I became a professional chef/owner of two award-winning restaurants, Mary's Restaurant in Philadelphia and Bridges Restaurant in Ocean City, NJ.  I became a culinary instructor, and a caterer through numerous, diverse venues, nationally and abroad. I co-owned Great Life Products with the author, Sensei Noboru Muramoto. We produced and distributed sea salt and fermented foods, such as miso, soy sauce, and umeboshi. Also, we conducted residential educational programs under Asinara Institute in Southern California. PBS featured me as a guest chef of my Mary’s Restaurant in the series “Philadelphia Kitchens” and “Flavors of Philly,” returning on their “Best of Series".

As my husband has passed and my four children are all successful on their own, I now have more time to deepen my understanding of health preservation. This website is a place where I want to share my experiences, experiments, and recipes that have gathered over the years.  I hope to inspire those who want to cook healthy and are looking for new and easy ways to improve their diet and way of life. As I generally live alone, it makes for cooking very difficult in making a variety of dishes for just oneself. I have found many ways around this hurdle and will share weekly tasks that make life more simple and still be getting a balanced diet, (disclaimer} - most of the time.

"I cook as if this is the only food I have."

 

I have developed ways to use everything to it's fullest, leaving no waste. I compost all scraps, and I clean all veggies so there is not scars or the slightest of beginning rot. If I have left overs that are too old or desirable to eat, I give it to the squirrels and birds, as long as it is safe for them. I have a table outside my bathroom window and watch them in pure entertainment. 

I have also been working as a flight attendant for the last 22 years to keep the wolves away. I am trying to ease into dedicating myself solely to sharing myself through cooking and building this website. I have to give a shout out to my website mentor Avi from the creative agency called Bthe3.com, who has given me the confidence to keep on the unfamiliar digital road to finally reaching a place where I am comfortable working on my website.