I write cookbooks. I also edit them. I am grateful that I have found work that I enjoy.

Recipes from the Root Cellar is my newest book, due out on July 9.  I am very excited about it, and it is already generating favorable reviews.  

Mostly I have written about vegetables, but I took a break from them to write  250 Treasured Country Dessertswith my co-author Fran Raboff on, which came out in 2009. The book is an update and expanded version of Mom’s Best Desserts, which was an update and expanded version of The Great American Dessert Cookbook. The collection contains everyone’s favorite home desserts—lots of cookies, brownies, layer cakes, pies, old-fashioned fruit desserts, ice cream, and more.

The New Vegetarian Grill is an updated and expanded version of an earlier book about vegetarian grilling. I’ve also written about cooking with the seasons (Serving Up the Harvest, The Classic Zucchini Cookbook), roasting vegetables (The Roasted Vegetable), and healthy eating (366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains). Then there is also Mom’s Best Desserts, Mom’s Best One-Dish Suppers, and Mom’s Best Crowd-Pleasers, and a few more that are now out-of-print. Right now I am working on a book preserving, which will recyle some favorite recipes from the out-of-print Summer in a Jar and the soon-to-be out-of-print Pickles and Relishes.

My work has appeared in Edible Green Mountains, Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, Organic Gardening, Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Natural Health, and several other magazines and newspapers. I was a Rcontributing editor for Vermont Life for twelve years. 

Over the years I have edited hundreds of cookbooks, gardening books and others too varied to classify. I also Americanize cookbooks published in England and index books as well.

I live in an old farmhouse in Ripton, Vermont, a very small town where early and late frosts make gardening challenging. The poet Robert Frost used to rent a cottage across the street and took his meals in our house, in what we now call “the Robert Frost Memorial Dining Room.” I am married to Richard Ruane, a marvelous musician and recipe taster. Our kids, Rory and Sam, are also excellent cooks and enthusiastic recipe tasters. They have served as great inspiration for me.



 Photo by Richard Ruane

 

 

 

 

Resume

Editor

Project development and management, manuscript evaluation, substantive editing, copyediting, Americanizations, and indexing.  Specializing in cookbooks, gardening books, health, how-to.

Freelance, 1983-present.

Garden Way Publishing, Charlotte, Vt., 1980-1983.

Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pa., 1978-1980.

 

Ghostwriter

The Good Home Cookbook by Richard Perry (Collector’s Press) 2006.

Noodle Fusion by Dorothy Rankin (Crossing Press, Freedom, Calif.) 2000.

The Big Book of Gardening Skills by the editors of Garden Way Publishing (Storey       Communications, Pownal, Vt.) 1993.

Gardener's Questions Answered by The National Gardening Association (Villard Books, New York) 1987.

Gardening: The Complete Guide to Growing America's Favorite Fruits & Vegetables by The National Gardening Association (Addison Wesley, Reading, Mass.) 1986.

The Prison Garden Book by Nancy Flinn (National Gardening Association, Burlington, Vt.) 1985.

Joy of Gardening Cookbook by Janet Ballantyne (Garden Way Publishing, Pownal, Vt.) 1983.

 

Author

Recipes from the Root Cellar.  Expected pub date, July 9, 2010.  (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.). 

250 Treasured Country Desserts with Fran Raboff.  Expanded and updated version of Mom’s Best Desserts (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.).  2009  

The New Vegetarian Grill.  Updated and expanded edition of The Vegetarian Grill (Harvard Common Press, Boston). 2008

Serving Up the Harvest  Paperback edition of Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook. (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.). 2007. 

Mom’s Best Crowd-Pleasers. (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.). 2006.

Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook.  (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.).  2005 

Mom’s Best One-Dish Suppers. Incorporates recipes from Salad Suppers and Skillet Suppers. (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.).   2005.

