contributors
Robin Asbell spreads the
word about how truly delicious and
beautiful whole, real foods can be
through her work as an author,
cooking teacher and private chef.
She likes to create delicious dishes
that range from meat and seafood to
beans and grains using global flavors.
Her latest book is “Plant-Based
Meats.” She is also the author of
“300 Best Blender Recipes Using Your
Vitamix,” “Great Bowls of Food: Grain
Bowls, Buddha Bowls, Broth Bowls
and More”; “Juice It!”; “Big Vegan: Over
350 Recipes, No Meat, No Dairy, All
Delicious”; “The New Vegetarian”; and
“Gluten-Free Pasta.”Jason Ross is a chef consultant
for restaurants and hotels, developing
menus and concepts for multiple high
profile properties. He trained and grew
up in New York City but now calls
St. Paul, Minnesota, home. Currently,
he teaches the next generation of chefs
at Saint Paul College Culinary School.Lara Miklasevics began her
food career on the other side of the
camera, cooking at the renowned
New French Café in Minneapolis.
Today her work as a stylist is in
demand at corporations including
Heinz, Target and General Mills, as
well as with many magazines. She
prides herself on using her experience
as a chef to make food as appealing
on the page as it is on the plate.Terry Brennan is a
photographer based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Clients include Target,
General Mills, Land O’Lakes and
Hormel. “Working with Real Food
is a highlight for me—I look forward
to every issue. I love working with
the creative team and, of course,
sampling the wonderful recipes.”Tara Q. Thomas intended to
be a chef when she trained at the
Culinary Institute of America in New
York but got sidetracked by wine.
She has been writing about it
for nearly 20 years now, most
prominently at Wine & Spirits
Magazine, where she is executive
editor. Author of “The Complete
Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics” and a
contributor to “The Oxford Companion
to Cheese” and the forthcoming
“The Oxford Companion to Spirits
and Cocktails,” she also sits on the
advisory panel for the International
Culinary Center’s Sommelier Training
Program. She lives in Brooklyn, New
York, juggling a laptop and two small
children. She still cooks nearly nightly,
albeit for a smaller crowd.Abra Berens is the chef at
Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan.
She trained at Ballymaloe in County
Cork, Ireland, and Zingerman’s
Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She strives to connect people with
their food both through dinners and
progressive food policy, helping to
further a food system that protects
our environment through agriculture,
helps farmers earn a living wage, and
waste as little food as possible. She
lives in Galien, Michigan, with her
husband, Erik, and their two dogs.8 real food summer 2019
Pat Crocker is a professional
home economist and culinary herbalist
with a passion for healthy food. Her
knowledge and love of herbs has
been honed over more than four
decades of growing, studying,
photographing, experimenting with
and writing about what she calls
“the helping plants.” In fact, Crocker
marries the medicinal benefits
of herbs in every original recipe
she develops. Crocker has written
22 herb/healthy cookbooks, including
“The Healing Herbs Cookbook,” “The
Juicing Bible” and most recently,
“The Herbalist’s Kitchen.”