My Background and History Archives

Beer Bread Cookbook

November 1, 2019

I can’t believe it’s been 8 months since I hit send on the manuscript.

Writing a cookbook puts you in a strange timewarp where you feel like it was just yesterday, yet forever ago at the same time. I’m not even sure how that is possible! But that is how it feels.

My cookbook, Beer Bread: Brew-Infused Breads, Rolls, Biscuits, Muffins and More, is officially available for pre-order!

It hits shelves February 4, 2020!

There are so many reasons why I love this book. I mean, I love writing and photographing my own cookbooks, but this one is special. It’s an idea I had on the backburner for years. Even before Food on Tap!

For Dixie

July 9, 2019

On January 9th, 2019 we said good-bye to our sweet pug, Dixie. Also affectionately known as Dixie-land and Dum-dum. I’ve never been one to enjoy reading the emotional stories of others when it comes to the loss of a pet (too many tears) so I don’t blame you if you skip right past this post. But I need to tell Dixie’s story and to share the impact she had on our lives. It’s been six months, and losing her has been a big part of the reason that I have a hard time being in the kitchen and struggle with returning to regular posting here. So this post is for her.

A man answered the door and as we stepped inside a pug-shaped bolt of lightning shot through the room. I can’t remember if she slammed up against our legs or the closed door as she came to a stop, but as it happened the man said – that’s her.

I heard myself say – It is? Followed by something that sounded like a mix between nervous laughter and a gulp of fear.

Macy was around 8 and the goal was to find a pug just a little younger than her to be a buddy, to keep her company when we traveled, and to keep her active as she aged. Dixie was estimated to be about 6. She was a surrender from a breeder who gave her up when she was done having puppies. We were making our first visit to her foster home to meet her and to see if we wanted to adopt her.

My 3 Words for 2019

January 4, 2019

I have to admit that 2018 was the one year that I barely looked back at my three words. I’m not quite sure why. I was really excited about those words.

It was a good, but also a weird year. Maybe that is the reason I didn’t revisit them. This weirdness is a sentiment I’ve gotten from a lot of other people, too. Professionally, it was a treading-water kind of year. At a recent local meeting I attend with other small business owners and creatives, a friend of mine said, “2018 was about survival.” It was spot on.

That’s never a good feeling. And because of it, I did no work travel for continuing education and I can really feel the effects. I felt closed off from colleagues and stumped for creativity.

The Top Recipes After 10 Years of Fake Food Free

June 9, 2018

Nine hundred and eighty-one published posts.

That is what it tells me when I log into WordPress.

I wasn’t always on WordPress. Actually, I stayed true to Blogger as my platform until just a few years ago. But all those posts are there, from 2008 to the present.

It’s probably not a lot compared to other blogs that have been around this long. Some years have more posts than others.

The first few had a lot of soapbox opinion posts about my views on nutrition. The blog has always had a smattering of internationally inspired content. For a while, you’d find nothing but mascavo sugar and white whole wheat flour. Then I relaxed the rules a bit on that. Mainly because the sugar got much harder and more expensive to find when we moved back to the States, and to be honest, I got sick of the flavor of that flour.

Then I went and wrote a cookbook about making foods with beer. And I started a business, now called Fake Food Free Productions, LLC where my main services are photographing food and writing related content.

It’s been an interesting path. The pictures above are of me with my first sticky rice in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2009. Then a picture I took at my first food photography workshop. Jumping to current days, the next is one of the headshots I had taken when my cookbook published last year.

Lately, it has been fun to look back at all my content and see how some of my favorite recipes compare to the internet’s favorite recipes.

Fake Food Free Is 10 Years Old

May 30, 2018

Fake Food Free is 10 years old this week! While I haven’t had many recipes up lately, I have been doing plenty with food. This is a little photo tour.

Other than working on projects for clients and throwing a holiday cookout last weekend, I haven’t been in the kitchen much in May.

