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Vidda Hosted and taught a Filipino cooking class (using my recipes, of course!) and had a special guest, a personal chef and friend, who taught us how to sharpen and maintain our favorite kitchen knives, as well as how to cut the vegies for the dishes we were preparing. Highly successful, the event had all the important elements: great food, great friends, great drinks, and lots of fun! 1 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, 19 minutes ago

Although my taste buds prefer the full flavors of foods found around and near the equator, around the globe, my growing family and their discerning and explorative tastes have caused me to explore many foods, as well as adaptations for vegetarian, raw, gluten free, and even a return to home fermentation and pickling. I particularly love and enjoy learning about a culture and its history, as reflected through it's foods. My step-Dad was a chef, one of my aunts was a home economist, and my ex-mother-in-law a superb cook. I grew up following them around the kitchen, learning by osmosis and trial and error. Through the SF Montessori School where my oldest son attended preschool, I was exposed to vegetarian foods. Frances Moore-Lappe, author of Diet For a Small Planet, was one of the parents there. Most of the parents and all the teachers were vegetarians. Back then, it was mostly breads, cheeses, salads, nuts, and fresh fruit. Limited and very different from the gourmet meals to be found and offered today. Years later, at the age of 14, my youngest son declared himself a vegetarian. So to ensure he got all the nutrition his growing body needed, I quickly learned to adapt family favorites into vegetarian dishes, while also learning new ones. My daughter's family had many diet restrictions and preferences and that too caused further exploration. Today, my expanding family has gourmet taste with discerning demands for freshness, organic, local, seasonal and yummy!