I work as a piano and voice teacher, and music director. Besides playing music, I love reading, going to the gym, cooking for two and exploring the area. I live in Kirkland with my fiance and our two adorable kittens. My heritage is largely Italian/Irish, I've lived in southern Spain and traveled a lot, so it's pretty eclectic --- I mostly cook weird Mediterranean-style dishes. I also love making elaborate breakfasts on the weekend with my fiance. Cooking is one of my favorite ways to unwind..it's pretty common for me to spend most of Sunday in the kitchen. I love it! My grandmother's Italian spaghetti sauce is definitely a tradition...using lots of garlic...mmm. Also: Gift of the Magi Bread during Christmas season, turnips at Thanksgiving, and Nova Scotian fish chowder to warm many cold, rainy night. The day I perfected Spanish Gazpacho...the trick is to blend it for literally 10 minutes, and use almost overripe tomatoes. I thought adding breadcrumbs to a marinated mushrooms recipe would be a good idea...turns out they just soaked up all the liquid and formed a weird paste....not so hot.