I count myself among the fortunate to be able to work at what I love -- writing, cooking, traveling and taking photos. As a syndicated food writer, my articles have appeared in such newspapers as The Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun. I've also covered food and travel for such print magazines as VegNews, BackHome and Town and Country Living and the online publication Zester Daily. Throughout my food writing career I've worked as a recipe tester, trying and tweaking the culinary creations of noted authors as well as my own recipes. My first cookbook, Fish Market (Running Press, 2013), was released on May 28, 2013. Derived from my 16 years as a pescetarian, Fish Market looks at selecting, preparing and pairing seafood.Growing up in an ethnically diverse, former steel town north of Pittsburgh, I learned early on about exciting and influential world cuisines. Pasta fagioli, pita and pierogies all shaped my palate. They also spurred my desire to travel the globe, sampling them and other childhood favorites on their native soils. Thanks to a major case of wanderlust, I've journeyed through four continents and 39 countries (and counting). I've had the pleasures of cooking in Paris, Prague, Barcelona and Siem Reap, Cambodia and of collecting fabulous recipes and stories wherever I've roamed.Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism brought me to New York City in 2000. Rich culture, disparate cuisines and the overall hustle and bustle of urban life kept me there. Today I live a somewhat "Green Acres" existence, dividing my time between Manhattan's Upper West Side and an 1801 farmhouse on the outskirts of Philadelphia. When I'm not traveling, cooking or writing, I love to hang out with my family, friends and trio of black, former stray cats, Scooty, Clive and Owen, the undisputed kitchen cat.