About Me

I love exploring and making all sorts of foods, and have been learning about various practical cooking traditions and techniques for many years (from books, classes, friends, travels, etc.). But I am not a chef with a culinary academy or restaurant background, so all of the recipes and strategies I share with you are from a cook's perspective - and all part of an attempt to make life simpler (and tastier!). And hopefully also healthier, less wasteful, more economical, and environmentally sustainable.

But with thousands of food blogs already out there, why start another one?

There are some magnificent things that we might dream about - unlimited renewable energy, cures for terminal illnesses, faster than light space travel, etc, etc. - and maybe one day these will be possible, but right now we simply don’t have the means or the knowledge to get there yet. But what gets me much more excited are other no less amazing possibilities - like alleviating hunger, waste, environmental degradation, stress and many forms of individual physical and psychological suffering - that are we already have the resources and knowledge to achieve, it’s just a matter (albeit no easy matter) of changing some of our own habits and public policies.

This is basically a long-winded philosophical explanation of what really pushed me to try my hand at writing a book and then starting this blog: I really wanted to contribute my energy, in however small and inefficient a way, to helping promote possible solutions to some of these entirely solvable problems. I’ve long been in search of more enjoyable and sustainable ways of eating (plant-based) and living (less stuff) for myself and my family, and was hoping to share some of what I had learned and am still learning with others.




Outside of this project I've been an analyst in asset management and finance, a yoga teacher, volunteer on permaculture farms in the UK, US, and Russia, and before all that a student of economics and psychology. I've grown up in Russia and Ukraine, and then lived for a long time on the east coast of US & Canada, before finally moving to Pacific Northwest. I am currently pursuing a graduate degree in nutrition to become a registered dietitian.


Thanks for reading!

Maria