Garrett McCord is a fearless cook. He can be wildly creative at times, but mostly I am fascinated by what intrigues him and what challenges he is willing to take like making chocolate truffles with bacon or elderberry syrup. I first got hooked on his writing when he was blogging about his crazy out-of-the-box cupcake creations. His blog is Vanilla Garlic and he is also a contributor at Edible Sacramento and Simply Recipes.
"These days I find my life completely consumed by work and graduate school. More than once have I had to resort shoving fast food down my craw for fuel so I can continue researching or writing. Still I do my best to find time to cook. It's a basic human practice to try and find pleasure in satisfying hunger so cooking acts as a source of joy. Cooking becomes my respite and study break. Brewing up a batch of preserves and making a batch of cookies allows me to work with my hands and exercise a different part of my brain. It's a therapy session, mediation, and play all wrapped into one."