I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our independent county newspaper, and another, "Our Local Feast," in our town's independent newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has food additives or ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, 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! Personally, I do not eat meat or most dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at holidays, and only with local ingredients. I do eat fish and seafood on occasion, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I have to be careful with any kind of saturated fat, including coconut. I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educate myself about our food sources! It's so important to know how food is raised, especially other animals. I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth 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 enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies, and, importantly, grown closer to home. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, locally if at all possible, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! Wasting food is also a planetary problem, so I hope I can offer some small steps to making the most out of our food budgets and keeping anything edible out of the trash stream. And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs, and non-cooks as well, out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! Sometimes, when I'm lucky, we actually meet up in person and that is a great treasure. Gather 'round the table, share a story or two, a glass of wine, some really good bread, and feast on life. XXXOOO Dorothy