The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

For a brief moment, my mother worried that I was a future sociopath...at the age of four. The discovery of a notebook full of drawings featuring a giant knife wielding woman in pearls would alarm any parent. Thankfully, before seeking out a pediatric psychologist my mother caught me in front of the TV, doodling while attentively watching the great Julia Child. Before I knew how to write, drawing was my way of documenting the recipes and techniques. Realizing my PBS viewing went beyond Mr. Rogers, my family encouraged a lifetime of creativity both in drawing and cookery.

Quiche was among my...