Chef #740736

about me

My heritage taught me to cook Indian food at a young age, something that I loved. I also adore tropical food, as I grew up in Hawaii for awhile. I've never eaten red meat or pork in my whole life and just focus on natural foods and natural living. I aim for vegetarianism but have a weakness for seafood. For me, cooking is a form of love. It's also a creative outlet. Living in Sonoma County, I have access to a huge array of outstanding gourmet foods that foster this. In the summer, my family plants a large organic garden and we really enjoy that. I try to volunteer with Food Not Bombs as much as possible as well, because I believe no one should go hungry in a country with so much surplus food! I love it, the kids love it, and it keeps me cooking.
I also love world travel, literature, painting and hanging out with my cat.
My favorite cookbooks are Chocolate and Zucchini, Greens, all the Moosewood Cookbooks, the Silver Palate, and all of Madhur Jaffrey's wonderful books.

My favorite color is either red or black. I'm currently a return student in college, finishing my last semester of my senior year before going on to graduate school.

My pet peeve is definately bad drivers on the road! And telemarketers. I have no patience for either.

Favorite Foods:

Avocados in any form, fresh tropical fruit, capers and cornichons, green tea ice cream, sheep feta cheese, a good mezza, curry — both Indian and Thai, any good comprehensive salad, moroccan oil cured black olives, mint chutney, tapenade, kheer, halva, dolmadas, tom kha soup, sweet potato or asparagus anything, homemade chex party mix, garbanzo beans with vinaigrette, steamed japanese vegetables with miso sauce, portabello and pesto panini, raw cashews, poached salmon, purple potato salad, macaroni salad, licorice biscuits, mozarella caprese, wasabi peas, kalamata bread, deviled eggs, marmalade on toast, all cheese, cheese toast with lime chutney, shrimp scampi, sunnyside up eggs with latkes, mexican sour cream, short grain brown rice with salt, pepper, and good olive oil, rose petal gelato, fresh bing cherry pie, coconut cream pie, and all the stuff I cook because I like my own cooking best!

Hmm... and my favourite restaurant is, without a doubt, Chez Aito on Moorea, in French Polynesia. I also LOVE the Black Dog Tavern on Martha's Vineyard, Thai Ginger and Dempseys in Petaluma, and Tarantella's Pizza in New York. Of course, Greens and Chez Panisse too...

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