sassafrasnanc

about me

For the last 9 years I have had the great fortune of calling these North Carolina Mountains my home. It has truly been a blessing that I ended up here. Asheville is an awesome place and I hope it stays that way . I yearn for tropical breezes though... My goal is to have a home both here and somewhere in Central or South America.
Cooking has definitely been a huge part of my life. I guess food in general. It seems some of my fondest childhood memories involve big homemade meals, etc. I'll never forget helping my great grandmother make biscuits and then watching them bake on top of the wood stove!
Two of my all time favorite cookbooks are the Silver Palate and the Martha Stewart Entertaining Cookbook. I almost always change recipes to be my own. My eldest son has helped with many of my original recipes as I believe he was an aristocrat in a past life (wink, wink) and loves top quality everything.
I've worked for some big time caterers, had my own cafe and catering business & worked in many restaurants (as a bartender waitress and cook) over the years.
I have 4 incredible and wonderful children ranging in ages from 28 to 10, one is in law school all the way in Seattle, WA, one is majoring in Voice at Brevard College, one is starting college at Savannah College of Art and Design, and one is still at home. I'm a single mom and we are a tribe at our home, independent but all having a very important part in the whole. Maggie May (shephard-chow mix) is also a very important member of our tribe.
Gardening is a passion and I only wish I had more time to make the garden bigger and better. It's very hard to find time to "put away" all the harvest, even with a small garden. Anybody want to come over and make pickles??
http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/207616/Zaar%20Girls.jpg
I've made some of my closest friends because of cooking and food, including Zaar member - NCMysteryshopper - who, I am proud to say, has asked me to do the honor of being her taste-tester for many a new cocktail she has posted.
Here's to food, drink, friends and being merry!

Favorite Foods:

Love to take the local, fresh stuff (we have lots of farms and markets here) and use them in unique ways. Spices and spicy are very popular in our home. We will eat most anything at least once. It says it all when I tell you that my 9 year old gulps down a plate of raw fish like it's a plate of french fries!
My personal favorite foods are lobster (anyway it comes-but the best was a burlap bag full of them straight out of the cold Atlantic ocean!), crab - any kind, raw or steamed oysters, sushi (SEE, I do need to be near the ocean...), Thai anything, Indian anything, but my very most favorite styles are Latin or "new" Southern foods. My friends say their favorite dishes out of my kitchen are the Benevolent Burrito (yes, it was born in a parking lot after a Grateful Dead show) and the Fried Green Tomato & Bacon Sandwich. Neither of those are very fancy but they are good old "comfort" food with a twist.
After years of using Recipezaar, I have finally started posting some of my own recipes and reviews here. After being reprimanded by 3 SUPERmembers - Leslie, PaulaG & NCMystershopper - I was shamed into it. I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie and Paula in person for lunch here in Asheville (thanks to Cheryl). It was such an honor! I now understand the importance of reviewing a recipe that you try - sorry guys...! UPDATE: I have NOW had the pleasure of meeting even MORE Zaarites! MamasKitchen, ~Leslie~, Chef V, and Mommy Diva were all part of NcMysteryshopper's wedding in Costa Rica! so that was really quite a treat! We've all become quite close and all because of Recipezaar!!!
I do hope to find time to post more recipes in the near future but with such a busy life, please forgive me if it takes a while. It's great to feel like part of a community! Thanks for all the GREAT recipes everyone!

http://www.myspace.com/sassafrasnanc