I'm a writer, cook, gardener, poet, quilter. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. Our family has run a small Vermont Bed and Breakfast Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic produce, dairy, and meats. After many years of daily serving up of our local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events and book a number of rooms for musicians and artists. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, but now turn my attention to my cookbook and a cooking column for our county newspaper "The Commons," and writing poetry as the spirit offers. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! I draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me as well as the youngers in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to read.