The Healthy Rebel

About the Book

This book has been a journey into cooking – A tribute to friends long gone and to the ones still inspiring me. Recipes are meant to be discovered, shared and experienced with the people you love. It brings people together in conversation and laughter. Cooking is an expression of one’s soul in creativity. I began collecting recipes at a young age. I wish I knew where that little tin box full of index cards was today, what wonders it held! I suppose I could trace my first cooking experiences back to childhood, but my journey really began years later in the kitchen of my beautiful and amazing friend, Rosario Patti. He made cooking fun. He would always scold me with, “pay attention – I won’t be around forever.” Sadly, he wasn’t, and I was stuck trying to remember the words he spoke as we cooked the perfect pasta carbonara! To this day, I am still in search of it. So, as a reminder to all, if someone makes a dish you can’t stop thinking about or want to share with everyone you know, don’t hesitate to ask them how to make it. Write it down, learn it and share it. It is what food is all about! It’s EXACTLY why I began the journey of “I learned it from my Friends.”

About the Author

Jessica Pfeufer is not your average chef. From saving lives as EMT/Firefighter of the Year to soaring like a bird in a glider plane over the Sierra Madres, she does what she loves and lives how she pleases – enjoying each adventure to the fullest. A self-proclaimed eccentric who has spent her life traveling the world, Jessica uses each new destination as her springboard, taking every opportunity to explore local fare, local flavor, and local fun! While many culinary geniuses found their calling in the grandest dining rooms of the finest restaurants in all the land, Jessica’s passion springs from earthier beginnings, in the kitchen of the firehouse where she served for many years, eventually finding that her passion and life’s work truly lay in the culinary arts. At home in the Napa Valley, Jessica has immersed herself in wine, learning the wine industry from the ground up, incorporating her culinary skills with oenophilia, and eventually (over the last 20+ years) creating pairing menus for wineries, weddings, and events. Jessica is a certified health and wellness coach, stewarding her website The Healthy Rebel which combines healthy menus, habits, and lifestyle coaching with a rebel yell for MORE! MORE! MORE! adventures to come.