Cookbook Introduction

Cooking is not and should not be a laborious, dreaded process.  I have traveled around the world tasting cuisines and learning how to incorporate the ones I like into my cooking repertoire.   I have made this cookbook with you in mind – tailoring the recipes so that they are easy to follow, simple to make and delicious – recipes that will become favorites and standbys in your kitchen.

Cooking is a creative process.   You can improvise as you go; I encourage you to do so.  The spice measurements you find in this cookbook are more of a guideline than an exact measurement.  I tend to use heaping ¼, ½, 1 teaspoons, tablespoons – so you can generally assume that is what I use in each recipe.  Exceptions to this are spices that can overpower a dish, like ginger, clove, red pepper flakes, sugar – remember you can always add more.

Some of these recipes are complete, well-balanced meals; some are not quite complete and will need a side dish of whole grains or vegetable/salad to make it well balanced.  I leave this up to you with this bit of assistance: to make a well-balanced meal or snack you need a protein source, vegetables, carbohydrate source, and a fat source.  All food groups are important and should be represented.

I chose to become a nutritionist because of the central role food has in our lives.  We all need to eat and cook.   I hope this cookbook will give you joy and confidence in the kitchen.

You can find one of my cookbooks at several Vashon Island locations: "The Vashon Bookshop", "Vashon Pharmacy", "Vashon Thriftway", "Good Merchandise", "The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie and Minglement", and "London Health Centers". Or you can contact me to acquire one via mail for $15.00.