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Welcome to Secret Women's Recipes.

I’ve always loved cooking schools.  In the many cities I’ve lived in, the first thing I would do was to check out the local cooking schools.  It was a great way to find out where to shop and where the good restaurants were.

I grew up in Sudbury Ontario in Canada.  In 1983 I married Harry.  His work took us all over the world.  We lived in Unionville, near Toronto from 1979 to 1991.  Then in 1991, when our children were 3 and 5 years old, we moved to Sydney Australia for a short 18-month assignment.  This turned into a 10-year adventure.  While there, I was fortunate to meet my neighbor, Maggie Hughes of Maggie’s Epicurean.  The food in Australia is absolutely wonderful and the recipes have Asian and Thai influences.  I believe Sydney has some of the best restaurants, chefs and wines in the world.  I miss the coffee, the wines and Balmoral Beach.  Maggie catered our 'going away' party - something all expats eventually have to plan.  I still have the menu which was exquisite.  I would have loved to stay in Sydney to work with Maggie, but in 2000 we moved to Atlanta, Georgia. 

It was here that I met Chef John Wilson of Culinary Adventures.  I worked for him in his local catering business and European Cooking School doing administrative work.  Chef Wilson taught a Chef’s Apprentice course at the local college. This was a great experience in a class of 12 students, learning in a huge commercial kitchen.  Part of the course required working in a restaurant for one week.  That was when I realized I was not cut out for the restaurant business.  Chopping a bucket of onions, lifting heavy trays of veal bones, slaving over a continuously running gas stove, and plating food for a busy lunch crowd.  It dawned on me  -  there is nothing better than just cooking for your family and friends.  

After one year in Atlanta,  Harry's work took us to Denver Colorado for 4 ½ years. This is where I met Mary Jo Nevers and started personal training with her.  We began talking about nutrition and recipes and I’d workout on the treadmill watching the Food Network!   I was in the best shape of my life thanks to Mary's coaching.  But, it was time to move again. 

In 2006, my new kitchen was in St Paul, Minnesota.  There was a cooking school just down the street at the Cooks of Crocus Hill on Grand Avenue.  A short drive to Stillwater, and you would find The Chef's Gallery with more classes to attend.  By 2010 we had lived through too many winters in Minnesota, so it was time to retire and move to Naples, Florida.  This was a good change.

The chef at our golf club had monthly cooking classes for members and guests, which I much preferred to golfing.  There was also a Sur La Table right next to the Whole Foods which was very close to us. Since Naples is so hot in the summer, we go up North to Canada.  Just 2 hours from Toronto, there is a beautiful lakes area called "Muskoka". Words alone cannot describe the beauty of this place.  For our family, it is the perfect location.  We have lots of time to visit everyone and catch up with old friends.  Muskoka is another area where you can find amazing restaurants that serve locally grown products.  There's a butcher shop called Stephen's in Port Carling. They provide meats, fish, cheeses, seafood, and more to the top restaurants and you can find just about anything there - if they don't have it, they'll get it for you. It is a family-run business in a small community and a joy to shop there.

We wrote a family cookbook for our close friends and relatives called "Pasta & Perogies".  It was a labour of love to say the least. Our mother's parents came to Canada from Lviv in the Ukraine and Romania.  Our father's parents immigrated to Canada from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. We grew up in a family that celebrated the culture and food of both backgrounds. I think that is why we all love to cook. The picture above was taken at a private cooking class with Bianca on a trip to Italy with my sisters. It was wonderful to see where our Italian grandparents were born and somehow it felt like home.

Now it is time for the kids and grandkids to start learning some cooking skills.  I always told them, if you can cook - you will never have a bad meal! Cooking is a life skill they need to teach again in schools.  Home Economics was definitely my favorite class.

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite recipes collected over the years. Some healthy, some not so healthy. But life is about balance.

Food is Love so enjoy cooking for those you love.

Granada Pomegranates
Watercolor by Elise Debes