Welcome to My Food and Gardening Blog

I am a structured adventurer. I love trying new recipes, as well as old family favorites. My favorite thing is to cook something new with friends, as well as to make something amazing for other people to enjoy. I also love gardening, which was how my mother and I bonded a lot during my Middle School years in Cincinnati. Now that I have a beautiful kitchen and a cute little backyard, both of these passions have room to grow.

I call my adventures structured because I rarely start by straight innovation. I learn the current best approach (oh no, I'm starting to talk like a P&G Proctoid!) and then see how I can make it suit my needs and adjust from there. For example, I will begin by learning the original recipe of a favorite pasta dish. Through doing so I discover the basic principles that lead to the tastes and textures I most enjoy. The next time I need some cooking therapy I apply those basic principles to make something new from scratch. Like any experiment, the desired result is not always guaranteed :-).

[I sometimes worry about some point in the future when I have children who will ask me a 2-yr old question and I give them a B.S. Chemical Engineering-level answer. I also worry about the time when my children will ask me a B.S. Chemical Engineering - level question and I will only be able to give them a 2-yr old answer. Never fear, my children will be balancing equations at age 5.]

And now for a Twist in the Plot!

I recently adopted an infant herb garden. I say infant because I got out of Provo and into Cincinnati too late to start from seeds. Ok, yes, I cheated and bought some small herb plants. But I am a firm believer that regardless of whether you were at the very beginning of something or not, it's all about how you sustain and develop that thing. :-) More details to come -- but needless to say, having fresh herbs readily available have greatly increased my capacity to experiment with deliciousness. AND as a matter of update, I planted some zucchini squash and columbine seeds my mother sent me in the mail and they are both growing! Excitement to follow.