About me

I was first exposed to cooking and baking when I was a small child in my grandmother's kitchen. I always wanted to help and get in on the action...especially when cookies were involved! After a while though I didn't cook a thing until my high school foods class. At that point my interest in cooking was sparked again, and I would often cook meals at home for me and my Mom. I wasn't very adventurous in my cooking at that point however, merely following recipes. I graduated from Bethel University with a degree in studio art, but now my real passion is food. I have always been a creative person, but it wasn't until my freshmen year at college that I began experimenting with cooking and venturing outside the box, creating my own recipes. I should have gone to culinary school, but I chose art instead, and even in my later art work in college you could tell what my true passion really was. For my senior art show, I did a series of artwork using cookie dough to create sculpture...that way I could get the best of both worlds through art and cooking which I feel go hand in hand anyhow.

After I graduated college I continued with my job at a local natural foods store deli, where I worked for 16 years. I believe that good food is important, and organic and local food are always included in my menus. I was a vegetarian for 9 years beginning in 2003, then decided to become a vegan in 2012. I enjoy desserts the most, where I can unleash my artistic side through decorating them, but my diet actually consists mainly of veggies with the occasional indulgence (despite this being a dessert blog, hey, in everything moderation, and you cannot deprive yourself). Some of my recipes are raw, because I ate a completely raw plant based diet for 2 years, but them began to add in cooked foods. now I find that a balance of the two is best. I find I feel my best when eating this way, and I think it is important to listen to your own body and what it needs.  If you would like to know more about the way my diet has evolved, you can read THIS POST.  Another reason why I am vegan is I can not stand the idea of eating animals.  They deserve to be treated with respect and love too. I can not stand the idea of knowing that another being had to die in order for me to enjoy my meal.  It is not hard to find things I like even better than meat and I know the animals will thank me for it.