contributors
Robin Asbell
spreads the word about how truly delicious and beautiful whole, real foods can be through her work as an author, cooking teacher and private chef. She likes to add special touches to dishes that range from meat and seafood to beans and grains, with an emphasis on taste. Her latest book is The Whole Grain Promise, More Than 100 Recipes to Jumpstart a Healthier Diet and she is the author of Juice It!, Big Vegan: Over 350 Recipes, No Meat No Dairy All Delicious; The New Vegetarian; and Gluten-Free Pasta: More than 100 Fast and Flavorful Recipes with Low- and No-Carb Options.
Lara Miklasevics
began her food career on the other side of the camera, cooking at the renowned New French Café. Today her work as a stylist is in demand at corporations including Heinz, Target and General Mills, as well as with many magazines. She prides herself on using her experience as a chef to make food as appealing on the page as it is on the plate.
8 real food spring 2016
Jason Ross
is a culinary instructor at Le Cordon Bleu in Minnesota and has worked as a consultant to help develop menus at many Twin Cities restaurants. He grew up in New York City but now calls St. Paul home, where he lives with his wife and two young daughters.
Stephanie Ashcraft is the author of numerous cookbooks including the best selling 101 Things to do With a Cake Mix and is coauthor with Donna Kelly of 101 Things to do with a Tortilla. Raised near Kirklin, Ind., she received a bachelor’s degree in family science and a teaching certificate from Brigham Young University. For years, she taught cooking classes for Macey’s Little Cooking Theatre in Provo and Orem. She lives in Marana, Arizona, a suburb of Tucson, and appears on the local KOLD13’s morning news sharing money saving meal tips.
Marie Simmons
has created recipes and written food articles for dozens of magazines, including Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and Eating Well. For more than 15 years, she wrote a monthly column for Bon Appétit, as well as a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. She is the author of more than 20 cookbooks, including Fig Heaven, The Amazing World of Rice, Things Cooks Love, and her latest, Taste of Honey. She lives in Eugene, Ore. Photograph by Luca Travoto.
Tara Q. Thomas
intended to be a chef when she trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, but got sidetracked by wine. She’s been writing about it for nearly 20 years now, most prominently at Wine & Spirits Magazine, where she is Executive Editor. Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics and a contributor to the forthcoming Oxford Companions to cheese and spirits, she also sits on the advisory panel for the International Culinary Center’s Sommelier Training Program. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., juggling a laptop and two small children—and still cooks nearly nightly, albeit for a smaller crowd.
Terry Brennan Donna Kelly
was born and raised in tortilla country—southern Arizona. Donna is a dedicated food fanatic and recipe developer, she’s the author of Quesadillas, French Toast, Virgin Vegan Everyday Recipes, 200 Appetizers, 101 Things to do with a Tortilla and 101 Things to do with Tofu. She currently lives in Provo, Utah.
is an award-winning photographer who has worked for General Mills, Pillsbury, Budweiser, Target and many national advertising agencies. “My real passion lies in editorial work,” he says, “in which a photographer’s freedom to create a story or look through the photograph is much greater.”