About

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I’m Jenni. A Pacific Northwest food and business writer. This is the blog I started with a friend in 2011. It’s changed over the years. Lately, it’s a spot where I can share my work and reflections about life and food.

As a freelance writer, I have a lot of conversations and I hear a lot of stories from people who are on the ground, growing, processing, or promoting good food. At their core, food stories are human stories, of course, and the best ones make the me (and hopefully the reader, too) more an expert in the practice of beekeeping or the realities of Native fishing than I was before. Now I know the traveling habits of honeybees and can see, in my mind’s eye, the modest warehouse filled with fermentation tanks.

Demand for local foods is expanding, and food blogging is growing right along with it. Lots of bloggers do just what I’m doing here: Celebrate local, local, local. Do we really need to hear more?

I think so, and here’s why. The Plum Palate launched in 2011, the same year the USDA reported that sales of local foods were set to surpass 7 billion dollars. That’s encouraging. But the total food sales for the same year were more than 1.3 trillion. Add to that: Farmer-to-consumer local sales are concentrated in the Northeast, on the West Coast, and near urban centers. Food deserts are still with us. So are food swamps. And it isn’t a given that everyone knows how to cook a simple meal. Food may be trendy but, still, we need to keep sharing.


My original notion for this blog, to pay homage to one type of seasonal produce every week, is more reflective now. I rarely create recipes; I’m not a chef, but a home cook. Many bloggers create and share recipes, and do it well. Browse through the blog links listed to the right and you’ll see what I mean.

There are many places to explore the local foods boom these days. I’m grateful that you’ve chosen to spend a few minutes here and would love to hear your stories, too.

If you’d like to keep up with my work, hire me, or just stay connected, visit my website, follow my writer’s page on Facebook, connect with me on Instagram, or follow me on Twitter. I’d love to get to know you better.

— Jenni

34 thoughts on “About”

  1. Your photos always make the food look SO good. And then the creative yet easily followed recipes really bring it to life – er, I mean to a practical, enticing culmination. Keep it up, guys!

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  4. Thank you for visiting my blog. Yours is beautiful and inspiring. I appreciate the philosophy of being mindful of the people who produce and harvest the food, as well as being respectful of the integrity of your ingredients. I’m looking forward to following The Plum Palate!

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  10. Pingback: The Sunshine Award « For Your Good Health

  11. Oops, looks like you’ve already been nominated for the Sunshine Award. I will remove you from my list.

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    • Marcella – you are so sweet! Thank you for the nomination! And, yes. You sleuthed out my other sunshine nomination, something I’m very far behind on. Congrats on your nomination! I’m so glad to know about your lovely shingle.

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      • Thank you. And congratulations to you too! It’s been fun receiving and nominating. I received two awards back-to-back. Whew! Glad I’m done! Looking forward to watching some TV for a change – like the Olympics ; – )

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  12. Thank you for visiting my blog! Your pictures are beautiful and I enjoyed your story about the plums. I will be sure to try the puree idea.
    Have a great evening!
    SarahJoy

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  15. I come across so many food blogs and they all tend to look alike or blend together. But yours is so refreshing! So beautiful, so real. I love your recipes and I especially love your writing. Your voice. Honest, melodic, lovely. :) I’m hooked!

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    • Oh my dear, and I’m so late to acknowledge this! Thank you, Rach. I’m honored to be among those on your list. I really appreciate the shout-out. Fun to peruse the blogs you chose, too. My very best. xo

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  18. Very glad to stumbled upon your blog. I like you philosophy about food and love those beautiful pictures you post.

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