Mom’s Best Desserts with Fran Raboff.  Expanded new edition.  Previously published as The Great American Dessert Cookbook. (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.).  2002.  Out of print.

The Classic Zucchini Cookbook: 25^th Anniversary Edition with Nancy Ralston and Marynor Jordan (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.). 2002

The Roasted Vegetable (Harvard Common Press, Boston, Mass.). 2002

The Vegetarian Grill (Harvard Common Press, Boston, Mass.).  1998. James Beard Cookbook Award nominee, Books for Cooks Book Club Selection, 1999 NBBQA Award of Excellence.

366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans & Grains (Plume Books, New York).  1998. A Books for Cooks Book Club Selection.

Salad Suppers (Chapters, Boston, Mass.). 1997. A Books for Cooks Book Club Selection.  Out of print.

Yankee Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners by Andrea Chesman and the Editors of Yankee Magazine.  (Villard Books, New York).  1996.

The Busy Person’s Guide to Preserving Food by Janet Chadwick, updated and revised by  Andrea Chesman (Storey Communications, Pownal, Vt.). 1995.

Simply Healthful Skillet Suppers (Chapters, Boston, Mass.). 1994. A Better Homes and Gardens

            Book Club Selection.  Out of print.

Simply Healthful Pasta Salads  (Chapters, Boston, Mass.)   1993.  A Better Homes and Gardens

            Book Club Selection. Out of print.

The Great American Dessert Cookbook with Fran Raboff (Crossing Press, Freedom, Calif.) 1990.  Out of print. 

Sun-Dried Tomatoes! (Crossing Press, Freedom, Calif.) 1990.  Out of print.

Sauces for Pasta! by Kristie Scott with Andrea Chesman (Crossing Press, Freedom, Calif.) 1990.  Out of print.

Salsas! (Crossing Press, Trumansburg, N.Y.) 1985.  A Better Homes and Gardens Book Club Selection.  Out of print.

Summer in a Jar: Making Pickles, Jams, and More (Williamson Publishing Co., Charlotte, Vt.) 1985. Out of print.

Pickles and Relishes: 150 Recipes from Apples to Zucchini (Garden Way Publishing, Pownal, Vt.) 1983.  A Better Homes and Gardens Book Club Selection.

Guide to Women's Publishing (Dustbooks, Paradise, Calif.) 1978.  Out of print.

 

Contributor (Books)

The EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook by Joyce Hendley & the Editors of EatingWell (Countryman Press, Woodstock, Vt.) 2005 (1 recipe)

500 Treasured Country Recipes by Martha Storey & Friends (Storey Books, North Adams, Mass.). 2000 (8 recipes)

Fun Time, Family Time by Susan Perry. (Avon Books, N.Y.). 1996. (60 recipes)

The Best of Food & Wine, 1995 (Food & Wine Books, N.Y.). 1996. (3 recipes)

Best of Pantry by the Editors of Harrowsmith Country Life (Camden House, Charlotte, Vt.). 1995. (41 recipes)

The Family Circle Good Cook's Book (Simon & Schuster, New York). 1993. (1 chapter)   

Harrowsmith Country Life Reader (Camden House,  Charlotte, Vt.). 1990. (1 chapter) 

The Creative Cook  (International Cooking, New York). 1986. (3 chapters)

 

Contributor (Magazines and Newspapers) 

Contributing Editor, Edible Green Mountains, 2008-2010

Contributing Food Editor, Vermont Life, 1988-2001.

Natural Health, Vegetarian Times, Cooking Light, Eating Well, Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, New York Times, Organic Gardening, Quick & Healthy Cooking, Harrowsmith Country Life, National Gardening Magazine, New England Monthly, Vermont Dining, Burlington Free Press, Vermont Times, Vermont Vanguard, Teago's Guide to Lake Champlain, New Age Magazine, Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post.

 

Education

Cornell University, Bachelor of Science, 1974.

University of Denver, Master of Library Science, 1980.