I absolutely love food, and have been cooking since I was about 6 years old! What could be more wonderful than gathering together organic produce, herbs and spices, and other fresh ingredients, to create a delectable concoction that is pleasing to the eyes and palate, and nourishes body, mind, and soul?

Do you, too, love chicken and other poultry? There are some great new recipes on my site for roasted duck, ground turkey dishes, and some inventive ways to prepare chicken for the oven.

I also love to make tasty and exciting vegetarian recipes, as I believe a mostly-vegetarian diet is the healthiest. Whenever you can, look for fresh vegetables at your local farm stands and farmer’s markets, or grow your own organic garden. There is nothing quite so delightful as eating green beans or a sun-warm tomato fresh off the vine. And sweet corn on the cob: oh, my! Have you ever picked your own corn and gone home to cook it right away? Heaven! The sooner you eat corn after it’s picked, the better it is. Young corn is done after only 3 minutes of cooking, once the water returns to boil. Get out your butter and a bib and dig in!

I also am a baker, and love good-quality desserts and sweets. Have you ever baked a cake? I stand in awe at how the chemistry of ingredients works: Mix flour and water, and you have paste. Add some butter, and you have pie dough. Add some eggs, flavoring, and leavening to that, and you have a cake! Magic! Of course, it’s a little more complex, but not much. If a child can bake cookies or pie or cakes, then any adult can, too. It only takes practice and patience! I will be sharing lots of good recipes for my favorite desserts.

I also love putting food by, in the form of jams, preserves, chutneys, pickles, and even freezing certain foods. It’s wonderful to be able to have strawberry jam in the middle of winter, or pumpkin pie in summer!

In this newsletter, I will be sharing weekly recipes, kitchen tips, anecdotes, as well as my triumphs and bloopers in the kitchen as I test recipes for this site. I hope you will write to tell me how much you love the recipes, and feel free to share them with family and friends. You can also join the Home Cooking Forum to share ideas, questions, and recipes with the community.

Here’s to great food!