I’m Lisa Golden Schroeder, a well-seasoned commercial food stylist, food writer, and cooking teacher. I’ve owned my freelance business, Foodesigns Culinary Consulting, for over 30 years. Being part of what’s now being called the gig economy for most of my work life, I deeply understand what our industry has weathered these past few years. The safety net for independent professionals is uncertain at best, and I hope you’ve all stayed safe & healthy. While still flexing our creative problem solving talents, we’ve become accomplished at working with smaller in-person crews and navigating lots of Zoom meetings. We continue to be poised to make the most of what’s promising to be a very different world as we get back to work in real time.

On an everyday note, I’m opening up my kitchen cabinet to share some of my personal pantry of well-driven recipes, some of my favorites that have real street creds. Tapping into my general laziness, I’m offering up low-tech, simple, stylish food (my rule of thumb: if my great-grandmother can make a recipe without an electric appliance, so can I).  And the biggest compliment for me is inspiring someone to really cook. Like most of us, I like to revisit my food memories and indulge my personal fascination with the shadowy corners of food & culture—and cooking with family and friends makes for some of the most satisfying ways to spend time. So get get thee to the kitchen for a leisurely hang out.

This spring I’ll continue posting more of the recipes I hope might inspire you. Check out my latest posts about my early pandemic foraging preoccupation, last summer’s blueberry season, + the basics of “quick” baking—with the continuing obsession (at least on Instagram) with sourdough breads, I look back at the instant gratification baking I learned from women bakers in my family. I’m saving a story of my aunt’s sourdough starter, a staple of my childhood, sometime later when another baking mood strikes. And since I learned that banana bread continues to be a top search on recipe sites, here’s my dog-earred version of banana chocolate chunk bread; interpret my notations for variations as you will.

As the earth slowly warms up, you might be excited at the prospect of searching for spring wild fungi—and I will wholeheartedly (albeit shamelessly) plug Untamed Mushrooms: From Field to Table, my collaborative effort that hails from the Minnesota Historical Society Press. It’s a hybrid guide for foraging for wild mushrooms + a cookbook that finishes the journey from the hunt to the kitchen. If you're interested in paying serious (and somewhat educated) attention to mysterious fungi you stumble over in local woods and fields, you might find it an entertaining and truly useful resource. My co-authors, certified wild mushroom expert Michael Karns & brilliant photographer Dennis Becker, made the process of delivering a book of substance (over 300 pages with exceptional photography + more than 100 recipes) an extraordinary venture. It’ll be worth your while if you need a push out the door to wander in the woods this spring.