Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, I grew up enjoying all sorts of delicious food cooked by my mother and grandmother. As far back as I can remember, I was always eager to participate in the process that resulted in such tasty dishes. When I was really little, I especially loved to crank our old-fashioned cast-iron meat grinder. Later, when I was old enough to stand at the stove, I fell in love with frying: watching foods turn a beautiful golden-brown color fascinated me.

When I was 12, my family and I moved to Los Angeles, and a few years later, tired of the perpetual summer and a car-dependent lifestyle, I enrolled in college in New York City and moved across the country. During my eight years in New York, I graduated from college, got married, worked at several different jobs {at Columbia University and the Rainforest Alliance}, and enjoyed shopping at some of the dozens of Russian grocery stores in Brooklyn, which offered a nostalgic taste of all the traditional favorites, from apples in brine to zucchini patties.

Although there were many things my husband and I liked about New York, we eventually felt compelled to explore another corner of the country. So we packed up our belongings, got on an Amtrak train, and three days later got off 2,400 miles northwest of our starting point. Seattle was our destination, and we are now happily settled in this wonderful city. We love Seattle’s cozy neighborhoods, the beautiful Puget Sound, and the amazing hiking opportunities offered by the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. And those long autumn and winter nights and gray, drizzly weekends leave plenty of time for cooking!

In addition to my culinary venture, I currently work as a grant writer at WACAP, a non-profit adoption and child assistance agency in the Seattle area. I am also pursuing masters’ degrees in public affairs and Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington.