ABOUT ME

There are many things I've grown fond of in the twenty-something years I have been on this earth. I'm a photographer who adores perspective, a musician who wanders in and out of carrying a tune, an artist who enjoys all kinds of mediums, a wife who loves to love her husband, a believer who longs to worship God with her life, a traveller who can't help but wander, and a cook who hardly ever measures. Turns out a lot of my life is based around the creative, the imagined, the unique...when I started to embrace the way I did things and set out to continue to do them that way, I found so much more confidence in myself.

I am Wisconsin born and raised. Cheese runs in my blood, in the appropriate green and gold of course. I love a crisp fall morning and am so glad to live by the great Lake Superior. For a few years, I called this home but didn't reside here. I travelled. I found myself in places that I would have never imagined. As I sit here the list is up to 36 states and 13 countries. The sights and sounds of the corners of the world are still fresh in my mind. Some of the things I remember the most: the food.

My experiences in each new place resulted in an expanded view on good cooking. Stepping away from the standard midwest hot-dish, I found new happiness for my taste buds. Living in the south I discovered what fried chicken was really meant to be like, how fruits are in season for more than a week, and what grits were. The first steps I took overseas brought me to a love of all things Thai. Coconut was more than just part of my favorite girl scout cookie now. Living in China helped me realize I have a decently iron stomach, aka spicy food = bring it on. Malaysia taught me that sweetened condensed milk makes a great pancake topping. The land down under had so many options, but I was blown away by the first sandwich I had. Slices of sweet potato inside the sandwich, I mean, come on! Italy ruined me for american pizza. Well, frankly it ruined me for so much more. One word: gelato. Also gyros are so amazing when actually eaten in Greece. Tacos in Mexico....AHH! I could go on and on!

Now I'm back home, on the shores of Lake Superior. The land of the casserole, burger joints and steak houses. I've decided to take what I've loved all over the world and bring it into my kitchen. Thankfully I now get to cook for two! My hubby, Al. We got married in January of 2011 and it was for sure one of the best days of my life. Now I get to live with and cook for my best friend! Its a pretty mixed bag of things you'll find coming out of the oven and off the stove in our house. We love to try new things and its hard for me to make the same recipe twice. Unless its top-drawer-awesomeness, and thankfully that happens from time to time.

There are a few other factors that play a role in the choices of food that comes into our home. One has come out of learning more and more about where the food actually comes from. After watching some documentaries and reading articles on a wide range of topics, my personal tendencies are towards a more vegetarian diet. I love fresh foods, crisp veggies, things looking like the food they actually started out as! Healthier foods put together with less salt, fat and oil. I find these things to not only taste better but make me feel better while eating and after eating them. That's not to say I don't thoroughly enjoy some rich sour cream and chive mashed potatoes from time to time. And, to not toot my own horn...I make some mean cookies. I am conscious of the things I put on my plate. (I just really like to indulge ever now and again.)

Another factor is the current budget of our family. Al being an ultra busy college student, in his last year thankfully, and myself being a photographer just starting out on my own...its the cause for a tightness on the wallet if you will. I've gotten myself into couponing a bit. As much as I can with the food I want to bring home that is. We eat almost all of our meals from our kitchen, very very seldom do we get to eat out anymore. (Which we love to do, Lake Avenue Cafe its not you its me, er us....we'll be back soon.) So I'm all about getting creative with less, I take on that challenge.