About me
I am a 57 year old cookbook freak in Portland Oregon. I grew up watching my Mom and Grandmothers cook, making cookies, home made pasta and breads, corned beef & cabbage, dove & quail in wine sauce, lobster newberg, chicken & dumplings, always sitting there watching their every move. All three passed during my last years of High School leaving a big void in my life in many ways. When I moved out I lived with a houseful of friends & I started cooking with them, people who loved communal cooking. We shared ideas & created memorable dinners. My first cookbooks were Sunsets Easy Basics for Good Cooking, New York Times Natural Cookbook and Betty Crocker's Cookbook. Books that taught me how to make comfort food with lots of information on how to cook. I then purchased for the enormous sum (at that time for a hippie) of $5.00 a 1910 White House Cookbook and the rest is as they say, is history. I have over 300 cookbooks and I love to read them "and" use them. And yes my friends think I'm obsessive. I also like to be creative with a recipe I find adding my own little touch. I love cooking for my friends and family and would do it every day of the week if I could. I have thought about being a personal chef but it isn't the same as cooking for friends. My goal is to get into a club in Portland where we can do progressive dinners once a week. I am hoping to meet some fun people on this site who share my passion. I also love to hike, fish and camp. There is nothing better than taking friends out camping into the awesome forests of the Great Pacific Northwest and having them wake up to fresh coffee brewing on a campfire and something great cooking on the grill!.