I have spent much of my career working as a writer and communicator for non-profits in the food, pharmaceutical and scientific sectors. My jobs have afforded me the opportunity to go to some beautiful parts of the world and to places I never expected to see in the U.S. Along the way, I have learned about the cuisines of these places and brought them home and given my friends and family the tastes of these areas as a way to connect them to my experiences.

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But my interest in food and travel started at a much younger age. My parents were first generation Americans, born to parents from Italy (three of my grandparents were from Sicily and Campagna specifically) and Sweden. I grew up thinking that many people made their own pasta and bread and knew the joys of big family gatherings with heaving tables of food for the holidays. As if that wasn’t enough of a push to develop my interest, we moved overseas when I was six to London and lived there during my formative years where I learned a good deal more about Middle Eastern, Chinese, and Indian foods.

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While in London, I developed an affinity for writing and decided that’s what I was going to do when I grew up. My dad started as a journalist for the News-American in Baltimore but ended up working for nearly 40 years for the U.S. Department of Defense, where he met my mom in 1967. His job allowed us to travel to places like Greece and Turkey and all over Europe. At one point, I decided I wanted to be a chef, but when I found out how much it cost to go to the Culinary Institute, I decided to pursue my plans to be a writer and ended up attending college in Munich, Germany and ultimately obtained a degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

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Gaelic and Garlic is the culmination of a long-standing dialogue between my husband John and I about who we are and what our heritages mean to both of us. On my end, you have an Italian American woman who loves to cook and feed her family and on the other, you have my Irish American husband who was originally confounded by my obsession with meal planning and going to the ends of the earth for supplies. He described us and our marriage as “gaelic and garlic” and we reveled in the differences of how our families approached meal-time. Fortunately, he loves the adventure of food and travel as much as I do!

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Over the years, I have enjoyed sharing family recipes and those from my travels with my children. I hope others will enjoy what I have to share here in terms of travel tips, food experiences and recipes!