momonjava

I was first taught to cook by my mother and my Italian grandmother (who grew and canned many of the fruits and vegetables she used). Since leaving the nest, I'm primarily self-taught with input from many talented friends through the years. I am, therefore, not a culinary expert and am pretty reliant on recipes, but I do freely improvise and experiment on friends and family with usually good results (or so I'm told!). I've won awards for preserved and baked goods at county and state fairs in Southern California and Virginia.

I am a hopeless gadget junkie. By now I have pretty much stopped collecting due to space limitations but I truly appreciate my many kitchen tools which, I believe, really do make a difference. I also love both drinking and studying wine...no matter how much I think I know about wine, I am always aware that it's only a tiny slice of what's out there. So much to learn...my dream is a nice, long food and wine pilgrimage through rural Europe which I hope to do within the next few years.

I am a nurse with a public health degree, which has led to an interest in environmental and global food system issues. I am a volunteer farmer's market manager here in Northern Virginia.