Nikki Marie
Nikki is the founder, recipe developer, food stylist, and food photographer behind Chasing the Seasons, and the celebrated author of Simple, Elegant Pasta Dinners (Page Street Publishing, distributed by Macmillan [2019]), read more about the cookbook here.
In Nikki’s family, every occasion is celebrated with food – and lots of it! When it comes to cooking, everything she knows and loves was learned in her grandmother’s tiny kitchen just minutes outside of New York City. “She could make a lot out of nothing… and the aroma from her kitchen would greet us in the vestibule of her apartment building before we even rang her doorbell. All of her meals were ‘made with love’. I’ve learned over the years that that’s really the key to everything.”
With a background in the political and legal sectors, Nikki turned a love for cooking, writing, and photography into a full-time passion, marking her as a multi-faceted professional in the culinary world. Her work has been featured on, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Crate & Barrel, Target, Traveler Magazine, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and more!
Nikki resides in New Jersey with her husband and two children.
About Chasing the Seasons
In late 2016, Chasing the Seasons was created as a creative outlet for Nikki’s writing, photography, and as a way to catalog family recipes – the ones prepared everyday on a whim by tossing in a bit of this, and a pinch of that, and especially the ones handwritten and passed on by her grandmother.
She also wanted to inspire and influence the home cook to think seasonally and to use locally sourced and farm-fresh ingredients as often as possible – even if one doesn’t live near a farm market (more about that below). Since moving to rural northwest New Jersey over a decade ago, Nikki has developed a sincere appreciation for local agriculture and for the foods that emerge with each season – they are gifts to be carefully chosen, prepared and savored.
About Northwest New Jersey
Northwest New Jersey is an area of the United States that experiences each season in all its majesty – both in temperatures and in harvest. Just a few minutes in any direction will lead to a hard-working family farm with its quaint market and most prized harvest proudly on display. In the winter, when the fields are frozen and snow-covered, Nikki says “I tuck-in for the long, deep cold and rely on hearty ingredients to get me through, like potatoes and onions; I slow cook and braise my locally raised meats in red wine and simmer big pots of homemade broth on the stove top for hours.”
Support Local Agriculture – Even in the City!
Farm Fresh. Farm-to-Table. Earth-to-Table. Farm-to-Fork. These are terms you’ve likely heard. Here’s why it’s so important to choose local. Supporting local agriculture means that you are choosing foods with less pesticides. It will taste better and be healthier for you. In fact, many small, local farms actually implement organic methods.
If you are a city-dweller you can still choose locally sourced produce and support local agriculture by frequenting the Farmers’ Markets in your area and/or by shopping the seasonal local produce section at your favorite supermarket(s).
Buying locally sourced food means you are supporting your community and aiding to preserve open space for farms and fresh local food to thrive in the future. You’ve heard the saying, “no farms, no food.” It’s true.
For those other ingredients that must be store-bought, please choose well. Buying organic ingredients will provide you with far less pesticides and chemicals.
contact@chasingtheseasons.com