Mrs. Wheelbarrow

I’ve been a retailer, a marketing pro, an event planner, a consultant, a landscape designer.

Through it all, I’ve been a passionate cook.  In 2009, I created Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen, where food preservation, seasonal, locally sourced foods, and maintaining my practical pantry are always the focus. Here you’ll find me cooking, baking, and canning to preserve the freshest foods of the season, teaching cooking classes, and visiting local farmers and producers.

I’ve been really fortunate – NPR’s Morning Edition sent Linda Wertheimer to can tomatoes with me, Al Roker made my Thanksgiving stuffing on The Today Show, two of my recipes are included in the first Food52 cookbook, and another will be in the second. Things really took off when my Sour Cherry Pie earned a blue ribbon for Overall Best Pie at our local farmer’s market. Later that same year, three of my holiday cookie recipes appeared in the Washington Post, followed by a feature story about Charcutepalooza.

Charcutepalooza was a year long celebration of the ancient art of charcuterie. Through 2011, monthly challenges to make your own meat were published here and cross-posted on Food52, and an enthusiastic group of international bloggers joined in, all vying for a trip to France. The year changed me forever. I traveled to Gascony and my food vision was expanded and informed. I wrote often during 2011, and I cooked all the time. I had never been so happy, and so, in 2012, I’ve taken a big leap. I’m setting forth on (yet another) career as a food writer.

I live in Washington, DC, with my mostly vegetarian husband, Dennis, scruffy dog, Louie, and elegant white cat, Beans. We live next to Rock Creek Park and share the flower garden with too many deer, raccoon, fox, possum and the occasional coyote to even think about growing vegetables. The backyard bird activity is always exciting – all sorts of woodpeckers, hawks and even our resident barred owls visit.

It’s peaceful here. Come on in and stay for a visit. My kitchen is how I express my creativity. There are always multiple projects going. It’s where all that I’ve learned and practiced -  food preservation, ancient ways, modern techniques – mix with my ever present curiosity and practical need to just make dinner.

xoCathy

Recent articles:

Preserving Tropical Fruits, New York Times Dining
Tasting Cecina in Tepoztlan’s Marketplace, Washington Post Travel
For Valentine’s Day, a creamy dessert straight from the heart, Washington Post Food
Cranberry Conserve: A Tart Option to the Can, New York Times Dining
The Gift of Holiday Goose, Washington Post Food
Everything but the Pie, Garden and Gun, October/November, 2012
A Gift so Tasty You Might Keep It, New York Times Dining
Video – Making Jam with Melissa Clark, New York Times Dining
The Ease and Appeal of DIY Slivovitz, Washington Post Food
Making Salami At Home, Food52
Apples are Early, but not as Red or Crunchy, New York Times Diner’s Journal
Roll out the Bourbon Barrel and Fill it with Hot Sauce, NPR, The Salt
Raspberry Chocolate Almond Preserves, New York Times Dining
Tomato Canning Q&A, Washington Post Food
Fewer Cherries for that Pie, New York Times Diner’s Journal
Radio – All About Canning, Splendid Table
Blueberry Pie Filling, New York Times Dining
Easy Steps to Preserving Produce, New York Times Dining
Chefs and the Charcuterie Gap, Washington Post Food
Citrus Liqueurs, New York Times Dining
Bacon at Home, New York Times Dining
Giardiniera, New York Times Dining

I am currently working on my first cookbook. Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry will be published by W.W. Norton in Fall, 2014.  I’m fortunate to be working with the legendary editor, Maria Guarnaschelli.

Contact: mrswheelbarrow AT gmail DOT com