Ronna Welsh - The Nimble Cook

My work began at a sweet caf in Austin, Texas, where a group of women forged long-lasting friendships cooking terrific food. Jane Lilly, thank you for giving this forlorn graduate student and wayward soul a chance at the stove. Thanks too for your friendship and advice. Thanks to John Trimble, who taught me how to edit boldly and so, how to write. To the late Virginia Wood, who gave me a first chance at publication.

Thanks to Peter Hoffman, who saw, underneath some serious angst, an earnest cook. To Barbara Rich, a kitchen co-conspirator, who gave me my first independent platform as a chef. Thanks to Corrado Assenza of Noto, Sicily, for unforgettable hospitality and encouragement, not to mention unspeakably good sweets. Thanks to the late Fernando Abadia of Huesca, Spain, for showing me the highest standards of professionalism, and, along with Enrique Torrijos, making me feel like family.

There are many great cooks and smart thinkers who have come through Purple Kale Kitchenworks doors. To them collectively, I give bottomless thanks. Your hard work and generous input let me grow my business beyond a small city apartment. Together, we hauled equipment and ingredients from rented kitchen to kitchen. We labored through dishes, collated papers, scrubbed oven doors, fixed water filters, and more. We made great food and changed peoples minds.

Foremost among them is Diana Vassar, who signed on to this project before even I knew what it would become, and who turned her life upside down to work on the phenomenal illustrations for this book. I am your biggest fan.

Thanks to other friends, near and far, including those who lent me their roomier kitchens for those early classes, and those who gave a sharp eye to proposal and manuscript drafts.

Also, thanks to Rachel Holtzman, who rescued the big ideas of this book from a draft that had been drowning in revisions. Your belief in itand megot us to the end.

To Roy Finamore, who transformed a behemoth of a manuscript into an accessible, aspirational book. I am grateful for your instruction, support, diligence, and commitment to keeping the bar high.

To Rux Martin, who was quick to see the possible long tail in an ambitious proposal from this small-platform cook. Your pencil is this writers best weapon. I am honored to be part of the terrific band of authors under your wing.

To copyeditor Suzanne Fass, for her speedy, thorough, and thoughtful work. Your sharp eye gave the book a final polish I didnt know it needed. And to Sarah Kwak, Jamie Selzer, and Crystal Paquette for all your help pulling everything together.

To the talented and very patient art team, including designer Toni Tajima and art director Melissa Lotfy, who added order and elegance to the books interlinking content. No small task.

To my agent, Janis Donnaud, who saw in a jumbled book proposal an idea worth championing. I cannot overstate how lucky I feel to have you at my back.

To Dorothy Yang, Sara Kay, and Jess Ziman, for bringing to the test kitchen a rare combination of talent, drive, integrity, and humor, and for committing to this cookbook as if it were your own. I am a better cook, and person, for our time together.

To my mom, who taught me how to trust myself, persevere, take risks, and make things. You are my strength.

To my sister, a person of boundless generosity and goodwill. You always drop everything to help others, as you did for me in many times of my life and especially for this book.

To Matthew, whose commitment to my work, ideas, and passions sometimes held out longer than mine. Thank you for putting up with my indignations, for lending me patience when I needed it most, and for having the confidence for both of us to see me through the long play.

To my daughters, Eleanor and Sophie. You are the ultimate improvisers, always true, spirited, optimistic, and original, and my reasons for everything.