Welcome to my blog-everything food related in the Des Moines are (and wherever else I happen to be). I am a food enthusiast, I love cooking and eating, and appreciate fresh beautiful ingredients.

I grew up on the south side of Des Moines, and have watched the city really evolve in the last few years into a pretty exciting place to be eating in.

As a teenager I developed a keen interest in gardening, especially gardening herbs. I appreciated these usually humble looking herbaceous plants, that hold a huge spectrum of smells and tastes, and have such a rich history of use. So I had a little herb patch in my mothers large vegetable garden. And I decided to study agriculture and plant science-mostly because I liked science and wished I was a farmer.

During my studies at Iowa State I discovered a love for cooking. I planned elaborate dinners using exotic recipes, playing with new ingredients and methods. I'm not sure the majority of my efforts were successful, but I haven't stopped cooking, and today I like to think I have turned into a decent cook.

After Iowa State, I headed to Georgia to do my Master's. Besides investigating blueberry diseases, I discovered the pleasure of Southern cooking. In all of it's glory. And yes, I am talking about fried chicken, fried okra, barbecue, and sweet tea (I never came to appreciate the last, but my husband drank it by the gallon).

Several years later we found ourselves in Miami. And yes we ate Cuban food (not so exciting after you've had it a few time), but also beautiful seafood and authentic French and Italian cuisine.

Then we came back to Des Moines. And I have been enjoying.


So I am starting this blog to document my food experiences here in the Midwest. I plan to post about how I am using seasonal ingredients, producers that I buy my food from, reviews of restaurants, and anything else that is food-related that I find interesting. I hope you all enjoy my posts