Garden Grown Chef

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas Eve 🎄

Not quite the feast of the seven fishes, but we like to stick with seafood for Christmas Eve.

Thanks to for the beautiful 🦞 tails.

22/12/2025

Winter Solstice through the New Year is always a time of slowing down and turning inward. This year, because I am no longer cooking for clients, part of that turning inward is cooking what feels comforting and nourishing for myself and my own family.

Today that was garlic and red wine braised grass-fed short ribs from Iron Hill Farm of Maryland, with mashed potatoes and green beans. Simple, slow cooking that made the perfect welcome meal to Winter ❄️ and an excellent backdrop to cookie baking 🍪

16/12/2025

SERVICE UPDATE

As of December 2025, I will not be preparing meals for clients until Fall of 2026, at the earliest.

In late July of 2025, testing showed that a previous meningioma had returned. I will be undergoing brain surgery in mid-January 2026.

My energy and focus will be on my family and my recovery.

When I am able, I hope to begin the next chapter of Garden Grown Chef, be it in the kitchen or by another means of helping support people to eat balanced, garden-to-table seasonal meals.

24/11/2025

This Moroccan Spiced meal prep salad would also make a great Thanksgiving side with its show stopping colors.

I usually enjoy this with salmon, but it would also work well with turkey or ham, and other traditional holiday sides.

📸 Arugula salad with pearled couscous, pomegranate perils, roasted rainbow carrots, feta, pistachios and Moroccan orange spiced vinaigrette (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, turmeric)

23/11/2025

What a wonderful weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with family at my cousin's vineyard in Lovettsville, Virginia with all of their amazing, award winning wines

Domaine Fortier Vineyards

17/11/2025

Since I am pausing my personal chef services, at what I know is a very busy time for families, I'd like to take the opportunity to highly recommend another local personal chef.

If you are looking for holiday catering or meal prep services, I highly recommend reaching out to Wanderlust Cuisine- Chef Amy Hessel

She is the former owner and chef at the Rail Trail Cafe, among other accomplishments, and you will be in excellent hands.

https://wanderlustcuisine.com/?fbclid=IwVERDUANLXKxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHolnR0nKZsypo8rYgf3y08ToYvYmCHc0vO-sbz4t3cCmCZxRDwt1eeI-IwVJ_aem_3ILZ8rvTVjyBDnatTqg8RA

Experience delicious meals tailored to your taste. Our private chef service brings gourmet meals right to your kitchen, with mulit-course dining experiences, group and one on one cooking classes, and meal prep. Book today!

11/11/2025

Something I love...cozying up with a warm mug of chai on the first truly cold day of the season.

Something I don't love...taking a series of awkward selfies to use for a big announcement...

In 2016, I found out I had a brain tumor, and in January of 2017, I had surgery when my first daughter was just 4 months old. It transformed my path and my life.

This Summer, I discovered my tumor has returned, and I will be undergoing another craniotomy in January.

As of December, I will no longer be cooking for clients. Instead, I will be focusing on nourishing my body and stocking my family's freezer, some of which I will post about here.

It may be a long time before I cook for clients again, but I have a lot of ideas about other sorts of meal assistance I can provide, in the form of hyper seasonal meal guides and recipes.

I may not post often (screen time is a big 👎🏻post surgery) and my website will likely come down for a time, but rest assured, I'm still here, doing my thing, trying to figure out how I can help people enjoy balanced, garden to table meals that meet the needs of their busy lives.

I hope my quest to use food as medicine in my preparation for surgery and recovery can be of use for others as well, but who knows where this next transformation will lead me.

09/11/2025

I make chicken parm, eggplant parm and zucchini parm, but one of our house favorites is actually sweet potato parm.

Cut the sweet potatoes into 1/2" rounds, toss with EVOO, Italian seasoning, garlic granules, s & p and roast at 375 deg for about 40 min, flipping half way through.

Top each round with marinara, mozzarella and Parmesan, and broil until golden and gooey.

Serve alongside pasta with fresh marinara and a kale Caesar for a delicious family friendly vegetarian meal.

06/11/2025

Fall comfort food, loaded with nutrients, packed with flavor, and easily customizable.

📸Vegan Pumpkin & Apple Cider 4 Bean Chili with Sweet Potatoes, Poblano Peppers and a Smoky + Warm combination of spices

📸Mexican Chopped Kale Salad with roasted Sweet Potatoes, Purple Cabbage, Pepitas, Cotija cheese and Cilantro 🍋‍🟩 Dressing

23/10/2025

I wouldn't exactly call this Thai curry traditional, but it does hit all the right notes that bring me back to my experiences with Thai street food circa 2006.

The veggies I use vary with the season, but the combination of garlic, ginger, scallions, Thai hot peppers, cilantro, Thai basil, coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice create that pungent, savory, umami aroma that is as familiar as it is exotic.

This curry is great with tofu, shrimp or chicken and is best served over steaming rice.

Some of my favorite Autumn veggies to use, in any combination, are mushrooms, peppers, winter squash, green beans, cauliflower, kale and spinach.

Curry is great for freezing, so make a big batch!

Enjoy 😋

17/10/2025

It's no secret that my first step in creating seasonal menus is simply thinking about the foods that I've been craving. What I make for my clients is often what I end up making for myself, so I love it when our tastes are aligned.

This week's combo of classic homemade chicken noodle soup and Orchard Harvest Salad have been the definition of comfort food, hitting just right as the temps have begun to dip and the leaves to turn.

📸Chicken Noodle soup
with 🍋 & fresh herbs
(chicken from RED STAR FARM )
📸Orchard Harvest Salad
with baby spinach, apples & pears
from Shaw Orchards, pecans, goat cheese, red onion, apple cider vinaigrette

15/10/2025

Homemade chicken stock is liquid gold this time of year. It will become the base of so many soups, sauces, and sometimes even just sipped from a mug with a hunk of sourdough for dipping.

Soup bones from RED STAR FARM seasoned and roasted in the oven for
~ an hour at 450 deg
(or a leftover carcass from whole roasted chicken)

Place bones and juices in a large stock pot with a few stalks of roughly chopped celery, carrots, quartered onions and halved garlic bulbs. Add a couple bay leaves, bunch of fresh thyme and pinch of peppercorns.

Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 4-8 hrs. Stop when reduced by ~ half, or add more cool water, return to a simmer, and reduce to 3/4 for additional collagen extraction for bone broth.

Strain through a colander (and then a fine mesh strainer if youd like). Cool to room temp before refrigerating or freezing in quart containers. Fat will solidify at the top once cold and can be removed before reheating, or included for a richer dish.

For a sipping broth, add sea salt, cracked pepper and a squeeze of 🍋 to suit your tastes.

Enjoy!