little fine tuning, so I began logging my kitchen and eating adventures here on this blog. It has been a wonderfully expressive way to use my hands and creativity on a whole new level. So thank you loyal readers for popping into these small slices of my life. I will sum this page up with a little list of trivia about me...
- Despite living in the Northwest for as long as I have, I have a strong and very personal aversion to seafood (and allergy to shellfish), which is why you have never see it featured on An Open Cookbook. This is a bit of a sore subject with many of my friends.
- My top five favorite culinary treats: peanut butter, red wine, strong coffee, broccoli in any form, a large chunk of warm crusty bread dipped in olive oil.
- I always have artichoke hearts and a sliced loaf of bread in my freezer.
- My favorite color is purple...basically in any form.
- I was vegetarian for nine years until I started regularly dreaming about bacon. I finally realized my subconcious was telling me something.
- I like to watch movies over and over again...this is a family trait that I have carried with me across the country.
- My favorite quote is from The Alchemist: 'The Universe is Generous To Those That Follow Their Heart.'
