[?] Subscribe To This Site

Start Here!

Body & Success

Emotions & Success

Attitudes & Success

Recipes and Food Articles

Recipes on a personal development website??.. how does that fit in? I hesitated about putting up this page but after consulting with my mastermind group, we've decided that it does indeed fit with the overall purpose and intention of this website. You cannot really talk about diet and health or fulfilling relationships without talking about food. We human beings need to eat.

That is just part of our experience on earth. And our eating habits have evolved to meals, gatherings and moments of the day that we stop other activities to come together and share. That is why food is important. It's a means of saying I care, I enjoy life and I want to share that joy with you. It's a physical action to nourish the body and the soul. They don't call it soul food in the American South for no reason. Nothing quite says, 'Life is good" like walking into a home and smelling the smells of a home cooked meal. The smell of bread, cake or cookies being baked is a message that warms our hearts as much as our tummies. So in the true essence of the French saying, I wish you bon appétit!

A little Background About This Section

I have been writing for years, namely as a food writer for the Charleston, WV Gazette where I was publishing on a weekly basis. I also published an article in Veggie Life magazine about Fast French Vegetarian cuisine. I even had my own food blog, AnneCuisine. Google Anne Kennell Dessens and you'll get links to my foodie writing days.

While I moved away from the food scene a few years ago, I regularly bump into people who ask me if I'm still writing. These moments were the catalysts for this website. I needed to write but about more than just food. When I say in my diet section that I spent years studying food, diet and weight loss, it's because I was looking for a way to improve overall through what I consumed. Perfect body weight was a high priority along with the need to be in peak condition. I wanted to be a lean, clean energy machine. Thus, my quest through Fit for Life, Fitonics for Life vegetarianism, veganism and eventually the raw food diet . While I've tried to explore personal development only from the food, diet and health venue, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't enough. It had to be a bigger picture. That is why I stopped writing about food. That is also why I stopped seeking happiness through food. I wanted to find happiness from within, not from raw, organic vegetables.

For more about this journey, you can read these sources for more on that part of my journey.

BLOG

DIET

You Can Run but You Cannot Hide

So I thought I would just leave my concoctions and their accompanying articles in a little corner of my life. I turned my attention to other areas of my life. I experimented with other ways of eating and basically pursued other areas of personal growth. But the food thing kept coming up. Every author I have read brings food and ways of eating into their work. I'm talking about Steve Pavlina, Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dr Wayne Dyer, Sonia Choquette and Doreen Virtue. Steve Pavlina, Anthony Robbins, Brian Tracy, Dr Wayne Dyer, Sonia Choquette and Doreen Virtue. That's just a beginning of course!

And then the snychronicities started occurring. It was if my old articles and recipes were saying to my, "Hello?! We're right here!" First, I had people telling me how they missed my articles and previous publications, how much they enjoyed them. Then my mom ships all my old articles to me one day without saying a thing to me about it. Next, I get an e-mail out of the blue on an article that I wrote 5 years ago on a blog that I stopped using 5 years ago. And finally, when I mentioned bringing back them back for this website, my mastermind group said that was what they were thinking too. These all occurred within weeks of each other. I figured that I should take them as signs from my angels and the Universe that this is part of my path.

Do They Really Fit Here?

Actually, they do. Why? Because the main goal of my foodie writing days was to combine that enthusiasm I'd picked up from the Fit for Life and Fitonics for Life series about healthy eating. My goal was to find and share balance in the foods we eat and our dining experiences. I focused a lot on vegetables because if we just ate more vegetables we'd being doing great things for our bodies, our waistlines and our planet. It has also been the secret to my own weight maintenance and the secret to every diet you read: all the vegetables you want. Besides, today; most of us just don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. My recipes were about bringing that combining health and enjoyment into the mix. Most of my recipes come with full meal ideas because I've always sought balance at the meal table.

Also, the other unique aspect of my articles and my recipes has been translating French cuisine for non-French people. I have been living in France for almost twenty years. I learned to cook (not bake!) in France. Believe me, the standards of meal preparation and the whole dining experience is different in France, it's a higher standard especially coming from an average American background. So, if you are interested in adding French flair to your culinary concoctions, then you'll definitely enjoy these recipes. I have no formal culinary training, but that's part of my niche. As my father-in-law likes to say, "How many recipes did you smuggle out of the country this week? I know you're working for the CIA!" (Drôle, très drôle, I know.)

Et Voilà!

I'm putting them up back on the internet once again. Please fill in the contact form for any questions, queries or comments you have about the recipes and articles. I need to revamp them some to fit the European measures and proportions as they were originally written for the American readers.

Happy reading!

Recipes & Articles

Appetizers & Starters

Main Courses & Side Dishes

Veal Roast -Tips on How to Cook a Good Roast

Main Course Sauces

Dijon Mustard Sauce
Bechamel Sauce, An Introduction

Fish & Egg Dishes

Fish Cakes with Tuna
Smoked Salmon Frittata with Spinach
Salmon En Papillote

Side Dishes & Vegetables

Carrots Vichy side dish

Meats

Pork Roast Bonne Femme
Basque Chicken

Desserts

Easy French Orange or Lemon Cake
Tarte Tatin, Carmelized Apple Pie
Chocolate Cake
Strawberry Coulis Recipe

Miscellaneous & Baked Goods

Never-Fail Home Bread Recipe

Coming Soon my Self-Published Cookbook!?!

I'm also assembling them in a book that I am finally (after 10 years!) going to self-publish. I will have the articles along with the recipes. So there will be stories behind the recipes. It will be a journey through food, time and learning to cook (while being Fit for Life) in France . It was a tall order at the time and not so out-of-snyc with what the world is looking for today in food and recipes.

This is a project that I have started and stopped many times over the years. I have tried many times to be published with publishing companies but with no luck. Maybe this was just meant to be. Cookbooks do well when they are self-published. And now this website is a great launching pad for those recipes. Please send me some feedback. It's very welcome!

I will let you know when it's ready for release. Hopefully soon!

SBI!