I created this blog to share my love of food, preserving, gardening and cooking with others. While I love developing and posting my own recipe ideas for cooking and baking, I also utilize other cooking sites and good ol’ fashioned cookbooks for ideas, inspiration and really delicious recipes. On this site you’ll find recipes for canning, cocktails, meals and dinner party menus. I also share my suburban gardening adventures as well as activities to keep my very active toddler busy!

I grew up in a rural town outside of Chicago, IL and made my way to suburban Washington, D.C via a stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kathmandu, Nepal and grad school in Pittsburgh, PA. I worked in international development for several years, working on agricultural and zoonotic disease prevention projects before moving on to biological and nuclear nonproliferation work. I love to travel, and between personal and work trips, I’ve visited over 30 countries, and hope to add many more in the years to come. After the birth of my son in 2014, I wanted to take a step back from international work (and travel!) for a while to care for him at home. This blog grew out of a life-long love of cooking, newfound passions for gardening and canning, and creating a home with my husband and our toddler.