About

Cooking Contest Beginning

Most recipes are pretty straight-forward and success happens with patience, techniques and learning the basic components of ingredients and flavor. I am fortunate to have won several national cooking contests. This gives me the opportunity to be the first to create interesting things like Blueberry-Almond Baklava with Orange Blossom Honey Syrup.

 

I have spent over 20 years living in the beautiful state of Kansas with my husband. We raised three incredible daughters and enjoy the sunshine, open skies, slower pace and sense of family that are so common here.

My Vintage Cookbook Library

I have been collecting cookbooks and recipes since I was 8-years-old (that was in the early 1980’s). The collection has grown to over 1,000 but who’s counting? Every time I find an old cookbook that I haven’t seen before, I get a little twinkle in my heart. I want to share these books with you on the blog and hope I can help you find those long lost recipes too! I like to bring old recipes back to life with new ideas and updated ingredients. I’m often asked, “How old does something have to be to be considered Vintage?” The answer is 20 years. Any book published before the year 2003, is considered vintage! I like to focus on vintage from the 1960’s to the 1990’s.

The Recipes

All of the recipes on this blog are either straight from the book, my own new creations or spins on classic recipes. Some are from recipe cards or clipped newspaper articles and I will do my best to find the original source. I will usually only offer a few recipes from each book, in the spirit of Fair Use for the purposes of teaching and commentary. I will always provide full attribution and any links if available. Many of the books are also for sale in my Etsy shop.

Education

I earned a B.A. degree in Mass Media from Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas. 2010

As an entrepreneur and creative home cook, I’m always interested in new opportunities as well as helping people succeed in the kitchen. Feel free to contact me anytime.