The Writer
My name is Erin and I am 30 years old, married to a wonderful man named Phil (who is responsible for 99% of the photography on this site), and mother to an 80lb dog. We recently moved back home to my beloved Seattle after four years living in the Hamptons of eastern Long Island, New York, to Petaluma, California in Sonoma County. I am currently writing for Mutineer Magazine and recently contributed to a cookbook on Theo Chocolate by pastry chef Adrian Claybourne. I am passionate about the culinary world and want to discover as much about it as humanly possible during my lifetime. I move frequently, so discovering the local food scene is a big part of normalizing our lives.
My goal through this site is to not only share my recipes, my city and my experiences with you, but to act as a voice for the exciting food revolution that is taking part in the United States today. My hope is to inspire others to forget about pre-made, additive packed foods most of which were developed to preserve food for soldiers rations during wartime, which somehow found their way to our tables as convenience foods. Family tradition doesn’t revolve around frozen pizza. I hope to play a role in building our food culture through recipes, while toasting food producers that put their heart and soul into their craft. I want to shed a positive light on American food instead of focusing on our shortfalls, which is the easy route to take. Negativity does nothing but breed negativity and we aren’t going to change the face of American cuisine by whining.
I do however want it known that I am not perfect and have no intention of getting pious on you. While I encourage buying locally and even organic, I realise that cash flow is a factor for many people and often times the products we would like to buy are beyond our means. Frankly, I just want to encourage people to cook real food and to ask questions. If enough of us ask questions the more likely we will enrich our food culture.
I also want to demystify food for those who are mystified. While I believe food is an art, I also believe that there are many intimidating elements to it that are unnecessary. In my recipes, I hope to not simplify, but clarify these elements and by doing so encourage a timid cook to branch out. Please ask me any questions you may have about ingredients, technique or substitutions you may have, I’m happy to help.
The Photographer
This website started out as my website. But, over time through love, encouragement and not to mention photography it has developed into our website. So I figured it was high time to tell you a little bit about my partner in crime.
My husband Phil is first and foremost a Chief Petty Officer in the Coast Guard, specializing in IT. His interests however range far beyond that sphere to photography, woodworking, punk music, whiskey and the sciences. He is also attending school and is contemplating a degree in physics. Phil’s work can currently be seen here on The Endive Chronicles as well as in the April/May 2009 issue of Mutineer Magazine.
I am a culinary enigma, cloaked in a velvety beurre blanc and tucked away in a vol au vent of confusion.