Cooking keeps me gardening.

Gardening keeps me cooking.

I’ve been cooking just a little longer than I’ve been gardening.  It was experimenting in the kitchen as a very young adult that first led me to the idea of having my own garden and growing my own fresh ingredients – even if it meant ‘claiming’ the hellstrip that bordered the massive parking lot in front of our 500 square foot apartment.

I’ve got more room now, but I keep my vegetable garden small and efficient, growing plants that make the most sense, and using foodscaping techniques to grow edible plants in ornamental ways elsewhere in my garden.

I also forage for many ingredients in the surrounding woods, incorporating wild mushrooms, wild greens and berries into many dishes. One of my very favorite evenings in the world is entertaining friends over adventurous food with flavors from both my cultivated and my wild gardens. I only wish I had the time to do it every weekend of the year. #Goals.

This year, inspired by the many ornamental tropical plants I grow and eat (also known rather cheekily as ‘Friends with Benefits’ in my new book Tropical Plants and How To Love Them), I decided to make a place for these recipes on the website, and for the many others I have come up with over the years to enjoy the abundance of a growing season. The recipes are mine unless noted, thoroughly used and tested, and fall into two categories:  Tropical Tastes and Temperate Tastes. Click on either collage to take you to a list of recipes.