We’ve been eating a lot of leftovers from shoots. Other things have been less than glamorous which means there isn’t much of a recipe to photograph and share.

My point with all of this is to say that I know I haven’t been posting much recently. Even with the fresh produce of the spring and summer coming on, I still have nothing.

I plan for it to change some in June, so hang in there with me.

While I haven’t been developing recipes fit for this site, I have been taking a lot of photos.

And guess what? Fake Food Free turns 10 years old this week!

Thanksgiving Snapshots

November 23, 2017

Californian Persimmons. Photo by Lori Rice. | FakeFoodFree.com

I know it’s more common to look back at the year and reflect on December 31st. This year, though, it feels more appropriate to do it on this day that is so strongly associated with pausing to consider what we are thankful for.

The more I dive into the world of photography, the more I find feelings of gratitude creeping up inside me.

For me, moments are easily forgotten. When I take a second to photograph that moment and then flip back through what I’ve captured, those memories instantly become real again. It’s as if I’m there.

And I’m thankful all over again.

I’ll let these images speak for themselves. They are simply moments from this year that fill me with all kinds of gratitude. Some involve travel, others are in our backyard. Some involve a hint of my work, others leisure, and many food.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and Happy Thanksgiving!

A New Kitchen

July 29, 2017

The first time we walked through this house, before we even made an offer, I knew I wanted that wall to go.

We liked the house as it was, of course. In fact, the kitchen was much more updated than most of the houses we’d looked at. But what could have been a beautifully open space when this house was built was turned into a cramped spot with a blocked view.

It was also brown. Oh man, I am simply not a fan of the neutrals and browns family of colors. I feel like people have gone to town with those colors with this idea that they go with everything. Well, they really only go with other browns and neutrals.

I wanted gray, I wanted white and bright, and I wanted…subway tile.

And that wall I was talking about. It was this one.

My Three Words for 2017

December 29, 2016

Overall, I can say that 2016 had all the makings of a great year.

Personally, after 3 years of rental living we purchased and moved into our 3rd home. My great-niece was born and I got to meet her. My favorite pug turned 14. We traveled to a few new places including the Channel Islands, Door County, WI, Yosemite, and Barbados. We visited a lot of new breweries and met new beer people. I got to hang out with quite a few goats, and you know how much I love goats.

Professionally, I attended an outstanding food photography workshop, secured a cookbook contract, photographed my first cookbook for a publishing company, worked with four new food clients, and wrote articles for three new print publications. I now have an official studio and office in our home with quite an extensive collection of props.

So why am I giving into this overwhelming social pressure that 2016 was such a crappy year?

This September

September 22, 2015

I’m usually not one to comment on how quickly or slowly the months go by. It varies for me from year to year. It all depends on what I have going on.

Lately though, I’ve been thinking a lot about this September. Mostly about how it came along quickly, after what felt like a long August, and now suddenly it’s almost gone.

There are 3 very good reasons for this.

Grain Free Pizza Crust from Everyday Grain-Free Baking

February 20, 2015

I found this grain free pizza crust in my review copy of Everyday Grain-Free Baking by Kelly Smith. I quickly became a huge fan. It’s a variation that everyone will love regardless of your personal eating style.

Everyone has an opinion about grains these days. Some people limit them because they think it helps them lose weight, or because they follow a specific eating style. Others stay away from the gluten in grains out of necessity due to a diagnosed medical condition, or because it makes them feel better. Grains are in the spotlight right now for better or worse, no doubt.

I don’t speak much about the topic because opinions are so strong on every side of the argument. What I am happy about is that all this grain talk has given those with medically diagnosed gluten allergies many, many more food options and I think this is a great thing.

I can only speak to my own experiences. I am not gluten free or grain free. Neither make me feel bad as others claim they do, and yes, I have experimented with cutting them out. I completely respect that your story might be that your life changed after cutting them out, but that story isn’t mine.