About Sage Cooking

In Short

I’m a home cook and self-proclaimed food geek. I like playing with my food and talking about it.

A Little More

I started cooking when I was old enough to hold a spoon, literally. My first word was “hot,” followed shortly after by “olive” and “corn.” I was raised and taught by open-minded parents who gave me an appreciation of flavors from around the world. If I had to describe my cooking style I would have to say global comfort food, although I know that phrase has been abused lately. I was a vegetarian the first seven years of my life…my husband likes to say until I discovered bacon. I now strike a balance between the veggies and the meat. You won’t find a ton of red meat recipes here, but the ones that I share I truly love.

I like unpretentious food that tastes good & doesn’t cost a fortune to prepare. I’m a huge fan of roadfood and barbecue, fresh seafood, my husband’s chili, great curries, homemade pasta and the ever elusive, truly amazing fried chicken. I believe in cooking with what’s available locally and in season whenever possible… it tastes better, costs less and is easier on the planet, so to me it’s a no-brainer. I believe in healthy cooking as a daily way of life, but I also believe that Thanksgiving mashed potatoes should be made with butter and cream. For me cooking is a creative outlet and a way to show the people in my life how much I care about them.

I live in Chicago with my husband, three cats and one dog. The husband, dog and one of the cats are avid food testers, so it’s likely they’ve taste-tested everything you’ll find here.

What You’ll Find Here

The latest things coming out of my kitchen, my adventures at the local farmers market and food I’ve enjoyed with family and friends. I’ll share my recipes and techniques and try to include pictures of everything. If you’re already a cook yourself, I hope you’ll find some new things to try here. If you’re someone who is interested in cooking but are a little scared of it, I hope I can demystify some of it for you. I’ll share the failures along with the successes and maybe we can all learn a little something.

“An empty stomach will listen to nothing.” – Spanish Proverb