Ripe and Roasted is the fruition of my passion for using art, writing, and teaching to bring people joy and inspiration. I am a master gardener, home chef, and watercolor artist who loves plants, gardens, and great food. I hope my art and teaching is a reflection of that amour.
Why I Love Plants
As a horticultural devotée, I love all things garden; burying seeds on crisp spring afternoons, picking produce in the summer, and tidying up the garden beds come fall. I am a certified master gardener with South Dakota State University extension, and my love for gardening has gone back decades.
For me, spring means working in the dirt and listening to the birds chirp as I contemplate how to arrange my plantings for the coming season. As I smell a tomato plant while I’m trimming off the extra shoots, it brings me indescribable joy. The scent of lavender blossoms or basil leaves is intoxicating.
Why I Love Great Food
In the kitchen, I also cannot help myself; I have to create deliciousness from this bounty. As a registered dietitian, the desire to create a healthy lifestyle has influenced the way I cook. Furthermore, I am obsessed with cooking without a recipe and thinking about cooking in an almost ethereal way.
In essence, cooking is about flavor development and creating wonder from the most basic ingredients. To me, cooking is truly an art, never a chore. Whether it is a simple, still-warm-from-her-sunny-green-garden bright red tomato slice sprinkled with Maldon sea salt flakes or a complexly-flavored eggplant Parmesan, there is a joy to savoring food.
Why I Paint
A self-taught watercolor artist, I love painting the world around me. Because of my love for these integral aspects of life, they inspire me each day I prepare a meal, cultivate my garden, or sit down to paint. I hope this love for nature and the simple but meaningful things in life will pass to you when you hold a piece of my art in your hands. Cherish and enjoy this art made from the hands of a Midwestern watercolor artist.
I hope you will learn from my courses, and through them you will learn to embody a homemade life. I put my heart and soul into creating each piece of content and each work of art, and I hope it will transport you to a place of joy and peace.
Thanks for visiting,
Cami
