“Love People. Cook them tasty food.”  It’s Penzey’s Spices motto, and a message by which I abide so whole-heartedly, that I bought the magnet to put on my van! I have always showered friends and family with food. When Bill and I first met, I surprised him with home-made cookies, invited him to my house for cook-outs, and even made him a two-pound loaf of pate (long story). It took a few years for Bill to understand that cooking people tasty food is one of the ways I show I care. He wasn’t raised with that same connection, but since then, he has hopped on board. In this picture, Troy of co:lab, is showing his enthusiasm for the lunch I brought him and his co-workers in thanks for the great work on my website; in fact, now that I think about it, co:lab always scheduled our meetings right around lunchtime. Foodie gestures never go unappreciated. One of our friends admitted she had her 3rd, 4th, and 5th baby just so I would bring her dinner.

I believe in showering the people I know with good food to delight, nourish, and honor them. I believe that cooking with love and care makes the food taste better. I believe that the time and mood has to be just right to make a soufflé rise or a sauce come together. When the kids were young, I created the rule that there is no arguing or angst in the kitchen, and since then, I haven’t burned a single cookie or pie.

I recently catered an Open House for someone I had only met once, and in her thank you note to me, she wrote, “I think what I liked most was that although it was a business arrangement, you made me feel like a friend.”

Cooking for people I care about– friends, family, clients– it’s what I like to do.