Life of Spice

Variety is the spice of life! And, because I have a passion for food and cooking - I named my website Life of Spice.

I grew up all over New England, eating lots of TV dinners, canned vegetables, frozen breaded scallops, pizza spins and other prepared foods as a child. Once on my own at college in NH, I busted out of the freezer and began making dinner for housemates, discovering the many joys of the culinary world, eating well, and sharing love and friendship by cooking for others. After college, I moved to Boulder and the passion exploded. Now I live in an adorable village called Niwot just outside the city of Boulder.

I've been lucky enough to have many culinary adventures including: 

• • 12 years on—or chairing—the restaurant committee of Boulder's Taste of the Nation event, 1993-2005.

  • Being a member of Slow Food Boulder since 1997 (on the steering committee for eight years)

  • Going on restaurant reviews with the Rocky Mountain News for seven years—starting in 2007— and even went on a few with the Boulder Business Report, Daily Camera and Colorado Daily.

  • A week at cooking school in Tuscany in 1999.

  • Kitchen experimentation from 2003-2011 with a friend via "Laura and Pennie's Quarterly Culinary Adventures"

  • Many soft openings, judging at contests, and involvement in other food events thanks to the food writers, critics and chefs I know. I am very lucky that local food poobah - and all-around great guy - John Lehndorff is a good friend - really more like family.

  • Securing my fifteen minutes of fame, when I won a food trivia game show called "Trivia Unwrapped" on the Food Network in 2003. As well, I was on camera for the Denver episode of the Food Network's "Bizarre Foods" which aired Feb. 18, 2013, and at (but not on camera) a Food Network televised Hot Luck party.

  • Hosting evening food truck parties at a local park from 2012-2021, once a month from May to October, with six trucks as the norm. (organized food trucks at CU's east campus from 2011-2012 until CU's Food Service shut them down due to competition).

  • Helping out with the Flatiron Food Film Festival from it's inception in 2013 to 2022 when it was retired.

  • Created and maintain the Serving Boulder web site—the most comprehensive list of all the restaurants that have ever been in Boulder. 

I'm an avid cook, have done a bit of catering, taught a few cooking classes, and have been writing a cookbook on how to use herbs, spices and other flavorings for many years...maybe someday I’ll publish it. In the meantime, I created this site mostly for myself and friends and family, so it's not geared toward the general public. Some content on this site is very old and hasn't been updated in decades, especially lists of places: On the Food Stuff page I included lists of my favorite restaurants, both local and away. There are also lists of ethnic and gourmet markets in the area.

The Recipe page has just a handful of recipes; those that are often-requested by others and those I'd like access to on the road. 

Although most of my culinary activities have been outside the daily paycheck, I have enjoyed a few paid gigs including recipe development for Frontier Natural Brands and White Wave and marketing/PR for natural food companies. And, sometimes for fun, I put together people in the Boulder food world if I think they should be connected....someone dubbed me a culinary empresario.

My real jobs? I've worked in marketing, promotions, PR and administration for four of the industries that made Boulder what it is: Ski, hi-tech, natural products and aerospace. 

Now for the fun stuff! I put together several lists of fun things to do. This includes things to do around the Boulder/Denver area, a calendar of local events (which is WAY outdated), a list of free summer concerts in the area (also WAY outdated) and also a list of Simple Summer Pleasures for anyone, anywhere. I also included some of my favorite links for more information on food and fun. And, there are a few other miscellaneous lists and such on the Extra page.

I hope this site will bring a little spice into your life, both literally and figuratively.

Mangi la vita,

Laura