Hi. My name is Amy Jo. Nice to meet you.
I am not sure how or when I learned to cook. My mother taught me a lot and I remember trying to make churros with my brother when we were little and mom was taking a nap, but I think I started really experimenting in college. My first semester of college I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which is basically an auto-immune disease in the large intestine, or colon. Confused about why I suddenly had this disease, I started tweaking my diet to see if eating differently helped. I took gluten, milk,eggs, shell fish, nuts, and anything with lots of roughage out of my diet. I slowly added things back in to the point where I would eat most things except gluten, corn syrup, and dairy. I started experimenting with cooking so that my food would still taste yummy. Eventually I added most things back into my diet and realized that things felt no different when I restricted my diet and when I ate normally. I still "flared-up" and went into remission over and over whether or not I was eating dairy and gluten or not. (I have been tested since and found out that I do not have celiac, nor am I lactose intolerant.)
Now, I am feeling pretty good and my explorations in the kitchen made a lasting impression. When I first got married ( over 4 years ago!), I started documenting my recipes on this blog. It has turned into a hobby that I love.
Meanwhile, I have finished my bachelor's degree in theatre and speech education with a minor in health education. We just moved from Idaho to Ohio so my husband, and my very cooperative taste-tester, can attend medical school. I am working at a little shoe store called Easton Shoes and I love it there! In my spare non-cooking time I enjoy reading, skiing, acting, and hanging out with my husband.
