I was sometimes joined by my beloved and fabulous culinary genius of a stepmother, Valerie. Together we were a step-daughter/step-mother team with a shared obsession for all things food-related. Val was born a New York State Resident and lived in the glorious U.P. and I was born a Yooper and live in the lovely Southern Tier of New York.
This bio was written by Valerie before her passing and I leave it here out of love and in memoriam:
Valerie has been a ‘foodie’ since well before they were given that label! There were two strong connections—one through the family, where her mother and grandmother, outstanding cooks and bakers, both—gave her a great foundation in basic American country home cooking, and the second, through her reading—food seemed to be a great way to explore connections with all these countries and cultures she would read about.
First attempt at “blanc mange” came after reading Little Women—successful in the taste department, but unfortunately it was also her “joy of food coloring” stage, so it was presented in a lovely shade of turquoise.
Follow-up attempts included Mexican, Jewish, French and Italian foods, inspired by some neighbors, and in later years all varieties of Chinese, Southeast Asian and Indian foods. Health concerns came later, leading to a segue into vegetarian, vegan and raw food areas.
She loves them all! Fortunately, so does her husband, Jim, who remains with her in an otherwise empty nest and supports all her forays into whatever culinary direction presents itself.
Cooks with a passion are her gurus. Julia Child is a definite hero—for her passion, her generosity, her overall love of life! And cooks who make cooking fun and approachable—Nigella is current top of the heap there!
