One thing is for certain, if you are looking for me, on most days you will find me in the kitchen or garden at Rabbit Hill. There is rarely a day when I am not creating a meal or testing a recipe. The kitchen is my haven where I am inspired and most alive. Throughout the years we have had different dietary needs and preferences in our family and I have always taken the opportunity to totally immerse myself in new types of cooking, nutrition and health with studies in food allergies and intolerances, vegetarian regimens and culinary wellness. Because of my love of food and creating dishes, I have supplemented my passion with studies in culinary nutrition science courses from Stanford University in California USA. I am always learning and discovering be it about food and culture, the best eating practices for health and deeply diving into traditional cooking methods.

What is a normal day in my kitchen?

I will tell you a secret. I am not the best ‘morning person’ so perhaps that is why I don’t often eat breakfast. I am good with coffee (and no one speaking to me for the first two hours or so of the day). I do love ‘brunch’ or having my first meal of the day around 11 or 12. That means something savory and delicious and most likely with eggs. Our hens, ducks and geese keep us well-stocked only taking a break towards the last part of winter or when molting. So a great foodie day for me could start with a visit to one of our local markets, unloading a full basket of seasonal ingredients and having that third cup of coffee (decaf!) and making myself a big plate of greens, grains and farm fresh eggs.

Typical of the French culture, we do take a longer lunch, but it’s not always multiple-courses. I think the biggest difference since living in France is that we never eat at our desks (with the exception of working on a deadline) and we absolutely never eat in our cars while out and about or running errands. Lunch is a sacred period of the day to stop, eat and connect with your family or spouse.

Our evening meals are lighter, except on the weekends. We often eat differently than our kids and sometimes on work or school nights feed them first so we can have a quiet pause, just the two of us. And even though it’s not my preference, we do eat dinner pretty late. We do our best to sit down to dinner before 8 PM, but in the summer, with the long light in the evenings, we find that sometimes our daylight clocks cause us not to want dinner until closer to 9 PM.

What is a perfect foodie day for me?

I love experimenting and discovering! Whether it is a new spice or cultural dish, a technique or process like preserving or fermentation — I love having time in my kitchen to learn and master! And oh yes! There are plenty of ‘fails’ … and I do burn things and ditch ideas, but for me, that is all part of the fun.

A perfect foodie day would be a trip to the market or maybe a stop at our local epicerie or butcher and creating a meal with my finds. Lighting a candle, pouring a glass of wine and maybe even … dancing around the kitchen! And the only way this already perfect day gets better is that we gather some friends and sit around the table, and loose track of the evening, lost in good food and laughter. Those are the best days for me. (And that someone else does the dishes!)