About WifeWithAKnife.com
Showing off my Add-A-Drop changeable jewelry
Hello and welcome! My name is Laura Delanty and I am an adventurous cook and food lover residing in picturesque Northern California.
I don't have hours to spend in the kitchen every day between full-time work as a Controller and part-time as a jewelry maker, so I want my kitchen time to be fruitful and well-spent.
I love rich, flavorful food and my desire to have healthier meals has led me to revamp my approach to food and diet. That doesn't mean a diet with no fat or sugar, it means paying attention to the bigger picture while maintaining a primary goal of good health.
I invite you into my kitchen to share the decades of cooking knowledge I've acquired and the new things I learn every day. I hope my recipes and techniques will inspire you to get into the kitchen and make healthy and delicious choices for yourself and your loved ones.
It's not hard to find tempting things to eat here in Sonoma County. It's a glorious spot for fresh produce, meats and seafood with local artisan wines, cheeses, breads, olive oil and a myriad other lovely edibles. The close proximity to San Francisco gives us access to food products and tastes from all over the world.
I grew up in the kitchen, cooking dinner when Mom was working late and experimenting with ingredients whenever I could. I had no fear, which paved the way for my creativity to blossom. My Mother and Grandmother were amazing cooks with markedly different styles. My Grandmother could make a dinner party for 4 on an hours' notice - no matter what she had in the house. Everything was cooked on high, with the electric burners glowing and the food nearly smoking when it was served. She had a no-nonsense approach to food and an innate frugality from living through the Depression. When I looked in her cupboard I didn't see very much, but in that same cupboard she saw a world of possibilities.
And then there was Mom - she could cook (and would cook) anything. I used to wish we could just have hamburgers or hot dogs like other kids instead of Hungarian Goulash or Stracciatella Soup, but ultimately her cooking gave me an appreciation for the amazing variety of foods eaten in this world. She did a lot of things in her life, but when she started cooking for a living she finally found her niche. Her meals were always special and the love flowed through them and seemed greater than the sum of the parts. Mom and I shared a lot of fun and laughter. Neighbors commented on how much they enjoyed my visits because they could hear us laughing blocks away. Of course, we were also eating and drinking whilst being merry, and we had a lot of unabashedly noisy fun. Ah, those were the days.
Both of those amazing inspirational women are gone, but their lessons echo in my head as I approach anything I'm going to cook, although my own style of cooking is different than either of theirs. I still miss calling Mom for advice on some strange thing I want to cook. She was the expert on everything. Even if she didn't know she could tell you how to do it. Bossy or inspired? A bit of both, and I miss it sorely.
You can contact me at SweetwaterGems@gmail.com. Please check out our website at SweetwaterGems.com, for some more stuff, including great cat photos and stories (under the tab: Odds & Ends, then Cats).
Comments are welcome - I would love to hear your tips and ideas and stories of your own inspirations for cooking.
I hope you enjoy my recipes and come back often!
I don't have hours to spend in the kitchen every day between full-time work as a Controller and part-time as a jewelry maker, so I want my kitchen time to be fruitful and well-spent.
I love rich, flavorful food and my desire to have healthier meals has led me to revamp my approach to food and diet. That doesn't mean a diet with no fat or sugar, it means paying attention to the bigger picture while maintaining a primary goal of good health.
I invite you into my kitchen to share the decades of cooking knowledge I've acquired and the new things I learn every day. I hope my recipes and techniques will inspire you to get into the kitchen and make healthy and delicious choices for yourself and your loved ones.
It's not hard to find tempting things to eat here in Sonoma County. It's a glorious spot for fresh produce, meats and seafood with local artisan wines, cheeses, breads, olive oil and a myriad other lovely edibles. The close proximity to San Francisco gives us access to food products and tastes from all over the world.
I grew up in the kitchen, cooking dinner when Mom was working late and experimenting with ingredients whenever I could. I had no fear, which paved the way for my creativity to blossom. My Mother and Grandmother were amazing cooks with markedly different styles. My Grandmother could make a dinner party for 4 on an hours' notice - no matter what she had in the house. Everything was cooked on high, with the electric burners glowing and the food nearly smoking when it was served. She had a no-nonsense approach to food and an innate frugality from living through the Depression. When I looked in her cupboard I didn't see very much, but in that same cupboard she saw a world of possibilities.
And then there was Mom - she could cook (and would cook) anything. I used to wish we could just have hamburgers or hot dogs like other kids instead of Hungarian Goulash or Stracciatella Soup, but ultimately her cooking gave me an appreciation for the amazing variety of foods eaten in this world. She did a lot of things in her life, but when she started cooking for a living she finally found her niche. Her meals were always special and the love flowed through them and seemed greater than the sum of the parts. Mom and I shared a lot of fun and laughter. Neighbors commented on how much they enjoyed my visits because they could hear us laughing blocks away. Of course, we were also eating and drinking whilst being merry, and we had a lot of unabashedly noisy fun. Ah, those were the days.
Both of those amazing inspirational women are gone, but their lessons echo in my head as I approach anything I'm going to cook, although my own style of cooking is different than either of theirs. I still miss calling Mom for advice on some strange thing I want to cook. She was the expert on everything. Even if she didn't know she could tell you how to do it. Bossy or inspired? A bit of both, and I miss it sorely.
You can contact me at SweetwaterGems@gmail.com. Please check out our website at SweetwaterGems.com, for some more stuff, including great cat photos and stories (under the tab: Odds & Ends, then Cats).
Comments are welcome - I would love to hear your tips and ideas and stories of your own inspirations for cooking.
I hope you enjoy my recipes and come back often!
