Simple and Clean: One Foodie's Philosophy

I can't remember not cooking. Oh, I'm sure I started when I was around eight or nine but being in the kitchen has always been a part of my life. Food has been an even bigger part - associating it with huge family dinners that I miss desperately and warm celebrations.

As a young mother, I wanted to save money by cooking from scratch. In the eighties, we didn't quite pay as much attention to the garbage that's in processed foods as we do today. As my children grew, I made sure they knew the basics and could fend for themselves and I now love to hear about their cooking adventures. Getting the night-before-Thanksgiving call from my daughter asking "how can I thaw this turkey" is a priceless memory.

As our love grew, Harry and I also found a love of cooking together. He's more of the scientific type - he was the one who made me understand why my bread didn't rise. I know how to follow a recipe for baking but enjoy the "throw it in a pot and see what we get" adventure of scratch cooking.

When we got into the home bakery business, the farmers markets weren't just where we sold our bread. This became the place to really get to explore new vegetables and try different ways of eating them. The farmers market is the place where I learned to eavesdrop to people speaking around me, getting ideas for recipes.

Case in point - salad dressing. I'll admit to enjoying a chunky, creamy blue cheese dressing on my salad. But, I overheard someone mention making salad dressing out of honey and lemon juice. That sent me to the local honey vendor and I created a fat-free fresh-tasting dressing that's a staple for summer.

¼ cup light, local honey
Juice of one half of a lemon
Fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Whisk all the ingredients together and let rest for about 30 minutes before serving. The honey-lemon dressing keeps very well in the fridge. Allow it to warm a bit before serving if you do refrigerate.

This simple recipe is who I am as a cook: simple and clean. As time has gone by, we keep getting more and more back to basics. The process of selecting the ingredients is a turn-on. I'm not a health guru, but I can say I know what's in my food. When I cook, I can pronounce all of the ingredients.