I am an eastern Oregon-based writer, a new restaurant owner and the author of Pure Beef: An Essential Guide to Artisan Meat with Recipes for Every Cut. Before that, I was a vegetarian living in Seattle.

I grew to love grassfed beef–and the folks who raise it–when I moved to Oregon’s remote Wallowa Valley in 2001. For me, cooking and eating well-raised meat, along with an abundance of fresh and local vegetables and whole grains, makes for a smart and sustainable diet. Inspired by a holistic approach to good, local food, I founded the Wallowas chapter of Slow Food USA.

I am a contributing writer for Zester Daily and my food writing and recipes have appeared in major newspapers and national magazines, including Fine Cooking, Saveur, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. I have published food essays in Leite’s Culinaria, Food and Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast and The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink.

Before moving inland, I cooked at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, attended Seattle Culinary Academy, and reluctantly left my beloved kitchen position at The Herbfarm. I received scholarships from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Women Chefs & Restaurateurs for advanced study at Le Notre in France and at Amy’s Bread in New York City.

Now, I am immersed in the first year of running a farm-to-table tavern in eastern Oregon. I am chronicling these adventures on my Rural Eating blog and working on my next book.