ABOUT THIS COOK:

I'm a California woman cooking in Montana. I use what I have, given the seasons. Winter is thankfully waning, so we're starting to see English peas and asparagus along with the lingering root vegetables. Seeds have been started for my first experiment with raised-bed gardens. Also, setting plans in place for a baking workshop in Montana this summer. I might be the luckiest person alive. I get to teach people about food. Not just how to cook, but about food. There is nothing quite like seeing someone's eyes light up when tasting a new food or flavor. And then there's seeing the penny drop when someone understands the "why" of a technique or process. AND I've bribed a bunch of cooking friends known as The Divas into helping me test recipes for a series of cookbooks that have been percolating on a back burner for too long.

• What is the strangest food you have ever eaten?
  Haven't eaten anything I'd consider strange lately.

• What do you cook when home alone?
  I'm always home alone unless I have guests. Root vegetables, pasta, always pastas, eggs, and of course bison

• Your most treasured kitchen possession:
  At the moment, my different mixers.

• The ideal number of guests for a dinner party is:
  6 or 8