Hello!  My name is Aura and I’m thrilled to meet you!  A few things about me and my blog:

I grew up in a tiny two bedroom Finnish farmhouse on forty acres in the heart of the Upper Peninsula.  The kitchen was the heartbeat of the home.  From a very early age, the kitchen was my favorite room in the home.  I would read to my mom as she cooked and did most homework and crafts at the kitchen table.  This love of the kitchen carries on today.  Whether I am cooking for myself or friends or typing away on the computer busy at my day job as a market research manager, you will most likely find me in the kitchen.

My love of cooking started when I was ten, having received a subscription to Hearth Song’s Cook It! Club.  Each month, I eagerly awaited the arrival of a new utensil and set of recipes to add to my recipe binder.  I was hooked.

Our family had a two-acre vegetable garden.  Armed with fresh broccoli, kohlrabi, carrots, and lettuce I learned how to cook a variety of vegetables into healthy dishes.  Being raised by hippie mom taught me how exciting and flavorful vegetarian food can be.  Although I am no longer vegetarian, my diet is primarily plant and grain based for health, environmental, and taste preferences.

Some years ago, I started focusing on whole foods cooking (although as it happens, I had eaten whole foods my entire childhood) and felt I had found my niche.  I also discovered that if you use good, whole, fresh, preferably local ingredients, food simply tastes better.  I am a vocal advocate for eating whole foods and most of the foods on my blog are entirely composed of whole foods ingredients.  I hope you enjoy the recipes–I wish we could have dinner together!