My interest in cooking began in college, with a single contraband burner smuggled into my dorm room. I fiddled around, cooking simple food, and in the end discovered something far more satisfying than just a meal. The smells of sizzling eggs and stir-fries emanating from my illicit kitchen lured people to my room. I was hooked. Food comforts. Food brings people together, and I wanted to create and nurture that kind of community.

After college I quickly grew restless with my finance degree, pining for the days when friends showed up at my door in search of dinner. In 1994, I headed to the Culinary School at Kendall College, and earned a certificate of professional cookery. Soon after, we moved to New York City, where I landed my dream internship at Food & Wine. There I worked my way from intern to associate editor of cookbooks, learning invaluable skills in recipe development, food writing, and tasting along the way.

In 2004, a burgeoning food scene drew my family to Portland, Oregon, where I set up shop as a freelancer. In addition to spending eight years as a regular columnist for the Oregonian’s FoodDay, I developed recipes and articles for many national publications, including Fine Cooking, Milk Street, Prevention, Men’s Journal, MIX, Cooking Light, and more. I travel frequently in Asia, and have a penchant for those cuisines as well as healthy and gluten-free fare.

Although writing my cookbooks, Brassicas: Cooking the World’s Healthiest Vegetables (Ten Speed Press) and The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen, has been a favorite endeavor, I equally enjoy working on other people’s books. Whether through recipe development, testing or in an editorial capacity, the team effort of creating a book brings to mind the sense of community that first intrigued me as a college freshman. It’s still my guiding force.