About me
My name is Mari and I’m a Kansas native and born foodie who has been a resident of the Netherlands since 1998. Cooking and baking top the list as my favorite pastimes and most Sundays you'll find me in the kitchen cooking and/or baking up a storm. I love all foods with very few exceptions, and I’ve been known to smuggle sausages between borders for my own personal use. Who and what inspires me? My mother, whose vegetarian cooking, for me has never been surpassed; glossy culinary magazines like Elle Eten, Martha Stewart's Living, BBC's Good Food, and Saveur; my growing library of cookbooks (65 and counting); the fantastic open air markets of Amsterdam and other European cities that I visit; and whatever I have a taste for when I wake up in the morning. Since 2006, I’ve been producing homemade gourmet cakes to order and am focusing on expanding my love of cake into a profitable small business. My other favorite activities include reading, watching TV (any and all BBC crime dramas, Lost, Heroes and Dr. Who) listening to Samurai.fm, cycling through the streets of Amsterdam (preferably when it's not raining), unsuccessfully trying to restrain myself in kitchen emporiums, and traveling to other countries to purchase and sample regional foods.